Magical Plants! Opening Chests!

Ailin's gaze lingered on Ianna's aged face, the flickering candlelight dancing through her silver hair.

He wouldn't underestimate himself; the Temple of Melitele's designation of him as a holy son wasn't entirely a bad thing for the temple. Otherwise, no matter how much influence Ianna had within the temple, she would still face criticism from other priests and believers.

The double miracle of the May Festival prophecy and the blessing before the descent of the Evil God has long been a hot legend in the taverns and markets of Arland.

People tell tales of a blue-eyed witcher who saved Arland and banished Evil God, and rumors have long circulated about a similar figure, the Holy Son.

After the temple designated Ailin as its holy son, it was seen as echoing the consensus of the believers and solidifying the foundation of faith for Meritellie around Arland.

At the same time, it can also gain the support of believers who are favorable to the Witcher. After deepening the relationship with the School of the Wolf and other Witcher schools, it can make up for the shortcomings of the temple in fighting evil and protecting the righteous.

This is becoming increasingly important in this increasingly chaotic and turbulent world.

And Ianna, who strongly recommended him, could also sweep away the High Priest's position that had been shaken by the failure to receive the divine oracle.

Even Arland was able to mitigate the impact of the two disasters and recover its population and prosperity as quickly as possible.

However, these seemingly minor benefits are far outweighed by the combined hostility between Riedania, Ban Ad, and the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate.

Besides, what do those benefits mean to Ianna, who is getting older and older?

For Ianna right now, the best solution is to avoid causing trouble, not to offend the powerful forces, and to leave a good reputation for posterity.

Ailin looked into Ianna's eyes.

To this day, he still doesn't know why Mother Ianna values him so much.

From the very first meeting, he introduced Duke Mason and selflessly taught him rituals. If it weren't for the fact that priests at the Temple of Melitele could only be women, he would have almost offered him the High Priest's seat.

A warm, gentle light shone in the old man's eyes.

This is a gesture of kindness from an elder.

"I see."

Ailin glanced at the utterly astonished Philippa Erhart, knowing that Mother Ianna's public proposal of the Child of Prophecy ritual was to increase his influence in the rescue operation, and nodded:

"After rescuing Hen Gedimidis, I will return to Arland."

Ianna nodded in satisfaction and smiled, her eyes narrowing.

"The Temple of Melitele will welcome that day, and the entire Northern Continent will rejoice for that moment."

There's no need for such a grand spectacle... Ailin felt a chill run down her spine.

However, seeing Ianna's eager expression, the Witcher knew that saying anything would be useless, so he just sighed softly in his heart.

After rescuing Henry Gedimidis...

Some of them are from too long ago.

I still don't know how I'm going to face the Chief when I return to Kaer Morhen tomorrow...

After leaving the reception hall, Philippa Ehrert excused herself to inform Tissaia de Veres of the results and left, promising to return the next morning to travel with them to Kaer Morhen.

On the way back, Ianna chatted with Ailin for a while about the aftermath of Evans's incident.

Duke Mason had already written the official document and, in the evening, ordered the fastest messenger to send it to Vizima of Temeria.

Of course, the version in the letter was the same as the version that the bard named Yevgeny Villard had advertised in taverns and markets—

Evans, the Redania sinner who harmed the Conclave of Sorcerers, was given a just punishment by the great and wise Duke Mason of Arland, witnessed by the legendary wizard of the Wizarding Guild, Tissaia de Veris, the headmistress of the Aretuza Academy, and Ianna, the High Priest of the Temple of Melitele. He was beheaded by the Duke's guards.

As Ianna said this, she also subtly mocked Tissaia de Veres, saying that she was so angry and embarrassed that she had to return to Aretuza because her reputation had been stolen.

Of course, everyone knew it was just a joke.

Upon arriving at the priests' residence, Ianna and Lyra bid them farewell. They would leave the next morning once Philippa Ehrert arrived, and would likely only see them once more this year.

Given Ianna's age and the speed at which she aged in just half a month, it's hard to say whether tomorrow's farewell will be the last time she sees me.

Ailin didn't want to think in that direction, but the deep and shallow lines on Ianna's face kept reminding him.

Ianna is very old.

When it was time to say goodbye, Ailin tried to ask if there were any longevity potions that would be useful to her, but she smiled and refused.

"To grow old naturally is the greatest blessing that Ms. Meritellie has bestowed upon us."

A casual remark silenced Dante and Vesemir, who had just been trying to persuade Ailin.

Ailin couldn't offer any words of advice to dissuade him.

However, after thinking about it, he felt relieved.

Although witchers and warlocks are considered Long-lived race due to magical modifications, to be honest, even now, Ailin wouldn't dare say he could live until next year.

Who knows, before Ianna returns to Meritellie's golden kingdom, he might have already gone ahead in Ban Ade, in the Spiral, or even in some unknown corner of the Northern Continent.

Compared to Ianna, who spends all her time in Arland, this probability is actually higher.

Especially considering his increasingly outrageous enemies.

Growing old naturally is indeed a blessing.

It's also worth mentioning that, although Dante, Vesemir, and Ianna all seemed to intentionally or unintentionally ask him and Lyra to stay and say goodbye properly.

Unlike before, Lyra was surprisingly carefree. She said goodbye to them, waved, and then helped Ianna leave.

Vesemir and Dante teased him, saying that Philippa Ehrert's presence had angered Lyra, and told him to catch up with her and say goodbye properly.

Ailin simply smiled and said nothing, nor did he actually chase after them.

He sensed that Lyra's unusual behavior wasn't because she was jealous of Philippa Ehrhardt. The girl who could pull herself together after her parents' passing and live a good life wasn't such a superficial person.

On the contrary, this resolute and decisive attitude seems more like that he has figured something out and made a certain decision.

Ailin felt inexplicably lost for a few seconds, then she felt relieved.

Lyra was only fifteen or sixteen years old, while he was already thirty in his mind. Although he was an orphan in both his lives, he was born into a traditional country and received a good education, so he still couldn't do something so shameless.

Ultimately, Lyra's affection for him stemmed from the fact that he had saved her life, but at the time, his true target was the "human couple" that Ada Emin had mentioned, namely the elf Sadia and Viscount Hudson's knight Hodon.

Lyra was only saved incidentally.

Moreover, she had already helped him a lot during this time, not to mention saving Huus.

The debt of gratitude for saving my life has already been repaid, so there's no need to repay it with my body.

Back at the Witcher's hut, Ailin tried to teach Vesemir, Ernie, and Klar the warcry version of "Beast Howl: Primal Tongue".

This is something Ailin figured out on his own these past few days, after failing to activate the effects of that Evil God element.

Therefore, the effect was not as good as expected, and Fred also seemed to have absorbed the "Growth Element", did not comprehend it.

However, after Ailin enlightened Dante and Fred "Battlecry: Berserk", Fred naturally and spontaneously learned "Battlecry: Primal Tongue".

This sparked Ailin's interest and led him to speculate about the Path of the Beast Roar and the connections between the various roars.

He felt that this connection might be the key to breaking free from that Evil God @#￥%&'s Element and transforming the beast's roar into a battle cry.

Fred's mastery of "Warcry: Primal Tongue" greatly stimulated the other Witchers. Vesemir, Dante, Ernie, and Klar trained and tried for a long time until the moon was high in the sky before they stopped and went back to their rooms to rest.

Unfortunately, in the end, apart from Fred, no other Witcher learned the skill.

"Bang!"

The door was closed.

As his body descended, the wooden stool automatically adjusted its armrests and backrest to fit his posture.

The room was filled with flowers trembling in the wind, their delicate fragrance blending into a richer scent, yet different from that of the daytime, making one feel slightly drowsy.

The green vine also sprouted from the ground and affectionately wrapped around his right hand.

"Um?"

This series of unexpected events left Ailin stunned.

"These plants in the room seem different from those outside that are being catalyzed by ' Growth Element.' They seem to..." He frowned slightly as he observed them for a while, "They seem to have more spirituality."

Before leaving the cabin in the evening, he hadn't noticed anything amiss, only that the "Growth Element" were being "catalyzed" by the natural environment, making it somewhat lush and vibrant.

But upon closer inspection, the difference between it and the linden trees and other plants that he "grew" outside was enormous.

The linden tree and other affected plants simply grew "obeying orders" without any other "proactive" affectionate response.

But here...

The vines wrapped around his hands looked just like a kitten or puppy that hadn't seen its owner in a long time.

Tulips, hyacinths, wisteria, daisies... the affectionate and flattering emotions are particularly obvious, which is fundamentally different from the plants he "forced to grow" outside.

"This is... this is being 'awakened' by the source?" Ailin speculated.

"Fortunately, I didn't do anything to cover it up during the day. It's rare to see such strong emotions, like a plant with its own intelligence."

Ailin touched the smooth tendrils of the vine, which stretched, curled, and finally trembled with pleasure as he stroked it.

It really looks like a puppy being petted.

Such intelligent vines are certainly more effective and lethal than ordinary vines and tree roots in forests.

"But..." Ailin stopped what she was doing, "Even if we don't do anything this evening, and I leave tomorrow, and then return to the temple again, that's such a long time. Even if the temple doesn't move the rooms for me, I'm afraid these plants will have a hard time surviving for long..."

My thoughts are still unsettled.

"Shh~"

As if sensing his thoughts, the green vine curled up and pulled out a small section of its root, still covered in soil, from the ground.

He then placed the soil and roots in the pocket on the right side of the leather armor.

Following closely behind.

Tulips, hyacinths, wisteria, daisies... In this small room, it was as if time had turned back, and all the flowers and plants began to grow in reverse.

The blooming petals closed, the leaves shrank, the roots and stems retreated, and finally, they quietly burrowed into the soil.

In the blink of an eye.

Apart from the earthen and wooden planks on the walls and floor, there are many cracks, and the room has been almost restored to its original appearance.

Ailin stared blankly at the empty room for a long while.

The Witcher world does have so-called Magical Plants, but apart from monsters like the Giant Thornwood Tree, Magical Plants simply refer to plants that contain magic, such as the Beli's Fruit or Sage.

They don't actually hit, scream, or bite like the Whomping Willow, Mandrake, or Bitter Cabbage in Harry Potter.

The plants in front of him truly resembled Magical Plants from a high-magic world.

Although they appear to be just ordinary plants.

"It seems that returning to Kaer Morhen will provide another option for exploration..."

Ailin smacked his lips and, following the cracks in the walls and ground, picked up the seeds that faintly exuded spirituality one by one and placed them in the reagent bag.

After noticing this, the green vine also poked its roots out of the bag, wrapped them around the soil, and burrowed into the reagent bag.

"Hmm, they're quite well-behaved." He couldn't help but smile.

After climbing out the window and digging the wisteria seeds out of the soil outside, Ailin didn't rush back. Instead, he opened the Witcher's Handbook with a thought.

Name: Ailin

[Experience Orbs: 109 Experience Orbs, 3995 Lesser Experience Orbs]

[Treasure Chests: 18 @#￥%&'s Chest Ain El, 23 Sorcerer's Chest, 5 @#￥%&'s Chest Ronnie Dickinson, 2 Leshen's Chest, 2 Wolf's Chest, 2 Raven's Chest, 5 @#￥%&'s Chest @#￥%&, 5 Summoning Ritual Chest, 5 Corpse Lord's Chest, 5 Monster Nest Chest, 5 Grave Hag's Chest]

Before I knew it, I had accumulated seventy-seven treasure chests that I hadn't opened.

Moreover, these treasure chests, even those Raven's Chest, are very important to him.

He didn't yet have the recipe for the Sword Oil made from Beast Oil, and he didn't want to suffer the torment of foot-cutting again when the Evil God descended.

Although beast-type creatures and monsters are generally not difficult to deal with, since there are enhancement and high-level Beast Oil, who knows if a beast-type Evil God god might suddenly appear and possess them.

Before rescuing Hen Gedimidis, Ailin still wanted to collect as many Sword Oil recipes as possible.

He currently only has four types of Sword Oil: full set of Necrophage Oil (or the highest level of Sword Oil if it is of advanced grade), Specter Oil and Enhanced Specter Oil, Mixed Beast Oil and hanged ghost oil.

There are also eight types of Sword Oil: Remnants, Vampires, Construct Creature, Insectoid Creature, Cursed Creature, Ogres, Beasts, and Dragons. He doesn't even have the lowest-grade one.

This made him extremely insecure.

Who knows what will happen in Ban Ade, where the Wild Hunt is a threat and Otolan, the big boss of the Rissberg Civil Conglomerate, has a penchant for bio-engineering?

Even with Philippa Ehrhardt around, he didn't want to take any risks.

So after thinking for a moment, Ailin set off for Meritellie's sanctuary.