Chapter 109: Two Proposals

"Haha, George, since I am already aware of your difficulties, doing nothing is not my style."

Wayne took a sip of cherry mead, weighed his tone, and continued: "I have two proposals now; you can listen to them."

"Oh?"

George was somewhat curious upon hearing this. What would this young Witcher, whom he was meeting for the first time, say? "What proposals, Wayne?"

Wayne revealed a kind smile and said:

"The first proposal: isn't the reward for your contract this time three hundred Orens? I will lend you these three hundred Orens first, interest-free. Once you complete the contract, you can pay the money back to me."

"You should be able to see that I am not short of this small amount of money."

George looked at Wayne's complexion and attire with a hint of envy. Indeed, his current appearance was less like a Witcher living rough and more like a young noble living in luxury.

Come to think of it, perhaps it was truly the influence of invisible luck. Since Wayne came down from the mountain, apart from the first contract from Misha to find her child, which only had five Ducats as a reward, everyone else he encountered was an honest and generous good person. Not only were the rewards generous, but their character was also very good.

Of course, this also had something to do with the fact that his employers were all people of status, rather than the unruly peasants in the countryside.

"Then, what is the second proposal?"

As a Griffin School Witcher who believed in the way of chivalry, although Wayne looked like a very kind person, George didn't want to receive help from others for no reason.

After all, financial debts were easy to repay, but debts of gratitude were not.

Seeing George reject the first proposal, Wayne wasn't disappointed. This proposal didn't have much significance to begin with; it was just lending a small amount of money, and it wouldn't make George owe him any major favor.

"As for the second proposal?"

Wayne refilled his wine glass, looked at George, and said:

"George, you also know that dragons all possess high intelligence, and their numbers have become so scarce that they are almost an endangered species. If we just kill it and take the dragon skin or other materials, it would truly be a pity."

Hearing the hidden meaning in Wayne's words, George asked with a frown: "Do you mean you want to capture this dragon alive, or let this dragon go?"

Wayne laughed heartily, didn't state his own thoughts, but asked George: "Regarding the dragon-hunting operation in Hoobor City a few months ago, have you heard anything?"

George shook his head and said: "I just returned from the Skellige Isles two months ago; I've only heard a few scattered pieces of news, and I don't know exactly what happened."

Wayne didn't mind, but used his excellent eloquence to tell George the ins and outs of the Hoobor dragon-hunting operation while drinking and eating meat. After finishing the story, he stated his second proposal.

"That golden dragon friend of mine would certainly not want to see his own kind killed by us Witchers just like that."

"George, if you are willing to assist me, I will notify my golden dragon friend, and the three of us will work together to subdue that green dragon."

"No matter how it is handled in the end, it will certainly never have the opportunity to pose a threat to any human again."

Seeing George still silent and offering no opinion, Wayne added:

"Hmm, as for the reward for your assistance, I am willing to pay you one thousand Orens. The repair costs for your equipment and all consumption during this mission will be covered by me. How about that?"

It had to be said that as a boss who wasn't short of money, the reward Wayne offered was almost the highest George had seen in the last ten years. But as a Witcher, he was still somewhat puzzled and asked directly: "Why go to such trouble, Wayne?"

"Wouldn't it be better to just kill that green dragon directly?"

Wayne, of course, couldn't say that if he didn't intervene, George would die at the hands of this dragon. Moreover, he truly felt that for a rare green dragon, killing it directly was indeed a bit of a waste.

If it were a female dragon, Borch surely wouldn't mind having another mate.

And even if it were a male dragon, letting Borch come along to kill it wouldn't cause his friend to harbor resentment because of this dragon-slaying, and he could also save George's life in the process.

Hearing George's question, Wayne sighed and said:

"George, we Witchers are also just flesh and blood. We must do everything possible to increase our chances of survival."

"Think about it: if you don't follow my proposal and go alone, wearing this tattered armor, to fight that green dragon."

"Do you have the confidence to come out unscathed?"

"If you die at the hands of this green dragon, then many people in the future who might need your help will lose their chance to live."

"Your Griffin School will also decline even further, or even perish directly. Our purpose is to protect those vulnerable civilians. As long as this purpose is achieved, the process and means, and whether the monster lives or dies, are actually not that important, right?"

After stating his thoughts, Wayne picked up his wine glass, raised it to George, and said: "Of course, this is just a proposal. Whichever one you choose, or if you choose neither, it won't affect us becoming friends."

After a few seconds of silence, George looked at Wayne and revealed a smile full of weariness.

As a Griffin School Witcher who had been active in the Northern Kingdoms for over a hundred years, he was actually not a rigid or stubborn person.

"Wayne, both of these proposals are too generous to me. If the person proposing these two things wasn't a Witcher, but a merchant or a noble, I would definitely think they were both scammers, and I would even have to be prepared for them to renege on the deal afterward."

"To be honest, when I received this dragon-hunting contract, I already had a premonition that this might be my last mission."

"But now, if I can have another Witcher and a dragon as my helpers, I think perhaps my Witcher career can continue, don't you think?"

Everyone understands the principle that cooperation benefits both, while conflict harms both. If it's not a matter of principle, no one will refuse a win-win situation.

As he spoke, George took the initiative to toast Wayne and said sincerely:

"Thank you, Wayne. I choose the second proposal."

"Now, you are my employer."

Since the agreement was reached, the conversation between the two became much more casual.

Wayne directly invited George to stay in his guest room and let him taste his exquisite cooking.

While the two enjoyed dinner together, they also began to discuss the distribution of tasks for this mission.

"That golden dragon friend of mine will probably need about a week to arrive here."

Wayne picked up a piece of fragrant, tender fried chicken, stuffed it into his mouth, and said with a smile:

"Tomorrow, you can first buy some materials in the city for making alchemy bombs or potions to replenish your combat supplies."

"Of course, you can also use the bombs and potions of our Wolf School; my warehouse is stacked full of them."

George smiled upon hearing this and asked curiously: "Are you talking about the warehouse on the first floor? To be honest, when I saw the things in that warehouse just now, I was truly startled."

"So many bombs, so many potions—what are you preparing so many for? How long will it take to use them all up!"

Wayne shrugged. He, of course, couldn't say that these were byproducts of him practicing his skills, so he just vaguely said: "These things aren't prepared for this battle."

"After this contract is finished, in the second half of the year, I have a large-scale mission that requires my Witcher friends to help me."

"At that time, if you have time, please come and help me too, George."

George did not refuse immediately, but he did not agree right away either, instead saying vaguely: "If I have time, of course that's no problem, but I have to see what the commission is first."

Wayne knew that George had some reservations, fearing that the contract he mentioned involved political factors, so he wouldn't easily agree before hearing the content.

He didn't expose him, but laughed heartily and explained: "You will definitely have time, George. My contract is to clear out a nest of evil gods that is constantly growing. There are many monsters inside, and I can't clear them all out alone, which is why I want to find some friends to help."

"Evil god?"

George frowned upon hearing this. Even in his hundred-plus years of Witcher life, he hadn't encountered many missions related to evil gods.

"If it's an evil god, then it truly must be cleared out as soon as possible. These guys are eerie and evil; if left alone, who knows when they might cause a large-scale disaster."

Wayne nodded, didn't talk much more on this topic, and continued:

"After your equipment and supplies are all prepared, George, you can set off first and go to Velen to scout out information for our operation."

"My golden dragon friend and I will rendezvous with you in a few days."

"I remember there is a place near Velen called Crow's Perch, right? Let's rendezvous outside the gate of Crow's Perch."

(Thanks to all the big bosses for the tips yesterday, thanks to Youxian Jixu, Daji Yu Bigan, Red Spider Lily, and Yunshang Zhi Que for the tips, mwah!)

(There is another big chapter in the afternoon; I need to organize it.) (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 110 =====