NOVEL SIMPLE 210. Mary is a Good Girl.
Bang~
The wooden door to the office slammed shut. Hen Gedymdeith set down the report he was holding and sighed.
Tomas Moreau.
An expert in magic and genetic mutations.
Decades ago, Tomas Moreau was rescued from a monster's clutches by a Witcher. However, due to an accident that forced him to give his son, Jeron, to the Witchers, he went mad.
When a female sorceress awakens her magical abilities, her womb is affected by the magic, leading to infertility. While male sorcerers are somewhat better off. Over time, their fertility also gradually diminishes due to prolonged exposure to magic.
Thus, after Jeron, Tomas Moreau had no more children.
In his desperate quest to have an heir, he became obsessed with reversing the mutation process of the Witchers. Hen Gedymdeith didn't know the specifics of his research. But when he saw Tomas Moreau again after many years, he knew he had gone mad!
Tomas Moreau's remaining life goal was solely to eliminate all Witchers.
There were many male sorcerers in Ban Ard with similar experiences, and the accident seemed to particularly "favor" those with magical abilities. Coupled with some noble families who had similar experiences, Witchers had to die!
"It's a pity that the timing is wrong!" Hen Gedymdeith sighed again.
What Ban Ard was about to face might be unprecedented difficulties. There was no energy to create new enemies. Besides, he harbored no hatred towards the Witchers. He was just compelled to act as the nominal leader of the sorcerers.
Otherwise, allowing sorcerers to privately kill Witchers. Soon, their group would become the target of public outrage.
Unknowingly, the troubles currently facing the Witchers might soon befall the sorcerers. But a person blinded by vengeance cannot be persuaded, let alone a group of irrational individuals. Even if he was the oldest and highest-ranking sorcerer in the world, he was powerless in this regard.
"It's tough!"
Hen Gedymdeith sighed once more.
At that moment,
Knock, knock, knock~
The wooden door was knocked on. Hen Gedymdeith restored his emotionless expression.
Squeak~
The wooden door creaked open.
"Dean, here are the experimental records of Jenks's research on the 'Gemstones' before his death…"
A young male sorcerer entered the office, carrying a pile of floating books. Seeing the visitor's appearance, Hen Gedymdeith said warmly, "Valeriu, your control over your mental power is getting more refined… Just put them down… Thank you."
The books floating in mid-air slowly landed on the ground.
"It's all thanks to the Dean's teaching…"
After a polite response, Valeriu didn't hurry to leave. After hesitating for a moment, he asked somewhat hesitantly,
"Dean, was the Conjunction of the Spheres really made by Jenks?"
"Could it really be that Witchers are summoning evil gods?"
Hen Gedymdeith made a rather unfunny joke. Thus, Valeriu did not laugh. He looked at Hen Gedymdeith with a serious, somewhat youthful face. Seeing this, Hen Gedymdeith helplessly shook his head: "I don't know either, but Jenks is indeed the most likely candidate…"
"How could you not know?" Valeriu said in surprise, "You are the oldest sorcerer, the mighty 'Source of Magic'!"
In his mind, the knowledgeable Hen Gedymdeith could do anything.
"Hahaha~" Hen Gedymdeith laughed heartily, "Valeriu, I'm just a sorcerer, not a god."
"Besides, even gods cannot be omniscient and omnipotent."
"The Convergence and Gemstones have always been Jenks's research projects."
"I haven't delved deeply into them, so the specifics might have to wait until these reports are examined."
Valeriu shook his head upon hearing this: "In my mind, you're much more impressive than those pompous, fraudulent deities."
Then, he bowed and was about to leave the office without disturbing Hen Gedymdeith further.
Squeak~
The ancient wooden door creaked.
"Dean, will Ban Ard be okay?"
Valeriu suddenly turned back. Hen Gedymdeith paused for a moment before firmly saying, "It will be, Valeriu."
"Ban Ard will definitely be okay."
----------------
The next day,
White Orchard.
Bang~
An orange-red portal appeared in Vesemir's room.
"Allen, be careful on your way!"
Hughes stood in front of the portal, reluctant to part.
Yes,
According to the plan, the apprentice duel team was at the time of disbanding. After the mountain trials, the exploration trials were all one-on-one. An older, experienced Witcher would lead a younger Witcher.
On one hand, this was more efficient, allowing the young Witcher to absorb knowledge about hunting monsters and dealing with people more effectively.
On the other hand, it was to avoid trouble.
Five armored, sword-skilled Witchers traveling together would be an excessive force for any village or town. To avoid trouble and ensure the village's safety, It was generally impossible to let so many Witchers into a village at once, and local nobles were also not welcoming of large groups of Witchers.
With bad luck, they might even be driven away, "escorted" out of town by the military or city guards.
The reason Vesemir and the others could travel smoothly this time was that Henselt had already provided a pass. He had also notified the cities along the way. But now, even Henselt was dead. They had to be more discreet, tightening the noose around Ban Ard to avoid involving them.
Of course,
After returning to Kaer Morhen through the portal, they wouldn't be staying in the fortress for the rest of the year. The Chief would assign other Witchers to conduct the formal exploration trials.
"Do we really have to leave through the portal?"
Fred looked at the swirling orange light, his face turning pale.
"Now that we're not being pursued, perhaps… perhaps we don't need the portal…"
"We're not in a hurry to return!"
"Yeah!" Bond's expression was also not pleasant, "Actually, we could ride horses back; it wouldn't take that long."
They were also reluctant to part with Allen, but avoiding leaving through the portal was the most important thing at the moment. Although the feeling of returning to Kaer Morhen through the Old Spear Cave was only experienced once, it was truly… unforgettable.
"No way!"
Vesemir firmly refused.
"Why?" Fred's face turned ashen, wanting to struggle one last time.
"You can just enjoy yourselves!" Vesemir rolled his eyes.
"Other Witchers are already down the mountain. The ones waiting for you in Kaer Morhen are all Witcher Masters over a hundred years old!"
"Are you sure you want to keep them waiting for ten days or half a month?"
Well…
Naturally, they were uncertain…
However, Even though the option of returning through the portal was unavoidable, upon hearing that the trial mentors were Witcher Masters, Bond and Fred both perked up.
The exploration trials were crucial.
The strength of a Witcher after the trials not only depended on their attitude but was also closely related to the mentors. It goes without saying that the five years spent learning from ordinary Witchers versus learning from Witcher Masters would be vastly different.
At least.
If they studied under a Witcher Master, there would certainly be an opportunity to witness the Master hunting a large monster during those five years. And, if they were lucky, they might even become Witcher Masters themselves after five years, just like Allen. This is an opportunity almost impossible to gain from training under a regular Witcher.
While catching up with Allen might be impossible, everyone has their pride.
Who wants to always lag behind?
So.
Fred and Bond quickly stopped complaining, wiped their faces, and resolutely stepped into the portal, as if heading to the execution ground.
Hughes followed closely behind.
The sorceress watched this scene with a hint of amusement.
Snap!
With a snap of her fingers, the sorceress produced two bottles of Verdant Sighs and handed them to Allen.
"This is too precious! Lady Vera! I can't accept it!" Allen hurriedly refused.
He didn't know the value of the potion before, but now that he does, he naturally can't accept it.
The sorceress persuaded, "Take it! This is to compensate for the two bottles you used!"
Allen shook his head repeatedly, "This is too valuable, I..."
"Don't worry," the sorceress smiled and glanced at Sol and Vesemir, "The bottle used by Bond was covered by your mentor, and the one for Sadia was covered by the chief."
Sol and Vesemir exchanged glances and smiled wryly, but did not deny it. Bond's injury was a failure on Vesemir's part as a leader. The bottle for Sadia was to win allies for the school, naturally paid for by the chief or the school.
It was reasonable.
Allen was momentarily stunned, feeling the weight of Elsa on his back, and glanced subconsciously at Vesemir: "Where did Master Vesemir get the money?"
"He hasn't even redeemed his original partner yet..."
Allen caught on to what he was about to say and kept quiet. However, Vesemir seemed to guess what he was thinking and shouted angrily: "Don't you worry about it, kid. I've been a Witcher Master for many years and have plenty of money..."
"He's in debt..." The sorceress smiled as she revealed the truth, "My debt!"
Vesemir was about to glare at the sorceress, but realized she was the Crimson Fox and quickly averted his gaze.
"How about..." Vesemir waved his hand to interrupt Allen: "Don't worry, what's yours is yours."
"Take it. Life is much more important than money."
"If it weren't for that bottle of yours, due to my negligence, Hughes might have been crippled."
"I would regret it for the rest of my life."
"So this is a lesson, a lesson for me!"
"The school will cover half of it!" Sol added.
Seeing this, Allen stopped being stubborn.
Clink-clink!
The two bottles of Verdant Sighs were placed into the potion bag. The sorceress nodded with satisfaction, gently ruffled Allen's hair, and said: "With that, we'll head back."
"Contact me through the messenger bird if needed!"
Feeling the warmth on his head, Allen suddenly felt a pang of reluctance.
"Be careful on your way."
"Remember, your life is more important than anything!"
With that, the sorceress looked at Sol and walked into the portal.
Sol followed closely.
As he passed by Allen. The hand that had almost reached to pat his head like the sorceress suddenly paused and then gently patted Allen's shoulder.
"You did a great job this time!" Sol praised with a smile.
"Don't worry about anything else. Whatever happens, I... the school will always be your backing!"
Seeing the chief's gentle smile, Allen felt a warmth in his heart, as if soaking in a hot spring.
"Mm!"
Allen nodded vigorously. Sol smiled, just as he was about to enter the portal. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he turned to Allen: "Keep in touch with Mary..."
"She's a good girl!"
Then.
Before Allen could understand the meaning of this sentence.
The chief smiled and walked into the portal.
Clang!
The portal disappeared. The room fell silent.
-------------------
"Did the other Witchers leave?" Radek asked, holding a bowl, looking at Vesemir with surprise. It wasn't that he thought the young Witchers' sudden departure was rude...
Of course, there was a bit of that too. After all, he had a pleasant chat with the young Witchers yesterday. The key was...
He had seen the Witcher named Fred in the morning.
How did they leave so soon before noon?
"Well, they had other matters and left early," Allen said expressionlessly.
Hughes, Bond, and Fred had left through Vera's portal. To avoid the male sorcerer learning that the sorceress had arrived, he naturally couldn't tell the two apprentices. Radek and Bogdan exchanged glances and said nothing more. It was clearly a vague answer, no need to pursue it.
After all, they weren't very familiar with each other, and their curiosity about this matter wasn't strong enough to need an answer.
"After this meal, we'll set off," Vesemir said, taking out a rolled-up parchment and spreading it on the table.
It was a hand-drawn map.
Perhaps because Kaer Morhen was too close to Band-Aid, this was the first time Allen had seen Vesemir take out this map.
Old and detailed.
That was Allen's first impression of the map.
From the frayed edges of the parchment, it was clear that the map had been through many years, at least thirty or forty years since it was drawn. But it was clear Vesemir had kept it well, with cities, terrain, and even common monsters marked on the parchment.
"Our destination is Ellander, and your goal is Tridam. It seems we're not really on the way..."
Vesemir looked at Radek.
"No!"
Radek shook his head, pointing through the blue mountains, crossing the Pontar River at the borders of Kaedwen and Aedirn, and indicating the capital of Aedirn, Vengerberg.
"I..." He glanced at Bogdan, "We plan to go here, just taking a bit of a detour."
Vesemir looked at the direction Radek was pointing: "The detour isn't much, but isn't the Camarillo family's territory in Tridam?"
"What are you going to the capital of Aedirn for?"
Radek said: "Uh... I have a close aunt who married a court baron in Vangburgh."
"I haven't seen her for a long time, so I plan to go there to avoid some trouble."
Vesemir frowned and looked up at Radek. He didn't know if any of the Camarillo family's women had married into Vangburgh. However, Ignoring whether it's appropriate for a count's family to marry into a court baron's family.
Kaedwen and Aedirn have been at war for over ten years, marrying into an enemy country...
It felt a bit off!
Radek's expression remained calm. Vesemir pondered for a moment before agreeing. It seemed that the only family who hung portraits of others in the banquet hall was the Camarillo family. Maintaining this major client relationship was still worthwhile.
"Alright!"
Vesemir nodded slightly.
....…
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211. Necromancy.
212. Pale Widow.
213. The Unlucky Makarov.
214. All Witchers Must Die!!!
215. A Message Bird from Mary.