For the first time, the sea breeze of Stone Bridge City was missing its familiar salty tang.
In its place was a strange, sweet, and foul stench, born of decay and chemical agents.
Dock No. 7 was completely sealed off. The usual mountains of fish, bustling porters, and rowdy sailors had all vanished. Only troops of grim-faced Golden Sail Commerce Association guards stood silently in the dock area.
Caroline and her party disembarked. She wore a knee-length pleated skirt and a cloak, an outfit that was both practical for travel and befitting her station.
A white-bearded, white-haired old man came forward to greet them. His Mage robe, embroidered with the pattern of a silver flask, was covered in stains, and his expression was one of utter exhaustion.
"Vice-President." He was the association's chief alchemist, Master Valerius, a figure renowned throughout the entire Duchy of Haiti.
Caroline's gaze passed over him, settling on the waters of the fishing ground, which were under heavy guard.
The water there was an ominous gray-green. A few small boats were conducting salvage operations on the surface, and the nets they hauled up were filled with shapeless, viscous masses that resembled melted wax.
"Your conclusion, Master Valerius," Caroline said, her voice devoid of warmth.
The old alchemist let out a deep sigh.
"We're powerless."
He handed her a report wrapped in oilcloth. "This isn't like any plague we know. It has no Magic aura, and the purification rites of Divine Art can only slow it, not reverse it."
Caroline accepted the report, listening in silence as he continued. "We've tried seventeen broad-spectrum anti-plague potions and thirty-three alchemical antidotes. The results were all the same."
Valerius pointed to a row of sealed glass tanks set up on the dock. Inside, diseased fish at various stages of affliction were submerged in liquid.
"It's more like… a total collapse of the lifeform itself. We've observed that the pathogen directly attacks a creature's most fundamental biological structure, causing it to disintegrate from the inside. Its life energy vanishes into thin air, which defies everything we know about the Alchemy of life."
Caroline listened in silence, her emerald eyes betraying no hint of emotion.
Barris, standing to one side, added, "We invited Mages from a nearby school of natural philosophy. They couldn't find anything unusual with the water quality, the aquatic plants, or any other part of the natural environment."
"The good news, however, is that the affliction hasn't spread to the other fishing grounds."
It had appeared from nowhere, could not be analyzed, and could not be fought.
Each word was a sledgehammer blow to the very lifeline of the Golden Sail Commerce Association.
Caroline finally averted her gaze, turning to Cohen, who stood behind her.
"Has the messenger for the Royal Capital been dispatched?"
"Yes, my lady," Cohen replied instantly. "It was sent as a top-priority express message. A Seat Mage from the Heisenberg Mage Academy is expected to arrive within a week."
'One week.'
Caroline calculated the time. 'I don't have to wait around. This is the perfect opportunity to make a trip to Newly Town.'
"Master, continue your research." Her voice had regained its usual decisiveness. "I want you to analyze every stage of this 'collapse.' Even if we can't cure it, I want to know the detailed process by which it destroys. Your funding is unlimited."
The old alchemist bowed, accepting his orders. A gleam, characteristic of a true researcher, flashed in his eyes.
Caroline turned, her skirt fluttering in the sea breeze, revealing a glimpse of her fair, toned calf.
"Cohen."
"Yes, Vice-President."
"Newly Town. How far is it from here?"
Cohen paused for a moment, but answered quickly, "By water, it's less than a three-day journey."
"Excellent." Caroline's fingertips lightly brushed an earring on her earlobe. "Before our Royal City Mage arrives, I find myself with some time to spare. I want to go and see this 'miracle-working' Pioneer Knight of yours with my own eyes."
Her tone was casual, as if she were merely arranging a trivial excursion.
"Bring along those jars of dead fish. I want to study my 'new problem' on the way."
...
In stark contrast to the suffocating oppression of Stone Bridge City, the air in Newly Town was filled with the scents of earth, sweat, and wood shavings.
Everything was new, rough, yet brimming with vitality.
In the third-floor laboratory of the Lord's Mansion, Velin was intently focused on a simple distillation apparatus. A stripping flask bubbled gently over an alcohol lamp, and viscous drops of liquid trickled down a condenser tube into the collection vessel below.
It was an Underground Worm, captured by the garrison at the edge of the swamp. Finding Magic Materials for patrons had once been their main line of work.
This time, however, it was for Barrett. This was one of the supplementary ingredients for a Magic Potion he was refining.
Velin turned off the alcohol lamp and carefully sealed the extracted Underground Worm mucus.
The next experiment was about to begin.
"Come in."
The door opened and Xiaolan entered, her head bowed. She had changed into a short-sleeved shirt and pants that allowed for easy movement, but they still failed to conceal her voluptuous figure.
"M-My lord…"
"Are you ready?" Velin asked without turning around. "Let's begin."
A blush colored Xiaolan's cheeks.
Biting her lip, she shuffled to the center of the room, where an animal hide was spread out on the floor.
She took a deep breath and, as if resigning herself to her fate, lay down.
Velin paid no mind to these trivialities. He took out a notebook he had prepared and flipped to a new page.
"Today I'll teach you the Reclining Bound Angle Pose. Put the soles of your feet together, let your knees fall open to the sides, and let them sink down naturally."
Xiaolan did as she was told.
But as she pressed her soles together and let her knees fall open, she was struck by how shameful the pose was!
As she held the position, the fabric of her shirt and pants pulled taut, creating a look that was both pathetic and strangely alluring.
After only ten minutes or so,
a faint, milky scent of sweat filled the air.
Her coarse linen shirt, already worn thin from washing, was now soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to her body and outlining her breathtaking curves.
Velin didn't notice any of this.
His attention was completely fixed on the data panel in his field of view.
[Stripping Potion: Main Ingredient: Standard Original Blood Crystal, 118.2g. Supplementary Ingredients: 20g Powdered Root of a Nascent Mandrake...]
'It went down again!'
Unable to contain his excitement, Velin continued to instruct Xiaolan, "Let's do a set of Downward-Facing Dog…"
Already utterly exhausted, Xiaolan's eyes welled up. She couldn't hold back her tears any longer, and they began to fall in large drops.
'No, I can't go on like this.'
A thought ignited within her.
'He can kill me or torture me for all I care! Even death would be better than being defiled like this by Lord Velin every day!'
She sat up abruptly, not bothering to straighten her messy clothes or hair. Lifting her tear-streaked face, she looked directly at Velin for the first time, without flinching.
"My lord!"
"I… I can't do it anymore! I'm so grateful that you rescued me from the slave traders, and I'll do anything else for you, but… but I'll never do this sort of thing again!"
Xiaolan's words were disjointed, and her tears flowed uncontrollably, like pearls from a broken string.
But Velin understood what she meant.
'Looks like the daily training has been too intense. I've worked the poor girl to tears.'