Chapter 5_The Witch, the Old Man, and the Mayor of White River Town

"Old man, you watered down this wine, didn't you?"

The witch complained to the old bartender while holding a wine glass.

"Compared to others, I've watered it down less."

"Sigh... Compared to strong liquors like 'Pure White Burn', the difference is really more than just one level."

"If you want to get that level of alcohol, why bother coming to me..."

The old man smiled slightly and refilled the traveling witch's glass.

"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself."

The witch seemed to remember something and said to Helen and the others with a smile,

"My name is Olivina, some people also call me 'Rough Stone' Olivina. I'm a traveling witch wandering around, currently searching for the truth of magic. I've opened a small magitech shop in this city."

"...Olivina?"

Hearing this name, Helen immediately thought of what she had just thought of...

'Could it be just a coincidence?'

Perhaps noticing the change in Helen's expression, Olivina smiled with relief and summoned her unique mechanical wand, with magical sparks flashing inside.

"It's just as you think, my current title is 'Diamond' Olivina, but I personally don't like this title."

"Are you really that legendary witch?"

Faced with Iris's incredulous expression, Olivina slightly pressed down the brim of her hat.

"I'm not some legendary witch, at least not yet... I'm just a traveling witch, nothing more. Compared to you Magitech Armed Nuns, I'm more than just a little behind."

"Alright, let's not talk about irrelevant things. I believe you all can guess that my appearance here and talking to you won't be some beautiful coincidence, so let's quickly get to the point."

Olivina clapped her hands, and the wand also returned to her hand.

"I'll be straightforward, where is Lister now?"

"What is your relationship with him?"

Although her doubts and anxieties were piling up heavily, Helen still forced herself to calm down and asked Olivina,

"My relationship with him has nothing to do with you. You only need to know that more than eighty percent of the magitech crystals in this small town are mined from the magic domain and traded, the energy for electric lights, the operation of machines, the production of food, the processing of clothing... Everything relies on those small crystals bought from the magic domain."

"You actually colluded with monsters!"

Iris was the first to react, she took off the necklace on her chest and chanted a prayer, preparing to launch an offensive prayer. Olivina also narrowed her eyes and gradually reached for her waist.

"Stop... Iris."

"That's enough."

Helen and the old man stopped the two at the same time.

"Lady Helen! They are..."

"Iris, Article 11 of the Astaria Scripture, always maintain calmness and purity, and justly observe the sins under the holy light."

"...I understand."

Iris withdrew her hand, and Olivina also put down her wand, quietly drinking.

"If this counts as colluding with the demon race, you might as well kill everyone in this town, from the elderly to the children."

Olivina spoke lightly, then looked at the old man.

"Right? Old man?"

"...Sigh, you young people."

The old man shook his head helplessly, poured a glass of wine, and handed it to Helen.

"Drink it and leave, this city now and in the future will not welcome you."

"...Miss Olivina."

Helen took the wine glass and stood in front of Olivina.

"Before setting off, we received various evidence of Lister's crimes, but now it seems... this evidence may be biased. I admit that as an enforcer of the scriptures, my actions this time lacked investigation and consideration."

"So, I now want to ask you... What kind of person is Lister in White River Town?"

"I believe 'Diamond' Miss Olivina can definitely give a fair answer."

Seeing Helen's serious and determined expression, Olivina sighed.

"I said I don't like this title, yet you specifically mention it, are you provoking me..."

"This question, rather than asking me, you should ask the old man beside you."

Olivina turned her gaze to the old bartender, his eyes were cloudy, but at this moment, it seemed to reflect a different color.

He smiled, walked to the back, and led out a little girl who was still eating.

Helen recognized her at a glance, this was little Nina from the daytime...

"This is my granddaughter Nina, cute, right?"

The old man smiled and hugged her, not minding that others didn't respond to his words.

"If it weren't for Mr. Lister, three years ago, this child, her mother, and I would probably all be dead."

"..."

The old man put Nina down, Nina glared at Helen again and ran back to the back of the tavern.

"Sister Nun, you should have seen the river surrounding the edge of the town after entering, right?"

"That's right..."

"Three years ago, that river almost took the lives of the entire town... At that time, our town had a large-scale plague outbreak, nearly one-tenth of the people in the entire town fell ill, and many died."

"What about the church? This should be the time for the church to play a role."

Helen immediately asked, but thinking of Owen's appearance, her heart felt a little chilled.

The old man glanced at her and then continued,

"Of course, we thought the same at that time. So we sent the patients to the church for treatment... As a result, guess what?"

"The church's holy light technique couldn't cure it, but in order to cover up the truth, the church buried the bodies of the dead patients in the river under the cover of night to hide them, and that river was the water source for the entire town."

"!!!?"

Helen was completely shocked by this news, She had heard of corruption and degeneration in local grassroots churches, but she never thought it could be so despicable to this extent.

"As such, nearly the entire town fell ill with all sorts of diseases. At that time, we were basically all waiting to die."

"Can you imagine, Sister Nun? The streets were filled with patients wailing in pain, corpses fell by the roadside and no one cared, everyone was desperately counting the last days of their lives."

"Although I haven't been to the magic domain... But I think the magic domain shouldn't be more than this."

The old man's calm tone brought a great shock, even the usually optimistic Aquiluna fell silent at this moment.

"And it was Mr. Lister who came to White River Town at that time... who helped us."

"He personally went to every household to inquire about the symptoms, not minding being infected or anything, including my little Nina... For nearly a whole day, he was either working in the mayor's mansion or treating patients on the streets. He used medicines we had never heard of to cure diseases that even holy light techniques couldn't cure."

"At that time, we would occasionally see Mr. Lister stagger a step while walking, and only when asked did we know that he hadn't slept for two days. He taught us the ingredients and production methods of this medicine without reservation, and one of the ingredients of this medicine is wormwood from the magic domain... It was also from that time that our town began trading with the magic domain."

"So, when Miss Olivina said just now that she could kill everyone in our town from old to young, she wasn't wrong."

The old man smiled slightly.

"Because our lives were all saved by him."

"..."

Helen took a deep breath and then asked,

"What about the person in charge of that church?"

"He was removed from office, and Owen, who was originally the deputy priest, took over."

"...It may be a bit ridiculous for me to say this now, but I will ensure that that person will definitely receive the punishment he deserves, I swear in the name of Helen-Rheylan, the thirteenth Magitech Armed Nun."

The old man waved his hand.

"Saying these things now is meaningless, people don't care about the life and death of that former priest. You say Mr. Lister colluded with monsters, engaged in illegal trade... Maybe that's the case, but the people of White River Town will always remember him."

"Remember how he saved us, and remember the church's betrayel."

At this moment, for the first time, Helen felt so anxious and uneasy about her identity as a member of the church.

She wanted to speak again, trying to defend the church a little more, but was blocked by the old man with that glass of wine.

"So, leave, Miss Helen. You will not be welcomed here."

"..."

At this moment, the tavern door was opened again.

Everyone turned their heads and found a young woman with snow-white hair, wearing a Saint Viliana official uniform, with a single-eyed monocle, appeared at the door with a person dressed as a secretary.

"Mayor."

The old man bowed slightly to her.

The woman called the mayor nodded in greeting and walked to Helen and the others, speaking lightly,

"Sister Helen?"

"...Yes."

"The one next to you... is Miss Olivina from the east of White River Town?"

"Mm-hmm."

"..."

The woman sighed, then took out a magic letter from her bosom.

"Received notification from superiors, requesting cooperation with Sister Helen and her companions' actions. So, from now on, I will be the one to entertain you all."

"My name is Karen-Serdiffin, I am the mayor of this small town."