Bear School Astartes

”Aha!”

Dandelion pointed across the table at Lann with a fork still adorned with onion rings, his face filled with excitement and surprise.

”You clever rascal!”

Lann responded with a smile from under his hood.

”What?” Geralt looked back and forth between Lann and Dandelion, baffled. ”What are you guys talking about? Can you stop being so vague?”

”To hide a drop of water, the best way is to conceal it in a lake.”

Dandelion said proudly to Geralt.

”You see, back when we hung out, you always said things that left me puzzled, but now the tables have turned!”

”But right now, where’s the ’lake’?”

Thanks to Hunter’s superior education compared to ordinary people, Geralt only needed to think a little to understand the metaphor in Dandelion’s words.

——If everyone has Lann’s build, then he wouldn’t stand out, making hiding much easier.

But how could such a physique be possible...

”A cloak? A magic cloak?”

Coming to a sudden realization, Geralt looked at the hem of the cloak Lann had exposed on the table.

”If expected to work like this, such a cloak would operate through alchemy, unlike having a mage cast a spell, making its cost and ease of production quite advantageous, sufficient to serve as a public commodity.”

Triss also understood, and she began calculating the feasibility of such a cloak as a mass-produced product.

She was a warlock who excelled at crafting magical items, and she often earned quite a bit selling magical items in Vizima.

”Since secretly, some people or various groups wish to roast me on a ’towering reputation,’ it seems reasonable for me to do something with this fame, right?”

Lann’s lips curled up into a mischievous smile.

”Create a high-quality theatrical production that can spread throughout the North, making my current image well-known and even admired. Then add an advertisement in the end, selling this cloak.”

”The profits should be quite good, right?”

Dandelion looked at Lann, almost ready to clap.

The profits would certainly be good. The anticipated cloak would sell well.

After all, if wearing it could make one appear as grand and imposing as a hero in a play, imbued with an irresistible air of mystery, theater enthusiasts alone would purchase it for dressing up and collecting, ensuring strong sales.

In Lann’s homeland, this would equate to high-quality cosplay attire.

And that’s just the ’normal’ demand of theater fans, what about those ’abnormal’ ones?

In Lann’s homeland, some people would believe a mass-texted message saying, ’I am Qin Shi Huang, send me money.’

And now, with Lann’s attire going public, they could even achieve visual conformity.

’An appearance like a hero in a play,’ if this cloak is widely sold, there would undoubtedly be individuals using this appearance for nefarious purposes.

These wouldn’t be big matters, as after all, this appearance is merely an illusion granted by the magic cloak, with no actual power. It would only deceive people and perpetrate minor frauds.

However, these endless, minor ’bad deeds’ would lead this image’s reputation to plummet significantly.

It wouldn’t become something everyone condemns, as Lann’s feats tangibly won a war, and his achievements and strength are enough to earn a place in the court history books of various nations.

But at least in the future, when people see this image, their first reaction would be: just a common person wearing a magic cloak.

Since some secretly want to manipulate me using excessive fame, I might as well use this fame to conceal myself instead.

Heh, it’s as if someone thought I couldn’t use fame for personal gains.

Lann’s fingers lightly tapped on the table with ease, while Rong Buqiu, squeezed between the two, looked utterly bewildered.

She could only lift her head from the bowl, look around in confusion, and softly meow.

These issues were much too profound for a simple little cat!

But for Dandelion, who has been thriving in the ’publishing industry’ for over a decade, he was already enthusiastically gearing up.

”This needs a good script; I’ll personally write it!”

”Let me think... think... This play must be grand and awe-inspiring!”

”The key is to highlight your current image, I might connect this cloak attire to past war scenes.”

”Without a doubt, Master Dandelion will pen a magnificent and gripping modern story! Roaring thunder, endless slashing!”

”And the promotional lines must be convincing... ’A firsthand experience by the playwright,’ what do you all think?”

Once Dandelion was in the zone, he chattered excitedly, saying ’what do you all think,’ but in reality, Lann, Triss, and Geralt exchanged glances, realizing he likely didn’t intend to let them interject.

”Watch closely, when this play comes out, those clumsy minstrels depicting the war will all earn nothing later on!”

Toward the end, the poet couldn’t help but stand up, the fork with onion rings resembling a conductor’s baton.

He arrogantly gestured at the imaginary ’clumsy poets’.

Rong Buqiu beside him, raised his head, staring blankly.

This confident professionalism even overshadowed the other three.

They could only nod simultaneously.

”Then I’ll leave it to you, Dandelion.”

Geralt said from the side.

”What do you mean ’leave it to me’? We’re not finished yet!”

The poet protested unhappily.

”A play can’t just have a script, it needs a troupe to perform it!”

”Lady Irena’s troupe has just finished their tour in Kovir and is now in Novigrad. I’m on good terms with her; handing over this script will surely work. Geralt, you help me contact her, I need to delve into the script.”

Lann added from the side, ”We’re writing this play to sell cloaks, so it’s best if the main character dons the magic cloak, ensuring excellent promotional effects in the end.”

The White Wolf was dumbfounded, holding up a fork with fish to his mouth without putting it in.

”Just like this?” he muttered in a daze, ”Now I’m a troupe liaison? Weren’t we initially here to find Dudu?”

”Finding someone isn’t about how many people you send out.” Lann patted Geralt’s shoulder across the table. ”I’m a Demon Hunter too, I can go myself.”

”Dandelion,” Lann turned towards the poet, ”How long do you estimate from writing the script to rehearsal and performance?”

”If I’m in good form, I can write the script in a day. Even if the troupe gets the script and decides to perform, it takes half a month or up to a month to arrange everything, right? Preparing props, actor rehearsals—all pretty bothersome.”

”So we have less than a month,”

Lann calculated with his arms crossed.

”Find Dudu, have him start running assets for me, then spend money to fund Karkstan’s research to realize this magical cloak, ultimately performing and selling it.”

”We’d earn money and stir up great fame.” Lann nodded at his plan, ”Two birds with one stone, sounds delightful!”

”But thinking about it, we’re really short on time,” Triss frowned, worriedly looking at Lann.

”Maybe I could front the research funds? Karkstan is a renowned Alchemy Master, and I can make Magic Talismans. The two of us researching together, we could quickly produce a prototype cloak. At least it could serve as a prop for the play.”

”No! No need, let me handle it!” Lann, without hesitation, immediately refused.

Geralt across was disappointed, hoping for entertainment, he turned his head away uninterestedly.

Lann was no fool to reject Airetusa’s funding, then turn around and accept Triss’s advance?

Though Margaret and Triss seem to have reached some consensus, Lann decided to be cautious, revealing no flaws.

”Alright, alright, since it’s settled, we have to hurry! We don’t have time to waste!”

Now, Dandelion was the most enthused.

He hurriedly finished the food on his plate, then stood up, speaking passionately.

”Get moving, Geralt! We need to start working, don’t be a couch potato!”

Dandelion pulled and dragged Geralt away, leading him to the room Triss arranged for them.

Looks like they’ll combine another firsthand account to craft a good script.

And Geralt didn’t resist, simply flashing a meaningful smile to Triss and Lann before disappearing with a ’bam’ of the closing door.

’Even I know how to read the room.’

That smile probably conveyed this message.

”Alright, seems like Dandelion and Geralt will handle the theater part.”

Triss stretched lazily.

”And finding Dudu will be up to us two.”

”You seem quite excited.”

”Of course.” Triss openly expressed her thoughts without any restraint, ”Although Geralt is a good friend and Dandelion nice and humorous, you know... sometimes I just want to be with you alone.”

”We’re not just chilling; we have work to do.”

”Mixed couples make work less tiring.”