What witch? The Deadly Pharmacist!

"Here, come up!" Leon waved to Lena, who was waiting below.

Lena lifted her skirt, tied it up, and then followed Leon up there.

"You go in first." Leon handed the lantern to Lena.

"Is this the entrance? Could there be something there?" Lena asked anxiously, looking at the dark cave entrance.

"Don't worry, there's no danger," Leon urged.

Reluctantly, Lena took her lantern, bent down, and crawled into the cave, which was no more than 1.2 meters high. She groped her way in as she went, with Leon following closely behind.

The cave was a bit damp, and you could occasionally hear the sound of dripping water. After walking a short distance, the space suddenly opened up.

Lena saw specks of fluorescence. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that many plants and mushrooms were growing on the cave walls, some of which emitted blue or green glows in the dark, and the chirping of insects could be heard from the grass from time to time.

"It really is a maze!" Lena raised her lantern and looked around curiously.

Such dark places wouldn't be so vibrant, but the labyrinth is an exception. Moirai's power can make various plants grow out of thin air in the dark space below, thereby attracting some animals and forming a certain ecosystem, providing an environment for the monsters she created to breed.

Although she was a witch, this was the first time she had ever seen a real labyrinth.

Before Lena could even take a second look, Leon snatched the lantern away.

Leon walked deeper into the cave, the light from his lantern illuminating a rusty iron gate on the mountain wall, covered with vines.

He put down his bag, pulled out the axe, and began smashing it against the chains on the iron gate.

The chain was originally very thick and could not have been cut with a wood-chopping axe, but after decades of rusting in this damp environment, it had become extremely fragile. Leon quickly broke the chain, pried it off, and opened the gate on the fence.

"How did you know there was an entrance to the maze here?" Lena asked.

“After the Church’s Knights seal the labyrinth, they don’t immediately block all the entrances and exits. They always leave a hidden entrance and exit for people to patrol, to prevent the labyrinth from being revived if it’s not handled properly. The patrol work is usually handed over to the local Inquisition, so the location of this entrance and exit is marked in the Inquisition’s memo file. I’ve seen it before.” Leon waved, signaling Lena to follow.

The labyrinth remained untouched for a full ten years after it was sealed, so the Inquisition simply sealed off the entrance and exit.

Given the atmosphere at the Hamel Inquisition, no one would be dutiful enough to regularly patrol the entrance that had been blocked for over twenty years in the remote mountains of the suburbs.

After entering through the iron gate, the two walked a short distance along the tunnel. Suddenly, an entrance with carving marks appeared next to the stone wall on the left. Leon peeked inside and led Lena inside.

Inside was a spacious stone chamber. The floor suddenly became much smoother. Leon raised his lantern and shone it around. This space was not as damp as the entrance. There were many miscellaneous items piled on the ground, a messy campfire, overturned benches and small tables, and several abandoned tents.

"Where is this?" Lena asked.

"As expected, this is a temporary base where the Knights used to clear out the labyrinth!" Leon looked around the space and nodded in satisfaction. He then surveyed the area again. "Very good. We'll raise monsters here from now on. This will be your new workshop."

"You...you really intend to do this?" Lena asked hesitantly.

“Otherwise what? Am I supposed to walk an hour through the mountains to get here for a date?” Leon glanced at her, then looked at the empty stone chamber. “Let’s plan this place out. You make a list of what you need, and I’ll prepare it for you. Once the new studio is finished, we’ll move all your monsters here to raise!”

Upon hearing this request, Lena's mind conjured up images of an abundance of unexpected work and the risk of being discovered, and she couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

"Did you just sigh?" Leon gave her a sharp look.

"No...no!" Lena shuddered and quickly shook her head in denial.

“I’ve noticed that you don’t seem very enthusiastic about working with me,” Leon said, scrutinizing Lena.

"Mr. Judge, may I just give you a little reminder? I was threatened into coming here to cooperate with you..." Lena raised her hand, expressing a slight hint of dissatisfaction.

“Threat? You were already selling magic essence, now it’s just that someone else is selling it for you. I could have threatened you to work for me for free, but I gave you a 50/50 split. My goal is to earn three million, which means you can also earn three million. What else are you dissatisfied with?” Leon spread his hands.

"But if I get caught working with you, the punishment will definitely be more severe!" Lena muttered to herself.

"If you're so afraid of trouble, why did you become a witch?" Leon stared at Lena, puzzled.

Thinking about it carefully, this little witch is really strange.

Most people become witches for two reasons: one is to maintain their youth and beauty, but Lena doesn't seem to be anxious about that at her age. The other is to extract magic essence for huge profits, but Lena doesn't even know the value of magic essence. She has been having her magic essence bought by Mrs. Wesland at one-tenth of the market price and seems to be living a life of poverty.

If that's the case, why would she become a witch?

You should know that if you are captured as a witch, even if you are not sentenced to death, you will never have a chance to gain true freedom.

"This has nothing to do with you..." Lena clearly didn't want to discuss this topic with Leon.

“You need to think about it from a different perspective. When you became a witch, you had already committed serious crimes. What difference would it make if you committed a little more or a little less? You know what? I’ve seen witches in the files who amassed tens of millions by selling magic essence, and witches who married nobles, poisoned them, and stole their wealth. They were all big spenders!” Leon said, then spread his hands at Lena. “And look at you!”

"What... what happened to me?" Lena was a little flustered when she was suddenly pointed at like that.

"You actually got taken advantage of by a country old woman! You really are the most pathetic witch I've ever seen!" Leon shook his head and sighed at Lena, looking furious at her lack of ambition.

Compared to the cases in the Inquisition's files, Lena's performance was indeed a disgrace to the witch world.

"I don't want to succeed in this area either, okay?" Lena protested angrily after being told that. "Didn't all those witches you mentioned get caught in the end? What happened to them? Tell me!"

“…burnt to death.” After a brief silence, Leon replied.

Chapter 11 Money isn't everything, but you can't do without it.

"See! They all ended up in bad shape!" Lena finally found something to say.

“But at least they enjoyed themselves while they were alive. You’ve already taken the risk of becoming a witch, so you should try to get something in return. Make good use of your witch powers to enjoy a few more good days, so that even if you get caught, you won’t regret it too much.” Leon was still trying to persuade him.

"What kind of twisted logic is that!" Lena wasn't fooled by him.

“You need to understand that you can no longer rely on Mrs. Wesland to sell magic essence. Do you have any other sources of income besides that?” Leon suddenly asked.

Lena was speechless for a moment. Mrs. Wesland had been buying her things at low prices, so she actually had very little income and not much savings. If her source of income suddenly stopped, she might have trouble even eating normally in the future.

"I bet you're living on a tight budget, aren't you? Your clothes are so worn out, and this red shawl is practically faded to rags, yet you still haven't thrown it away..." Seeing that this tactic was working, Leon casually remarked.

"What's it to you? This was made for me by my grandma!" Lena became unusually assertive, gripping the shawl that had faded to a pale pink on her shoulders, and glaring at Leon as her voice rose.

Leon paused for a moment, then suddenly realized that this thing had special significance for Lena.

Lena calmed down as soon as she finished shouting, and then began to feel scared, fearing that her attitude would anger the heretic inquisitor who actually held her life and death in his hands.

"I misspoke, I'm sorry," Leon apologized immediately.

"Huh?" This time it was Lena's turn to be taken aback.

She never expected that the other party would actually apologize to her so readily.

Surprisingly, this inquisitor showed her at least some basic respect.

"Okay, maybe you don't care so much about profits, but I need money, I desperately need it! I need to earn at least three million no matter what. If you want to get rid of me sooner, then cooperate with me to achieve this goal. We must expand production, and I won't budge on that!"

Leon also gave up on trying to motivate the other party and directly stated his requirements to them.

"Why do you want money so much?" Lena asked, then realized something. "Is it to treat the aftereffects of the chicken snake venom you mentioned before?"

“Yes, I need money for medical treatment. Money is so important…” Leon said, looking away with a touch of melancholy. “With money, I can secure my livelihood. I won’t have to swallow my pride and endure humiliation just to make a living. Money isn’t everything, but you can’t do without it. With money, at least I won’t have to worry about things that money can solve, right?”

Lena sized up Leon for a moment, lowered her head and thought for a while, then let out a long sigh and said, "A breeding pool."

"What?" Leon didn't understand at first.

“We need to find a place to dig a larger breeding tank and add two layers of breathable covers to prevent the monsters from escaping, like here.” Lena walked back and forth in the camp, stepping on a soft patch of soil. “As for the workbench, the table we have here can be raised a bit higher and we can manage. It would be best to buy a new set of tools; I’ll give you a list later. With such a large space, we also need to solve the lighting problem, and I’d like you to help me check the safety of this maze further inside.”

Leon was surprised by Lena's sudden cooperation, but since she was willing to cooperate more, he was naturally more than happy to accept it.

“Okay, is there anything else you need?” Leon nodded and asked.

“Now that we’re partners, you can’t keep treating me like this, Mr. Judge.” Lena pointed to her cheek, gesturing for Leon to remove his mask. “Can’t you at least tell me your name?”

Leon thought for a moment, then raised his hand and took off the mask, revealing his true face. The bird-beak mask didn't actually offer much protection against poison; it served more as a physical shield to prevent his face from being splashed with dangerous chemicals like acid or lime.

"Leon Seth," Leon announced his name.

Lena examined Leon's face by the light of the lantern and gave her assessment: "You're younger than I expected. Judging from your voice, I thought you were an older man."

"Does my voice sound that old-fashioned?" Leon frowned slightly and extended his gloved hand. "So, are we officially in a cooperative relationship now?"

Lena hesitated for a moment, but finally reached out and carefully shook hands with Leon.

“There’s no time to lose…” Leon turned around and picked up the shovel. “Let’s get started now!”

……

Over the next two days, Leon began traveling between Hamel town and the hills behind River Mouth village to work on the new studio in the maze and to purchase the things Lena needed.

On the third day, after handling most of the physical labor, he left some of the tidying up work to Lena and went back to work at the Inquisition—he had been absent from work for too long, and if he continued to be absent, he might not be able to keep his job.

"Hey, look who's back! I hadn't heard from you for five whole days. I thought you were going to die of an illness." The captain greeted him as soon as he saw him in the duty room. "Still looking so pale? You didn't catch anything while messing around with women in the alley, did you?"

"I wish I had that kind of spare money," Leon joked. "Considering I'm just recovering from a serious illness, please give me less work, Captain."

"You wish! Don't you think about who's been making up for your absences? Make up for all the work you missed today!" The captain said, pulling out a stack of IOUs and slamming them on the table. These were debt collection documents issued by the church to the Inquisition.

"Looks like we'll be out on the field until night today." Leon looked at the thickness of the IOUs and smiled wryly.

"Here you go. I was going to have someone collect it the day before yesterday, but I specially saved it for you. Don't say I didn't take care of you!" The captain took out the top IOU and handed it to Leon to see.

Leon paused for a moment when he saw the IOU. A name he recognized appeared prominently in the signature and fingerprint section of the IOU: Melissa Hershey.

As for the amount owed, including principal and interest, it has exceeded 800 Taylors, nearly 170,000 Finnies.

There are very few IOUs with such large amounts among these piles of receipts; for an ordinary family, this is already a huge sum of money.

“Leon, sympathy is one thing, but you have to tell her that this time there can be no delays. At the very least, the interest must be paid,” the captain said earnestly. “Otherwise, I won’t be able to leave it to you to handle next time.”

"Thank you, Captain." Leon carefully put away the IOUs, inwardly relieved that he had returned to work in time. "I'll go to work now."

"Okay, go ahead." The captain waved his hand.

Leaving the Inquisition, Leon quickly arrived at the destination of the first IOU, an ordinary house located in an alley near the cathedral.

He let out a sigh of relief, and without knocking, he took out a key and opened the door directly.

Someone inside had clearly heard the door open; soft footsteps echoed in the hallway, and a girl's still-childish voice came to greet them:

"Brother Leon?"

Chapter 12 Landlady and Daughter

"Yes, I'm back."

Leon answered softly and stepped into the house, closing the door behind him.

“You’ve been gone for quite a while now, and I’ve been getting a little worried about you.” Melissa, the landlady’s daughter, was carrying a bowl with a spoon down the narrow stairs leading to the attic.

Melissa is thirteen years old this year. She should be at the most vibrant age of her life, but she is very thin, pale, and looks malnourished. Even the smile that should be full of vitality on her face is tinged with obvious gloom.

Her hair was almost waist-length and had clearly not been cut in a long time. Although it was tied up with thin hemp rope, it still looked a bit messy. Only her bangs and side hair had been cut by herself, and they weren't very neat.

She was even wearing her mother's old clothes and apron, which were loose and ill-fitting.

"Yeah, I was working on a case and ended up working overtime for a few days," Leon replied casually, making up an excuse. "Were you upstairs just now?"

“Yes, feed Mom.” Melissa replied in her usual tone.

Leon saw the small wooden bowl in Melissa's hand, which had probably originally contained some porridge, but had now been scraped clean.

Melissa's mother, Mrs. Hershey, Leon's nominal landlady, has been bedridden for a long time, and Melissa has been taking care of her.

"So you're taking a day off after working overtime today? Do you need me to make you some lunch? There's still some oatmeal and beans left over from the last time you bought them..." Melissa suggested.

“You can eat the things I bought while I’m not back. They’re prone to getting bugs in this weather.” Leon hesitated for a moment after saying that, but continued, “But I’m not back to rest. I’m here for work.”

"Ah!" Melissa noticed the rolled-up parchment in Leon's hand, and her gaze immediately went blank.

Hershey, who owed the church over a hundred thousand, was none other than Leon's landlord family. Although he had a good relationship with Mrs. Hershey and little Melissa, work is work, and debts still needed to be collected.

Rather, it was precisely because Leon had been handling the debt collection for their family that he had the opportunity to provide them with as much leniency and care as possible.

“Brother Leon, I… I won’t be able to get the money from Mrs. Kate and the shop until the week after next. Could you…” Melissa said cautiously to Leon, clutching her apron.

“I’m sorry, Melissa, not today.” Leon sighed. “You have to pay at least two months’ interest, or there will be penalties.”

"How much is it?" Melissa asked anxiously.

Leon unfolded the copy of the IOU, looked at it, and said to Melissa, "...about twenty-one Taylors."

The actual figure has a small remainder, totaling four thousand two hundred and forty pfennigs.

When Leon said the number out loud, he found it outrageous. The amount was almost equivalent to his entire month's salary. But for Melissa, it was just interest. Giving out such a sum of money would not reduce their family's debt at all; they would only get another two months' grace period.

Leon clearly saw the suffocating embarrassment on Melissa's face; it was obvious that Melissa couldn't come up with that amount of money right now.

Leon opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn't say anything. He couldn't help Melissa now.