Chapter 607 - 607: Assassin From the Cat School

Chapter 607: Assassin From the Cat School

[TL: Asuka]

[PR: Ash]

A vibrant green reflected from the diamond-shaped screen of light. Drooping branches of a weeping willow swayed in the wind, a layer of mist blanketing the vast, rippling river.

A grimy Lambert stood on the soft ground beside the river, his face scrunched up. Every inch of him spoke of depression. His hair was as unkempt as a bird’s nest, and his M-shaped hairline looked dim. His greyish-brown armor was covered in blood. Obviously, he’d just gone through a big fight earlier.

On his left, Aiden of the Cat School stood with a sword in his hand. His face was gaunt, his cheeks sickly red, and he looked exhausted. On the right was Triss in a greyish-yellow hunting attire made out of beast hide. She waved her hands, and mana rained down, keeping the xenovox online.

Auckes was nowhere to be seen.

“What’s the situation?” Roy crossed his arms, cocking his eyebrow. He teased, “I thought you guys took up a bodyguard request. You look like you just fought a basilisk.”

Lambert scratched his nose and smiled awkwardly. “You were in isolation for a month, kid. When we got here, we found out Keira Metz wasn’t telling the truth. She said the job was to guard the mayor of Sodden. And there might be some exciting things on the side. I thought it was an easy job, so I took her up on the offer. Could make some money and have some fun, but alas, you can’t trust a woman’s words. Even a demon’s more trustworthy than them.”

Coral shot him a scathing glare from beyond the screen.

Lambert quickly changed his tune, “Of course, Lytta and Triss are the exceptions. Keira Metz lied, though. She wanted us to be bodyguards for Foltest, the new king of Sodden. I almost had a falling out right there and then, but Princess Adda and Triss are friends with you, so I stayed back for fun.”

Triss’s shoulders trembled. She held back the urge to slap Lambert. Hey, you’re the one who came all the way here to suck up to Keira and claimed you’d make her pregnant.

Roy smiled wryly. He was a witcher. He wouldn’t fall for such an obvious lie.

“The guy who escaped was no regular man.” Aiden clenched his fists. He had a conflicted look on his face. Hoarsely, he spoke.

Roy had a guess who that person was, and Aiden said, “He was Gaetan, a witcher from the Cat School. Used to be my comrade. I’d never forget that face.” It had been a long time since he joined the brotherhood, and Aiden had almost forgotten that the Cat School made a living through assassination requests. He didn’t think that another witcher would still take dirty jobs like that in this day and age. And it was no ordinary job; it was a request to kill a wise and mighty ruler of a big kingdom. If the assassination had succeeded, Temeria would be plunged into chaos. Many would perish.

Aiden emphasized, “Gaetan was a rational man. The Trial didn’t affect him too much, though he would have the occasional outburst.”

Gaetan? Roy realized who that person was. In his mind, he saw a bald man with a scar on his face, and a memory surfaced. Down the line, a leshen would terrorize a village in Velen by the name of Honorton. Gaetan accepted the request to slay it. When he came back victorious, the village elder refused to pay him his dues. He was led to the barn and was ambushed with a pitchfork. Enraged, Gaetan slaughtered the whole village. Geralt ran into him by chance, and the Wolf and Cat started a dangerous chase.

This was the butterfly effect again. Because of Roy’s meddling, the attempt on Foltest’s life had been brought forward. The assassin, instead of Letho, was replaced by Gaetan, now an ally of the elves. “They say the Cat School has a lot of elven members. A sizable portion of that school served the elves of Blue Mountains in the past,” Roy said.

Aiden paused for a moment. With worry, he said, “An ancient tradition. Not many of them follow that now, but Gaetan does have elven blood. He obviously sees himself as part of that race. Gaetan was hit by Keira and Fercart’s spells, and he sustained heavy weapon injury. We followed the trail of blood here, but the river cut it off. He can’t be far. If he wants to live, he has to stop somewhere across the river to heal up.”

Aiden looked at Roy, his eyes glistening, the look on his face one of genuine plea. “I want to find this comrade who has been led astray and lend him a hand.”

“That’s right.” Lambert swung his fists. Excited, he agreed, “Gather all the witchers worth making allies out of is why the brotherhood exists. It’s our raison d’être!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep a secret,” said Triss matter-of-factly. “I need to make sure that guy won’t attack any other kings of the Northern Realms. If any kingdom falls into instability, the people will be gravely affected.”

What the heck, guys? You’re Foltest’s bodyguards, but now you want to save an assassin? Roy fell into silence. They want to go against Foltest’s orders and recruit this Cat assassin. Is that worth it?

Everyone on both sides of the xenovox held their breaths. Roy eventually said, “We’ll have to find him first, and then we’ll decide what to do with him.”

“Don’t just stand there, Lambert. Call Kiyan and Eskel. What do they say? Ah yes, two heads are better than one!”

“I knew you wouldn’t let me down, kid.”