The Witcher: The Alchemist Who Walked the Witcher’s Road

Tonight, in the White Hall, the Dragonborn Bard Victor first performed the work that had made him famous, The Return of the Dragonborn, then recited a new piece, He's a Pirate, commemorating his life in Skellige over the past year.

In truth, when a famous person sang anything, the audience was already inclined to give extra credit. And although these two poems differed from the popular style, the former had been approved by King Foltest, while the latter possessed a rugged, heroic spirit all its own. A hall full of cheers was only natural.

He bowed to the audience, then waved from afar to Shani, who was clapping enthusiastically, before withdrawing from the stage with calm elegance.

Returning to the empty dressing room, Dandelion, who had finished his own performance earlier, had already left. Victor picked up the belongings he had set aside before going onstage and put them on, then his gaze suddenly sharpened, because his herbal satchel had been searched.

The person who had done it was quite skilled. At first glance, nothing seemed out of place, and no item was missing. But the Endless Herbal Satchel was an item linked to Victor's spirit. No power could touch it without leaving a trace.

That meant he was being watched. As for enemies who would pay attention to him, there should currently be only Salamandra. But could a mere criminal gang send someone to infiltrate the palace?

Furthermore, the fact that nothing had gone missing was not necessarily a good thing. It meant that nothing inside the bundle had caught the other side's eye. The only thing they needed could be his alchemy manuscripts. Only that answer would be worth taking the risk of using power within the royal palace.

As he was thinking, a voice he did not often hear but remembered deeply reached him. "Master Victor, why are you standing here in a daze? What are you thinking about?"

Victor turned and saluted. "It is an honor to see you, Your Highness!"

In the candlelight, she narrowed her long almond-shaped eyes, languid and at ease. Her lips were full and crimson, her skin fair and translucent, and her entire body exuded the fragrance of pheromones.

She nodded in return. "Please don't be so formal. You can call me Adda, and may I call you Vic?"

After receiving the young man's consent, the princess smiled charmingly and gestured for Victor to sit on the long side of the dressing room's soft sofa chair, while she sat on the short side to keep him company. After sitting down, she naturally crossed one leg over the other, revealing a length of snow-white calf. She truly lived up to the title of Adda the White.

This posture immediately gave Victor some bold ideas. After all, the other party's reputation was not very good. Perhaps she admired this youthful body brimming with vitality and wanted to exchange life experience with him? But why was Roderick here? Could it be that they intended a three-way exchange?

Just as his imagination was running wild, the Lily Knight took two cups and a bottle of Est Est down from the wine cabinet, came to the table, arranged everything, opened the bottle, and filled both cups.

Adda smiled in satisfaction. "Rod, please go guard the door. I have a few things I want to discuss privately with Vic."

"Your will!" Receiving the order, the Lily Knight answered and left. With the young man's keen eyes, he did not see even the slightest anger or reluctance on his face.

Damn it! This transmigrated life really was impossible to live! Why was every villain he met such a good actor? Were you not jealous at all? Should your face not have turned ashen, or should you not have glanced at me with venomous eyes? Or perhaps protested loudly that the princess could not be alone in a room with someone of unknown origin?

His inner complaints did not change anything. As Roderick left, Victor admitted that being alone with Adda made him a little wary of this woman. The cause was the princess's gaze. It was very bright, bright enough to be frightening, and contained many complicated meanings. Part of it was wildness, the kind the young man had once seen in the eyes of a hungry she-wolf.

"To you! Dragonborn Bard Victor Corion. This should count as the first time we have properly spoken face to face. The last time we met should have been when that robbery happened. What a terrifying day!" A beautiful woman with a sweet voice, that was Adda's opening line.

Although she now seemed gentle and elegant, Victor would absolutely not be deceived by her. When he had been Batman, he had dealt with this princess more than once, and several times she had commanded knights to pursue him. Anyone who treated her as a naive little sweetheart would regret it too late.

"Yes, at that time, thanks to Your Highness's protection, I was not framed by Thaler."

Her red fingernails were long and sharp. She extended one finger and gently shook it from side to side. "No, no, no! I was only upholding justice! After all, right until the end, he failed to present any credible evidence."

The young man raised his glass. "Justice is the most precious value, and those who uphold justice are even more precious. To justice, and to the precious Princess Adda!"

She smiled brightly and clinked glasses with him. "As expected of a great poet. You truly know how to speak. With such sincere praise delivered so perfectly, I may be reluctant to let you go!"

The young man's smiling face stiffened slightly. "Please don't tease me, Your Highness."

"I'm not teasing you! I truly like your poetry. Whether it's The Return of the Dragonborn or He's a Pirate, that unrestrained, free-spirited boldness attracts me beyond measure! To be honest, if I, Adda, Crown Princess of Temeria, invited you to stay in Vizima as a court poet, would you be willing?"

The young man secretly thought this was troublesome. The princess's expression and gaze were both very serious. He did not remember hearing that she was a poetry enthusiast in the past. Could it be that she really admired him in particular?

Thoughts ran wildly through his mind, but on the surface he remained calm and unruffled. Victor answered with a smile, "I am very sorry. Although this is a tremendous honor, but,"

Catching a glimpse of the princess's predator-like gaze, the young man abruptly stopped. He realized with a start that the relaxed atmosphere had nearly made him let something slip. He changed his breath and continued, "But writing poetry requires more experience. Forgive me, I have not yet reached the time to settle down."

Adda leaned closer and stared at Victor's face. She was wearing a red low-cut evening gown, so when she drew near, in that instant, it seemed as if she was not alone. Her elders seemed to be staring at Victor too.

"Do you know? I almost thought you were going to say, 'But I refuse!' That was the proudest thing I had ever heard from the most unfettered person I had ever met!

"And do you know? Although you hide it very well, when you smile, the upward curve is exactly the same as his. Don't move... yes, that expression you have right now.

"Batman! I finally found you."

Danger!

His heartbeat sped up. If he had known coming to the royal palace today would involve so many dangers, the young man wondered whether he would still have accepted the invitation.

His smile remained warm and tranquil. "Princess, you have mistaken me for someone else. How could I possibly be Batman? I saw him that day too. He was far more muscular than I am!"

"Perhaps! But my investigation afterward uncovered many suspicious points. First, that day, he rescued you, then rushed out from the room. There were so many guards at the scene, yet no one saw you and Batman at the same time.

"Second, although the situation was chaotic that day, no one saw you leave. As a monitored bard, that was also impossible.

"Finally, after you left Vizima, Batman never appeared again. Yet there were rumors of Batman appearing in Novigrad, and the timing of his activities happened to overlap with your time there."

Without question, at first hearing, everything Adda said sounded like a flaw. But once examined, one would know that all of it was circumstantial evidence. There was no direct evidence pointing to him, and the room for denial was ample. So the young man still maintained his unhurried, composed manner.

He raised his cup and took a sip of Est Est, the finest red wine from Toussaint. "Forgive me, Your Highness, I truly do not understand what you mean!"

"Then could you tell me how you escaped that day? Which route you took, or whether you ran into anyone at all along the way?"

"My apologies. I was too nervous that day, panicked, and only wanted to leave Vizima. I can't remember anything now."

Victor fully carried out the principle of "leniency for confession, severity for resistance." He knew that as long as he maintained an ironclad defense, there was nothing to fear. He was the bard Adda had invited. Social custom would not forgive a host for imprisoning a guest, even if she was a princess.

The air grew quiet. Adda's expression froze into ice. It seemed the result she wanted could not be achieved.

She knew very well that the person before her was no longer a nobody. If she treated him rudely or unjustly, Skellige, first of all, would not stand by and watch. And this fellow was definitely connected to Cerys!

Just look at those firm pectorals, those perfect abdominal muscles, and that bulging lower abdomen! Those perfect lines wrapped in the bat suit.

What a pity... If she had kept him last year, how wonderful that would have been. Back then, he definitely would not have been able to refuse her, and she could have done whatever she wanted with him.

Letting out a long breath, the princess drained the red wine in her cup in one gulp. "Forget it. I won't force you. I should have expected you would not tell the truth, but I still want to ask you a question. Suppose you were Batman. Don't rush to deny it, I said suppose!

"Suppose you were Batman... I once tried to capture you. But if one day I met danger, as a friend to women, would you come save me?"

Although Victor had already expected that Adda would have no way to do anything to him, this question was still somewhat peculiar. It fully displayed her willfulness and immaturity. But even though her reputation was poor, if one truly asked what unforgivable wicked deeds she had committed, he did not seem to have heard of any. And she was a beautiful woman!

Asking himself honestly what he thought of Adda, Victor shrugged. "I would guess that, within his ability, Batman would be willing to help women in trouble. And these little conflicts between you and him did not truly cause any harm. I feel that he would help you!"

The frost on her face thawed, and the princess smiled very sweetly. "Is that so! Indeed, you are right. Then... I will look forward to that day!

"Thank you for your performance today. If there is nothing else, I suggest you set out tomorrow and leave Vizima for a while, or move to the Trade Quarter, somewhere near Natalis Square would be nice."

Adda did not explain the reason she said this, and Victor did not ask.

When she rose and left, lowering her crossed leg, it seemed for an instant as though something could be seen, but in truth, nothing was seen.

...

After ending a day full of thrills and danger, Victor sat back at home in the alchemy workshop that night. As he stirred something, the more he thought back, the more chilled he felt. "Even Princess Adda knows the riot is going to happen? Then is the whole matter something tacitly permitted by the royal family? Could Foltest be planning to take the opportunity to purge the nonhumans?"

Trying to introduce this new variable, Victor very quickly discovered that there was insufficient information, turning it into meaningless fantasy. He could not deduce any effective conclusion.

As expected, with matters like this, it was better to let nature take its course. These affairs of state could be handled by kings, nobles, and their advisors. Getting casually dragged in would only be looking for trouble.

Even if he wanted to get involved, he should first undergo the Trial of the Grasses and strengthen his own foundation a little. If he wanted to flip the table, he had to have the strength to flip it.

As he thought this, dazzling multicolored light shone out, and the Wheel of Truth beneath his feet retracted. The epic sword Golden Eagle, carefully crafted for Angoulême, was finally born! With that wild girl's talent, once she had this sword along with leather armor and accessories, protecting Shani and herself should at least be no problem.

Victor put Golden Eagle into its scabbard. Footsteps came from the stairs. He looked up and saw the person approaching carrying two cups of milk. But it was not Angoulême, as usual, it was Shani.

Unexpected, yet reasonable.

Putting down his work, on the fold-out sofa, the young man and his senior sat at opposite ends, separated by the distance of a pillow, each holding a cup of milk and sipping from it.

"What you said on the way back was true? You're leaving tomorrow?"

"That's right. I have a pretty good place in mind where I can undergo mutation. The round trip, plus the fourteen days of the trial, and one extra day for any additional delays, means I'll be back in seventeen days. Back in Vizima."

"But by then, you'll already be a witcher!"

"Please don't worry. My trial will not affect my mind. I will still be me, and you will still be my senior. Nothing will change!"

"No, many things will change... For example, physiologically speaking, you will lose the ability to have children!"

"Look on the bright side. That means there's no need for contraception. Speaking of which, I've wanted to say for a long time that current contraceptive methods aren't all that reasonable. Maybe we can research whether there's a better method besides decoctions, one that reduces the burden on women's bodies!

"For instance, we could put a thin layer of casing over the male tool, using an animal membrane to block the substance that makes women pregnant!"

The more Victor spoke, the more excited he became, because he suddenly discovered that perhaps this too would be an invention beneficial to the world. As the first man to invent the condom, he would definitely go down in history!

Shani glanced sideways at Victor and rolled her eyes. "Could you shut up? The thing you're describing has existed for a long time already! And I'm talking about how you'll lose your fertility, while you're talking to me about not getting pregnant! Have you never thought about having children?"

Victor scratched his hair. "To be honest, I haven't considered it at all. I'm still a child myself!"

"Then you're still leaving with such unwavering resolve? What if you regret it in the future?"

"Regret? Regret is impossible. I could never regret it in this life! If I want children later, then I'll research methods of fertility then. I believe that with my efforts, all of these things can be overcome!"

"Then how many years are you preparing to spend? Five years, ten years, twenty years? Or a hundred years!?" His senior's voice was low.

Seeing Shani ask so seriously, Victor evaluated it in his heart. Speaking of this problem, limiting it to personal use did not seem very difficult.

The key was that after reconciling with Corion, whenever he dealt with villains now, it triggered a temporary rush of killing pleasure. It had to be said that the effect was astonishing. That day, he had merely killed Albert, and the sudden eruption of mental power, combined with his sincere desire, had refined a "legendary" Grass Draught.

So this problem was actually very easy. The premise was still that he had to wait until he truly wanted descendants. Then he would find an unforgivable villain, someone like Albert, for example, deal with him, add sincere desire, and through one instance of "legendary miraculous alchemy," he would naturally be able to solve the infertility problem.

With legendary power, even "getting pregnant by holding hands" was not impossible...

Victor was simply deducing the future on his side, basically confirming that reproduction was not a problem at all. But on the other side, when Shani saw him stay silent, she thought Victor had no answer.

She said, "Give me a child."

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