Although Karl was surprised by Triss when he first met her,
in order not to appear too rude, he averted his gaze from the other's chest and looked her in the eyes.
He hadn't expected to meet Triss here. Judging by the time Phillip and his daughter had left and met him earlier, Triss had probably left the market long ago.
At present, it seemed Triss was clearly delayed here temporarily for some reason.
"Madam, you need Drowner brains? What's your price?" Karl asked calmly, his tone very natural, with no intention of deliberately pleasing the other party.
Because he knew the truth: women never liked being fawned over, but rather being impressed by genuine qualities.
Especially for wealthy sorceresses, no matter how rich ordinary people were, could they be richer than those serving as advisors to royal families?
Therefore, most sorceresses didn't value material things but were attracted by strength and status.
"Hmm, it depends on how many you have. I'll buy each Drowner brain at a price of two Orens, and I can add more if it's a large quantity." Triss smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Her pale green eyes, without even looking away from Karl, continuously swept over his entire body, clearly appraising him favorably.
"Alright, madam, please see what you need."
Karl lifted his package and took two steps towards the counter to untie it.
Immediately, a pile of bottles and jars made a slight clinking sound before them.
Inside the package, many dried Drowner brains were neatly placed, and a jar was naturally soaking mutagens.
"Huh? So many? This is..." Triss's lips parted slightly, and she glanced at Karl in surprise.
She approached the counter, ignoring the strong smell emanating from the Drowner brains, elegantly picked one up, and looked at it carefully.
"Hmm... It's almost twice the size of an ordinary Drowner brain, the texture has become more defined, and it's indeed a Drowned Dead brain."
"I'm truly surprised. With this many Drowner brains, do you have an elite mercenary company?"
While asking her doubtful questions, Triss unconsciously moved a little closer and smiled at Karl.
Triss's sudden ambiguous move made Karl quickly turn his face away and calmly step back half a step.
Seeing Karl's reaction, Triss's eyes narrowed slightly, and a flicker of playfulness and surprise crossed them, as if she had discovered something.
She thought, "Oh, interesting. Is he shy?"
"Judging by his appearance, he's not very old, probably just over twenty. Has he never had intimate contact with women?"
"Ahem, madam, no need to guess. All the alchemical ingredients here are my trophies."
"Besides, you're standing too close. If you're not buying, I'll look for other buyers." Karl closed the cloth around the package and immediately made a move to leave.
"Wait, I'll buy... all these alchemical ingredients," before she could finish, Triss reached out and placed her hand on the back of Karl's hand.
"Hmm... Ah." Triss whimpered, her body trembling violently, her cheeks quickly flushing, and she weakly slumped to the side.
Seeing that she was about to hit the corner of the table and chairs, Karl reached out to support her back, preventing Triss from falling and getting hurt.
But when his hand touched her pale back, Triss shuddered and moaned.
"Madam, are you alright? Do you need help?"
"Don't... Don't touch me anymore, just sit me on the chair."
At that moment, Triss's voice was as faint as a mosquito's, and her cheeks were very red.
If not for their proximity, Karl wouldn't have even heard what she was saying.
Her head rested on Karl's chest, feeling his strong masculine aura, and her body felt like it was experiencing a mild electric shock.
This strange sensation gradually filled her face with longing, and she turned her head away, not daring to look at Karl.
Although Karl wondered why Triss reacted so strongly from just a touch on the palm, he still followed her instructions and leaned her against the chair.
Triss closed her eyes, bit her lip slightly, and turned her head away to get a little used to it before slowly opening her eyes.
"Sorry for the trouble I caused you..." Her gaze turned away, not daring to meet Karl's eyes at that moment.
"Let's talk about the price for the Drowner brains. Fourteen Drowner brains, plus one Drowned Dead brain and three mutagens."
"Ordinary Drowner brain: two Orens and five silver coins. Drowned Dead brain: five Orens. Mutagen: one Oren each. Total: forty-three Orens."
She tremblingly took a money pouch from her belt, barely holding it as her hand slipped and the bag fell to the floor.
She gritted her teeth, a little anxious on her face, enduring the weakness and pleasure in her body, and recounted the amount.
"Here, this is the money from selling your goods..." Triss extended her fingertip and pointed to the coins on the small table.
At that moment, Karl looked thoughtful, his eyes flickering as he vaguely recalled something about Triss's sudden peculiarity.
It seemed that Triss wasn't only allergic to Chaos magic but also had a particularly sensitive reaction when in contact with people like Witchers.
However, the question was, he wasn't a Witcher, so why did Triss still show abnormalities when touching him?
"Alright, madam, are you really okay? Do you need me to take you to a physician?"
Karl put away the Orens from the table and turned his head to ask once more before leaving.
"I'm fine, thank you for your concern." Triss turned her head, her cheeks still slightly flushed, and felt a little embarrassed.
She replied quietly, not daring to make contact with Karl.
Thinking that she was a sorceress, this was just a minor "little accident" that didn't affect her spellcasting at all.
If there were really people with ill intentions, what could they do to her?
If the other party didn't have magic-dampening gold and didn't get close while she was unprepared, her fireball technique could be cast instantly.
Karl nodded, then pushed open the shop door and prepared to leave.
"Hey... Sir, may I know your name?" Triss's eyes were full of autumn waves, and there was a slight hint of reluctance in her voice.
"Karl." Karl paused for a moment, then left the shop without looking back.
On the way back, the setting sun shone on Karl.
Seeing that it was already late, he thought he would go to the courthouse tomorrow morning to deliver his mother's letter to Keira.
Today, he had met Phillip and Triss, and he was lucky.
With a slight smile on his face, he whistled and headed towards the inn.
The next morning, at dawn, Karl rose full of energy.
After a quick wash, he left the best room on the third floor of the inn.
Fortunately, it wasn't too late for their arrival; there were still two of the best rooms left in the inn, the rest being almost fully booked.
However, not all nobles lived in inns like Karl.
Some nobles participating in the competition owned property in Vizima, so they didn't need to stay in inns.