Just consider it as cultivating a potential asset!
Aililan had someone take the Bloodstained Girl away.
In the carriage, perhaps due to the jostling, the Bloodstained Girl, Taniya, briefly regained consciousness and, weak as ever, said, “Take me to a doctor.”
Aililan: “I will.”
Taniya: “I don’t trust you.”
Aililan snorted coldly, “You’re on the verge of death. You have no choice.”
Taniya: “Find Doctor Iheira, the potion doctor…”
With those words, she fainted again.
Aililan waved toward the outside of the carriage, and Arkernard immediately came to the carriage door.
“Saintess, what are your orders?”
“Do you know Iheira?”
“Uh?” Arkernard hesitated for a moment, then, after thinking hard, finally said, “I just recalled—she seems to be an unlicensed black doctor.”
“Go find her.”
“Yes, milady.”
There was no need for Arkernard to question anything.
As long as Aililan gave the word, wherever she told him to go, he would simply obey.
The carriage and horses entered the city gates smoothly, then, after a few turns, entered an underground chamber through a hidden passage.
Atester City was a city that had suffered from many wars, having been destroyed and rebuilt several times throughout its history.
People rebuilt over the ruins again and again, and in the end, who knows how many underground chambers were buried beneath this land.
From inside the door, a woman dressed head-to-toe in black gauze emerged. She glanced at the unconscious Taniya and, grumbling, muttered, “Damn, it’s this pauper again.”
Aililan tossed a bag of Gold Coins over. “Treat her. Put it on my tab.”
Iheira’s face lit up with delight.
She had Taniya moved onto the bed.
Aililan had expected a traditional diagnostic procedure, but instead, she frowned as she watched Iheira produce a number of transparent tubes, inserting them into various points on Taniya’s body like IV needles.
Then, one bottle after another of unknown magical potion was injected into Taniya through those tubes.
Aililan could distinctly sense that among those forbidden Prohibition Elixirs, there was a strong aura from the Lava Lands, and even traces of Demon blood mixed in.
It was said that what gets added to the potions from all those underground workshops was only ever truly known by the doctors who concocted them.
But without exception, this strictly prohibited potion-making technique carried immense risk.
Benefit: enhances the body and physical strength.
Downside: carries a tremendous risk of contracting Magic Disease.
Aililan saw that some Demon scales had already appeared on Taniya’s back.
With the magical potion being injected,
Even in her unconscious state, Taniya’s body began to twitch involuntarily.
Aililan stepped forward and said, “Doctor Iheira, you can’t keep giving her these potions. Otherwise, Taniya’s body will fall apart sooner or later.”
Iheira just snorted with laughter and retorted, “Hahaha… What a joke. Tell me, have you ever seen a Mercenary with a happy ending?”
“But if Taniya continues to use magical potions, she’ll probably get Magic Disease before she turns thirty and end up a Half-Demon—neither human nor monster.”
“This one—hmm?”
“You may call me Aililan.”
“Alright, Miss Aililan, but first you need to realize something. Even living to thirty is a luxury for many Mercenaries.”
“Why?” Aililan asked.
“It’s simple. Mercenaries aren’t like those Noble Scions who can freely inherit martial arts, nor are they like Adventurers blessed with natural talent. From the moment they enter this business, they’re dancing with death.”
Iheira shook a purple-black potion in her hand, smirking as if tempting Aililan to fall into corruption.
“And one of the fastest ways to boost a Mercenary’s strength is by injecting Prohibition Elixirs, using ingredients from exotic monsters and mighty beasts to enhance their bodies and power.”
“So.”
“Miss.”
“Do you crave strength?”
Aililan gave Iheira, swathed in black gauze, a second look, but found neither her figure nor her appearance anything special, so she certainly did not crave it!
Aililan closed her eyes slightly and snorted coldly, “Just do your job.”
Iheira seemed reluctant to give up, still grinning mischievously, “For just two Silver Coins, I can give your body a check-up, and then brew a potion tailored to you. You could have immense power.”
“……”
Aililan closed her eyes completely.
She no longer bothered to argue with Iheira.
She was gaining a deeper and deeper understanding of every facet of this city. It all counted as experience for her future rule.
As for the widespread use of Prohibition Elixirs among Mercenaries?
Aililan recalled that old saying again.
An unknown pawn.
Or famed across the land?
Aililan found a seat and sat down, pondering, “Should I, in the future, abolish Prohibition Elixirs and fully ban unlicensed black doctors from using them?”
She smiled bitterly and shook her head.
Because the idea was good, but reality was cruel.
If she strictly banned Prohibition Elixirs, Mercenaries would just go to other cities.
And Mercenaries, as a legal third force, were an important part of a city’s wartime strength. If too many left, it would be a disaster.
“If the authorities intervened.”
“Promoted regularization?”
“That doesn’t seem realistic either. Underground potion dealers will always be cheaper than you.”
Just as she was deep in thought,
Knight Arkernard came hurrying over.
“Saintess, Captain Renata just sent word—some City Guards left the city and headed toward Morion Village.”
“Morion Village? I paid seven hundred Gold Coins to hire a seventy-man intermediate Mercenary Company there. How many City Guards went?”
“Around one hundred and twenty.”
“That’s not enough. Too few of them went.”
“You mean—?”
“Shortly, in my name, take two thousand Gold Coins and hire two more intermediate Mercenary Companies. Be sure to keep all seventy of those guards occupied over there.”
“Good idea. We’ll wipe out those one hundred and twenty guards in one go.”
“Arkernard, what are you thinking! The City Guards are, after all, the Church’s men. There’s no reason to slaughter our own. You only need to keep them trapped.”
“I still don’t understand your intentions.”
Aililan took a deep breath and explained, “Do you know the Balance? When one side tips, you have to keep adding weight to achieve equilibrium.”
“And Akoma’na cannot bear the responsibility for losing one hundred and twenty guards for no reason. So all she can do is keep doubling down, sending more City Guards from within the city to rescue those trapped in the village.”
“When that happens,”
“She’s finished.”
There’s no fear if they act—only if they don’t. As Saintess, Aililan had to learn to wield her authority wisely. If Akoma’na dared to redeploy City Guards without authorization—
Then, Just plotting something improper,
Would be enough to strip her of her position.