Witch Hunter Rhapsody

"Vitas, where have you been these past few days?"

When Vitas appeared, Ether almost pounced on him.

"I did some complex tasks, which took some time."

"Hey, this meteorite impact has nothing to do with you?"

Vitas's heart skipped a beat. Was Aethera's intuition really that accurate?

"A meteorite? What's that?"

Etherra brought over a stool, quite pleased that since Vitas was still unaware of these matters, she could now talk to him a bit more.

After the meteorite fell a few days ago, mercenaries and people from various other places made their own judgments. Most people thought it was the work of a wizard, after all, these recent events were the work of a wizard.

Since Viya's death, there have been many battles and many wizards appearing in the city. Who died, who lived, and whose plans are all unknown.

Since the unknown is the case, many conspiracy theories have emerged.

The most frequent speculations revolve around Nectus and Declan.

Some say Nectus is preparing to conduct a massive, horrific experiment, intending to sacrifice all the city's inhabitants; others say Drak is planning to use a teleportation array to move the entire city to another location. There are many more absurd and bizarre speculations than these.

"I feel the problem lies with Viya. All of this happened after Viya's death. Viya was Draco's student. Does anyone know Viya's secret?"

Ether rested her chin on her hand and said earnestly.

"What I heard was that Elizabeth and Viya were most familiar with each other, but Elizabeth has already died with Viya."

"Oh dear, this is troublesome."

"Yes, even the Duke sent people over recently!"

"ha?"

Vitas had never heard of this.

Ether gave a sweet smile.

"Shh, only a small number of people know about this. Most of them are in the lord's castle. It seems like a whole knight order came."

"How did you know that?"

"Hehe, a woman came into the store to pick out weapons. I noticed she had a different vibe, so we chatted for a bit and ended up becoming friends."

"I really envy your social skills."

Vitas shook his head. He had come to repair his armor, which was somewhat worn from the previous battle.

However, with the Duke's knights arriving, a battle might still break out, so it's better to focus on maintenance.

"In that case, I think I should stop maintaining my armor. The atmosphere has been getting increasingly tense lately, and I need to make some preparations."

Aethera looked at Vitas, opened her mouth as if hesitating. Then, her eyes darted around, and finally, as if she had made up her mind, she spoke.

"Vitas, are you really unaware of this?"

Why do you say that?

"You don't seem like someone who knows nothing."

Vitas was at a loss for words. He did know about the complicated things that had been happening in the city recently, but there were also many things he simply didn't know the details of.

"Well, how should I put it? All I know is that they're here for Viya's inheritance..."

A light suddenly flashed in Etherra's eyes, and she took Vitas's hand and said...

"That's enough. Would you like to see Liena?"

"what?"

……

Liena Gallipoli came to Ortham City on her own, without guards or armor, which was quite an adventure, but Liena loved adventure.

She enjoys meeting people from different places and making friends from different backgrounds.

Therefore, Liena was very happy when Ether, the excellent armorer she knew, came over with a man who looked very powerful.

"Please come in!"

Etherra led Vitas into Liena's room.

"Aisera, you've finally agreed to introduce me to new friends."

"This is my friend, Vitas Vitalius. Vitas, and this is Liena."

"Mr. Vitalius, haven't we met somewhere before? Why do you look so familiar?"

"It might just be a coincidence. I don't think I've seen you before, but perhaps I caught a glimpse of you in a crowd?"

Liena smiled, oblivious to the fleeting tension on Vitas's face.

Vitas never expected to see Liena here.

Why is the Duke's beloved daughter in Ortham?

Before his own knightly order was destroyed, he planned to visit the Duke in order to seek better opportunities for advancement, but Nectus intercepted him in the end.

During that time, he had caught a glimpse of the duke's daughter, known for her unrestrained and free spirit, from afar in a tavern.

Damn it, I only heard that the Duke started paying attention to this matter, how come he sent his own daughter over?

And why is Liena here? The hotel's security is completely inadequate, and the surrounding situation is worse than I imagined.

Honestly, if someone were planning to attack Liena, this place wouldn't be enough for security.

Vitas was having a headache, while Liena was still concealing her identity.

"I've been commissioned by the Duke to investigate the recent events in Ortham. Do you know anything about them?"

Vitas considered it carefully; he knew that some things could be said, and some things could not.

Finally, Vitas only mentioned that the wizards were coveting Viya's academic legacy.

"Is that so? These wizards are really unruly. My father... the Duke is quite troubled by this."

"Aren't wizards supposed to be very cruel?"

"Aisera, not exactly brutal, they're just too focused on their research and lack any compassion."

"Is this all there is to it? I think it's already bad enough."

Liena smiled, then asked Vitas.

"Do you think it's those wizards doing these things?"

"There's a necromancer."

"This is really troublesome. By the way, Vitas, who are you? I don't think you're a commoner."

Vitas saw Ether's face twitch, as if she was trying to suppress a laugh.

Do I really look like someone who doesn't look like an ordinary person?

He could only awkwardly try to salvage the situation.

"Everyone has a need to hide their identity, doesn't they, Miss Gallipoli?"

"Huh? Liena, is your last name Gallipoli?"

Ethera hadn't reacted yet, while Liena's expression had already turned somewhat unpleasant.

"Hey, Gallipoli, isn't this...?"

"Yes, Ethella, I am the Duke's daughter."

"what?"

Aesera was startled and stood up, and Liena quickly reassured her.

"It's alright, I'm not some cruel nobleman."

Vitas continued.

"So, Your Excellency Gallipoli, what are the Duke's plans?"