Child of Prophecy Ritual! The Power of Order!

"Since you have no objections, then it's settled." Seeing that Ailin had lowered his head and was not speaking, Ianna smiled and patted his shoulder. With Nannick's help, she sat back in the high-backed chair.

As soon as she sat back down, she began to make arrangements with great efficiency.

"Nannick, choose a time for the blessing ceremony and inform the northern kingdoms so they can come and witness it..."

"Yes, High Priest."

"Ms. Tissaia de Veris, Ms. Philippa Ehrert, over at the Conclave of Sorcerers ..."

"I will inform them," Tissaia de Veres nodded, looking gently at Ailin. "Vesemir will be very happy to know."

"Wait!" Ailin was shocked by Ianna's efficiency and quickly asked, "Is there a ceremony to become a Holy Son?"

"Of course!" Nannick nodded matter-of-factly. "While informing the nobles of various nations, the Conclave of Sorcerers, the Circle of Druids, and ordinary believers to attend the ceremony, a month of fasting is required..."

"Then came a three-day blessing ceremony, representing young girls, pregnant women, and old women respectively..."

"Then came meetings with envoys representing the temple, nobles from various countries, and the Conclave of Sorcerers, followed by a week-long procession of sacred rites..."

The elaborate and lengthy process of the Son of God's blessing ceremony sent chills down Ailin's spine.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. As the largest religion in the Northern Continent, the identification of the Holy Son is a once-in-a-century event and cannot be taken lightly.

"What? Didn't you have no objections before?" Ianna frowned in displeasure.

"But..." Ailin glanced back at Vesemir, "We have to go back to Kaer Morhen tomorrow..."

"Back to Kaer Morhen tomorrow... "Ianna's brows furrowed even more, her tone tinged with displeasure. "What's so urgent that we have to go back tomorrow?"

The eyes of the three witchers fell on Evans at the same time.

"Is it related to this human?" Tissaia de Veris's gaze lingered on Evans for a moment with interest before she interjected, "Mind Possession should be the Axii Sign of you Witchers, so who is this person?"

"You even brought him here. It seems I'm not the only one looking for you; you seem to be looking for me too..."

Ailin, whose mind was preoccupied with the Child of Prophecy ritual, then remembered that they had come because Tissaia de Veres had summoned them.

and...

Ailin glanced at Philippa Ehrert, only to find her eyes meeting.

Philippa Ehrert didn't flinch at all when her gaze was caught. Instead, she raised an eyebrow, her eyes burning with a hint of provocation, and openly met his gaze.

The black agate in the ravine seemed to shimmer with a mesmerizing magical glow.

Ailin naturally looked away.

Philippa Ehrert is here on behalf of the Conclave of Sorcerers. Does this mean that this matter is related to the Conclave of Sorcerers?

It's not like we could just take Philippa Ehrert away from her work as Conclave of Sorcerers council inspector and bring her to the Temple of Melitele just so they could get to know her.

"Ms. Tissaia, did you need something from me?" Ailin asked.

"Our business isn't urgent," Tissaia de Veres said with interest, adjusting the lace on her left sleeve. "Tell me about yours first."

"We... "Ailin looked thoughtfully at Ianna.

Ianna and Nannick both shook their heads cryptically.

What's so mysterious that Tissaia de Veres didn't even mention the host... Ailin frowned almost imperceptibly.

However, since they were the ones who needed his help, after organizing his thoughts, he was about to recount his experiences from the previous night.

"Let me do it..." Dante suddenly spoke up, "I have firsthand experience and know more about it than Ailin."

All eyes were on Ailin's face.

"That's fine too."

Ailin nodded. He really didn't know how Dante, Huus, Bont, and Fred ended up in Monte Cavour, or how they were tricked.

"This is Dante," Ailin introduced simply, "the Witcher Master of the School of the Wolf. Hughes, Huus Lyra rescued yesterday evening, is his traveling apprentice."

Dante had a better talent for storytelling than Vesemir, and it didn't take him long to clearly explain the whole story.

He restrained his anger as a victim, speaking calmly and restrainedly, without emotional expression, simply stating his facts objectively.

Ianna and Nannick's expressions grew increasingly grim as the story progressed.

However, as members of the Conclave of Sorcerers, Tissaia de Veres and Philippa Ehrert showed surprisingly little emotional fluctuation.

They neither defended their colleagues nor showed any resentment over the fate of the three witchers; they simply listened calmly.

until...

"Wait!" Philippa Ehrert suddenly interrupted Dante. "You just mentioned Ronnie Dickinson. You said you killed Ronnie Dickinson of the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate?"

Interrupted, Dante frowned and nodded. "That's right, Ronnie Dickinson, but we didn't kill him, I did. Ailin was dealing with other wizards at the time..."

This was a pre-arranged statement from the three Witcher Master of the School of the Wolf, or more precisely, a statement that Vesemir and Dante had pre-arranged and forced Ailin to memorize.

"Wrong."

Tissaia de Veres, who had remained silent, pursed her thin, deep red lips and frowned in denial.

"I know Ronnie Dickinson," she glanced at Dante, "You can't kill him!"

Philippa Ehrert nodded and said, "Ronnie Dickinson is a member of the Advanced Council and a rare practicalist in the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate. He has been a winner in various magical duels since his apprenticeship with Ben Ade."

"Aretuza's apprentices, specializing in air-based lightning magic, are still using the two sets of books he compiled, 'On the Application of Air Magic in Combat' and 'Model of Air Combat Magic,' for practical training and spell selection..."

"He was in his own laboratory, surrounded by five or six male wizards, not to mention they must have some incredibly valuable Instant Trigger Gem on them..."

Philippa Ehrert didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.

Dante, whose strength had been questioned, was naturally not in a good mood. His face darkened as he patiently explained:

"They were careless and didn't bring Instant Trigger Gem."

"Besides, I have no need to fabricate the death of a powerful male wizard. I am a witcher of the School of the Wolf and I do not accept murder commissions."

"Besides, what happened in Drakkenberg will eventually spread..."

Philippa Ehrert remained silent.

No matter how bizarre or impossible it may seem, it cannot outweigh the facts.

Whether it was carelessness or arrogance, if Ronnie Dickinson's death is true, it will be known sooner or later.

Perhaps Ronnie Dickinson's practical skills declined after he became a member of the Advanced Council and moved behind the scenes to conduct research and experiments...

Just as she was thinking this...

"No," Tissaia de Veres adjusted the ring on her hand, "Ronnie Dickinson was indeed killed by you, but you were not the one who killed him."

Dante's face turned somewhat unpleasant. "Ms. Tissaia, what are you saying? If it wasn't me, then who could it be..."

"Right, Ailin?" Tissaia de Veris ignored Dante and looked directly at Ailin.

"What?!" Philippa Ehrert exclaimed in surprise after a moment of stunned silence.

She never expected that the dean's questioning point would not be about Ronnie Dickinson's life or death, but about the person who killed him.

But how is that possible?

This witcher named Ailin was even younger than her.

Philippa Ehrert couldn't believe it.

She had, of course, heard a brief account of Ailin's exploits from Tissaia de Veres, and knew that he had faced hundreds of demons, subdued Greater Griffin, and banished Evil God...

But a story is a story, and a person is a person.

There's always some embellishment in the story, like the letter of introduction that Tissaia de Veres wrote for her when she joined the Conclave of Sorcerers as an inspector of sorcerers.

The achievements and projects are certainly real, but the comments that they "played a certain role" or "played a significant role" in the projects are largely exaggerated, not to mention the "spontaneous" feedback and evaluations from the local people after the inspections of some small places.

Many of these things make her feel embarrassed and ashamed when she hears them.

When a real person suddenly appears in the "story," it's as if everything suddenly has a scale.

She had never encountered hundreds of demons, only seen a model of Greater Griffin in Conclave of Sorcerers, and had never fought against a real Evil God.

These certainly sound impressive, but they're too abstract, like clouds floating in the sky—seemingly huge but actually extremely light.

Just like the dragon-slaying stories in chivalric romances, those fantastical allegories, with some cleverness, she can find a "weakness" that "no one" knows and a suitable partner, and she can do it too.

It's just a pity she didn't meet him.

But she knew Ronnie Dickinson.

She knew Ronnie Dickinson, but Ronnie Dickinson didn't know her—that kind of acquaintance.

She had attended classes taught by Ronnie Dickinson, who was invited by the college, studied his textbooks diligently, and even sat in the back or middle of the "circle" at the annual conference, seeing him speak powerfully and eloquently in the inner circle...

As we passed each other by, I experienced firsthand Ronnie Dickinson's subtle yet powerful and undeniable magic.

That was a very real, tangible, and enormous gap.

Let me put it this way.

Now, Ronnie Dickinson can handle her without even needing a staff; she can be dealt with effortlessly.

The stark contrast, like a chasm, creates an extreme sense of separation.

so...

How can this fourteen-year-old witcher be more powerful than her?

Without realizing it, Philippa Ehrert straightened her back and stared at the figure carrying two swords.

A long silence followed.

Ailin sighed and nodded slightly, "Yes, it's me."

Vesemir and Dante were just making assumptions.

So many people in Drakkenberg saw Dante carry him into the tower. Given that their identities could not be hidden, how could they possibly be concealed from someone like Tissaia de Veres who had witnessed his strength?

This morning he was still lamenting that the advantage of information asymmetry would probably only last for another six months, but he didn't expect it to become ineffective so soon.

Tissaia de Veris surprisingly didn't dwell on the fact that Ailin had killed Ronnie Dickinson, seemingly indifferent to the life or death of a Advanced Council member of the Conclave of Sorcerers, and instead looked at Evans.

"So he is..."

"He is the manager of Drakkenberg," Ailin said, "the Riedania nobleman Evans who plotted to assassinate the Witcher."

The candlesticks on the stone wall were torn into thin, long golden threads by the wind blowing through the room.

The entire reception room fell silent once again.

The three witchers certainly didn't bring a Redania nobleman here just to show him the beautiful scenery of the Temple of Melitele, and they certainly didn't bring him to this reception room because they didn't have time to hide him.

Nannick remained silent for a long time before asking, "What do you plan to do with him?"

"In the presence of you all, and Duke Mason, uncover the mastermind behind this, and then kill him."

"Do you know what this means?" Philippa Ehrert couldn't help but ask.

"Of course!" Ailin nodded calmly. "On the way back, we've thought through all the consequences."

Another silence followed.

"Whose idea was this?" Ianna asked expressionlessly.

Ailin raised his hand to stop Vesemir and Dante, looking intently into Ianna's old but bright eyes. "My, Mother Ianna, this is my idea, and I have convinced Vesemir and Dante to agree."

"You really know this..."

"Philippa." Tissaia de Veres patted Philippa Ehrert on the shoulder.

"But..." Philippa Ehrert couldn't help but speak up, her tone regretful.

After that one "of course," the opportunity to stand at the pinnacle of power across the entire Northern Continent was gone...

No matter how powerful the Temple of Melitele is, how could it possibly allow a Witcher who has offended Redania to become their Holy Son?

It's impossible for Ianna to develop a fondness for this witcher for some inexplicable reason.

Moreover, how could a mere School of the Wolf withstand the hostility of so many powerful forces?

Philippa Ehrert felt heartbroken that the rights she had longed for and yet could not obtain were so easily discarded by others.

"He has made his decision."

After interrupting Philippa Erhart, Tissaia de Veres gazed into those deep blue eyes:

"Why do you think I'll also bear witness for you witchers?"

"I owe you favors from Arland and the Temple of Melitele, but not from Aretuza..."

"In addition..."

"Ronnie Dickinson is a member of the Advanced Council of the Conclave of Sorcerers, and I am the Speaker of the Supreme Council of the Conclave of Sorcerers. Shouldn't I avenge the warlocks who died at your hands?"

As soon as Tissaia de Veres finished speaking, the atmosphere in the entire conference hall suddenly became unpredictable and turbulent.

Philippa Ehrhardt straightened up and quietly approached her mentor.

Vesemir and Dante, two Witcher Master from the School of the Wolf, immediately became alert, their right fingers twitching instinctively.

The School Emblem did not ring, but the emblem does not alert to all magic; powerful sorcerers are an exception.

But Tissaia de Veres has already transcended the realm of power.

However, Ailin didn't move. He simply lowered his head and pondered for a few seconds, as if considering reasons to persuade him:

"Because you are Tissaia de Veres."

He looked directly into the Sorceress's eyes, which seemed to gleam with a powerful magical light:

"Because you, as the Dean of Aretuza and an elder of the Conclave of Sorcerers, risked your life with the academy's Sorceress to rescue Arland from the threat of the Evil God for the sake of the ancient Novigrad Alliance. And at the same time, no other forces came."

"Because you once told me..."

"The Northern Continent needs the Power of Order more than ever, and the Power of Order needs to be maintained..."