What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

The one whose headscarf had been snatched away and who was being teased by the two boys was none other than Melissa, who had just sold her hair.

“Ha ha, egghead, and you even wrapped it in a flowery cloth!”

The tall boy holding the headscarf looked about the same age as Melissa.

He waved the scarf as he mocked her.

The other boy beside him looked two or three years younger; after running a few steps, he turned back toward Melissa, twisting his body and making an ugly face to provoke her.

The two looked alike—most likely brothers.

Leon did not immediately alert them.

Without making a sound, he slightly quickened his pace and continued walking straight toward the oncoming boys.

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

Rena took a couple more glances before realizing what was happening.

Just as she was about to scold the two boys, they happened to be about to collide with Leon, who was walking ahead.

With surprising coordination, they split left and right, brushing past him.

At that moment, Leon finally took action.

With lightning speed, he shot both hands out, gripping their hair tightly like eagle talons.

“Ah!!”

The two boys were nearly yanked off their feet and cried out in pain at the same time.

Leon, his face dark, dragged them back and forced their heads down.

“Hey, what are you playing at? Count me in!”

“Let go, damn it! Do I even know you?” the older boy roared as he grabbed Leon’s wrist, trying to kick him as well.

But with his head being pressed down relentlessly by Leon, he was forced to bend at the waist, unable to lift his leg.

The younger boy merely struggled with a twisted expression, clawing at Leon’s wrist with his fingernails.

When he realized he could not break free, he switched to spitting at Leon instead.

Leon had no intention of indulging these foul-mouthed brats.

Grabbing their heads, he slammed them together hard—thud—the sound loud and solid.

Melissa and Rena both covered their mouths in shock.

“Ah!!”

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

“I’m asking what you were doing with Melissa that made you so happy.” Feeling the resistance weaken, Leon instead grabbed their hair and forced them to tilt their heads up, turning them toward Melissa.

Then he asked her, “Melissa, do you know these two little punks?”

Hamel Town was no bigger than the palm of one’s hand.

Even if townsfolk were not acquaintances, at most they were only two connections removed.

“Th-they are… Todd and Colin from the Bernack family,” Melissa replied softly, clutching her wrist in front of her chest.

“Bernack from the block across the street? You’re Benson Bernack’s sons?” Leon frowned as he confirmed with them.

Realizing that Leon knew his father’s name, the older boy, Todd, covered his forehead and threatened viciously, “If you know my dad, then let go! He’s got a bunch of brothers out there. I’ll have him come for you—”

Thud!!

Leon did not wait for him to finish and slammed the brothers’ heads together again, even louder than before.

“Waaahhhh!!”

This time, even Todd cried out in pain.

“Benson Bernack, who owes the Church thirty Thaler Silver Coins—a useless old hooligan who loiters in casinos all day—dares to challenge me? When I go to collect his debts, your father calls me ‘sir’ every other sentence, you know that?” Leon sneered, then turned back to Melissa.

“Do these two little punks bully you often?”

He really should have realized it earlier.

A child without a father, with a bedridden mother and no one to stand up for her, was very likely to be bullied in town—and Melissa did not necessarily tell him everything.

“……” Melissa did not dare answer for a moment.

“Don’t worry, I’m here!” Leon looked at Melissa with firm resolve.

“They threw stones at me, and…” Melissa hesitated, then continued, “they took my money…”

“They took your money!?” Leon grew even angrier upon hearing this and smashed the two brats’ heads together twice more.

The brothers cried even louder.

Stealing Melissa’s money—there truly was no bottom line.

Even if the two brats did not necessarily understand her family’s situation clearly, Leon still found it hard to suppress his fury.

“How much did they take?” Leon pressed.

“…Five Fenni,” Melissa answered after a moment of silence.

In truth, it had only happened once, when she was returning from buying groceries and the brothers had demanded the loose change in her hand.

The brothers were actually younger than her, but having grown up influenced by their hooligan father, they had become extremely unruly, famous as the little kings of this street.

“No matter how little, it’s still robbery!” Leon still did not let go.

Pulling the two sobbing boys closer, he leaned in and said into their ears, “You two little bastards listen carefully. Go back and tell your gambling-addict father this: the Melissa you bullied—her brother is an Inquisitor, the same Delegate Officer who comes to your house to collect debts!Tonight I’ll pay your place a visit myself. When that happens, I’ll take a good look at how he disciplines his sons! And if Melissa has any problems in the future, I’ll peel off every single one of your fingernails!”

After saying that, he threw the two boys to the ground like trash.

“Get lost!!”

Todd dropped the headscarf and ran off crying loudly.

Colin also cried as he scrambled to his feet and followed after his brother.

Leon dusted off his hands, deciding that tonight he would go back, change into his uniform, and have a proper talk with the Bernack family.

Naturally, the money the two brats had stolen would have to be returned as well.

He knew Benson well enough—just a hooligan with a few unsavory friends.

He had probably boasted too much outside, leading his sons to truly believe he was some kind of underworld figure.

Melissa stood there blankly, staring at the scene, taking a long while to recover.

Rena looked at Leon’s back in surprise for a moment.

Then she reacted, walked over to pick up the headscarf from the ground, carefully patted off the dust, and went over to put it back on Melissa’s head, gently comforting her, “Here, it’s all right now.”

“Thank you…” Melissa replied timidly.

“If someone bullies you next time, tell me and I’ll deal with it for you. Don’t be embarrassed to say anything,” Leon said, letting out a long breath as he looked at Melissa.

“Mmm…” Melissa answered absentmindedly.

“Heading home?” Leon asked.

Melissa nodded lightly.

“Then let’s go back together. I brought a guest,” Leon said, turning to Rena and introducing her with solemn formality.

“This is the daughter of my landlady, little Melissa.”

“Ah…” Melissa looked at Rena in surprise, then at Leon, only then noticing that the two of them had appeared together.

“Hello,” Rena greeted Melissa with a kind expression.

Melissa’s expression wavered noticeably.

She looked back and forth between the two of them, then cautiously asked Leon, “Brother Leon, could this be… um… your… g-girlfriend?”

For someone her age, the most likely relationship she could imagine for a young lady accompanying a man alone to his home was that of lovers.

At those words, both Leon and Rena froze.

Then Rena waved her hands repeatedly in denial.

“No, no, no! How could that be?”

How could she possibly have that kind of relationship with a man who had once pointed a gun at her head? Even if the sky fell, it would be impossible—she would have to think twice even to pretend.

Hearing that answer, Melissa quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Leon cleared his throat, put on a serious tone, lowered his voice, and delivered the script he had prepared long ago.

“Melissa, this kind of misunderstanding is far too disrespectful to this lady. Though she looks young, this is Bishop Leona of the Creator Church. She is secretly traveling from the north on an incognito pilgrimage to Saint Jura Church, and just happened to pass through Hamel Town…”

“B-Bishop!?” Melissa’s face turned pale at once.

Even at her age, she understood that anyone who bore the title of bishop was an extraordinary figure.

She hurriedly bowed again and again.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I actually said something so disrespectful!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine, don’t worry about it! Let’s keep our voices down first, all right?”

Rena was even more flustered than Melissa.

As she comforted her, she also watched the surrounding pedestrians, afraid that someone might hear their conversation clearly.

“All right, Melissa. This time, the bishop is traveling incognito, so it’s not convenient for too many people to know. Don’t spread it around,” Leon said, making a shushing gesture.

Melissa nodded with lingering fear.

Then she suddenly realized another problem.

“But, Brother Leon, our home…”

Their shabby little house really had nothing to offer a distinguished guest of such status.

“It’s all right. Bishop Leona came this time at my invitation, to treat your mother’s illness,” Leon said with a smile.

“To treat Mom’s…” Melissa murmured, her amber eyes lighting up.

“Her illness?”