"You know, child, you just saved everyone."
Loren stopped his chanting, and those newly sprouted plants ceased growing just before they would have strangled them all.
"No, no, no... This is all your doing. All we did was wait for your salvation..."
The girl let out a sigh of relief but remained tense. Loren could easily slaughter the demons, and the demons could slaughter them, so Loren slaughtering them would only be easier.
"Alright. I originally intended to kill all of you, but seeing how well you understand the situation, forget it."
Loren was blunt about his earlier thoughts.
"My na is Loren. You can go report to the Church in the future. Even if I let you go, the Church's higher-ups won't spare you."
This village also worshipped the God of Bountiful Harvest; Loren had noticed that on the way. The village population should have been large, but only this many remained after the killings.
"So it's Master ntor... My apologies..."
Upon hearing Loren's na, the girl uttered his honorific. The others instantly understood the situation. Even they, in this remote area, knew of Loren's status within the Church.
Their expressions changed instantly. Perhaps they didn't know who Loren was, but they certainly knew very well what the title 'Master ntor' represented for the Bountiful Church.
Even the child who initially opposed Loren lowered his head at this mont. They still understood who they could provoke and who they couldn't.
If it had been a great Saint who ca to save them, they would have condemned her, watching the Saint bow her head and admit fault. But if it was Loren who ca, they could only tuck their tails and hope Loren wouldn't, in a mont of displeasure, turn around and kill them.
"Whatever you need, we will go through fire and water to accomplish it!"
That girl stepped forward again to declare her loyalty to Loren. She understood very clearly that their lives were in Loren's hands.
The one who could easily pull them out of hell could just as easily send them back.
"Enough. Prepare a carriage for . I need to hurry ho. I'm not interested in the paltry offerings you lot have.
"So of those people being tortured outside are still alive. I suggest you go check. Then you can choose whether to give them a quick end or let them cling to life a few more days.
"Alright, get moving."
Loren clapped his hands. The people sward out of the pigsty, terrified that running a step too slow would get them cut down by Loren.
Not long after, the Witches returned.
"Master ntor, the fish that slipped through the net have all been executed. This place is safe now."
"Good. The villagers have gone to find us a carriage. We can depart soon."
"Mhm!"
Anna stretched, still full of energy. The Scythe of Harvest's stamina-restoring effect was potent. Anna felt she could slaughter the entire demon race like this.
The others, however, were sowhat tired. They had been rushing on this journey, never getting proper rest.
Finally thinking they were ho and could rest, they discovered a problem. Their nerves, just relaxed, tensed up again. This situation was actually the most exhausting.
"Master ntor, the carriage you requested is ready..."
The demons only enjoyed feeling people's pain; the carriage hadn't been destroyed. The demons originally planned to take it, but Loren arrived at the critical mont.
The girl delivered the carriage. She had the highest emotional intelligence and naturally took on the role of communicating with Loren.
"Good. Then we're leaving. Take care of yourselves. Best to report what happened here to the Church. Otherwise, when the demons return for revenge, I won't be here.
"Ah, right. When that ti cos, don't say your village was slaughtered by demons. Villages get slaughtered every day. The Bountiful Church has no shortage of people. They can't be bothered with a slaughtered village.
"You must say this village that worships the God of Bountiful Harvest was attacked by followers of Pain. They slaughtered Bountiful believers, trampled on the Bountiful faith, and desecrated the God of Bountiful Harvest. Phrasing it that way is an entirely different concept."
Loren's words were an eye-opener for the girl. At this mont, she deeply understood the true value behind Loren's reputation. Loren didn't just teach magic and life lessons; he also taught social savvy.
After obtaining the carriage, Loren and the others prepared to leave. The villagers all ca to see Loren off. Perhaps so weren't very grateful to Loren, but they had to co.
"If all goes well, we won't et again...
"Ah, right. That child. You have great potential. This ti, you almost got the entire village killed. Rember that, everyone. You all almost died because of him."
After saying this, Loren drove the carriage away from this place. Whatever happened here afterward had nothing to do with Loren. Loren helping them by slaughtering all the demons was already going above and beyond.
Moreover, Loren specifically cleaned up the stragglers, which held no benefit for him.
Would demons dare charge into the Bountiful Church to take revenge on the Master ntor? Certainly not. If there really were stragglers, the victims would only be these villagers.
Everything afterward had nothing to do with Loren, including how they dealt with that child.
...
An ordinary horse-drawn carriage was much slower than a Magical Beast carriage, but it was still better than walking.
Loren didn't encounter any other incidents on the subsequent journey. This ti, they smoothly returned to the Gedlan Kingdom. By now, news of Loren dealing with the Evil God had already spread here.
No one asked Loren about the outco. They clearly understood that after being away for so long, Loren needed to go ho and rest imdiately.
Upon entering Gedlan territory, the carriage was imdiately swapped for a Magical Beast carriage escorted by Scarecrows, and Loren no longer needed to drive it himself.
As night fell, Loren finally returned ho.
"Finally..."
Seeing the familiar house, Loren felt a wave of exhaustion. Last ti, he was just planning to rest properly when he ran into all that trouble.
Loren pushed open the door. The mont it opened, he saw Seraphina standing at the entrance to greet him. She stood straight at the doorway, posture dignified.
"Welco ho, Master."
The instant she saw Loren, Seraphina bowed in greeting.
"How long have you been waiting here?"
This was sothing Loren hadn't anticipated. They had rushed back almost at full speed. In this era of poor information flow, his own return would certainly be faster than any news. So, it couldn't be that Seraphina received word of Loren's imminent return and waited here.
Rather, she had been standing at the door waiting all along.
"I have been waiting here for you since after lunch."
"..."
In this regard, Seraphina and Mirrorheart were truly similar. Both would wait at the door after Loren left. The biggest difference was that Mirrorheart knelt, while she stood.
"You've worked hard. But there's no need for such unnecessary things in the future..."
Loren didn't know what to say. He just patted Seraphina's hair. At that mont, Seraphina also smiled, as if everything she had done was worth it.
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