“Children, I’ll be gone for a little while. I’ll be back soon.”
Loren planned to go to the Royal Capital alone. This trip could very well be dangerous; who knew if someone might desperately lash out and try to attack him out of sheer desperation?
Right now, they didn’t know about The List, so a last-ditch attack was unlikely. But you could never be sure, so Loren chose to be more cautious.
Putting that aside, some members of the Chailros Family might actually make a move. Even if they didn’t, when William brought Loren back, they wouldn’t have an easy time either.
Even if the train got blown up, Loren would emerge unscathed, but the others could get hurt.
“I’m off.”
Loren waved goodbye to everyone. Reflection Naclis stealthily slipped into Loren’s shadow, and he silently allowed it. After all, she wouldn’t be in any real danger.
The moment Loren turned around, Starnight dove into his clothes. Loren caught her with precision:
“You’re not coming either. I’ll be back soon.”
To appease Loren, the Church would likely go so far as to kill anyone he pointed at, wasting no time.
As for Noah, Loren could simply have William handle the handover. There was really no need to keep Noah’s existence a secret. First, Noah couldn’t die; even if he was kidnapped, there was no real risk. Ever since that noble got his whole family killed the last time, Loren doubted anyone would dare lay a hand on Noah.
Second, even if Noah’s identity as a follower of the Goddess of Love was exposed, Loren could instantly cut ties with him on the spot, claiming he was just using Noah or that he knew nothing about it—or he could even just kill Noah right then and there.
After locking Starnight in her cage, Loren officially set off. The moment he left, Starnight expertly slipped out of the cage.
…
“Let’s go.”
Outside, the Bishop and the Pope were already waiting. They had arranged Loren’s travel.
“Yes, Master Mentor…”
The Bishop took the initiative to drive the carriage for Loren, while the Pope stayed behind, responsible for protecting Loren’s family along with the others.
By now, the area around Loren’s house was more tightly guarded than even the Church’s headquarters. A full circle of Scarecrows surrounded the perimeter.
When they reached the station, William was already there, waiting. The three of them boarded the train together, with bodyguards occupying the two adjacent carriages.
This kind of show of force would make anyone believe they were heading straight to war with another country. The Church had certainly demonstrated just how much they valued Loren.
“Master Mentor, is there anything you need to do in the Royal Capital this time? We could handle it on your behalf…”
“Oh, I’m going to kill some people. By the way, write me a list—put down everyone who tried to profit from my death.”
“This…”
The Bishop took the pen and paper, hesitating. If he actually wrote that, he would offend quite a few people.
“If you leave one name off, I’ll add yours to it.”
“Yes!”
Hearing that, the Bishop snapped back to reality and hurriedly started writing.
He didn’t think he could fool Loren. He suspected Loren already knew the exact list and was just testing him.
But this time, Loren actually didn’t know. It was just that his persona had always made people believe he did.
Soon, the Bishop finished writing the list and handed it to Loren:
“Master Mentor, this is everyone I know…
“I’m just a Bishop from a small place like the Gedlan Kingdom. If it weren’t for your presence in the Gedlan Kingdom, the Bountiful Church wouldn’t have cared much even if the Gedlan Kingdom was destroyed…”
The Bishop was telling the truth. When the Divine War began, the Gedlan Kingdom was the first nation destroyed by the Plague Church, and the Bountiful Church barely reacted.
“You can ask the Bishop of the Nofica Theocracy for the rest. He knows more…”
“Alright.”
Only after Loren agreed did the Bishop breathe a sigh of relief.
They barely spoke the whole way. Both the Bishop and William knew Loren didn’t like small talk, so Loren silently pulled out his Magic Book and read until the train arrived at the station.
“Master Mentor…”
As soon as Loren got off, he saw the Bishop of the Nofica Theocracy waiting to greet him.
“I’ll be guiding you from here…”
“Alright. First, take me back to my residence.”
“Yes.”
The Bishop of the Nofica Theocracy took over from the Bishop of the Gedlan Kingdom and began driving the carriage for Loren. The carriage was pulled by a Magical Beast, moving quickly, and soon they arrived at Loren’s house.
Before stepping inside, Loren noticed something was off. It wasn’t the same as when he’d left. It seemed like someone had been here. So he asked directly:
“After I left, did someone come into my house?”
Loren had made it clear before: he didn’t like people entering his room. So no matter what happened, they never entered Loren’s house.
Even when they had important things to discuss, they only stood at the door and talked to Loren.
Now, with someone entering his house while he was away, they had clearly crossed a line.
“After you left, someone from the Church sold your house… but Mr. William bought it at a high price…
“I was on a different assignment at the time and didn’t notice. By the time I found out, it was too late.”
The Bishop explained to Loren, and William immediately looked up.
Loren didn’t like others seeking credit, so William usually did everything he could for Loren and then waited for Loren to discover it himself.
This tactic was indeed very effective, and he’d earned Loren’s favor more than once.
“So it really was sold…”
Loren was a bit exasperated, but it made sense. His house was located in the most expensive part of the Nofica Theocracy’s Imperial Capital—the best neighborhood, even a school district. The price couldn’t be low.
Even for some high-ranking nobles, it was no small amount. It was only natural that it was sold after Loren’s “death.”
Natural as it was, Loren couldn’t just let it slide.
“William, who sold my house?”
“It was a high-ranking member of the Church. His name is…”
“Forget it. It doesn’t matter.”
Loren didn’t need to remember the name of such a small fry. He immediately made arrangements:
“My house contains many secrets of the Bountiful Church. That high-ranking member used the pretense of auctioning the house to secretly sell off classified information, betraying the Bountiful Church.
“William found out about this in advance, bought the house, and stopped him—a meritorious service to the Bountiful Church.
“Now, in the name of the God of Bountiful Harvest, William will confiscate all of that high-ranking member’s assets and conduct an investigation. Understood?”
Loren smoothly slapped a charge on the man. The Bishop and William nodded in unison:
“Understood!”
William could barely suppress his grin. He knew exactly what Loren meant—that high-ranking member’s assets were now his.
Of course, William wasn’t about to keep it all for himself. Whether Loren needed them or not, the lion’s share would go to Loren. William knew that very well.
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