Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

”I’ll head out now. Take care of yourself, and don’t die.”

Loren knew that everything Ofemia said was the truth. Regardless of the reason, the current Ofemia was still loyal.

So Loren made a point to show her some extra concern.

...

”She was in the middle of bathing, is it really alright for you to just barge in like that?”

After leaving Ofemia’s house, Laila suddenly asked.

She had been watching from the sidelines the whole time, but her presence had been concealed by the Hermit card, so Ofemia couldn’t see her.

Loren could tell that Laila wasn’t really trying to condemn him. She was simply jealous, since Loren and Ofemia seemed so familiar with each other.

”Let’s head back.”

Loren didn’t reply, simply reaching out to stroke Laila’s hair, and she instantly calmed down.This trip hadn’t taken Loren much time. Even counting the round trip, he hadn’t spent more than half an hour in total.

”I’ll need to adjust my route. Along the way, I’ll make a detour to the God of Plague’s territory to pick up the Emperor Card.

Once we’ve dealt with the God of Light and Fire, you’ll all continue eastward as before.

Besides picking up Paqina, I’ll grab the Emperor Card on the way. With the Dawn Magpie’s speed, it won’t cost much time.”

”Then what do we do in the meantime? Just wait for the God of Light and Fire to descend?”

After hearing Loren’s plan, Laila raised a question.

”Yes.”

That was indeed the case. There wasn’t much Loren could do right now, and he couldn’t conveniently leave either. When it came to facing the God of Light and Fire, Loren had to be present in person to feel at ease.

Even if it was a fake without any authority, it was still a counterfeit of an Orthodox God, not on the same level as an Angel at all.

”But we won’t have to wait long. The fake God of Light and Fire doesn’t know we have her coordinates, so He won’t be overly cautious.

He can’t hold out much longer now. He’ll have to come down quickly and find a way to prolong His existence.”

”So does that mean we’re finally getting some free time?”

Anna’s perspective was rather unique, but it was also true. They hadn’t rested in a while, constantly on the move.

”Yes, and since we happen to be in the Uridia Kingdom right now, we can go do whatever we want.”

Loren still adhered to his long-standing philosophy: if there was no need to suffer, then don’t suffer at all.

Even if they went out to have fun, it wouldn’t affect their plans to deal with the God of Light and Fire.

”Where are we going to play?”

Anna had already grabbed Loren’s hand, and Laila took the opportunity to hold his other hand.

”You two go ahead. Luna hasn’t recovered yet, so I’ll stay here and watch over her.”

Loren didn’t leave with them. Instead, he sat down beside Luna.

”Master Mentor...”

Luna’s mood had been rather low. She thought she was going to be left behind by Loren and the others, but she never expected Loren to choose to stay with her.

”Forget it then. If you’re not going, I’m not going either.”

Anna sat down directly beside Loren as well. As long as Loren was there, anywhere was the same.

”Since we’re idle anyway, is there anything fun to do around here?”

Anna began looking around, but unfortunately Cecelia’s house didn’t have a game console.

Loren, on the other hand, discovered a lot of musical instruments. Cecelia’s house was fully stocked with them, almost rivaling Loren’s own home.

Loren had almost forgotten that he still had an identity as a Musician.

”Perfect timing, let’s all form a band.”

Loren had a feeling that all the music he’d been teaching over the years would finally come in handy.

”Yay!”

Anna hopped over to the piano, which was the instrument she knew best.

”Cecelia... do you have maracas here?”

Just as the others were looking for instruments they were good at, Scarlett suddenly asked.

Cecelia didn’t respond, just kept staring at Scarlett, which made Scarlett shrink back a little:

”A triangle works too...”

Cecelia still didn’t answer. In the end, Scarlett could only pull a triangle out of her own spatial storage. That was the most advanced instrument she had ever managed to learn.

”What about me?”

Veronica didn’t know what she should use either. Back when Loren was teaching her magic, he had also taught her some basic music theory, but he’d never taught her how to play an instrument.

And Loren hadn’t been teaching her recently either, so Veronica wasn’t much better off than Scarlett right now.

However, she was fairly smart, so she could learn on the spot.

”Everyone, wait a moment. Let me teach Veronica first.”

Loren casually picked up a guitar and handed it to Veronica.

Then, in just a few minutes, Loren explained how the guitar worked and how to read sheet music. Right after that, Veronica played a complete song following the score.

”...”

Just as Loren was marveling at Veronica’s talent, Scarlett lightly tapped her triangle and giggled foolishly.

In the end, Loren let it go. Scarlett could do whatever she wanted. Even if she couldn’t take care of herself, Loren could look after her for the rest of her life.

And Loren would never say things like ”What will you do when I’m gone?” because Loren was immortal.

Speaking of which, Loren had only given Veronica a few hundred million years of lifespan. The other witches hadn’t had their lifespans extended yet.

But there was no rush. After all, the witches originally had lifespans of several thousand years. Their average lifespan of less than three years was purely because the Church had slaughtered them too ruthlessly.

”I’ll compose a song on the spot.”

Loren took out all of his tarot cards and laid them face down in front of him.

As Loren’s mastery over the Perpetual Observer’s authority deepened, he could see the notes on the tarot cards more and more clearly.

So much so that Loren could now rely entirely on his own knowledge to try and complete this song.

”What is this?”

Cecelia came closer. She wanted to write a song together with Loren, but she couldn’t see what was on the backs of the tarot cards.

”A fragment of an incomplete score.”

As he spoke, Loren had already taken out a piece of paper and was diligently working to complete the song.

Loren didn’t know what the original score looked like. He could only try his best to fill it in as smoothly as possible. As for how closely it matched the original, Loren had no idea.

Before long, Loren had finished the song.

”Does this song have a name?”

As she asked, Cecelia looked hopeful. She wished Loren had written this song for her.

”Let’s call it Final Remnant Score. After all, it was completed from a fragmented piece of sheet music.”

Hearing this, Cecelia looked a little dejected, but she was soon comforted:

”I’ll write a separate one for you later. This song is mostly for experimentation.”

Loren said this while stroking Cecelia’s head, and she broke into a smile again.

”Let’s begin.”

The Requiem slid from its sheath, and Loren pressed the blade against the pommel, letting the Requiem serve as a violin.

Loren had already sent the sheet music to them in advance. As Loren drew the Requiem like a bow, the music began to play.

But before they had played for long, Loren saw something insane. Everything around him seemed to come alive.

Suddenly, strands of colorful musical staves materialized in the air. These staves twisted wildly like mortally wounded serpents, their bodies covered in bite marks.

”Authority...”

Loren recognized what this was.