Fisher gave a bitter laugh. "Miss Xiya, when he saved you, did he not interfere and disregard those secular principles of neutrality? He... has already become involved in this war."
"But that was an exception. He only went there to save me."
"You call it an exception, but will the Jatu think so when they see the bodies littering Stony Town?
"Besides, the various nations across the continent all follow those principles, except the Jatu. They burn, kill, loot, and commit every kind of atrocity. They even kill captured lords."
"Young Master Kebi, you needn't worry. Duke Amara has already sent word. We'll exchange one of the Jatu leaders for your father."
Hearing this, Kebi felt somewhat reassured.
After hearing Fisher's explanation, Xiya said nothing more.
Dick nodded. "You have a point. Once they storm the town, they'll burn, kill, and loot. They won't spare me just because I'm a witcher. And Xiya, it looks like you'll have to help too."
"I understand," Xiya said seriously.
She certainly didn't want to be captured by the Jatu again. As that priest had said, no one other than Dick would come to rescue her then.
Fisher felt greatly relieved at this. With these two helping, defending the town would be much easier.
"Then we'll be counting on you both to help defend the town. Oh, and there'll be a generous commission fee," the captain hastily added.
Dick nodded, then turned to the would-be sorceress and asked, "Xiya, you're hungry, aren't you? Shall we have dinner together?"
The woman looked up at Dick with bright eyes and smiled. "Dick, how did you know I was hungry?"
"I heard from Kebi that they abducted you last night. And now your lips are peeling. That should be from hunger."
There were actually a few things Dick had left unsaid. Back in Stony Town, he had detected Xiya's weak heartbeat with his Witcher Senses. He had initially thought she had been severely tortured, but there were no wounds on the would-be sorceress. That left only one possibility: she had been interrogated all night without being fed.
But a witcher's trump cards couldn't be revealed lightly, especially since the second activation of Witcher Senses was specifically meant for assassinating people. It would make others wary while also prompting speculation:
Why did witchers possess methods for dealing with humans? Just what were they planning to do?
"You're right. I really haven't eaten anything since last night. After those Jatu abducted me, at first..."
At this point, the would-be sorceress lightly bit her lip, felt the peeling skin, then gently moistened it with her small tongue.
"At first, those Jatu soldiers wanted to take liberties with me, but the priest stopped them.
"Then the priest took me into a room, tied me up, and demanded I reveal the secret behind my ability to cast lightning spells. But..."
Xiya sighed somewhat helplessly. "I was born with an affinity for the lightning element. What secret could there be?
"So I lied and said I was weak from having just cast a spell, and that I could only tell him after I'd rested.
"But by the next day, that lie fell apart on its own. Fortunately, you arrived in time to save me."
Xiya smiled then. "Still, I'm not planning to eat tonight. I'll just have some water in a bit. I can take this opportunity to lose a little weight, too."
Dick's eyes widened, and he stole a brief glance at the sorceress's curvaceous figure.
Lose weight?
You want to lose weight with a figure like that?
How is anyone else supposed to live?
And this was the Middle Ages. Many commoners worked themselves to death for a mouthful of food, yet the sorceress was actually talking about losing weight.
Of course, he didn't say any of that aloud.
Still, Dick was a little worried about Xiya's condition. If she went hungry all night, what if she didn't have the strength to cast spells when the Jatu attacked?
If she lacked the strength to cast spells, he and the soldiers would have a hard time defeating the Jatu.
Then Fisher's town-defense commission would fall through, and he wouldn't get those lovely Energy Points either.
No, I have to talk some sense into this tool... this fine partner.
With that, Dick spun a lie.
"Miss Xiya, you may not know this, but failing to eat and drink regularly seriously damages your bodily functions. That accelerates aging. Especially for women, wrinkles will appear very quickly."
Xiya looked startled at this. "Witcher, is that true?"
Dick suppressed a smile. Sure enough, women feared wrinkles at any age, even if Xiya was only a young woman in her early twenties, and even if sorcerers had an average lifespan of four or five hundred years.
"Of course it's true. You know my profession. We witchers mainly rely on close combat, so we have a deeper understanding of every aspect of the body. Balanced nutrition is especially important to us. Besides, I have no reason to lie to you."
The sorceress thought for a moment, then nodded solemnly.
"I'm only twenty, but I certainly don't want to turn into an old woman right away. By the way, Dick, did you ask whether I'd eaten because you wanted to treat me?"
"Of course I can. There's a breakfast stall in the market I often visit. It's open at other times too. We can have dinner there."
"Great, then let's go now."
"Wait a moment..."
Having settled things with the sorceress, Dick turned back to Kebi, whose gaze was complicated.
Brother, a simp ends up with nothing!
After silently making that quip, Dick invited the would-be knight. "Kebi, want to join us?"
The latter waved a hand in refusal. "Dick, I'll just have some rations with the soldiers in a bit. We need to start setting up defenses inside the town right away. The gates have to be completely sealed, the catapults assembled, and the quivers filled with arrows.
"There are plenty of things I need to oversee. You two go ahead. Enjoy your meal, then head back and rest.
"If the Jatu attack at night, I'll have a soldier notify you. Especially you, Miss Xiya. As a sorceress, your participation in tomorrow's battle will be very important to us."
"Understood," Xiya replied briefly, then turned to the witcher with a beaming smile. "Dick, shall we go?"
"All right."
Dick gave Kebi another slight nod, and the two slowly walked away.
Kebi withdrew his gaze, then watched their retreating figures, saying nothing for a long while.
Fisher, standing nearby, could also see that his young master had become entangled in a web of love that could neither be cut nor untangled.
As an old hand, he naturally knew that if Kebi let this affect him and issued reckless orders at a time like this, it could lead to a major disaster.
After a moment's thought, he immediately offered some reassurance. "Young Master Kebi, as long as you hold this fortress, Lord Odin III will naturally report your military achievements to Her Majesty Queen Meve. You might even earn her favor and be knighted ahead of time.
"And there are plenty of beautiful women. By then, your admirers could line up all the way from Odinburg to Firstfall Bay."
Ravenstern was elongated in shape, with Odinburg and Firstfall Bay at its two farthest ends.
Fortunately, Kebi's response put Fisher at ease. He said nothing about insisting on hanging himself from that one crooked tree.
"Fisher, I understand what you mean. Don't worry. I won't let something this trivial cost us an opportunity in battle.
"By the way, have all the villagers from the nearby villages been moved into town? Especially Uncle O'Neill and his people."