Chapter 610: The Study of Authority

"Home sweet home!"

The moment she reached the doorstep, Starnight couldn't contain herself and bolted inside, leaping directly onto the bird perch Loren had built for her.

Only, she'd forgotten she was in her human form, and the perch collapsed under her weight.

"Ugh..."

Starnight patted her rear, a bit embarrassed.

"Starnight's back."

Loren followed right behind her through the door and called the others out.

"Starnight?"

Hearing the news, Anna leaped down from the second floor, landing with perfect stability.

Anna swept her gaze across the room and spotted Starnight, who had just walked over to Loren's side.

She thought for a moment before it clicked:

"Oh, right, Starnight's a witch too..."

Starnight's image as a nightingale was far too deeply ingrained in everyone's minds, and Anna had rarely seen her true form.

The last time she'd seen Starnight's real body, Loren had already met with disaster, and Anna hadn't even had the appetite to eat, let alone pay attention to Starnight.

Starnight instinctively hopped onto Loren's head out of pure habit, and only when Loren looked up at her did she realize:

"Oh right, I'm not a bird right now..."

With that, Starnight transformed back into her nightingale form and perched steadily on Loren's head.

"How about you turn into an owl instead?"

"Sure!"

Birds were birds as far as she was concerned, so Starnight didn't see any difference and shifted straight into an owl.

She was then immediately scooped up into Loren's arms and squeezed and kneaded to his heart's content. The feel of an owl's feathers was indeed the finest Loren had ever touched among all the birds he'd handled.

If you've never petted an owl, you can go find a hen with softer, smoother feathers.

"Since you're back, let's eat."

Just then, Mirrorheart emerged from the kitchen, having finished preparing the meal.

With no other maids in the house, Mirrorheart had returned to the days of taking care of the whole family by herself, though now Anna ate considerably less, which made things much easier for her.

"Alright, perfect timing. I have an announcement to make during dinner."

Loren set Starnight down on a nearby chair. This time, Mirrorheart had prepared utensils for Starnight as well, but Starnight still instinctively hopped onto the table, only transforming back into human form after Loren picked her off.

"Starnight is actually a god."

"Pfft..."

Anna sprayed out the rice she'd just put in her mouth. When Loren said he was a god, she believed it without hesitation, but she simply couldn't wrap her head around Starnight being a god.

What kind of god almost gets solo-killed by a cat?

But since those words came from Loren, she couldn't exactly disbelieve him either:

"What kind of god is Starnight?"

"She's an orthodox god on the same level as the God of Bountiful Harvest, the God of Time, but her authority is far stronger than the God of Bountiful Harvest's.

"Perhaps we should call her the Time Witch instead, since the Witches' Church's Secret Witch was never called the Secret God either."

The Secret Witch definitely knew Starnight. If there was ever a chance to meet her, Loren absolutely had to ask about Starnight's situation.

"God of Time... You're that impressive?"

Only Anna looked excited. Mirrorheart remained stone-faced as usual, seemingly unsurprised, while Veronica didn't care about Starnight's business at all.

The reason Loren told the other witches about this was to get them to start worshipping Starnight, so that she could grasp her own authority.

This was exactly what Loren himself was doing. He could master the Perpetual Observer's authority through faith, so he guessed Starnight could do the same with some of the authority over time.

And this was time, after all. Even casually grasping a sliver of time-related ability would be incredibly powerful.

Moreover, Starnight had traveled to this era through the authority of time. After the journey, she'd lost some memories and spent the vast majority of her time living as a nightingale.

This proved her authority could indeed traverse time. Perhaps Loren could even travel back to before the gods became gods and just straight-up kill them all.

Most importantly, Loren was thinking of a few other things.

If Loren could return to the world before his transmigration, he could also go back even earlier and educate those insufferable hotshots.

Besides, that world also needed a god.

Loren couldn't be bothered to be a ruler, but he could be a god. When some hotshot popped up, he'd go eliminate them.

He could become the Sword of Damocles hanging over those high-ranking members' heads, forcing them to actually do their jobs.

Just like what the God of Vows and Wind was doing now, except Loren wasn't nearly as idle as the God of Vows and Wind.

"So, do you all believe Starnight is the God of Time now?"

After saying all that, Loren asked.

"I believe it."

Anna nodded, and she was telling the truth.

The matter was a bit bizarre, but no matter what, it came from Loren's mouth, so it had to be true.

"I believe it too."

Veronica nodded as well, and she genuinely did.

"Do you feel any change? Feel like you've taken a step further in mastering your authority?"

Starnight concentrated and tried to sense it, but ultimately shook her head:

"Nothing at all..."

"Alright..."

Loren wasn't too disappointed either. After all, time was such a powerful thing, so not being able to grasp it right away was perfectly normal.

Besides, Loren wasn't sure if faith was even useful for Starnight. Witches were different from ordinary people. After obtaining authority, they didn't even go mad.

On that note, the Secret Witch would be more experienced in this area. If it really didn't work, he could just find an opportunity to ask her.

"Starnight, how did you know I was back?"

Loren was curious about how Starnight had gotten the information.

Before spreading the nursery rhymes, Loren had left messages of his return all over the place, but he couldn't be sure exactly how Starnight had obtained the intel.

"I heard about your return when I passed through other countries, and I also saw your wanted list.

"Those wanted lists suddenly appeared at some point in time, so I was certain you were back, and that's when I started searching everywhere."

"Is that so?"

It seemed the nursery rhymes Loren had spread didn't work. He didn't know if they'd been completely blocked off either, but he planned to find another opportunity to continue.

...

After the meal, Loren spent half the day researching Starnight's authority with her, but unfortunately, until the sky went completely dark, Loren couldn't figure anything out.

Even if Loren could stay up all night, Starnight couldn't.

She had been searching for Loren this whole time without any rest, her mind constantly on edge, terrified of missing him in any single moment.

Now that she'd finally found Loren, Starnight completely relaxed, and drowsiness washed over her. Eventually, she even fell asleep leaning directly against Loren's shoulder.

"Good night."

Loren carried Starnight and brought her back to the bedroom.

Usually, Loren's bedroom was lively, with everyone gathering there.

But today, Anna and Mirrorheart didn't come. Only Veronica lay by the bedside, staring at Loren and Starnight the entire time.

Even after Loren lay down, Veronica was still watching them.

"What are you staring at us for?"

"Something's off. Normally, when you reunite with others, the first thing you do is that ritual I don't understand. Why didn't you do it this time?"

As she spoke, Veronica looked utterly innocent, genuinely believing she was studying some kind of natural law.