What witch? The Deadly Pharmacist!

"Mommy, the princess has been captured. Will someone come to rescue her?"

"Yes, her prince will definitely come to save her!"

Chapter 37 He's not some stepping stone.

The next day, Leon reappeared at the Owl Recycling Shop.

"You're asking me about the debt collectors at Potter Pawnshop?"

The old shopkeeper frowned slightly. "So, yesterday, the inquisitor who broke Garcia's hand at the tavern, single-handedly beat all five of them until they were coughing up blood and begging for mercy on their knees, and finally made them line up to crawl out of the tavern, was that you?"

“I didn’t do that!” Leon frowned upon hearing this.

How did things get spread like this in just one day?

"I really don't understand. You reminded me to be careful yesterday, and that very night you started provoking others. What are you trying to do?"

The old shopkeeper shook his head at Leon.

“They're the ones who provoked me. It sounds like you know that group? So they're in this business too?” Leon asked casually.

Garcia's restrained reaction to his inquisitive nature as an inquisitor, and the fact that his men seemed familiar, made Leon keenly aware that the crimes these gangsters were involved in were probably related to church regulations.

If they usually just engage in usury, break people's limbs, or force women into prostitution, these things are not under the church's jurisdiction but are handled by the sheriffs and town guards of the police department. Therefore, they don't need to be so afraid that the Inquisition will investigate them.

For the underworld to do things forbidden by the church, the only profitable way is to smuggle monster materials.

This also explains why the old shop owner knew Garcia's name; they were likely colleagues in the same underworld.

Thinking further, if Garcia, the gangster hired by the wealthy businessman Potter, was involved in monster smuggling, then Potter's own businesses were very likely involved in this as well.

"Did you come here specifically to trick me into telling you something, or what?"

The old shopkeeper asked Leon in an annoyed tone.

"Weren't you the one who said yesterday that if I got into trouble on the street, I'd come to you? I was just being cautious," Leon said, shrugging.

It seems he completely overwhelmed those gangsters yesterday and achieved a total victory, but it's still hard to guarantee that they won't seize any opportunity to retaliate later.

As the saying goes, it's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark. Just to be on the safe side, he chose to visit the old shop owner today.

If the old shop owner really has connections in the underworld, that should greatly reduce the risk of him and Melissa and her daughter facing retaliation in the future.

"Okay, I understand. I still have to thank you for thinking so highly of me and for being willing to talk to me and explain the situation."

After hearing the whole story, the old shop owner nodded calmly. "Don't worry, Garcia is a steady person and won't let them do whatever they want."

The Inquisition is cracking down hard right now, and I'll let my people know through my own connections. You can go back and live your life in peace now.

Thank you.

Leon nodded his thanks, but instead of leaving, he stood there and continued to watch the old shopkeeper.

"Is there anything else?"

The old shopkeeper sensed that Leon had other motives.

“Actually, I’ve been thinking that since the Inquisition is so eager to find my goods, could we find someone in the underworld to take the fall and stop the investigation?” Leon asked.

"The quantity of your goods is enough to warrant a serious charge. How many people in the underworld do you think would be willing to take on such a crime?" the old shopkeeper retorted.

“Who says the other party has to agree? How about we use my goods to frame someone, and then I just arrest them?” Leon suggested.

The people he had his eye on were Garcia's group, whom he had met yesterday. If they were involved in the monster trade, he would have a way to frame them.

To ensure that those people couldn't retaliate against him and Melissa, the safest approach was indeed to send them in jail, which would also allow him to avoid the limelight—a win-win situation!

But the shop owner shook his head seriously after hearing this:

"Stop joking. It might be useful for ordinary cases, but if, as you say, Caron is personally involved, he will definitely get to the bottom of it and find out where the goods came from."

It's useless to frame a few petty thieves who can't confess anything; you won't fool him. In fact, the very act of doing it might arouse suspicion in your own name!

"I have never seen Caron Esso delve into any case. Many investigations into the Magic Element Trading Chain were interrupted because of his orders."

His modus operandi was to close cases as quickly as possible, because Hamel was a den of iniquity that allowed him to make money off of it,” Leon said.

"He's not digging deeper because he's aware of the deals behind it all. He knows almost the entire trading chain in Hamel town, except for you! So he's definitely trying to find you now!"

The shop owner suddenly realized something and looked at Leon with a serious expression. "Do you have some misunderstanding about Caron Esso? How many years have you been with us?"

“Two and a half years.” Leon shrugged. “I’ve never seen that bastard investigate a case himself.”

“Listen to me, kid, Caron Esso may be a scoundrel, but he’s definitely not a good-for-nothing! He fought in the Rim of the Sea and earned his position here through military service, which earned him a rank from the church!” the shopkeeper said.

"He actually served in the army?" Leon was a little surprised; this was the first time he had heard of it.

"He was a second lieutenant, and it's said that he was quite capable back then, but he became even more extraordinary after becoming a superhuman."

Although few in the underworld remember him, he truly once single-handedly charged into a small house guarded by six men, braving a volley of gunfire, killing two, crippling the remaining four, and only suffering minor injuries himself,” the shopkeeper said.

"Are you sure this isn't just hearsay?" Leon took it seriously for a moment.

After all, his story could spread overnight as if he had taken on five opponents single-handedly.

"What if I saw it with my own eyes? I personally saw him get shot but only suffered minor cuts?" the shop owner said seriously.

"Invulnerable to swords and spears... A blessed one from the Church of the God of War?" Leon finally took the shopkeeper's words seriously.

The Church of War, one of the Four Gods, is said to bestow blessings upon selected knights and bishops that can make an ordinary person as strong and powerful as a brown bear or lion, or even more so, make them invulnerable to swords and spears without armor.

"Maybe. And it's not just his ability; he also has a keen sense for investigating people like us. You think he can't investigate cases? You can't even imagine how many people he arrested when he was young!"

"Use your brain carefully. How could someone who can control everything here, both legal and illegal, be a useless person? Underestimate him, and you'll definitely fall into trouble!" the shopkeeper warned.

Leon was speechless; he had to admit that what the shopkeeper said wasn't without merit.

He did indeed look down on Director Caron a little. In his two years at the Inquisition, he had only seen the director bully others with his power, but had never seen him do anything of substance.

But upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the premise for the shop owner to help Kalon dispose of stolen goods is that Kalon has the ability to control him and understands the transaction chain behind him to a certain extent.

Charon spends his days idly in the Inquisition because he has a firm grip on both the black and white sides of the town.

The lord of a pride often lives a lazy life because he has the ability to control his territory and the pride.

It rarely hunts, always competing for the prey that other lions have worked hard to hunt, and then eating and drinking its fill.

But when its territory is threatened by external forces, the lion king will abandon its usual laziness and reveal its most ferocious and violent side.

“It sounds like you’ve been tricked by him before,” Leon said, staring at the shopkeeper. “You wouldn’t want to be tricked again, would you?”

"You should worry about yourself, kid. Don't let him find a weakness." The shopkeeper snorted.

“Likewise,” Leon said, then took his leave.

Chapter 38 Changing Direction

Two months later, in the studio inside the maze.

Lena, wearing a mask and gloves, was observing a mouse on the workbench, touching its left side with a long needle.

The rat struggled incessantly, appearing to be in great pain, but its left side remained immobile, dry and stiff like a mummified corpse.

"The effect of this medicine is not ideal."

Lena sighed and put down the experimental tools in her hands.

“I don’t think it’s that simple.” Leon, who had been observing from the side with his arms crossed, shrugged.

Lena is currently researching the toxicological mechanisms of chicken snake venom in order to develop a specific medicine that can cure Leon's aftereffects.

The crocodile is a low-level monster that is not uncommon in the labyrinth. It looks like a rooster but has no feathers. It has lizard-like scales and bat-like membranous wings, and a venomous snake's head at the end of its tail.

Chicken snakes are small and not very strong, but they are very agile, and both of their heads, one in front and one behind, are venomous.

If a person is pecked by it or bitten by its tail, their body tissues will coagulate, gradually becoming as hard as stone, until they become completely necrotic.

While timely use of holy water from the church can alleviate the symptoms of petrification, the long-term effects are unavoidable.

"The mechanism of the chicken snake's toxicity is quite complex; more than poison, it's like a curse," Lena analyzed.

"A curse?" Leon asked.

"Many monster poisons work like this: adding magic element to activate them increases their toxicity. The higher the purity of the magic element, the stronger the toxicity."

Ordinary toxins lose their activity when heated to a certain degree or treated with strong acids or alkalis, but these toxins remain unaffected.

"It seems that this poison is not effectively treated with common antidotes. Perhaps we need to explore other research directions," Lena explained.

"Which direction?" Leon asked.

"The chicken snake has natural enemies in the maze; some creatures are not afraid of its venom."

Of course, I'm not referring to slimes, whose physiological structure is completely different, but rather those that are truly immune to the venom of chicken snakes, such as dire wolves, if one could obtain dire wolf blood..."

Lena said as she pondered.

Leon had also heard of the demon wolves in the labyrinth. These creatures were larger than ordinary wolves, had strong bodies, could heal quickly from injuries, and were immune to poisons.

The demon wolves hunt in packs and can prey on large animals and monsters. They are very hostile to humans, but it is said that they can be tamed by witches as mounts.

"The venom from this chicken snake cost 35,000, which sounds like it's going to cost a lot more money," Leon sighed.

The dire wolf is more dangerous than the chicken snake as a monster, so its materials must be expensive.

"Give it a try. If it can solve your injury once and for all, it's definitely better than you constantly spending money on holy water." Lena thought for a moment and suddenly suggested, "I'll just pay for it!"

"So generous?" Leon was somewhat surprised.

“After all, my own research has made progress thanks to you, and I don’t want to owe you anything,” Lena replied.

"Thank you, Lena." Leon smiled at Lena.

“I told you I just didn’t want to owe you anything,” Lena replied.

“I’m thanking you for being so concerned about my injury. I’m very grateful, regardless of whether you succeed in the end,” Leon said earnestly.

Lena stared wide-eyed at Leon, then quickly turned her head away: "Don't get any strange misunderstandings, I just want to get rid of you as soon as possible!"

“Alright.” Leon still smiled. “But even if I recover from my injuries, I still want to earn a little more money. Money always comes in handy.”

“You…” Lena glanced at Leon, “Do you want to help Melissa and the others pay off their debts?”

She remembered the time when Leon asked her to reconcile their statements after he helped Melissa's family pay off a season's worth of debt.

"If I could earn a lot of money, it wouldn't be a problem to give some of it to help them," Leon said.

Lena did not comment on this until a long while later, when she spoke again:

"If one day you've earned enough money and cured your illness, and I'm no longer of any value to you, you'll let me go, right?"

What else can I do to you? We're accomplices!

If you continue your research, I might have to find a way to continue protecting you even after I stop.

"You're so naive, it'll be troublesome if you get caught and give me away," Leon replied.

"I'm not afraid of you arresting me, I'm afraid you'll silence me," Lena muttered.

“If you were really scared, you wouldn’t have asked me. I’m more afraid you’d drug me!” Leon retorted. They often made this kind of joke these days.

"If you're really scared, then hurry up and get to work, do your job as an assistant, or I'll give you a medicine that will make your whole body itchy."

Lena pointed to the breeding pool as she spoke, "It's all for researching the antidote for you. I haven't even fed the monsters today."

"You've been researching for a month or so and haven't made any progress. I think you should research some medicine that can make your brain smarter first. That's the real problem!" Leon said, turning around and picking up the wooden bucket used to feed the monsters.

"You're dead today!" Lena charged at Leon, baring her teeth and brandishing her claws.

"Stop messing around! There are poisonous things in this lab!"

……

Meanwhile, in the Inquisition, in the director's office.

"Sir, we have visited everyone under Mr. Griffin in town, and so far we have not found anything unusual. Do you think it is possible that there are other new distributors that we have not yet identified?"

Martin, the captain of the third team of the Heresy Tribunal, reported the recent investigation findings to the director.

Charon, the head of the Inquisition, leaned back in his chair, a pipe dangling from his mouth.