Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

"I'll exchange ten billion years of my lifespan for Intelligence."

Sitting in the boat, Loren activated the Temperance Card's ability.

The Temperance Card emitted a glow, proving the exchange was successful, but Loren's Intelligence stat didn't budge.

"Just as I thought..."

Loren didn't feel disappointed about it.

The rules of the Temperance Card were the same as the underlying logic of this world—life was equal, to the point that a long-lived species' life was worth the same as a short-lived species' life.

If possible, what a mayfly exchanged for its entire lifespan would be exactly the same as what a vampire exchanged.

As a result, for someone immortal like Loren, lifespan had no value. Even ten billion years couldn't buy him a single point of Intelligence.

However, Loren could still exploit a loophole.

"What kind of game?"

Veronica, who was practicing magic nearby, turned around and happily ran over to Loren.

"First, take this. Use ninety percent of your remaining lifespan to exchange for Intelligence."

"Oh, oh..."

Veronica took the Temperance Card and, following Loren's instructions, successfully exchanged for Intelligence.

That said, she didn't gain much—it only pushed her, someone who had never practiced magic before, up to the rank of a High-Ranking Mage.

Next, Loren pulled out the Demon Card and said:

"Let's play rock-paper-scissors. If I win, you let me kiss you. If you win, I'll give you ten billion years of lifespan."

"Alright..."

Veronica didn't fully understand why Loren was doing this, but she obediently went along, silently praying she would lose.

Compared to being kissed by Loren, ten billion years of lifespan meant nothing.

The two raised their hands at the same time. Loren played rock; Veronica played scissors.

"Yes! I lost!"

Veronica cheered, leaving Loren speechless, but he still kept his promise and kissed her on the cheek.

After kissing Veronica two more times, Loren finally lost, and those ten billion years of lifespan were added to Veronica.

But those years were equally worthless—they couldn't be used again with the Temperance Card to exchange for anything. Otherwise, Loren could have just stacked effects here, letting Veronica punch a planet into oblivion with a single blow.

"Alright, you're done. Go back to practicing your magic."

"Oh..."

Veronica walked aside, silently chanting an incantation. This time, a water sphere instantly appeared in her hand.

Just moments ago, she couldn't conjure anything. The Intelligence she had just gained was already at work.

But what Loren had taught her was a water blade, not a water sphere. She still had a long way to go before fully mastering it.

Veronica was just starting to learn magic, so Loren wasn't in a hurry. Her progress was already impressive.

Moreover, Veronica was learning magic using Loren's simplified method for the first time, so she would even learn faster than Luna, who had undergone systematic education.

After years of learning magic, the old methods had become muscle memory for Luna, so she had to suppress her subconscious reactions first.

The Ship in a Bottle sailed steadily across the turbulent sea. Even against the wind, its speed wasn't significantly affected.

Loren sat by the edge of the boat, fishing.

The journey was long, and with Scarlett absent, it was hard to get fresh food.

He had no intention of eating rock-hard biscuits and drinking rum like pirates.

If possible, Loren wanted to live as comfortably as he could.

Now, Loren no longer feared the pollution of the Endless Ocean. Before the Observer's Authority, this level of pollution wasn't even a speed bump.

At most, it made it harder to catch normal food.

Loren burned the unknown creature he had just caught into ashes and threw the hook back into the water.

These polluted creatures were no longer normal living beings. Burning them completely was just environmental protection.

While Loren was fishing, Veronica sat down beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Hungry?"

Loren held the rod with one hand, freeing the other to stroke Veronica's hair.

"No, I'm used to being hungry. I just wanted to be by your side."

With that, Veronica hugged Loren's arm, closed her eyes, and looked completely at ease.

This peaceful scene made Loren miss his family even more.

"By the way, Veronica, how old are you right now..."

Age was something impossible to judge from a witch's appearance. Countless witches were hundreds of years old but still looked like lolis.

For example, Anna—Loren guessed that even after all this time, she still hadn't grown up, keeping that childlike look.

"I should be just eighteen?"

Like other witches, Veronica didn't know her exact birthday, but she had a rough idea of her age.

Loren hadn't expected that. She looked so mature, yet she was actually the youngest among all the witches by his side.

Even Anna was older than her...

Thinking about it, Loren suddenly felt a twinge of guilt...

But he quickly let it go. For long-lived beings like them, this age gap didn't matter at all.

"I didn't expect you to be so young... Well, soon you'll have a few more sisters..."

"Mm..."

Veronica didn't have much of a reaction to that.

She already knew Loren had raised many witches, so she didn't feel jealous. As long as Loren was still by her side, that was enough.

And she wasn't particularly happy about it either. She had Loren; she didn't need any other family.

"Another bite!"

The pull from the fishing rod interrupted Loren's thoughts. He quickly focused on fishing, gripping the rod tightly and hauling whatever was in the water up by force.

This was an enchanted fishing rod he had bought at a high price, so he wasn't worried about the rod or the line breaking.

"Ow, ow, ow... Let go, quick..."

As the hook came up, Loren heard a familiar voice and saw familiar deep blue hair on the sea surface.

"..."

Loren immediately let go of the fishing rod. The Merfolk in the sea carefully removed the hook from her mouth.

"Seriously? You even bite into raw meat?"

By now, Loren recognized who was in the sea—it was Melody, the Merfolk Princess. Except this time, she wasn't wearing her crown, but the Inverted Cross Pendant on her chest was still there.

"No, it was Fate's guidance... Fate made me bite the hook..."

After Melody pulled the hook out of her mouth, Loren saw the bait was gone—Melody had eaten it, just as he thought.

"I knew I would meet you here..."

A stream of water erupted from the sea, lifting Melody up. One of Loren's hands was still held by Veronica, so he could only use his other hand to catch Melody, grabbing her clothes.

But her landing inertia was too strong, and because her clothes were of poor quality, Melody's dress tore open.

"..."

Loren was a bit embarrassed, but Melody didn't seem to care. She revealed herself to him without a second thought.

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