Chapter 651 - Old Hunter (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Geralt always rode on a horse called ‘Radish.’ This was the most loyal horse a man could possibly ask for. No matter where Radish was, it would trot up to Geralt at a single whistle.

Cirilla and Olivia rode on another horse. Geralt was highly protective of his daughters. He would use the ‘Axii Sign’ [1] to keep the wild horse under control whenever they were on one. That way, the horse would not be liable to buck his daughters off suddenly.

That’s right. Geralt was rather poor. He could not buy them a horse. The most he could do was capture some wild horse at random and have his daughters ride it.

Geralt was exasperated. His adventures paid a fair bit of coin, so where did all the money go? Was he too addicted to the Gwent playing cards? But he wasn’t he a master of that game?!

He no longer traveled solo. He had two adoptive daughters now, so money was sneaking away faster than he could tell. He would have to plan in detail when it came to the expenditure for milk… No, that’s not right. They did not drink milk anymore. Anyways, even if he had to suffer, he would never allow his daughters to suffer!

Especially Olivia. Geralt hoped that he could see the arrogant princess, one who was so full of energy. However, after going through the ‘Massacre of Cintria,’ Olivia was never the same as before. Well, that would be how a normal person would react, after going through such hardship.

Once again, Olivia made use of her acting skills. She acted as if she was as cheerful as before, but made it forced enough that anyone would think that she was faking a smile. As planned, Geralt saw through the first layer of deceit, but not her acting. As her adopted father, his heart bled for her.

It could have turned out better if he took them away using the ‘Law of Surprise,’ back when he could use it. Who could have thought that the war would turn out so horribly?

Therefore, Geralt wanted to be a good father, no matter how difficult it was. He wanted to become the father that the girls never had since they were young.

At that moment, Cirilla hugged her sister from behind. The only thing she could smell was her sister’s scent. It seemed so sisterly, so ordinary, that Geralt did not think much of it.

Geralt had heard their story. Olivia had described in detail on how Cirilla and her got through horrible ordeals to live through the war, and how Cirilla had saved her from death. Such bonds would be unbreakable – they would never leave each other’s sides.

If not, one of them would have no problems following Geralt, while the other would have peacefully remained with the merchant’s family. She might not have lived luxuriously, but at least she could live a happy life without any problems.

Cirilla spurred the horse with her heels, moving along the river. They passed by a gully and set foot on a mountainous road.

From there, they could see Kaer Morhen, standing among a pile of stone walls. Some walls had crumbled down, the only indicator of them once being there being their foundations, a few towers and gates, and a thick, heavy, cylindrically shaped main tower.

Kaer Morhen in Elder Speech meant ‘Old Sea Fortress.’ It had been named like so because the fortress was built on land that used to be submerged in water. There was the presence of fossilized sea creatures in the stones.

This fortress stood at the edge of the civilized world. It was located in the mountains of the northern kingdom of Kaedwen [2]. The world had long forgotten it, and few knew the way to the fortress.

This was where the witchers trained, and it was also their home.

The fortress had seen better days. The main body and the moat of the fortress have wasted away, and a cold wind blew through the wide spacious halls. Only a few witchers were living there.

However, many young boys had once received ghastly training along the infamous “Gauntlet” near Kaer Morhen.

Kaer Morhen had initially been home to 23 witchers and 40 students. However, a bunch of fanatics, their hatred incited by slanderous publications of the witchers had attacked the fortress. With the help of mages, they had managed to capture the fortress and turn it into ruins. Most of the witchers were slain. Vesemir [3] (Geralt’s teacher) survived, only because he had hid among the corpses.