“Master Mentor... good afternoon...”
The one outside the door was the Bishop, his expression somewhat grim.
Loren’s return was bound to change many things, which gave him quite a headache—especially since he had no idea how to face Loren.
To be fair, the Church hadn’t mistreated Loren. After all, Loren had vanished without a trace of life or death, so it wasn’t convenient for them to hold a funeral for him.
As for not avenging Loren, that was even less of an issue. They had no real obligation to avenge him, and they could even claim right now that they were preparing to do so.
But none of that mattered. What mattered was Loren’s perception. If Loren felt they weren’t at fault, then and only then were they truly innocent.
And given Loren’s usual attitude toward high-ranking figures, if they didn’t kneel and grovel before him, it was seen as disrespect.
During this time, those big shots hadn’t exactly been licking Loren’s boots. Ever since they learned he was missing and presumed dead, they had treated him like just another corpse, using the situation to profit.
So, the Bishop’s goal this time was simple: stabilize Loren. To achieve that, he didn’t care how much blood had to be spilled.
On this point, there was an information gap between the two sides. The Plague Church thought they were just running an ordinary experiment, while the Bountiful Church believed it was a meticulously planned assassination.
Even if the Plague Church tried to explain, it would only be seen as a weak excuse.
Still, the Bishop’s guess wasn’t wrong. Loren did indeed know quite a few secrets.
“Are you surprised I’m still alive?”
There it was. The very thing the Bishop dreaded most had surfaced. Loren still cared about this.
He loved going on missions with Loren. Back then, he just had to follow orders, stay obedient, and face no danger while racking up achievements.
But he hated calming Loren down. Loren’s status was too high; he lacked nothing, not even caring about the position of an Angel.
The Bishop really wanted to string up those high-ranking members and whip them. Why did they have to provoke Loren? In the end, he was the one stuck cleaning up the mess.
“No... of course not...”
The Bishop didn’t bother with useless platitudes like “the Church has been trying to find you all this time.” Since Loren had said it like that, he definitely knew the truth. Continuing to lie would only earn Loren’s disgust.
“Alright, save the nonsense. I’ve obtained some valuable information. Tomorrow, come with me to the Nofica Theocracy. I need to deal with some people.”
“Understood...”
Hearing they were going to the Nofica Theocracy, the Bishop breathed a sigh of relief. If they were heading there, then it would be the Nofica Bishop’s headache instead.
Still, he had to inform the Church. They needed to meet all of Loren’s demands—let him kill whoever he wanted.
The Church knew full well that even if all the nobles were combined, their worth wouldn’t match Loren’s.
Loren wasn’t just the Master Mentor who understood all things; he was also the spiritual totem of the Bountiful Church.
So, no matter what happened at the top, the common folk knew nothing about Loren’s whereabouts. They didn’t even know he had left the Gedlan Kingdom.
“Alright, go back for now. Tell those who want to see me not to bother. I’ll settle all accounts when the time comes.
“And yes, I really did uncover many secrets—some related to the God of Plague, others to other gods. When necessary, I’ll hand them over to the Church.”
“Understood...”
The Bishop acknowledged respectfully and withdrew.
Not long after the Bishop left, William returned. It was a good chance for Loren to brief him on the remaining matters.
They didn’t go inside; instead, they just picked a random coffee shop. Loren still remembered that one of the coffee shops he had casually visited had a seat William had specially reserved for him.
“The list?”
“Here.”
William handed the list back to Loren. Some new names had been added, the handwriting identical to the other names. They had even deliberately aged it a bit—without close inspection, it was impossible to spot the forgery.
He had considered everything, making sure Loren took no risks.
These names belonged to some elders of the Chailros Family. Loren guessed they were the ones obstructing William’s rise to power.
William in charge was nothing but beneficial to Loren, and he wasn’t worried about William turning against him once he grew strong.
Given William’s personality and style, he wouldn’t betray him, nor did he have the qualifications to do so.
Loren could wipe out the Chailros Family at any time, no matter who the head of the family was.
“Do you know that some of your family’s high-ranking members occasionally visit the God of Freedom’s territory?
“It’s not just your family; many prominent families go there.”
“I know. The God of Freedom’s territory lacks enough food, so they rely on imports from us.
“It’s a big business deal, which is why it requires the family’s high-ranking members to negotiate...”
William nodded, but he quickly caught on. If Loren was bringing this up, then things couldn’t be that simple:
“If it were just pure trade, there’d be no need for so many people from different families to go.
“Logically, each family has different focuses. Grain business is mostly handled by the Chailros Family; other families shouldn’t be involved...
“Especially the Horn Family. Their business is magic scrolls, staves, enchanted weapons, armor—things related to combat. Yet they still meddle constantly...
“Even if they all genuinely go, they should be competitors. But the relationships between these families keep improving...”
With Loren’s nudge, William understood something. He had noticed these doubts long ago, but it was only now that Loren spelled it out for him:
“So they weren’t there for business at all. They were having some secret gatherings—especially ones the Bountiful Church couldn’t know about...”
At that moment, William finally grasped the meaning behind Loren giving him this list. Everyone on it was a member of those gatherings. They had done things the Bountiful Church wouldn’t allow, and they were going to be dealt with.
William looked at Loren, wanting his confirmation on whether he was right. But Loren had already drifted into some strange thoughts...
In Loren’s mind, the elders of the Horn and Chailros Families stood by the swingset, saying to William, “Hey, we threw an awesome party. Guess who’s not invited.”
“Ahem...”
Loren coughed a few times, pulling himself back:
“You guessed right. All the people on this list took part in some secret gatherings in the God of Freedom’s territory, doing many things that were forbidden—even punishable by execution.”
Loren had only seen them eating people, but he didn’t need to think hard to know they had definitely betrayed the Bountiful Church.
“Understood.”
William returned the list to Loren, not asking for evidence or anything pointless.
The list couldn’t serve as evidence, but if you really wanted proof, Loren could always have a Prophetic Dream.
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