He turned the conversation, looked at Geralt, and immediately made a decision: "Alright, I'll go with you to take a look."
Yennefer was still quickly thinking about how to further convince him, even ready to pay a price.
She had also researched the rumors about the "Grand Duke of Terra," especially the record of him defeating an army single-handedly.
That was enough for any sane lord to seriously consider their own strength when facing a dragon threat.
But she never expected Karl to agree so easily, without even mentioning conditions.
Yennefer's violet eyes lit up, as if she saw the dawn of success.
However, just as she was secretly rejoicing,
Karl slowly added, his gaze falling back on Geralt: "Remember, I'm doing this for Geralt."
This sentence was like a basin of cold water, slightly cooling Yennefer's growing joy.
At the same time, it made it clear once more that the main reason for Karl's trip was friendship, not her persuasion or a potential deal.
......
A few days later, a large team set off along the road towards the area where dragons were rumored to appear.
Karl, Geralt, and Yennefer rode horses, relatively at the front of the line.
Geralt and Yennefer rode side by side, while Karl lagged slightly half a horse-length behind, watching this impromptu dragon hunt team with interest.
Behind them, in a modest horse-drawn cart, Dandelion sat cross-legged.
He held his beloved lute in his arms, plucking the strings with his fingers.
Occasionally, a few beautiful verses came to his lips, but they were somewhat disconnected from the actual environment.
He loudly praised the magnificent mountains and rivers along the way, and the romantic atmosphere of the adventure, trying to add an artistic touch to this dangerous journey.
Though most of the onlookers looked on foolishly.
As with all profitable adventures, new faces constantly joined in as information spread.
Some were knights or mercenaries eager for the honor of killing a dragon and becoming famous in one fell swoop.
Some were merchants or alchemists who coveted dragon scales, dragon bones, and dragon blood—precious materials on a dragon's body—and speculators who simply wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make an unexpected profit.
The scale of the dragon hunting team gradually grew like a snowball; the composition of the personnel became complex, and the atmosphere became increasingly noisy and impetuous.
At that moment, a middle-aged sorcerer in a fancy sorcerer's outfit and a rather conspicuous red top hat,
leading his calm mare, deliberately adjusted his direction and approached Karl, who was riding alone.
The sorcerer's gaze carefully swept over Karl from head to toe.
In his eyes, the young man had rare short blonde hair and blue pupils, and his appearance was attractive.
But his clothes were very ordinary, like an adventurer or a freedman with few assets, without any noble crest or prominent status.
Except for the giant sword behind him, its hilt wrapped in coarse cloth and looking not light, he didn't even have the simplest leather armor.
This was particularly striking and... foolish.
"Hey, young man! What's your name? Are you also here to hunt dragons?"
The red-hatted sorcerer took the initiative to start this topic, and his words carried a relaxed and barely perceptible superiority of the elder over the younger.
He paused and said in a tone reminiscent of goodwill: "It's dangerous not to have armor, young man."
"A dragon's minions are extremely intelligent; they could tear an unprotected man like you to pieces."
"Your courage is commendable, but recklessness will get you killed."
At that moment, Karl's appearance was not his originally famous face.
He used his bio-field to adjust his appearance and interfere with light, making him look like a different person.
His facial features were still handsome, but the details were significantly changed, and his skin color was slightly altered.
Except for Geralt and Yennefer, who knew the truth, even Dandelion thought he was born that way.
Dandelion also secretly noted that this gentleman was quite heroic.
Hearing the sorcerer's words, Karl turned his head, a relaxed and even somewhat lazy smile appearing on his face, as if he was going for a stroll rather than a dragon hunt.
"My name is Arn Vati. But why hunt dragons?"
He gave a pseudonym he had made up in advance, then asked: "If he doesn't take the initiative to attack villages and kill innocent people,"
"just staying quietly in his territory, then we drive him away and make sure he doesn't threaten human settlements, wouldn't that be enough?"
He paused and continued in his relaxed tone: "As for armor... I don't think I need it; wearing it is a burden."
"Besides, what armor can compare to my well-trained body?"
Arn Vati? When the red-hatted sorcerer heard this name, his brows slightly furrowed, and a thoughtful flicker passed through his eyes.
The name had a strong ancient style and seemed to have a meaning related to "sun" in the Elder Speech?
Could this young man have mixed elven blood? That would explain his excellent appearance and blonde hair.
And when he heard Karl express his opinion against indiscriminate dragon hunting, Dorregaray was delighted.
He believed that this young man might be like him, advocating for maintaining the balance of all things in nature, protecting ancient, endangered creatures, and opposing senseless killing for profit or false glory.
A relieved smile of finding a kindred spirit appeared on Dorregaray's face, and he was ready to open his mouth to discuss in detail with Karl
the importance of ecological balance and the protection of rare magical creatures, as well as the unique value and gentle habits of the Green Dragon...
But Karl continued with a phrase about armor not being as tough as his body, which was as hard as bone.
In an instant, all his prepared, philosophical, and persuasive words stuck in his throat.
The smile on Dorregaray's face froze, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably several times.
The look he gave Karl quickly shifted from admiration for a newly discovered "thoughtful young man" to a sense of helplessness and contempt for megalomania.
His first impression of Karl immediately changed—he was a young man with a special name who might have shared ideals.
Now three affixes were added to that: arrogance, conceit, and foolishness.
"Hmm... My name is Dorregaray, and I am a sorcerer dedicated to protecting endangered species and maintaining the balance of nature."
Dorregaray took a deep breath, barely maintaining his sorcerer's demeanor, and replied in a dry tone.
He deliberately emphasized his philosophy, then added with a slight irony: "You are... very confident, young man, indeed."