Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

Loren fell silent upon hearing this question. Luna was like one of those people who always says ”I have a friend” — essentially too embarrassed to ask directly, using a friend as a pretext.

Since Luna was asking this way, it meant she was a witch, and she indeed fit the other characteristics of witches. Though a bit plain, that didn’t change the fact she was the prettiest in this class.

Furthermore, her clothes proved she was a commoner. Being able to enter this class meant her talent was exceptional, truly fitting for a witch. Loren was about ninety percent certain Luna was a witch.

Loren realized he truly had a fateful connection with witches. Just one trip to the Royal Capital and he’d already encountered two witches. However, he didn’t plan to answer Luna’s question. This kind of question was really difficult to answer.

If she had asked about anything else, Loren could have just cursed a couple of times and moved on. But this was about witches, whom Loren liked most. He didn’t want to speak against his conscience and curse them, yet the consequences of telling the truth were severe.

In the end, Loren could only take a step back: ”I can’t answer that question, Luna. Come to my office after school.”

”Hah...”

Sylvia was just about to let out a laugh when Loren stopped her with a single look. Those crimson eyes simply stared at her, making her feel a trace of fear. Her body instinctively shrank back.

”Does anyone else have a question now?”......

The lesson continued, but Luna remained silent in the back row the whole time. She hugged her own shoulders, looking even sadder than when Sylvia had mocked her earlier. She only smiled when the girl beside her comforted her, and even that was just to put the other at ease.

Soon, it was time for the class to end. Everyone except Luna felt this lesson had passed unusually quickly.

After class, the other students excitedly bid farewell to Loren, and Loren responded to each with a smile. However, he didn’t leave, waiting all the while for Luna.

Once they gathered around Loren, the girl beside Luna patted her shoulder and then left, glancing back at Luna once as she walked out of the classroom.

Luna followed behind Loren as the two walked towards the office. Seeing Luna so downcast, Loren placed his hand on her head. Luna instinctively flinched at first, but relaxed after realizing Loren just meant to pat her head.

Her reaction made Loren’s heart ache a little.

After entering the office, Luna looked curiously at the various alchemy facilities inside. When Loren looked at her, she hurriedly lowered her head again.

”Sit down. No need to be nervous. I wanted to speak with you alone because what I have to say isn’t suitable for a public setting.”

Following Loren’s gesture, Luna sat in the chair opposite him. She was still very uneasy, her hands tightly clutching the hem of her skirt, until Loren suddenly grasped her hand.

Loren opened her hand, revealing obvious wounds on her fingers.

”You sewed your own clothes?”

These wounds looked like they were from needles. Usually, needles don’t cause such wounds, but it couldn’t be helped if Luna had been pricked many times.

”Yes...”

Asked by Loren, Luna could only answer honestly.

”Drink this,” Loren suddenly handed Luna a bottle of potion. The liquid inside was a very rare pink color. ”I specially made it strawberry flavored so it’s easy to drink.”

As he spoke, Loren also inserted a straw into the potion, indicating for Luna to drink it.

Though she didn’t know what this was, Loren exuded a very comfortable aura. Luna still instinctively drank the potion.

The moment the potion entered her mouth, Luna’s eyes lit up. It was the first time she had ever tasted something so delicious. Not only that, she felt a warm current flow into her body, and immediately after, the wounds on her fingers vanished.

”Actually, I personally like witches very much.”

This sudden statement startled Luna. Her hand lost its grip on the bottle, and the empty vial fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.

Luna anxiously tried to pick up the fragments, but Loren stopped her in time and turned to get a broom.

”But the Church has been hunting witches. The whole world holds extreme hatred for witches. That’s why I couldn’t say it in class, yet I didn’t want to hypocritically belittle witches either.”

Only then did Luna realize Loren was answering her question from class and hadn’t discovered her identity. She finally breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing Loren’s words, a smile appeared on Luna’s face.

”Witches are no different from people. They’re just prettier, more talented, and possess innate Arcane Abilities — like children favored by the Creator. They shouldn’t suffer such unfair treatment. As for spreading curses and bringing misfortune, those are all rumors.”

Loren swept near Luna’s feet. She awkwardly lifted her foot. After Loren swept all the glass fragments into the dustpan, he placed the cleaning tools aside.

”There isn’t even a very good method to identify witches. The most reliable way is through Arcane Abilities. Those who have Arcane Abilities are witches. As long as they hide their Arcane Ability, witches are very hard to detect. Perhaps other methods to identify witches will appear later, and it won’t be too far off.”

By the time the game started, the Church already had a method to identify witches. Loren just wasn’t clear about the specific timeline, as the timeline before the game started wasn’t very clear.

That’s why Loren hadn’t invested in any real estate. He was already prepared to flee at any moment. Climbing as high as possible was also to prevent Naclis and the others from being discovered.

The Nightingale, which had been resting, also noticed Loren had returned and flew directly onto his hand. Loren stroked the Nightingale’s feathers while chatting with Luna.

”I’d like to protect all witches, but my ambition exceeds my ability.”

Loren had done this kind of thing many times. When the Divine War began and the Church was too busy dealing with its own affairs, such matters would become much easier.

Everything that happened today was so unexpected for Luna. She had long heard of Loren’s reputation. The moment she saw Loren, she inexplicably felt a surge of goodwill towards him, even compelling her to want to know Loren’s attitude towards witches, despite knowing her own identity as a witch would mean death if exposed.

Fortunately, Loren was a very gentle person, and his attitude towards witches was also very favorable, making Luna feel an impulse to confess her identity.

”You are truly a gentle person...”

Being with Loren felt very relaxed, and Luna gradually let her guard down.

”Thank you for the praise...” After thanking Luna, Loren suddenly changed the subject. ”You don’t seem very well-liked in class, especially by those nobles.”

Although Sylvia was the first to mock Luna, the attitudes of the other classmates also revealed their thoughts. Only the few classmates around Luna didn’t join in the mockery. Even the other commoner classmates didn’t side with Luna, who shared their social class. Their very bones carried a sense of sycophancy.

Hearing this, Luna’s mood dipped again. Loren, already understanding everything, placed his hand on her hair:

”It’s alright, I’m here. Even the King has to give me face. You don’t need to worry.”