Muradin was stronger than Regan.
Lynn quickly realized that after crossing blades with him.
But he was only a little stronger than Regan.
He was still nowhere near Coinneach, the elven commander Lynn had encountered before.
That was hardly surprising. That elven commander had honed his martial skills to the level of a master. If Muradin possessed such strength, he certainly would not have had the leisure to brawl here.
So Muradin barely lasted a few more exchanges against Lynn before he, too, went down in defeat.
"I lost."
There was nothing to say when his skills fell short.
Muradin freely admitted his defeat.
None of the dwarves around them looked down on Muradin for it. Their gazes simply grew more eager as they looked at Lynn.
After Lynn defeated two dwarves in succession, although the atmosphere was steadily reaching a fever pitch, no one was willing to step forward.
Dwarves were straightforward and had little taste for beating around the bush.
But no one wanted to fight a battle they were certain to lose, and dwarves were no exception.
Once they recognized how strong Lynn was-or at least decided they were no match for him-no one else was willing to step forward.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out like a thunderclap.
"What are you all gathering here for?!"
Thor forced his way through the crowd with several dwarven guards and walked in.
The lively, clamorous atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold.
The surrounding dwarves looked at Thor and the guards he had brought as though they were mice facing a cat.
Thor glanced around and discovered that Lynn was among them. His tone softened slightly as he asked, "What's going on? Master witcher, what happened here?"
One dwarf tried to explain, "Captain Thor, we..."
But before he could finish, Thor cut him off roughly.
"Shut up! Nobody asked you. I'm speaking to the master witcher!"
"You fools have no idea what's going on! The master witcher is a guest the grand elder invited to investigate a case. If you interfere with his investigation, you're offending the grand elder!"
"You know what happens when you offend the grand elder."
The dwarf who had just tried to explain immediately shut his mouth.
The dwarves around him also went pale with fright.
Flogging, imprisonment... those punishments were minor matters.
What frightened them most was exile.
The dwarves willing to return to Mahakam after their travels all wanted to remain in the mountains for one reason or another.
If they were exiled, it would be no different from death to them.
So all the dwarves looked anxiously at Lynn, full of worry.
It was no exaggeration to say that their fate rested in Lynn's hands.
"There's no need to be so confrontational, Captain Thor," Lynn said with a slight smile, spreading his hands. "I was merely exchanging pointers with my new dwarven friends."
With the witcher taking the initiative to cover for them, the dwarves had help.
Their hearts finally settled back into place.
They all chimed in.
"That's right. Exactly."
"The master is being far too polite, really. We had nothing to teach him. He was the one who gave us a proper lesson."
Thor gave Lynn a suspicious look.
In the end, however, he said nothing about it.
He nodded.
"If that's how it is, fine. I'll let it go this time."
"Also, master, the grand elder asked that you and the other master get some proper rest today. He'll discuss the commission with you tomorrow."
Lynn coughed.
"Actually, I have something very important to tell the grand elder. Please pass that on."
Half an hour later.
They were once again in that resplendent throne hall.
"Master witcher, I heard you wanted to see me. Have you already discovered something before I've even told you what the commission involves? Ha, you certainly live up to your reputation as renowned monster slayers!"
Brovar's hearty laughter echoed through the spacious hall.
But Lynn shook his head and said regretfully,
"No, Grand Elder. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I haven't come here about the commission, but for another reason."
"Another reason?" A look of puzzlement flashed across the grand elder's face.
Lynn nodded. "Before that, please dismiss your attendants. This matter is extremely important and must also be kept secret."
Brovar hesitated, however.
His broad, thick hand rested on the throne's armrest, tapping it gently.
Then he said something that seemed utterly unrelated to the matter at hand and left one at a loss.
"Master witcher, I've heard some unsavory rumors about your kind. According to those rumors, you don't just hunt monsters. You also take assassination jobs."
"Tell me, young master witcher. Is there any truth to that?"
Lynn instantly grasped the meaning behind Brovar's words.
He also noticed that the temperature in the throne hall was dropping rapidly.
Indeed, although Brovar Hogger was a valiant warrior, he was also the ruler of Mahakam.
Who would willingly face an armed swordsman alone?
Having understood that, Lynn continued without a change in expression. "The rumors are true. But Your Excellency, they leave out some very important information, enough to mislead people."
"What information?" Brovar asked.
Lynn slowly began to tell a story.
"Roughly three centuries ago, the legendary sorcerer Cosimo and his apprentice Alzur founded the Order of Witchers together."
"Their vision at the time was for witchers to help humanity eradicate monsters in accordance with the spirit of chivalry."
"And the Order of Witchers did indeed act that way back then."
"But a little over half a century later, the Order of Witchers split apart, giving rise to several independent witcher schools."
"Only the School of the Griffin inherited the order's commitment to chivalry."
"The School of the Bear may be cold, but they simply do the work they're paid for, and they don't take murder contracts."
"Our School of the Wolf falls somewhere between the School of the Griffin and the School of the Bear. Although we mostly take people's coin to rid them of their troubles, we've taken no shortage of jobs at a loss, either."
"The only witchers who engage in assassination are those from the School of the Cat and the School of the Viper."
Lynn paused, then continued.
"Besides, Your Excellency, someone as wise as you must surely have realized that this is my first visit to Mahakam. Before this, I had no connection to Mahakam whatsoever."
"Someone as distinguished as you could not possibly have enemies outside Mahakam. And Mahakam has always been closed off and conservative. Even factions within Mahakam have no opportunity to leave, much less find a witcher outside. Wouldn't you agree?"
Brovar hesitated for a while, then said,
"My apologies, master. My suspicious nature got the better of me. Please don't take it to heart... All of you, withdraw."
The well-equipped dwarven royal guards in the throne hall all bowed, then withdrew.