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TWL Chapter 140: Confrontation in the Dissection Room
🕑 Added 2024-05-30 02:42:57 +0000 UTCEven though the Academician's feet were not touching the ground at that moment, he could still scream. "This is blasphemy against a completely new species! It should be protected instead of being brutally murdered by you."
"Now that it is dead, it should be preserved as a specimen so that future generations can learn and study, instead of being treated so savagely!"
House didn't seem to know how to handle someone like that, but he figured it would be best to keep him pressed against the wall and wait for Lann to return.
House said coldly: "This is the trophy of Earl Lannister. It is the Earl's private property. It is not your turn to decide what to do with it. If you talk nonsense again, I may get you hurt."
Due to the thin man's screams, several students and teachers had gathered around the dissection room. Lann heard some of them call him 'Professor Linus Pitt'.
The students, seeing their teacher being treated so rudely, seemed outraged and wanted to intervene, but were stopped by the more experienced teachers. Finally, a man dressed as a doctor and barely reaching the waist of an adult emerged from the group and shouted into the room. "Pitt, don't be embarrassed! That body is someone else's property. Even if you want it, you have to go through the procurement process with them instead of messing around here!"
The man, although small, did not have robust limbs like dwarfs, but his proportions were more normal than those of humans with dwarfism. He was not wearing shoes and his feet were covered in curly hair. These characteristics clearly showed that he was a Halfling.
Oxenfurt Academy is certainly a tolerant place. The Halfling was dressed as a teacher, and when he came out, the students made way for him. It was obvious that he was highly respected. Although he eagerly tried to enter the room, Levin, who was standing guard at the door, would not let him.
"Vanderbeck, I will not give them money!" Linus Pitt was still stubborn. "Money transactions encourage indiscriminate hunting, leading to the extinction of rare species."
The halfling was so angry at this theory that he jumped on his feet and spouted curse words continuously. The students around him were accustomed to his behavior. The halfling knew that his colleague was unreasonable, but he couldn't just ignore the situation.
Lann understood the situation. This was a farce, and she didn't want to continue wasting her time.
“I don’t know who you are, but the ‘precious species’ you called now has more than one undigested human corpse in its belly, including the Redanian soldiers who are protecting you.”
Lann pushed the crowd aside with ease, and as he spoke, all the students turned their gaze to him.
“My Lord the Earl.” Levin saluted and then gave way to Lann.
Perhaps because of Lann's youthful and attractive appearance, the students' indignation was largely dissipated. The halfling, seeing the owner arrive, quickly changed his focus.
The halfling introduced himself. "My Lord, I am Milo Vanderbeck, professor of medicine at Oxenfurt Academy. Could you ask your soldier to release Pitt? He is the idiot making this scandal."
"I have always respected academics, especially those dedicated to education." Lann nodded towards Milo. "I am Lann Lannister, Earl of Cintra.”
Then, he entered the dissecting room and observed the Aeschna, intact. Evidently because Pitt had arrived before they started dissecting him and had caused all this fuss.
Lann motioned for House to release Pitt and said, "It has long been rumored that there are monsters in the delta that devour humans."
"Before we intervened, I don't know how many people your 'rare species' would have eaten. And if we hadn't intervened, who knows how many more it would have eaten."
Pitt rubbed his sore neck. He seemed to think that by being at the Oxenfurt Academy nothing would happen to him, so he continued to stubbornly reply: "Your point of view is not scientific."
"You are too emotional and subjective. Nature is governed by its own laws, cruel and unforgiving, and does not need to be corrected by man. It is a fight for survival. No matter what excuses humans have, they cannot justify the extinction of species, even if they are predators."
Milo gestured frantically at Pitt, trying to get him to shut up, but he couldn't stop him. He was about to scold Pitt and drag him away when Lann stopped him.
Lann said coldly: "The Northern Kingdoms have invested a lot of educational resources into making you a teacher, not making you reach conclusions that relegate humans to the bottom of the ecological chain."
"Even a peasant knows how to protect his family and community, something that you don't seem to understand."
“I am able to obtain the degree and status I have today all because of my own efforts...”
The fanatical biologist tried to retort, but Lann turned and, grabbing the Aeschna's jaw, lifted the four-meter-long monster.
With sudden force, the creature's numerous pincer legs and large jaws moved menacingly. Lann made to throw the enormous corpse towards Pitt, but stopped it just inches from his face, using his immense muscular strength.
The nauseating stench and hideous face of the monster filled Pitt's vision. He heard Lann's cold voice. "Now that he is about to devour you, what do you feel? Are you willing to sacrifice your life for this Aeschna's fight for survival?"
The little professor of Natural History trembled with fear and suddenly fainted. The students outside exclaimed in surprise but hesitated to enter.
Lann waved his hand and motioned for House to drag the person out. He respected knowledge, but he had no good impressions of such obsessive extremists.
He turned to look at Milo, who was also apologizing to him: "I'm sorry for leaving a bad impression on you, Lord Lannister."
Lann shook his head: "I respect knowledge and desire it, but I believe that all science and knowledge should benefit people."
"Me too." Milo said. He looked regretfully at the Aeschna's corpse and said to Lann: "Please believe that people like him are still a minority in Oxenfurt. The dissecting room can be used until tomorrow. No one will bother you again before then."
Lann noticed Milo's look, which was not that of a biologist like Pitt, but rather that of someone who regretted not being able to dissect the creature himself.
Lann had a flash of inspiration and suddenly felt that this was a rare opportunity. "Mr. Vanderbeck, could I speak to you privately?"
Milo looked at Lann's outstretched hand, hesitated and stepped forward to shake it out of politeness: "I have class later."
"I can donate the Aeschna's corpse to the Oxenfurt Academy. I am happy to contribute to scientific research." Lann pointed at Shani. "I only ask that this young lady participate in the dissection, since I promised her that she would."
Milo's eyes suddenly lit up after hearing Lann's words. "You can call me Rusty, it's a nickname my classmates gave me."
The corpse of an Aeschna, being such a rare and complete specimen, was an irresistible temptation for any student of the sciences. Even many social science students had approached out of curiosity.
Obviously Milo could not resist this temptation and was eager to begin the dissection.
But naturally, he knew that after receiving someone's 'donation', he would definitely have to pay the corresponding price. He had no reason to reject the idea of having a good conversation with Lann.
The dissecting room was not the right place to talk, so at Lann's invitation, Shani and Milo went to Lann's residence in Oxenfurt. It was a suite that could be used as a meeting room.
Lenn poured a cup of tea for the halfling in front of him. Now Lann clearly remembered the identity of the other party.
Although Lann could not recognize him the first time because he did not remember his name, he was the halfling field surgeon who was Shani's mentor and friend in the future.
"I'm from Cintra. In a place as informed as Oxenfurt, I'm sure you know what's been happening in Cintra recently."
"It is the front line against Nilfgaard, full of refugees, wounded and sick."
"I hope to save my people so I am looking for political alliances, but the war will not end in a short time and there will still be a constant flow of people who will lose their lives in the meantime. So we need doctors."
Milo reflected before answering. "I'm not going to lie to you, I had already planned to travel once the semester was over. Medicine at school doesn't offer enough practice. However, Cintra wasn't my first choice..."
Lann said seriously: "After this war, I deeply realized the importance of medicine."
"I discovered that not only Cintra, but also the northern kingdoms did not pay enough attention to battlefield rescue. I not only want to treat the current wounded, but also want to prevent them in the future."
"I want to train doctors in Cintra and build a medical school, so I need a real medical expert to lead this project. I've heard about your skills, Rusty."
"I can assure you that Cintra will provide you with complete support in terms of finance, territory and manpower. You will be able to develop fully at Cintra and realize your ambitions."
"I can also guarantee that you will receive the respect and honors you deserve, including a noble title. You may not know it, but Cintra is very inclusive. In addition to warriors, we have sorcerers, druids, and many witchers like me. As for races, in addition to humans, we live on an equal basis with dryads and dwarves."
Lann smiled. "In terms of inclusion, I think Cintra surpasses Oxenfurt. And I don't plan to limit myself to the medical school, I also plan to vigorously support other humanities, science and engineering disciplines at Cintra."
Comments
Axell
Thanks for the chapter 😁
