Geralt was awakened the next morning by the sound of voices downstairs. The soundproofing here was poor, though fortunately the mattress was soft enough. Bare-chested, the witcher reluctantly rolled over in bed, but he could no longer fall asleep again. He simply got up, dressed, and planned to go see the city notice board to check if anyone needed a witcher.
Before he had even gone downstairs, Geralt reached the corner and heard the innkeeper, the young man with the handlebar mustache, speaking very quickly: "...She didn't come home last night! Sirs, you have to help me. I lost my father, my mother... I can't lose my sister too. She's all I have!"
By the end, his voice was almost choked with sobs.
Geralt heard a man's troubled voice. "Uh, Mallory. I'd really like to help you, but she's only been gone for one night. Aren't you making this a little too serious?"
Another man said, "Yeah, Mallory. It's pretty common for girls her age to go out and run around with boys they like. Times have changed. It's not like the old days, when people only met before getting married."
Mallory, the innkeeper, was almost crying. "No, no, you don't understand. She always comes straight home after class, but of all nights, it had to be last night!"
The first man who had spoken sighed. "All right. We'll look into it. Don't worry too much, okay? Mm, I mean, nothing will happen to her."
They left amid the clatter of armor. Geralt's excellent hearing let him clearly hear the two men talking outside the door.
"How are we supposed to investigate?"
"Investigate? I don't know how either. Didn't you see what he looked like? If I hadn't agreed, he would've burst into tears for sure. Good heavens, I can't