Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1876, Chapter 1848: The Son of the Hybrid Omen
“You see it too,” Torisha said casually, shrugging as she saw Lann looking up. “It’s all for them.”

“They were being driven away everywhere, and I heard they were almost all dead. I had to rush over here in the hopes that they could help out in our perfumer’s garden. At least they could live.”

Lan En looked up and saw several ugly, deformed faces peering down from the edge of the collapsed ruins. They were indeed dirty, thin, and timid.

They were afraid of Lann's gaze and avoided his eyes. But when they looked at Torisha, the look in their eyes, if you had to describe it... would be something like 'admiration'.

Although mixed-race individuals are considered ugly and deformed by normal aesthetic standards, the pure emotions in their eyes have nothing to do with their appearance.

They were like a pack of homeless puppies, harboring complex feelings of dependence, affection, and so on towards Torisha.

"Are you still persisting with your research?" Lan En frowned slightly and shook his head, looking at the perfumer's face, which only revealed a slit for one eye. "This is very difficult."

Torisha, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to the sigh in Lann's words, still smiling and quite surprised: "Ah, you've seen my research, Lann?"

“Sir Hundred Wisdom has a very rich collection of books,” Lann replied, “and he also has quite a few research documents from the Perfumers’ Guild.”

It was only after their first meeting and subsequent separation that Lan En saw Torisha's research during a large-scale book sweep.

Her research seemed like a fantasy even among perfumers, and many of them, who were considered 'healers,' thought that Torisha was just too...overly compassionate.

The reason for this is that in this Golden Law era, the Golden Law is manifested through the Elden Ring, thereby regulating the world.

The characteristics of the Golden Law are: eternity, immutability, and order.

Hybrids, with their humanoid bodies but winged, scaly, and reversible joints, exhibit a hybrid and disordered physiological appearance that is despised by the Golden Law.

Therefore, mixed-race individuals often found themselves in a situation akin to slavery during the Golden Age, where even being a slave was considered beneath them.

In regions like Nymgfu, far from the center of the Golden Dynasty, border rulers would adopt a more conciliatory approach towards them in order to reduce the cost of governance, treating them as servants and laborers.

Back then, on Rodel Street, Nymgford's army paid tribute to Rodel, and that's how the mixed-race people in the army came about.

Hybrids, at least, were only 'despised' in the Golden Dynasty.

But another kind of life... is already a 'taboo topic' to some extent.

—The son of an ominous sign.

These beings are actually children born from the Golden Tree, and they do not have strange organs such as wings, scales, or claws on their bodies.

There's only one thing about them—they have horns.

It doesn't just grow on the head; it also grows on the face, arms, chest, ribs, ankles... those twisted horns, like a skin condition, can appear in large areas on any corner of their body and grow in a meandering manner.

The horn, as an organ, holds a unique position at the boundary.

Because horns are actually a gathering point of spirituality. In the wild, powerful animals even instinctively hunt horned animals to accumulate spirituality, eat their horns, and seek to grow horns themselves.

Evolving one's spirituality through predation is an instinctive behavior of living beings, and there's not much to say about it.

But animals are animals, and in this Golden Age of Law, humans are all citizens of the Golden Tree!
The Golden Law provides the people of the borderlands with the guarantee of immortal souls and stable reincarnation, but only if your soul returns to the Golden Tree for maintenance and further refinement.

Once killed by the horns of the Child of Ominousness, the spiritual power of the people of the Golden Tree will be forcibly gathered on those horns, preventing them from returning to the tree after death.

Unable to return to the tree... This was the most serious consequence of the Golden Age!

It's equivalent to condemning someone to eternal damnation.

Therefore, the children of evil omen, who are covered in horns, are often abandoned at birth, and any who manage to grow up are killed without mercy.

After all, when a baby with twisted, sharp horns all over its body is born from its mother's womb, who will be the first victim to die from its sharp horns?
A despised mixed-race child, the son of an ominous sign, a taboo subject.

As for Torisha's research... she wants to 'heal' these lives that are not tolerated in this Golden Law era, to make them normal and able to accept the blessings of the Golden Tree.

Her actions were probably similar to those of people in the Middle Ages who wanted to access and treat leprosy.

Having come into contact with many lives that are taboo to others, she herself is now somewhat taboo to others.

“I haven’t studied hybrids or children of ominous signs, or what mystical connection or incompatibility they have with the Golden Tree,” Lann said with a hint of advice. “But even from a purely physiological health perspective, your research is far too difficult.”

The Witcher is now presenting Torisha with the most pessimistic research proposals, ostensibly as a biologist, hoping to serve as a wake-up call for her.

Lan En's words were not unfounded, but rather a judgment he reached after reflecting on the origins of the matter.

Perfumers like Torisha, excluding those with powerful healing prayers, already represent the pinnacle of medical expertise in the borderlands. But in Lann's eyes, they're still at the level of herbalists, at most with some supernatural assistance.

And what about Torissa's goal?

—She wants to experiment with bio-engineering technology!
Yes, it's about modifying living organisms, not superficial 'cosmetic surgery' or 'orthodontics'.

Because although hybrids and children of ominous signs may appear deformed, they are actually normal, natural life forms!

According to the historical legends of the borderlands, life in the borderlands originated from a golden meteor sent down by an unparalleled will. That meteor became the Elden Ring, from which the Golden Tree later grew.

The original golden tree was a furnace of life, and the life that emerged from it was a mixture of all kinds of creatures.

Hybrids or children of ill omen are actually examples of atavism, exhibiting biological characteristics from the primordial golden tree era. In the past, these characteristics could even be considered 'auspicious'.

However, with the changing times and the development of civilization, in the current Golden Age, the 'horn' that can threaten the reincarnation of a soul has naturally become an extreme taboo.

The children of ominous signs and hybrids are actually beings that are close to the original form of life in the borderlands, so in the context of the borderlands, there is no life form more 'normal' or more 'orthodox' than them.

To remove those deformed or superfluous features while maintaining their own life activities is, of course, biological modification, not just cosmetic surgery or orthodontics.

But the perfumer, whose face was only partially visible, smiled after a moment of silence as he looked at Lan En's admonishing expression.

"Ha! You're definitely not your average Faded One." Torisia looked Lan up and down with a serious expression. "My research isn't well-regarded in the Perfumers' Guild, and it must be hidden away in Sir Hundred's library, right? How did you manage to see it... You didn't actually read it all, did you? It's only been a few days!"

The Witcher endured her scrutiny, understanding that she was sticking to her goals and didn't want to accept his advice, so he changed the subject.

Lan En knew that this kind of person was mostly impossible to persuade... after all, he himself was pretty much the same kind of person.

“I think we should stop here for now,” Lann nodded to Torisha. “I need to go to the Round Table Hall to report on the mission results.”

"Oh, then...may the golden tree shine upon you. Have a safe journey."

"Hmm?" Hearing Torisha speak, Lann, who was about to turn around and mount his horse, suddenly stopped. "You seem to be hiding something. Is there something you need help with?"

“It’s Dolores.” Now that Lann had figured it out, Torisha didn’t hide it anymore. “You’ve already returned from a mission, but she…”

"Has she not returned to the Round Table Hall yet?"

Lann was puzzled by this. After all, even by the standards of the Faded Ones, Dolores had been gone for quite a while.

"No."

"Didn't anyone from the Round Table Hall search for them?"

“I’ve already asked.” Torisia sighed from behind her veil, “but it seems like your Round Table Hall is under a lot of pressure lately, and I can’t get in anymore.”

"Is that so?" Lan En's eyes narrowed slightly. "Just tell me, what are you planning to do? And how can I help?"

"Haha!" Torisha laughed, seemingly having been waiting for Lann to say this. "I'm really worried about her, after all, you Faded Ones..."

She glanced cautiously at Lan En, seemingly worried that her words might hurt him. But in the end, she took a deep breath and spoke earnestly.

"If you die, you're really dead!"

“I’ve gathered some information and compiled a list of places Dolores has been. But as you know, we perfumers are all healers, we don’t know anything about swords or guns. And the places you Faded Ones are going to are definitely not safe…”

“So, you need a helper.” Lan En said with a certainty before Torisha could finish speaking.

The Witcher pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Understood, I'll help."

"Great!" Torisia cheered softly, then looked up and waved to the hybrids on the collapsed ruins, shouting, "Go to the Perfumer's Garden! I told you where it is. Just get there and do your work. Don't be afraid!"

The hybrids stirred, seemingly reluctant to leave Torisia. But ultimately, at the perfumer's insistence, they reluctantly departed.

Lan En handed the "Prayer Book of Flame Martial Arts Cultivators" and the fragment of the prayer book containing the "Evil God Flame" to the velvet ball on horseback.

The velvet ball monitored those fire-wielding martial arts practitioners, and it also knew about Lan En's conversation with Milier, Lan En's own thoughts and speculations, and so on.

Taking the evidence back to the Round Table Hall and reporting it to Gideon Ophniel was a task that the kitten was perfectly capable of handling.

After all, it is Lan En's 'qualification to become king', the so-called 'royal character', which is different from outsiders like Torisha.

In the legal framework of the border region, this [wise beast] is sufficient to represent Lan En himself.

Lan En's mission to Lienia for the Round Table Hall was originally intended as a way of expressing gratitude for the care and support they had shown him during his initial period of presence.

But now, the mission is only one report away from completion, and Rodel is right at the foot of the Golden Tree.

Lan En felt he had neither the standing nor the right to participate in the potentially massive uproar that would result from the subsequent reports.

Dolores, the one who directly brought Lann into the Round Table, is currently nowhere to be found.

To repay this favor, Lan En felt it was necessary to make the trip.

The hybrids cautiously entered the golden leaf forest, while Qilin, carrying the velvet ball, ran towards Rodel, which was already in sight. The path was flat and safe.

Lan En looked up at the sky; it was already dusk, nearing nightfall.

“Let’s go,” he said to Torisha. “According to your information, where was Dolores last seen?”

“Not far!” Torisia quickly followed. “It’s in the Bountiful Forest!”

(End of this chapter)