The Girl He Had Seen Before
We set off on horseback from Bayeri Most.
Before noon, towering, verdant mountains appeared before the group.
That is the foothills of the Mahakam Mountains, and also the most suitable part for human habitation.
Arland was built at the foot of the mountain.
This is a city that is no less impressive than Ben Ade and Vengerberg.
No.
Although the city is smaller and has a smaller population than the previous two cities, Arland is stronger than other human cities in almost every other respect.
For example, smell.
Even though the group had just entered the city and were still in what was generally considered a slum, the lower city.
The air was not filled with a stench.
Instead, it has a faint fragrance of flowers and herbs.
Both sides of the street.
Whether it's a shop or a house, it doesn't matter whether it looks poor or expensive.
Colorful flowers are planted at the doorway and on the windowsill.
Only wealthy families would place more expensive flowers on their doorsteps and windowsills, mainly light pink carnations.
In the poorer areas, wildflowers are the most common, with occasional pink carnations mixed in.
Regardless of the type of flower, you can see the owner's care and attention.
As you walk through the city gate, countless flowers adorn the landscape, making the entire Arland resemble a magnificent flower city.
"I like this place."
Leading her horse along the clean and tidy street, Mary took a deep breath, feeling happy.
"Everyone Arland!"
Vesemir seemed to be in a good mood as well. After responding to Mary while pulling on the reins, he looked at the young witcher, who also looked quite content. "Don't you think so, Master Ailin?"
Ailin, who didn't need to constantly dodge filthy excrement, naturally had no objection to this.
and.
It's not just about the smell and the clean, beautiful streets.
The mental outlook of the poor in the lower city of Arland is different from that of other cities.
From children to the elderly, almost every woman wears flowers in her hair.
Although they were wearing cheap gray linen, they looked very clean.
Energetic, gentle, confident...
It is completely different from other cities that are dirty, chaotic, and indifferent.
in addition.
He also noticed it.
When the common people of Arland saw them, they showed not a trace of disgust or aversion.
On the contrary, many elderly people stopped what they were doing as they passed by, put their right hand on their chest, and pulled the children next to them to greet them.
Of course, I didn't go up and disturb them.
He simply smiled and looked at them with grateful eyes, especially at Vesemir, who was in the lead.
"I really like this city too!" Ailin smiled and nodded.
"Hahaha~" Vesemir laughed heartily a few times, "Arland certainly deserves to be liked."
"And you're lucky, we arrived at just the right time."
"April is the time when carnations, the Goddess Meritellie, bloom, and it is also the most beautiful month of the year in Arland..."
"And..."
"The May Festival is just a few days away..."
"May Festival!" Mary's eyes lit up immediately.
She excitedly tugged at Ailin's sleeve, smacking her lips as she spoke:
"Wow!"
"Ailin! Ailin!"
"It's May Festival, the May Festival of Arland!"
"The May Festival here is the most famous in the north. It is said that the Goddess Meritellie will appear on that day to bestow blessings..."
"I've wanted to come for a long time, but Lady Vesemir has always told me not to come out alone..."
Sensing the faint scent of oranges, Ailin, whose sleeve was being tugged, smiled helplessly:
"I know... I know... we'll stay with you until after the May Festival before we leave."
"Mmm!" Mary nodded vigorously, her big, blinking eyes seeming to speak volumes.
But suddenly she seemed to have thought of something.
Her cheeks flushed, and in an instant she loosened her grip on the young witcher's sleeve.
Ailin was wondering about Mary's actions when he suddenly noticed Vesemir's teasing smile and then it dawned on him...
May Festival is also known as May Night...
The entire celebration took place from the night of April 30th to the morning of May 1st.
People burn fir tree trunks to make bonfires, and dance sacrificial dances around the fires, praying to the gods for a bountiful harvest and the prosperity of their descendants.
certainly.
Praying to the gods for a bountiful harvest is something for middle-aged and elderly people.
The responsibility for procreation naturally falls on the younger generation.
On this day, witnessed by flames and the gods, they will express their love to their beloved and pray for happiness...
In a rather unrestrained manner...
Recalling the description of May Festival in the original work, Ailin's body stiffened imperceptibly.
He glared at the frivolous old man Vesemir, then casually chatted with Mary as if nothing was amiss, and continued walking forward with his horse.
Mary was clearly thinking about the May Festival celebrations.
Her fair cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, and she answered Ailin's questions in a low voice.
If Ailin hadn't been a witcher, he almost wouldn't have heard Mary's voice.
The Witcher Master was glared at by Ailin without any regard for his manners, but he didn't seem to care.
He watched with great interest as the two little figures chatted awkwardly, the corners of his mouth curving into an increasingly wider smile.
A gentle, warm breeze carries the fragrance of flowers, and children are playing and laughing on the street.
Vesemir took a deep breath of the intoxicatingly subtle fragrance and murmured:
"It's so good to be young!"
The faith in the goddess Meritellie is one of the oldest and most widespread faiths at the time.
Its origins can be traced back to ancient times, before human civilization.
Almost every race that existed before humans, as well as primitive human peoples who lived a nomadic life, worshipped such goddesses.
This originates from humanity's primitive beliefs about childbirth, love, farming, the hearth in the home, and pregnant women, and this belief has been transformed into various female figures.
They rule over birth and reproduction, care for farmers and gardeners, and bless lovers and couples.
These different beliefs gradually converged and blended together, until finally all these deities became one, becoming the mother of all people: Meritellie.
Therefore, for northerners, as long as there are young girls, wives, and mothers in this world, the Goddess Meritellie will never lose her faith.
therefore.
Even though Arland is a city built on a hillside, its roads are already sloping.
Even though the Temple of Melitele is located in the quiet back mountains far from the city center of Arland, there are still quite a few pedestrians coming and going.
Young girls come to pray for marriage, women come to pray for fertility, and old women come to pray for health...
Ailin even saw a pregnant woman, at least six or seven months along, arrive in a covered wagon with a hay tarp.
The devotion struck Ailin as somewhat absurd.
"Aren't they afraid..."
Pulling on the reins to stand shoulder to shoulder with Vesemir, Ailin couldn't help but secretly point to his stomach and ask curiously.
"Watch your words!" The Witcher Master saw Ailin's posture and quickly gestured for him to lower his hands.
He cautiously looked up at the Empress Dowager before whispering:
"This road is said to have been blessed by a goddess..."
Upon hearing this, Ailin looked down and carefully examined the unremarkable mountain path, then switched to Wolf Emblem's perspective.
Aside from a slight increase in the number of blue Water Element light spots, there was nothing else unusual in the field of vision.
"Are you sure?" Ailin asked again in a low voice.
Vesemir knew that the Witcher's Eye seemed to be able to see Chaos Magic, and seeing Ailin's expression, he knew that Erin must have used his ability to see it.
Even so, he nodded seriously with a solemn face:
"I'm absolutely sure!"
"Why?" Ailin asked in surprise.
Vesemir gazed at the ancient and solemn buildings nestled among the trees ahead and said:
"The temple of the Goddess Meritellie has been built for hundreds of years, and there has never been a pregnant woman who had a miscarriage while walking on this road."
The Witcher Master gazed into those blue eyes and solemnly emphasized:
"Not a single one!"
Ailin's expression immediately turned solemn.
At this moment.
Several pregnant women passed by him.
The young witcher thought for a moment, then looked at the seemingly ordinary ground paved with gravel.
A sense of awe arises spontaneously.
After glancing at Vesemir, Ailin said nothing more and rode straight toward the temple.
As they rode closer to the temple gate, everyone who was riding a horse or in a carriage dismounted.
Ailin, Vesemir, Mary, and the two little ones also dismounted, following local custom.
However, the next second, they discovered that after the girl, the pregnant woman, and the old woman entered the temple gate...
She felt awkward when her husband, coachman, and sword-wielding attendant either waited at the door or turned to leave.
"Master Vesemir, are you sure we can go straight in without being kicked out?"
Ailin turned his head to look at Vesemir.
The Temple of Melitele felt to him like a women's bathroom or changing room from a past life.
The door was right there, and no one was stopping it.
But going in would be a death sentence, and you might even be arrested as a pervert.
Even knowing that Geralt once healed his wounds here in the original story, who knows if it was possible to enter a hundred years ago?
Or do I need to find someone I know before I can go in?
Vesemir looked at the unguarded temple entrance and scratched his head:
"This... I don't know either..."
Sensing Ailin's surprised gaze, Vesemir awkwardly adjusted his Black Wide-brimmed Hat and explained:
"I do come to Arland often, but the Goddess Meritellie is the deity of all women, and the temple is so far away from the city of Arland?"
"I would never come here for no reason!"
"Didn't Master Vesemir accept a commission from the goddess's priest?" Mary asked curiously from the side.
"I have accepted..." Vesemir nodded, "But only in Arland or the surrounding villages. No monster dares to invade the vicinity of the temple..."
Just as Vesemir and Ailin were discussing whether they should ask someone about the temple's rules...
"Ailin... here..."
A clear, cold female voice suddenly echoed in the young witcher's mind.
I subconsciously looked to my left.
A woman stood at the temple entrance, smiling at him beside the marble triad of the Goddess Meritellie: "Young Girl," "Pregnant Woman," and "Old Woman."
She wore a simple gray dress and her hair was wrapped in gray linen, but this did not diminish her elegant beauty.
Instead, it added a touch of holiness, like a priest in a temple.
Two other women, dressed the same as Vesemir, were standing next to her.
"Lady Vesemir!"
"Tutor!"
Vesemir and Mary followed Ailin's gaze and exclaimed in surprise.
Vesemir nodded to Vesemir and Mary, then looked at Ailin and asked curiously:
"Since you're here, why aren't you coming in?"
After exchanging glances, Vesemir and Ailin subconsciously looked at the coachman and guards waiting at the door.
Seeing this, the older woman next to Vesemir smiled kindly:
"Mrs. Meritellie is the Mother of All Things, not just a woman's mother and a goddess..."
"Don't wait outside, come in, children!"
The woman didn't look very old, probably only in her early twenties.
But the words "children" came out of her mouth with a special kind of infectiousness, and didn't sound out of place at all.
After exchanging a glance, Vesemir and Ailin tacitly led their horses into the temple.
After passing the statue of the goddess, Vesemir naturally walked to Ailin's side.
After scrutinizing him for a few moments, as if observing his changes:
"You've grown taller again..."
She said softly.
Vesemir's voice was very soft.
If they weren't so close, and if Ailin's perception hadn't reached level forty-seven, he definitely wouldn't have been able to hear it.
However, what puzzled him was that the Sorceress's tone seemed to contain both relief and sadness.
However, before Ailin could ask, Vesemir took the initiative to introduce the person leading the way.
"This is Lady Nannick, the priestess of the Goddess Meritellie. She will arrange everything for you in the temple..."
"If you encounter any difficulties in the temple these next few days, you can ask her for advice..."
The woman who had spoken earlier turned around and smiled at Ailin.
"I'll be troubling you for the next few days Lady Nannick..."
Ailin nodded politely, but inwardly he was in turmoil.
Nannick...
In the original story, this young woman will become the future High Priest of the Goddess Meritellie, a temple master whose influence and power in Arland far surpass that of the prince.
No...
That's not all.
In the Northern Continent, the future Nannick's status and influence in some aspects even surpassed that of the land's master—King Foltest of Temeria.
It is worth mentioning.
In the original story, Geralt sought healing from Nannick several times.
Nannick also said that she watched Geralt grow up.
Perhaps in the near future, Ailin will have the opportunity to obtain an SSR card from her?
"As for the other person, you know Ailin..."
A cool female voice interrupted Ailin's wandering thoughts.
"I know him?"
Ailin glanced curiously at the woman... or rather, the girl, beside Nannick...
"Lyra!"
After carefully observing the girl's expression, Ailin exclaimed in surprise when she turned around and smiled.
"Who is Lyra?" Mary's wary voice came from the side.
"Huh?" Ailin looked at Mary in confusion. "Don't you know her? She is..."
The young witcher was about to reveal the girl's identity.
Suddenly remembering that Lyra's identity was somewhat sensitive and that there were other people present, he quickly fabricated a story:
"She... she's the girl we rescued on the road..."
I could feel Mary's gaze growing increasingly intense.
Ailin's gaze shifted to Vesemir, who was watching the scene unfold, and he blurted out:
"You agree, Master Vesemir?"
Vesemir: "Hmm?"