Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 61 Banquet Invitation

The next afternoon, at O. Henry's dwarf blacksmith shop.

"Haha, kid, my points are three times yours, you only have three cards left in your hand."

"If three cards can beat me, I'll just swallow the whole bottle in my hand, hahaha."

Having finally seen a glimmer of hope for victory, the Dwarf Master, who had lost six games in a row, stroked his beard with great satisfaction, then savored a bite of East of East from Toussaint and let out a hearty laugh.

Wayne, sitting opposite him, remained completely calm and gave the dwarf a meaningful smile.

First, they released a terrain rain card, which forced all the siege weapon cards on both sides to become one point, thus rendering the dwarves' highest-value cards useless. Then, they took out a horn card and placed it in their ranged attack slot, instantly doubling their ranged attack value.

Finally, under the stunned gaze of the Dwarf Master, Wayne took out another horn and placed it in his melee slot.

With just three cards, the situation was immediately reversed, and the bet was won.

Wayne reached for his glass of East of the East, took a leisurely sip, and savored the slightly smoky, sweet flavor that lingered on his tongue. He glanced at the enormous bottle of red wine and murmured:

"Master O. Henry, this bottle is too big. Even a dwarf's throat couldn't fit it. Are you really going to swallow it?"

The dwarf master never expected that his boast would immediately backfire. Hearing Wayne's sarcasm, his bronze face couldn't help but blush.

Just as I was about to say something to save face, that bastard Wayne across from me spoke up again:

"Of course, I know you're joking, Master, but I've already won this Gwent game as agreed. I wonder if you'll grant my little request?"

Hearing this, O. Henry suppressed his frustration at losing Gwent and instead asked Wayne with some curiosity:

"It's a small matter, of course I can agree to it."

"But I'm a little curious, Wayne, as a witcher, why don't you go out and kill monsters for quests? Why did you decide to learn blacksmithing from me?"

"Your demon-hunting commissions are much more profitable than our blacksmithing."

Upon hearing this, Wayne picked up the master-grade silver sword that the dwarf master had forged, pulled it from its sheath, revealing the gleaming blade and the exquisite, mysterious magical runes on its surface, and admired it with a touch of rapture.

This sword took Master O. Henry two days and two nights to forge, with the assistance of seven or eight dwarf blacksmiths. Just looking at its appearance would be enough to enchant a warrior.

After a few seconds, he finally answered:

"Master, this is my wish."

"As a warrior, I wish I could possess the most powerful weapons and armor in the world, but given my personality, I prefer to forge them myself rather than rely on others to do it for me."

"To create the world's most powerful weapons and armor?"

O. Henry paused for a moment upon hearing this, muttered something, then burst into laughter, saying, "That's ambitious!" Then, his expression hardened, and he said disdainfully:

"You brat, I've specialized in forging for seventy years and I still wouldn't dare say that."

"You ignorant brat, how dare you spout such nonsense? You're truly ignorant of your own limitations."

After cursing, the dwarven blacksmith master took his lit pipe, puffed on a puff of fragrant tobacco, and after enjoying it for a few seconds, said:

"Alright, kid, I don't care what your bullshit reasons are. We dwarves always keep our promises."

"From today onwards, you are welcome to come to our blacksmith shop anytime to learn forging techniques. If you have any questions, you can ask me or any of the other dwarves."

"You don't need to be my apprentice. We don't need to play those games. If you have any good wine in the future, just bring some over for me to try."

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Wayne immediately flattered Master O. Henry several times, but the dwarf blacksmith was not impressed. After loudly cursing Wayne, he kicked him out of his room.

Speaking of which, this O. Henry was truly a man of passion. A master-level silver sword from the Wolf School would cost at least a thousand orens, including labor and materials.

Geralt once revealed that his silver sword was forged in Novigrad using a thousand crowns he had saved up over three years.

Converted to the current exchange rate, one crown is roughly equal to seven orens. His master-level silver sword is worth almost 1,400 orens, which is no wonder it is the most expensive piece of equipment on most witchers.

After accepting the bottle of East of East, O. Henry never mentioned any payment again and generously shared the wine with Wayne.

"This is a dwarf friend worth making friends with," Wayne thought to himself, avoiding the crowds on the road and quickly returning to the Fox Tavern where he was currently staying.

As soon as he entered the tavern, a cute girl dressed as a maid greeted him. Her face flushed, she bowed slightly and shyly handed him an invitation, saying:

"Mr. Wayne, this is a birthday invitation from Lady Kayla. She invites you to her birthday dinner in two days."

Wayne reached out and took the invitation from the girl, smiling as he looked at her and said:

"Are you feeling better, Maisie?"

The girl blushed even more upon hearing this; she had been asked to join the battle by her mistress, Kayla, late at night.

However, because she was an ordinary human and a virgin, she only lasted for less than two hours before falling into a deep sleep. When she woke up in the morning, the mistress and Wayne had already left the mansion.

But the Witcher's wild and strong body, and his inexhaustible energy, have become a beautiful memory that she will never forget.

Her face flushed, and she avoided Wayne's gaze, whispering:

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Wayne. I am feeling well."

"The invitation has been sent out, but I have many things to take care of at home, so please allow me to take my leave now."

However, before she could turn and leave, Wayne said somewhat apologetically:

"I'm sorry, Maisie, please convey my apologies to Ms. Kayla. I have important matters to attend to on the day of her birthday party and will be unable to attend."

"However, I will prepare a special birthday gift for her, and I hope she can understand."

Upon hearing this, Maisie looked up at Wayne with some surprise. The birthday banquet of the royal advisor was a high-society event that many people dreamed of attending, yet the man in front of her actually refused.

However, as Kayla's personal maid, she couldn't change the guest's mind and could only reply with some regret:

"I will convey this to Lady Kayla, Mr. Wayne."

"However, I believe Lady Kayla is truly looking forward to your arrival, so please do not refuse this invitation if possible."

Wayne sighed inwardly. If it weren't for the fact that this birthday party would invite many of the kingdom's elite, he probably wouldn't have refused.

However, he is not yet ready to enter the sights of those important figures and does not want to be too high-profile or attract attention, so he can only decline the beauty's offer.

"I'm sorry, Maisie, I really have something important to attend to. Please convey my sincere apologies to Ms. Kayla."

Seeing that Wayne's attitude was sincere and not feigned, Maisie gave a regretful "hmm" and said:

"In that case, I will convey your apologies to Lady Kayla."

After saying that, the girl hurriedly left the somewhat chaotic slum.

No sooner had the girl left the tavern than Dandelion, who had been lurking nearby watching the spectacle, began to whistle loudly, as if in a chanting voice:

"Wayne, a ruthless witcher."

"How could you refuse an invitation from such a lovely girl? If it were me, I would definitely let this girl fall into a sweet love affair."

"Only sweet memories, like mead, can respond to the passion of a beautiful young girl."

Wayne ignored Dandelion's rambling and instead walked to the table opposite Geralt, who was also watching the scene unfold, and sat down to drink an ice-cold beer.

White Wolf raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile appearing on his usually expressionless face, and said sarcastically:

"What's wrong, Wayne? If you regret it now, you can still go and win the girl back."

"You didn't return to the tavern all night because you spent a wonderful night with this girl?"

Wayne rolled his eyes, offering no explanation that he had fought a battle with two women, one of whom was a sorceress.

He placed the master-crafted silver sword forged by O. Henry before Geralt, then took two lightweight crossbows—half metal, half wood—from his belt and placed them on the table, saying:

"My silver sword is finished, and these two crossbows are prizes I won from a master blacksmith."

"You can pick one out as a gift from me."

White Wolf raised an eyebrow, not looking at the crossbow, but instead reaching for the master-level silver sword, drawing the blade, examining it closely, and couldn't help but exclaim:

"Exquisite craftsmanship and superb materials make this a truly fine sword. It must be the work of a master weapon maker."

"You really surprise me, Wayne. This sword must have cost you at least a thousand orens. Where did you get so much money?"

Wayne shrugged, a smile playing on his lips, and said with a hint of pride:

"Not a penny was spent, Geralt."

"You might not believe it, but I won by using my second son."

(End of this chapter)