What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

On the eastern side of Arend Island, inside the Viscount Arend Estate.

After finishing a letter alone in the study, Adele placed it into an envelope and was about to seal it when she suddenly thought of something and stopped. She cautiously called toward the doorway,

“Miss Petra?”

A series of footsteps approached, and a short-haired woman dressed in an Inquisitor’s uniform appeared at the entrance. Standing at attention, she replied,

“What is it, Young Lady?”

Inquisitor Petra was one of Leon’s subordinates. She had been assigned to the Inquisition as a Lower-Ranking Inquisitor to assist Leon with various tasks.

Originally, she had been stationed at the prison, primarily looking after Sally whenever Leon was away. Shortly after Sally’s ”death,” she had been reassigned under the pretext of “protecting an important witness” and given responsibility for safeguarding Adele, the daughter of Viscount Arend.

Besides her, two of Leon’s other subordinates were assisting with the assignment, while Petra’s specific role was to serve as Adele’s personal attendant, making her the one with the most frequent contact.

“I’d like to send a letter. It’s meant for a representative from the merchant consortium I previously invested with. Do you... need to inspect it first?” Adele asked.

“Allow me to examine it briefly.”

Petra stepped forward, accepted the letter, carefully reviewed its contents, then nodded and returned it.

“There are no issues.”

“So I may send it now?” Adele took the letter back and prepared to seal it.

Sending a letter from Arend Island required paying twenty Fenni to a local fisherman to deliver it by boat to the harbor relay station in Caster Town. That process alone took half a day, so letters had to be sent as early as possible.

“We’ll deliver it on your behalf immediately. You may continue your work here,” Petra said as she took the letter and walked outside. She then called over one of the companions guarding the first floor and assigned him the delivery task.

Watching Petra leave, Adele sat back down and let out a long sigh.

The people Leon had placed around her followed his orders while maintaining a very delicate balance in their attitude toward her.

On one hand, they monitored her continuously. Whenever Adele stayed home, they guarded the estate. Whenever she went out, they accompanied her. Even the letters she sent were reviewed beforehand to ensure they contained nothing resembling a report to the authorities or leaked confidential information.

On the other hand, setting aside their surveillance duties, they were reasonably courteous toward her. At the very least, they never invaded her privacy while she was working or resting. Whenever she stayed alone in her room, they were willing to leave only a single guard outside the door.

Just as Leon had said, in many ways they resembled staff she had hired herself. Whenever Adele asked someone to run an errand or find something, they would carry out the task in a strictly professional manner.

The only condition was that it could not interfere with their surveillance duties.

Overall, it came with both advantages and disadvantages.

She enjoyed less freedom than before, but the attendants surrounding her now were far more impressive than back when she could only afford a novice guard like Hayley.

It even reminded her a little of the days when her grandfather was still alive.

“For the sake of those five hundred thousand Fenni, I’ll put up with those minor inconveniences! Right now, the most important thing is rebuilding the family Grandfather worked so hard to establish!”

Adele secretly clenched her fists, filled with determination and burning enthusiasm.

The five hundred thousand Fenni Leon had lent her had allowed her to glimpse a sliver of hope for revitalizing the territory.

Naturally, she didn’t believe her own abilities or opportunities could compare to those of her grandfather. Expecting to invest five hundred thousand Fenni, multiply it sixtyfold into thirty million to repay the gambling debts, and even restore the Viscount Arend family’s territory afterward was simply unrealistic.

But compared to the utter despair she had experienced before, when she couldn’t attract any investment whatsoever, things were already infinitely better.

Relying on the connections her grandfather had left behind and the remaining industries within the territory, if the five hundred thousand Fenni were invested wisely, they could still produce steady and considerable returns.

As long as she could prove that her business model worked, she’d have a chance to attract even more investment.

Although she didn’t particularly enjoy dealing with Leon, if her achievements could persuade him to invest even more, that would undoubtedly be the ideal outcome for her.

Just then, she faintly heard the sound of bells ringing from far away.

Judging by the direction and volume, the bells seemed to be coming from the western side of the island—from the docks.

Moreover, that particular pattern of bell ringing was normally used to call for outside assistance whenever pirates attacked.

“Pirates?”

Adele was completely baffled.

Pirates had virtually never operated in these nearby waters.

The last time suspicious pirates had supposedly appeared...

Had been those gang members Leon claimed were hunting him down.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, Adele’s expression changed.

She shot to her feet.

Rushing out of the room, she opened the door to find Petra whispering with another guard in the hallway, both wearing grave expressions.

“Young Lady...” Petra immediately looked toward her.

“What happened?” Adele asked seriously.

“We’re not certain yet. We need to verify the situation first. Please remain in your room while we ensure your safety,” Petra answered in an official tone.

Hearing that did nothing to reassure Adele.

She immediately turned around, grabbed a spyglass from the study, lifted her skirt, and hurried toward the staircase.

“Young Lady.”

Petra reached out, intending to stop her.

“I’m not going outside. I just want to check from the rooftop. Isn’t that allowed? Don’t you want to know what’s happening out there yourselves?”

Holding up the spyglass, Adele questioned her in return.

Petra blinked.

Eventually, she lowered her hand.

“Very well. Allow me to accompany you.”

After leaving the other guard downstairs, Petra escorted Adele up to the rooftop terrace.

Adele raised the spyglass and began scanning the horizon.

Very soon, she spotted rows of sails appearing across the northern sea.

This time, several large armed commercial cargo ships had arrived.

One glance was enough to tell they were vessels capable of sailing all the way to the Eastern Continent. Adele could vaguely make out the black cannon ports along their sides.

The armed ships sailed directly toward Arend Island and appeared to be in full combat readiness.

Again!?

Experiencing the same shock she had felt a month earlier, Adele slowly lowered the spyglass in a daze.

A moment later, she turned toward Petra with a pitiful expression.

“Just... how many people has he offended? Why does it seem like so many people want to kill him?”

Forget investing.

If this island was ever going to be safe...

That man needed to get as far away from it as possible!

...

On the western side of Arend Island.

Leon personally stood inside the reinforced lighthouse, peering through a narrow gap left in the temporarily boarded-up window with a spyglass.

There were six large armed commercial cargo ships in total.

They maintained a subtle distance from Arend Island’s docks.

They made no attempt to land.

Nor did they show any intention of leaving.

Instead, they simply blocked the surrounding waters, preventing any other ships from entering or departing.

Leon knew perfectly well that these were Johnny’s ships.

Ever since Johnny’s fleet had departed once again from the Earl’s harbor, the informants Leon had stationed along the coastline had continuously relayed updates ahead of the fleet’s arrival.

Johnny’s destination...

Had been Arend Island all along.

Once Johnny returned to the Empire and contacted the Earl’s remaining forces, he was bound to learn from them that the Earl had died by Leon’s hand.

Given that, it was only natural for him to arrive in such overwhelming force.

“He has absolutely no intention of coming ashore...” Leon sighed.

Just as he had expected.

Johnny had come, but unlike the Earl, he wasn’t marching directly toward the fortress on the island.

That was Leon’s home ground.

Instead, Johnny remained at sea.

Because the sea...

Was Johnny’s home ground.

Under those circumstances, trying to sail out with the handful of ships Leon possessed and challenge a former naval commander like Johnny in a naval battle would amount to suicide.

That said, Johnny couldn’t maintain the blockade forever.

Leon had already ordered the alarm bell to be rung.

Ships from Caster Town’s harbor would eventually arrive to investigate the situation.

If Johnny were mistaken for pirates, all he would accomplish was attracting the real navy.

Nevertheless, Johnny’s refusal to land clearly showed that he was already highly wary of Leon.

After all...

The Earl had already provided a perfect example.

Leon understood clearly.

The current Johnny was probably even more dangerous than the Earl had been.

His successful assassination of the Earl had been the result of numerous favorable factors stacked together.

The hidden second-tier Witch’s Blessings possessed by him and Rena...

The Doppelgangers and Level-Three Magical Beasts inside the Labyrinth...

All of those had existed entirely outside the Earl’s knowledge.

On top of that, Leon had accurately exploited the Earl’s weakness.

By kidnapping Ophelia, he had given the Earl only a single day to prepare, leaving him time to gather only a limited force.

There had also been a considerable amount of luck involved.

Johnny hadn’t been there.

If Johnny had stood beside the Earl...

Leon probably wouldn’t even have attempted that plan.

Its chance of success would have been virtually zero.

Most importantly...

Both the Earl and Bishop Beckett still viewed Leon as the man they had once easily cornered in Hamel Town, driving him into complete desperation.

Compared to the Great Witches and the powerful western nobles the Earl normally dealt with...

Leon had barely qualified as a real opponent in the Earl’s eyes.

The Earl ordering Bishop Beckett to poison Sally before delivering his final ultimatum was essentially the same tactic they had used before.

Back then, Bishop Beckett had forced Leon into choosing between Sally and Rena before exposing him inside the Inquisition.

At that time, Leon had compromised.

So they naturally assumed he would compromise again.

What they had never expected...

Was that Leon was no longer the same man he had once been.

It wasn’t simply because he had accumulated enough strength to stop yielding.

Weiss and Sally had merely been the catalyst.

Ultimately...

He was fighting for himself.

Everything he had accumulated had revived the very first desire born within him when he arrived in this world—a desire that reality had nearly crushed into nothing.

As a transmigrator...

He should pursue an extraordinary life.

However, now that he faced Johnny, he still had to remain cautious.

Johnny had almost certainly obtained extensive information from the Earl’s death.

Most of Leon’s hidden trump cards were probably already known.

And unlike the Earl...

Johnny would never underestimate the man who had killed him.

The Earl had enjoyed a long period of stability and hadn’t personally fought life-and-death battles for many years.

Johnny, on the other hand, had remained on the front lines all along.

When it came to individual combat ability...

Killing him directly would likely prove even more difficult.

Suddenly, a Secret God Sigil materialized in midair, facing directly toward the lighthouse.

Leon immediately retreated beside the window.

It was the Secret God Teleportation Sigil used for the Divine Art of Teleportation.

Like Bishop Beckett’s, it could transmit voices.

At the second tier, however...

It could also serve as a medium for long-range sniping.

After waiting a moment, Leon cautiously called out,

“Greetings, Mr. Johnny.”

A moment later, Johnny’s voice came from the other side of the sigil, gritting his teeth in fury.

“You little bastard! You fucking little bastard! You son of a bitch...”

“You actually fucking killed the Earl!?”