What witch? The Deadly Pharmacist!

He discovered that whenever Lena had free time, she would tinker with those chemical-like devices, using materials collected from headhunter rabbits and slimes, along with a few herbs, to concoct potions. She would also take notes while concocting the potions, just like a graduate student rushing to finish a thesis project.

"This has nothing to do with you. You only need to care about the magic essence that makes you money," Lena replied coldly.

"How can it be no problem? What if you're concocting poison to kill me?" Leon probed, half-jokingly.

“If I’m going to use that kind of thing, I’ll definitely do it where you can’t see it!” Lena replied irritably.

Leon shrugged and said nothing.

Although a basic cooperation was achieved, his relationship with Lena did not actually improve much.

Faced with this strange man who had suddenly barged into her space, Lena simply focused on the business of raising monsters and basically ignored any other small talk, clearly maintaining a distance from him. It was obvious that she was waiting for Leon to earn a satisfactory amount before cutting ties with him.

Leon didn't really care, as long as Lena could handle her part of the work so he could earn money.

Leon, carrying a lantern, strolled to the edge of the breeding pool. He removed an iron gate that the Knights had set up nearby, covered the breeding pool with it, and weighed it down with heavy objects, making it difficult for the headhunting rabbit to escape.

Although slimes can crawl on smooth walls, according to Lena, they won't leave the enclosure if you sprinkle salt around the edge of it. Too much salt makes their bodies difficult to shape, so slimes don't like salt.

At this moment, there were only headhunting rabbits in the breeding pool. Leon glanced over and was somewhat surprised to find that there were two pairs of adult headhunting rabbits mating inside, with the male headhunting rabbit constantly trying to climb onto the female rabbit.

"Lena, come and see this! The headhunter rabbits seem to have started mating!" Leon turned his head and called out to Lena with some excitement.

Chapter 15 Impersonating a Cleric

Lena stared at Leon in disbelief upon hearing this, then blushed and frowned: "You're disgusting! What do you mean by asking me to watch this kind of thing with you?!"

"Mating means they start reproducing. The faster they reproduce, the closer we get to profits. What else could it mean?" Leon shrugged. "You're in charge of breeding, shouldn't this be commonplace for you? You don't think I'm flirting with you just because I mentioned it."

Lena was speechless.

After a moment, she cleared her throat and, feigning composure, resumed the conversation: "Well, I noticed it yesterday. The headhunter rabbits started showing signs of going into heat again as soon as they were moved here, much earlier than before."

"Does that mean the entire reproductive cycle will be shortened? I've read in the data before that monsters are more active in dungeons," Leon asked Lena to confirm.

"We still need to observe for a while before we can draw a conclusion." After saying that, Lena buried herself in the preparation of the medicine again.

"By the way, Lena, have you ever heard of halogenation disease?" Leon changed the subject, mentioning the idea that had flashed through his mind that morning.

Lena suddenly stopped mixing the potion and turned to look at Leon with a surprised expression.

"Do you have any secret remedies for treating or alleviating this disease?" Leon asked casually, without much hope.

"How did you..." Lena stared blankly at Leon, "How did you know I was researching this?"

"What are you researching? Halogenation disease?" Leon looked at Rena with surprise, then suddenly realized something and his eyes widened. "Could it be that all these potions you've been concocting... are for treating halogenation disease?"

Lena hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded silently.

"You have medicine? This can cure salinization disease? That's an incurable disease!" Leon said, somewhat incredulous.

"Currently, I'm only conducting experiments on animals, and while it has shown some therapeutic effect, it's still far from a cure," Lena gently shook her head.

"Could it be that you became a witch in order to research magic potions to cure someone suffering from salinization disease?"

Leon had previously been puzzled by the reason why Lena became a witch, but now he felt that he had found the answer.

“...It’s my maternal grandmother,” Lena answered softly after a moment of silence.

“Then she…” Leon asked instinctively.

He was convinced that Lena lived alone in that cabin. Could it be that her grandmother had been bedridden in the cabin like Mrs. Hershey?

“He left three years ago,” Lena replied sadly. “At that time, I didn’t have time to achieve any decent results.”

"And you've continued doing this research?" Leon asked.

“This is an incurable disease. I witnessed firsthand the suffering my grandmother endured, and I personally experienced that helpless despair. So I thought that since I’ve already become a witch, I might as well continue this research. Perhaps one day, I can completely eradicate this disease,” Lena said slowly.

"From what you're saying, the medicine you've concocted is now considered a success?" Leon asked tentatively.

"At least it's somewhat effective on the mice I've been using for experiments. If you feed mice food mixed with halogenated crystals for a long time, there's a certain probability that it will induce halogenated disease. I've been using mice with halogenated disease for my experiments. The most effective formula so far can alleviate the symptoms of joint stiffness and allow affected individuals to regain their mobility..." Lena explained to Leon.

Leon was stunned. He hadn't expected that Lena could actually provide a secret recipe for treating halogenation!

Coming to his senses, he suggested to Lena, "Why don't you try it on a person?"

“You…” Lena looked Leon over carefully, “Do you have a relative who has this disease?”

“She’s my landlord’s wife. She’s so paralyzed that she can’t move at all. Besides her, there’s only her thirteen-year-old daughter left in the family. They’ve accumulated a huge debt because of this illness, and they’re having a very hard time.” Leon couldn’t help but sigh as he said this, and then continued to suggest, “If you’re really researching a cure for halogenation disease, testing the drug on patients is a very important step, right? Since you have this opportunity, why don’t you… try your medicine?”

“This…” Lena hesitated for a moment. “Would they be willing to use the witch’s medicine? Besides, I’ve never used my concocted medicine on anyone before, so I’m not sure if something might go wrong.”

“Their situation couldn’t be more tragic. If it could be effective, what’s wrong with using the witch’s medicine? That lady has already been contemplating suicide to find relief. The church’s holy water can only prolong her suffering for a short while. There’s no hope left. Your medicine can at least give them a glimmer of hope, right?” Leon tried to persuade them.

Lena was somewhat persuaded. Although testing drugs on humans was unsettling, it was an essential step in developing effective drugs.

But she still had concerns: "To prescribe medicine for someone, it's best to diagnose them in person first, just to be on the safe side. If people find out I'm a witch, it will be troublesome for you, won't it?"

Leon frowned. Admittedly, even if he could persuade Selena and Melissa to accept the witch's treatment in advance, there was still a possibility of an accidental leak.

It's understandable that Lena would be worried about the risk of being arrested for a serious crime if it were discovered that she was a witch. Leon, who was pinning his hopes of making money on her, naturally didn't want anything to happen to her.

"Speaking of which, you are really strange. You are an inquisitor of heretics. Do you really believe that a witch's medicine can cure diseases?" Lena looked at Leon as if she were looking at a freak. Most people in this world are still quite wary of witches, let alone those who serve the church.

“What’s so hard to believe?” Leon replied casually.

He came from another world, so his ideas were naturally different from those of the natives of this world.

Not to mention, the idea that witches' potions can cure diseases is endorsed by the authoritative figure Bishop Weiss...

The moment the image of Bishop Weiss flashed through his mind, a flash of inspiration struck Leon.

"I've got an idea!" he snapped his fingers.

……

The following evening, Leon and Lena walked side by side on the street near the Hamel Cathedral.

Lena looked with extreme unease at the church bell tower, which stood much taller than the other buildings in the distance. As a witch who lived alone in the mountains, she rarely even came to the town, let alone the vicinity of the church's facilities.

"You're insane, you're absolutely insane!" she began to grumble in a low voice again, "Impersonating the church... what were you thinking?"

Leon wore his usual work clothes, while Lena changed into the monastic robes often worn by devout believers of the Church of the Four Gods when attending ceremonies or going on pilgrimages. It is said that many clergy members choose to dress like this when embarking on pilgrimages in secret.

Leon's idea was to have Lena, disguised as a private pilgrimage for the Hersh family, happen to pass by the church bishop of Hamel. During her visit to the local church, Lena would hear about Mrs. Hersh's plight from Leon and, since she was researching salination disease, come over to make a diagnosis.

As for the potion that Lena concocts, it can be disguised as "holy water still under development," which would give Mrs. Hersh a legitimate reason to test it.

"So you still did it anyway? Instead of complaining, why not adjust your acting and put on a more saintly expression?" Leon replied in a low voice.

"What does it feel like to be pure?" Lena was dumbfounded.

“Just be natural,” Leon replied casually. He didn’t expect Lena to exude the same aura as Bishop Vess; as long as she could fool ordinary people, that would be enough.

"How much further?" Lena looked around anxiously. As a witch, she was disguised as a priestess and walking on the street. This rebellious act made her feel uneasy.

“It’s in that alley that turns this way…” Leon said, leading Lena across an intersection.

Suddenly, a mixture of crying and laughter came from the front.

"Give it back to me, give it back to me now!!" The thin girl cried and chased after the two laughing boys. Her hair was so short that it was just a single layer of golden hair.

As for the two boys, one of them was waving a headscarf like a victory flag, and the two of them were laughing wildly, completely unaware that they were running towards Leon.

Upon seeing this, Leon's expression vanished.

Chapter 16 How could I possibly be his girlfriend?

The girl whose headscarf was stolen and who was being teased by the two boys was Melissa, who had just sold her hair.

"Haha, an egg-shaped head, and it's even wrapped in floral fabric!"

The tall boy holding the headscarf looked to be about Melissa's age. He waved the headscarf and mocked Melissa. The boy next to him was about two or three years younger. He ran a few steps and then turned around to make an ugly face at Melissa in a provocative manner.

The two look alike, so they are most likely brothers.

Leon didn't immediately alert the boy. Instead, he subtly quickened his pace and continued walking towards him.

Melissa noticed Leon appearing from around the corner and froze on the spot.

Lena took a few more glances before realizing what had happened. Just as she was about to reprimand the two boys, who were about to run into Leon walking ahead, they tacitly chose to walk around him, one to the left and one to the right, passing by him.

At this moment, Leon finally took action, swiftly stretching out his hands and grabbing the two men's hair tightly like eagle claws.

"what!!"

The two boys were almost pulled to the ground by him, and they screamed in pain.

Leon, his face dark, grabbed them and pulled them back, pressing their heads down: "Hey, what are you guys playing at? Count me in!"

"Let go, damn it! Do I know you?" the older boy roared, grabbing Leon's wrist and trying to kick him.

But because Leon kept pressing his head down, he was forced to bend over and couldn't move his legs.

The little boy struggled desperately with a ferocious expression, digging his nails into Leon's wrist. When he couldn't break free, he started spitting at Leon.

Leon wasn't going to tolerate these two foul-mouthed brats. He grabbed their heads and slammed them together with a loud "thud."

Melissa and Lena were so startled by the noise that they covered their mouths.

"what!!"

The older boy covered his head and wailed loudly, while the younger one burst into tears on the spot.

"I'm asking you two what you're doing with Melissa, having so much fun?" As the resistance lessened, Leon grabbed their hair, forcing them to tilt their heads back and turn towards Melissa. Then he asked Melissa, "Melissa, do you know these two rascals?"

Hamel is a tiny town, and the people there are usually only a couple of acquaintances.

“They are… Todd and Colin from the Bernack family,” Melissa whispered, clutching her wrist to her chest.

"Bernak lives across the street? You're Benson Bernak's sons?" Leon frowned as he confirmed with the two men.

Upon discovering that Leon knew his father's name, the older boy, Todd, clutched his forehead and threatened menacingly, "You know my dad and you still won't let go! He has a bunch of brothers outside, they'll call you later—"

Boom! !

Before he could finish speaking, Leon gave the two brothers' heads another intimate encounter, the sound even louder than before.

"Wow ah ah ah ah!!"

This time, even Todd cried out in pain.

"Benson Bernack, who owes the church thirty Tylers, is a lazy old scoundrel who spends his days loafing around in casinos. He dares to challenge me? When I went to collect the debt, your father addressed me as 'Master' all the time, you know?" Leon sneered, then turned to Melissa again. "Do these two brats often bully you?"

He should have realized sooner that a child without a father, whose mother is bedridden and who has no one to stand up for him is likely to be bullied in town, and Melissa might not tell him everything.

"..." Melissa didn't dare to answer for a moment.

“Don’t worry, I’m here!” Leon looked at Melissa with a determined expression.

“They threw stones at me, and…” Melissa hesitated for a moment, then continued, “…robbed me of my money…”

"Steal your money!?" Leon was even angrier when he heard this, and grabbed the two kids' heads and slammed them together twice.

The two brothers cried even louder.

They even stole Melissa's money; they truly have no bottom line. Although these two kids may not have a clear understanding of Melissa's family's situation, Leon still couldn't help but feel furious after hearing it.

"How much did they steal from you?" Leon pressed Melissa.

“…Five pfennigs,” Melissa replied after a moment of silence.

Actually, she only had her change taken from her hands once when she came back from grocery shopping.

The two brothers were actually younger than her, but because they had a delinquent father, they became very unruly and were notorious kids on the street.

"Even if it's less, it's still robbery!" Leon still didn't let go. He grabbed the two wailing boys and pulled them closer, whispering in their ears, "You two brats, listen up! Go back and tell your gambling dad that the girl you bullied, Melissa, has a brother who's an Inquisitor, the same Inquisitor who comes to your house to collect debts!"

"I'll come over to your house tonight, and then I'll get a good look at how he disciplines his son! And if Melissa ever causes any trouble again, I'll peel off both of your fingernails!"

After saying that, he threw the two boys to the ground like trash: "Get out of here!!"

Todd threw off his headscarf and ran away crying loudly, while Colin also cried and scrambled to his feet to follow his brother.

Leon clapped his hands and decided to go back tonight to change into his uniform and have a chat with the Bernack family. He would naturally get back the money the two boys had stolen.

He knew Benson, but he was just a hoodlum with a few cronies. He probably bragged too much outside, and his two sons really thought he was someone important in the underworld.

Melissa stared blankly at the scene, unable to come to her senses for a long time.