The door to the tavern swung open, and Perl spotted the three figures in the corner at a glance.
They were seated at a small round table against the wall, all three dressed in solemn formal attire. The two on the sides were sturdy men, broad-shouldered and thick-backed, occasionally taking sips from their cups, but their eyes never stopped scanning the room, like a pair of alert hounds guarding something important.
The one seated between them was clearly the leader. Their build wasn’t imposing, rather somewhat lean, and it wasn’t until Perl drew closer that she realized the round bowler hat concealed a woman’s face.
Her skin was fair, her black hair cut short with sharp ends pressing against her cheeks, giving off a sharp, unapproachable aura. Her eyes were light brown, currently narrowed slightly as she sized up the approaching Perl.
She stood around 5 feet 7 inches tall, tall for a woman, but sandwiched between the two burly men, she seemed delicate. The androgynous suit outlined her figure, and the sense of strength radiating from her posture and gestures carried an oppressive presence—the kind of atmosphere only someone in a high position with a certain resolve could emanate.
Even without ever having met her, anyone would immediately recognize her as the type of leader who made decisions in the blink of an eye, someone who cut through tangled knots with a sharp blade.
Perl took her seat at the remaining chair at the round table, directly facing the woman.
“Dear doctor, you’re nearly an hour late,” the woman said flatly.
“I know. Let’s just get straight to business.”
“Hey, you—” One of the burly men beside her was clearly displeased with Perl’s attitude, leaning in and reaching out to grab her shoulder.
The woman raised a hand to stop him, maintaining the decorum of a meeting, and smiled amiably at Perl. “I’m Claudia, a mage from the black market. The ice we delivered to your clinic this morning was my doing.”
The mention of her identity as a mage finally made Perl look directly at Claudia.
Claudia’s actions undoubtedly violated the Association’s principles, and she was taking a dangerous gamble amid the Witch Hunt Movement.
“Sorry for the trouble this morning.”
“It’s nothing. A mere gesture.” Claudia snapped her fingers in front of Perl. A flash of light crossed the air, and a block of ice materialized out of nowhere, clattering onto the table as it emanated a faint chill. “And the surgeries you perform are nothing special to me either. I know a bit about Light Attribute Magic. A single incantation and a little mental energy, and wounds heal right up.”
She smiled the whole time she spoke. At first, it might have been courteous humility, but now it felt more like she was mocking Perl.
“Hmm.”
Perl wasn’t affected by the provocation. She simply watched the smug mage before her in silence. Though she did nothing, the atmosphere at the round table was subtly shifting, as if she were the one truly in control.
Claudia suddenly felt like an animal trapped in a circus cage, put on display for everyone to gawk at. Her expression soured, and her faint smile stiffened.
“Magic is indeed an incredible power, but in the end, it belongs only to a select few,” Perl said, breaking the awkward standoff with a smile. “A city’s medical system can’t be built on something as intangible as that. Besides, magic has its limits. Even if it can heal wounds, someone still has to remove the foreign objects and impurities first, and now even doing that is a crime.”
“Is that so…” Claudia’s voice dropped, and an embarrassed flush crept across her fair face. “Then doctor, can you at least give me a reason for being an hour late?”
“An emergency case.”
“According to our intel, you left the clinic after contacting the black market this afternoon. It’s not like you went back for overtime at night, is it?”
“It wasn’t about the clinic. It was a private patient of mine.”
That wasn’t a lie, after all, that girl Troy did consider herself her patient.
“Then that clears it up.” Claudia was straightforward and didn’t press further about what Perl had encountered. She cut straight to the point. “So what does the doctor want with us this time?”
By her habit, whenever she discussed cooperation, she always tried to gauge the other party’s background first, the better to control how things unfolded.
Especially in her current position, she should be even more mindful of this—the black market was one of the few syndicates in the capital. They controlled a large share of the port’s smuggling channels and managed several commercial stalls, and from time to time, they ran underground markets in corners the government never saw, skimming their cut of the profits.
Another major line of business was mage services. Though most mages were under the Association’s control and took commissions through official channels, some chose to operate in the gray areas of the law to avoid the hefty cuts. Of course, the risks of doing so now were a thousand times greater than before.
Claudia was one of them.
This was a job only clever people could do well. Claudia’s mentor, Mirel, was a truly clever person—that elven mage had maintained her Ayanuland Kingdom citizenship while climbing to the upper ranks of the Association. Now that the Witch Hunt Movement was in full swing, she was serving as the Regent’s mouthpiece within the Association.
The most important lesson Claudia had learned from her was this: on this land, standing in the right position mattered more than standing on the right side.
But Claudia clearly lacked her mentor’s luck and finesse. If she fell into a trap set by the inspectors sent by the Inquisition, the least she could expect was fines and imprisonment on tax evasion charges. At worst, she’d be burned alive at the stake.
That said, Perl’s clinic was a long-term partner of the black market. Though they’d had little contact since Bremer’s death, for her to specifically arrange a meeting here today meant she had her reasons.
Claudia just wanted to squeeze out a bit more profit. In these turbulent times, gray-area mages like them were finding it harder and harder to get by, and she’d be more than happy to strike a deal with Perl.
“I need you to get me a corpse,” Perl said, pulling a slip of paper from her coat and handing it to Claudia. “The body of Mr. Helmut, who passed away at my clinic today. This is his home address, in the slums near the port.”
“A small matter.” Claudia took the paper, gave it a quick scan, then set it alight.
“That would be perfect.”
“But doctor, if you only wanted us to do this job, there was no need to arrange a meeting in person. A message would’ve sufficed. After all, meeting like this doesn’t do either of us any favors.”
“I was originally planning to introduce someone to you,” Perl said, her gaze clearly drifting to the side as she spoke. “But unfortunately, she had other matters today.”
Claudia again chose not to dig deeper. It wouldn’t do her any good.
“By the way, I wanted to ask you about something happening in the city,” Perl said, turning her attention back. “How’s the rat problem lately? I rarely keep up with city affairs. Judging by the papers lately, you’d think all the capital’s citizens had turned into rats.”
“Seems you really don’t follow current events,” Claudia replied immediately. “The rat infestation was indeed severe a while back, but the government is handling it. Those media outlets that take the court’s salary don’t care what reality looks like. With such a rare chance to criticize the Regent, they’ll probably keep writing about it for weeks.”
“Is that so…”
When Perl had entered the city, she hadn’t sensed the atmosphere the papers described. But if Claudia, who was active in every corner of the city year-round, said so, then perhaps that was the truth.
The rat infestation was indeed under control, but the patients showing strange symptoms had only appeared today.
“I don’t really care what the reporters write,” Claudia continued. “But if they ever run out of things to write about, they’ll probably turn their pens on people like us.”
“One more question,” Perl interrupted. “Lately, I’ve noticed some patients in the city with swelling around their necks. They’re generally very thirsty, and spots appear on their bodies—”
“Yes.” Claudia cut off Perl’s description. “If the cases I’ve encountered match what you’re describing, then do they all feel like there’s a fire burning inside them?”
“Exactly.” Perl immediately understood what Claudia meant. “Has someone come to you with a commission to cure this symptom?”
“No. In the capital, only nobles and wealthy merchants can afford to hire mages for healing commissions, and no one like that has come to the black market asking yet.” Claudia gestured to the burly man beside her. “It’s my brother here. He also lives in the slums near the port. Yesterday, he was burning up with a fever in bed. I used a bit of healing magic, but it seems he managed to pull through on his own too.”
“Doctor, I—”
As the burly man started to describe his condition to Perl, she had already leaned in. Without wearing gloves, she pressed her fair palm directly against the man’s neck.
So cold.
The first thing the burly man noticed about Perl’s hands was their temperature. They felt like works carved from ice, completely lacking the body heat a warm-blooded creature should possess.
These hands would never tremble, and they would never make a mistake in a critical moment.
“There’s definitely a sensation and trace of swelling reduction.” Perl murmured while rising and moving closer to the burly man. She deftly unbuttoned his suit and shirt beneath, exposing his chest directly to view.
Perl moved so fast that by the time she finished the entire sequence, the three from the black market had only just registered what had happened.
“Hey, hey, hey, doctor, this is a public place…” Even Claudia thought Perl’s actions were a bit inappropriate and moved to stop her, but Perl had already gotten the clue she wanted.
The burly man’s chest was covered in black spots. Though the color had faded, they were still there.
“This isn’t over yet…” Perl said quietly.