Black Unicorn

Vesemir muttered to himself.

After hesitating for a moment, he braced his hands on the table, preparing to get up and head to the bar.

"Thump~ thump~ thump~"

With heavy footsteps, three knights wearing yellow cloaks with Black Unicorn walked in from the inn's entrance.

The noisy hotel fell silent instantly.

However, the quiet lasted only a moment before it became noisy again.

Of course, the noise level changed from a cacophony of voices to whispers.

"Strange! Don't these ordinary people recognize the king's guards?" Huus muttered to himself in confusion.

This is clearly impossible.

Even the most ignorant country bumpkin would surely recognize the king's noble coat of arms.

Such a reaction can only mean one thing: these King's Guard have been to this shop more than once or twice.

Ailin did not reply to Huus; his gaze had not shifted since the knights entered.

He watched as the three knights walked into the inn with their heads held high, giving him a disdainful look.

The leading middle-aged knight's gaze lingered for a moment on Vesemir and his companions, who were carrying two swords, before he turned to the innkeeper, who was hurrying up to greet them, and asked:

Have you seen any strange people lately? Especially those wearing hoods and deliberately concealing their body shape and appearance.

The innkeeper glanced sideways at the group of witchers.

"Honorable knight, strange man... Several witchers came yesterday, but none of them concealed their faces..."

After thinking for a moment, he added:

"Hmm... these witchers are quite well-behaved and haven't caused any trouble."

The middle-aged knight glanced in the direction of Ailin and his group again, and gave the order:

"Keep an eye on things. If you encounter any suspicious individuals, you'll know where to find me."

"Go ahead and get busy!"

The hotel owner bowed and repeatedly agreed before returning to the bar.

He nervously wiped his hands on his canvas apron and fiddled with the glasses on the bar, but his eyes remained fixed on the hotel entrance.

"Thump~ thump~ thump~"

The sound of iron boots treading on wooden planks drew near.

The gaze of the last of the King's Guard swept over the School Emblem on Vesemir's chest, then he leaned close to the middle-aged knight's ear and whispered:

"Captain, they are witchers from the School of the Wolf. They must be here to participate in the Witcher Apprentice Combat Tournament hosted by the King."

The middle-aged knight nodded, glanced at the young witcher Ailin and Huus, then stared at Vesemir and said:

"Have you encountered any elves or any other suspicious people along your journey?"

Vesemir shook his head and said nothing.

"If you encounter any suspicious people wearing hoods, you can notify us through the mayor." The middle-aged knight paused, then emphasized with an air of importance, "There is a bounty."

Vesemir gently stroked the Black Wide-brimmed Hat that lay to one side with his right hand, and looked up to say:

"The School of the Wolf adheres to neutrality; we only accept commissions to hunt monsters."

The knight fell silent upon hearing this, his face expressionless as he lowered his head to meet the gaze of the dark golden Cat Eyes.

As the witcher and the knight stared at each other for a longer time, the atmosphere in the inn began to grow heavy.

The two King's Guard exchanged a glance, then quietly placed their right hands on the counterweights at the ends of their longswords, their expressions revealing a hint of eagerness.

It's clear they really want to test for themselves just how powerful the legendary Witcher truly is.

The guests who were eating noticed something was wrong, so they quietly placed the copper coins on the table and fled the inn without finishing their food.

A moment later,

Apart from the innkeeper, the only people on the first floor were the witchers and knights.

Huus, who was engrossed in drinking his soup, only then realized something was wrong and quickly put down the black bread in his hand.

Ailin had already put his right hand under the table, ready to cast a Quen Shield on himself at any time.

He had to be careful.

After all, some of the nobles in the Witcher world have rather peculiar thought processes due to inbreeding.

For the King's Guard, family background was more important than swordsmanship.

In other words, these three people in front of us are very likely to be sons of noble families who can "get away with murder."

They really dare to take action.

"Serio Knight..." The innkeeper cautiously approached, probably trying to smooth things over.

"Hmph~"

The middle-aged knight snorted coldly upon hearing this.

He glanced at the innkeeper, and seeing that all the other guests had left because of their standoff, he turned back to Vesemir and said threateningly:

"Neutral witchers, behave yourselves and don't get into trouble!"

He then left with two subordinates who looked disappointed.

As the middle-aged knight turned to leave, Ailin gave him an appraisal.

[Name: Serio]

[Attributes: Strength 35, Agility 34, Constitution 18, Perception 10, Mysticism 7]

So tall?

He was stunned as he stared at the panel in front of him, which showed the middle-aged knight disappearing into the distance.

His own strength and agility were only 32 and 31, respectively.

Witchers rely on potions to modify and mutate, so what does this knight named Serio rely on to increase his strength?

However, Ailin thought about it again.

In the original story, there was also a bounty hunter named Leo Bonnet who was hunting down Ciri.

He once single-handedly hunted down three Witchers and wore the three Witcher badges of the Wolf, Cat, and School of the Griffin on his chest. He even wanted to hunt the famous White Wolf.

It doesn't seem so strange that a human with attributes surpassing those of a Witcher would appear.

Perhaps it's because the world of Witcher is filled with magic?

Or perhaps it was a blessing from some deity?

After thinking about it for a while, Ailin put these conjectures out of his mind.

These profound questions are temporarily irrelevant to him.

The most crucial point is that this knight named Serio is only the captain of the King's Guard.

How many knights in the entire King's Guard are of similar strength to him?

How many such knights did King Kedwen have under his command?

"I'm sorry... um... I can make up for whatever the store lost." Vesemir's words interrupted Ailin's thoughts.

"Just call me Bob," the innkeeper sighed, looking at the empty inn, and shook his head magnanimously. "No need to replace them. The tables and chairs are all there, and no one is hurt. It's just a few fewer people eating; it's not a big loss."

"You guys, on the other hand, need to be careful these next few days."

Vesemir nodded slightly and said, "Thank you, we will be careful."

A sudden idea struck Ailin, and he asked curiously, "Do these knights come here often?"

Bob, clearing away the other guests' plates, glanced at him and nodded:

"Around the winter solstice, these knights were scattered in the towns near Ban Ade, searching for the elves."

"It seems like a few were caught last month, but even after they were caught, these knights have not left."

"Now they come to ask every two or three days."

"It seems the King's Guard hasn't found their target yet!" Ailin thought to himself.

But is the elf that the King's Guard are looking for related to the human couple that the Red-haired Elf asked them to escort?

Vesemir, unaware of Ailin's thoughts, glanced at the stew on the plate and looked up to ask:

"By the way, Bob, do you know Viscount Hudson?"

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