The Soft Rice He Had No Choice but to Eat

A family?

The Witcher was taken aback.

It seems a bit far-fetched that Ianna is Vesemir's adopted daughter, while he only studied alchemy with the Sorceress for a few days.

However, after glancing at Ianna's somewhat meaningful look, he did not deny it.

In any case, being treated like family by a High Priest of a righteous religion is never a bad thing...

Of course, he didn't shamelessly agree; he just nodded vaguely, thanked him, and then skipped over that part.

It was already dark.

Ianna and Ailin exchanged only a few words before heading into the temple.

"Come on, my good child, fill your belly first, and then I'll take you to find Vesemir and Vesemir..."

The daily routine in the Witcher world is different from that of my previous life. Although it was only early in the night, there were already few people moving around in the temple.

Or rather, there are only fixed places where people come and go.

For example, a place specifically used for childbirth.

After all, life doesn't choose when to be born.

Under the crackling light of the torches by the roadside, a few priests who were hurrying along were also heading towards that place. When they saw Ianna, they simply nodded and left.

However, although there were few pedestrians, it was not as quiet as the nights in other places.

At least with the keen senses of a witcher, one could hear anxious cries and vibrant weeping from time to time.

It gives one a strange sense of peace and comfort.

When I arrived at the cafeteria, it was well past lunchtime, and there was no one inside.

However, the witchers who came with the temple High Priest certainly wouldn't go hungry.

He watched as Ianna fiddled around in the inner room, heating up a small pot of milk and frying a few eggs.

Then, out of nowhere, they pulled out a basket of bread.

While Ianna was busy, the Witcher naturally felt bad about taking a break, but he was refused several times when he tried to help.

Watching Ianna skillfully fry eggs and heat milk, and recalling the earlier mention of "family," the Witcher inexplicably had the illusion that they really were relatives.

After regaining my senses, I could only sigh in my heart that the priestess of the Goddess Meritellie truly lived up to her reputation; her affability was truly remarkable.

Ianna brought the lightly salted, oily fried eggs and warmed milk to the table and said:

"We got back too late, so we could only get something simple to fill our stomachs."

"It's already very good." The Witcher gently put down the basket of bread he was carrying and shook his head.

That's true.

It contains salt, oil, eggs, milk, and bread.

Although the food wasn't lavish, it was considered a luxury in this world of scarcity.

Especially after drinking a big bowl of steaming hot milk, the warm heat emanating from the stomach seems to drive away the fatigue of the day.

At least on their journeys without Mary by their side, Ailin and Vesemir mostly made do with dry rations.

Upon hearing the Witcher's words, Ianna, for some reason, looked at Ailin's Cat Eyes and suddenly sighed, gently ruffling his hair.

There was a complex look in his eyes that even a witcher couldn't decipher.

After leaving the canteen, the Witcher first followed Ianna to find Vesemir.

Speaking of which, he hadn't seen the Sorceress and Mary for three or four days since the day the Sorceress suddenly took out a large pile of materials and left for some unknown reason.

Vesemir had come over yesterday with Lyra was delivering meals.

For the past few days, he has been searching through the temple's collection of books about the Wild Hunt with Nannick and Lyra.

However, due to the sheer volume of the work, and the fact that Nannick and Lyra were priests with temple affairs to attend to, they were also concerned with other matters.

So far, the group has only selected books that might contain relevant content and hasn't officially started reading them yet.

"What has Lady Vesemir been doing these past few days?" The Witcher asked Ianna curiously as he walked along the secluded gravel path.

Ianna thought for a few seconds and said:

"When I saw her yesterday, it seemed like she was giving a lesson to Margarita and Yennefer..."

Vesemir is giving Mary and the Little Monster a lesson?

Wasn't it Mary who was teaching the Little Monster a lesson?

Ailin found it strange.

In Kaer Morhen, every time he went to the Alchemy Room.

Mary was either slumped over the table, unconscious, or toiling away concocting potions; she rarely existed in a third state.

The scene of Lady Vesemir teaching Mary like a normal tutor never occurred.

However, seeing that Ianna had been thinking for a long time, it was clear that she was also unclear about the situation, so the Witcher did not ask any further questions.

"... One must be especially careful when introducing Fire Magic Power, not only because Fire Element is the most volatile and difficult to control of the four basic elements that constitute Chaos Magic..."

"... Furthermore, any fire spell, during the process of absorbing mana, will cause pain far exceeding that of other types of mana due to the seepage of mana..."

"This can easily cause inexperienced spellcasters to lose control of their magic, leading to self-immolation."

"This is also why Aretuza only teaches one harmless light spell as an introductory fire magic, and forbids the use of this type of magic in the academy..."

Even from a great distance, the Witcher caught Vesemir's voice.

The Sorceress seemed to be giving a real lesson, and she was teaching the most dangerous fire spells.

This is not a lesson that Little Monster can learn.

As they got closer, Ailin immediately felt the temperature rise significantly, as if he were near a furnace.

After Vesemir's voice stopped, Mary's chanting of a spell came through.

"@#%..."

After the Witcher and Ianna turned a corner.

A burst of intense light illuminated the night.

Immediately following.

"Call--"

The ball of light landed on the ground and instantly expanded into a burning sea of fire, roughly two meters in length and width.

Streams of heat distorted the air, making Ailin, who was at least a hundred meters away, feel as if he were at the height of a summer noon.

Its power is astonishing.

However, the Witcher saw Mary, who had finished casting the spell, by the light of the sea of fire. Her face was so pale that she looked sickly.

He had his brows furrowed, his lips pursed, and his forehead covered in sweat.

It looks extremely painful.

After nearly half a minute, he groaned twice and caught his breath.

Vesemir looked at Mary and shook her head in dissatisfaction:

"You need to get used to this feeling, get used to the pain of flames burning your blood vessels, otherwise you'll never be able to use Flash Fire freely, let alone other more powerful spells..."

"With your level of magic power, fire magic is the fastest way to improve your combat abilities, bar none..."

"I understand, mentor." Mary took another breath, wiped her sweat, and seemed to be preparing to try again.

At this moment.

The howling of the fire gradually subsided, and both Sorceress heard the humming of the Witcher School Emblem.

"Ailin, what brings you here?" Vesemir asked in surprise. "Are you short of any materials?"

The Witcher was taken aback by this.

Is the only reason he came here that he lacks materials?

Seeing Vesemir raise her hand as if to snap her fingers, the Witcher quickly shook his head and stopped her:

"It's not that we lack materials, it's not that we lack materials, it's just that there's something I'd like to ask you..."

Then he told Vesemir everything that had happened that day.

"Two hundred thousand Oren is indeed too little..." the Sorceress nodded. "Given the value of Necrophage Oil, anything less than a million would be considered cheap."

"But..."

Are you really planning to sell the formula?

Ailin's heart stirred upon hearing this.

He had been thinking about this question the whole way from when the Old Duke made the offer to when he returned.

He is not short of money.

The School of the Wolf is not lacking for the time being.

Therefore, he naturally didn't want to sell formulas like Necrophage Oil, which could bring him a continuous stream of profits.

But there is a problem.

The School of the Wolf of Witchers numbered less than a hundred. They held onto the formulas, and even selling potions wouldn't earn them much money.

They might not be able to fulfill the orders placed by the Old Duke, and instead offend the big spender.

Besides, they are witchers, not alchemists. They wouldn't spend their time making potions instead of hunting witches for such a small amount of money.

This would mean that the Necrophage Oil would not only fail to strengthen the school, but would actually weaken it significantly.

Hiring civilians is even more impossible.

Let's not discuss the issue of leaking secrets.

In this Witcher world where even nobles are illiterate, training commoners to process Sword Oil is extremely costly and takes a very long time.

As for cooperating with the Old Duke...

If only the recipe is yours, and the location and people are provided by nobles, and you're still thinking of partnering and splitting the profits like you did with a company in my previous life...

That only shows that they underestimated the appetite of these nobles.

So after a short period of thought, the Witcher was unable to come up with a suitable method.

"Lady Vesemir, do you think it would be better to keep the formula?"

Ailin asked a tentative question, and then voiced all her concerns.

Before Vesemir could speak, Mary exclaimed in surprise.

"Ailin, why would you want to sell the formula?"

"Doesn't the mentor have several alchemy workshops?"

"The potions used by Aretuza's students are mostly produced in this workshop."

Several alchemy workshops?

They are also the designated partner of Aretuza, the only sorceress school for girls in the Northern Continent.

The Witcher looked at Vesemir in surprise.

He knew the Sorceress was wealthy, but he never imagined she was this rich.

and...

The Witcher recalled for a moment.

No wonder that in Kaer Morhen, the Sorceress could teleport out any materials she wanted with a snap of her fingers.

A few days ago, with just a snap of my fingers, I summoned a whole bunch of Magic Material in the icon room...

That's true...

How could a potion seller be short of magical ingredients?

The Sorceress nodded and said:

"If you trust me, I can arrange for some people to produce potions..."

Seeing that Ailin looked a little confused, he paused and explained:

"I thought you didn't want the potions you created to be passed on, and only wanted the witchers of the School of the Wolf to learn them, so I didn't mention it..."

"If you want to outsource production to us, I can... um... only charge one percent as a commission..."

One percent...

Isn't this just working for him for nothing?

The Witcher felt a bit confused.

"Then the Old Duke ..." Ailin asked.

"I'll arrange for someone to discuss the price and quantity of the purchase with him; they're all experienced businessmen..."

This moment.

The Witcher has discovered a serious problem.

It seems like he was thinking all that for nothing.

The only thing he did from beginning to end was to cling tightly to Lady Vesemir's leg...

That's enough.

But...

Why was the Sorceress so kind to him?

Having spent so much time together, it's hard for the Witcher to doubt whether Vesemir has ulterior motives or harbors malicious intent.

But such selfless dedication.

It seems that, simply by referring to what she herself calls "investment," or Ailin's own view of the Sorceress's inability to bear children and her overflowing maternal love, it is possible to understand her situation.

All of these are somewhat difficult to explain.

"Why are you so nice to me?" Ailin asked after a second of hesitation.

The Sorceress paused for a moment, then her smile faded:

"Why not?"

"You are the Child of Miracle, the Child of Miracle destined to save the world..." Perhaps because Mary was also present, these words echoed in the Witcher's mind.

He didn't quite believe the reason, but seeing that the Sorceress was unwilling to say, he didn't press her for an answer.

Instead, he lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying:

"Ten percent... how about ten percent commission? One percent is too little..."

"Okay, okay," Vesemir didn't refuse, smiled gently, and said, "I'll do whatever you say."

With the issue of the Necrophage Oil resolved, Ailin naturally had no need to go to Vesemir's place.

Seeing that Vesemir and Mary were interested in what had happened that day, he recounted the whole story.

Ianna chimed in occasionally, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

Until the Witcher suddenly remembered what he had seen when he came over, he asked Mary curiously:

"Why did you suddenly decide to learn fire magic?"

Even he knew that Mary's original ambition was to become an alchemist like Vesemir.

There's no reason to learn such a painful and dangerous spell.

He didn't think he was charming enough to change the mind of a highly talented Sorceress.

That would be incredibly presumptuous of me.

Unexpectedly, Mary's sweet smile, revealing her two adorable tiger teeth, vanished instantly upon hearing his question.

She glared at him, then gave a soft "humph," turning her head away as if to sulk.

This startled Ailin for a moment, as if she had finally come to her senses.

But before he could figure it out...

Amid Ianna's laughter, Vesemir rolled her eyes at her, then chuckled and said:

"Mary did this because..."

Before he could finish speaking...

Mary, with a sudden surge of courage, boldly interrupted the Sorceress, shouting repeatedly, "No! No! No!"

Then, with lightning speed, he shoved Ailin out of the courtyard.

"Don't listen to your tutor's nonsense! I'm not doing this for you!" Mary said, her face flushed, as Ianna's laughter grew louder.

Vesemir hasn't even gotten to the part that comes after "in order to" yet...

Ailin thought to himself.

However, seeing the burning color on the girl's cheeks, he worried that saying those words would actually ignite a fire.

So, wisely, he kept his mouth shut and nodded.

This, in turn, left Mary somewhat disappointed, her heart more confused and restless than the Fire Element mixed with Chaos Magic.

There was a moment of silence; no one knew what to say next.

The moon is full tonight.

The moonlight, like water, poured into the courtyard, adorning the pebbly ground with clusters of silvery white.

Mary counted the white dots on the ground, wanting to express some of her feelings, but after organizing her thoughts, what came out in the end was something else entirely:

"The Wild Hunt... can we really defeat the Wild Hunt?"

"I asked my mentor, and even she couldn't cast such powerful magic without chanting..."

"I don't think any of the wizards right now are capable of unleashing it..."

"And this Wild Hunt was just one of many Skeleton Knight in that vast horde, I... I..."

"We will definitely defeat them," the Witcher said firmly.

Mary looked at Ailin.

She suddenly realized that the little witcher who was about the same height as her had grown so tall in just six months that she could only look up at him.

The moonlight reflected in the Cat Eyes made it seem as if the full moon was lying in the clear sea.

The faint smell of blood carried on the night breeze inexplicably instilled a sense of trust and reassurance.

"I understand..." Mary closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She seemed to have nothing more to say.

"Shall we go back now?" She looked at the courtyard, which was lit up in the darkness.

The witcher thought for a moment, realizing that if they went back now, Ianna might play a trick on them again, given her temper, so he shook his head.

"No, it's getting late, I'll head back to the icon room first. Please give my regards to Lady Vesemir and Mother Ianna."

Mary nodded, glanced at Ailin again, and seeing that there was nothing else, turned and walked back.

We hadn't gone far.

She suddenly heard the voice of a witcher behind her.

He said "thank you".

Then he added, "Take care of yourself and get some rest."

then.

A smile, more beautiful than the moonlight, immediately graced the girl's face.