Lann decided to use the skill point on a new branch of the [Quen Sign]: [Exploding Shield]
[Exploding Shield]: When Quen's shield breaks, it will knock back the enemy and inflict fixed damage at the same time. Chance to knock down the enemy. (2/3)
Thanks to the [Magic Tide] skill granted by Elder Blood, [Exploding Shield] has also been directly upgraded to level 2. This ability is equivalent to turning the Quen Sign from a simple defensive light film to a small shield with a counterattack effect.
After assigning the skill, Lann summarized his recent achievements:
The trip to Temeria had been full of surprises. At first, when negotiations with King Foltest failed, he thought he would lose Temeria's support.
However, he ended up establishing a good relationship with Princess Adda.
In political terms, he had gained ground. As for his personal growth, he had recruited Leo, a future witcher, completed a side quest, and gained a level thanks to Ace's efforts.
The next destination was Redania, to visit King Vizimir II.
This was the same king who had betrothed his son to Ciri, only to break the engagement later. In The Witcher Series, he was one of the few who understood the situation in the north and maintained a friendly attitude towards Cintra.
At least he didn't want to use the remains of Cintra as cannon fodder, like Foltest.
Lann hoped the trip to Redania would go well. He did not want that after having resolved the difficulties with Temeria, he would have problems with Redania.
Furthermore, in Redania there was someone else waiting for him…
Lann looked at the item in his inventory labeled [Master Mirror's Mirror.]
A lot of work awaited him.
...
The morning fog has not yet lifted, as Lann watches the outlines of the reefs and the many small islands in the distance.
In the calm waters of the delta, the huge transport ship moves forward at a uniform speed.
"Hahaha, Lann, this ship is not bad." Zoltan laughed and clinked glasses with Lann.
After so much time together, Zoltan and Lann have become quite close. Dwarves are not a race that rigidly follows social norms. When they drink too much, they even dare to fight freely with princes, ending up with bruised and bloody faces.
Although Zoltan learned many rules when doing business in human society, under the deliberate influence of Lann, he has gradually relaxed. During this time, what he enjoys most is drinking with Lann while he teaches the young earl spicy songs.
"You have helped me a lot, Zoltan." Lann emptied his glass in one gulp. "Being able to travel so comfortably has been a pleasant surprise. My soldiers can also relax and unwind. They are all grateful to you and your friends."
Zoltan laughed heartily. After drinking the wine, he saw that Lann seemed to have no intention of refilling the glass, so he turned to find his dwarf brothers to continue drinking.
Lann looked at House and Levin, who were not far away, and waves at them. "You guys should go and take a rest. We are on the ship now, and there won't be any enemies that suddenly appear."
House said seriously: "In the water... drowners could appear."
Lann sighed. "Aren't drowners exactly my specialty? Besides, can you fight them in the river with all that armor on?"
Lann looked at the assistant who did not want to leave and said: "House, you're too tense. It's time to relax a little."
"One fifth of the people on this ship are our soldiers. We are the real danger here, do you understand?"
He pointed at the dwarves who were drinking and playing cards with other merchants on the ship. "Look, don't you like Gwent too? Join them. I'm ordering you. Go play for a while."
After saying this, Lann walked to the edge of the ship, enjoying the sea breeze and looking at the distant scenery.
Levin nudged House. "Did you hear? It's an order from the earl. Take out your Gwent deck. I hear you have a lot of rare cards. Let me see them."
Meanwhile, Lann was at the bow of the ship, reading the letters sent to him from Kaer Morhen.
"...I sleep in a small room. It's as small as a maid's sleeping place, but Geralt says that even the teachers at the Wolf School sleep in similar places. I asked him if Yennefer also slept in a room like that, and he stopped talking immediately."
Lann smiled. Nothing less is expected of the White Wolf.
"Today I practiced fencing on a long beam. I fell several times and injured my shoulder, arm and thigh. It's already difficult to walk on the beam, but Coën can easily sword dance on it. Oh, by the way, Coën is from the Gryphon School. He says that he will leave Kaer Morhen after winter. I'm trying to convince him to stay, but I'm not having much success. Maybe you can convince him. Come see me soon."
Lann raised an eyebrow. Ciri is already trying to attract witchers, and not only those of the Wolf school, but also the Griffins. She doesn't need to use any social skills. Her innocence and kindness alone are enough to earn the friendship of the witchers.
"Yennefer read the letter I wrote to you and told me not to talk so much about training and my daily life, but to express more how much I miss you. Haha, he even taught me how to do it. I secretly saw a letter that Yennefer wrote to Geralt, in which she called him 'dear friend'. She would say things like 'I feel honored to be the second person you come to' and 'I feel overwhelmed to be so high on your list.' These two are really stubborn…"
During this time, Ciri sent no more letters. Lann doesn't know if it's because she didn't have time to write or because the witchers or Yennefer stopped her.
Lann carefully packed the letters into his pocket. Lann didn't realize that while he was concentrating on reading the letters, there were a pair of eyes on the ship constantly watching him..
A girl with short maroon hair has been observing Lann for a while. Finally, taking advantage of the fact that Lann did not have his guards around, she mustered up the courage to speak to him.
She didn't want to express her emotions too directly, so, after thinking for a moment, she found a suitable topic. "Excuse me... are you Mr. Lannister? You shouldn't be so close to the edge of the ship. Word is there are giant man-eating insects lurking around here..."
The young woman's voice interrupted Lann's thoughts. Turning around, he saw a familiar figure. But he wasn't sure if she is the person he remembers, because her appearance is much more youthful than he remembered.
In front of Lann is a young woman with reddish brown hair. Lately, Lann has encountered several girls with this hair color. She is wearing a student's outfit and appears to be about fourteen or fifteen years old.
The young woman looks extremely nervous, as if talking to Lann had cost her all her courage.
"That's right, I'm Lannister." Lann tapped the lion emblem on his chest and said with a smile: "I wonder what I should call her my lady?"
"I'm not a lady...my name is Shani. Hello, Mr. Lannister." The young woman said, and due to her nervousness she continued talking more than necessary. "I'm a medical student. I've just been accepted into Oxenfurt Academy and I'm on my way to study there, that's why I'm on this boat..."
Lann smiled, it was indeed her.
"In that case, you should thank Oxenfurt Academy for giving you the opportunity to study, and I should thank Oxenfurt Academy for allowing us to meet." Lann said with a smile. "But are you alone? This world is not very kind to women who travel alone."
"It doesn't matter. I have a friend in Oxenfurt. He is a bard named Dandelion, and he is very famous. It was he who wrote a letter of recommendation for me and gave me the opportunity to enter the Oxenfurt Academy." Shani felt a little overwhelmed by Lann's concern.
However, she quickly regained her composure. From her future life trajectory, one could see that she was not a person who allowed herself to be limited by the times or social norms. Otherwise, she would not have boarded Lann on the ship.
With Lann's deliberate guidance, Shani soon relaxed and stopped being nervous.
"I'm really sorry for bothering you. It's just that I've heard a lot of your songs and legends, and besides..." Shani looked at Lann's lion eyes. "I've heard many stories about witchers. It's rumored that you have become one of them and you don't hide it. As you know, I'm a medical student, so..."
Lann's expression changed. 'Could it be that this little girl came to chat with me not from a female perspective, but from a medical perspective and became academically interested in me?'
Suddenly, an image of Shani came to Lann's mind, wearing a white coat and holding a scalpel, with an intense and dangerous look in her eyes.
Lann changed the subject: "You said before that there were big bugs around here and it was dangerous?"
Shani didn't find anything strange about the change of topic, or perhaps she thought that was what witchers should discuss and responded easily. "Yes, in this delta region there seem to frequently be giant monster-like insects. After hearing the rumors, I compared it with a biology guide, and they seem similar to Ilyocoris."
They both leaned on the railing, looking at the deep, murky water. The tide was beginning to rise, and the stench of the water was becoming more pungent. Then a dead rat surfaced.
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---