Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1672 1644. Keweier

In fact, even if Lan En directly entrusted Qilin to Dijkstra's people in Novigrad for "care", those people would definitely take good care of this extraordinary horse.

However, in the process of caring for and placing Qilin, it is inevitable to investigate the origin and physical fitness of Qilin.

After all, this can be considered an indirect investigation of Lan En himself.

Maybe, those people under Dijkstra will try to breed Qilin a few times.

After all, even if nothing is found out, and it turns out that Qilin is just a good horse that has been enlarged several times, that doesn't matter.

Now, most of the well-known guys who can call themselves from the spy agency have almost reached a rough consensus on how Lan's long disappearance and the strange things around him came about.

They are nothing more than rumors about the Lady of the Lake and the Knight of Justice.

A noble horse gifted by the goddess, this sounds quite logical to me, doesn't it?

If we can breed this horse, then just based on its exaggerated shoulder height and physical fitness, it will be a great achievement to be able to leave a good breed of horse for ourselves!

But since Lan En had entrusted Qilin to the care of his friend and manager in Novigrad, Toot Bibowett, these people had no chance or reason to tinker with Qilin.
-
It can be seen that Dijkstra really wants to hurry up.

After Qilin was ridden away by Dudu, he walked up on the sloping wooden board connecting the dock and the ship deck.

After Lan En arrived, it took only half an hour to raise the anchor, move out of the port berth, and sail out of the bay in one go.

By noon, there were fewer seagulls circling above the ship, which meant that the ship was moving away from the land quickly.

Although Fluffball is a Felynx born in the New World, he has never been on a ship many times, so he is jumping up and down with great interest.

The crew was amazed by its agile figure leaping on the mast.

A sailor who had visited the cat-man in the Northern Reserve whispered that the cat-men he had seen were very different from this one, not only in appearance, but also in terms of the lightness and flexibility of their bodies.

"We are in a hurry, so the food on the boat is inevitably simple and rough. Please forgive me, sir."

The sun was at the center of the sky, and Dijkstra sat in the captain's room with Lan, holding a wooden tray.

Lan En took the plate calmly.

In the middle is a wooden bowl filled with a dark paste, which is made sticky by the starch from potatoes and chickpeas, and it also contains tomatoes and pickled meat.

Next to it was a loaf of dry bread and an apple.

Although it is called "simple and rough", the food during the first period of sailing is actually the best time on the ship. In the middle and late stages, we rely on those things that are easy to store and eat in a few different ways.

Lan poked the bread into the batter, and after it was coated with batter, he started eating. The fact that he didn't hesitate at all put Dijkstra at ease.

"Do you have to be so cautious around me, Dijkstra?"

The demon hunter chewed the dry and hard bread that made his jaw muscles sore with ease, and raised his eyebrows at the spy chief opposite him.

"You keep calling me 'Your Excellency'? Brother, do you want me to follow the rules and call you 'The Earl'?"

At this point, the spy chief on the opposite side curled his lips, and his originally stiff shoulders stretched out as he let out a long breath, making him look even fatter.

"In my experience," Dijkstra leaned back in his chair, "acting cautiously in front of others makes them feel, uh, superior. And comfortable."

"What kind of person do you think I am?"

"No, but I'm used to being cautious. Since it's not inconvenient, it won't hurt to show off a little more, right?"

Dijkstra took a bite of the apple and waved his hands.

"Don't mock me for being 'Lord Count'. I remember talking about this at our last banquet. I got this title purely because Vizimir facilitated my work."

"Although I am a spy chief and intelligence manager, I shouldn't be accused of 'insulting the nobility' when questioning those useless nobles who have nothing to offer except their family and bloodline, right?"

Lan En nodded with a silent smile.

But after telling the joke, Dijkstra's sturdy face revealed a serious look.

"I am grateful to you for stepping up at this time and helping us obtain vital aid, Lan."

"You're welcome." Lan En scooped a spoonful of the porridge into his mouth. "You should have asked me to toast at this time, but since we only have this bowl of stew porridge in our hands, I don't want to toast with this thing."

"I don't want to either." Dijkstra unbuttoned a few buttons on his embroidered tight jacket over his stomach and buried his head in eating.

"But." Lan En put his wooden spoon on the edge of the bowl and changed the subject. "If you really want to thank me, why not tell me: who gave you the advice and said that you need me to go with you to Kovir for help?"

"I have formed an agency with Vizimir in Redania. It's not just some private detective agency, Lan."

Dijkstra said with a hint of complacency, "We will conduct a systematic assessment and investigation before taking action. This is a big project, and I will not just listen to anyone who gives me advice or a message."

"We made a detailed assessment of your influence, the direction of Covel and Povis in recent years, the character of their royal families, etc., before making a decision."

"But there must be someone responsible, right?" Lan En tapped the spoon on the edge of the bowl and brought the topic back to the topic. "There must be someone, or a group of people, who proposed this plan to you and carried out the investigation and evaluation, right?"

“That’s a lot of people.”

Originally, Dijkstra was still somewhat proud of the spy agency he had established, but at the end, he looked up as if he had suddenly woken up.

He looked at Lan with terrifying seriousness.

"Wait, what do you mean? You mean those people."

"I didn't say anything." Lan En interrupted him bluntly, "I also suggest that you do nothing."

"What's going on?!" Dijkstra lowered his voice, as if he had lost his sense of security in the small space of the captain's room.

"The war is about to start, and pulling me from the battle line to Kovir all at once, isn't that too risky?"

Dijkstra relaxed a little. "You mean that? Of course we considered that when we were evaluating, but as long as we travel normally, the basic time will not be wrong."

"The time of starting a war cannot be determined by humans. It depends on the weather, the wetness and dryness of the terrain, the efficiency of the logistics forces, and other factors. If they suddenly start a war ahead of time, they will suffer greater losses. This is unwise."

"Besides, if you're alone, wouldn't it be difficult to open a portal in Kovir and send you directly back to the front line? We've considered all this."

"Really?" Lan En smiled noncommittally, but said no more, "It's better to be careful."

"You're right. It's better to be cautious." Dixter nodded in agreement. "But the most important thing for us right now is to get Kovir's assistance."

The two of them quickly finished their lunch and walked out of the captain's room.

As Lan left, he glanced at Dijkstra. The fat, muscular spy chief was as usual, as if their dinner conversation had never happened.

But the witcher knew it in his heart, and the spy knew it in his heart too: their minds, which should have been simple and free of distractions except for the negotiations, had become tense since the beginning of this meal.

This ship was the merchant ship that Dijkstra used to transport the Redanian army to Gos Velen to participate in the coup on Thanedd Island.

Their luck was neither good nor bad, with favorable and unfavorable winds along the way. After nearly four weeks, they finally reached Kovir.
-
The wind blew from the sea, and the sails moved with the wind. The needle-like raindrops were like tiny hailstones, hitting the face and making people feel stinging.

The surface of the river water pouring in from the Grand Canal was covered with an oily sheen caused by domestic sewage, and it fluctuated in the wind and rain.

This is Long Exeter, the winter capital of Kovir.

After four weeks of sailing, Lan and Flannel Ball were still very energetic, as if they had no feelings at all. But Dijkstra looked unhappy.

Because they had just stepped on the land for a short while, and now they had to get on the boat again.

"My lords, this way please, the boat is ready."

Dijkstra felt that if he could just keep his feet on stable land for a while longer, he would be ecstatic. Unfortunately, even though the boat in front of him made him feel sick, he had to go up.

Because Long Exeter is very different from any other capital city in the world.

After people disembark from the stone pier at the port of this capital, they will immediately board the next ship to set off.

It was a long, slender boat with a high bow and a much lower stern.

Long Exeter was built on water, in the bend of the Tango River. There were no streets in the city, only rivers, and travel depended on boats.

Dijkstra was still struggling with his stomach acid and soles of his feet, but Lan had already walked onto the boat.

The Redanian ambassador, who had been waiting on the ship, immediately extended his greetings and wiped the cold sweat that suddenly appeared on his forehead.

Fortunately, he got the news in advance and found a ship that was usually used in the cargo business in Long Aisetri for the "Hunter Lord", and he made a quick renovation and repainted it.

Otherwise, it would probably hit the waterline.

"I salute your bravery, my Lord."

The Redanian ambassador spoke in a serious tone.

He had not been back to the south for a long time - compared to Kovir, Redania and Temeria are also in the south - and had not seen the famous Duke of Cintra in person, nor had he seen the battlefield in person.

He had only read those 'exaggerated' battle reports. Before today, this was his impression of those battle reports.

(End of this chapter)