A guard stood at the gate and called out upon seeing people approaching. "Halt! State your names and business!"
Old man Arbor took out a token and held it up. "I am Arbor from the medicine hall. I am here to see a patient here that has requested my presence. I have brought my student with me to assist me."
The guard looked at the token and recognised it so he quickly changed his attitude to being respectful. "Of course please enter."
There had been rumours circulating about the illness of the house owner and he was informed there would be visitors so he could not delay them.
In order to confirm everything with the higher ups, he lead them inside and escorted them through the courtyard. "They are here to treat the master."
Another man nodded then waved for him to go back to his duty. "You can go now, you two follow me."
The man was dressed up smartly like a butler and seemed to be someone that most went to for most work situations so Blush was able to identify him as a close assistant of the patient or as a head manager or butler of the household.
Arbor and Blush followed behind and were lead through the halls which had many expensive ornaments on display.
When they arrived at their destination, the doors were opened which caused the smell from within to leave the room and go towards those entering.
There was a strong scent of decay mixed with the smell of herbs and a man lay on a luxurious large bed, the man weakly turned his head towards those entering. "So you have come."
His voice was weak and raspy as if he was very unwell and would not last long.
Arbor stepped forward and examined him, after a couple of minute of quietly observing he had hesitated to speak. "…"
The man saw his hesitation and then spoke. "You do not have to hold back to spare my feelings, just tell me the truth. Can I be cured? If not then how long do I have left?"
Blush observed the wounds and the state of his body to the tiniest detail with her magic but chose to remain silent. 'This is nothing he has seen before. This is definitely something new and looks suspiciously like something I have seen before.'
There were few lists of suspects which could cause such a problem to a persons body through the use of poison, disease and other methods then there were even fewer that could reach such a level where most doctors could not find a cure for it until much later in the future. 'Is this one of his works? Has his research already progressed so far that he is already using live people as test subjects? Was there a leak of his work in other places, is this his own idea or is it the work of the lord he is working for?'
Dr Gero was the only one who met the current conditions she had in mind for who could create such a thing in the current timeline.
The man was experiencing weakness while his body seemed to be slowly deteriorating whether it was his skin, muscles, bones and internal organs.
Slowly it was spreading from the outer layer and invading deeper until it reached the heart or brain which would effectively speed up the death. 'But something is very strange.. while he did have something like this in his notes, one of the plants used for it is a plant which is heavily tainted with the demon realm. They only grow in the demon realm or where a gate has been opened.'
Her mind was racing with all kinds of theories while old man Arbor started to do a more thorough check up then wrote a prescription. "This.. I cannot do anything for you now but relieve your pain a little. I am sorry City Lord."
Blush's eyes flashed as she heard the identity of the patient. 'The plot thickens.'
The City Lord position was a place that many coveted or wished to target for many reasons whether it was to grab power for themselves or aim to shake up the stability of the city.
Over the years, there had been many disappearances, deaths and changes in those who held important positions so the city was far less safe than what it had been.
The addition of a new type of deadly poison only added to the danger since it could suddenly be used on anyone at anytime.
Blush did not like that she was not prepared for such a thing so she had already decided. 'At some point I have to go find the location. If there are herbs and plants tainted then there must be ones that still survive under the tainted environment and can be used as an ingredient to make a cure. If not then I may have to resort to using my magic to treat someone or find a plant with an opposing nature.'
After old man Arbor and Blush left the room and headed out, the city lord turned towards his assistant. "Before I die.. help me arrange everything.. do not let this city fall into chaos once I am gone. That person.. is wanting to expand his territory even more aggressively recently. This could be his doing."
The assistant bowed and replied. "Yes master."
The city lord revealed a look of relief on his face. "Thank you."
The assistant walked towards the door and walked outside.
Upon closing the door behind him, his gaze changed from his previous look which had been worried about his master.
Instead it had become sinister and cold but upon seeing one of the servants approaching, he turned back to normal as if he was deeply worried about his master. 'I was worried that it would be noticed and could be cured since I heard that old man was skilled in his field. It seems I was worrying too much, now that it has been confirmed to work then I can report back and get my reward.'
The city lord was dying and he did not know that the person who administered the poison to him was his closest aide.
Even if he did know or had suspicions, it was already much too late for him to point the finger or voice his suspicions because he was confined to his room with few servants visiting him because his body was decaying and releasing a strong and unpleasant smell.
The following days passed which announced the death of the city lord which called for the vice city lord to take up the position next.
The cause of death was announced to be the work of witches which sparked several paid missions for mercenaries to hunt down known witches.
When the news spread and reached her ears, a cold light flickered in Blush's red eyes. "It seems that a witch hunt is starting."
The instability of the city with a new ruler combined with fear of witches was already a bad combination which would lead to people being sent out or paid to capture and kill witches.
A war between witches and those from the city would result in casualties on both sides which would cause the city to weaken further.
Blush packed away a couple of things then left her home once again after a short secluded practice. "This could be an opportunity. I cannot miss this."
If she hesitated then she could lose out on a lot of information and gains, there were certain events which could not be touched but that did not mean that she could just stand by to watch the slaughter of a group of people like the witches.
It was no wonder that the witches were so few or were lacking in power or research in the future on earth since they would be targeted once a group of humans had become fearful of them then grouped together to form a witch hunt. "How could I let go of such valuable resources."
Blush checked in with the old men of the blacksmith and medicine hall before heading to take up the first task which lead her to an old tavern.
Many people were gathered and some were stood around in armour or holding weapons.
The crowd was very rowdy and upon noticing Blush step inside, they turned away quickly with a mocking look in their eyes.
Although she wore a simple mask over her face and a hood, it was not difficult to tell her gender from the rest of her body shape. 'Sigh.. looking down on me already.'
A large arm locked around her neck as a drunken man pulled to close while holding a cup of alcohol in the other hand. "Hey.. have you come here to entertain us before we set out? Who sent you! Come and play with me! Ahaha."
Blush raised her head calmly and her blood red eyes shone murderously through the eye holes on her mask. "Let go."