"I have a Witcher School, with many witcher brothers – from the Wolf School, the Bear School, and I myself am from the Viper School."
"Once you're there, your life will be stable. You'll drink and eat meat every day, won't have to worry about work, and the school will handle logistical issues like equipment and weapons."
"Of course, I won't force you. You can think it over carefully before deciding whether you want to follow me."
After listening to Guilliman, Gaetan was visibly stunned. This was a future he had never anticipated.
He had only met a fellow witcher, and suddenly he was being invited to join them for something big.
However, looking at the bulging money pouch and the other man's approachable face, Gaetan was, to be honest, a little tempted by the beautiful prospects for the future.
As a Cat School witcher, he had come to the North precisely because he couldn't stand being constantly assigned to be an assassin in the South, killing innocent people and finding no value in his life.
If he could find like-minded companions in the North, live stably in one place, and not have to worry about the trivialities of life, that would indeed be a relatively ideal life for a witcher.
Just as Gaetan was somewhat moved, Guilliman added another sentence.
"Oh, and I am now the Baron of Velen; I've become a noble."
"Under my protection, my witcher companions no longer have to worry about being treated as criminals."
A noble, huh?
In this era, nobility was a symbol of status and privilege.
As long as they didn't commit treason within their own territory, they were essentially local emperors.
They could do almost anything, even criminal acts, and at most, they would just pay a fine to the kingdom, rarely facing interference.
Hearing that the witcher opposite him had become a noble, Gaetan was shocked but also even more tempted.
He hesitated for a few seconds, then said:
"Thank you for your appreciation, Guilliman."
"After this contract is over, I'll go back with you to take a look."
"But whether to join you or not, I still need to consider it and see how things go. Is that okay?"
This was already a very cautious answer.
Although Gaetan looked like a young witcher, his actual age might already be several decades, so he certainly didn't have the impulsiveness to agree to join someone at first meeting.
Being able to try and make contact first was already a good start.
Guilliman smiled, took out steaming bread and wine from his storage space, placed them in front of the two, then picked up a bottle of beer and tossed it to Gaetan.
Keira picked up a piece of cake and said to the witcher with a smile:
"First fire magic, then spatial retrieval."
"I feel like you're more like a sorcerer than I am, Guilliman."
"However, don't expect me to reimburse you for the eight hundred orens you gave Mr. Gaetan, although I would offer more, this expense was not within my budget."
Guilliman took a sip of beer indifferently. For him, spending eight hundred orens to win over a Cat School witcher was definitely a profitable deal.
Even if for nothing else, being able to learn Cat School swordsmanship from a Cat School witcher and gain an exclusive skill, the gain far outweighed the money spent.
"I was just ensuring your safety, Keira."
"Gaetan is very capable, an excellent swordsman."
"If a beautiful lady like you were to get hurt, my conscience would have a hard time resting."
Since they were just empty compliments, Guilliman said them without any burden, which made Keira giggle, and her impression of him soared.
Presumably, it would be easier to ask her for'sparring' in the future.
After a simple rest, and with the healing from the Swallow potion, the wounds on Gaetan's body from the rat bites had healed considerably.
Fortunately, he was a witcher and not easily infected by plague, otherwise, with his wounds, he would have died within a week.
Guilliman provided him with a free Wolf potion that increased agility and strength, then had him lead the way, taking them to the ruins where the Plague Maiden had appeared.
The ruins were about a few miles from the village. Ten minutes later, the three arrived at their destination.
Before they even got close,
Guilliman saw from a distance a terrifying wraith, about two meters tall, completely rotten, covered in maggots and rats, with a large, countless swarm of fat rats following it, wandering in the ruins.
A foul stench permeated the ruins, even causing Keira, within her magic shield, to gag.
It was indeed a Plague Maiden, and a particularly vengeful and terrifyingly powerful one.
Perhaps it was under the influence of her resentment that the rats accompanying her had mutated to such a massive size.
Looking at the human bones, gnawed clean, that had been moved from who knows where in the ruins, it was clear that these rats' food was the humans who had died in the plague.
But what surprised Guilliman even more was that this Plague Maiden's belly was distended, as if she were pregnant.
And after he used his Soul Sight, there was indeed a special wraith gestating in the maiden's lower abdomen, seemingly about to be born.
Damn, it was a pregnant Plague Maiden.
He told Gaetan and Keira about this phenomenon, which also shocked them.
Although pregnant ghouls had appeared in history over thousands of years, such a situation was extremely rare, let alone with a Plague Maiden, who was more powerful than a regular ghost.
Keira's expression was solemn as she looked at Guilliman and said:
"This Plague Maiden is very unusual. Do you think you can hold her off, Guilliman?"
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