[Man, how are you so good at this? Are you sure you haven't been studying alchemy before?]

"Aren't you the one that's just horrible?! I have eyes that's all!"

[Yes, but how do you easily discern the changes between the herbs and all?]

"Ah, I'm used to observing animals all day long. They all look the same at first but then you learn to spot the small differences."

Wow. Okay, that makes sense.

Still, that guy is pretty good. If I ever want to create my own alchemy brigade, I'll remember to look at pig pens.

*KNOCK KNOCK! *

"This is the investigation squad! Open up we need to talk to…. boss why is there no name written?!"

I can hear Little Li's voice come after.

"Hurry up and come out, we got some formalities to take care of!"

My new friend is starting to freak out.

All color leaving his face.

"*Murmurs* It's over! They'll bring us in for playing with poisons, we'll spend our whole lives-"

[Don't worry man, all is fine. COMING!]

Then I go outside, making sure to close the door quickly enough behind me.

[Hey, so what's the issue?]

"Alright, bag him!"

[What?! Why?!]

"Don't worry, formality."

[Can you stop repeating that and just tell me?]

"You'll see soon haha."

Why is she having so much fun?!

Ah, maybe she's getting revenge for that time I knocked her unconscious.

Before long I am brought to a small interrogation room somewhere near city hall.

I'm sitting on an uncomfortable chair.

On the other side is a guard with a huge beard, a very unkept one.

"Talk! How did you kill him?!"

[What are you even talking about?]

"The baker! There has been a report of you killing the old baker and destroying his bakery!"

[What the hell are you talking about?!]

"Just admit already!"

[I'll admit that you are a dumbass! There are clearly lots of people that saw the Untainted Sect destroy my bakery!]

"My?!"

[Yep, I bought it from the old man a while back. How ignorant are you?! Or are you just playing dumb?!]

"What if you were working with them to assassinate the man?"

[…]

"I won't let you leave before you admit to your crime."

[*Sigh* I do have information on a crime.]

He leans in.

[*Whisper* That gross beard is murdering your chances at a love life.]

"You little shit!"

[Seriously, from my sources you are the one that killed the old man.]

"Stop talking you-"

[That's also why you've tried to pin the blame on me to escape your crime!]

I like how we are pinning each other for a crime that never happened in the first place.

But seriously what is this whole charade about?

*Sound of a door*

That is when someone I know enters.

The old man's nephew.

"I'll take it from here."

The dumb guard grumbles and leaves.

[Oh? Are you here to get me out? Nice!]

"Actually I was sent here to interrogate you."

[…]

"What do you think this is all about?"

[No clue.]

"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but it's all because of that sword you sold."

To his guild, the golden lions eh.

[Oh, the fake one.]

"Yes, that one."

[So they want revenge for that?]

"No, they want to know your secret."

[What do you mean? They want to try and steal my power? Won't we just fight to the death then?]

"What?!"

[You said something about stealing-]

"I meant the legendary technique that allowed you to realize that feat."

[What legendary technique? I don't know any.]

"Then how were you able to-?"

[Just practice slashing until you can do it. It's not that hard.]

I mean I did use divine energy in my case to help, but I'm sure it's not absolutely required.

After all, there are plenty of ways to become a strong swordsman.

"In any case, it's a damn shame. He loved that bakery. He'd be turning in his grave if he knew."

[Who?]

"*Sigh*The one you call old man."

[Oh, he's still alive you know.]

"Right, he just retired."

[Exactly.]

"Went to have fun."

[Yep, he's living on a happy farm.]

"*Tearing up* Yeah, for sure."

[What's with all the melancholy? He's seriously living on a farm.]

He looks at me with pity.

"Of course. The best farm there is."

[I mean, it did look kind of bad, but I'm sure he'll eventually fix it.]

"…What are you talking about?!"

[His farm. The one right outside the city...]

"You know about it?!"

[Well yeah, you should probably visit him too at some point, no?]

"Ah, I see. He chose that place as his last resting-"

For some reason, he is starting to brood again.

[Anyway, so what are we doing now?]

"We need to come up with a reason that will send the others on a wild goose chase."

[How about using the legendary teacher trope? I met an expert that taught me that technique, but he applied a restriction on me making it impossible for me to teach anyone.]

"How do you even come up with something so ridiculous?"

[I mean you can also tell them the truth. That they can easily get that powerful if they train diligently. *Shrug*]

"Right, as if they'd believe that."

[I mean just tell them whatever. I can't teach it to anyone even if I wanted. I would simply say slash as hard as you can.]

"This is not helpful."

[Yeah, but it works. Take baking for example. If you keep at it at some point, you'll become good.]

"Fine, I'll tell them it didn't work. Still, I'm sure they will still be eyeing you. You'll have to be careful if you leave town."

[Wait, why didn't they try and intercept me when I left the city earlier?]

"They weren't sure if it was a trap since you were following right behind him."

[That doesn't make any sense whatsoever.]

"Well, maybe not to you. But to us it does. We remember how he was in the past."

On that note, I simply remove the rope binding me forcefully.

Then I start walking toward the exit.

"You! How were you able to-?!"

Then he stops for a few seconds.

Then he starts laughing.

"I see HAHAHA! He taught you! No wonder! No wonder! HAHAHA."

I feel like he's misunderstanding something again, but whatever.

Still, this city is weird.

I feel like every faction has a hidden agenda and none make sense.

At least to me.

Now, time to go back to alchemy.

I can't help but start grinning.

Maybe I'll add the golden lions to my target list if they prove troublesome.