Ch 302: This Isn’t Jail, It’s A Private Suite!

Acting immediately, Phia drew everyone who had gathered at the gate that morning. Bal and Grey took the portraits Phia gave them and went on a series of home visits.

“Hello, are you Mr. Glenville?”

Bal knocked on the door of the first house on their list. It wasn’t Glenville who answered the door, but an Old Woman.

“Who are you?”

The Old Woman looked at Bal and Grey, her face full of confusion.

“We are Adventurers sent by the Adventurer’s Guild for a home visit. Is Mr. Glenville not home?”

“He, he went out with a group of people this morning and hasn’t returned yet.”

“What is your relationship to Mr. Glenville?”

“I am his Grandmother.”

“I see, sorry to bother you.”

“No, no, it’s fine. An old woman like me still has people willing to chat with me, I’m already satisfied.”

“Doesn’t Mr. Glenville usually talk to you?”

“Sigh, he was quite sensible when he was a child. After growing up, he always wanted to make a name for himself, but he didn’t have the talent or ability, so he’s been living a muddled life ever since.”

“Speaking of which, the influenza was pretty serious a while ago, how was your family’s situation?”

“The influenza, I did get it a while ago. At that time, I really thought I was going to meet my old partner. Unexpectedly, that Glenville kid suddenly gave me a bottle of medicine to drink, saying it was a miracle cure. I drank it, and I was better the next day.”

“Do you know the source of the medicine? Or is the bottle it came in still around?”

“Yes, yes, I’ll get it for you.”

The Old Woman went inside to look for the medicine bottle. After a while, she brought out an ordinary Glass Bottle.

“I thought this bottle was quite nice, so I kept it.”

“Could I borrow it for two days? I’ll definitely return it to you.”

“Hahaha, take it.”

“Thank you.”

After bowing to the Old Woman, Bal left with the bottle. He walked towards the door of the house Grey had visited, and Grey had just finished his conversation as well.

“How did it go?”

Bal patted Grey’s shoulder, and Grey nodded.

“I made a discovery, how about you?”

“He wasn’t there, but I got the bottle.”

Bal handed the bottle to Grey. Grey picked up the bottle and took only one look to confirm it was Nia’s bottle.

“So sure?”

“Yes, look here.”

Grey turned the bottle upside down to show Bal the bottom.

“This is a mark Nia specifically requested when she bought it, in case someone used a similar bottle to hold fake medicine and try to get compensation from Nia.”

“Nia is quite thoughtful.”

“Yeah.”

“What about your discovery?”

Bal put the bottle away into his Magic Bag.

“According to the person I visited, they hadn’t bought any miracle cure.”

“Did you show them the portrait?”

“Yes, it was the Mistress’s son. He usually does odd jobs to make ends meet, but he recently received a sum of unexplained money.”

“Looks like he received Black Money.”

“Probably.”

“Let’s go, let’s continue visiting other people’s houses.”

“Okay.”

The Two People continued their visits from day to night.

————

As for Phia, she was also taking action to clear Nia’s name.

“Finally, add the yellow leaf flower root. Wait for the potion to turn blue, then pour it out to cool… Okay, it’s done!”

Phia successfully replicated Nia’s influenza miracle cure using Nia’s alchemy notes. She put the potion into a bottle and sealed it.

“Time to find a patient to test it on.”

Phia took the Medicine Bottle and went out. Using magic, she sensed everyone in town until she found a Townsperson with influenza.

“Hello, is anyone home?”

Phia knocked on the door. A girl about ten years old opened it.

“Who are you?”

The girl looked at Phia timidly. Seeing this, Phia immediately explained.

“I’m from the Adventurer’s Guild. Just call me Fei’er. I heard someone in your family has influenza, so I brought medicine for a home visit.”

“Fei’er… Sister?”

“You can call me that. What’s your name?”

“I… I’m Ailena.”

“Little Ailena, who is sick in your family?”

Phia gave a gentle smile, which made Ailena feel less guarded.

“My… my Father.”

“Can you take me to see your Father?”

“…Yes.”

After a moment of hesitation, Ailena took Phia to her Father’s bedroom.

“Father, a Doctor Sister is here to treat you.”

“A Doctor? Our family… can’t… can’t afford a Doctor…”

Phia went to the side of the man lying sick in bed and held his hand.

“I’m a Doctor sent by the Adventurer’s Guild. The Adventurer’s Guild is covering the fees. Don’t worry.”

“I see… cough… thank you for your trouble…”

Phia placed her hand on the man’s forehead, just like she did when treating Philia. Then she helped the man sit up and gave him the medicine.

“After drinking the medicine, you’ll be fine in a day or two.”

“Thank you…”

“You’re welcome.”

Phia left the house. Before leaving, she placed a Barrier around the house that would alert her if a specific target approached – the two newcomers she was wary of.

————

What happened after Nia was taken away?

Because Bal stepped in, and the members of the Self-Defense Force respected Bal, they didn’t make things difficult for Nia.

“Miss Nia, we heard you made and sold fake medicine. Is this true?”

“Wow, you actually believe such low-level nonsense? I, Nia, have lived here for a year. Go ask around at the Alchemist Guild, who doesn’t know of Nia’s skills? If I really wanted to make money, would I need to sell fake medicine? This would not only implicate my Older Brother but also ruin my reputation. Even if I starved to death, I would never do such a thing!”

Seeing Nia getting more and more excited, the interrogators were at a loss. On the one hand, the High Command of the Self-Defense Force demanded a thorough investigation, and on the other hand, Bal’s terrifying Fighting Strength meant they didn’t dare to offend either side.

“Miss Nia, please calm down. We have taken note of what you said. Do you remember who you sold the medicine to?”

“Let me think… Could you get me a pen and paper? I’ll write it down for you.”

“Okay.”

The interrogators immediately provided pen and paper. Nia wrote down the names of everyone she could remember who had bought her miracle cure.

“Okay, that’s everyone I can think of. By the way, my Niece also drank my medicine, and she’s perfectly fine now. If my medicine really had a problem, would I dare give it to my niece? My brother would beat me to death.”

“I understand. Please stay here for a while. By the way, what would you like for lunch?”

“Um… If possible, could you contact my Maid to send me food? She cooks better.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you for your trouble.”

Nia returned to her cell. It was called a cell, but it was more like a hotel room. After all, nobody in the Self-Defense Force dared to provoke Bal.

————

The next day, Bal went to the Council Hall.

“Councilman Sheffield, I need your help with something.”

As soon as Bal opened the door to Sheffield’s Office, he got straight to the point. Seeing Bal’s serious expression, Sheffield dispensed with pleasantries.

“Is it about Miss Nia?”

“Yes, you should know about it by now.”

“Yes, the High Command of the Self-Defense Force asked me yesterday to order Nia’s execution, but I didn’t allow it.”

“Oh? Interesting. Who exactly came to say this?”

“Oh dear, I’m old, I can’t remember. By the way, please get the first file box in the first row of the cabinet to your right. There’s a document I issued to the Adventurer’s Guild inside; take it back with you.”

“Um… alright.”

Bal retrieved the file box as Sheffield instructed. Opening it, he found it contained the Secretary’s record of meetings. Bal smiled knowingly and secretly hid the record before handing the file box back to Sheffield.

“Councilman Sheffield, the files here are too disorganized, could you please help me find it?”

“Okay.”

Councilman Sheffield casually picked up a document and handed it to Bal. Bal glanced at it; it was a recent registration form for new residents.

“I understand, I’ll go back then.”

“Hehehe, goodbye, young man.”

“Take care of yourself too, drink plenty of hot water.”

“Will do, will do.”

Bal left the Council Hall and met up with Grey.

“How did it go?”

“Very fruitful. It seems Sheffield also attaches great importance to this matter, although he didn’t explicitly say so.”

“What’s the next plan?”

“Let’s go to the Self-Defense Force headquarters. I want to see which son of a bitch dares to mess with me.”