Chapter 589: Can’t Hold Back Anymore
"You can kiss me, but please don't use your tongue..."
Loren grabbed Anna by the scruff of her neck and lifted her off of him.
Anna was still wearing her Lolita dress, though the color had faded somewhat, and her legs were clad in the white stockings Loren loved so much.
Despite all the people she had killed, blood had never once splattered onto Anna's body.
The moment Loren pulled Anna away from him, she started crying even harder, and in the end, Loren had no choice but to hold her again:
"There, there, don't cry. I'm back now, and I won't leave you again."
Anna didn't reply, she just hugged Loren with all her might. Even with Loren's physical conditioning, he could feel some pain, but what he felt more was softness.
"You've had a rough time during this period, you've gotten thinner... Don't pull my pants down..."
Right under Veronica's watchful gaze, Anna stomped Loren's pants down with her foot.
"?"
Veronica was also baffled. Why was it that the first thing these witches always did upon seeing their master was something like this?
"It's fine... I'm already an adult, my appearance just hasn't changed. This way we can go until the sun never sets..."
"Stop, stop, stop... Let's just head home first..."
Loren cut Anna off, tucked her under his arm, and casually pulled his pants back up.
"There's no need to keep these things around, is there? They look ominous."
Loren looked at the skull pyramid beside the house and said to Anna.
Even if Loren wasn't afraid, that thing really was somewhat inauspicious. And besides, just because Loren wasn't afraid didn't mean others weren't either.
Scarlett might just get scared enough to not dare come home.
"Okay."
Anna replied with a smile. She had piled up the skull pyramid precisely to deter other people.
The effect of the skull pyramid had been quite significant, too. It had been a long time since anyone had come to bother Anna.
Loren activated Return to Earth, and the skull pyramid instantly turned to dust, dissolving into the earth and increasing the fertility of the land.
Even the land and the house shed their red coloration under the effect of Return to Earth.
However, Loren didn't touch the river of blood. Anna's Arcane Ability was controlling blood, and that river was useful to her.
The skull pyramid vanished, and the land and house returned to their original colors. Loren carried Anna and walked toward the house, as if everything was the same as before, so warm and cozy.
Veronica stood off to the side, staring blankly at the interaction between Loren and Anna, until Loren took the initiative to call out to her:
"Veronica, what are you spacing out for? Come into the house."
"Oh, oh, okay..."
Veronica trotted a few steps to catch up with Loren, a smile blooming back onto her face.
"Who is this? Is she my mother?"
Anna looked at Veronica and asked, only to get a knock on the head from Loren:
"Why do you call everyone 'Mother'? She's your younger sister."
Loren figured that Veronica was most likely younger than Anna, so he just decided she would be Anna's younger sister.
"Younger sister?"
Anna repeated this unfamiliar word. Usually, she was the youngest, and she was always playing the "I'm the little one" card. This was her first time being an older sister.
The excited Anna immediately jumped down from Loren's side and went over to Veronica's side, looking at her curiously, even comparing their sizes.
"Hello, older sister..."
Veronica didn't find anything strange about calling a child "older sister," but she was a little excited at suddenly having an older sister.
"Good little sister, be a good girl, and your older sister will get you something to eat."
Anna looked left and right, and in the end, she could only pick up an apple from the table and hand it to Veronica.
"What have you been eating during this time? Where are the others?"
Loren also casually picked up an apple and took a bite. This apple was very sweet, far sweeter than ordinary apples.
"You taught me quite a bit of Abundant Magic before, so I grew my own food to eat.
"For convenience, I mostly planted fruits. After all, I don't know how to cook, and this place isn't suitable for cooking anyway. I don't even have seasonings.
"But I still remember some of the knowledge you talked about. I kept the seeds of the sweetest apples every time, and the apples I grew just kept getting sweeter and sweeter."
"..."
Loren never expected Anna to be able to casually apply biological knowledge. It seemed all that random stuff he talked about back then hadn't been a complete waste.
He had definitely taught Anna and Naclis plenty of physics, biology, chemistry, and such...
"It really is sweet."
After taking a bite of the apple, Veronica also praised it endlessly.
"Right?"
Getting her younger sister's affirmation made Anna a little happy too.
The one who had once been taken care of by everyone had started taking care of others.
"The other witches all went off to various places, I don't know where they are..."
Speaking of this, Anna's mood also sank:
"After you left, I split up with the others. Only Naclis stayed with me and came back here with me.
"After settling me in, Naclis left too. She said she was going to search for you everywhere. After that, she would come back once in a while..."
Anna thought for a moment before continuing:
"About once a year, I'd say..."
"What about Movila? Didn't she leave one of her clones here?"
Anna shook her head and continued:
"No, she didn't. I don't know why either. Maybe all her energy went into avenging you."
"Alright..."
Anna was acting completely normal in every way, but the more she acted like this, the more Loren's heart ached for her.
Loren had thought that when he saw Anna, she would hold him and cry for a whole day and night. Instead, she only cried for a little while, and even sneaked a kiss from Loren...
Before Loren could even comfort Anna, she had already found Veronica and started asking questions left and right:
"How old are you this year?"
"Eighteen, I think..."
Facing this enthusiastic older sister, Veronica also earnestly answered Anna's questions.
"Oh, ripe for the picking, huh..."
"?"
Veronica didn't understand what that meant and wore a puzzled expression. Anna had already guessed the gist of it.
"Are you a virgin?"
"Pfft..."
Anna's next question made Loren spray out the apple in his mouth. He immediately covered Anna's mouth:
"Your younger sister doesn't know anything yet, don't corrupt her!"
Seeing Veronica's increasingly confused expression, Anna guessed what was going on:
"Oh, then I get it now..."
At the same time, Anna also let out a sigh of relief:
"Almost followed in Naclis's footsteps, having my younger sister snatch the first move..."
"What nonsense are you talking about..."
Loren felt that the future was looking a bit bleak. Veronica was so innocent, she'd probably get corrupted by Anna too.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this for now. I'll take you out to eat something nice. Veronica's Arcane Ability can create illusions, so she can bypass the Crystal Ball's detection."
"Okay, but before we eat, I want to eat something else first..."
As she spoke, Anna untied the knot on her dress.
"Wait, what are you doing..."
Looking at Anna's words and actions, Loren suddenly had a foreboding feeling.
"I've been wanting to do this since your birthday, but an accident happened, and I held it in for four whole years!
"Do you have any idea how I've survived these past four years?"