Chapter 45
“‘Hmph, a matter this time-sensitive, and you insisted on waiting until the Saintess arrived to speak?’ Qifeng angrily grabbed his robe.”
“‘Because I need the Saintess to vouch for me so I can atone for my crimes.‘”
“‘Qifeng, if people were poisoned, we’d find out soon enough even if he didn’t talk.‘”
I turned to look at the man.
“‘Turning them into dim-wits means living in harmony with nature? What kind of logic is that?‘”
“‘Lord Mister Cui believes human civilization is the destruction of nature.‘”
“‘Utterly insane.’ I left him with those words and turned to leave. Qifeng caught up, seeming to ask me with her eyes what we should do.”
“‘Fei’er, shouldn’t the priority be to first…‘”
“‘First go to the market and destroy all the green, magic-free vegetables that haven’t been sold yet? I know. We’ll go meet up with Lian Qi and Sister Aijieliya right now,’ I said hurriedly as I walked.”
“‘Mhm.’ Qifeng nodded.”
“‘I also need to tell Tristina about this, have her dispatch soldiers to go door-to-door and retrieve the vegetables that have already been sold.‘”
“‘What about the people who are already poisoned?‘”
“‘We can only quarantine them for now,’ I said, suddenly feeling a headache coming on. Why are there so many people in this world who just want to watch it burn?”
“‘As for Mister… I’ll have both the Church and the Kingdom issue a warrant for his arrest. Also, post a bounty on the Adventurer’s Guild board. I refuse to believe we can’t catch him.‘”
Half an hour later—
The last cart of poisoned green, magic-free vegetables was dumped in the square in front of the market, piling up like a mountain, waiting to be destroyed.
Lian Qi punched out, setting it all ablaze with Explosion magic.
I stood still and watched, the raging flames reflecting in my pupils.
Lian Qi, backlit by the fire, silently returned to my side.
“‘First, smear magic. Then, wait for an opportunity to promote ‘green’ vegetables untouched by magic. Finally, poison those vegetables to turn people who eat them into dim-wits. So this was their ultimate plan? I never thought the Environmental Protection wing could be so malicious,’ Lian Qi said.”
“‘Yeah…‘”
I murmured, an indescribable feeling in my heart. The so-called ‘green’ vegetables untouched by magic seemed wonderful, but in reality, they were also a conspiracy.
“‘Lian Qi, thanks to you exposing the truth about the ‘smog’ in time, you stopped the ‘magic is harmful’ conspiracy theory from spreading. Otherwise, if all these poisoned vegetables had been snatched up… the consequences would be unimaginable,’ I told her with a wry smile.”
“Lian Qi put one hand on her hip and sighed. ‘Unfortunately, many people still bought them. It’s impossible to calculate just how many pounds were sold right now, huh?‘”
“‘The price of green vegetables is five times that of normal vegetables, isn’t it? Most people would find that too expensive, right…?’ Qifeng said.”
“‘So maybe Mister Cui was specifically targeting the upper class, trying to turn them into dim-wits. That would be a more effective way to destroy a country, right? He probably preyed on their desire to be healthier and live longer,’ Lian Qi said.”
Qifeng covered her mouth in shock. “‘Eek, how sinister.‘”
I felt a deep sense of helplessness and powerlessness. I slapped my forehead. “This is terrible. This is just… terrible.”
Just then, I felt a pair of warm hands rest on my shoulders. I looked up. Sister Aijieliya was looking at me with a loving gaze.
“‘Little sister, you don’t need to worry. Didn’t you give me a sample of the poison before? I’ve been researching it these past few days. Once I work with the other magicians, we will definitely develop an antidote as soon as possible.‘”
I smiled. “‘Sister, with you here, I feel relieved.‘”
Unexpectedly, Qifeng also joined in, placing her hand on my other shoulder, looking at me with great seriousness, and saying slowly: “Fei’er, this is all Mister Cui’s fault. You don’t need to worry. The entire Church, from top to bottom, will do everything in its power to capture him.”
I met her gaze. Seeing her expression, I thought she was about to tell me something incredible.
“‘Mm. I refuse to believe we can’t catch him.‘”
“‘And the Druid organization’s other branch, the Animal Protection wing… they must also be connected to the Demon King, right? Arrest them too,’ Lian Qi said.”
Now I’m sure Mister Cui is also one of that person’s subordinates. Looking at it now, does the Druid’s Environmental Protection wing alone have three members of the ‘Holy Twelve’ pulling the strings?
And that Rain Caller who manipulated the ‘smog’.
They still haven’t surfaced.
Just at this moment!
Looking past Qifeng, I suddenly saw a dark shadow leap onto a rooftop!
I quickly told everyone to look. It was a werewolf, standing on the roof, dancing gracefully.
“‘I’m afraid it’s really lost its mind,’1 Lian Qi whispered.”
“‘Who’s going to… get it down?’ I put my hand to my forehead, unable to watch.”
Sister gave a casual wave, summoning a whirlwind that blew the werewolf off the roof and slammed it against a wall.
While the werewolf was immobilized, several church knights rushed over and tied it up.
This was the consequence of eating the poisoned green vegetables. Not only did their appearance turn bestial, but their intelligence also regressed. I watched the werewolf get sent off for treatment and containment. Just then, an uncle wearing a monocle ran towards me, holding a thick register.
The market manager, perhaps?
He spoke up: “‘Your Holiness, I just checked the trade records and found that this evening, a carriage full of green, magic-free vegetables left for Versailles.‘”
“‘Versailles…?‘”
I was surprised. That was the place Qifeng took me to arrest Bishop Rodrigo for corruption a long time ago.
“‘The royal capital is several hours away from Versailles. That carriage shouldn’t have arrived yet—’ I cast a pleading look at Sister Aijieliya.”
Sister nodded. “‘I’ll take you to chase them. We can still make it.‘”
There was no time to lose. Sister waved her starry-sky robe, enveloping us. Suddenly, I felt myself being pushed from behind by a fierce wind and carried away.
Sister’s teleportation magic hadn’t given me a great experience in the past.
Before, I’d always take out a hair tie and tie up my hair first, to avoid it getting all messed up by the wind. But lately, it’s always been in a rush, so I haven’t been able to bother, and I’ve gradually gotten used to it.
After a short while, I just heard Sister say: “Spotted the carriage!”
The teleportation magic stopped. The moment my feet hit the ground, I saw Lian Qi take a few steps forward, aim at the carriage full of green vegetables, and throw a punch from a distance—
If the cracks from Explosion magic were shattering the night, then the ensuing explosion was lighting it up.
Amidst the flames, the driver scrambled and rolled away, completely confused. He probably thought he was being robbed by bandits, right?
And with that, the last matter of the night was finally resolved, right? The moment I relaxed, a wave of exhaustion hit me, and I couldn’t help but lean my weight against Sister.
Anyone is fine, just let me lean on them
On one hand, I was a bit dizzy from the teleportation magic. On the other hand, I was really tired tonight.
Footnotes
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怕是真的朱了智 (pà shì zhēn de zhū le zhì): This is a likely typo for 弱了智 (ruò le zhì), meaning “became weak-minded/dim-witted.” ↩