The shadow thrown out by the red dragon had limbs and an appearance similar to a human child, with chestnut hair and a headband woven from vines across its forehead.
From a distance, it did look like a wild child who had wandered off from some nearby home.
Given the state of public order in Velen, such vagrant children were hardly uncommon.
But when Roche looked closely, he noticed that the child's skin gleamed like leather soaked in oil, with a faint bluish tint; and when it bared its teeth in a grimace, its face revealed wrinkles deeper than those of any adult—along with those unmistakably inhuman eyes: eerie amber eyes.
"A godling?" Roche murmured. "I've only ever heard of them in the fairy tales from my childhood."
Keira chuckled softly. "So you had a childhood where someone told you fairy tales? I thought you started wielding knives and singing bawdy songs the moment you could talk."
…
Godlings are also classified as [Relict], but unlike Leshens or higher vampires, they lean more toward the benevolent faction—closer to nymphs—and are frequent characters in fairy tales.
In those tales, godlings are always portrayed as clever, diligent, and willing to help those they've chosen to watch over by doing little chores. In return, they ask only for respect and perhaps a bit of food or unwanted tools.
However, they are naturally shy and try to avoid being seen by those they protect.
If met with rudeness, ungratefulness, or unjust treatment, godlings are easily offended and tend to retaliate through mischief.
Keira's explanation to Roche was more academic: "A godling's connection to its dwelling place is extremely close. They also take care of and protect people and animals living near their caves."
"Godlings are drawn to joy and innocence, which is why they love being around children. Usually, only young humans are able to see them."
"But they value peace and quiet above all. When the population of the village they protect grows too large, or when its people forget the old traditions, they will leave their cave forever, heading toward some unknown destination." Keira shrugged. "Chances are, the province of Velen is the only place left in all of Temeria where godlings can still live."
Roche, however, was intrigued. "You said they go to an 'unknown destination'—where do they usually end up?"
Keira mercilessly shattered his romantic notion: "That so-called 'unknown destination' is just something adults tell kids. Most of the godlings that 'leave' are actually dead. And in some cases, it's the adults who did the killing."
The ever-stern and cold-blooded commander of the Blue Stripes stood as if struck by lightning.
Lann chuckled and gave Roche a few pats on the shoulder in consolation. "As far as I know, there's a godling living in Novigrad too—though I never managed to find her. Still, that just goes to show these little creatures have their own survival tricks."
"But compared to before, life has definitely gotten harder for them." Lann shook his head. "But that's the inevitable price of human progress—fairy tales fading, and reality taking their place."
Whether Roche felt comforted or not, Lann couldn't say—but the godling before them grew even more agitated after hearing Lann's words, hopping up and down in a frenzy.
"Can godlings not speak?" Roche hesitated before finally turning to ask Keira.
The sorceress frowned. "They should be able to... wait—it's magic. His voice has been sealed by a mage!"
Roche's face twisted with fury. "Who?! Who took away the godling's voice?!"
Lann held him back, tilting his head toward Keltullis, who was just stretching her wings.
"What's going on? I told you to stay hidden above the clouds and follow the baron to find the Crones—how did you end up bringing this godling back?"
Roche shouted in anger too, "How did he lose his voice?!"
The red dragon gave a very human-like pout, then widened her eyes dramatically.
After glaring the fury right out of Roche, she slowly began her explanation.
A deep, bell-like voice resonated through the air: "I followed that baron to a chapel in the middle of a swamp. It didn't look like a good place."
"Lann, you told me not to act rashly, so I didn't touch the chapel—just circled around to get familiar with the terrain."
At this point, the red dragon pointed a wing at the godling still stamping angrily on the ground.
"Then this little thing suddenly came crawling out of a tunnel, with a whole swarm of flies and crows behind him. I heard him yelling something like 'Help!' and 'The witches are going to massacre the forest!'—that piqued my interest, so I snatched him up to take him away."
"But then the crows and flies that had been chasing him suddenly turned on me instead." The red dragon gave a mocking look. "I torched most of them with a single blast, but the remaining flies went straight into his mouth—and that's how he ended up like this."
…
The speechless godling stood with his hands on his hips, his face full of outrage as the dragon spoke.
He showed not the slightest trace of fear toward Keltullis, nor toward Lann and the others—as if he were a wild child who feared nothing and no one under the sky.
From Keltullis's account, Lann had more or less pieced together what had happened—it seemed the red dragon had indeed found the Crones' hideout, but with them lurking underground, there was little she could do.
It seemed this little godling had a habit of causing trouble for the Three Sisters. Earlier today, he'd overheard some dangerous plot and was being hunted down—just in time for Keltullis to pass by and rescue him.
The Crones, sensing through their crows and flies that the red dragon wasn't an opponent they could overpower, had used a spell to steal the godling's voice to prevent him from revealing any information.
Just thinking about such a twisted form of spellcasting made Lann feel nauseous.
Roche instinctively edged away from Keira as well.
Keira snapped, furious, "That's not how mages cast spells! That's witchcraft—no, that's what a monster would do!"
"Can you break the spell?" Lann turned and asked.
Keira looked conflicted. "It's not the same magical system. I can't lift the curse directly, but… I might be able to pry it open from another angle."
"Is it difficult?"
"There could be some side effects," Keira said, making a tiny gesture with her fingers.
The godling immediately jumped up, darting left and right before finally hiding under the red dragon's wing.
Lann laughed and shook his head. With a wave of his hand, Keltullis obligingly lifted her wing to reveal the small godling cowering behind it.
"Relax. I have a way that doesn't involve any rough handling," Lann reassured him, striding forward to the godling's side.
He crouched down and extended his left palm. "I have an ability that can heal any injury and break any curse—but it can only be used once, and only on one person."
"If you trust me, don't resist when it begins. Is that okay?"
Anyone else would've found such a claim laughable in a setting like this. Even if they eventually went along with it, it would be out of fear or desperation.
But godlings were different. They were natural creatures drawn to the innocence and purity of children, born with the ability to sense true kindness.
The godling wrinkled his nose. Compared to the man in the blue headscarf standing behind, this blond man gave off an even warmer, more comforting feeling.
He could be trusted!
The small left hand hesitated for a moment—then reached into Lann's palm.
…
Among the magical raw stones and absorbable magical artifacts looted from Thanedd Isle, many remained after setting aside what Mousesack needed for his experiments and standard reserves.
The rest had all been absorbed by Lann.
They had been converted into ability points.
However, Lann didn't rush to spend them all on system abilities. After acquiring two core skills—[Conductors of Magic] and [Euphoria]—none of the remaining skills could offer him any truly transformative boost in power.
He preferred to store the points for later, to build the future Griffin Cavalry, or to contract a new generation of witchers once trained—sending them out across the land, while he sat comfortably in the royal palace of Cintra and reaped the experience flowing in through the [Follower System].
But Lann had another intended use: contracting all sorts of strange nonhuman races and monsters across the Continent in order to share their unique racial traits.
He wasn't aiming to draw another absurd ability like Regis's [Immortal], or the kind of once-in-a-lifetime skill like Raymond's [Miasmal Body]. Even if it was just something like the ability from that troll family—which passively increased physique by a percentage—stacked onto Lann's current body, the boost would be terrifying.
That alone was worth several skill upgrades!
Even if no special traits appeared, any extra followers could still be sent out on commissions to earn experience. There was no downside either way.
At present, Cintra had already begun gathering rare monsters and nonhuman races, both openly and covertly. Lann also planned to formally raise the matter at the upcoming Cintra Assembly, once all the Northern Kingdoms were present.
After all, Cintra now officially promoted itself as a 'racially equal' state, with its citizenry composed of humans, dryads, elves, dwarves, halflings, dragons, and more. Embracing inclusivity only enhanced that image.
And today's Godling happened to be one of Lann's intended contract targets from the start.
A fortunate turn of events.
He opened the system interface. One ability point consumed, unlocking a new follower panel.
[Follower] — Contract Initiated!
The experience bar ticked upward, draining resources until it stopped at the double-digit threshold.
[Follower: Johnny]
Race: Godling
Level: 1
Trait: Instinctive Discernment
EXP: 0 / 1,000
HP: 50 / 50
MP: 100 / 100
Inventory: Hibiscus Vine Headband, Numbed Shorts
Skill Slots:
– Jungle Veteran
– Trickster's Heart
– Advanced Social Insight
– Intermediate Herbalism
– Intermediate Occult Studies
– Basic General Knowledge
Current Quest: None
[Sharing Follower Trait...]
[Shared Trait: Instinctive Discernment]
[Instinctive Discernment: The bearer of this trait can keenly perceive the emotional undercurrents of others' thoughts, and is especially sensitive to extreme goodwill or malice.]
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