Perhaps influenced by the Witcher's calm tone, Valesa let out a soft breath, her expression no longer so anxious.
After exchanging a glance with the haggard middle-aged elven woman behind her, she began to introduce and elaborate on the details of the request.
"This is Ms. Rhianna, the former Court Alchemist."
"She and her family originally lived in seclusion in Vizima, earning a living by selling various perfumes."
"However, since the Catriona Plague broke out, Vizima has become increasingly harsh for non-human races, and that city is no longer safe."
"Many non-human citizens have been arrested, detained, interrogated, had their property confiscated, or even directly imprisoned in the plague-ridden Old Vizima district to await death, all for trumped-up reasons."
"Ms. Rhianna feared such things would happen to her family, so she recently accepted our invitation and brought her family to live in Ammonite Village."
"But just last night, while they were staying at a rural inn on the outskirts of Vizima, Ms. Rhianna's daughter, Miko, went missing. She's a little girl, only about eight years old."
"No one knows how she disappeared; she was just gone in the blink of an eye, or perhaps no one is willing to tell the truth."
At this point, Valesa's expression grew somewhat gloomy. Looking into the Witcher's eyes, she continued:
"After questioning yielded no results, Ms. Rhianna rushed here overnight to ask for our help. Her husband is still searching at that inn."
"However, my warriors are all elves, and it's difficult for them to move freely in a human-dominated town like the outskirts of Vizima, nor are they skilled at finding missing persons."
"So, Guilliman, you are a Witcher. I've heard many stories of Witchers resolving difficult requests."
"I hope you can help us find that little girl and bring her back."
Former Court Alchemist? Searching for a missing little girl?
Tsk, tsk, tsk!
It seems Valesa isn't even bothering to hide it anymore; she's directly revealing the power behind her.
Of course, Guilliman didn't care about any of that.
He hadn't pledged to join this faction, nor had he sworn loyalty to anyone. In fact, his relationship with Valesa couldn't even be considered a formal one.
No matter who the employer was or what faction they belonged to, as long as he didn't undertake requests that were too biased or favored one side too much, then the so-called employer was just an ordinary employer.
However, searching for a missing little girl?
This isn't like hunting monsters or taking down a scumbag, where all you need is brute force and combat.
Ammonite Village is about a day's walk from the outskirts of Vizima, and even riding a horse at full gallop would take half a day.
By the time he arrived, it would likely have been almost a day since the little girl went missing.
In an unfamiliar place, trying to find information about a missing person is incredibly difficult.
Even in today's technologically advanced society, there's talk of the 'golden forty-eight hours' for missing persons.
Beyond that time, it becomes very difficult to find the missing person. How much more so in a savage and backward quasi-medieval era?
Guilliman felt this request was a bit beyond his capabilities, and he couldn't help but hesitate.
Although many experienced Witchers, like the great detective Geralt, could handle all sorts of complex and troublesome requests and uncover the truth through their keen Witcher senses,
He was a newcomer who had only been in this world for a month and had never engaged in any detective work. He couldn't be expected to do too much.
Seeing his apparent hesitation, Ms. Rhianna, standing behind Valesa, immediately became anxious, her body trembling slightly, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Perhaps for Guilliman, this was just a request he was hesitating whether to accept, with no real impact on his life whether he took it or not.
But for a mother who had lost her daughter, this might be her only hope.
Rhianna anxiously pushed past Valesa, walked up to Guilliman, her hands fidgeting, her face full of pleading and apprehension, and said in a trembling voice:
"Please, Master Witcher, save my daughter."
"Miko is our only child. She is the hope of my life, and my husband and I cannot lose her."
"We are willing to offer all our family's savings, over five hundred Orens, just to get our daughter back."
Five hundred Orens!
Hearing this price, Guilliman secretly gasped, somewhat shocked by the mother's offering.
However, Valesa had told him that elves found it very difficult to reproduce. For this long-lived race, having a child was considered a blessing from the heavens.
Due to issues with genetics and lifespan, almost most pure-blood elves had lost their yearning for love; only a very small fraction would form families, and they also lacked the joys between men and women, so calling them asexual wouldn't be an exaggeration.
The reason why the powerful elves were defeated by humans in the past racial wars between humans and elves.
The inability to effectively replenish their new population was one of the important reasons for their defeat.
And the fact that he was able to physically conquer Valesa, this clearly elite pure-blood elven beauty, so quickly.
The soul-tempering method of dual cultivation of body and soul, as well as his extraordinary bedroom skills, can be said to have played an indispensable role.
And after this period of understanding, Guilliman had gained some understanding of Temeria's economic situation.
At this point in time, the value of currency varied in each country, and even different types of gold coins had vastly different purchasing power.
The most valuable among them were the Crowns used by Redania, the strongest northern kingdom, minted in Novigrad, the most prosperous trade city in the north, and circulated in several northern countries, making them one of the main currencies of the north.
In the Kingdom of Temeria, the Oren was the main currency here. An ordinary adult male worker's monthly income was only about a dozen Orens.
Converted into modern currency, it would be roughly equivalent to a time when resources and transportation were extremely scarce, and an ordinary worker's salary was a thousand yuan, with one Oren gold coin being approximately equal to one hundred yuan.
Perhaps players didn't notice it when playing the game, but in this real Witcher world, there were silver coins below gold coins, and copper coins below silver coins, as smaller denominations.
How could all transactions in daily life possibly be paid for with gold coins?
Looking at Ms. Rhianna, who was willing to pay a large reward, and at the haggard, tear-streaked, desperately pleading mother before him.
Guilliman was not a heartless man. Perhaps this request might not be completed, but there was no harm in trying.
He was planning to go live in Vizima for a while anyway, so he would treat this request as an early opportunity to understand the environment.
He sighed inwardly, looked up at Valesa, who also showed a pleading expression, then nodded to Rhianna and said:
"Alright, Ms. Rhianna."
"Let's not discuss the reward for now. I will depart immediately for that inn to meet with your husband."
"I cannot guarantee whether I can find your daughter, but I will do my best."
After speaking, Guilliman stood up, preparing to return to the bathroom to change into his combat gear and depart immediately.
However, Valesa immediately reached out and held him, saying:
"Thank you for helping Rhianna, Guilliman."
"I thank you on behalf of my people."
"My horse is in the stable; I've already had someone prepare it. You can ride it once you're ready."