Can You Trust Me a Little More, Since I'm Your Elder?
"Squeak~"
The heavy iron-clad wooden door was opened.
Upon entering the castle hall, the three naturally ceased their casual conversation.
Although Ailin felt that the future development of the Witcher Company, which they had just discussed, was the most important thing, both Vesemir and Aristo clearly felt that things related to the Goddess Meritellie were the most important.
Not only did they stop Ailin from talking casually on the roadside when they left the training ground.
The two Witcher Master even wished they could bathe, change clothes, burn incense, and pray before listening to his story.
This made Ailin feel inexplicably disoriented.
Because he remembered that in the original work and novels of his previous life, Geralt, Yennefer, or other main characters not only did not believe in gods, but even doubted whether gods really existed.
so...
How did such a huge difference come about?
"Ailin, tell me... how did you meet the Goddess Meritellie the night before last?"
As soon as Vesemir closed the door, he quickly lit all the torches in the hall with the Igni Sign, sat properly at the oak table, and then couldn't wait to ask a question, interrupting Ailin's thoughts.
Looking into the pleading eyes of Vesemir and Aristo, Ailin hesitated for a few seconds before saying:
"On the night of my knighting, I returned to the icon room..."
"Divine Communication and Dream Entry" is naturally something that cannot be mentioned, but Ailin still described in detail the feelings of his soul sinking, penetrating the membrane, and diving into the deep sea after "communicating with the gods" and before arriving in the divine kingdom.
He briefly glossed over the conversation about the frozen divine kingdom and the inevitable White Frost apocalypse.
The boundless golden wheat fields of the divine kingdom of Meritellie; the goddess changing her form in three stages—young girl, pregnant woman, and old woman—as the conversation unfolded; the Divine Power effortlessly dispelled the Great Old One's Curse ...
He was hoping that the two Witcher Master, both well-versed in the arts, might be able to help him find clues about the effects of "divine communication."
In depicting the tangible vision of the divine kingdom, Ailin went to great lengths to capture the details.
He never stopped searching for the origin of the Witcher's Handbook.
However, very little information has been revealed about it all along.
Even in Meritellie's divine realm, the goddess never mentioned it, but always referred to it as the Gate of Ad-Gais.
It's unclear whether He truly didn't know, was deliberately concealing it, or if the Witcher's Handbook really did originate from that artifact of Ain El...
Unexpectedly, the two Witcher Master remained completely silent from beginning to end.
The only real contribution of the details provided by Ailin seems to be making the story a little more believable.
Aristo's expression shifted from slight skepticism to doubt, and finally to fascination.
Ailin altered the story of the One-Eyed Serpent Giant's roar and interspersed it throughout, causing him to completely abandon his pursuit of King Kano and rationalizing the origin of the way of the Path of the Beast Roar.
after all.
Aristo knew he wasn't as lucky as Ailin to have the opportunity to meet the gods.
That's outrageous!
He wouldn't even dare to dream of completing the trials of the gods, entering the kingdom of the gods in his dreams, and receiving the blessings of the true gods.
A boy of only fourteen years old accomplished a feat that can only be recorded in epics.
"... These are roughly the things that happen in the Kingdom of God."
Ailin let out a long breath.
Although he did not obtain information about the origin of "Divine Communication" and the Witcher's Handbook, he was able to fool the golden-haired behemoth King Kano, who suddenly appeared in Aristo's mind when he released "Beast Roar: Berserk," a creature he himself did not know.
That can be considered as achieving the initial goal.
And that's not all.
Ailin glanced furtively at the radiant Aristo.
Judging from the change in expression of the Witcher Master with the black beard, if he were a member of the Monster Hunting Legion, his description of the Kingdom of Meritellie would have increased his loyalty by at least five points.
Who knows, Aristo might become the first Witcher Master of the Monster Hunting Legion before Vesemir.
However, when it comes to Vesemir...
For some reason, he had been looking down at the wood grain on the oak table since the beginning of the session.
"It's getting late." After hearing the story, Aristo glanced at the sky outside the window, then slammed his hand on the table and stood up from his seat.
"I wonder how those mischievous little brats are doing with their training..." Aristo laughed heartily and extended an invitation, "Commander Ailin, would you like to come with me to check on the apprentices?"
"Master Aristo, please just call me Ailin." Ailin scratched his head. "But I have some things to attend to next. I'll go to the apprentice's place tomorrow."
"I'll have to trouble Master Aristo again today..."
At this point, Ailin was actually a little embarrassed.
after all.
Although Aristo is the vice-commander of the Witcher Company, he may be representing the school's oversight role.
But in reality, it was set up more to prevent the members of the legion from wasting time after Ailin came down the mountain.
It's already the second day since he came back, and it's really inappropriate to just let it go.
but.
It was already close to dusk, so there was no practical use for him to go along.
Moreover, after testing the astonishing power of "Beast Roar: Berserk", he couldn't wait to complete a daily maintenance of "Beast Roar: Berserk".
Let's see how much it can improve attributes, and whether it can enhance control when actively casting "Beast Roar: Berserk".
"It's alright..." Aristo waved his hand casually, interrupting Ailin, and then patted Vesemir's shoulder hard. "Five bottles, the usual rule. Go get them from Rumon whenever you want. I'll talk to him."
"In addition..."
Aristo paused, glanced at Ailin with envy in his eyes, and said softly:
"You're so lucky!"
Without waiting for Vesemir's reply, he turned and walked out of the castle hall.
"Squeak~"
"Thump!"
The heavy, old, iron-clad wooden door opened and closed, slamming heavily against the door frame.
The fireplace was not lit, and the castle hall was somewhat dim.
After the sound of the wooden door slamming shut, a sense of desolation filled the empty space.
Turning his gaze away from the gate, Ailin saw that Vesemir was still looking down, seemingly deep in thought.
Eager to cultivate the Path of the Beast Roar, he didn't think much of it and was about to greet him before returning to the south tower.
"Vesemir the Great..."
"Did the Goddess Meritellie really only bestow a reward upon you and say nothing else?" Vesemir suddenly looked up and interrupted Ailin.
What does that mean? Ailin was taken aback, and his heart skipped a beat.
Of course, the Goddess Meritellie said other things, and quite a lot of them.
Or rather...
In the story Ailin just told, the Goddess Meritellie summoned him to the kingdom of the gods only to reward him for saving Arland and to remove the Great Old One's Curse. Not a single line in this common dialogue in Western epics is true.
The real story is that the divine realm was frozen, and the Wild Hunt accelerated the arrival of the White Frost...
In this world he had only been in for half a month, every day he was getting closer to the abyss of doom called "Frost, White Frost, White Light".
But what use would it be to tell Aristo and Vesemir all this?
The School of the Wolf is currently powerless to resolve the crisis posed by the warlocks and nobles, and the Wild Hunt is yet to come...
Revealing the news that the apocalypse, though still approaching, is a distant possibility, would do more harm than good.
Not only is it futile, but judging from the reverence that Aristo and Vesemir just showed for the Goddess Meritellie, it's also a case in point.
The divine kingdom was frozen, and the goddess could not even convey her voice to her believers.
The mere fact that this news came out of his mouth might destroy the faith of these people who revere the gods, and they might not even be able to overcome the current difficulties.
after all.
There are many people who received a good education in their past lives, yet went insane because of a doomsday rumor.
Besides, this doomsday is real.
certainly.
A more likely scenario is that his claims will be denied, that the gods have been sealed away, and that the end times are imminent.
therefore.
Ailin had no intention of revealing these sensational stories until the crisis from the Kedwen wizard and the nobles was resolved.
For the future of the School of the Wolf, the Northern Continent, and the Witcher world, he, a Witcher and a stranger who had been training for half a year, was truly worried sick.
However, on the other hand...
The problem now is...
How did Vesemir figure it out?
How can he possibly cover this up...?
Wrong!
Did Vesemir really hear it?
Eileen lowered her head slightly, her azure pupils peering through the strands of hair that obscured her forehead as she sized up the Witcher Master.
The story I just told flashed through my mind...
"It shouldn't be like this..." Ailin thought to himself.
The story he just told had no flaws!
Or rather, it's very difficult to create logical loopholes in this kind of classic fantasy storyline.
Could it be that he suspects I haven't met Meritellie?
That's not right either...
If that were the case, he wouldn't have asked, "... didn't the goddess say anything else to you?"
"A young girl's innocence, a pregnant woman's maternal love, an old woman's kindness..." Vesemir suddenly spoke, interrupting Ailin's thoughts.
This is the most well-known triad of the Goddess Meritellie in the Northern Continent.
Ailin had lived in the Temple of Melitele for so long, so naturally he knew this as well.
so...
Why did Vesemir mention this?
"This is the most widely circulated account of the three-phase nature of the Goddess Meritellie," Vesemir's dark golden Cat Eyes stared at Ailin, causing the witcher to instinctively flinch, "But it's actually incorrect..."
"The maiden is carefree, therefore she is a reward for the believer..."
"Pregnant women possess a compassionate maternal nature, and therefore protect and nurture believers..."
"The old woman was stern and learned, so she enlightened the believers, punished the rebels, and guided the lost..."
Ailin pondered Vesemir's words, which seemed to match the words spoken by Meritellie after each transformation in the divine realm.
He vaguely realized where he had been caught out by his words.
A complex emotion flickered in Vesemir's dark golden Cat Eyes. He sighed and said:
"I didn't just sit in the library of the Temple of Melitele for nothing. The documents and books I found were all related to the Goddess Meritellie."
"While Meritellie was still alive, her followers recorded many accounts left by saints who had audiences with her..."
"If it's just a reward, only young girls will appear. Pregnant women will only appear when believers need divine Divine Power for protection and blessing, while old women..."
Vesemir paused, then looked at Ailin seriously:
"Every appearance of the old woman is accompanied by a prophecy of impending disaster..."
No wonder... The Witcher fell silent upon hearing this.
Seeing this, Vesemir didn't say anything more, and didn't even look at Ailin.
He looked up and peered out through the narrow window, which let in orange sunlight, seemingly looking at something.
Several dim torches were lit around the castle hall, their orange flames flickering.
The two witchers sitting opposite each other cast unstable, intersecting shadows on the cold, gray-brown rock wall.
Apart from the crackling sound of the firewood in the torch, there was complete silence.
"Should we tell him about Meritellie's doomsday 'prophecy'?" Ailin stared blankly at the dark wood grain on the table.
actually.
There was nothing to hide from Meritellie, especially from the person in front of him who was the closest to him in the world of Witchers.
If it were just Vesemir, Ailin was confident that as long as the facts were stated, he wouldn't doubt it.
but...
No need!
Male sorcerers and nobles, the Wild Hunt and the Alder Folk, and the White Frost that even the gods could only watch helplessly as they awaited their demise...
There's no need to pass on the accumulated pressure to those close to you.
At least not so early, not now.
Otherwise, a mountain will forever be chained to your shoulders with rusty chains, and when you open your eyes, all you'll see is a bleak future, making it difficult to even fully enjoy fleeting moments of happiness...
This is... so painful.
So Ailin could only remain silent, listening to the sound of firewood shattering into pieces, without uttering a word.
"Aristo said I was lucky." Vesemir suddenly stood up.
When Ailin looked in the direction of the sound, he found that Erin's expression had changed and he was smiling.
"He's jealous that I have a traveling apprentice like you, a veritable 'monster,' even though during these short six months of trials, I didn't do everything a mentor should do, not even have the power to protect my apprentice's life..."
"Master Vesemir..."
In the past six months, Vesemir has done enough for him.
He teaches swordsmanship, hand seals, as well as Tracking, meditation...
She shared her vital network with him, and even deliberately concealed her own brilliance most of the time...
Not to mention protection.
Ailin believed that if a crisis required a one-for-one exchange, Vesemir would give his own life to save Ciri, just as he had done with Ciri.
How many witchers would go to this lengths for their apprentices?
Therefore, when Ailin heard Vesemir's dangerous words, which sounded like he was about to sever the master-disciple relationship, he quickly tried to deny it.
But Vesemir waved his hand, interrupting him.
"I am indeed very lucky... Ailin ... and even though I have done a very poor job, I am still your travel mentor..."
"So..."
Vesemir paused, then looked intently at Ailin:
"I'm an elder, can you trust me a little more?"