What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

In the depths of the Labyrinth, across the vast open ground that had once belonged to the Demonic Wolf habitat, Leon directed Simon and the others to set up simple fences, separating Head-Hunting Rabbits, Slimes, Giant Scorpions, and other Magical Beasts into different zones.

The large pit once used by the Demonic Wolves to pile up prey corpses was filled in with transported soil, after which Mandrake Grass and Living Vines—plant-type Magical Beasts of the Labyrinth—were transplanted there.

A wide area had several beast cages arranged, prepared for the Demonic Wolves.

At this time, half of the Demonic Wolves were roaming outside.

When Rena was within the Labyrinth, these wolves could still be controlled and serve as guards inside.

Outside the Labyrinth, the remaining manpower repaired the ruined houses, set up sentry posts, and prepared stables.

In the future, a large quantity of Magical Beast materials would be transported from this Labyrinth to that pier.

The temple that had once enshrined Moilai had been converted into Rena’s laboratory.

All work related to Mana extraction and Magical Potion preparation was carried out there.

Materials were processed outside before being delivered inside for her use.

After arranging work inside and out, Leon entered the temple.

Rena was examining the purity of a batch of Mana.

“How is it?” Leon asked Rena.

“The Mana purity has undoubtedly improved,” Rena replied.

“This time, the highest purity reached eighty-eight percent.”

As the power of their Blessing grew, the two of them had not only gained the ability of Magical Beast Transformation, but the purity of the Mana they refined had also increased somewhat.

Previously, when Rena extracted Mana from First-Level Magical Beasts that had eaten humans, the purity hovered around seventy-eight percent.

Now it could steadily exceed eighty percent.

As for those Magical Beasts that had consumed the corpse of a Blessing Recipient, their purity had originally ranged between eighty-two and eighty-five percent.

Now the highest purity had reached eighty-eight percent.

“It seems we won’t need to worry about meeting the demand for that high-end batch anymore,” Leon said.

Out of the two hundred grams of Mana required by the Earl, fifty grams had to reach over eighty percent purity.

Originally, they could only achieve that grade by relying on Magical Beasts that had consumed the corpse of a Blessing Recipient—and even then, only after sufficient intake.

The only corpse they had on hand was the one initially provided by the Earl.

Reaching the required quantity had been somewhat difficult, but now there was no longer any need to worry.

Any Magical Beast that had eaten humans could now yield Mana refined by Rena to over eighty percent.

Moreover, they now had Demonic Wolves and newly hatched Petrifying Lizards—Third-Level Magical Beasts—not to mention an entire Drake from which Mana could be extracted.

The higher the Magical Beast’s level, the more room there was for improvement in Mana purity.

“But Leon, there’s a problem now. The Drake we refined before had eaten humans as well, and it was a Fourth-Level Magical Beast. Logically speaking, the Mana extracted should have been far superior to that of First-Level Magical Beasts. Yet the purity I extracted was only eighty-eight to nearly ninety percent—barely different from those First-Level Magical Beasts that consumed a Blessing Recipient’s corpse.”

Rena looked at Leon.

“And the portion you tried refining—you still lag five percentage points behind me when refining ordinary Magical Beasts. However, whether it’s the Drake or the Slime that consumed that Blessing corpse, the Mana you extracted was also above eighty-six percent, already close to mine.”

“You mean?” Leon sensed her implication.

“I mean that once we reach eighty-eight to ninety percent purity, we seem to have hit a bottleneck. Even if we let the Magical Beasts eat humans, it appears we can only raise it to this level.” Rena spoke seriously.

“Rena, this level of purity is already more than sufficient. You know that Mana above eighty percent is considered top-grade among the Earl’s goods,” Leon said.

“But for us, if possible, it would be best to try raising it a little further————” Rena suddenly lowered her voice.

Leon paused, then understood.

“Has there been progress with the Special Medicine?”

“The purest batch of Mana extracted from the Drake can already almost halt the internal organ erosion caused by Saltification Disease. Theoretically, this medicine could keep Miss Sally alive.” Rena said.

Leon felt pleasantly surprised.

“So Mrs. Hesh won’t have to worry about dying from Saltification Disease?”

“No, I said theoretically.” Most late-stage Saltification Disease patients died from complications before total organ failure. The current medicine could barely prevent Miss Sally from reaching the stage where her organs failed due to Saltification Disease, but that did not mean she wouldn’t die from other complications. I feel we’re just a little short. If we could reverse the condition————” Rena said earnestly.

“If we raise Mana purity above ninety percent, would that help?” Leon asked.

“At the very least, it’s a direction worth attempting,” Rena replied.

“Alright. I’ll see if I can gather some intelligence from within the Church regarding this.” Leon thought for a moment before speaking.

“By the way, how has Miss Sally been recently?” Rena asked.

“Quite well. Her spirits are fairly good. She still occasionally runs a low fever, but I visit her often,” Leon said.

Leon frequently went to the Detention Area of the Inquisition to visit Sally, bringing her medicine, food, and clean clothing—even bedding and books—ensuring her basic quality of life inside the cell.

Bishop Beckett had fully acquiesced to his special treatment of Sally; it was part of their transaction.

He had also explained his new decision to Sally.

She had seemed worried and even told him directly not to concern himself with her life, for she had long prepared herself mentally.

But when Leon mentioned that there might be a chance in the future for her to cure her illness and even continue living with Melissa, Sally hesitated.

In the end, she accepted Leon’s arrangement.

“And what about Melissa————” Rena asked hesitantly.

“I’ve sent her some things and visited the Reformatory to ask about her condition. I even saw her from a distance. They say she studies quite diligently there and has even made friends,” Leon replied.

“You still haven’t met her?” Rena asked.

“————” Leon fell silent for a while and shook his head.

There were still too many uncertainties regarding Sally’s situation.

He could not give Melissa too many guarantees.

Even if they met, he did not know what he would say.

Moreover, when Sally made her deal with him, she had begged him to keep his distance from Melissa.

He had always been mindful of that.

“I see————” Rena did not press further.

“We still need a bit more time.” After speaking, Leon turned to leave.

“I’ll go inspect outside again.”

Leon inspected the situation inside the Labyrinth once more, then exited to review the progress of the construction work outside.

At that moment, Father Auden, who had been stationed outside the Labyrinth, took the initiative to speak to him.

“I noticed you’ve left some people at the pier repairing the jetty?”

“We’ll be docking cargo ships frequently in the future. We need at least a functional pier, don’t we?” Leon replied.

The pier on Arend Island had suffered severe damage and was practically unusable.

Docking there previously had involved considerable risk.

But if they were to frequently transport personnel, materials, and products back and forth, cargo ships would regularly enter and exit this pier.

Leon felt that at the very least, the jetty should be repaired.

He could afford that expense.

“Fenrir, if people come and go around the Labyrinth, you can use an Inquisition investigation warrant to brush them off.But if you plan to use that pier long-term, I suggest you reach a commercial agreement with Viscount Arend.” Father Auden proposed.

“Doesn’t Viscount Arend avoid interfering with matters related to the Labyrinth? And the merchant consortium you handled—isn’t it his major creditor? Why not have him mortgage the pier?” Leon asked.

“The Watcher Merchant Consortium has long assessed that this pier lacks sufficient collateral value. Nominal operating rights to the pier are still with Viscount Arend,” Father Auden said.

“They’re not even operating this wrecked pier. Now that someone’s paying to repair it, how could they object?” Leon asked.

“Paying requires a pretext that doesn’t arouse suspicion. Do you think the Church would pay Viscount Arend to repair the pier under the pretense of investigating this Labyrinth?” Father Auden countered.

“That makes sense.” Leon had to admit the priest was right.

If they carried out operations in the name of sealing the Labyrinth, the Church would certainly not pay to repair the pier for Viscount Arend.

On the contrary, it should demand a substantial donation from him for sealing a Labyrinth on his territory.

Renting the pier in the Church’s name while paying to repair it would indeed be suspicious.

“We need a third-party identity to use the pier—a private fleet willing to provide services for the Church, transporting materials for the Church’s Labyrinth investigations. In that case, paying to repair the jetty would be perfectly reasonable,” Father Auden said.

It was not uncommon for private individuals or commercial groups to spend money to serve public authorities.

It was merely an exchange of money and power.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. Just find some civilian fleet to sign a contract with Viscount Arend.” Leon waved him off.

“The fleet is for your use. It would be best to operate under your name. You buy the ships, and the fleet can conduct business in your name. It can also help you launder some assets along the way. If you want your money to be usable aboveboard, it’s time you started laundering it.” Father Auden took out a prepared contract and handed it to Leon.

Leon glanced at it.

“You want me to spend four hundred thousand to purchase a cargo sailing ship and two small ferries?”

“Don’t forget my handling fee.” Father Auden raised a finger.

“You’ve used those ships before—you should know they’re worth the price. I had them appraised for you. You don’t need to worry about me cheating you. I also don’t want to wake up one day and suddenly be poisoned by you.”

“I’ve only been a Lower-Ranking Inquisitor for three years. Wouldn’t it be strange for me to own several ships?” Leon asked.

“As long as you had no prior debts, it’s fine. No one knows your exact financial situation. Through a friend’s introduction, you learned that a shipowner was selling several vessels cheaply due to debt. You used your savings from living frugally, plus a loan from a friend, to purchase them and rent them out for extra income.That’s not unusual. Which bishops or knight officials don’t have some private property? You’re an Inquisitor, so using your private assets to serve the Church and curry favor with your superiors is perfectly reasonable. I’ve already forged the loan records and all the documentation. Once you sign, these ships will be yours, and I can negotiate with Adele Lovelace about leasing the pier in your name.” Father Auden said.

“Not with Viscount Arend?” Leon asked, puzzled.

“Viscount Arend doesn’t require us to go through all this trouble. Who do you think we’re trying to fool by doing this?” Father Auden shrugged.