What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

Rena walked out of the gates of the Hamel Inquisition.

The dazzling sunlight outside fell onto her face, and at that moment, everything felt slightly unreal.

Three minutes ago, she had still been in the dark, cramped detention cell.

Now, she was seeing daylight again.

She felt uneasy, yet did not dare to turn around to look at Leon behind her, because Bishop Becket was standing right beside him.

Leon had told her that action would be taken today, but neither of them had expected her release to come so quickly.

According to Leon’s original estimate, even if the evidence and testimony provided by Sally could significantly reduce Rena’s suspicions and obstruct the application for a Supreme Investigation Warrant, Aaron and Bishop Becket would still have detained Rena for a period of time for several more interrogations—possibly even up to the maximum thirty-day limit.

That was under the assumption that nothing unexpected happened in their plan.

Yet in the end, on the very day Sally was imprisoned, Rena was released from the detention cell under the pretext of being released pending investigation.

“Rena Lothark,” Bishop Becket called out to her from behind.

“Do not forget—this is release pending investigation, not a true release. We are only choosing to believe, based on your attitude, that you will actively cooperate with the investigation.

“For the next period of time, you are not permitted to leave Hamel Town. You must remain reachable at all times. Starting the day after tomorrow, you are required to report here once every three days until we close the case. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Rena replied with her head lowered.

“If there is anything else you do not understand, you may ask this inquisitor. He will escort you home next,” Bishop Becket said as he looked toward Leon.

“I leave her to you, Inquisitor Set.”

“Yes, sir,” Leon saluted, watching Bishop Becket return into the building.

Bishop Becket did not look back, but as Leon stared at his retreating figure, he felt deeply unsettled.

Leon could tell that although Bishop Becket ranked below Aaron in position, when the two worked together on investigations, Bishop Becket was the one taking the lead.

Bishop Becket had shown a trace of suspicion while interrogating Sally, yet he had ended the questioning with surprising ease.

Then, all of a sudden, he had processed Rena’s release pending investigation.

Whether it was sending Sally into detention or escorting Rena home, Bishop Becket had specifically assigned Leon, which made him feel even more uneasy.

Leon then turned back and exchanged a glance with Rena, speaking in a strictly official tone.

“Let’s go, miss.”

Rena cooperated and walked onto the street with Leon.

Leon hailed a carriage, and they traveled all the way to River Mouth Village in silence.

After disembarking on the village road, they passed through the village and arrived at an uninhabited path.

Just as Rena was about to speak, Leon immediately stopped her with a look.

Leon turned his head slightly, carefully scanning their surroundings.

The visibility along the path was fairly open.

At the moment, there was no sign of anyone hiding nearby, nor any indication that they were being followed.

After entering the small woodland, Leon became even more cautious.

He did not take Rena directly to the cabin but instead detoured slightly to observe their surroundings.

Finally, upon returning to the courtyard of Rena’s home, Leon turned around and said, “For investigative purposes, we conducted a search of your residence. Some items were taken for evidence collection. Would you like me to accompany you to confirm everything? If there are any issues, you can inform me immediately.”

Rena understood Leon’s intent—he was worried that someone might be hiding inside the house to eavesdrop.

“I will follow your instructions, Inquisitor,” Rena replied carefully.

“Then let us confirm it. This is your house key,” Leon said as he returned the key to her.

Rena opened the door.

After entering the house, Leon began leading her around to inspect the rooms.

He not only checked places where someone could hide, but also examined everything for any unusual objects or markings.

After all, the Church possessed certain transcendent powers that he himself did not fully understand.

Rena’s house was not large, and there were not many belongings.

He finished checking the interior quickly, then proceeded to the backyard and cellar for another thorough inspection.

Finally, Leon circled the exterior of the house once more before roughly confirming that there was no third person nearby.

He let out a small breath of relief and returned indoors, looking at Rena.

“Then, Miss Lothark, is there anything you need to report to me?”

“No,” Rena replied softly.

“That’s good,” Leon nodded.

The two stood facing each other inside the house, momentarily speechless.

After a long while, Rena cautiously stepped closer to Leon, looked up at him, and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Is it… all over?”

“It should be,” Leon answered.

Though he still felt somewhat uneasy, the fact that Rena had been released through the pending investigation process at least meant that Aaron and Bishop Becket had abandoned the Supreme Investigation Warrant.

There was no longer any need to worry about Rena being sent to the Imperial Capital for trial.

“Miss Sally, she…” Rena asked hesitantly.

“She has been detained. I will handle it,” Leon replied with a dim expression.

Rena swallowed the rest of her words.

Leon had told her the plan from the very beginning.

She had worried, hesitated, yet in the end, she had not opposed it.

She did not want Sally to sacrifice herself in her place either, but upon learning that Sally had insisted on accepting the deal, she ultimately did not voice her opposition.

She did not want to die, nor did she want to be monitored by the Church for the rest of her life.

She wanted to live.

In the end, she was not that noble.

In this matter, she and Leon had once again become accomplices.

And this time, they had committed an unforgivable, monstrous crime—one with no excuse to be found.

“What should we do after this?” Rena asked softly.

“Do nothing. Once the case is fully closed, it should be fine,” Leon replied.

“That’s not what I meant. I mean, after everything is truly over—what should we do? What are your plans?”

Their business was already completely ruined.

The entire trade chain had been destroyed, and this territory would soon be taken over by a new underworld giant.

All of their things—including the most important Moilai Altar—had been confiscated.

After regaining her freedom, Rena found herself unexpectedly lost.

She could not imagine what she should do once everything settled.

She wanted to know Leon’s plans for the future.

“Do you still want to continue?” Leon asked softly as he looked at her.

“Mrs. Hesh said that if you still intend to continue your research, she wishes you the chance to save others. Of course, that still depends on whether you yourself have the will to continue.”

“I…” Rena hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

“Without the altar, the research can no longer continue. And I have already…”

After walking once more along the edge between life and death, she no longer had the courage to go on.

Her fear of the Church, her guilt toward Sally—everything weighed down on her until she could barely breathe.

Leon examined Rena, then nodded lightly.

“That’s fine. Then give it up. Take that money and live well. If everything truly ends, move somewhere else and forget everything that happened here. I’m sorry—for making you go through all of this.”

This business had been led by him, and the deal with Sally had also been his idea.

The money originally promised to Rena—Leon had no intention of touching it.

Rena felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head.

She abruptly looked up, staring at Leon in disbelief.

“You… are you still thinking of continuing?” Rena asked, locking her gaze onto him.

“I’m not sure,” Leon shifted his eyes into the distance.

“Maybe, if there’s an opportunity…”

The Moilai Altar, the source of magical beasts, customers, territory—everything was gone.

But that did not necessarily mean there would be no chance to resolve these issues in the future.

“Are you crazy? It’s all over! We barely escaped with our lives, and you still want to?” Rena felt it was utterly incomprehensible.

“Yes. Barely escaped with our lives. And so now, I need to find a way to live. Which means… I need money. But I have no money left,” Leon shook his head lightly.

“Don’t worry. This time, I won’t need to drag anyone else into my affairs.”

After making the deal with Sally, he had almost no money left.

What remained, he needed to keep for Melissa as promised.

He had survived, but his injuries still required a large sum of money for treatment, and Rena was no longer in a position to help him research medicine.

In just a few short days, he had lost everything he had accumulated.

He was like Sisyphus from myth—the one who had tricked the gods and was punished to endlessly push a boulder up a mountain, only for it to roll back down each time he neared the summit, rendering all his effort meaningless.

Yet Leon was not entirely without gain.

He now possessed a witch’s power himself.

Though he was not as proficient as Rena when it came to business, he at least had a basic foundation.

He had already mastered the full process—from raising magical beasts to extracting mana.

If he could gather the other conditions, he could, in fact, support the business on his own.

Of course, he did not need to cling to the mana trade.

Any line of work that could earn money was something he was willing to try.

Once, he had fully prepared himself to die.

Now, he felt that continuing to risk his life was no great matter.

Since Rena no longer had the heart to continue, he had no intention of forcing her.

At the thought of bidding Rena a complete farewell, his chest felt tight.

Yet if Rena wanted a peaceful and safe life, then the best option was to have no further entanglement with someone like him.

After thinking it over, Leon could not find anything more to say.

In the end, he nodded to Rena.

“Farewell. Take care of yourself.”

Rena stared blankly as Leon turned around with a desolate expression.

She seemed to see a thin thread connecting the two of them—one that was about to snap.

In the empty house, boundless loneliness seemed to catch up to her once more.

Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed Leon’s hand.

Leon turned back in surprise.

“I still have money!” Rena looked straight into Leon’s eyes, her lips trembling uncontrollably.

An unrestrained thought suddenly surged up from the depths of her heart, and finally burst from her mouth.

“Leon, let’s… leave this place together!”

“Together?” Leon repeated instinctively.

“Yes, together! Once everything is truly over, we’ll leave this place—together! Take the remaining money and do whatever business you want. Don’t take risks anymore! We… we…” Rena’s voice suddenly choked up.

“Let’s stop together!!”