Bear School Astartes

The exceptionally difficult romance between Geralt and Yennefer, in Lann’s view, is because Geralt, conscious of being a lowly and deformed ’mutant’, feels unworthy of the female warlock with high social status and luxurious wealth.

Geralt’s most profitable commission at the moment is helping Veltrest lift the curse of his daughter, Princess Yada’s vampiric bird.

Afterward, Geralt exchanged his reward for a small bag of gemstones, intending to gift them to Yennefer.

But according to Lann’s estimate, that bag of gemstones is merely Yennefer’s income for a month.

After all, the cold and alluring female warlock, who favors black-and-white clothing, runs a highly sought-after magic cosmetics shop in Yaden.

Noblewomen vie to buy magic cream, hoping to rekindle their allure with magic’s help and bring their husbands from their lovers back to the bed at home.

And while it’s called a magic cosmetics shop, it also deals in abortion and fertility.

The former allows noblewomen to play with their lovers without worry, and the latter helps aristocrats continue their bloodlines and power.

Merely listening to these business ventures, one can imagine how profitable Yennefer’s shop is.

There is a huge difference compared to the demon hunters who fought monsters in villages, city slums, and trash heaps, barely earning a living.

Geralt’s sensitive heart has always felt quite awkward about this.

Lann had previously teased him about this ’awkwardness’, and now it’s the Wolf School’s ’revenge’.

”Haha~ Come on.”

Lann responded in a skin-deep smile, a look that made Geralt even happier.

Geralt’s equipment has now been upgraded with his work at Airetusa.

A complete set of Wolf School armor blueprints collected around Ker Morhan has been reproduced in Belengar’s hands.

It’s a medium-weight suit of armor, with an inner layer of fine chainmail and an outer layer of cured leather covered with cotton armor fabric.

The upper body leather armor is styled as a jacket, while the lower body is in jodhpur style. The knees, elbows, gloves, and boots use steel for key protection.

A wide leather strap across the chest provides numerous attachment points for magic potion bottles and alchemy bombs, suitable for quick access.

It unmistakably bears the Wolf School demon hunter’s style.

It wasn’t long before the waves surged under the increasingly violent sea wind, and the once-sunny sky began to turn ominous.

That was the fish-scale-like clouds descending and spreading.

On the coast, the ancient trees of Velen swayed in the dim light, their lush branches turned into dark shadows, resembling clawing ghosts.

Having left the commercial hub of Gos Velen, this old and somber land revealed its true face.

Velen is never warm and affectionate; it is an insidious, predator-filled swamp.

On this swamp may grow vibrant, beautiful flowers and verdant grasslands, but its brutal nature is just like every ghoul that emerges from the mud.

A white wave surged again on the dark sea, quickly approaching the shore.

The Qilin donned a full set of magic horse harness, and Rong Buqiu was strapped with bundles on its back.

”Hello meow, Geralt!”

The kitten cheerfully greeted the demon hunter who once hunted monsters alongside them from the newly settled Qilin’s back.

Geralt, having just outwitted Lann, was in a good mood. He responded with his hoarse voice.

”Hello, Rong Buqiu. It’s nice to see you safe.”

After a brief exchange, Lann mounted the Qilin’s back, racing alongside Geralt’s Roach.

Both were cloaked with waterproof hooded capes, along with Rong Buqiu.

The resin on the cape emitted a woody scent in the moist air.

”Here, something for you.”

Lann pulled something from his rear waist, stretching it sideways with his hand extended. Roach and the Qilin’s hooves thudded on the muddy path.

The sky was already drizzling lightly, likely to intensify soon.

Geralt tilted his hood, reaching to take the item from Lann’s hand and looking at it in front of him.

”A dagger? I have one.”

Geralt had numerous daggers and knives on him, as most warriors do.

Two on the belt, one in the boot, and maybe another on the thigh.

Yet Lann shook his head.

”It’s not for you. Aren’t you heading back to Ker Morhan? It’s a gift for Ciri.”

”Just this?” Geralt toyed with the sheathed dagger in his hand, taunting with his words. ”Even though Ker Morhan is remote and poor, we’re not so destitute that a small dagger would...”

Before Geralt could finish the words ’can’t afford’, his voice abruptly stopped.

Simultaneously, beneath the shadow of his hood, the faintly glowing cat eyes fixed on the dagger in his hand.

Clearly, the seasoned demon hunter, who had thrived for decades and continued to do so in the future, sensed something amiss with his keen senses.

”What’s... going on?”

Geralt’s gloved fingers pressed into the stubble on his chin.

There should have been a three-millimeter-long cut there, like squeezing a pimple until it bled.

This happened in an elf tomb, when Geralt was dodging the demon spirit’s teleportation slashes. Although he avoided the rusted blade of the demon spirit, he was hit in the face by the small stones kicked up by the sword blade.

The demon hunter’s body was covered with scars, both obvious and insignificant ones. Geralt wouldn’t even remember he had a wound here if he hadn’t been unable to shave this morning because of the small cut.

But since he got this dagger and talked to Lann, within less than three minutes... the wound disappeared.

”A specialty brought back from the last conjunction of spheres.”

Lann adjusted the brim of his hood, speaking calmly.

”This dagger was forged using a sacred gemstone, providing the holder with continuous healing power. Not very strong, but you felt it just now.”

”There’s also a sword technique on it. If Ciri is smart enough...”

Lann turned his head to think for a moment, then laughed.

”Ha, she has always been smart.”

”This is too precious, Lann,” Geralt said with a slight frown, seeming a bit reluctant.

He’s not one to easily accept someone’s kindness, otherwise he would’ve long gone to enjoy life with Yennefer.

But Lann’s words easily blocked him.

”If it’s not precious enough, I’d be embarrassed to give it away.”

”You think I have the right to know Ciri’s current situation, so I also think I need to take care of her.”

Geralt pressed his lips together and eventually tucked the blocking dagger back into his cloak.

”I’ll accept it on her behalf, and I’ll personally pass it to her then.”

Lann nodded to him from under the hood, saying no more.

In fact, Lann wasn’t worried that the blocking dagger wouldn’t reach Ciri due to some accident.

After all, back then, he had already seen the adult Ciri with this thing hanging from her waist.

-----------------

The roads of Velen, as always, muddy and rugged, even in rainy weather, sometimes making it hard to distinguish between wild fields and roads.

On either side of the road, the broken and decayed wooden carriages could occasionally be seen, both small handcarts and tarp-covered wagons without any horse bones present.

Thankfully, beside these remnants, there were no human bones or traces to be found.

Lann and Geralt could only hope the owners of these carriage wrecks were clear-minded enough to make a wise choice between the value of their goods and their lives.

The rain came and went, the only constant were the heavy clouds overhead.

Fortunately, as demon hunters, both Lann and Geralt were accustomed to the damp climate of these lands.

Rongbuqiu and Qilin, residents of the New Continent, were even more resilient to the natural environment.

”Wait, this doesn’t seem like the road to Novigrad.”

After walking for almost half a day on the Velen road, Geralt realized the direction was a bit off.

The road conditions in Velen were bad, with swamps sometimes hidden under seemingly passable grass, so detours and circles were quite normal.

”Indeed.” Lann answered, turning back under the drizzle while adjusting his hood.

”Buddy, I’m almost bankrupt. You need to let me find a way to rescue my assets first, funds can’t wait long.”

”Find funds?”

Geralt was taken aback.

Lann’s situation was actually quite optimistic financially, with plenty of people around him able to produce a large amount of cash and provide it to him.

Airetusa, Shilton’s home bank, even saying the words for 32,000 oren for Belengar was as simple as that.

The business with Valerian steel was too lucrative.

However, if Lann didn’t want to ask others under such circumstances, the remaining options... Geralt wasn’t really expecting.

”Are you saying you have backup funds? You’re kidding me, right?!”

Geralt exclaimed in disbelief, Lann’s previous ventures were already beyond what any demon hunter dared to imagine, and now he actually has spare money?

Since Lann wasn’t planning to ask others, it indicated that what they were looking for on this trip was his money.

The young demon hunter shrugged.

”Blame me for not giving you a heads-up before... your schedule isn’t urgent, is it?”

”Not urgent, not really.” Geralt shook his head under the hood, seemingly puzzled by Lann’s emergence as such a demon hunter.

”So, where are you going?”

”South of Velen.” Lann replied, sitting on Qilin, and raised his cloaked arm to point in the opposite direction of Novigrad.

”There’s a castle there, although the framework is still intact, the construction time probably dates back to the Dagger War period of the eleventh century, a really old house.”

”An old castle?” Geralt remained puzzled, ”What does that have to do with you? Did you bury a chest of oren coins there?”

”Tsk, Geralt, Geralt...”

Under the hood, Lann repeated his friend’s name in a tone that sounded either like a lament or a mock.