What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

In the early hours before dawn, in the central region of the Empire, at the Saint Rosalia Research Institute within Saint Rosalia Prison.

A nun pushed a cart into the experiment preparation room and discovered that someone was already inside.

A tall apothecary stood in the preparation room, wearing a waxed protective long robe.

Gloves covered her hands, but she had not yet put on her face mask, revealing a fair complexion.

“Bishop Weiss!” The nun hurriedly bowed in greeting.

“You arrived so early?”

Saintess Weiss of the Creator Church turned at the sound.

During work, she had tied up her long hair together with her bangs, revealing the eye that was usually hidden behind her fringe.

That eye was extremely unusual.

Its iris was a deep crimson, forming a stark contrast with her other eye, which was naturally sapphire-blue.

It was said that during an experimental explosion accident, her mask had been shattered, and that eye had been splashed with potion, becoming what it was now.

It could already barely see anything.

Weiss nodded to the nun in acknowledgment and replied, “I’ve finished handling things and was just about to leave.”

Only then did the nun realize that Bishop Weiss had worked here through the entire night.

For Weiss, this was practically routine, so the nun was not particularly surprised and merely replied, “You’ve worked hard.”

Weiss removed her gloves at the side and was just about to take off her protective robe when she saw the nun placing one glass vial after another on the table.

She suddenly paused.

“What are those?”

She noticed the evidence submission labels on the bottles.

Items sent here were usually potions prepared by Witches.

“Ah, these are evidence from that major case in South Harbor County earlier. The tribunal sent them over for testing,” the nun explained.

“The case of the missing Director of the Inquisition?” Weiss had some impression of it.

She had seen that Caron Eso when she accompanied an inspection visit.

She also remembered that someone there had been secretly reselling stolen goods.

In a place so rife with filth and corruption, something happening did not seem strange at all.

“Yes. These are Magical Potions refined by the captured Witch, supposedly used to treat Saltification Disease,” the nun explained.

“Saltification Disease?” Weiss’s interest was piqued.

She bent down and carefully examined one of the bottles.

Saltification Disease was an extremely rare condition.

Unless one deliberately ingested large doses of diseased crystalline tissue, it would only occur at an extremely low random probability in areas where labyrinths had appeared.

It had once been called Moilai’s Curse.

The Church had never conducted dedicated research into a special medicine for this disease.

For Witches as well, it was not particularly worth studying unless it was specifically to save a certain patient.

However, coincidentally, Weiss had once slightly touched upon Saltification Disease while researching other matters.

After a moment of thought, she took off her protective robe, went to the cabinet to retrieve a new one and put it on, then donned fresh gloves and a new mask.

“Bishop Weiss?” The nun was somewhat surprised by her actions.

“I’ll handle the testing myself,” Bishop Weiss issued the instruction.

……

At the same time, deep within the labyrinth of Hamel Town, Leon and Bishop Beckett stood side by side.

It turned out that the breeding grounds Leon and Rena had set up at the former Knight Order encampment had already been completely cleared, and after repeated evidence collection, they had been sealed off.

After Aaron was transferred away, the follow-up handling of the labyrinth fell to Bishop Beckett, who had taken on the role of the new Director.

Over the past few days, Bishop Beckett had used his authority to mobilize a group of personnel and had newly arranged a workshop at the deepest part of the labyrinth.

Leon looked around.

The space here was even larger than the Knight Order encampment.

The personnel Bishop Beckett had brought in had already completed the most basic setup.

The floor had been polished smooth, and basic facilities such as water storage tanks, sinks, and medicine cabinets were all in place.

Six experimental tables were neatly arranged, with new experimental equipment orderly stacked atop them.

On one of the experimental tables rested a Moilai Altar.

“These facilities are much better than what we used before,” Leon remarked.

He inspected the equipment on the tables.

These looked far more professional than the old tools Rena used previously.

“The Earl’s requirements for quality are far higher than your former buyers’,” Bishop Beckett said with his hands clasped behind his back.

“So the escape passage from before has already been backfilled?” Leon confirmed with Bishop Beckett.

“You no longer need such things. This labyrinth lies within the territory of Hamel Town and is now under my jurisdiction. Other Inquisitions have no authority to investigate here. I will station my own people nearby for patrols. At least for the next year, you don’t need to worry about safety inside the labyrinth,” Bishop Beckett said with certainty.

“And after a year?” Leon asked.

“When I step down, if nothing unexpected happens, you should be able to take over my position,” Bishop Beckett replied.

“One year?” Leon was somewhat surprised.

Although the Earl had mentioned letting him replace Caron Eso, Leon had expected it would take some time.

To move him from Captain to Director in just one year? That required attaining rank within the Church.

“As long as you prepare the corresponding merits, it isn’t difficult. But the premise is that you can meet the Earl’s requirements. Focus on your own work first,” Bishop Beckett said.

Leon nodded and asked about the most crucial part of the preparations.

“What about the Magical Beasts mentioned before?”

Bishop Beckett had previously handed him a list, asking him to choose which Magical Beasts he wanted to raise.

The list contained fewer than ten types.

Both the Head-Hunting Rabbit and Slime that Leon and Rena had raised before were on it.

In addition, there were giant scorpions and spiders from the labyrinth, small fungal humanoids, as well as plants like Mandrake Grass and Living Vines.

These labyrinth creatures were not large in size, and their danger was controllable.

They were organisms often bred in underworld businesses.

However, in most operations, only the monster materials were utilized.

The most valuable Mana could not be extracted without a Witch.

Leon selected as many varieties as possible and requested the maximum quantities.

To meet the Earl’s demands, his breeding scale would have to be several times larger than before.

“They’ve already been placed. The breeding grounds are at the innermost area,” Bishop Beckett pointed toward the depths of the labyrinth.

Leon walked over and saw two side-by-side breeding pools resembling swimming pools.

One was covered with sturdy iron grates and divided into several sections by partitions.

The other was filled with fertile soil, clearly meant for planting.

Leon’s brow suddenly furrowed.

He discovered that there were only three types in the breeding pools: Head-Hunting Rabbits, Slimes, and Giant Scorpions.

None exceeded five in number, and they all looked extremely weak.

He glanced again at the plants in the cultivation field—only a few had been transplanted, already withered and yellowing.

“Only this many Magical Beasts were delivered?” Leon asked Bishop Beckett.

Both in variety and quantity, this fell far short of what he had requested.

“There were some issues with transportation,” Bishop Beckett spread his hands toward a corner covered by a black cloth.

“Many Magical Beasts died along the way.”

Leon walked over and lifted the cloth for a look.

Beneath it lay numerous Magical Beast corpses, more than twice the number of those in the breeding pools.

“These Magical Beasts were transported over long distances and had to avoid investigations. There were bound to be some accidents. You’d best take all of these to extract Mana as soon as possible,” Bishop Beckett said.

“Accidents? Only a quarter survived?” Leon thoughtfully picked up a Head-Hunting Rabbit and shook it slightly.

After examining it, he tossed it back to the ground.

“Severe dehydration. No one fed these Magical Beasts the entire way, did they?”

Having raised Magical Beasts together with Rena, he immediately recognized that these deaths were highly abnormal.

“I’ll speak plainly, Leon. The Earl does indeed appreciate you and sees you as a candidate cadre. He has made many arrangements for you. But the people executing these arrangements may not necessarily exert themselves for your sake. The Magical Beasts you requested had to be prepared by cadres from other territories, and the transport route also passed through their domains… Not everyone wants to see you succeed. There are always those who hope for your failure. If you fail, they’ll have a chance to replace you and take over this territory,” Bishop Beckett said expressionlessly.

“Doesn’t the Earl want stable supply? He allows such meaningless internal strife to exist?” Leon said.

“The Earl has many matters to deal with. This kind of trivial affair isn’t among them. What he needs is a cadre capable of standing on his own. Issues between you and others are something you must be able to handle yourself,” Bishop Beckett replied.

Leon silently covered the black cloth again.

It seemed that even if he requested another batch of Magical Beasts through the Earl’s channels, the result would likely be similar.

The Earl would not arbitrate such minor matters.

Even if he did, those causing trouble might not receive much punishment.

Only Leon’s own time would continue to be wasted.

“Then I can handle the problem through my own channels?” Leon asked.

“Of course. You’re familiar with the local situation. That’s one of the main reasons the Earl chose you,” Bishop Beckett said.

“Very well. Then I’ll deal with this problem myself,” Leon nodded and turned to leave the workshop.