Witcher: Master Kiliman’s Grand Ambitions-Chapter 57: Alvin, Become My Disciple

The next few days were dedicated to carrying out the plague investigation mission.
Using portal magic, Triss transported him, the witcher, all over the place, visiting several villages within the Kingdom of Temeria that had been wiped out by the Catriona plague.
Originally, because of his wager with Foltest, Kiriman had held some expectations.
He had hoped that his arrival would yield some results in this plague investigation.
Unfortunately, aside from hunting dozens of troublesome monsters along the way, he and Triss didn't discover anything particularly special.
They neither found any special medicine that could treat the plague, nor did they find the Plague Maiden that the sorceress Keira needed.
Apart from collecting samples from different stages of the plague from the bodies of those who had died from it, one could say they gained nothing.
Hmm? Actually, that's not entirely true—they did gain something.
At the very least, after several days of close interaction, his relationship with Triss had grown much closer, turning them into friends who could chat freely about anything.
From Merry's mouth, he heard quite a few little-known bits of gossip and intelligence that weren't in the games.
Things like kingdom politics, aristocratic scandals, and the current situation between the North and the Nilfgaard Empire.
Among these, there were quite a few stories about the love affair between Yennefer and Geralt.
Thanks to the spreading tales of their good friend, the great bard Dandelion, the love between the master witcher Geralt and the sorceress Yennefer had spread throughout the North, just like his reputation and those thrilling witcher stories.
Whether people listened for the gossip or for the tales themselves, in this era of scarce entertainment, a love story between such unique individuals held great appeal for many. As the bard's songs spread, it gradually became an interesting rumor many discussed over meals.
During this investigation, Kiriman also intentionally, and sometimes unintentionally, revealed his thoughts and knowledge about the Catriona plague to Triss.
The most important point was that this plague was actually spread by rats and the fleas on them.
To control the spread of the Catriona plague, strict measures had to be enforced regarding water sources, personal hygiene, and pest/rat control, implemented through a very strict quarantine system.
Perhaps the people of this world didn't know it, but the Catriona plague likely originated from the Black Death of medieval Earth in some parallel world.
It was the Daughter of Destiny, Ciri, who, during one of her time-space travels, accidentally brought a flea carrying the Black Death into this world. Thus, this terrifying plague, named the Catriona plague, began to spread throughout the witcher's world.
The horror of the Black Death is clear to anyone familiar with that history.
Its fatality rate was almost ninety percent, causing tens of millions of deaths in the Middle Ages. It nearly wiped out about one-third of Europe's population, and also killed tens of millions in Asia.
Even in the original history, humans never developed a specific cure for the Black Death.
It only gradually faded from the historical stage thanks to humanity's natural immune system, along with strict hygiene protections and effective quarantine measures.
If not for the existence of magic, divine power, and many mysterious forces in the witcher's world that defy conventional understanding, the casualties caused by the Catriona plague would likely have been many times greater.
………………
After returning to Vizima city again.
Because the investigation of several villages had taken consecutive days, Kiriman received a total payment of three hundred Orens from Triss, bringing his assets back to around three thousand Orens.
After settling on the idea of rebuilding the witcher school, Kiriman no longer spent extravagantly. He directly checked into the Hairy Bear Inn in the Temple Quarter, planning to properly save up a sum of money for the future construction of the school.
The previous plague investigation journey, plus helping Princess Adda remove part of her curse, had restored his soul power to over three hundred points.
Without much hesitation, he directly chose to upgrade the [Soul Projection] skill, raising this soul skill from LV1 to LV2.
The activity range of the soul projection expanded from the original ten meters to twenty meters, and the projection's strength also received a certain enhancement.
It truly lived up to being an exclusive skill granted by Deep Blue. Similar to his powerful storage space, the actual utility of the [Soul Projection] skill was far greater than those few simple lines of explanation suggested.
Helping Princess Adda lift her curse was a prime example.
The true soul projection, aside from not being very combat-effective, was practically a powerful assistant capable of various micro-operations on a soul level, combining reconnaissance, trial-and-error, peeping, and soul communication.
One could imagine that once his Soul Projection skill became powerful enough and its controllable range sufficiently long, he could even take an enemy's life from a thousand miles away while sitting at home. He might even directly use the soul projection to devour the souls of certain weaker beings.
Just thinking about it was somewhat chillingly powerful.
After resting at the Hairy Bear Inn for just one day, before he even had time to go sample the flavors of the streetwalkers in the slums, Kiriman received a letter from Shani.
Over these past days, the medical student girl had adapted to life in Vizima city and gained the trust of the nuns at the Temple of Melitele. She now had time to start researching experiments related to the Catriona plague.
She wrote to the witcher regarding the commission he had previously promised her: to go deep into the Vizima swamp to find a special variety of celandine there, for use in researching plague treatment potions.
Kiriman did not refuse this task. The Vizima swamp was a place he needed to visit anyway.
The activity range of the soul projection expanded from the original ten meters to twenty meters, and the projection's strength also received a certain enhancement.
Whether it was the first exploration of Black Tern Island to find traces of the Lake Goddess, the fat merchant Radovid's task of clearing the swamp dock, Shani's herb-gathering mission, or the commission from the most beautiful elf queen Francesca—all their destinations were in the same general area.
It truly lived up to being an exclusive skill granted by Deep Blue. Similar to his powerful storage space, the actual utility of the [Soul Projection] skill was far greater than those few simple lines of explanation suggested.
Soon, Kiriman arrived again at the house rented by Shani and the other two, meeting the pretty medical student Shani, as well as Caroline and her son Alvin.
The true soul projection, aside from not being very combat-effective, was practically a powerful assistant capable of various micro-operations on a soul level, combining reconnaissance, trial-and-error, peeping, and soul communication.
The witcher ate the pastries while describing to Shani the investigation conditions he and Triss found in those plague-wiped villages, and he took out several samples of the plague he had collected.
One could imagine that once his Soul Projection skill became powerful enough and its controllable range sufficiently long, he could even take an enemy's life from a thousand miles away while sitting at home. He might even directly use the soul projection to devour the souls of certain weaker beings.
She was genuinely passionate about medicine and willing to devote energy to the medical cause.
Even in the dangerous environment of the Battle of Brenna last year, she hadn't shirked her responsibilities but had treated wounded soldiers at the front-line aid base until the war ended.
After listening to Kiriman's ideas on how to effectively control personal hygiene for plague patients, how to eradicate rat and pest infestations, and how to effectively quarantine patients of different severity levels, his ideas—based on modern medical theory—earned Shani's respect and agreement. She took detailed notes on many related points.
When their conversation concluded, Kiriman noticed Alvin, who had been sitting nearby the whole time, so clever and sensible he didn't seem like a child at all. Suddenly, he spoke up:
"Alvin, how would you like to become my disciple?"
"I will be establishing a witcher school very soon. When the time comes, you and your mother can live there and work for me."
"I will also teach you swordsmanship and knowledge, to make you a strong person."