What witch? The Deadly Pharmacist!

“Very interesting, a very bold idea,” Bishop Miller commented with admiration.

"Is that so?" Leon smiled, his feelings slightly complicated.

He only gave a conjecture without any corresponding experiments to verify it.

In his world, the basic structure of the atomic nucleus is only knowledge from middle school, but in this world, the interior of the atom is still a realm full of mysteries.

Before verifying it through various experiments, his model could only be considered a bold guess, and the only evaluation that Bishop Miller could give was to praise his imagination.

“The development of new theories always requires this kind of bold imagination, a talent that many people yearn for but cannot attain. The model you have built is not a wild fantasy, but a demonstration of existing discoveries; it is a relatively mature conjecture. Your academic knowledge is solid, and you are talented. I believe you possess the qualities of a scholar,” Bishop Miller said slowly.

"You overestimate me a bit..." Leon felt a little guilty after being told that.

“No need to be modest. I’ve seen everyone’s answer sheets, and your score is among the top,” Bishop Miller said.

"There must be someone more outstanding than me."

"But you are undoubtedly the most special. I have seen your information. Everyone else came through internal referrals and they all received their education at the district church college. Only you, I see, do not seem to have any church college-related qualifications. You are mostly self-taught, right?"

"I've reviewed your derivation process for the math problem. Some of the symbols you used weren't standard, and your problem-solving approach differed from the standard answer. Even I spent some time catching up with part of it. I can sense that although your method is somewhat unconventional, it's very efficient, and the result proves you're correct." Bishop Miller nodded repeatedly to Leon.

Leon became a little nervous. The math problem given by the church did not require a derivation process, which was a good thing. He could just calculate the result on the draft and write it down.

The numbers and basic symbols in his drafts were from this world, but some symbols were used according to his own habits. His problem-solving approach also used some of the modern knowledge he had retained. He felt that only he himself could understand it.

But the old bishop said he was able to keep up after a little time, which shows that the bishop must have been quite accomplished in mathematics.

“Your Excellency, are you perhaps a mathematician?” Leon asked.

“Haha, I am the dean of the church science college in this district. These questions were set by one of my students who is also a professor,” Bishop Miller replied frankly.

"I am truly sorry!" Leon said, adopting a respectful attitude.

Even across different eras, when encountering such experts who truly form the cornerstone of a discipline, even if one possesses some knowledge of the future, he still feels he cannot overstep his bounds.

His knowledge in this era is like a rootless weed; the parts he has mastered may not be able to be successfully traced back to their source, especially in mathematics. For example, he may know some usable theorems, but he may not be able to write out the derivation process of these theorems smoothly.

“The tuition fees for schools established by the church are very high. It’s simply unaffordable for ordinary families to go from the town church school to the district church college. For students to enter church educational institutions, background and financial resources are more important than ability. It’s such a pity that so many geniuses have been missed by us,” Bishop Miller sighed.

A genius? Me?

When Leon heard what Bishop Miller said, he felt a little guilty. It seemed that his background and the knowledge he used were out of touch with the times, which had caused the old professor to misunderstand him.

“If you are interested in academia, I recommend you join the Church of the Prophets. Among the four major churches, the Church of the Prophets has the best academic atmosphere and conditions. After all, the Supreme God is the guardian deity of us scholars. And do you know what the basic blessing of the Supreme God is?” Bishop Miller said with a smile.

Leon had actually heard Bishop Beckett explain some information about the blessing. When a person becomes a superhuman through church rituals, they usually receive two kinds of blessings.

One type of blessing is the basic blessing. All extraordinary beings who are blessed by the same deity will possess the same basic blessing.

The basic blessing of the God of War makes the body stronger, and then allows the user to greatly enhance their physical abilities for a short period of time in a state of combat, making them capable of fighting wild beasts hand-to-hand. However, this state has a certain burden, and the body's functions will decline for a period of time after it ends.

The basic blessing of the Mystic God is a spatial perception independent of sight and hearing. Even in darkness or when blocked by obstacles, those blessed by the Mystic God can still vaguely perceive their surroundings and lock onto a target, much like the ability to see through objects and night vision.

The Creator’s basic blessing is a brief and minor alteration of some physical properties of the material in contact, mainly hardness, temperature, and ductility.

The most basic blessing of the Supreme God is the ability to review one's own memories, achieving a near-photographic memory effect.

Another type of blessing is a divine art that varies from person to person. For example, the assassin that Leon once met at Porter Winery, who possessed the blessing of the Mystic God, had the divine art of Shadow Crossing, which could eliminate his own presence. Bishop Beckett, who was also blessed by the Mystic God, possessed the divine art of long-distance transmission of sound and light.

The same applies to the witch's blessing. The witch's basic blessing is to control low-level monsters, and above that, there are also "divine spells" that vary from person to person, such as Rena's Blood Pact and his Cursed Blood.

Moreover, both basic blessings and divine magic have the potential for growth and breakthroughs. For example, after a witch grows up, she will have the blessing of transforming into a demon, and the power of her divine magic will also evolve.

However, in front of Bishop Miller, Leon could only pretend not to know and shake his head.

The basic blessing of the supreme god is not bad, but it just doesn't seem very suitable for combat.

As a transmigrator who yearns for extraordinary power, one will naturally value the combat effectiveness of extraordinary power.

“The basic blessing of the Supreme God allows one to clearly recall memories, achieving the effect of photographic memory. The Supreme God is the patron god of scholars, and his blessing is most suitable for knowledge seekers like us. Those three great men who possess the miracle of omniscience are the three people in this world closest to the truth,” Bishop Miller said with a devout expression.

“But Your Excellency, I am an Inquisitor for Heresy,” Leon reminded him, somewhat embarrassed.

“I know. What I mean is, if you’re interested, I can recommend you for a position at the district church’s Faculty of Science, where you can participate in academic research as my student. You could obtain the title of bishop. The job here is certainly more stable than your role as an inquisitor for heresy,” Bishop Miller said earnestly.

Leon sensed Bishop Miller's appreciation, but at the same time he realized that he absolutely could not accept the proposal. He had to become the head of the inquisition in Hamel, and he had other things he needed to accomplish.

Moreover, if he were to devote himself to academia, the knowledge he acquired might not be enough to maintain his image as a genius in Bishop Miller's eyes. In the natural sciences, he might be able to keep getting away with it by proposing new theories, but if he were to work in mathematics, his true colors would be exposed in no time.

It's best to use it as a hobby and a social tool to maintain a certain relationship with these academic figures in the church.

“I’m sorry, Bishop Miller, my superior has been kind to me, and I promised to return to my post,” Leon said regretfully.

Who is your boss?

“Bishop Beckett of the Church of War has temporarily taken over as the head of the Hamelin Inquisition,” Leon explained.

"I see. You want to join the Church of the God of War? To be honest, the academic atmosphere there is rather weak." Bishop Miller said with great regret.

“It’s not certain which church I’ll join; I’m just talking about the position,” Leon explained.

“Oh, in that case, even as an inquisitor for heretics, I still suggest you consider the Church of the Prophets. There’s no conflict between the two. Don’t give up on the academic pursuits you’re interested in; the door to truth is open to everyone with a thirst for knowledge,” Bishop Miller said sincerely.

“I am truly grateful for your appreciation, and I will seriously consider it.” Leon bowed to Bishop Miller.

……

Several days later, at the Santa Rosalia Institute.

As usual, Bishop Weiss went into the institute's office to retrieve some documents and saw two colleagues engrossed in a discussion around a table, discussing what appeared to be a research paper.

"What are you looking at?" Bishop Weiss immediately struck up a conversation with them. She rarely chatted with people, but she was quite interested in academic discussions, especially those related to cutting-edge disciplines.

"Ah, Your Grace!" The two bishops, whose ranks were lower than Weiss's, immediately bowed to her.

“Sir, you should take a look at this.” A bishop handed the paper to Weiss with great interest. “Someone has published this; it’s a conjecture about atomic structure, and it’s very interesting.”

“This…” Bishop Weiss glanced at it and was immediately drawn in. She looked at it carefully and compared it with the model drawing. Her expression gradually became serious.

After a moment, she casually asked, "Who published this research?"

This model is not only interesting, but the Church of the Creator actually has some unfinished and unpublished experimental projects on atomism, which are known only to a few people, including her. Some of the doubts in the experimental phenomena seem to be explained by this model!

"That's the interesting part," the bishop explained. "This isn't a formal paper published by a bishop in the church. It's a conjecture written by a candidate in the last free-response question of the regular examination in the first half of this year, which was then compiled and published by Bishop Miller of the Prophet Church."

"What?" Bishop Weiss was somewhat surprised. This was undoubtedly a masterpiece among the students' work. She quickly looked up the original author's name and then widened her eyes in even greater surprise.

She actually recognized the name.

“Leon Seth?” The face of the inquisitor she had met twice flashed through her mind.

Chapter 123 Money Came Too Fast

Arend Island Marina.

Accompanied by Father Auden, Leon stepped off the ferry onto the pier.

"Oh, I really hate floating on the water!" Father Auden said, putting his hands on his hips and taking deep breaths of fresh air as he walked onto the pier. He was very prone to seasickness when traveling by boat.

Leon inspected the renovated dock. The damaged pier had been repaired and the flat ground and roads for boarding and unloading cargo on the shore had been repaved.

The dilapidated warehouses had all been demolished and rebuilt into sturdy brick buildings, and some hired craftsmen were busy laying bricks. The lighthouse had also been repaired, and one of Leon's men was on duty inside, looking around. When Leon looked up, their eyes met and the man immediately bowed respectfully.

The garbage and wrecked ships that used to be scattered around the dock have been towed away and disposed of. Now, several cargo ships carrying reconstruction materials and personnel are still docked here. Workers unload cargo from the ships back and forth using handcarts, and seabirds take off and land on the masts. This place has begun to operate as a normal dock.

“The dock is ready to use, but now we need to transport goods to River Valley County, and your ships are not enough. How about I recommend you buy a few more? What do you think of three cargo ships like the ones you had before?” Father Auden asked Leon for instructions.

“Okay,” Leon replied.

“There’s one more thing: you’d better not reuse the goods you use for disguise. If you ship them in and then ship them back, it will be obvious there’s something wrong, and it will be difficult to keep track of the accounts,” Father Auden said.

The magic essence, potions, and various monster materials produced in the labyrinth are all contraband that would be reported if investigated, so they naturally need to be mixed in with normal goods for disguise.

Arend Island has no industry. Leon mainly transports common goods found on cargo ships, such as flour, sugar, spices, and handicrafts, to the island, then mixes in contraband produced in the labyrinth and smuggles it back, which is then distributed through multiple layers of distribution.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Leon asked.

“I suggest you develop some businesses on Arend Island. For example, there’s a windmill in the village on the other side of the island, which belongs to Viscount Arend. It’s now mortgaged to the Watchers Merchant Guild. No one cultivates the land on the island, and what they grow are mostly potatoes and vegetables. The mill is still idle.”

"You can buy the mill, then transport some wheat to the island, grind it into flour at the mill, bag it, and mix my goods into the flour bags for transport. This will not only make it easier to disguise the goods but also reduce damage during transport caused by bumps and knocks," the priest said.

"You've asked me to handle the debt assets of your other clients again?" Leon raised an eyebrow.

“Selling it to you cheaply will be an absolute bargain. And you can also become a buyer for the fishermen in the village, purchasing their catch and transporting it to the docks in Southport and River Valley counties, and also carrying our goods. You should buy more assets on the island; spending money here will win you the support of the locals and make things easier for you,” Father Auden said.

“Why don’t you just go all the way and persuade me to buy the island?” Leon glanced at the priest.

Father Auden has been urging him to buy assets on Arend Island. It seems the priest hasn't given up on having him take over Viscount Arend's bad debt. This way, he can get a money laundering fee from Leon, settle the debt he handled for the Watchers Merchant Guild, and get a large commission—making a profit from both sides!

“I’m just giving you the best advice as an advisor. This proposal is a win-win situation; it benefits me as well as you,” Father Oden said.

“Won’t the viscount’s daughter have any objections to us acquiring assets on the west side of the island?” Leon asked.

Now that Viscount Arend and Adele have relinquished control over the eastern side of the island, they can only choose to turn a blind eye to whatever Leon is doing inside, whether it was originally a labyrinthine mine or a dock.

But the western side of the island has villages and Viscount Arend's mansion; the troublesome Adele would surely notice if assets were acquired and supplies transported there.

“The mill has already been mortgaged to the Watchers Merchant Guild. Fishermen don’t need the Viscount’s permission to sell their goods to whomever they want. This is none of her business, and contraband shipments don’t pass through there. Even if Miss Adele has any objections…” Father Auden paused here, “I just need to tell her that I will come and talk to her, and she’ll behave.”

Now, Leon's existence has become Father Auden's trump card against Adele. In the past, when the priest couldn't persuade Adele, he could only resort to the tactic of bypassing Adele and discussing things directly with the Viscount to avoid conflict.

But now, whenever there's a disagreement, all he has to do is mention Leon's name, and Adele will fall silent, only able to grit her teeth and curse the priest as "despicable."

“Also, the docks we often use in the east of Caster City actually have a guild, well, it’s actually a gang. If your fleet size increases, according to their rules, you have to pay them dues, otherwise they will cause trouble, and it will be very troublesome if they find out that we are transporting contraband…” Father Auden said.

"Do I really need to deal with these people?" Leon raised an eyebrow and glanced at the priest. "Don't tell me Potter needed to put up with these kinds of people back then."

The gangs and unions at the docks are nothing more than violent groups made up of boat captains and porters. These people are no match for them. Just send a team of his thugs over to talk to them and they'll behave.

“Dealing with them is simple; there are all sorts of methods. I’ll have to ask you before deciding which method to use. Besides kicking them in the ass, you can also recruit them. In that kind of territory, these people can be useful. Their advantage is that they’re relatively cheap, and sometimes they’re quite effective,” Father Auden said.

“Give them the whip first, then the candy. Pick a cadre from Castel City to deal with them,” Leon replied.

“Alright, I’ve compiled the accounts for the ship and the mill. Let me show you.” Father Auden tried to hand the ledger to Leon.

"Let's look at the other accounts later; I don't want to see the numbers right now," Leon said, raising a hand to stop him.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll cheat you out of your money if you don’t check the accounts carefully?” Father Auden frowned slightly.

“I will conduct spot checks,” Leon replied.

“Working for you can be quite boring sometimes; you're completely oblivious to money.” Father Auden sighed as he put away the ledger.

“Shouldn’t you like this kind of employer?” Leon replied.

For Father Auden, the less his employer paid attention to the accounts, the more room he had to manipulate things and the more he could skim off the top.

But Father Auden didn't seem too happy about it.

“You can’t appreciate how high-quality the service I provide without looking at the accounts. Handling money is an art!” Father Auden said, patting the ledger. “It seems that Potter and I have more in common in this regard. Although he doesn’t have the daring to do this business, he is still shrewd enough as a businessman.”

“I’m really sorry.” Leon smiled and looked in the direction leading to the maze. “The money is coming in too fast now, I haven’t gotten used to it yet.”

Once the labyrinth was operational, potions and magic essence were produced continuously from it. They were then packaged in warehouses, mixed with other goods, and transported to the docks. From there, they were distributed to various locations in River Valley and Southport counties. Some magic essence was also transported to Foley, where the Earl would purchase it and supply it to other territories.

In just six months, his and Lena's assets grew like a snowball, now exceeding ten million.

This was something he couldn't have imagined before. The money came too quickly, and to him it seemed to have become just a number; adding or subtracting a little didn't seem to matter much.

“Oh, that’s quite a luxurious problem.” Father Auden raised an eyebrow. “But don’t forget how hard it was for your money. Have you forgotten how you struggled to earn it?”

“Of course I can’t forget, Father, but money isn’t the most important thing to me anymore. I don’t lack money now. What I need now…” Leon said thoughtfully, “is power!”

To rescue Sally from prison, he needed power, and for that, the position of head of the Hamelin Inquisition was the minimum requirement.

“You’re almost there, aren’t you? The assessment went smoothly, didn’t it?” Father Oden grinned, as if he had just thought of something. “To gain the appreciation of that Wilson Miller, that’s quite remarkable.”

"How did you know about this?" Leon looked at Father Auden in surprise. He hadn't mentioned his assessment to Father Auden since he returned, nor had he mentioned Bishop Miller.

“I subscribe to the academic journal published by the district church. His Excellency Bishop Miller recently presided over the examination for ordination and published a conjecture about atomism written by one of the candidates in the journal in his column. The author is Leon Seth. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about natural philosophy and can’t quite understand your work. I didn’t even know you were such a cultured person, with such expertise in this field!”

This was the first time Leon had heard that Bishop Miller had actually published his conjecture in the church's magazine, so he could only casually reply, "I'm just a little interested."

"Regardless, given Wilson's influence, your paper should cause some discussion in certain circles. It's really rare that he would do something like this," Father Auden remarked.

Leon sensed something was off: "Why are you talking like you know him so well?"

Bishop Miller was the dean of the district church's science college and a first-order archbishop, a world apart from Father Auden, a local church priest without any rank. Yet, Father Auden addressed him very casually.

“We were classmates.” Father Auden shrugged. “We were classmates from the town church school to the district church science college. We had a good relationship, and we still occasionally correspond.”

"Really?" Leon was somewhat surprised. "Your classmate is an archbishop, and you're just a lowly priest in Hamel, or a shady priest involved with the underworld?"

“He comes from a prestigious family and is a genuine genius. Children from ordinary families with some means and children from noble families can both attend church schools, but that doesn’t mean their futures are the same. Many things are determined at birth…” Father Auden paused here, looking at Leon, and then changed the subject, “Not everyone can forge their own path like you have.”