Chapter 62: This Classmate, You Wouldn't Want Anything to Happen to Your Fellow Student, Would You?
Lynn didn't rashly agree. "You speak first."
Gloger said with a troubled expression.
"Don't reveal what Marko told you. What he said... is related to some research we're currently doing. We signed a contract, and the contract requires us not to tell others."
"If it gets out, we can't afford the cost of breach of contract."
Lynn thought for a moment.
"Alright, I can guarantee that." He looked at Marko. "Now you can speak."
Marko looked at Gloger.
Only after Gloger nodded in agreement did he slowly open his mouth.
"At that time, Milva and I were talking about the legendary treasure of King Maglor of the elves of Aen Elle."
Lynn frowned.
"Aen Elle? Did such a country exist in history?"
Marko quickly replied, "Yes, but it wasn't a country established by humans, but by elves. King Maglor was an elven king."
So it was elven history, then it was fine.
The books in Kaer Morhen didn't have many records of elven history.
Even the library of Oxenfurt Academy wouldn't dare to guarantee that it had detailed records of all elven history.
That wasn't the main point.
So Lynn gestured for Marko to continue.
"Hmm, how did you two talk about it?"
Marko paused.
"Well, Milva didn't believe we could find anything of value. She thought the so-called legendary treasure was purely fabricated, and we would most likely return empty-handed."
Professor Gloger, who was standing aside, clearly looked displeased when he heard that his student didn't believe in their efforts.
But Lynn didn't care if the professor looked displeased or not. "And then?"
Marko also noticed the professor's expression. Only now did he belatedly realize what he had just said, and he couldn't take back those words.
He had no choice but to finish speaking through gritted teeth.
"And then there was no then. We had an argument, neither of us could convince the other, and after dinner in the cafeteria, we went our separate ways."
Lynn tapped the table.
"Did she say where she was going? Did she show any unusual behavior? Not just when you last met, but at any other time as well."
Marko thought carefully for a moment, then shook his head.
"No."
"Does she have a boyfriend?"
This time, before Marko could speak, Gloger interjected, "Witcher, you don't understand. During their studies at Oxenfurt Academy, students are forbidden from dating. If discovered, they will be expelled immediately."
However, Lynn keenly noticed that when Gloger said this, Marko's expression was somewhat unnatural.
But he didn't say anything, just secretly noted it down.
Pretending not to care, he asked again, "Does she have any close friends?"
"Before this, Gottfried was quite close to her," Marko replied.
At this moment, Lynn keenly noticed the key phrase in Marko's words.
"Before this? Before what?"
"N-nothing..."
Marko clearly prevaricated, and his eyes darted away.
But Gloger didn't notice his student's abnormality. After Lynn asked a few more questions, but Marko's answers seemed ordinary to him, he asked, "Is there anything else you need to ask, Witcher?"
Realizing that continuing here wouldn't yield any more information, Lynn stood up.
"Where does Milva live? I need to go take a look at her place."
It wasn't Marko who answered him, but Gloger: "She rented a house near the harbor, and she lives there alone."
Lynn asked doubtfully, "Rented a house outside? Professor, doesn't Oxenfurt Academy provide student dormitories?"
"Of course it does, but student dormitories can't guarantee that every student has their own single room. Therefore, some students from well-off families prefer to live outside."
Speaking of this, Gloger shook his head and sighed.
"Young people nowadays can't compare to our generation at all. They can't endure even the slightest hardship. When I was studying, if I had the conditions they have now, I'd be laughing in my dreams..."
Lynn quickly interrupted Gloger's endless chatter.
He didn't want to hear any of this irrelevant stuff.
It seemed that no matter the world, the country, or the era, there was always the saying that "young people nowadays are not as good as the previous generation."
He had roughly gathered the information he needed.
"Now let's talk about our payment, Professor."
"Having money motivates one to work, which is very reasonable," Gloger raised a finger. "Witcher, if you can bring my student back, I'll pay you one hundred crowns, how about that?"
Oxenfurt was close to Novigrad.
Therefore, it also used the crown gold coins minted in Novigrad.
One hundred crowns was equivalent to six hundred orens.
The Mahakam contract had only been four thousand orens in total, and that was for both him and Geralt.
Professor Gloger's willingness to pay one hundred crowns was already quite good.
Lynn had nothing to say about this payment.
"It's settled then, but Witcher, there's something we need to agree on first:"
"My student must return unharmed... well, losing a few hairs is acceptable, but broken limbs or severe mental trauma is not."
"If you only bring back a corpse, that's even more unacceptable. Please forgive me, Witcher, I can only pay you the one hundred crowns after I see my student safe and sound."
...
Due to the missing student, Oxenfurt Academy was temporarily suspended.
Therefore, after the questioning, Marko also left Oxenfurt Academy.
He returned to the place he rented outside.
As soon as he got back to his place, before he could even catch his breath, he heard someone following him and entering the room as well.
He was startled at first.
He quickly turned around.
But after seeing clearly who had entered, he relaxed.
The person who came in was none other than Lynn, who had reached an agreement with Gloger.
"Sir, what are you doing?"
Lynn entered the room and closed the door behind him. "I have a few more questions to ask you."
Marko felt a bit nervous because of Lynn's actions.
Even his speech became stuttering.
"But I've already answered everything I could at the professor's."
Lynn shook his head.
"No, I can tell you weren't telling the truth. Marko, you wouldn't want anything to happen to Milva, would you? Then tell me. Tell me everything you didn't mention in front of the professor."
Marko hesitated for a moment and said.
"Sir, I can tell you, but you can't let the professor know, otherwise Milva will be expelled."
Lynn said without thinking, "You can rest assured about that. I guarantee it."
Marko took a deep breath.
In the end, he had no choice but to trust the witcher.
"Actually, Milva has a boyfriend, and it's Gottfried."