Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted

Chapter 111: The Kingdom of Anselm

Noah was originally a believer of the God of Confusion, and also an Investigator for the Church of Confusion.

Every church has Investigators, specifically tasked with investigating Outer Gods, and Noah was the lowest-level Investigator.

Loren wasn't clear on Noah's full story. He wasn't a witch, and even though Noah helped players quite a bit, Loren couldn't be bothered to learn about him.

In short, while working as an Investigator, Noah met the daughter of a minor noble. That girl was disabled, had basically never seen the outside world, held no status within her own home, and was even bullied by the maids.

And Noah, as an Investigator, wasn't much better off. The moment he became an Investigator, his death was already predetermined. The meaning of his existence was to be a test subject, to die in the process of investigating Outer Gods.

Loren didn't know the specifics of what happened. In any case, two scraps from the edges of their respective worlds fell in love. This allowed Noah, whose life was as ephemeral as a mayfly's, to experience a love he had never known before.

Until later, Noah discovered that the girl was a believer of the Goddess of Love, and had become one because of him. In the end, she even became the anchor point for the Goddess of Love's descent.

That was the closest instance to an Outer God's descent, something even the God of Confusion couldn't stop. In the end, He could only place His hopes on Noah, for only love could stop the Goddess of Love.

"Between someone who loves you, and a world that does not love you, which would you choose?"

This was a question Noah often asked, because he regretted choosing the world that did not love him back then.Before her death, the girl bestowed a blessing upon Noah, or perhaps it was a curse. She cursed Noah to remain forever lucid, and to possess a degree of immortality.

At that moment, Noah was freed from the influence of the God of Confusion and saw the madness and despair of this world. And he had killed the only person who ever loved him. From then on, his life was filled with nothing but regret.

Eternal lucidity also meant his pain could never be alleviated. So he had only two goals: to resurrect that girl, and to kill the gods.

And this world had a fundamental underlying logic: life is equal, and no one can be resurrected.

Loren paid no heed to Noah. It was best to let things take their natural course. Loren feared that if he interfered, Noah might fail to kill the God of Confusion.

Moreover, Noah was just a clown. In Loren's view, that multiple-choice question held no real meaning. Only an idiot like Noah would kill the person who loved him and then spend the rest of his life regretting it.

Standing in the church, Loren silently recited a hymn. This time, he didn't use a hymn that was too effective. After all, he just wanted a blessing, not to actually produce a miracle.

The blessing of the God of Pain would lessen the pain Loren felt and provide some self-healing ability.

Perhaps this bit of self-healing ability seemed insignificant, nowhere near comparable to Mirrorheart's. But combined with the reversed [Shattered Love], Loren's self-healing ability became quite considerable. Moreover, Shattered Love could solve the issue of the Pain blessing being unable to heal severed limbs.

No miracle appeared. The Sufferer felt a bit regretful, but the fact that Loren was willing to come and pray was already a delightful surprise for him. He couldn't ask for more.

He felt writing hymns wasn't that simple a task either. Being able to compose two hymns already made Loren an unprecedented and likely unrepeatable figure.

"Let's go back."

After receiving the blessing, Loren didn't linger. He didn't like the atmosphere here either. The incessant screams were making his ears ache.

"Yes, Master Mentor."

...

Loren wasn't gone for too long, just a few minutes. After he got back on the carriage, it continued its journey, heading straight to the inn.

"The train to the Kingdom of Anselm won't arrive until nightfall. Please wait here for a while. If you need anything, you can tell me."

The Sufferer had been following him all along, just like an Attendant. Loren received this kind of treatment wherever he went.

Sometimes he forgot that these people were actually high-ranking members within the church, elite combatants, significantly stronger than ordinary Mages.

Even many ordinary people rarely had the privilege of meeting a Sufferer face-to-face. They could never imagine that a Sufferer would also bow and scrape before someone else.

After the Sufferer left, many maids appeared around Loren. However, Loren sent them away. He didn't need their care.

Loren just had them bring some food over. The Kingdom of Gonia was much cleaner than the Bardo Kingdom. Regardless of how the common folk lived, at the very least, the streets were clean. So, Loren dared to eat the food here.

"Everyone, be careful when we go to the Kingdom of Anselm later. That's the most dangerous place.

"The winds there can eavesdrop on everyone. Everything we say will reach the ears of the God of Vows and Wind. So, we must be extremely cautious. Speak less, as talking too much easily leads to mistakes."

While Loren was speaking, Anna was busy eating the whole time. Loren didn't pay it too much mind. He knew Anna understood the situation perfectly well and wouldn't cause any trouble.

Although Anna often acted frivolous, she was the one who gave Loren the least amount of worry.

Laila nodded. She had also been to the Kingdom of Anselm and knew the situation there.

The group rested at the inn for a while. When night fell, the train bound for the Kingdom of Anselm was about to arrive. The Sufferer once again escorted Loren to the train station.

This journey was relatively long, heading straight to the seaside. So, the Sufferer prepared sleeper berths for Loren and his group, and also prepared plenty of food for the trip, being considerate to the extreme.

One carriage compartment could hold a maximum of six people. Loren's party had seven people and one bird. So, the Sufferer prepared two exclusive compartments for them. Even so, they still chose to stay together. It was fine as long as the smallest one, Anna, slept with Loren. This was something Anna proactively suggested.

Although she said it was safer for everyone to stay together, the sound of Anna's scheming could be heard all the way over by the followers of the God of Confusion.

She had clearly said before that men and women should be separate and that Loren should stay with Laila, yet she suddenly changed her tune now.

"Goodnight."

Anna lay in Loren's blanket, said goodnight, then burrowed under the covers, hugging Loren like a koala.

Lying on the sleeper berth, Loren thought about his previous life. Back then, he also often took trains, but he was always alone, sitting for a whole day at a time.

Now he had so many people accompanying him. Even the train was much more comfortable than the ones he took in his past life. Feeling the warmth in his arms, Loren felt a sense of peace.

The night passed without incident. When Loren woke up the next day, they had already entered the territory of the Kingdom of Anselm. Even through the train window, Loren could hear the wind outside.

These winds were very penetrating and never ceased, but fortunately, they didn't cause much discomfort.

A figure wearing a cloak flew past in the sky. He was a Wind Messenger, a local specialty troop of the God of Vows and Wind.

They were also the type among the various divine messengers that looked the most human, aside from the fact that they were as thin as a sheet of paper.