Located in the backing area of the Arno River Valley, Vinci is a laid-back country town.

It takes less than an hour to get here from the city of Florence by horse-drawn carriage.

Farm houses are scattered along the banks of the Arno River.

After Elena and the others inquired with the villagers, they finally understood the ins and outs of the matter.

It turned out that when Leonardo was a child, a villager once made a shield and asked Leonardo's father, Mr. Messer Piero, to paint on it. And the young Leonardo volunteered to put a monster spitting flames on it. The monster was so hideous, lifelike, and intimidating that the villager was afraid to use it. So Mr. Piero sold the shield and used the money to buy a new shield for the villager.

This little thing was once used as an after-dinner conversation by the villagers of the town, and everyone praised Leonardo's talent for painting. Later, however, Leonardo left the town and went to Florence, where it was rarely mentioned and even forgotten.

Just yesterday morning, a fire-breathing monster appeared near the town, burning down some crops and cottages. People are reminded of the painting of Leonardo Jr. again. Some gossip began to circulate, and some people even speculated that it was some evil curse.

Monsieur Piero did not know what to do, so he wrote to his son and asked him to return from Florence as well.

When Elena and her party arrived at Mister Piero's house, Leonardo was discussing with his father what to do.

"I don't think it's going to be a curse on the shield." Leonardo said, "How many years have passed, how can it suddenly appear unless someone deliberately takes advantage of it?"

"It doesn't matter." "The question now is how to subdue this monster and recover the losses of the villagers."

Mr. Piero, who was a notary of law in Florence, hurried back this time after receiving the news.

In fact, it was half a day earlier than Leonardo.

"If it's the shield, just find it and destroy it." Leonardo said, "But if not, it's trouble."

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Ah, it's you." Leonardo apologized slightly, "I'm really embarrassed, because I was in a bit of a hurry at home, so I hurried back. I'll go back when I'm done."

"It's fine." Elena said, "I heard you're in trouble, let's come and see if we can help?"

"It turned out to be Miss Medici." Monsieur Piero also stepped forward, "I'm sorry to have you come all the way."

"Hear from the people in the town that there is a fire dragon nearby?" Elena asked.

"yes." Piero replied, "Some speculate that it may have something to do with a painting that Leonardo had when he was a child. However, it has not been confirmed. Ah, please come in and sit."

With that, Mr. Piero made an inviting gesture.

"What do you want to drink?" Leonardo asked.

"Ah, don't bother, just a little tea." Alina replied.

"Okay, please wait."

After Leonardo finished speaking, he turned around and went to the kitchen.

"When did the dragon appear?" Elena asked.

"It was yesterday morning." Piero recalled, "I also heard from the villagers. I was still in Florence at the time, and I rushed back as soon as I got the news."

"Are there any witnesses?"

"Many villagers have seen it, so there should be no mistake. However, each of them has a different description, and it is understandable that they were too frightened at the time and their memories were a little wrong. Later, when I went to check the scene of the disaster, the food was trampled to a mess, and there were still burnt marks on the ground, which seems to be related to the flames."

"Are there any casualties?"

"Not really. When the villagers saw the monster appear, they immediately scattered in fright. Even when the monster left, no one noticed. Everyone hid for a long time before they dared to come out."

"In this way, the current situation is relatively optimistic."

"yes, it's just a loss of crops. However, if it is not resolved in time, it is difficult to predict what will happen next." Piero said worriedly.

"Without further ado, we have to find a way to do it." Elena said.

Mr. Leonardo brought tea and handed it to a few guests.

"Do you have any ideas for Miss Medici?" Piero asked.

Elena comes from a family of fire magic, so she should know a lot about creatures that use fire.

"Well......" Elena pondered for a moment, then continued, "There are many creatures that can use fire, and as far as I know, there are quite a few on the Apennines. However, most of them live deep in the mountains and rarely come out. Unless there is a clear threat, it will not actively attack humans. Even the more ferocious monsters don't attack the village for no reason. Because, most of the demonic beasts don't eat the crops, and attacking here will not do them any good."

Sure enough, worthy of being a professional, Elena analyzed the characteristics of fire-type demonic beasts in great detail.

"But," Elena continued, "it's only for wild beasts."

"What do you mean?" Piero asked, confused.

"If it's raised, it's a different story. Some people will specialize in raising some special creatures for their own drive. Even if it is a more ferocious type, as long as you master the corresponding method, you can domesticate it and use it as combat power. Among them, the most popular are the magical beasts that hunt the four elements of wind, earth, water, and fire, as well as the lizards that are good at venom attacks. However, these monsters, especially the more powerful ones, basically live in the depths of the mountain range, and often need to form a special hunting team to go together to subdue them."

"So, is it something that someone did on purpose?"

"I'm not sure yet, can you take us to the site again?" Elena suggested.

"No problem."

Elena and her party followed Piero and his son to the east of the village, upstream of the Arno River.

What catches your eye is a fertile field with some grain piles and haystacks.

There were some signs of trampling on the crops on the side of the road, and two haystacks were ruined, and from the charred black residue on the edges, it was indeed a sign of a burning fire.

"Strange ......" Bella muttered as she looked at the scene in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked.

"Nothing, just something doesn't feel right."

"What's wrong?"

"Looking at this scene, it is indeed easy to think of the attack of the fire dragon. However, if it was really a fire-breathing monster, the flames should spread along the haystack. But you see—" Bella said, pointing to the scorch marks on the edge of the haystack, "a residue like this must have only burned a little before it went out, right?" Could it be that the monster will put out the fire on its own?"

"This ......," Elena thought, "doesn't make sense."

Could it be that someone is specifically dealing with it?

She crouched down to inspect the trampled crops.

"It's ......," Elena sniffed.

"What did you find?" Bella asked.

"This smell is the Medici potion."

"Huh?" Bella was a little surprised.

"You can't be wrong." Elena said, "It must have come from the Medici alchemy workshop. Moreover, this smell is a hallucinogen containing tulips."