Departure

The next morning.

The entire Gors Velen had already awakened.

No matter what happened yesterday, the work that needs to be done still needs to be done today, and the money that needs to be earned still needs to be earned today.

The commodity trading market was destroyed.

The merchants and their associates simply started shouting their deals right there on the dock, which made the entire Gors Velen even more lively.

In this world, it seems that nothing is indispensable.

"Mom, where's Dad?"

The girl's voice startled Fura Dully, who was staring intently at the ice cluster.

Looking down at her daughter's round face, which bore a six or seven-point resemblance to her husband's, she realized...

She was silent for a few seconds, then touched her daughter's head, managed a weak smile, and said:

"Little Aisha, this place has been so badly damaged. Daddy has gone back to Vizima to report for duty. He will be back in a few months."

Upon hearing this, the girl immediately lowered her head, looking somewhat unhappy.

Seeing this, Fula Duli sighed, but since her daughter wasn't crying, she didn't say anything more.

She looked up and continued watching the ice clusters slowly melt, then took a deep breath.

The cold air was biting and bone-chilling.

Yet it seemed to be filled with her husband's scent, his last lingering fragrance in this world.

actually...

Fula Dully knew in her heart that this was not the scent of her beloved.

With the help of the witcher and the dwarf, her husband was dug out of the ice cluster yesterday.

To prevent itself from becoming a demon, it was reduced to ashes by the scorching flames.

But she always felt that as long as the ice hadn't completely melted, his soul would still be frozen inside.

"What a tragedy!"

John Kramer, the Blackbeard dwarf, stood behind the bar.

He watched this scene, and even though he prided himself on having a heart as hard as steel, he couldn't bear to watch it.

The students at Beefburger are enjoying their breakfast, dipping white bread into tomato stew.

"Bang!"

A large glass of beer was smashed in front of Ernesto, splashing beer all over his face.

Caught off guard by this sudden attack, he immediately looked up at the dwarf with a bewildered expression.

"This is for you!" Blackbeard said angrily. "Finish it quickly so you can go to Nilfgaard and find that Grandmaster of the Serpent School!"

Ernesto followed the dwarf's gaze to the doorway and sighed.

Why are you taking your anger out on me for what the Wild Hunt did?

But if it's free, why not drink it?

"It's not the Serpent School," Ernesto raised his beer, took a sip, and corrected, "I'm going to visit Iva the Evil Eye, the Grandmaster of the School of the Viper ..."

"Anyway, hurry up and go." Blackbeard waved his hand impatiently.

Ernesto sighed, wiped the soup in the bowl clean with the last piece of bread, and put it in his mouth.

Immediately afterwards, a letter was handed over.

"This is a letter for Grandmaster Iva the Evil Eye. Take a look and see if there's anything you'd like to add," Vesemir said, arms crossed.

The food in front of the two witchers had long been devoured, and even Mary, who ate very little, had finished her breakfast.

"Splash!"

Ernesto unfolded the letter and read it carefully.

The letter was divided into two parts.

Part of it was to prove Ernesto's identity and purpose.

The other part describes the events leading up to and following the appearance of the Wild Hunt yesterday, and invites the School of the Viper to join the hunt for the Wild Hunt.

Finally, there is the date and Vesemir's signature.

"I didn't expect Vesemir's cursive handwriting to be so good..." Ernesto exclaimed in admiration.

Vesemir's lips curled up slightly.

That really touched his heart.

He was one of the few witchers in the School of the Wolf who enjoyed reading.

Moreover, apart from the chief, none of the Witchers in the School of the Wolf have better handwriting than him.

"The content is fine," Ernesto nodded, pointing his index finger to the last signature, "But..."

"If possible, it would be best if Master Ailin also signed his name below."

"Sign it down below too?" Ailin was taken aback.

"Indeed, two masters are more respected than one master."

The dwarf, with his simple values, agreed with Ernesto's idea, then gave Vesemir a malicious look and said sarcastically:

"The youngest Witcher Master in the past certainly couldn't compare to the youngest Witcher Master now, could he?"

Vesemir rolled his eyes, ignored him, patted Ailin on the shoulder, and handed him the paper and Ailin.

Ailin shrugged and signed his name at the bottom of the recommendation letter without comment.

"Alright," the Blackbeard dwarf slammed his hand on the table, "Now that we've finished eating and packed our things, let's get going."

Feeling completely stuffed, Ernesto picked up his satchel, stood up, and sighed.

"This is the first time I've ever encountered a hotel owner kicking someone out..."

The Blackbeard dwarf glared, his thick eyebrows raised, his large, dark eyes fixed on the occult professor at Cowburg:

"What's wrong? You're just eating for free, and you have a problem with that?"

"Hahaha, I wouldn't dare!" Ernesto laughed heartily.

In fact, Blackbeard also waived the costs of accommodation and meals for Ernesto, Ailin, Vesemir, and Mary.

The reason given was that with such a huge mess, no customers would come to the tavern anyway.

In reality, many travelers have come, but Blackbeard turned them away because the tables and chairs in the shop hadn't been set up yet.

After a few more laughs and jokes, the group decided to leave.

Ernesto, Ailin, Vesemir, Mary were on the same ship.

However, the witcher and Sorceress will disembark at Bayrie Most.

Ernesto continued sailing with the ship until he reached the free city of Novigrad, then found a sea vessel to sail to Nilfgaard via maritime trade routes.

Vesemir and Ernesto chatted as they walked out of the tavern, and as they passed Fula Dully, they both instinctively stopped talking at the same time.

"Mr. Ernesto, I'm counting on you for everything."

Fula Dully seemed to hear footsteps, turned around and bowed deeply to the professor of mysticism at Cowburg.

Ernesto quickly stepped aside and said seriously:

"Don't worry, I will do my best to bring over the School of the Viper of Witchers."

Fula Dully glanced gratefully at Ernesto and nodded.

Then he bowed again in the direction of Ailin, repeatedly saying:

"Thank you, thank you..."

Then tears started flowing.

Then the little girl also started crying loudly.

Vesemir sighed, patted Fura Dully on the shoulder, and earnestly advised her:

"We will find a way to avenge the dead, although it will take time..."

"But the living are even more important..."

"Live well, live life to the fullest..."

Vesemir glanced at the ice clusters:

"I think that's his biggest wish, isn't it?"

Fula Dully covered her face with her hands, sobbing uncontrollably, and kept bowing.

Large tears seeped from between his fingers, were covered by the dust on the ground, and rolled towards the ice cluster.

Vesemir shook his head and sighed.

This time, however, he didn't say anything more. After nodding to Ailin, he led Yennefer and Royce across the stable and followed Ernesto toward the dock.

Mary was the last to pass by Fra Dully, glancing at her while biting her lip.

Then, without saying anything, he left in a hurry.

port.

Ernesto led Ailin and his party to a magnificent, large merchant ship.

A thin, middle-aged man dressed in a dark red finery was standing in front of the merchant ship, directing the dockworkers to move the cargo boxes onto the ship.

Before they could get close...

The middle-aged man seemed to have noticed the group. He waved to a man who looked like a servant, instructing him to arrange the dockworkers' tasks, and then walked over with a loud laugh.

"Ernesto, this must be the Master Vesemir you were talking about, right?"

Ernesto smiled and nodded, introducing them to each other:

"Master Vesemir, Master Ailin, Lady Margarita ..."

"This is Radu Kuhn, the eldest son of the House Kuhn. The House Kuhn is one of the founding families of Free City of Novigrad, with a long history..."

The middle-aged man, Raju Kuhn, waved his hand, interrupting:

"You flatter me, you flatter me..."

"Liberty City has only been established for a little over thirty years, which is hardly a long history compared to the Witcher Master..."

Ernesto shook his head helplessly and said:

"Don't listen to his nonsense..."

"The House Kuhn was already renowned in Riedania and Temeria before Novigrad became a Free City."

"During the Seven Years' War, they were able to sell goods to the courts of two opposing countries simultaneously..."

"The strength of the House Kuhn should not be underestimated."

The middle-aged man shook his head, seemingly helpless, and did not refute further.

However, the slight upturn of his lips proved that he was quite pleased with Ernesto's boasting about his family.

Ailin noticed this at that moment as well.

Although Radu Kuhn was modest, he did not deny the House Kuhn's reputation as the founding family of the Free City.

"Mr. Radu," Ernesto continued, introducing him:

"This is Master Vesemir, whom I told you about before. I'm sure you've heard of him before, so I won't go into too much detail."

Radu Kuhn smiled gently, nodded slightly, and bowed to Vesemir.

"Although I am far away in Novigrad, I have long admired Master Vesemir."

"The youngest Witcher Master in a century, the number of monsters he has killed could pile up into a mountain..."

"Hahaha," Ernesto took a step to Ailin's side and laughed loudly:

"It's rare to find that your news is outdated..."

"This is the youngest Witcher Master in the world today, and probably the youngest Witcher Master in history..."

"Master Ailin of the School of the Wolf, although he only passed the Witcher Trial this year, has already killed six large monsters, two of which he even killed independently..."

Is he already Witcher Master at such a young age?

Radu Kuhn looked at Ailin's youthful face, which was clearly not even sixteen years old, and couldn't hide the surprise on his face.

In this era, the various schools of witchers each had their own hunting grounds.

Novigrad is located on the border between Riedania and Temeria, and theoretically, it is the territory of the School of the Griffin.

certainly.

This division is an unspoken rule to avoid sectarian disputes and infighting among Witchers.

However, generally speaking...

Ordinary witchers have a tradition of returning to the school's headquarters every year to spend the harsh winter, and their hunting range is actually fixed.

Therefore, although Radu Kuhn knew many witchers of the School of the Griffin, he did not know much about the School of the Wolf.

All that is known is that they are the largest school of witchers in the world today.

So looking at Ailin's youthful face, one might have thought for a moment that the standards for Witcher Master from the School of the Wolf were lower than those from the School of the Griffin.

after all.

The youngest Witcher Master of the School of the Griffin is already in his seventies or eighties.

But when he heard the second half of the sentence, "killed six large monsters" and "killed them independently," he could only marvel.

"Master Ailin is truly a promising young man!"

"Mr. Radu, I haven't finished introducing myself yet!" Ernesto smiled.

Radu Kuhn paused for a moment.

"The news I told you last night about the war between Kedwen and Ard actually came from Master Ailin..."

"He killed a Greater Griffin that was causing havoc in Vengerberg for Ard, and that's how he learned of this from the nobles of Ard as payment..."

Upon hearing this, Ailin blinked instinctively.

There's nothing inherently wrong with what Ernesto said.

But there's a hidden implication that this is a move to step on Vesemir and push Ailin into power.

He wasn't the only one who killed that Greater Griffin; Vesemir and Mary were also involved.

Moreover, although the hunting of the Greater Griffin was related to learning about the war, what actually played a role was Mary's identity and Lady Vesemir's potion.

Ernesto ignored all of this.

But last night, during our conversation, the whole story was explained in detail at the dinner table.

Ernesto couldn't possibly not know.

so...

Ailin looked at Vesemir.

at this time.

Vesemir was also looking at him, his lips moving slightly as he spoke in a voice barely audible to an ordinary person:

"Don't argue!"

A warm feeling rose in Ailin's heart, knowing that Vesemir was paving the way for him again.

Unlike ordinary Witcher Master, master witchers are usually commissioned by large clients in advance, and are therefore not bound by the unspoken rules of regional divisions.

certainly.

On the other hand, they are also affected by their interpersonal relationships and personal reputation.

In this era, without someone to help promote you, no matter how powerful you are, no one will know about you or entrust you with projects.

The wealthy Queen family, the founders of Riedania...

Without a doubt, they are a genuine major client.

After hearing Ernesto's introduction, Radu Kuhn's eyes lit up.

"Greater Griffin!!!" He stepped forward and grasped Ailin's hands:

"Amazing, amazing!"

"Master Ailin is a benefactor of our Kuhn Merchant Guild. If it weren't for your information, this trip to Ard would have been dangerous, or at least resulted in heavy losses..."

"The Cohen Chamber of Commerce always repays kindness..."

"Once aboard, please allow me to offer you two drinks. There will be further rewards after the banquet..."

Ailin skillfully dealt with the situation, showing none of the awkwardness one would expect from someone his age when it came to social interactions.

This surprised Radu Kuhn even more.

He then exchanged words with the young Witcher Master for quite a while.

Radu Kuhn only reluctantly let go of Ernesto's hand after he coughed lightly and gestured to the last girl, who was also very young.

Ernesto's introduction of Mary was very simple:

"This is Lady Margarita, the sorceress, and an apprentice of Lady Vera, the Crimson Fox..."

Before he could finish speaking...

Radu Kuhn immediately burst into even greater enthusiasm.

However, Vesemir and Ernesto are not worried that it will affect the future cooperation between Ailin and Radu Kuhn.

after all.

Ailin and Mary have different roles.

After the meaningful but tedious social gathering, Radu Kuhn personally boarded the ship and arranged for the six men to stay in one of the best cabins on board.

Then.

Ernesto pulled Vesemir away with Radu Kuhn, seemingly to discuss something.

Ailin and Mary were left in the cabin.

Inside the passenger cabin.

Yennefer and Royce counted on their fingers together.

Out of boredom, Ailin and Mary chatted about potion-making techniques and the future development of the Monster Hunting Legion.

However, not long after.

Ailin suddenly noticed that Mary seemed distracted, quite unlike her usual self, so she asked:

"What's wrong, Mary?"

Are you feeling unwell?