Chapter 171: Dettlaff Wants a Peaceful Life
"Nice place, just a bit gloomy, like a tomb," Lynn remarked, as if he were touring a house. "You're trying to dispel the darkness with candles, but it's not working well. It looks more like a cult meeting place."
The man in black stood in a shadowy corner where the light couldn't reach him. "Do you have any suggestions?"
Lynn seemed not to notice the other's guarded stance, speaking as if to an old friend.
"Open windows in the right spots, and the toy shop will be filled with sunlight, losing this gloomy feel. Also, you should change your attire."
"Oh, for heaven's sake, my friend, your current outfit is simply dreadful."
"If you were a spymaster or a royal coroner, your taste would be impeccable, of course."
"But for a toy shop owner, it's far too somber. And..."
Lynn glanced around. His gaze moved from the plush toys on the shelves to a small wooden horse in the corner.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but we're in Beauclair, the capital of Toussaint, the Land of Knights. Since it's the Land of Knights, wouldn't knight-themed toys sell better?"
"Like wooden swords, wooden shields, and so on..."
The man in black said impassively, "Your suggestions are very insightful. I'll consider them. But if you don't mind, I have a question for you."
Lynn made a 'please speak' gesture. "Of course, go ahead."
The man in black stepped out of the shadowy corner and moved to the boundary between light and darkness. Half of his body was in the light, the other half hidden in shadow.
"I've heard of your profession, and I've encountered your kind a few times before, but I've never had close contact with you."
"I know your profession lives by hunting monsters, exchanging monster heads for bounties. It's your only way to survive in this world."
"So, I'm curious: what's it like to face a monster? Do you always have to fight to the death?"
Lynn rested his left hand on his right elbow, his right hand clenched, gently tapping his cheek in thought.
"Perhaps some witchers do operate that way, but I'm different. I don't just charge at a monster with a silver sword the moment I see it. If a monster can be reasoned with, I prefer to solve problems through dialogue."
The man in black, whose face had always been serious, showed a hint of surprise. "Then you are indeed very different from your colleagues. Tell me, witcher, what do you usually say to monsters you can converse with? How do you engage in dialogue?"
Lynn didn't answer.
His gaze fell on a toy on a shelf behind the man in black. That shelf was filled with toys that weren't finely crafted, clearly not up to sales standards. Most of these toys were adorable animals like rabbits, wild deer, and sheep.
But among them, there was one toy that stood out from the rest. It was a young girl doll wearing a wolf skull and wrapped in a wolf pelt like clothing.
This doll was even more exquisitely made than the toys sold in the toy shop below, yet it was kept in the attic, alongside the other defective items.
"Why is she pretending to be a she-wolf? For hunting?"
The man in black picked up the doll of the girl.
"No, she dresses like this only to blend in with the animals. They aren't her friends, but she doesn't want to hurt them either. She just wants to live a peaceful life."
Lynn asked, "Would she mind changing her environment? In a new environment, she'll have real friends, more than just one."
The man in black paused, surprised.
"Is this a trap set by a bow-wielding hunter to lure prey? Has someone placed a huge bounty on her head? Or does the hunter merely wish to adorn his collection with her head?"
Lynn took out a herb pouch from his magic-imbued leather pouch, and various herbal scents wafted from it."None of those. The hunter genuinely invites her. Moreover, she has no kin here, but beside the hunter, there is one of her kind."
"His name is Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff-Godefroy. He prefers his friends to call him Regis."
"Once the affairs in Toussaint are settled, the hunter will return North. He owns a villa in Novigrad's upper city."
"He will take Regis with him then. Note, this is not coercion, but an invitation between friends."
"If anyone else wishes to visit, I believe the host will be more than happy to extend his hospitality."
The man in black hesitated for a long time. "Perhaps she will, perhaps she won't. May the hunter reveal his name?"
Lynn performed the gesture of a knight-errant to the man in black. "Lynn."
The other man returned the gesture and, as if finally making a significant decision, handed over the exquisitely crafted doll of the young girl.
"I am Dettlaff van der Eretein. This is for you, as a gift for standing up for me."
Lynn accepted it without ceremony and put it into his magic-imbued leather pouch.
Afterward, he exited the dim, gloomy toy shop and stepped outside. He squinted, shielding his eyes from the glaring sunlight, which felt harsh after the sudden change in environment.
"Dettlaff, huh?" he murmured to himself. Having played The Witcher 3, he naturally knew what kind of bloody chaos Dettlaff, this high vampire of the abstainer faction, would unleash in this city over two decades later.
Present-day Dettlaff said he only wanted a peaceful life and didn't want to harm others.
Yet, in the end, hundreds, if not thousands, of people would die due to his rage. But this doesn't mean he was an utterly evil person. On the contrary, he was both naive and clear-cut in his morality, even helping humans selflessly.
In the Kingdom of Lyria and Rivia, there was a legendary tale: Around the 10th century, a ferocious beast appeared in Lyria, plaguing the countryside and causing countless casualties.
Later, a lone hunter ventured deep into the forest, fought with all his might, and killed the beast, ridding the people of the menace. Bards composed a song about him, and his legendary story even spread throughout the kingdoms of Lyria and Rivia.
However, the one who actually killed the beast was not that hunter, but Dettlaff. At the time, when Dettlaff was still living in Lyria, a child gave him an apple, asking for nothing in return. Later, this child was killed by the Lyrian beast.
It was Dettlaff who eliminated the beast to avenge the child, placing the beast's corpse near a hunter.
Thus, the legendary tale of the hunter ridding the people of a menace actually originated from this.
As Regis himself observed, Dettlaff was quite similar to Geralt. The only difference was that Dettlaff was more naive than Geralt, and he struggled to understand why humans lied and deceived others.
It was precisely this personality that led him to commit great mistakes over two decades later.
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