CHAPTER 78: RESEARCHER CAROLINE

As the voice resounded and overshadowed the torturing scene, Mirelle’s eyes widened.

She flashed a bittersweet smile and said, "The boss wanted me to punish someone, so I was delayed a bit."

Her tone was mild and gentle, which spoke volumes about the identity of the woman from atop.

Leonard also picked up the clues and shifted his gaze to her.

"I suppose you’re Caroline, the researcher." He inquired softly.

The woman didn’t even bat an eyelid at Leonard and kept her gaze fixed on Mirelle.

"When did you get hired by another scum of society? I’ve told you to stop working for them and just work alongside me."

Before Mirelle could respond, Leonard interrupted and sneered. "Scum of society? Is that how you refer to a merchant when your research facility is funded by the Merchant Guild?"

Contrary to his sarcastic tone and speech, Leonard’s impression of Caroline had actually improved by leaps and bounds.

He initially thought the latter had surrendered to the Merchant Guild or Noble Faction. But based on her earlier remarks and clear disgust toward him, it became obvious that Caroline was the same type as Mirelle.

Both despised nobles and merchants who behaved immorally, but had no choice except to submit to the circumstances.

Caroline’s mood soured slightly after hearing his sarcastic remarks.

’Merchants and nobles whatnot. Both breathe the same disgusting, polluted air.’ She thought to herself, but made sure to control her expression on the surface.

"You’re still at the lobby, so why not bring the matter to my room to resolve the issue?" Caroline asked, purposely avoiding calling Mirelle’s actual name.

After all, she could discern the disguise spell that she had on.

The unique disguise spell on Mirelle’s appearance was designed and invented by her. Thus, she could discern that there must be something going on.

Mirelle wanted to agree to the suggestion immediately, but couldn’t do so.

Instead, she shifted her attention to Leonard, clearly expressing that he was the one in control in the public’s eyes.

Right now, Claudia’s life was hanging by a thread. She had completely offended Leonard, so if Mirelle wished to save her, she needed to ensure Leonard’s fury would subside.

"I’m afraid that if a bloody mess is made, then the facility might have to undergo a lockdown. By then, more time would be wasted." Caroline sighed softly. Her implication was simple: continue the farce, and forgo the chance to discuss things or stop the farce to have a proper conversation.

A moment of silence consumed the atmosphere before Leonard raised his hand slightly to signal the end of Claudia’s punishment. Nevertheless, that didn’t mean he had forgiven her.

By name-dropping Slave Merchant Gerald’s name, he had indeed diverted the attention away from Claudia.

But in return, they might start to investigate Gerald and what happened to him.

Although the concealment of the information regarding Gerald was made, if people truly wanted to investigate and put in the effort, they would still find out sooner or later.

There was no such thing as an eternal secret unless the holder of said secret ceased to exist.

As Leonard permitted the torture to stop, Mirelle was relieved internally.

’Good thing Caroline intervened in the nick of time.’ She was grateful for her timely arrival. Despite purposely exposing some of her mana to alert Caroline, she didn’t know if the latter was perceptive enough to come to her rescue.

After all, Caroline became extremely focused and freed of distraction when she was doing her experiment. The guards might have announced their presence to her. But oftentimes, Caroline wouldn’t care about it and resumed things at her own pace.

With the torturing phase over, Caroline clasped her hands and ordered, "Alright, nothing more to see here. You all should return to your posts or duty."

When the crowd heard Caroline’s words, they hurriedly retreated from the scene.

Leonard’s group might not know Caroline’s status, but they all do. Nobody would be foolish enough to get on her bad side and risk being expelled or worse, completely barred from the research field.

Once the crowd dispersed and returned to its quietness, Caroline retrieved a small vial from her pocket and tossed it to Leonard.

Leonard didn’t catch the vial, clearly refusing to accept something from a stranger. In the end, it was Mirelle who caught the vial with her mana control.

’How cautious of him...’ Caroline witnessed his action and wondered what his actual identity was to cause her friend to behave quite submissively.

’There’s no mana fluctuation or aura around him. Can such a person really be a certified gold merchant?’ She was certain that he didn’t have a magic circle, nor did the name Vincent Bond ring any bells.

Mirelle glanced at the vial before looking back at Caroline, seemingly asking what this vial was. She initially thought it was a healing potion, but the color and substance didn’t resemble one.

"That’s a Restoration Potion." Caroline giggled sweetly and explained. "It’s not a healing potion because the derivation of the potion stemmed from repair magic."

’Isn’t a restoration potion the same thing as a healing potion, albeit inferior?’ Leonard twitched his brows slightly.

He was not a video game addict, but he still played video games before and knew restoration potions were practically the same thing as healing potions. For Caroline to speak so vaguely and mysteriously as if she had invented a new type of potion was quite laughable.

Despite Leonard’s simplistic mindset on such a topic, Mirelle appeared to be mesmerized.

"By repair magic, do you mean this potion is used to recover the user’s previous state prior to their injuries?" Mirelle’s eyes lit up as she held the vial more tightly.

"Heh, I know you’ll get it right away." Caroline clapped her hands and praised.

Having said that, her eyes soon trailed toward Leonard. She revealed a cold grin on her face and commented, "I bet such knowledge was not something an ignorant person could think of. They might just think it’s another type of healing potion and laugh at my invention."