Witch Hunter Rhapsody

There are approximately three thousand mercenaries in the city of Otham, comprising over four hundred mercenary groups or squads of varying sizes. On average, a mercenary group consists of fewer than eight people, and in reality, it may be even fewer. This is because Otham does not have a need for war or large-scale armed forces, and four or five people are often sufficient to meet the needs of most employers.

From another perspective, the number of mercenaries hired depends on the needs within the city. Although the beasts outside Ortham are fierce and numerous, the size of the population limits further expansion, so the demand in this regard is not that great.

Most small-scale mercenaries are basically just doing odd jobs, such as moving goods, harvesting crops, and handling all kinds of miscellaneous goods.

Mercenary groups with more than twenty or even a hundred members often have their own fixed employers, fixed businesses, and sometimes even businesses involving going out to war.

"When some lords don't have enough money to maintain a standing army but still need to wage war, they recruit mercenaries. That's when we make our fortune. This is true both in the Duchy of Vilan and elsewhere."

"Mr. Vitalius, what wars did you participate in?"

Etherah Hammer raised her own question; the armorer's daughter was a former knight enthusiast.

The once-glorious knight, Vitas, was now sitting in the armor workshop waiting for his armor to be finished, chatting with Aethera as usual.

The investigation has clearly intensified these past few days, but fortunately, no one has suspected anyone around them yet. The wizard named Raymond, whom they killed the day before yesterday, seems to have been just a minor, unpleasant incident.

He hoped so, not wanting to invite more trouble. But he understood that Raymond's death would inevitably attract more enemies.

Now, he was thinking about how to answer Ether's question.

Vitas was no stranger to war, but fighting alongside the Knights would inevitably expose his past.

"For some people, isn't this a question that's best answered?"

A woman's voice broke their conversation. Vitas looked up and saw a woman who was quite tall compared to the others.

He had silver hair, a scar on his cheek, and wore light leather armor with reinforcements or iron plates in key areas.

"Hello, Mr. Vitalius, I am Helena Marlowe, the vice-commander of the Flying Eagle Knights."

Vitas frowned. What's been going on these past few days? He suddenly knows so many people, and has a ton of names to remember. Damn it, he might as well just forget about the few who are already dead.

Although he was dissatisfied, Vitas still maintained a polite demeanor.

"Hello."

Then, Helena smiled at Ether and said, "Miss Hammer, may I join your conversation?"

Ether looked at Vitas, hoping he would refuse. If he did, Helena could only politely apologize and then turn away.

Vitas paused, not wanting to miss such a good opportunity to change the subject: "I have no objection, but what about little Aethera?"

"Little Etherra?"

Helena gave a cryptic smile.

"A good title."

"So, you just came here to chat?"

Vitas always felt that Helena had her own motives. And indeed, that was the case. Helena glanced around, then lowered her voice and said...

"Lord Vitas, in fact, we lack people with leadership skills for heavy knights. If our knightly order could have an excellent heavy knight, perhaps we could earn glory under the viscount's banner."

Ether felt that this might not be a conversation she could hear, and stood up to leave, but then she heard Vitas say something.

"There's no need to leave, little Etherra, it's not anything particularly important. Helena, I don't know where you heard about me, but I don't know you well, nor do I know your mercenary group. That's the first reason."

"Secondly, I currently have no plans to join a mercenary group. Besides, I don't seem like the excellent heavy knight you imagine."

"Third, for your future, I suggest you do not get involved in such a war."

Helena bit her lip, but then put on a smile.

"It's alright. If you don't agree, let's get to know each other today. People in our line of work need to know more people. You agree, right?"

"I've met quite a few people lately... Well, it's nice to meet you, Helena. Let's discuss this again sometime, or when we're more familiar with each other."

Helena understood, she said with a smile.

"Or when you're short of money, that's the reason we mercenaries are hired."

Vitas extended his hand out of politeness, and Helena shook it back. She knew that continuing to talk nonsense would only make Vitas more dissatisfied, and that saying goodbye directly would leave a better impression on him. So she said goodbye and left, leaving Vitas and Etherra to continue their chat.

Of course, Etherra still had work to do, but it wasn't anything that required particularly much concentration.

Etherra glanced at Vitas and saw him examining the armor of the other guests with great interest.

She should find some topics to talk about.

"Um, Mr. Vitalius, how much do you know about Miss Marlowe's mercenary group?"

Then, Etherra saw the surprised look that Vitas was giving her.

"Do you know so little about me, Ether, or have I simply not mentioned that I don't interact much with my colleagues in this city?"

"Oh, you mean you don't have many friends?"

Aethera noticed Vitas's somewhat embarrassed expression and knew that she had probably said something wrong again.

Honestly, why do I always do this in front of Mr. Vitalius?

"It's not true that the more friends you have, the better, but if I had to say, little Ethera would be considered my friend."

Etherra was completely taken aback by Vitas's words. Her heart pounded. Strange, so strange.

She noticed her face burning. Was the friend Mr. Vitalius mentioned just an ordinary friend? She was surprised to find herself somewhat unable to look Mr. Vitalius in the eye.

"Mr. Vitalius will meet many more friends in the future."

"Little Aethera, you don't have to be so polite with me. Just call me Vitas."

"this……"

Etherra felt it would be better to talk to Vitas about the Flying Eagle Knights.

"Vitas, Helena, and the others are all from this area, and their focus after forming a mercenary group is also in the surrounding area. If you want to stay in the neighborhood, maybe..."

Etherra saw Vitas hesitate for a moment, then forced a smile and said.

"Let's talk about this later. Is there any new information from Wizard Viya?"

It was clearly a digression, but it was indeed a good topic. These days, the issue of the wizard Viya had become the most pressing concern for the city's residents.

The cause of Viya's death has come from the prosecutor in charge: poisoning. However, the method of poisoning remains a mystery.

There are too many toxic substances in the wizard's laboratory. It is very likely that an accident occurred while he was conducting experiments. But why is Elizabeth there?

Elizabeth was a test subject? But Viya and Elizabeth were friends, and many people in the city knew this.

Could it be that an accident occurred when Elizabeth was assisting Viya with the experiment, but Elizabeth's knowledge level was insufficient to help Viya with the experiment?

"However, the prosecutor also clarified a fact: Viya did indeed conduct experiments on children, but they were all stillborn babies or children stolen from cemeteries. The cases of those missing children had nothing to do with her."

Vitas had been working alone for the past few months and had heard some of the legends about Viya, especially when he was gathering intelligence in preparation for killing her.

Vitas had also considered using children as bait to lure Viya, but later found that the girl was more cautious than he had imagined, and that the cleanup would be too troublesome.

In contrast, sacrificing Elizabeth seems simple and straightforward.

"I've also recently heard that some outsiders have come, also because of Viya's issues."

"It seems so. I heard it from a nobleman's attendant last time. It seems even the Duke's wizards have come. The mercenaries are very excited; it's a great opportunity to meet more important people. I'm probably why Miss Marlowe is trying to win you over."

"Mercenaries are always thinking about going out into the bigger world."

The thought that he had killed a wizard who was probably from the Duke's place felt quite unreal to Vitas.

Then he thought of the most important question that Maximus wanted him to figure out.

"Is Viya that kind of person? I thought she was just a little wizard."

"Little wizard, she's Drak's student. I don't know why she can only move around in our city, but she's not someone other wizards can mess with. If any other wizard in the city had a rumor like Via, they would have been expelled long ago."

Vitas was prepared; Maximus had indeed asked him to do something extraordinary, and he had actually accomplished it.

"However, some people believe that Viya was murdered."

Why?

"Everyone knows where Viya lives now, and some people say they saw Elizabeth and someone else go in not long ago. That person's height clearly doesn't belong to Viya. But honestly, even the time of Viya's death can't be confirmed, so who can guarantee anything?"

"Yeah, who knows?"