Bear School Astartes

Chapter 90: 90. Direction of the investigation

Lann was slightly surprised.

He initially thought this journey wouldn’t be too long, find the Royal Advisor, get the intelligence.

Just a simple ”Where to go, who to kill,” and then carry a sword over to finish the job.

But now it seems...this matter is ridiculously huge?

Damn it! Why is there some big deal everywhere I go!

It’s making me look like a calamity star.

But despite saying this to himself, for Lann to simply ignore the matter, that was simply impossible.

He had shattered a armed camp of thugs in Velen to save people, and now having the genetic seed implanted, he was even less tolerant of his own failures.

Is anything easy to handle? Problems that can be resolved with a frenzy of sword swinging are in the minority.

”Seems like being impatient is useless now.”

Lann spread his hands and stood up from the chair.

”We’ll just have to start investigating then.”

Triss immediately stood up, those blue eyes tightly fixed on Lann.

”We will help too. This matter is no longer just the academy’s trust. It also involves whether we can stand our ground in Vizima.”

The two of them became Royal Advisors of Vizima based on the ancient agreements and accords between the Warlock organizations and Kings.

But it had to wait until a demon hunter came to stir things up for them to realize the city they thought was worry-free was actually a muddled mess.

If they didn’t have this sense of crisis by now, there was no point in occupying the position of Royal Advisor.

Sooner or later, they’d be kicked out anyway.

Lann nodded to her, causing the red-haired beauty to smile.

”I’ll find an inn to stay in first; if there’s news, we can contact each other through the crystal.”

Keira also stood up suddenly.

Whether her blush was from drinking or something else was unclear.

”An inn? That’s too inconvenient. Why not come to my laboratory? I have an empty room in the palace there, and there’s a big, soft...”

”No, you really should go to the inn.”

Triss also blushing, slapped away Keira’s hand that was reaching for Lann.

”Our current residences are definitely under scrutiny, and Lann has always been moving covertly, which is a strong card and shouldn’t be exposed.”

With that, Triss turned her head and smiled as she gave Lann an address.

”The inn’s service is quite good, located in a well-policed trade district, and even close to the palace, so there’s no safety concerns. In Vizima, it’s known that the trade district hasn’t seen violent crime in years.”

”Thanks for the info, I’ll head over first.”

With regretful glances from the two ladies, Lann put his hood back on.

He covered his half-black, half-silver-white hair and amber cat eyes.

While Triss felt nice, Keira seemed a bit too eager to ”devour” him...he just couldn’t adapt.

Throughout this conversation, Alia had a bewildered look, which was more than enough for a person of this era upon hearing such discussions.

Even farmers who have faced storms and hardships all their lives would mostly think they were hearing drunken nonsense when such topics came up — too lazy even to listen.

Education has always been a high-investment endeavor, and even as the Duke of the North’s youngest daughter, she most likely wouldn’t have been taught such profound content.

Although in terms of the foundation of Lann’s education, this ”profound” content here was quite rudimentary.

Upstairs, amidst the raucous laughter and playful banter, a portal opened.

The Demon Hunter, honestly blushing, deliberately didn’t listen.

The Roaring Bear Head Necklace on Lann’s chest trembled again briefly, then settled back into stillness.

He led the horse out, and the pair, one large and one small, hit the road anew, preparing to head to the inn recommended by Triss.

Walking from the Temple District to the Trade District, guards at road junctions gave him wary looks.

But they didn’t go as far as to interrogate him.

The Trade District and the Temple District weren’t separated by physical barriers, but anyone living in Vizima for over a week would be aware —

The night patrol and high expense would send the poor off to where they belong.

Fortunately, Lann’s purse at that moment was more bulging than most.

By the time Lann and Alia arrived at the inn Triss recommended, he was certain the female warlock indeed recommended him the best.

Most areas of the Trade District were paved only with gravel roads, while the Temple District was muddier.

However, this place was lined with clean cobblestones, narrow streets on both sides bristling with brick buildings, and the flowers displayed in house windows all highlighted the wealth and status of the area’s residents.

The inn was nestled right in the middle of these clustered houses.

The innkeeper, long accustomed to people disinclined to show their face in this city, only confirmed that the guest’s purse was adequately large before leaving well enough alone.

This also somewhat indirectly demonstrated the local owner’s confidence in the law and order.

~~~~~~

Inside the Vizima Palace, in the Mage Advisor’s room, various glass instruments seemed to sense the gathering of magical power.

In unison, they began to glow with a welcoming light.

Then, with a ”poof” sound of atmospheric pressure fluctuation, Triss and Keira returned here.

”Keira, I will find some tax officials to investigate tomorrow; what are you going to do?”

Having stepped out of the portal, Triss asked her colleague while removing her leather outfit, liberating her body.

”Me? I will go to Vivaldi. There must be clues in his bank transactions.”

”Vivaldi Bank? Do you think you can negotiate with the Dwarves? Those stone heads won’t be swayed by the few unbuttoned buttons at your neckline.”

”Ain’t that the truth?”

Keira watched like a spectator as Triss tossed her leather outfit around, then donned a court gown.

The daring design of the gown was much to the female warlocks’ liking.

”But among the officials overseeing bank activities, there are quite a few who can’t resist these buttons. Their positions will compel that dwarf group to cooperate obediently. Moreover, if push comes to shove, there’s always magic. Isn’t that right for a Royal Advisor to resolve issues magically?”

The two soon parted ways, for even Royal Advisors have regular duties.

Their efforts this time initially stemmed from Airetusa Academy’s instruction, but now were due to their own sense of crisis.

But in the end, it was all private work.

Triss sat in her laboratory, handling a straw doll dug up from the palace garden.

The guards insisted this was created by a cook as a medium for a curse.

Because of this report, she had to scrutinize the ragged straw doll inside and out, to confirm whether it was harmful.

The test results would then be presented to the Palace Steward for filing.

But after working for a while, the red-haired beauty paused in thought.

Lann and the disturbances he brought about ultimately seemed alarmingly overwhelming.

As Royal Advisors, forged from a compromise between Monarch and the Warlock Brotherhood, Wizard Association, they wield considerable power.

Veterans could leverage this role to partake in military and national matters, though she wasn’t able to yet, but if they couldn’t even uncover a slave trafficking case...

”Such vast influence, might it be that our investigative actions are also part of their surveillance? Is the information we gather subsequently precisely the garbage they wanted us to find?”

The terror of a vast conspiracy group lies in the fact that you may not even know you’re caught in their web.

Triss sighed, weariness etched on her face as she curled up in the expansive cashmere chair.

Lann...the Demon Hunter.

I’ve encountered Geralt, but even his magical disturbances never offered me such intense pleasure.

Is this Demon Hunter a new experiment of their school?

Could he be the solution to this uproar?

Recalling the young Demon Hunter, Triss tossed and turned on the chair, warmth surged through her body, and with the bewilderment and irritation, her lust felt even more formidable.

She cursed softly, standing up and kicking the chair askew as she headed towards her bedroom.