As he spoke, Xia De looked up at Miss Vitter's face again.
Although the black-haired girl didn't know the exact condition of Xia De's eyes at the moment, she quickly covered her cheeks: "Mr. Hamilton, let me try it too. I've never heard of a Miracle with such an effect."
Xia De thought for a moment and nodded: "Alright, but the effect of the potion doesn't last long; I can already feel it wearing off."
He then looked at Miss Servite's nose: "Are all witches' skin this good? Every witch I've seen seems to have very good skin. Look, your pores are very even, and the black on your nose..."
Seeing her suddenly sharp gaze, Xia De wisely didn't continue speaking.
So the black-haired girl also dripped a drop of the Miracle for herself. Although she didn't have any Miracles related to eyes, she could feel the enhanced vision.
The sensations experienced by different Ring術士 were largely consistent, which roughly suggested that Mr. Alfred, the ophthalmologist, could absolutely not be a Ring術士.
Even if such a rare and effective Miracle were to be tested, it wouldn't be wasted on an ordinary person, and that doctor didn't even bother to recover it afterward. Although Xia De couldn't directly appraise the Miracle, even with only the currently discovered effects, the half-bottle of potion he held in his hand would likely fetch 1000 pounds on the black market.
The cure of the naturally blind musician was likely also achieved using this potion. However, Xia De speculated that the amount of potion used during his treatment was greater, which is why after regaining his sight, he saw the truth of the world more "clearly," leading him to death in madness.
Knowing too much isn't necessarily a good thing. In this world, knowing and seeing less isn't always a bad thing.
Once the effect of the Miracle in Miss Servite's right eye also faded, the two immediately set off to visit Doctor Alfred.
The ophthalmologist's clinic was on a street at the northern edge of Tobesk. Two blocks further north from there, one would officially leave the City and enter the northern village area.
This was one of the most remote locations in Tobesk, so it was perfectly normal for the client, Mr. Mandis, not to find it. However, this area wasn't a slum. Although located in the northernmost part of Tobesk, due to its unique location and large flow of people, this area was the center for bulk cargo trading in northern Tobesk City.
Timber, food, fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers were usually transported from the northern plains of Tobesk into the urban area, traded and settled nearby, and then distributed to all corners of the City.
Therefore, even on a Wednesday afternoon, the area around Doctor Alfred's ophthalmology clinic was exceptionally lively.
However, his clinic was not grand at all. To its left was the office building of Sik Grain Silo, where a quarter of the people on this street came to conduct business; to its right was a small private bank opened by a Carson Rick native, primarily dealing in loans and currency exchange, hence its exceptionally grand facade.
Sandwiched between them, the ophthalmology clinic was a narrow, dilapidated three-story yellow building with peeling paint. Furthermore, the steam and gas pipelines on both sides passed through the clinic's walls, making the ophthalmology clinic building resemble a small child huddled between two giants, or a garbage dump between two grand buildings.
Aside from people living nearby, it was unlikely that many outsiders would dare to treat their eyes in such a place.
The clinic door was closed. After getting out of the carriage, Xia De knocked a few times. Seeing no response, he pushed the door open directly: "Do people nowadays dislike closing doors? It was the same yesterday when I went to the musician's apartment. When did Tobesk's customs become so good?"
He joked with Miss Servite, while the maid thought the door wasn't closed because it was an ophthalmology clinic that was open for business.
After the Detective and his assistant stepped inside, a tall, thin middle-aged man, wearing an apron as if he had been cooking, pushed open the door on the other side of the front hall and looked surprised at the arriving guests:
"Hello, are you here for an eye examination? I am Doctor Jacob Alfred. May I ask who the patient is?"
As he spoke, he took off his apron and tossed it aside, carefully scrutinizing the two people who had entered.
Xia De noticed that Doctor Alfred wore a very pretty gem ring on his hand. It was probably a fake; this doctor didn't seem to be that wealthy.
"Do you know Mr. Frank Bondi, the blind musician from the Nuo Shan Opera Troupe?"
Xia De asked from the doorway. The tall, thin ophthalmologist was somewhat surprised by the name he mentioned, but still nodded: "Yes, is he the one who entrusted you to pick up medicine? I remember those medicines were supposed to run out by the end of this month. Did I miscalculate? Oh, I haven't seen him for over half a month either. How are Bondi's eyes? Does he need a larger dose..."
"He's dead."
Xia De interrupted him.
"Dead?"
Among all those who heard of Mr. Bondi's death, Doctor Alfred was the most surprised:
"What? Then my experiment... Excuse me, when did this happen?"
"Mid-last month, about 25 days ago from today."
Xia De said, then tentatively asked: "You didn't know about this? Or, you didn't notice any problems with his mental state?"
"No, every time he came, I only recorded his medication frequency and the recovery of his eyes. Bondi also never said he had mental problems."
Xia De could understand this. The blind musician was worried that the doctor would stop supplying medicine because of his mental state. Judging from the musician's final will, he also feared returning to his original state.
"Since that's the case... I am Hamilton Detective Xia De, investigating the cause of Mr. Bondi's death. This lady is my assistant. May I ask if you have a suitable place for a conversation here."
As he spoke, he extended his hand to the doctor. The doctor quickly wiped his hands on his clothes and then shook it.
"An ordinary person."
"Oh, yes, Detective, please follow me. But I swear, I absolutely have nothing to do with Bondi's death!"
He led the way, bringing the two to a narrow study on the second floor. Doctor Alfred seemed genuinely unaware of the consequences his potion would cause, merely believing he had found a special Miracle for treating eye diseases. Therefore, as they went upstairs, he kept lamenting Mr. Bondi's passing.
In the study, Xia De sat on the sofa and told Doctor Alfred the information he had gathered from the landlord, Nuo Shan Opera Troupe, Three Cats Inn, and Miss Mary. Today, Miss Servite was accompanying Xia De, primarily responsible for record-keeping, so every time Xia De mentioned something, she would display the corresponding records.
Of course, the records omitted the rhode cards playing segment.
The doctor lowered his head to examine the records. The tall, thin middle-aged man in a checkered shirt had more and more sweat on his face. When Xia De finished presenting his information, he immediately declared loudly:
"No, I can guarantee that my potion is absolutely fine!"
"What exactly is your relationship with the musician, Mr. Bondi?"
"I found him to test my medicine! I came up with a potion formula myself! If I succeed, I will change the history of ophthalmology!"
"This is a sample I obtained from Miss Mary."
Xia De took out the flat bottle from his pocket: "There's still half the liquid inside, which I think is enough for Leedweich Field to analyze."
He observed the other party's expression, then lowered his voice, as if they were making some private transaction, which made Doctor Alfred even more nervous.
"Doctor, the evidence I currently have is very unfavorable to you. Although I am not the police, I can imagine how they would handle this case for convenience."
Xia De had actually never dealt with the police of this era, but Doctor Alfred's face was sweating even more. He widened his eyes and emphasized again: "There are absolutely no hallucinogenic ingredients in this! Detective, my potion will not cause madness! I believe in my potion."
"If you can convince me and provide me with enough information to report to the client, I will believe you and won't call the police. But first, I want to know..."
Xia De placed the bottle on the coffee table in front of him: "What are the ingredients of this potion?"
Miss Servite looked at Xia De. She had thought Xia De would tell the truth and persuade the other party to reveal the information, but she didn't expect him to use a half-truth, half-threat tactic instead.
Having followed Xia De all day, she had already witnessed Xia De using different methods to obtain information from different people, which gave the maid a more thorough understanding of Xia De.
Such a person was nothing like the fool he was two months ago.
"Ingredients, yes, the ingredients are absolutely fine."
As he spoke, the doctor tried to stand up to get his notebook. But Xia De made him sit down and then had Miss Servite retrieve the documents instead of the doctor.
The documents were all in this study, including not only the potion formula but also the blind musician's medical records and three months of recovery logs. The stacked documents, filled with dense writing, fully explained the long-term effects of the potion, proving its medicinal efficacy.
While his "assistant" examined the recovery records, Xia De, under the doctor's somewhat nervous gaze, began to review the potion formula.
This formula was invented by Doctor Alfred himself, and the treatment performed on the blind musician Bondi was also experimental in nature.
Such unregistered drug experiments were, of course, illegal. And because the specific efficacy and side effects were unknown, even though Doctor Alfred miraculously succeeded in restoring the blind man's sight, he did not widely publicize his potion. Instead, he planned to confirm no side effects after half a year before claiming his honor.
This was why Hamilton Detective's true client, the blind Mr. Mandis, could not get information about the doctor from his friend Mr. Bondi; Mr. Bondi had promised to keep it a secret when he participated in the experiment.
The formula's ingredients were very complex; the material list alone filled an entire page of a notebook. But Xia De carefully checked, and most of them were cheap herbs, containing no chemically synthesized compounds that had appeared in the Steam Age, which made this formula seem more like a botched witch doctor's carelessly written erroneous recipe.
Moreover, among those herbs, only two were common Ring術士 Miracle materials. Even Xia De, a second-year student with shallow Knowledge, knew that these two materials could not play a role in this type of potion.
"So what exactly is the active ingredient? It can't be that ineffective ingredients combine and react to produce an active ingredient, can it?"
Xia De, with a skeptical attitude, carefully checked the subsequent synthesis process, then frowned slightly and looked up at the nervous doctor:
"Excuse me, what is this 'red potion'?"
