What witch? The Deadly Pharmacist!

"Your previous owner was Mr. Griffin, right?" Leon confirmed with the old shopkeeper.

“You didn’t ask me, and I didn’t tell you. Even if you know something, you can’t say it. He didn’t tell you, so you can’t ask. When you go to see him, you must remember this!” The old shopkeeper emphasized solemnly.

“Alright,” Leon nodded. “How much longer do we have to wait?”

After releasing the old shopkeeper, he watched him write a letter of introduction. Then, he went with the old shopkeeper to a nearby casino. He watched as the old shopkeeper called over a familiar acquaintance and had the acquaintance take the letter and a casino chip as a token, and then hurriedly delivered the letter.

"I don't know, I've already done as you said. Whether my employer is willing to see you is another matter."

He did indeed greatly admire Fenrir's goods, but our request was too sudden and inevitably aroused suspicion. However..." The old shopkeeper paused here,

"But what?" Leon gestured for the other person to finish.

"I think he'll give you a reply soon, whether he sees you or not. And he won't abandon your goods; at most, he'll just find someone else to contact you."

"After all, among the high-end batches, only your goods can rival the Earl's right now," the old shopkeeper said.

“It seems the Earl has you all quite nervous,” Leon said.

“Strictly speaking, he was a minor leader under the Earl, responsible for Helenburg and the surrounding area. With the Earl’s power, he wouldn’t need to personally intervene and seize territory in Southport County.” The old shopkeeper shook his head.

As they were talking, the sound of a horse-drawn carriage grew louder as it approached the recycling shop, and then slowly came to a stop.

Both of them stopped chatting and turned their attention to the doorway.

A few seconds later, the driver outside jumped down and knocked on the door.

"Hey, sir, my boss asked me to invite you over to inspect a few items and have dinner together to catch up. Do you have time today?" the person outside called out into the house.

Leon looked at the old shopkeeper, who nodded, indicating that the code was correct.

Leon was about to open the door when the old shop owner stood up and gestured for him to do it.

He straightened his collar, put on gloves to cover the injuries on his hands, and endured the stinging pain in his toes as he went to the door and opened it.

A tall, thin middle-aged man stood outside the door, nodded to the old shop owner, and then looked at Leon standing behind him.

"You must be..." The coachman scrutinized Leon, then suddenly lowered his voice, "Mr. Fenrir?"

Leon nodded slightly and glanced at the carriage outside: "May I ride in it?"

"Of course, the boss said you absolutely must come," the driver said with a smile.

The coachman then opened the carriage door for the two of them. After getting in, Leon observed that the carriage looked no different from an ordinary horse-drawn carriage from the outside, but the inside had obviously been reinforced.

The carriage had windows, but they were not open, probably because they were fixed in place. There were some small ventilation holes near the bottom of the carriage wall, through which one could only see the ground and could not determine the exact location. Two covered oil lamps were fixed in the carriage for lighting.

As soon as they got on the carriage, the driver locked the door.

After the carriage had been traveling for quite some time, Leon saw through the small ventilation hole that the ground had changed from the cobblestone road of the town to a dirt road in the suburbs, and it seemed that they had left the town.

About an hour later, the carriage finally stopped, and the driver unlocked it and told the two of them to get off.

As soon as Leon got out of the car, he found that they had arrived at the courtyard of a winery. There was a large vineyard planted around several houses. In front of them was a villa with two tall and burly bodyguards guarding the entrance, both of whom were armed with crossbows and short swords.

“The boss is already waiting inside, please don’t keep him waiting.” The coachman interrupted Leon’s scan and looked at him, saying, “Before seeing the boss, you need to hand over your weapons and be searched. I hope you don’t mind.”

Leon nodded, took out the gun and handed it to the other man. The coachman quickly checked him and confirmed that there were no other weapons. However, when he searched a pocket, he found a small test tube containing a few transparent crystals, with only a faint, almost imperceptible pale blue color.

The old shop owner turned to look at the test tube and showed a surprised expression. The crystals in this test tube were even purer than the previous ones, just by looking at their clarity!

The coachman initially looked surprised, then smiled knowingly, handed the test tube back to Leon, and led the two into an exquisite villa.

Guided by the driver, the two entered the building, passed through the entrance hall and corridor, and arrived at a magnificent hall.

Upon entering, there is a long horizontal table, and the owner of the house is sitting in the center of the other side of the table, waiting.

This man perfectly fits Leon's image of a mafia boss. He appears to be a somewhat wealthy middle-aged man, dressed in fine clothes, with a large cigar in his hand adorned with rings.

He wore a ball mask over his face, and the lower half of his face was covered by a neatly trimmed mustache.

Behind him were three bodyguards on standby, their faces covered by full-face masks.

Then, sitting beside him at the same table was an old man with a thick beard and wearing a Taoist robe. His hair and beard were all white, and among the people waiting inside, only this old man was not wearing a mask.

When Leon saw the old man, he was slightly taken aback; he actually recognized him.

Raymond Oden was the priest in charge of the East Side Church in Hamel. A priest appearing in a transaction that was strictly prohibited by church rules, and making no attempt to conceal his identity.

But upon further reflection, Leon found it wasn't so strange after all.

He knew of Father Auden because the man was somewhat famous, or rather, infamous, in Hamel.

In addition to preaching and presiding over various ceremonies, the priests in the district church also accept many commissions from the public.

The profession of lawyer did not exist in this era; similar matters were usually handled by priests.

Priests are well-educated in the church and familiar with laws and regulations. Therefore, they often help people draft and interpret various documents and contracts, act as notaries for wills and transactions, write pleadings for lawsuits, and defend their clients in front of arbitrators. Of course, none of these are free.

Father Auden was the most shameless litigator in Hamel.

He charges exorbitant prices, serves only the wealthy, and has no conscience whatsoever. He helps the rich exploit loopholes in the law and contracts, exonerates them, and oppresses the poor.

Even Melissa's family was involved with him. After Mr. Hershey's theater burned down, he should have been able to obtain the land use rights and had the opportunity to rebuild the theater and recover some of the losses.

However, Father Auden, representing the wealthy businessman Potter who provided the loan, exploited a loophole in the loan agreement, claiming that Mr. Hershey was unable to fulfill his repayment obligations, and directly seized the land use rights from Mr. Hershey as additional collateral. Moreover, the land was valued at a very low price, which made matters worse for the Hershey family, who were already facing sudden misfortune.

Sally and Melissa, mother and daughter, have always deeply resented Potter and Father Oden, and Leon has heard Sally curse them countless times.

There are also rumors within the Inquisition that he secretly provides acquittal and money laundering services for some illegal transactions, but the Inquisition has been unable to find any evidence. He also seems to have quite a few connections within the church, and Caron Esso has no interest in investigating him.

It now seems that the suspicion that this priest was working for the local tyrants can be confirmed.

Father Auden glanced back at him indifferently, his expression unchanged. He seemed not to recognize Leon, nor did he seem to mind that Leon recognized him.

"Hey Roddy, old buddy, what's going on? Why are you suddenly saying you're retiring?" The owner of the house greeted the old shopkeeper with a smile.

Before the old shop owner could reply, one of his bodyguards, seeing Leon's sudden reaction, drew his gun, pointed it at Leon, and shouted, "Wait a minute, boss! This man is suspicious! He's an Inquisitor!!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present changed their expressions, and the other two bodyguards immediately drew their guns as well.

Leon immediately recognized the voice and narrowed his eyes at the other person.

"Garcia... what are you doing here today?" The old shopkeeper recognized the voice and was caught off guard.

Garcia, the debt collector whom Leon had once "taken care of" in the tavern, immediately removed his mask, revealing his scarred face, and gave Leon a sinister grin: "Heh heh, what a small world, Your Honor!!"

Chapter 49 Who is the undercover agent?

At that moment, the atmosphere on the scene suddenly became tense, with three guns pointed at Leon at the same time.

Father Auden calmly stood up and quickly retreated behind a pillar in the hall, using it as cover to peer out.

The previously seated shop owner was caught off guard and quickly stood up, retreating behind his three bodyguards. He then sternly questioned the old shop owner, "What's going on, Roddy? Explain yourself!!"

He sensed something was off from the start of the meeting. People in the underworld said that Roddy's old shop owner had recently supplied him with high-purity goods and guaranteed a stable supply. As a reward, Roddy entrusted him with the management of a newly developed street.

The old shop owner, who was doing very well as one of his subordinates, suddenly contacted him today, saying he wanted to retire from the supply business and introduced him to Fenrir.

The suddenness of the event inevitably aroused suspicion, but he was genuinely interested in Fenrir, who had brought out high-end goods that he didn't have on his turf.

The Earl's influence is expanding into Southport County. The majority of Southport County's core customers are people he has built up through his local connections. For the time being, it seems fine. However, once potions made from higher-purity magic essence from other countries enter their territory, their customer base will soon be lost.

At this critical moment, the sudden appearance of a high-purity supply guaranteed by officials undoubtedly solved his immediate problem.

The collaboration with Fenrir was of paramount importance to him at the moment, so after much deliberation, he reluctantly arranged the meeting.

He was inspecting a loan business at the time, and took the opportunity to bring his entourage along, including Garcia, who was reporting to him as a debt collector.

"Everyone, put your guns down, boss, I'll explain!" The old shop owner tried his best to calm the commotion.

"You don't deny it? You knew all along!?" The boss glared at the old shop owner, his voice rising several decibels.

“There’s nothing more to explain, boss.” Garcia was still staring at Leon with a sinister grin. “This was a trap set by the Inquisition from the very beginning! The goods they gave us were all bait!”

"That kid's the Inquisitor who messed with me in the tavern the other day. He's been investigating us for a while now! You can have my men confront him! And old Roddy, now that this kid's messed with me in the tavern, he's telling us the Inquisition is cracking down and I shouldn't investigate further."

"Is it the Earl?" The shopkeeper was immediately swayed, his cheeks twitching. "Old Roddy, don't tell me you've betrayed me!"

He knew that the Earl had influence in the church, and even knew that the church in Southport County had begun to scrutinize his business under the Earl's influence.

Could it be that this so-called Fenrir was a bait planted by the Earl's forces and the Inquisition from the very beginning, with the aim of wiping them out in one fell swoop?

Leon keenly sensed that his boss clearly harbored deep hostility towards the Count, a fact that seemed to be exploitable.

"No, no, it was a bit urgent and I didn't have time to explain. Please sit down, and I'll explain it to you slowly," the shop owner said anxiously.

The situation is so bad that it could easily escalate into a fight and become uncontrollable. He never expected that Garcia, who was originally handling debt collection, would suddenly appear here as a bodyguard.

"Boss, we'd better shoot this bastard in the hands and feet first, then listen to old Roddy's explanation slowly," Garcia said, glaring at Leon with a smile. "Didn't expect him to fall into my hands so quickly, buddy?"

The humiliation of being brutally beaten by Leon in the tavern, with his hand pierced by a nail, caused him to lose all face in the underworld. Now he finally has the chance to get his revenge with interest. This undercover agent from the Inquisition will soon witness the most ruthless side of the underworld!

But Leon remained calm and said, "If I were an undercover agent, the moment this gunshot rang out, the people surrounding us would have to rush in."

"Stop bluffing. No one can track you here. You have no backup!" Garcia licked his lips arrogantly.

“I certainly didn’t, because I’m not an undercover agent at all. Who says inquisitors can’t get involved in this line of work?” Leon replied.

“Alright, prove it!” Garcia laughed heartily. “Prove that an Inquisitor, posing as a magic element dealer, infiltrated our ranks and wasn’t an undercover agent!!”

“I killed Caron Esso,” Leon suddenly said.

When he said this, the only people present who were moved were the old shopkeeper standing to the side and Father Auden, who was hiding behind a pillar.

“Oh, indeed. If you can kill your director, it will prove you’re not an undercover agent. Go on then!” Garcia completely took this as a joke.

“I’ve already killed him,” Leon said calmly.

The old shop owner standing to the side had a tense expression and didn't dare to speak, as Leon hadn't told him beforehand that they would be discussing this matter here.

If we talk about killing Caron, it might involve his betrayal of Leon.

The problem is, if this were told, how many people besides him would believe it?

The boss, hiding behind his mask, looked suspicious, half-believing, half-doubting.

Caron Esso was well aware that the inquisition director of Hamel had caused his men considerable trouble when he took office, and that he had always been quite wary of him.

Fortunately, over the past ten years, the other party has never seemed to intend to completely destroy his business. They have only occasionally investigated and dealt with the lowest-level henchmen, and the two sides have maintained a delicate balance and tacit understanding.

That person isn't so easy to kill!

“I have evidence.” Leon reached into his pocket.

"Don't move!!" Garcia shouted sternly.

“What’s the rush? We searched you all before you came in. Are you all so timid?” Leon said calmly, taking a ring out of his pocket and holding it up for everyone to see. “Some of you should recognize Caron Esso’s crest, right?”

As he spoke, he deliberately glanced at Father Auden behind the pillar.

He took out the family crest ring that Caron usually wore. Caron was the youngest son of a baron family and always wore this family crest ring.

Father Auden, who worked in the church, certainly knew Caron, and may even have known him.

If someone recognizes Caron's ring, that would be the easiest solution; of course, if no one does, Leon has other options.

The shopkeeper examined the ring carefully, then turned to the side and said, "Father!"

Father Auden emerged from behind the pillar and returned to the table, gesturing to Leon to show him the ring.

Leon pushed the ring across the table, and Father Auden picked it up and examined it closely. There was a slight bloodstain on the ring, but it wasn't Caron's blood; it was something Leon had deliberately smeared on to enhance the visual effect.

“It looks like the real thing.” Father Auden reported to his boss in a deep voice, then began to scrutinize Leon closely.

Even through the masquerade mask, the boss's expression clearly changed.

Even Garcia was somewhat surprised and uncertain. He had experienced the madness of this Inquisitor before, but he was not so sure that he would connect the other party with something as unrealistic as killing the head of the Inquisition!

“Caron Esso, under the Count’s influence, began a thorough investigation and discovered my clandestine business dealings. I had no choice but to kill him,” Leon said, scanning the room. “Now, do you still think I’m an undercover agent?”

Chapter 50 We'll all die together

"No! That's not right!" Garcia suddenly became alert and denied it, continuing to point the gun at Leon's head and aggressively questioning, "A ring can prove that Caron Esso is dead? You think you can kill him?"

"Then you prove he's not dead, if you can find out about Caron again in Hamel Town," Leon replied with a cold laugh.

“Who can guarantee that this isn’t all a setup by the Inquisition?” Garcia said, turning to his boss and urging him, “Boss! Don’t listen to his nonsense, kill him now! The Inquisition has gone to great lengths to prepare for war, we can’t be soft!”

He had a premonition that if this man didn't die here today, he would probably be in trouble soon!