บท 300: 301. Do You Want to Be the Chief?
Unlike the bright and sunny illusion of the morning, today the ancient Kaer Morhen fortress was under cloudy skies. The gray, gloomy clouds hung just twenty or thirty meters overhead due to the high altitude.
It seemed as if a weather god had deliberately placed some dark clouds to block the sunlight over the castle.
This made the already empty Kaer Morhen appear desolate and eerie, almost like a ghost town.
Walking along the cobblestone path towards the Chief's quarters, Allen looked troubled, his mood equally unsettled.
It wasn't because his eager testing of the evolved Mirage Pearl had been interrupted, but because Vesemir's expression gave him an uneasy feeling, as if something bad had happened.
But what could possibly happen in Kaer Morhen, the stronghold of the witchers?
Allen recalled that Vesemir had gone to report their journey to the Chief yesterday...
Could it be that the Chief had refused Duke Mason's invitation to relocate their school?
But that alone shouldn't make him look so grim, should it?
As he and Vesemir pushed open the main hall doors together, Allen couldn't resist asking, "What's wrong, Master Vesemir?"
"You seem to be in a bad mood today…"
Vesemir's steps faltered as he entered the main hall. He hesitated for a few seconds for some reason, glanced at Allen, and then continued forward.
"It's nothing…" he said with a gentle shake of his head.
"Don't worry; it's my own issue…" He paused, perhaps remembering something, and patted Allen's shoulder, explaining:
"Yesterday, when I spoke to Chief Sol about our journey, he praised you as the future of the Wolf School."
"That's high praise. I've never heard him commend anyone else like that."
"So don't worry; this isn't about your knighting in Ellander."
Allen remained silent upon hearing this. Ever since Vesemir had hinted that Chief Sol was a noble of considerable status, Allen hadn't really worried about his knighting. In fact, he'd nearly forgotten about it until Vesemir brought it up now. But as for Vesemir's personal concerns…
What he really wanted to know was why the master witcher looked so downcast first thing in the morning…
Allen sighed inwardly.
Yet seeing that Vesemir seemed intent on avoiding the topic, he decided not to push further. With so few people at Kaer Morhen now, he'd find out sooner or later.
The castle's top floor, where Chief Sol resided, wasn't far from the south tower.
Entering the castle hall and climbing a few flights of stairs, they reached it quickly.
Knock knock.
Vesemir tapped on the door and then opened it directly.
Allen, just stepping inside, noticed that Vesemir remained by the door, not intending to enter, and asked in surprise: "Aren't you coming in?"
Vesemir shook his head. "I have other things to do."
With so few people in Kaer Morhen, what could there be to do?
Allen immediately felt a bit uneasy.
He'd initially thought that this was a discussion about Duke Mason's invitation to relocate their school.
After all, Vesemir had spent much of his time in the temple library researching, not interacting as much with Duke Mason and High Priestess Ianna as Allen had.
But would it be necessary to avoid Vesemir for this?
Or maybe, as he'd said…
Did the master witcher really have other things to do in this empty ancient fortress?
Thud.
The wooden door closed.
Never having been alone with the Chief, Allen felt a bit uneasy, adjusting his posture before turning to look around the room. It was a large reception room, with ceilings six or seven meters high and roughly the same area as the apprentice training ground below the south tower.
A wide wicker chair, a long table, and dim candlelight filled the room.
The Chief was not present in the reception hall, so Allen chose a wicker chair to sit in and examined his surroundings.
Opposite the wooden door was an iron door leading to the trophy gallery of the master witchers' conference room.
Allen remembered that there was a fearsome dragon head mounted above the conference room's iron door. However, from his current position near the wooden door, he couldn't feel the intimidating presence, likely due to some shielding.
To be honest...
Walking through that trophy gallery had been quite an experience.
One could say...
Werewolves, vampires, leshens, sylvans, griffins, and even the head of a higher vampire…
Even without mentioning the dragon, every single monster head in that hall was famous in its own right.
It had made Allen, who'd only recently become a master witcher, want to point at the Chief and exclaim: "Now that's what a true warrior should be like!"
Thud, thud, thud.
Just then, a heavy footstep sounded from behind the wooden door inside the conference room.
Following the sound, Allen looked over.
Creak.
The wooden door opened.
Allen rose to greet his superior. But to his surprise, as the Chief entered under the dim candlelight, he asked suddenly: "Do you want to be the Chief?"
The question startled Allen immediately.
What was going on?
Can you, a grandmaster witcher, read minds?
But when he looked up with a jolt, he froze instantly.
The Chief, once seen with long black hair that was now somewhat dull, showed traces of silver at the roots.
In his gray cat-like eyes, resembling the ever-present snow of the Blue Mountains, there seemed to be a clouded and weary look.
It had only been a little over a month, yet Grandmaster Sol seemed as though he'd aged ten years, appearing as a haggard middle-aged man.
What had happened?
Allen gazed in astonishment at the backbone of the Wolf School, his mind filled with questions. And for the Chief to ask him now if he wanted to be the Chief, it seemed… somewhat ominous.
"Chief, are… are you alright?" he asked cautiously.
The Chief had to be fine right now.
If something happened to him, not only would Allen's hard work for the past six months be in vain, but in the face of outside threats, any turmoil in the school could lead to disastrous consequences.
"I'm fine." Sol smiled gently, pointing to the wicker chair Allen had been sitting on, signaling him to sit back down. Then, the Chief took a seat in the opposite wicker chair, but did not bring up the question of wanting to be the Chief again. Instead, he engaged in a casual conversation and offered some praise.
It was almost the same routine as before when his superiors had prepared him for challenging tasks in his previous life. This actually made Allen breathe a sigh of relief.
Yes!
This was the normal procedure. If he'd started by asking if Allen wanted to take over, it could have caused a heart attack.
Although Allen's attributes now surpassed Vesemir's…
The image of the Chief deftly handling six or seven Drowner Kings and a Swamp Sage at Ban Ard remained vivid in his memory. Such refined skill in monster slaying couldn't be assessed by mere stats alone.
Allen even wondered if, once he reached the Chief's level, he'd be able to take on magical monsters with the same skill, and dispose of them as smoothly as the Chief.
"Vesemir told me yesterday about Duke Mason of Ellander's invitation. What do you think?"
The main topic had arrived.
Allen straightened up in his chair, choosing his words carefully, and replied: "Duke Mason's invitation seems credible, and there's also the endorsement of Ianna from the Temple of Melitele…"
"No, that's not right..." The chief shook his head, interrupting, "I'm not asking whether Mason's invitation is reliable, or if Ianna welcomes it..."
"I'm asking about you..."
The chief's gentle expression suddenly turned serious as he looked at Allen's piercing blue, cat-like eyes: "Do you think the Wolf School should leave Kaer Morhen, should leave Kaedwen?"
A faint but undeniable aura of pressure started to radiate from the strongest man of the Wolf School.
The witcher felt as if he had been transported back to that afternoon a few months ago, in Vera's alchemy room, when he had suggested trading a potion formula for command authority over the witcher corps.
But this pressure was much weaker than it had been back then.
Allen wasn't sure if it was because he himself had grown stronger or if the chief had truly become... well, suddenly old, just as his face suggested.
Shaking off these disrespectful thoughts, Allen observed the chief's solemn expression, analyzing for several seconds to determine if he agreed or disagreed.
Recalling the initial question, "Do you want to be the chief?" Allen weighed his words: "Out in the open, you can dodge a spear, but hidden arrows are harder to defend against. Being in Kaedwen, hated by Ban Ard and the royal nobles, there will always be trouble."
"But if we move to Ellander, that won't be an issue."
"At least for now, the nobles and temple priests in Ellander need us to deal with the monsters that may be lurking around Ellander."
"For that reason, they would even shield us from any malice coming from Kaedwen or elsewhere."
After glancing at the chief's expression and seeing no reaction, Allen continued: "The death rate in the Trials has decreased, new potion and blade oil formulas and magic signs are being popularized, and the witcher corps have seen some good progress institutionally as well..."
"For witchers now, the most important thing is time."
"With time, the school will grow and strengthen quickly."
"So, while there may be some issues, relocating the school to Ellander should have more advantages than disadvantages."
"At least, that's what I currently believe." Allen added a cautious disclaimer.
Once he finished, the chief retracted his imposing aura, smiled gently, and nodded: "Moving might indeed be a good idea for the Wolf School at this point..."
With that one sentence, Allen, seasoned by experience, understood where the chief stood.
If the chief truly agreed with him, he wouldn't be using words like "at this point." There would undoubtedly be a "but" coming...
"But Ellander won't do."
As expected, there it was... Allen thought.
However, just when he thought the chief was going to list reasons, belittle him, remind him of his position, and then perhaps throw in a compliment to stabilize him, fulfilling a classic workplace PUA routine, the chief fell silent for a moment. Then, he stood from his seat and walked slowly to the window.
Outside, the sky was still cloudy, with low-hanging clouds.
When the chief reached the window, a patch of gray clouds blocked the view. But he did not turn away, as if what he wanted to see wasn't the obscured mountains and sky. Instead, it seemed he was looking at something far older, something more enduring and far-reaching.
"Humans cannot be trusted," he suddenly said, staring into the misty clouds. "All promises and contracts made by short-lived races will inevitably be broken someday."
"The elves have suffered from this painful lesson, as have the dwarves, the once-great Witcher Guild, and..."
"...and now the Wolf School."
"Allen, remember this," the chief turned back, his gray eyes gleaming with an indescribable light, "especially when you become a leader among the long-lived races..."
Allen froze at these words.
This...
This was unlike any PUA tactics he'd imagined.
Hadn't the chief always positioned himself as a knight in shining armor, defending humanity?
What had happened to change him so?
Or was this his true self all along, merely disguised under a noble facade?
And beyond that...
The tone of his voice… Allen couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something felt a little off.
"Have you remembered this, Allen?" the chief asked again.
"Yes," the witcher quickly returned to his senses and replied.
The chief nodded, walked to the desk, picked up a map, and spread it out, gesturing for Allen to come closer.
"Ellander is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one passageway. If the school moved there, witchers would only be able to go up and down the mountains through Ellander..."
"And most other fortress-worthy spots along the Mahakam Mountains are already occupied by dwarves..."
The chief pointed to the topography around Ellander on the map.
As he explained the reasons why Ellander was unsuitable for the school's relocation, he also pointed out important factors needed for fortress construction along the rivers and mountain ranges of the Mahakam Mountains.
Listening to his explanation, Allen realized that the chief wasn't just covering generalities but was getting down to the specific types of stone and wood suitable for building fortresses, and the advantages and disadvantages of various fortress designs for defense.
Allen felt as though the chief genuinely wanted to teach him, a witcher with only half a year's experience, the knowledge needed to construct a fortress from scratch in one day.
It was completely unrelated to the PUA tactics he'd anticipated.
The chief… the chief seemed serious…
It was as if he genuinely intended to pass on his position…
But why?
Witchers cannot have children, so he certainly wasn't being groomed as an heir.
Though he had indeed accomplished some significant feats over the past six months, contributing to the school in small ways, other witcher masters had contributed for hundreds of years!
Could it really be because of his talent, that it somehow made up for what the other masters had done?
The Wolf School might be simpler than the outside world, but touching on individual interests and allowing such a young newcomer to rise in rank would certainly cause major difficulties.
Would the chief truly be willing to sacrifice for a stranger in this way?
The witcher found it hard to believe. Since arriving in this world, he had barely met the chief a handful of times, probably fewer than ten times.
He was more inclined to believe this was an ancient, mystical version of a new PUA technique. But even so, he focused intently, absorbing everything the chief said, down to details like the placement and orientation of trebuchets and ballistae.
Knowledge was precious in an age like this, and learning a bit more was always a good thing.
Especially since, with heightened perception and mystery-enhanced cognitive abilities, remembering things was far easier; he could recall about seventy to eighty percent of what the chief said immediately after hearing it.
Still, it was unclear whether this was fortunate or unfortunate, but while the chief imparted this fortress-building knowledge, there were no triggers for unlocking the Witcher Journal's knowledge skills, so there was no chance of activating a "Fortification Engineering Level 1" skill.
"...Have you remembered all this?"
After pouring out his knowledge on fortress construction, the chief looked up from the smudged, charcoal-marked map and turned to Allen.
Allen nodded, "I remember most of it."
Then, he suddenly recalled the chief's earlier comment: "Moving might indeed be a good idea for the Wolf School at this point…" So he asked: "Chief, in your view, where would be a suitable place for the school to relocate?"
.....
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302. "Daddy's" Favorite Child.
303. Who's Stronger, the Commander or the Deputy Commander?
304. My Apprentice Can Trick Me a Second Time?
305. Getting Serious.
306. The Sapphire's Sinister Red Glow.
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