What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

No, wait. First, I need to sort out the situation…

Weiss once again forced herself to calm down.

The petrification symptoms caused by the Cursed Blood curse could disguise themselves as a sculpture because only the parts belonging to a living organism would petrify. Even fingernails and hair would transform into a mineral-like texture.

But the clothes on a person’s body would not change.

In other words, she would become a statue wearing ordinary fabric clothing. No matter how one looked at it, that would be far too strange. If discovered, it would instead attract the attention of the inspectors.

Normally, even if sculptures wore clothing, the garments should be carved as part of the sculpture itself. Reproducing the texture of clothing was part of a sculptor’s craftsmanship.

Using the Creator’s Blessing to alter the texture of clothing would not work either. Once petrified and unconscious, she would no longer be able to maintain the power of the Blessing.

There was also risk in wearing clothes beneath the white cloth. Even if covered, some part of the body would still definitely need to be exposed to convince inspectors that it was a sculpture. Otherwise, they would certainly lift the white cloth for closer inspection.

If clothing became visible, or if the cloth slipped off, either situation would easily expose the problem.

In the end, increasing risk merely to preserve a tiny bit of modesty simply was not worth it.

In other words, if they intended to use this plan, the most reasonable conclusion was that not wearing clothes would be best. Nowadays, nude sculptures pursuing the beauty of the human body were extremely common.

When Weiss thought this far, she looked toward Leon opposite her, yet her gaze still wavered visibly.

Even if the white cloth covering her inside the carriage made it unlikely for others to see her, before that, the one responsible for repainting her body, draping the white cloth over her, and preparing all the disguises could only be Leon.

Even if she were in a petrified state, that would still undoubtedly be her own naked body.

Under such circumstances, she would only be able to helplessly allow this man to handle her however he wished…

Merely imagining the scene made it impossible for her to remain calm.

How had she failed to consider something this important just now?

No, rather than failing to think of it, it was more accurate to say she had deliberately avoided thinking about it.

In order to discard all those chaotic thoughts, she had deliberately suppressed her awareness of Leon as a man, constantly reminding herself to think with absolute rationality. The result of overcorrecting like this was that, when she actually should have exercised some emotional awareness, she instead overlooked it entirely.

To put it bluntly, this could not even be considered her usual state. Forcing herself to ignore how much she cared about Leon fundamentally only proved that she cared in the first place.

Actually, from the very moment she considered this plan, she should have realized this issue. She should have temporarily set this method aside and thought of other options first, only reconsidering it if no better solution existed.

Yet now she had personally proposed it herself, and had done so with such absolute certainty. Trying to retract it now and suggest other methods instead would probably be difficult.

“Weiss, your courage and determination are truly admirable. I’ll learn from you as well. Please rest assured—I swear that while making preparations, I absolutely won’t harbor any improper thoughts, nor will I make any unnecessary moves.” Leon looked at Weiss with clear eyes and solemnly declared.

“……” Upon hearing this, the heart Weiss had been hanging onto finally died completely.

Now she truly was riding a tiger and unable to dismount.

After holding it in for quite some time, she could only stare back at Leon lifelessly and answer expressionlessly:

“Mm, thank you.”

……

The next morning, Southeastern Major Diocese, Holy Healing Monastery Hospital.

Holding a bouquet of flowers, Leon entered a hospital room. Bishop Beckett, who was seated in a chair, put down the notebook in his hands and looked up.

“How are you feeling, Commander Beckett?” Leon casually placed the flowers aside and asked with concern.

After being injured during yesterday’s operation, Bishop Beckett had continued leading the search until nighttime. Only after receiving direct orders from his superiors did he finally enter the Holy Healing Monastery for examination and remain here to rest until the next day.

From every perspective, Leon needed to visit him before leaving the diocese.

“I really didn’t want others seeing me in this miserable state.” Bishop Beckett gave Leon a self-deprecating smile and showed him his heavily bandaged upper arm. “The werewolf’s claw wound is only superficial, but the healers insisted I stay hospitalized for observation. They said the wound might contain poison or heretical blood infiltration, so they need to monitor it.”

“That definitely does sound serious. If Witch blood got into the wound, then the problem would be no small matter.” Leon feigned concern. “Did the Holy Healing Monastery detect anything?”

Visiting Bishop Beckett was not merely a formality. It was also meant to probe how far Beckett’s investigation had progressed.

“At present, the Church has no means of detecting Witch blood during its incubation period. Otherwise, they could simply test blood to determine a Witch’s identity.” Bishop Beckett said helplessly. “Still, the chances that I’ve actually been infected are basically nonexistent. Staying here is just wasting time.”

“What makes you so certain?” Leon asked.

“If poison or Witch blood had been on the werewolf’s claws, I should’ve already suffered symptoms by now.” Bishop Beckett shrugged before suddenly lowering his voice. “Speaking of which, the Earl already told you?”

“Yes. He seemed very depressed.” Leon lowered his voice as well. “Did you get blamed because of this matter?”

“Pointless reprimands only crush the enthusiasm of subordinates. The Earl would never do such a thing. The problem is that the plan failed. Everything we prepared ended in complete ruin.” Bishop Beckett sighed. “By the way, the Earl told me you weren’t at the Club at the time. Where did you go?”

“I heard the bell ringing, so I went out to see what was happening.” Leon answered briefly.

“Did you happen to run into anyone you knew?” Bishop Beckett asked.

“No.” Leon shook his head.

“And you didn’t notice any suspicious people or events either?” Bishop Beckett continued questioning.

Leon shook his head again.

“After letting that werewolf escape, we completely lost all leads.” Bishop Beckett sighed once more.

“The Church mobilized everyone and searched all night, yet still found nothing.” Leon said.

“That werewolf appeared too suddenly. He most likely has a disguised identity within the diocese. But carrying Weiss Rogers around won’t make movement easy for him. As long as we continue thoroughly searching the city, there’s still a chance.” Bishop Beckett said.

From the sound of it, the Earl’s faction still had no leads at all.

Still, Leon did not dare relax his vigilance because of that. What Bishop Beckett told him did not necessarily represent everything they knew. It was even possible they were deliberately misleading him.

“Does the Earl have any further instructions?” Leon continued asking.

“Pursue Weiss Rogers at all costs. That’s the only order.” Bishop Beckett replied.

“Is there anything you need me to do?” Leon proactively asked.

“This task doesn’t require your involvement for now. You still have your own responsibilities, don’t you? Several surrounding counties are all depending on your shipments right now. Your supply line is extremely important to the Earl’s business. You should return early and handle affairs within your own territory.” A smile appeared on Bishop Beckett’s lips.

“You’re absolutely right.”

“You should go then. Finish your arrangements as soon as possible and make preparations early. Leaving the city now probably means lining up until nighttime.” Bishop Beckett reminded him.

“Understood. Then I won’t disturb your rest any longer.” After saying farewell to Bishop Beckett, Leon left the hospital room.

Bishop Beckett silently watched Leon’s figure disappear beyond the doorway. Several seconds passed before the smile gradually faded from his face.

He once again picked up the notebook he had been reading earlier and reopened it.

Inside was a newly inserted slip of paper listing several names.

Leon Sate’s name was prominently among them.

This was a list Bishop Beckett had requested someone retrieve from Church records. The five people listed there had all attended the Holy Spirit Festival and also possessed the Blessing known as “Time Acceleration.”

From the werewolf’s bizarre movement trajectory earlier, Bishop Beckett was almost certain the opponent had used the Blessing ability of Time Acceleration.

Now, any individual with even the slightest possibility would be thoroughly investigated.

Two of the names had already been crossed out, with notes beside them detailing their whereabouts after three o’clock yesterday—in other words, their alibis.

Beside Leon’s name, Bishop Beckett silently lifted his pen and wrote a single word:

“None.”

……

An hour later, the disguised Weiss cautiously walked out of the hotel while wearing a veil and carefully observing her surroundings. Taking advantage of a moment when no patrols were nearby, she swiftly boarded a carriage.

The carriage interior was spacious, yet still felt extremely crowded.

This was because four female body sculptures of varying poses and appearances were neatly arranged inside. Some were completely nude, others half-nude, all carved from white marble.

Besides the sculptures, there were also several oil paintings covered in black cloth. These paintings likewise mostly depicted the human body.

Leon, who had gone through great effort to purchase all these items, was sitting directly among the sculptures. He nodded toward Weiss.

“So these are the statues you’re using to slip through unnoticed?” As the carriage slowly traveled down the road, Weiss carefully found an empty spot to sit and closely examined the marble sculptures.

“Yeah. They cost quite a bit too.” Leon casually replied.

“The craftsmanship really does look expensive. I didn’t expect you to buy so many.” Weiss blinked. “How much did you spend?”

“I bought them directly from an art exhibition gallery at an auction house. Altogether, a bit over five hundred thousand.” Leon answered.

“You spent that much?” Weiss was stunned. Spending five hundred thousand so casually just for a small disguise was truly excessive. Even for her, that amount could not be considered insignificant.

“The truly famous masterpieces each cost over a million. The ones here are merely works from somewhat well-known craftsmen. This is already considered reasonable. I needed to ensure the craftsmanship was detailed enough.” Leon explained.

“You brought that much money with you?” Weiss sounded surprised.

“There’s a Church bank in the Southeastern Major Diocese. I stored some money and gold there beforehand, so I could withdraw it here. You know I earned quite a bit through investments in Hamel Town.” Leon answered.

“Those were merely money laundering operations, weren’t they?” Weiss immediately said.

“You figured it out?” Leon was not particularly surprised. Since Weiss had chosen to join them, she would eventually learn about his business anyway.

“It seems I won’t need to worry about research funding anymore.” Weiss nodded, half-jokingly and half-seriously, before once again observing the sculptures. Their craftsmanship truly was exquisite. “These sculptures do seem to share a very similar style.”

Every sculpture possessed beautiful features and alluring figures.

“I picked them according to my personal tastes, choosing the type I prefer. They also resemble you somewhat, making it easier for you to blend in among them.” Leon explained. “Then let’s begin.”