Lily Knight Roderick de Wett—Victor was hardly unfamiliar with that name. Ever since Batman's last "jogging event," Victor had made sure to give the organization that had almost caught him the respect it deserved.
The commander of the Royal Guard Knights was, naturally, King Foltest himself. Beneath him were two deputy commanders—Princess Adda and Mayor Velerad. Of course, Adda couldn't personally manage her share of that force, so the aide she trusted most was the knight standing in front of Victor now. Roderick was a Nilfgaardian, which made his rise a thorny road, but with Princess Adda backing him, he still held considerable real authority.
Taking the invitation with both hands, Victor said, "It would be my honor." He maintained a respectful, earnest demeanor and carefully put the invitation away in the cabinet, only then turning back to continue speaking with the knight.
Not only was Victor painfully ordinary-looking—he also had the air of a country bumpkin who hadn't seen much of the world. That made Roderick even more satisfied with the "angel-voiced musician." So he decided to offer a bit of guidance, to help Victor please the princess more effectively.
"The court banquet the day after tomorrow celebrates the harvest season—the arrival of autumn—so the poems and tunes should be lively and upbeat. Important attendees will include Grand Master Jacques of the Order of the Flaming Rose, Captain Vincent of the city guard, …and Royal Advisor Keira Metz, as well as Royal Advisor Triss Merigold!"
Victor listened in silence to the procession of names—until the final one. Then he couldn't help letting out a small, startled sound.
The earlier names didn't matter much. They were all on friendly terms with him—correction: Keira Metz was still plenty intimidating, but compared to the last name, she didn't even register.
The Fourteenth of the Hill. A founding member of the Lodge of Sorceresses. Fearless Merigold. Merigold of Fire. Bearer of Alzur's Thunder. One of Geralt of Rivia's two great loves. Someone Ciri regarded like an older sister… Just listing her titles made it obvious her status and strength were among the very top.
To any former gamer, Triss Merigold's presence alone outweighed everyone else at the banquet combined. Calling her "Triss Half-a-City" wouldn't even be exaggerating.
Triss Half-a-City? What kind of nickname was that? Victor had to lean back for a second.
Half of Vizima couldn't compete with her sheer presence.
The excitement of finally getting the chance to see her made Victor—unfortunately—miss the next short stretch of what Roderick said.
…
Not long after Lily Knight Roderick left, Shani arrived right on schedule. After a cheerful, pleasant dinner for the three of them, Shani—as usual—stayed in Angoulême's room, while Victor went down to the basement to do alchemy.
But as he worked, he kept thinking about the unexpected development that night. Once the initial thrill of possibly seeing Triss cooled, Victor regained his calm. Truthfully, if he had a choice, he sincerely didn't want to attend that banquet. It wasn't just the risk of being recognized by Adda—court banquets were the kind of place where powerful people clustered together. One wrong step and his quiet life would be over.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. And since it happened to be autumn, Victor had to fight down the urge to grab his stirring rod, storm upstairs, and give Dandelion a painfully unforgettable lesson.
But getting blindsided like this was genuinely stifling, so Victor decided to build his happiness on someone else's misery. He pulled his bat suit from his herb pouch and put it on.
He was going to personally headline: Batman Returns.
That night, when the streets were silent and shadows flitted like wings, the returning Batman carved a path with his iron fists—starting in the Temple Quarter and ending in the Trade Quarter. All the way, it was a relentless barrage of punches, driving thugs into panicked flight. And this time, he didn't forget to announce his name after each beating: "Batman." He couldn't let absurd unofficial nicknames like "that free man" or "Black Banana" keep spreading and corrupting the children.
The joy of beating up bad people while dressed like an absolute lunatic was, in fact, remarkably effective.
When Victor returned to the alchemy room, a surging, roaring flood of mental power felt ready to burst out of him. He had a strong, certain intuition: right now, he could make something truly exceptional.
His thoughts turned, and he thought of Doctor Shani sleeping upstairs. He decided he would make her the best stethoscope possible—one that would help her stay healthy and save even more lives.
He rolled up his sleeves and threw in materials: copper, silver, iron, wood, leather.
He took a deep breath, focusing completely. He plunged the thick stirring rod into the great cauldron and began to mix.
In the dark alchemy room, Victor was so absorbed that he didn't notice it—beneath his feet, centered on the cauldron, a faint glow spread soundlessly into a vast alchemical circle. A phenomenon that only appeared when forging an item beyond epic-tier through truly unbelievable alchemy.
…
The next day, the front page of the Vizima Morning Post read:
"Last night, 'that free man' struck again, displaying extraordinary prowess. In a single night he viciously beat seven hoodlums who had been harassing women after dark. Particularly worth noting: on multiple occasions he clearly announced his official name to the victims—'Batman.' I must say, this name is less friendly than 'Black Banana'… but…"
…
…
After breakfast, Victor set the paper down. The Vizima Morning Post had printed "Batman" as the official title—an icon returning, the man's second appearance—and yet it didn't stir up any great storm. Instead, it carried the flavor of an urban anecdote.
At the very least, both Shani and Angoulême were laughing so hard over the morning edition they could barely breathe. Victor also learned, for the first time, that Shani was actually a Batman supporter. Her reason: after seeing the wanted poster, she admired his fashion sense.
Being able to appreciate the aesthetic of a bat suit… really could only mean one thing—deep down, Shani might be a little wild.
Before she left for work, Victor stopped Shani and handed her the stethoscope he'd made the night before, giving her a brief description of what it did.
But before Victor could finish, the doctor had already snatched it away, hooked it over her ears, and pressed the chestpiece to Victor's chest. She shifted it gently, listening to the strong, clear sounds beating from within.
She didn't stop there. She pulled Angoulême over and did the same—pressing it to the girl's chest, listening carefully. As she moved it slowly this time, Victor noticed Shani's fingers trembling faintly.
Finally, Shani pressed the chestpiece to her own chest, took a deep breath, and asked, "Victor… how did you come up with something like this?"
As she spoke, Victor saw a mist of tears rise in her eyes. She really, truly loved the gift.
Victor shook his head. "No—this isn't my invention. Back in our town, there was a doctor named Laennec. A lady came to him whose figure was… extremely full-figured, especially her chest." As he said it, Victor made a small rounded gesture at his own chest. "With all that thickness, percussion and palpation just weren't effective.
"Then he remembered a game from when he was a child—if you put your ear to one end of a plank, you could clearly hear a needle scratching on the other end.
"Based on that idea, he made a first version of the stethoscope as a simple wooden tube. As for the one you're wearing now—that's the improved version the whole town refined together, through collective ingenuity."
Victor smiled with quiet pride. He was extremely satisfied with the finished piece. When it rose from the cauldron, even he had been moved by how beautiful it was—and how well it worked.
The principle wasn't hard. With a little thought, a doctor could grasp the trick. Making something as refined as the one in Shani's hands wasn't easy—but producing a crude, workable version would be very simple.
Thinking of that future, Shani stepped forward and hugged Victor tightly. "Thank you. This is so useful. I'm going to help so many people with it—and I'll be thanking you on their behalf too."
"No need," Victor said, patting her back. "If you hadn't listened to my heart the other day, I wouldn't have thought of it in the first place."
Shani kissed Victor on the cheek, let him go, and headed out the door to work.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters //[email protected]/Razeil0810