Ведьмак (Ваншоты)

The Lesser Evil (English)

Geralt × Reader

You both hoped this time you'll leave the place without killing any monsters as you were tired of fighting and had much more coin than you ever expected to get. But it seemed that being a witcher made problems appear in any place you visited.
You were looking for a tavern to rent a room in and stay there for a while, as a villager approached you and started to talk to Geralt.
"Witcher. We need your help."
He said and Geralt finally stopped, making Roach stop too. You stopped walking, listening to their conversation.
"A witcher named Draldo killed a terrifying number of people in the villages in the area and he's heading to our village. Please, witcher. Kill him before it'll be too late."
The man was nearly crying but Geralt stayed still.
"I don't kill witchers. You're welcome to ask any assassin to do it. It's none of my business."
With that, Geralt continued walking, and you quickly caught up with him.
"Don't you think that was a bit cruel? He was crying and everything..."
"My job doesn't involve killing witchers."
"I know, but he did say that the witcher is killing humans... Who knows when an assassin is going to show up." You though aloud.
"If you want to go kill him, feel free to do so." Geralt muttered.
"That's not what I meant! My morals are at conflict here... On one hand, he IS a witcher. We aren't exactly many as it is. But on the other hand, he is killing humans, who we are supposed to protect. That's a tough choice." You mused.
Geralt didn't answer you, and you had no way to tell what he was thinking.
"Are you thinking about what I said? You have that look on your face," You teased him.
Geralt seemed unsure of his actions now.
"Geralt?"
You caught his attention.
"Hm?"
"Are you sure you won't take this job?"
"Don't think so."
He coldly answered.
"So let's go."
And so you did. You found the tavern you were looking for, rented a room, and went there to finally rest. You both were really tired.
Geralt seemed restless for the rest of the day, but as you asked him about it, he just said there's nothing for you to worry about. You eventually gave up on asking.
***
Waking up the next morning, you could tell that Geralt didn't sleep well. You were eating your breakfast when Geralt said that he changed his mind, not leaving room to argue.
"We'll hunt him down." Geralt glowered, standing up from his chair.
"Okay. Ready whenever you are." You stood up as well.
After the both of you readied yourself and your weapons, you went outside to search for the witcher.
You didn't have to search for a long time. You spotted him killing someone just at the entrance of the village.
You could make out the fact that he was a witcher by the unnatural, pitch black color of his eyes.
You were overcome with rage, but this was still a witcher.
"Calm down. If you're angry you will only get in my way." A seemingly uncaring voice whispered next to you as you hid, remaining unseen.
"Right, sorry. So, what do we do about him?" You trained your gaze on the man as he searched for more prey, two daggers in his hands.
Suddenly, something whizzed by you, and a sharp sting on your upper arm was all you felt. You looked down and saw a cut. You looked back up at the witcher, and now he only held one dagger in his hands.
"Found you," he cooed.
"Stay here, (name). I'll get him. Drink this."
Geralt said, searching in his bag for something. Finally he tossed you a little bottle with a potion you made earlier at one of the other villages. The smell indicated that it was a healing potion. You drank it in one go, when Geralt already held his iron sword in his right hand. You surely saw him drawing "Quen" in the air. This idea was right as Draldo threw his second dagger at Geralt. The sign disappeared and Geralt was ready to fight.
"You're left without your weapon"
Geralt smiled, picking the dagger up so Draldo can't use it.
"You're going to kill me? How funny. A witcher killing a witcher. A violation of your silly traditions, isn't it?"
"You have nothing to do now, so just give up. There's only one of us who'll stay alive after this battle."
He was really out of options besides running away. Geralt had an advantage as he had two swords and his enemy didn't seem to be smart.
Geralt was fast, using his well known tactics to make Draldo fall to the ground.
"Any last words or wishes, bastard?"
Geralt angrily asked.
"You'll regret it."
Draldo answered.
"Never."
Geralt said, cutting through the witcher's neck.
"That was morbid." You made a disgusted face at Geralt.
"It had to be done." He replied curtly, sheathing his sword.
"I really hoped that we could resolve it without killing him."
"Life doesn't work that way."
"...Do you even care about the fact that he was a witcher?" You fell into step next to him as he started walking away.
Geralt sighed, exasperated.
"I chose the lesser evil."
He said coldly.
"The lesser evil was to kill a witcher?"
"He would kill much more people if I didn't do it. Moreover, he was out of his mind. It was obvious."
"I still can't understand how you did that so easily."
Geralt sighed heavily once again.
"Let me tell you a story..."
He started.
"Many years ago, when I traveled to Blaviken, I met a mage who seemed to be threatened by a "cursed" girl who was known there as Shrike. She had a group of seven people who were always protecting her.
Her name was Renfri. All she wished for was revenge on the people who made her run away from Creyden. Anyway, that mage asked me to kill her, so she won't kill him first. I didn't agree, of course. Sometime later, I met Renfri. We talked. We drank some wine, so she told me everything that was on her mind, including her own story. The reason she wanted to kill that mage. But she was planning to kill him at the market. That would be dangerous for the people who lived there, as you can understand. As she was walking away from my room, Renfri told me "choose the lesser evil", hinting for me not to disturb her plan. I thought about it a whole night just to wake up in the morning and understand that I have to stop her by any means possible. So I went to the market. Her people were already there and everything I could do was to kill them as they attacked me. And than she came."
"Renfri?"
You asked, stopping Geralt's story for a second.
"Yes. She kidnapped the mage's daughter and said she'll kill her if I don't let her revenge. I tried to use "Axii" but it didn't affect her, so I decided to fight. She was strong, but not strong enough against me. I really didn't want to kill her, but at last, I understood that this IS the lesser evil.
Renfri died that day and I was exiled from Blaviken with no right to come back. But I didn't regret it."
You stayed quiet as you listened to Geralt's story. He had a point, and you started to think of what happened from another point of view. This Draldo was about to kill more people, whatever was his reason for doing it. You couldn't know how many human lives you saved. Geralt maybe killed a witcher, but it seemed to be the right choice.
***
You came back to the village as the people were happily cheering about the evil witcher being dead. The man who first asked Geralt to do it now came to you holding a bag full of coin.
"I will not take it. Witchers are supposed to die with dignity. What I did was not a part of my job. I don't want to get paid for it."
Geralt said, walking away.
You were in your room again.
"Seems like your wound is healing well already."
Geralt said to you, looking at your arm.
"Luckily."
Geralt lied on his side of the bed, so you did. It seemed you were thinking about very different things. However, you were still thinking about the story Geralt told you. Now you surely knew. He really chose the Lesser Evil.

Written With The Amazing SunshineBachim
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