Chapter 130: I Will Give You an Offer You Can't Refuse
Novigrad, the famous City of Worldly Delights, he had of course been to.
And it was precisely because he had been there that he couldn't believe Lynn's words just now.
The cost of living in Novigrad was probably only lower than in Kovir in the entire North.
As for what Lynn said about renting a blacksmith shop for him in the city...
Although he hadn't inquired about the rent, it must be astronomical.
He didn't even dare to think about it.
Let alone opening his own blacksmith shop.
That wasn't just about having money.
It also required the permission of the blacksmith guild, as well as a series of procedures at the city hall, and so on.
Especially troublesome.
After all, he was a stinky outsider coming to Novigrad to steal jobs from the locals. Wouldn't he be squeezed to death?
As for those difficult words like "talent should be valued regardless of class or region," did he think those barbarian guys would understand?
Therefore, Berengar couldn't believe it would be as easy as Lynn said.
Actually, what Berengar didn't know was...
If an ordinary individual with no power or influence encountered such a thing, it would indeed be as difficult as climbing to the sky.
But if the dwarven banker Vimme Vivaldi stepped in, those rules and restrictions on ordinary people would naturally not be a problem.
Rules were made by the superiors to restrict the inferiors. How could the superiors be bound by the rules they themselves made?
Of course.
To ask Vimme to step in.
Freeloading was definitely not an option.
He would have to spend some crowns to grease the wheels.
But that didn't matter.
Helping Berengar was actually helping himself.
Based on Lynn's understanding of Berengar, Berengar had almost the level of a master swordsmith.
Although he wasn't good at hunting monsters and didn't like fighting,
he had a particular fondness for blacksmithing.
As long as he opened a blacksmith shop for him in the city, he wouldn't have to worry about not making money.
Berengar stared into Lynn's eyes for a long time.
The latter did not avoid his gaze.
From Lynn's eyes, Berengar understood what the other meant:
He was serious.
"Why help me?" he asked in a slightly hoarse voice.
Lynn smiled: "For no reason other than we are brothers of the Wolf School, and because Vesemir said we should help each other."
Berengar hesitated for a moment: "Don't you think I'm a deserter?"
"Why would I think that?"
Hearing Lynn's rhetorical question, Berengar avoided eye contact, as if recalling something.
"Because I shirked my witcher duties. Witchers are supposed to kill monsters, but I... don't want to do that, I even fear others knowing I'm a witcher."
"Berengar," Lynn sighed and said in a serious tone.
"I never thought there was anything wrong with a person wanting to pursue happiness. What's more, you're not even stepping on others to climb the ladder of happiness you seek, so that makes you even better."
Berengar was silent.
He didn't speak again.
Lynn thought he had refused.
So he prepared to leave.
There was no helping it, everyone had their own aspirations.
If Berengar wasn't willing, then he couldn't force him, right?
But when he reached the door, he suddenly heard Berengar's voice from behind.
"Thirty percent."
"What did you say?"
"Aren't you asking me to work for you?" Berengar looked at him and said, "I only want thirty percent, you keep the rest."
To his surprise, Lynn shook his head. "No, we'll split it fifty-fifty. You're putting in more effort, I won't take advantage of you. I'll worry about the rent, material costs, and employee wages. You just focus on blacksmithing."
Berengar's expression first froze, then he turned his face away.
His tone was somewhat emotional.
"Thank you, Lynn, for everything you've done."
"Rest well, Berengar."
After leaving Berengar's room, the smile Lynn had been hiding finally broke free.
It seemed like he had suffered a big loss, but in reality, he was the one who had gained a great advantage.
Using fifty percent of the profits to firmly tie a master blacksmith to his chariot was important, and even more importantly, that fifty percent profit was created by Berengar himself.
In reality, he hadn't spent a single crown.
Moreover, Berengar's role wasn't just a blacksmith; in the future, he would also be responsible for teaching his skills to others.
After all, what he was going to do in the future was essentially a rebellion.
The apprentices recruited in the future naturally couldn't all be witchers skilled in combat.
There would inevitably be those like Berengar, who were obsessed with blacksmithing;
there would also be those like Samwell Tarly, who were suitable to become scholars;
and even merchants, clergy, military officers, etc...
Only warriors wouldn't work; the Witcher Order of the past had fully proven this point.
Of course, discussing these things now was still quite far off.
There was still a lot to be done.
But a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Take it slowly.
...
On the second day of their arrival at Kaer Morhen, the dwarves officially began work.
Although they had been drunk the night before, it didn't affect their work efficiency at all.
They had plenty of strength, and one dwarf could be worth five human craftsmen.
Just as the dwarves were working enthusiastically,
Lynn called Geralt, and the two of them left the castle together, heading deep into the Blue Mountains.
"I just went to the food storage room, and there's already plenty of food inside. Any more would just go to waste."
"You misunderstood, Geralt, I called you out not to go fishing."
"Then what are we going to do?"
"As monster-hunting witchers, isn't it ironic that the place we live has monster nests?"
Geralt shrugged: "Anyway, they won't come to the castle, and no one's paying a bounty, so why bother? But since you put it that way, fine, it's good to stretch my muscles."
So, for the next few days, Lynn and Geralt were clearing out the monster nests near the castle.
They didn't know until they did it, but the Blue Mountains had practically become a demon's lair, with monster nests everywhere.
Just the two of them might not be enough in the short term.
So they also called Eskel and Lambert.
Eskel was a good-natured and honest person; he just looked ugly and fierce.
Upon hearing that help was needed, he didn't hesitate and came over with his silver sword.
As for Lambert.
It wasn't so easy to get this lord to help.
But while staying in the castle, Lambert had been called to work with Vesemir and the dwarves, doing dusty work for several days.
Vesemir was already hundreds of years old and was personally involved, so how could Lambert just lie around?
Therefore, when he heard that Lynn and the others were going to clear out the monsters near the castle, Lambert was more than willing.
Very rarely, he didn't say a few sarcastic remarks.
After all, although both were dirty and tiring work, killing monsters was much better than doing dusty work.
(End of this chapter)
....
For early access to advanced chapters on p@treon
[email protected]/Chaos_God
Thank you so much for your support and for reading