Chapter 582: Reunion

Cecelia’s house was still lit, which meant she was still at home.

She had stayed behind to wait for Loren, never leaving the place.

Standing at her door, Loren felt conflicted; he had disappeared for so long, he did not know how to face Cecelia.

Finally Loren took a deep breath and pressed Cecelia’s doorbell.

The next moment, the door opened, as if someone had been guarding it the whole time.

Loren saw the scene inside; Cecelia’s hair had grown longer and looked messier.

There was a bed right by the door, which meant she had truly been waiting by the entrance, ready for Loren to arrive at any moment.

“Long time no see, Cecelia.”

Loren offered what he thought was a gentle smile. Cecelia stared at that familiar face, froze for a moment, then decisively grabbed Loren by the collar and hauled him inside, instantly forcing him down onto the floor.

“This…”

Seeing that scene, Veronica was stunned too. She could tell Cecelia was an acquaintance of Loren’s, so she didn’t strike back immediately, but she had no idea what was going on.

Watching Cecelia begin to tear at Loren’s clothes, Loren hurriedly tried to send Veronica away:

“Veronica… go find somewhere to hide… I have something to handle…”

“All right… Master…”

Veronica nodded. She didn’t know why, but trusting Loren was never wrong.

“You, come back here.”

Veronica had just turned when she heard Cecelia’s command, a voice that brooked no refusal.

Even Veronica didn’t know what had come over her; she instinctively looked back and saw that Cecelia had gained the upper hand over Loren.

At this point they were being honest with each other, though Veronica didn’t understand any of that, and she didn’t think it was inappropriate.

“You, close the door and come in, watch us properly.”

Veronica glanced at Loren, and when she saw he didn’t object, she obediently walked into Cecelia’s home and sat cross-legged off to one side.

“There’s no need to have her watching… the child doesn’t understand anything…”

“I’m going to swear my claim.”

Cecelia’s eyes fixed on Loren like she wanted to devour him.

“Uh… all right…”

After being apart so long, Cecelia’s little outburst was understandable, so Loren let her have her way.

“When did you come back?”

During it, Cecelia suddenly asked.

“Just in the past few days. After I dealt with the God of Light and Fire, I left immediately to find you…”

“You managed to pick up a new witch in just a few days?”

As she spoke, Cecelia turned to look at Veronica. Veronica waved her hand at Cecelia.

“This…”

Loren tried to explain, but Cecelia shut him up.

...

At first Veronica found everything novel, watching with curious interest, though she didn’t understand what they were doing.

Soon she grew bored and simply curled up to sleep on the side, her breathing even and steady.

After Cecelia exhausted herself, Loren held her and put her back on the bed.

He had nearly been overwhelmed after holding back for so long.

After settling Cecelia, Loren carried Veronica back to the bed and then went to rest himself.

He had not slept properly along the way and was exhausted; the moment he closed his eyes he fell into a deep sleep.

...

Veronica woke first; after all, she hadn’t used much energy, she had only been sleepy.

Upon waking she felt hungry, but Cecelia was still asleep and Veronica would not touch Cecelia’s food without permission.

Instead she found something familiar among Cecelia’s worn clothes.

Loren woke up and saw this scene.

“What are you eating? Stop…”

It was so strange that Loren pried Veronica’s mouth open, trying to get out whatever she had just shoved in.

He remembered treating a pet dog the same way when it ate something it shouldn’t.

“I was hungry… and this tasted pretty good…”

“But… this…”

Loren had indeed been negligent and had forgotten to feed Veronica.

“Fine, I’ll make you something. I remember the layout of Cecelia’s house, I can find ingredients and the kitchen…”

“No, I want this…”

“……”

Looking into Veronica’s lively eyes, Loren finally gave in:

“All right, I’ll make you something fresh…”

...

When Cecelia woke up she saw the sight in an instant.

She reacted immediately, lunging forward to snatch the food and succeeded in pushing Veronica away.

Veronica looked like a baby who’d had her bottle taken, tears welling in her eyes.

“Okay, okay, don’t fight…”

Loren had a headache and felt guilty; it was his fault Veronica ended up like this.

Eventually Loren and Cecelia discussed things; their goals were different—Cecelia wanted the process, Veronica wanted the result—so they divided the roles clearly…

After a lot of fussing they finally quieted down.

“Can we eat now?”

Loren felt faint; his constitution usually shrugged off bullets without a scratch, yet they had worn him out like this.

“Mm-hmm…”

Veronica nodded, having eaten well. Cecelia had calmed down; most of the time she’d been asserting her claim.

“Good grief…”

Loren went into the kitchen and started cooking; he hadn’t cooked in a long time.

He had no idea how to explain his long absence to Cecelia, but it seemed he didn’t need to now.

Soon Loren prepared plate after plate of flavorful dishes, though Cecelia’s ingredients weren’t exactly fresh—she mostly ate snacks, and there were far more snacks than real food in her house.

During the meal Loren finally broached the serious topic:

“Have you found any new witches lately?”

“A few. I quietly rescued them and handed them over to the Witches’ Church.”

“That’s good…”

Since Loren learned that witches greatly enhanced his authority, he was even more determined to keep them safe.

“Cecelia, I’m actually a god.”

Loren said the explosive truth plainly, but Cecelia didn’t react much.

To her, Loren was first her lover, and only then any other identities. Even being a god wouldn’t change how she saw him.

“What kind of god are you?”

“I am the Perpetual Observer.”

The moment he answered, Loren felt his connection to the Perpetual Observer’s authority grow closer, which meant Cecelia had instantly believed him.