Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

Having a few maids is actually quite nice, at least Loren doesn’t have to worry about dust piling up at home after being away for a long time.

Moreover, the maids will have it much easier after they leave, mainly because they won’t have to cook for Anna anymore.

Loren informed the Church, and they prepared a large carriage for him, pulled by magical beasts.

They were also worried Loren might run away, but worrying was useless. If Loren wanted to run, they couldn’t stop him. They could only treat him like royalty and try to please him as much as possible.

Besides, Loren’s credibility was still worth trusting. If he said he wouldn’t jump ship, he really wouldn’t.

...

”Is it here?”

In the carriage, Loren looked at the map. A place circled by Movila marked the location of the village.

The village was situated in a remote wilderness, the closest to the territory of the God of Bountiful Harvest, but still a considerable distance away—merely the closest relative to other places.

This place was quite secluded. Loren estimated it would take at least a day to get there at the fastest.Loren needed to leave from another border of the Gedlan Kingdom, then travel for a long time to reach the village Movila mentioned. She used to fly there directly before, but now, traveling by carriage was even more inconvenient and much slower.

There was no coachman for this trip. Only Loren and Laila could take turns driving the carriage, with Loren handling it most of the time. Loren’s face was the most useful pass. If someone didn’t recognize Loren, it could only mean their rank wasn’t high enough.

Recently, with so many incidents—the Rainbow Plague and Pseudohumans—travel restrictions had tightened significantly, but they didn’t affect Loren much.

Having solved the Rainbow Plague and Pseudohuman issues, Loren’s reputation had soared once again, known to women and children alike. Even if the common folk didn’t recognize Loren’s face, hearing his name made them cheer as if they’d seen the sun.

After traveling all afternoon, Loren arrived at a border town. The border area was under strict surveillance for spies, not allowing anyone to pass. The guard was extremely tight.

Guarding the entrance were two knights. Knights indeed had a low presence in this world, as they couldn’t compete in high-stakes battles, and Loren only dealt with high-stakes situations.

”Who goes there?”

As Loren approached the entrance, one knight raised his lance to block the way. Guarding the main gate didn’t make much sense here; this wasn’t the Royal Capital, with no city walls. They could only stop carriages. If a spy really wanted to get through, they’d never notice.

”Master Mentor, please enter!”

Before Loren could answer, the other knight pressed down his lance. Hearing this, the first knight suddenly realized something and hurriedly cleared the way for Loren.

”Apologies, my rank is too low. I didn’t recognize you earlier. Welcome, Master Mentor...”

After clearing the path, he bowed deeply. The moment he learned Loren’s identity, cold sweat poured down his back. He felt if he bowed any slower, his head might really hit the ground.

”It’s fine. I’m just an ordinary person like you. There’s no need to treat me so differently.”

Loren was quite willing to use his status for convenience, but he genuinely felt such reverence was unnecessary. Loren only used his status to pressure the powerful. Towards ordinary people, he was always very easygoing.

The conversation between Loren and the guards reached others’ ears. The passing townsfolk learned Loren was coming and began to cheer.

”Master Mentor is here! Master Mentor is here...”

He hadn’t shouted for long before Loren was surrounded by the rushing crowd. Loren’s carriage had to slow down significantly, and only with the guards clearing the way ahead could they continue moving forward.

”Master Mentor! This is bread I baked myself. Please accept it!”

”Master Mentor, these are clothes I sewed for you...”

”Master Mentor, this is ham I cured...”

Villagers along the way eagerly threw various supplies onto Loren’s carriage. However, judging by their appearance, they didn’t seem particularly well-off. The auntie who gave Loren clothes had torn clothes herself.

”Thank you, everyone, but you need these supplies more than I do. Please take them back...”

No matter how Loren refused, they kept throwing things onto his carriage.

”Why is everyone so enthusiastic?”

Loren knew he was popular, but these people were a bit too excited, abnormally so. That’s why Loren asked the guard.

”This village is newly established, with many young people. Not long ago, the young people in the village, especially the children, were infected with the Rainbow Plague. Fortunately, you published the cure, or the consequences would have been unthinkable...”

”Is that so?”

If that were truly the case, then the people’s current emotions were understandable.

The most susceptible to the Rainbow Plague were children with immature minds. This was the most terrifying aspect of the plague—it could poison a nation’s future.

By solving the Rainbow Plague, Loren essentially saved this village’s future.

These villagers weren’t very knowledgeable. They didn’t understand the magnitude of Loren writing the Hymn, nor did they know how the Church’s growing power affected them. But they clearly knew Loren had saved their children.

This simple, heartfelt sentiment genuinely moved Loren, and he smiled in response.

”Master Mentor! Please help me...”

The atmosphere was peaceful, but a woman suddenly knelt in front of Loren’s carriage. If Loren had pulled the reins a moment later, she might have been trampled by the horses.

Loren’s horses were carnivorous magical beast horses. An ordinary person couldn’t withstand such a trampling.

”What happened?”

Loren didn’t blame her for her presumptuous action. Instead, he began inquiring about her situation.

”My son is missing. Many children in the village have gone missing recently! Please help us...”

”...”

Loren fell silent. He truly sympathized with the woman’s plight, but he really had no solution.

If it were encountering some Anomaly or monster, Loren could use his knowledge or even intervene himself. But finding human traffickers was something Loren wasn’t equipped to handle, and it would be very time-consuming. Loren’s current priority was to check the situation in Movila’s village.

However, such an incident happening at this critical juncture made Loren suspect some conspiracy behind it. For example, it might be the work of the Plague Church, stealing children to create a virus targeting followers of the God of Bountiful Harvest, aiming to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

”Don’t disturb Master Mentor...”

Several people suddenly emerged from the crowd to pull the woman back, but she struggled desperately. Two men couldn’t drag her away.

”What should we do? You decide, Movila.”

The purpose of this trip was to help Movila. If they really helped investigate the missing children, it would definitely waste a lot of time. So, Loren intended to leave the decision to Movila.