"What's going on with you?"

Seeing that not only was he unlucky, but the old-timers were also unlucky, Lan En's mood improved a lot.

Geralt was dazzled by the smile under the silver hair, the pit he had dug was not small, and the shovel had not poked into the earth, and he stumbled and almost fell into it.

Thanks to his quick reaction, the hollowed-out shovel poked the ground on the side to stabilize his figure.

"For the Plague's Sake"

He first subconsciously cursed, and then turned his head away.

"After I came here, the villagers here happened to have a headache with the water ghosts in the lake. They came to ask for help with a smile on their faces, and offered a bounty, and I agreed. ”

"But it's not a water ghost at all! It was a swamp witch with four or five more ferocious drowning ghosts! ”

Ryan didn't react when he heard this, because it was all too common.

"And then? You can't expect farmers to know the difference between monsters as well as witchers. For them, the monsters that live in the water and kill humans are the 'water ghosts'. ”

Geralt adjusted the grip of the shovel in his hand, and as he continued to work hard, he complained in his characteristic calm tone.

Spit in the mouth of someone whose voice is so calm that there is almost no fluctuation is already extremely comic. Even if what he says isn't actually funny.

"What else can I do? I slaughtered the swamp witch and the drowning ghost, and then came over with my head and asked for money, and it turned out. You know what the farmers say when they think about paying their bills, right? ”

"I want to think about it," Lan En said as if he were a model very naturally, "Kind old man, be merciful, my child is already going to use acorn powder to satisfy his hunger, and the family really has no money, let's do it." ”

Geralt nodded.

"That's true, but you're talking too generally. The village elder was much more detailed: the king wanted to push the borders of Brockleon a little further inward, for more timber and minerals. For this purpose, a war tax was added nearby, as well as conscription. If the village doesn't want to contribute labor, it has to be exchanged for money. In the past few months alone, the tax has been collected several times. They can't even eat now, obviously leaning against the lake, but there is not even a smoked fish on the table."

"Tsk." The young witcher, who held the Valyrian steel formula in his hand and expected that he would not have to worry about money for the rest of his life, easily smashed his mouth.

"It seems that your professional expression doesn't work very well."

The White Wolf sighed, "In the end, I only received ten Oron, and it was originally agreed to be twenty. Ten is ten, but they even want to adulterate me with this money! Fill your money bag with silver coins and pebbles! ”

"That's why I'm going to dig up my own reward here."

Lan looked around and understood the situation.

The village is home to just over 20 households, and such villages abound in the northern countries. People would pool their money to buy and repair farm implements, buy seeds and livestock, and concentrate their money on things.

Using the strength of numbers and the collective to fight against natural and man-made disasters is the way of survival formed spontaneously by the villagers.

In such villages, collective property is generally stored in a secluded place.

For witchers, the concealment of ordinary people is not concealment.

"It's a bit rude, but I'll make sure. You're only going to take what you deserve, right? ”

Lane walked over to the pit Geralt had dug with a pickaxe for loosening the earth.

The old witcher of the wolf faction rolled his eyes at the bear cub, "Who are you and me?" I'm a paid witcher, not a shameless bandit. ”

So Lan En shrugged his shoulders and picked up the pickaxe to dig with him.

After digging down another two feet or so, the two of them finally dug out a small box in the shape of a jewelry box.

Rann stood aside with his pickaxe on the handle, and Geralt whistled to reassure him that his hard work was finally about to pay off.

But when he rubbed his hands and opened the box, his expressionless face froze directly.

Seeing this, Lan En leaned over curiously, and after glancing at it, the lively expression on his face disappeared.

"That's it, not even Orencoin?.Are you sure you're right?"

Geralt shook his head, "I can't be mistaken, this is their last remaining possession." I even sneaked into the elder's house and rummaged through it. ”

Lan En was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"So, those villagers really didn't lie to you."

Geralt pursed his lips, "I saw that there were still dogs and chickens in their village, so I thought they were rich and didn't want to pay, but now it seems that after a while, they will have to eat all the livestock and poultry." ”

With a click, Geralt took a deep breath and distraughtly closed the small box and threw it into the pit he had just dug.

"So be it."

"You haven't gotten the money yet, don't you want it?"

"Forget it." Geralt paused, then picked up the shovel again and began to fill it in. "It's not enough to even repair a sword."

And just as he swung his shovel and the sand flew, a golden sheen flashed and fell into the pit.

The milky-haired witcher glanced back in surprise at Lan En, who was pulling his hand out of his purse, and then went back to work.

"I still haven't seen a witcher who threw money in the pit in the past, an Oren coin that hasn't been cut off, it's really generous."

"Now, you'll see you today."

The pickaxe couldn't fill in the earth, so Lann leaned to the side with his hands on his chest, watching Geralt work.

"Spending money is to live, and if money satisfies physical needs, then spending more money is to be happy. This Oren can save me a lot of trouble these days, and it's worth it. ”

Facing the serious and righteous consumerist brainwashing trick of the bear cub behind him, the stiff corners of Geralt's mouth, who was immersed in work, unconsciously hooked up a slight arc.

"Whatever you want, 'plutocrats'. That's your money anyway. ”

When leaving, Geralt did not deliberately maintain the tacit 'safe distance' from Lane.

——

"To be honest, if it weren't for what you just did, I would have really suspected you of being a psychopathic murderer by now. Checking a clue can get things done this far. Tsk, did you use a hundred page hammer? It's a miserable picture. ”

Geralt lifted the corner of the canvas on Popai's horse, and the black blood that had accumulated from it suddenly flowed into a line and smashed to the ground.

With a suspicious expression, he turned his head to look at the Bear School witcher standing to the side.

"You didn't mean to let my guard down, did you?"

"Haha." Lan En made two sounds that had no emotion at all, and he didn't laugh at all. "You wolves are very good at telling jokes. And then."

"Can we get down to business first?"

Lane had fully informed Geralt of what had happened on the edge of the Blow Kleon Forest, as well as the results of the investigation, and was waiting for the seasoned expert to draw conclusions.

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(End of chapter)