Chapter 590: First Time
"Calm down..."
At this moment, Loren had already converted all his Intelligence into Strength, but he still couldn't break free. Anna's strength had reached a terrifying level.
"What are you worried about? I'm already an adult."
"This isn't about being an adult..."
Loren activated Void-walking just in time and escaped from Anna's clutches.
But the moment he deactivated it, Anna pinned him down again, even tearing Loren's clothes in the process.
"I know Reflection Naclis already succeeded. Just treat me as Reflection Anna for now."
"Where would I even get a reflection of you..."
Loren frantically signaled Veronica with his eyes, hoping she would come to his rescue, but Veronica had already closed her eyes and started meditating.
She had noticed a pattern by now. The moment any witch laid eyes on Loren, they would do this sort of thing, as if it were hardcoded into their very being.
Moreover, it would consume a long time, so much so that Veronica was prepared to take a nap and go eat after waking up.
That was what she used to do back when she couldn stand the hunger anymore.
Seeing that Anna was about to make him "swim the dragon back to the sea," Loren hastily called for a stop:
"Stop, stop, stop. You're hungry too, right? Let's go eat first... That way, we can last longer, and it'll give me time to mentally prepare..."
"You left us for four years... All I want is this one little thing... Is that really too much to ask..."
As she spoke, tears fell onto Loren's face again.
Loren could never stand seeing Anna cry, but this was completely different...
"Let's go eat first... We'll talk about it after the meal..."
He knew very well that Anna wouldn't let him off the hook, but delaying it a little longer was better than nothing...
"Alright... I hope you won't lie to me..."
Anna sniffled, wiped her tears, and finally released Loren.
Just as Loren breathed a sigh of relief, Anna made a new request:
"Give me the High Tower card. I'm afraid you'll run away."
"..."
Anna's gaze was firm, filled with aggression.
Loren had every reason to suspect that Anna was trying to find a way to take his High Tower card, so that Loren would be firmly in her grasp.
But at this point, Loren had no choice. He could only hand over the High Tower card.
Anna took the card and excitedly stuffed it into her clothes.
She was fairly reliable, at least Loren didn't have to worry about her losing the card.
"Let's go eat, Veronica."
Loren bent down, grabbed Veronica's face with both hands, and pinched her cheeks hard, a bit of payback for her refusing to help him just now.
"You guys were this quick this time?"
Veronica tilted her head, looking confused.
"Don't say weird things like that."
Loren flicked Veronica on the head. He'd deal with what came next when it came. Who knew, maybe by then he'd be able to accept it?
...
For now, Loren had managed to brush the matter aside, but he knew Anna definitely wouldn't let it go.
Case in point, right now, Loren had Veronica and Anna tucked under his arms, flying through the sky, and Anna was still groping him the entire time, her hand almost reaching into Loren's pants.
In the end, Loren had to find a rope to tie Anna's hands, though judging by her expression, she was pretty happy about it.
Although there were still people in the Gedlan Kingdom, it was clear there was no longer a place to eat properly. So Loren brought them to a neighboring country.
This place also worshipped the God of Bountiful Harvest, so food wouldn't be in short supply.
The place Loren had arrived at before was exactly here, and by now, legends of Loren had already begun circulating.
A powerful adventurer had accepted the quest to subjugate the witch, and had also beaten up the most promising adventurer squad in this area.
From the discussions of passersby, Loren learned that the people he had casually beaten up earlier were actually the cream of the crop among the younger generation in this country.
They refused to join the Church, harboring grander ambitions, which was why they became adventurers.
They had already completed many quests before, which was why their confidence had soared to the point where they planned to go subjugate the witch.
Loren also discovered something hard to wrap his head around. The beating he gave them didn't teach them a lesson, nor did it make them resent him.
They thought Loren was protecting them, trying to make them see their own limits so they wouldn't throw their lives away.
Therefore, they absolutely refused to let Loren face the witch alone. Unfortunately, their strength wasn't enough, so they went off to find a way to grow stronger quickly.
Before leaving, they also emphasized to the residents here that they would definitely defeat the bloodthirsty witch.
"Did I beat them stupid or something?"
While waiting for the food to be served, Loren recounted his earlier experiences at the Guild to the others.
Loren somewhat regretted going easy on them back then.
"Doesn't matter. Let them come. They'll make good fertilizer for the fields back home."
Anna's ability to grow those high-quality fruits owed much to the contributions of those who came to hunt her. It was their corpses that made the soil fertile.
The corpses on the totem towers weren't all of them. A considerable portion had been turned into fertilizer by Anna.
"Dinner's almost ready. Can you untie me now?"
Anna turned around, showing Loren her hands bound behind her back.
"Can't you just snap it yourself?"
With Anna's strength, she could suppress Loren even when he converted magic to Strength. Breaking a rope would be effortless.
The reason she hadn't broken free was simply because she enjoyed the feeling of being tied up by Loren.
"You do it... It's more ceremonial that way..."
As she spoke, Anna sat directly on Loren's lap, signaling him to untie the rope for her.
"Alright..."
In the end, Loren conceded. Having left Anna lonely for so long, he really did owe her some compensation.
Loren slowly untied the rope around Anna's wrists, and throughout the process, she kept squirming against him, costing Loren quite a bit of time.
By the time he finished untying her, the food had just arrived. The restaurant Loren had chosen was fairly upscale, and plate after plate of dishes with perfect color, aroma, and taste were brought to the table.
This time, Anna first picked some food for Loren and Veronica, then poured the rest directly into her mouth.
Watching plate after plate disappear before his eyes, Loren couldn't help but smile. He had missed Anna too.
Veronica watched Anna in complete shock the entire time. She never imagined Anna could eat that much.
Thankfully, Anna had learned to be considerate now and would proactively pick food for her. Otherwise, Veronica wouldn't have gotten a single bite.
After the meal, Loren brought Anna back to the hideout in the Gedlan Kingdom. He planned to live a few peaceful days first before announcing his return to everyone.
By the time they got home, it was already night. Loren used being tired as an excuse to brush Anna off once again.
This time, Anna agreed surprisingly quickly, giving Loren an ominous feeling.
...
"Veronica, wake up. I'll give you a teaching session..."
In the middle of the night, Loren was woken up by Anna's calls, and immediately after, he witnessed a shocking scene.
It was already half done.