The Divine Hunter Chapter 4: News from Dandelion

The area near the canal in the southern district of Novigrad is completely different from the bustling commercial district on the other side. Dark and narrow alleys surround a group of dilapidated and dense buildings. On both sides of the alleys, sheets and changes of clothes are hung in a messy manner. The ground is full of potholes, dirty water flows across the ground, and stinky domestic garbage can be seen everywhere.

This is the slum of Novigrad, where the old Moore couple's house is located.

"Masters, welcome." Old Moore drank the potion and his physical condition was much better than before. He had a healthy blush on his face and smiled. "The house is simple and there is nothing to entertain you. Come in and sit wherever you like."

"Have you forgotten, Serrit and I lived here for a while?" Oakes walked in the door first and lay down on the tattered leather sofa against the wall in the living room, comfortably, "I do I think the house is very nice, at least it is more comfortable than sleeping in weeds with mosquitoes in the wild, and the witchers are not so particular."

The house is not big, with an area equivalent to that of an ordinary hotel room, but it seems particularly empty. The furniture can be counted at a glance: a dining table, chairs, a candlestick, a worn leather sofa, and a blooming box against the wall. There were shelves for vegetables and tableware, two baskets, and there was not even a dedicated kitchen. There was only a simple stove built with stones picked up from the river in the center of the room, with a rusty iron pot on it.

There are no other decorations in the whole house.

The second floor is divided into two bedrooms. The floor is paved with linen and cotton batting that has turned black and yellowed over time. Several sets of old linen clothes are casually hung on the clothes drying rod beside the window sill. The most expensive one is The thing was a wooden stroller.

Such a pattern felt familiar to the young demon hunter. It soon occurred to him that the furnishings in the house were exactly the same as those in Lower Aden.

The monthly rent for such a simple house in the countryside is only a few crowns, but in the Free City, where every inch of land is precious, even in the slums, the price has increased several times.

This money is nothing to the rich demon hunter, but it is a lot to the old Moore family, especially after suffering repeated blackmails from you, the little gangster.

In the name of purchasing food, Roy involuntarily handed Old Moore a sum of money, about two hundred crowns, and he would not accept any more for his convenience. He could only find ways to slowly improve his parents' life in the city.

"In the past six months, we have left you a lot of letters. Unfortunately, you have no fixed address with Master Lei Suo. We really can't send them to you. Why don't you follow me upstairs to have a look?"

Seeing Susie's loving face full of expectation, Roy couldn't bear to disobey her, so he followed her to the second floor.

The remaining witchers were chatting in the lobby on the first floor.

"Have you noticed that Roy seems to have been out of sorts since he met his parents?" Oakes said thoughtfully as he nibbled on a crunchy turnip. "The poor child is confused and sad after all." , or moved?"

"Family is a haven for spiritual relaxation, and the most precious thing in the world is to reunite with relatives after a long absence..." Seret analyzed in a philosopher's tone, "That kid is only fifteen years old, just look at it. He will definitely cry later."

"You underestimate him," Oakes disagreed with his brother and shook his head, "A mutated witcher is not that sentimental?"

"Oakes, it's hard for us to understand the emotions of ordinary people..." Seret paused. He and Oakes were sent to the Viper School before they could remember. They had never seen their relatives, and they didn't even know their names. .

Parents are just meaningless symbols to them. "But Roy has lived an ordinary life for more than ten years, and now he is reunited with his relatives after a long absence. Judging from the reaction of normal people, he will definitely cry. He is just embarrassed in front of us."

"I don't think so, do you dare to bet? Bet one hundred...twenty crowns!"

"I didn't expect you to hide so much private money without telling Roy..." Serrit stared at Oakes' big face and smiled suddenly, "I agree, but I want to be the banker, and No one is attending!"

"Add me...I bet twenty crowns that Roy will cry." Furius' cold voice sounded, "I taught him swordsmanship for a period of time. Judging by his posture with the sword, This is a guy with a sensitive heart and rich emotions, who is easily moved."

"Your Excellency Maojiu, where did you get this fallacy?" Cantila came over with a smile. The Zerikans had their own set of theories, "Tears are a sign of incompetence. Since I was thirteen years old, I haven't shed any tears since I killed the first desert spider with my own hands. Roy has more dead souls than me, and he's still a man, so he will never cry! I bet you ten crowns."

"That's enough, stop it!" Sitting on the sofa, Lei Suo couldn't help but rub his temples and said angrily, "Understand that today is a good day for Roy to reunite with his family. You still have Are you in the mood to watch jokes or make bets? As a comrade in a school of thought, can’t you understand his mood?!"

Of all the people present, only the little boy Karl was slightly confused and melancholy, probably thinking of his parents who were killed by bandits.

The remaining witchers were indifferent.

It's like a group of orphans.

"Ahem..." Seeing that everyone had nothing to say, Leisuo touched his nose and changed his tone, "...I bet fifty crowns. My student is not as fragile as you think, and he will not cry. No one knows him better than me!"

……

A quarter of an hour later.

"Haha, little Mino, smile obediently, and my brother will buy you some sweets." The young demon hunter walked down the stairs with a smile while teasing the baby in his arms.

After a long talk with Aunt Susie, he simply stopped suppressing his feelings and let them take their own course.

However, halfway through, he found that it was eerily quiet. When he glanced around, he saw several demon hunters downstairs focusing on him, as if they were examining the prisoner.

"Guys, what's going on?" Roy nuzzled at Reso, who nodded inexplicably, with a happy face. Oaks and Cantila also raised their chins proudly.

"Alas..." Furius and Seret sighed, their faces ashen. "Roy, what on earth did you talk to your mother about when you went upstairs to make you so happy?" Seret pinched his index finger and thumb, "Aren't you a little sad and touched, and didn't you have the slightest urge to cry?"

"Cry, why are you crying?" Roy looked strange. After a moment, he seemed to understand something and naturally confiscated the property of several demon hunters who had "gathered for gambling".

Soon after Old Moore returned home from shopping, surprisingly, a beautiful lady appeared beside him, "Roy, some masters, please let me introduce you to this beautiful lady. The bard, Miss Vespula, came from Covir and is currently collecting music in Novigrad."

"She lives in a small building next to our house and has written several letters for us. Seeing that today is a rare opportunity, I invited her to come over and have lunch with us."

"Vespra, are you from Covel?" Roy looked at the plump young girl in front of him, with blond hair hanging down her shoulders. Her navy blue jacket and tights supported her beautiful figure, and she wore a colorful hat. The red hat decorated with feathers gives her a touch of literary and artistic temperament.

Roy had never heard of this name, but he always felt that the other party's appearance was familiar. It seemed that he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't recognize it for a while.

"Miss Vespula, this is my son, Roy, a demon hunter. Next to him is his teacher, Master Leisuo, Oaks..." Old Moore pointed at everyone and introduced them one by one.

Roy smiled and shook hands with the other party. Her palms were as soft as bones and very flexible, but her fingertips had a layer of calluses from frequently plucking the strings. "Miss Vespra, I'm not in Novi." Gray, thank you for helping me take care of my family during this time. I’m really grateful. If you can be of use to me in the future, just say so!”

Vespra's beautiful eyes swept across the five demon hunters, especially the tallest bald man with bulging muscles and no visible neck. He paused for a long time and covered his mouth in surprise.

"Master Roy, to be honest, today is the first time I have seen a demon hunter with my own eyes, and five of them appeared at once..." Vespra did not hide her curiosity at all, "It turns out that I always thought that The child of Uncle Moore and Aunt Susie is a mercenary."

"Are you very disappointed? There are neither fangs, an extra leg or arm, nor a habit of eating people." Oakes interjected with a playful smile,

"Although I have heard a lot of your legends from my travels in Kevir, at present, it seems that those rumors are mostly untrue." Vespra chuckled, "At least the Witcher is better than the rumors. Be more humorous..."

……

A group of people gathered around the dining table to enjoy the feast cooked by Roy.

Potato beef stew, cheese pancakes, cod soup, marinated fried pork cutlets...

"My child, where did you learn the craftsmanship? It's more delicious than the chefs in the Novigrad tavern. Is it possible that the witcher needs to specialize in learning this skill?" Susie slowly put a piece of meat into the food. The soft stewed potatoes, filled with seven or eight indescribable aromas, melted in his mouth. He squinted his eyes in comfort, and then turned to Lei Suo curiously.

The bald man who was competing with the Oakes brothers made a move, raised his face from the dinner plate, cleared his throat, and organized some words, "Ahem..." He felt that it could not be said that it was because of his own oppression. Only then did he become such an excellent cook.

"On the one hand, Roy has a talent for cooking, and on the other hand, we are often outdoors, with plenty of fresh food and raw materials. The interaction of these two factors has created Roy's great cooking skills!"

"I told you!" Oakes sucked a piece of pork chop into his mouth with a "suck" sound, and spit out the bare bones with a few squeaks. "In the future, Roy will be old and weak, and he will not be able to do the job of a witcher." You can make a lot of money by buying and selling or being a cook!"

"Hmm, um..." The group of people next to them who were still engrossed in eating suddenly became confused.

"I'm only average, but I made some small improvements based on the innovative dishes of the Cowburger Restaurant." Roy said with rare humility, but the slightly curved corners of his mouth still exposed his pride and complacency. little emotions.

"Master Roy, what they said is not exaggerated at all," Vespra wiped the white fish soup from the corner of her mouth elegantly and calmly, "I have attended the banquet of the Kevir royal family. Although the ingredients you cook are simple, , simple, but tastes better. It’s really worth it to be able to eat such delicious food this time.”

Halfway through the meal.

"By the way, Roy," Old Moore hesitated, "How did you deal with the three gangsters in the market?" After having a good meal and wine, Old Moore remembered the biggest hidden danger.

"It's just a little lesson." Leisuo jumped in front and explained vaguely, "It's not a big problem if you are alive and kicking."

Well, being disabled is better than being dead.

"As for the gang problem, we also have a solution... In short, you two should not be busy running the stalls in the past few days, and stay at home. I guarantee that your food stall will be able to operate normally within a week at most. By then There will be no more gangsters to cause trouble!"

Old Moore was relieved and asked, "How long do those masters plan to stay with Roy in Novigrad City?"

Susie on the side listened quietly when she heard this question. The fork with a piece of potato stuck in her hand stopped in front of the baby in her arms. The baby's mouth had already grown, waiting for the woman to feed him, but he couldn't eat anything.

When he grew up with dark eyes, he realized that he had been ignored.

The little guy didn't give up. He stuck out his pink tongue like a puppy and kept licking the potatoes on the fork.

The bald man glanced at his student and said, "It depends on Roy's plan, but we have a lot of things to do in Novigrad, and it will take at least two months."

"Only two months?" The old couple couldn't hide their disappointment. According to their deepest expectations, the child would have to stay for half a year this time.

"At least," Roy couldn't help but add, "I will try my best to spend time with you."

"What's going on in the city? Is it a commission? Let's talk about it," Old Moore said. "We know many traders in the market, maybe we can help."

"Dad, Susie..." Roy shook his head, grinned and stuffed the potato in his hand into Xiao Mino's mouth. The latter finally retracted his tongue and closed his eyes and fell asleep. "I'm afraid you can't help," the witcher said, not believing that his parents would know the "magnificent" poet Dandelion.

"But..." The witcher turned his eyes to the beautiful female bard and hesitated to speak.

"What's the matter, Master Roy?"

"Miss Vespra, you are an excellent bard, do you know Dandelion?"

"Dandelion? Is his full name Julian Alfred Pankratz?"

Roy's expression froze, "I don't think there is anyone else with the same name as him, the famous bard, Dandelion."

"Oh——" the bard let out a slightly high-pitched scream with a perfect voice, his slender eyebrows wrinkled, showing a strange expression, "Then I happen to know, this is the industry's idol '...The talent is outstanding, but unfortunately..." Weispra paused, "too narcissistic and philanthropic, and has a rather naughty personality."

"Why are the masters looking for him?"

The witchers looked at each other with smiles on their faces, "Does Ms. Vespra know his whereabouts? As far as we know, Dandelion has settled in Novigrad in recent years."

"That's true, but it's a pity..." Vespra pursed her red lips and said angrily, "I don't know...which man or woman is this guy currently fooling around in."

"But someone knows." Vespra took a sip of fish soup with her red lips and said slowly, "A fan of poetry invites Dandelion to the Vanilla Inn in Novigrad in the middle of every month Party to share his creations. I happened to attend a party."

"Dandelion has many lovers, spends a lot of money on weekdays, and doesn't have much money in the package, so he usually won't miss this opportunity to solicit sponsorship."

"In the middle of the month, isn't that just these two days?" the witcher thought, "then we can just go to the Vanilla Hotel to keep watch."

"Tomorrow to be exact!"

"Who is that poetry fanatic?"

"Several of you should have heard of his reputation, a gang leader..." Vespra said in a cadence, reciting poetry, "cruel and ruthless, with countless wealth, lavish spending, and obsession. For elegant romance... If I remember correctly, his nickname was Old Hawthorne, and his real name was Alphonse Willie."

Everyone present was stunned. Isn’t he the big brother of those three gangsters?

"It's not that enemies don't get together."

More details that he had not thought of before came to Roy's mind, Alphonse Willey, Hawthorne I, an out-and-out poetry fanatic.

Before being killed by his own son, he even wrote Dandelion's name in his will and left one of his properties, the Vanilla Hotel, to the great poet.

This is how Dandelion later turned the Vanilla Hotel into a dance hall.

"It will save us the time to find people." Oaks rolled his neck slightly excitedly, "Guys, it looks like we are ready for a big fight!"

"What does this master mean?"

"It's just a joke. Miss Vespra, your words have helped us a lot...Thank you very much, about tomorrow's gathering of poetry lovers——"

"Actually, I also have a request..." Vespra's blue eyes swept across all the demon hunters present and pleaded, "From Redania to Aedirn, I have traveled to more than ten countries and written Poems on various themes, but unfortunately my inspiration has dried up recently~IndoMTL.com~There have been no works for half a year."

"I am honored to meet all the masters today. I suddenly had an idea, the witcher..." Vespra said with a few wisps of excited blush on her pretty face, "Why don't I compose a song about the witcher?" Poetry, this is a very interesting subject, which also means innovation and a lot of inspiration... So when you guys go out in Novigrad, can you take me with you?"

A poem about a witcher?

The faces of the demon hunters changed, and they were speechless. They had never encountered a similar situation. At least Cantila's fighting ability was not inferior to that of ordinary men, but Vespra?

Taking a helpless woman into action?

The witchers rejected this idea in their hearts.

"Roy, what do you think?"

Roy did not answer, and then looked at the female bard seriously...and then suddenly realized, "Ms. Vespula, I would like to ask, do you have another name?"

"My stage name is Karenita, you can also call me Pucilla."