On the day of the Festival of the Vat, the Honourable Lady, Fringilla Vigo, wore a blue satin ceremonial gown and a beautiful amethyst necklace, displaying a dignified and magnificent beauty.
Victor entered the room, placed a hand over his chest in salute, and offered his greetings. She waved for all the maids to leave, then looked at him with the eyes beneath her long lashes, raised her wine cup, and revealed a mysterious smile.
That series of actions instantly put Victor on alert. Could it be that Fringilla had taken a fancy to his young and sturdy body and wanted a taste of a fresh young man?, of course, the probability of that was close to zero.
The witcher still had some awareness of his own appearance. After his mutations, he could at most be considered a handsome man with an unusual bearing, but he was still far from making someone want to pounce at first sight, much less an experienced sorceress!
It seemed there was some extremely private matter she wished to entrust to him, and it was definitely going to be a major headache.
Having prepared himself mentally, Victor calmly looked at Fringilla. Blue eyes met dark green pupils, maintaining a stance of if the enemy does not move, I do not move. If the other party did not speak, he would not take the initiative to ask. After all, she was the one who needed something from him.
Choosing to engage on equal footing was a deliberate decision. In the past, the young man had once used a humble approach to mislead Keira Metz, but after his reputation spread far and wide, just as he had anticipated back then, the days of playing harmless while hiding his strength were gone forever. Pretending to be young and innocent now would be treating others as fools!
Someone as distinctive and outstanding as him would be calculated by others even if he did not calculate them first. Trying to hide was utterly meaningless.
The silent psychological contest of staring at each other continued for a while.
"Your eyes are truly special. I have seen many witchers, but this is the first time I have seen one like you," Fringilla said, breaking the silence.
There was no need to pick up a topic that did not require a firm answer. Victor simply smiled and nodded.
Smoothing back the black hair beside her ear, the sorceress continued, "Over these past days, you have helped many people in the city and done many good deeds. I admire you for that. And since you have happened to accept the task at Hortense Estate and will be moving about in the wild next, there is a commission I would like to trouble you with. It is not very difficult, merely a small effort."
"Please tell me about it. If it is within my ability and the payment is appropriate, I would be happy to serve you." The witcher's answer was very reserved.
Fringilla set down her wine cup and blinked her beautiful eyes. "It is certainly within your ability. The matter is very simple. I hope you will help me keep an eye out for a girl. If you happen to encounter her, protect her until she is delivered into my hands. I am not certain where she is now, but she is definitely within the Duchy of Toussaint. As for the reward, there is no need to worry... it will satisfy you."
"Forgive my bluntness, but with your influence, how could you possibly fail to find one person in Toussaint? Therefore, allow me to state my position. Witchers do not carry out abductions, nor do they participate in kidnapping."
"Heh, you misunderstand. This is neither abduction nor kidnapping. The subject is an adult woman. I can assure you that she and I stand on the same side, and I hope to protect her safety! If you encounter her, you may verify that with her yourself. And because of certain factors, I cannot search for her openly!"
Staring at the sorceress's heroic face, the premise that she could not search publicly gave the witcher some guesses, so he gave up asking the reason.
"Tell me her name, then describe this girl's appearance and characteristics."
"She is avoiding certain dangers, so she may disguise herself or even alter her appearance. Aside from being female and the color of her eyes, all other characteristics are unreliable. For example, as far as I know, she only recently dyed her blond hair brown, and she may have changed it again. So all you need to look for are those green eyes. If you see them, you will understand their magnificence!
"As for how she may be addressed, her original name is Carthia van Canten. Her friends all call her Cantarella. But in dangerous circumstances, of course she will not use her real name. As far as I know, the name she is most likely to use is..."
Victor closed his eyes and pondered. As for this name, the first feedback from his prophetic memories was that there was no such person. In other words, she was a background character?
Thinking about it, there was not much need to refuse. In any case, according to her explanation, entrusting him with the matter was nothing more than a last-ditch attempt. If he truly encountered the woman, they could talk then.
...
Before long, after ending his meeting with Fringilla Vigo, Victor strolled away in a relaxed and cheerful mood, admiring the court arrangements of Toussaint along the way.
Completely different from the solemn and symmetrical design philosophy of the royal palace in Vizima, Beauclair Palace made extensive use of artificial hills, ponds, gardens, lawns, and other greenery to create a quiet and natural environment.
Reflecting on the two commissions he had obtained today, what had originally been nothing more than a playful whim born of sudden interest, Léon: The Witcher, had unexpectedly won the duchess's favor, with even a chance to be expanded into a short story later. It could truly be called planting willows by accident and watching them grow into shade.
As for the giant centipedes Anarietta had commissioned him to clear, although he had yet to conduct a practical investigation, the witcher was not overly troubled. A well-prepared alchemist had many means to play these kinds of monsters, whose range of activity was limited, to death.
In other words, obtaining the title of baron and the achievement of manor owner could be considered all but guaranteed. Thinking about it, it felt like playing a game. Once there was a title, he wanted to collect it. Once there was an achievement, he wanted to unlock it.
His original intention had merely been to get himself a small place and experience the life of a medieval landlord. But since there was a chance at nobility, advancing to count also sounded rather dashing! If he put in the effort to research with his own abilities, perhaps he could produce a wine even more popular than Est Est, then gain titles, rise to the top of life, marry a beautiful heiress, and just thinking about it made it interesting!
He had no impression of Hortense Estate and did not know where it was located, but those were minor details. Once he took over, the first thing he would do was change the vineyard's name. From then on, it would be the era of Corion Estate. As for the winemaking craft, after so many days, he had also made quite a few friends. Those less critical techniques, they should be willing to share.
As for Fringilla's commission, the final conversation remained vivid in his mind.
"All right, I accept this commission, but I must state in advance that Beauclair's permanent population is around thirty-five thousand, with a floating population more than twice that. Not to mention the fact that each winery takes in many outsiders.
"No interpersonal relationships, no specific appearance. The only two pieces of information are that I need to find a green-eyed girl, and the alias she may be using. This job is like fishing for a needle from the bottom of the sea. Besides, even if I find her, I cannot be certain she is the right one."
"Fishing for a needle from the bottom of the sea? A very good description. But I am sorry, this is all I have. She is a pure, innocent girl. I hope that if you come across her, you will do all you can."
"You have my promise. If I encounter her, I agree to protect this... lady."
...
After roughly a day's journey on foot, the Phantom Troupe arrived at Hortense Vineyard. It lay south of Beauclair, with Belgaard Vineyard to the northeast and Lac Celavy to the northwest.
Judging by its geography, it shared the lake-and-mountain scenery of Beauclair Palace and possessed ample tourism potential. But now, because giant centipedes had been appearing, the entire area was deserted.
Gazing from afar at the somewhat dilapidated estate, Victor stopped at the boundary of the vineyard and stomped hard on the ground.
When the first centipede was lured out, after a brief test, Victor immediately chose a strategic advance in reverse like the wind, pulling Angoulême along as they advanced to the shores of Lac Celavy to make camp. He also corrected his original strategic contempt and shifted to extreme tactical caution.
Reality and games were completely different things. No wonder ordinary knights could not deal with them, and even ordinary witchers would have a hard time. Especially when one did not know how many were hidden underground, it would be very easy to be attacked from front and rear at the same time.
Beside the campfire at night, Victor stirred a large cauldron and studied tactics with Angoulême.
"Their attack methods include a powerful close-range bite with large mandibles, a ferocious mid-range pouncing impact, and glands that spit strong acid at long range. All three of the above ignore armor, and a direct hit takes half your life away. In addition, the rows of hook-like legs protruding from their shells can also inflict wounds on unarmored areas.
"Their movement mainly consists of drilling into the ground at high speed, then emerging elsewhere on the surface, as well as short-distance leaping dives.
"As for defensive ability, almost their entire body is covered under hard shell-like armor. Not only can it block ordinary steel swords, even Grapeshot or the Igni Sign have no effect. That is what I observed. Does the deputy leader have anything to add?"
Beside the fire, Angoulême scratched her hair. "Nothing to add. I'll say my strategy first, otherwise you'll say everything! First, Eagle Eye vision can see their movement underground. Golden Eagle, coated with the sword oil you're making, should be able to break through their armor smoothly. The problem is that the opponent is huge, and we need enough time to deal lethal damage. My plan is to wrap bear traps with iron chains!"
Colorful light shone, and Victor began bottling the oil in satisfaction. "Very good. This is a very mature plan, almost on par with mine. I will only add one thing. The Yrden Sign can also lay ground traps. As long as a giant centipede drills into the area, it will be bound.
"Then there is this vial of Insectoid Oil. Applied to a sword, it has a corrosive effect and is specially meant for cutting hard-shelled insectoids like these. Paired with Golden Eagle's own armor-piercing effect, piercing them will not be a problem." After speaking, he handed the bottled sword oil to Angoulême.
"That's it?" The girl found it a little hard to accept for a moment. She had thought the leader would definitely bring out some strange idea or mysterious tool to deal with the monsters.
The young man shook his head. "Against monsters that fight by instinct, there is no need to outwit thin air or make some new tool. A plan like this is more than enough. But after we kill the giant centipedes, I will collect some acid to make bombs. This kind of corrosive weapon's effect on armor is quite interesting. I can also study whether there are any new Void traits."
...
Name: Undvik Armor
Type: Armor
Quality: Fine
Defense: Strong
Traits: Potential Awakening, Steel Guard, All-Ability Enhancement
Note: The "posthumous work" of the Undvik forge on the eve of the ice giant disaster.
...
The next day, Angoulême still wore Yoana's lovingly crafted leather armor, but Victor had changed into a brand-new, majestic suit of heavy armor. Last night, he had transferred the enchantments from his original leather armor onto the new iron armor.
Victor had obtained this set of Undvik Armor long ago, but in the past, because of its weight, it had not been convenient to use. Yet after completing the Trial of the Grasses, his physique was fully capable of bearing such weight without affecting his speed. Now that he had the chance, he naturally changed from leather armor into heavy armor.
The armor's style was entirely Skellige. It had a double-layered bearskin lining studded with copper nails, a steel chainmail vest worn over it, and both arms had full plate pauldrons and vambraces, gleaming so brilliantly that they dazzled the eyes. Add to that the thick fur collar, and it cleverly combined metallic splendor with wild ruggedness into one whole!
Completely different from the understated pursuit of plain leather armor, Victor's set of armor carried a nature of display and intimidation. It made him look more like a knight errant of Toussaint. Angoulême was so envious she nearly drooled, but unfortunately, wearing it would make movement difficult for her. Otherwise, she would definitely have asked Victor for it.
Leaving the shores of Lac Celavy, the two once again headed to Hortense Vineyard to fight the giant centipedes. After applying Insectoid Oil, Blazing Strike could also cause a certain amount of damage. Just as they had planned beforehand, they advanced step by step, trying to fight one at a time, and at most handling two at once.
After they eliminated five of them, the estate seemed to return to calm.
After stomping repeatedly at the center to confirm, the hacked-open centipedes dripped milky-white fluid, and the sprayed green acid had polluted quite a bit of land, but everything seemed to be temporarily over.
Then, fully armed together with Angoulême, Victor began patrolling his future territory for a final confirmation. To his surprise, he discovered that the underground wine cellar was both deep and spacious, faced north, and was geologically composed of volcanic tuff. It was neither too dry nor too damp, very suitable for storing wine.
The problem was that several tunnels stretched for miles, showing the witcher where monsters like giant centipedes came from. To emphasize the important matter once more, the geology of the cave was volcanic tuff, neither too dry nor too damp, very suitable for all kinds of monsters to dwell and survive.
The number of monsters that each region could support was limited. After clearing away these five today, if the cave mouths were not blocked, perhaps one day new monsters would migrate over from afar.
It was time to make demolition bombs.
...
The Treasurer's Report on the Liberation of Hortense Estate
Activity Report of a Knight Errant of the Duchy of Toussaint
29/g/21/ul/1271
The duchy treasurer hereby records that the former Hortense Estate, an administrative unit in Caroberta Woods, is from this day onward fully reopened, and has officially been renamed Corion Estate.
This location had previously received multiple reports of sightings of unknown monsters, and was therefore listed at the request of its former owner, Emmanuel Trident de Hortense, as "an area posing physical danger to visitors."
After professional handling by the new owner, the witcher Victor Corion, the danger within the estate has been lifted. The unknown monsters are understood to have been giant centipedes, Hen Llinge: Yghern, W3 classification: insectoid, individual count: five. The hunt was carried out using a legally registered steel sword.
The mission reward is the operating and management right specially approved by the duchess. Payment is required for the non-obligatory construction donation to the Prophet Lebioda Monument and the processing fee for winery document transfer, totaling five hundred florins.
Cash payment received.
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