"It was you who stole my wallet, wasn't it?"
Before the Divine War, people's lives were relatively stable, so it made sense that the Seven Sins still moved among ordinary folks. However, Loren never expected his encounter with her to be so dramatic and casual.
It seemed Loren truly had a fate with witches. He wondered if he might end up stealing them all away before the Witches' Church could get to them.
"No, you don't know me."
After her petty theft was discovered, Scarlett showed no panic. Her smooth purple hair and glasses gave her a very studious appearance, like the quiet academic committee member from high school days who rarely spoke—the kind that gave off a "first love" vibe.
But Loren, who knew her true nature, felt none of that. Scarlett's Arcane Ability was called [Life Thief], capable of stealing anything, including fate itself. It could be considered the most overpowered Arcane Ability, but just like Josuke Higashikata, her intelligence perfectly balanced out her ability's strength.
Scarlett made a grasping motion in the air, then collapsed to the ground, rolling her eyes back. Her body began convulsing, and nosebleed flowed uncontrollably.
"......"
Loren knew she had just tried to steal his memories, but couldn't handle the massive amount of information, causing her to faint.
Anna saw this pretty girl suddenly collapse and showed some concern.
"Nothing, she's been defeated by her own stupidity. Daring to steal from anyone."
Loren's mental power was extremely strong—a benefit from his transmigration. Moreover, he possessed vast knowledge and the experiences of two lifetimes. It was only natural that Scarlett's brain capacity couldn't handle Loren's memories.
Everything that happened was within Loren's expectations. He casually asked the person who had just sold him scrolls for a sack, stuffed Scarlett inside, and continued carrying her around the market as if nothing had happened.
"......"
The people around didn't say anything either. They had witnessed what happened—getting caught stealing and being punished was normal. Besides, they didn't know Scarlett's background, all thinking Loren had knocked her out using some method they couldn't comprehend, making them even more afraid to cross Loren.
With his plans interrupted by Scarlett, Loren didn't linger outside too long. After buying some more magic scrolls and puppet materials, he returned to the academy.
Not just this market—even the black market could reveal clues if investigated thoroughly. So Loren didn't buy anything that might draw attention to him. What Loren needed was to remain completely clean from start to finish.
The house prepared for Loren by the King had a basement, which now came in handy.
Scarlett was tied to a chair. Only after removing her black robe did Loren clearly see her outfit—a white short-sleeve shirt paired with denim shorts, with purple stockings on her legs that actually matched her hair color quite well.
In this world that blended Chinese and Western, ancient and modern elements, such clothing was perfectly normal.
Wearing shorts truly showcased one's leg shape—one could only say this was indeed a witch's style.
Even with the lamp lit, the basement remained dim, creating quite an atmosphere that unconsciously stirred Mirrorheart's excitement. She opened the bag she brought back, dumping everything inside out all at once.
Whips, candles, ropes... everything you could imagine.
"You told me you were going clothes shopping?"
Mirrorheart didn't respond, just picked something up from the floor to show Loren. In a certain sense, Mirrorheart wasn't wrong.
"I bought some for Anna and the others too."
"Promise me—do whatever you want to me, but don't corrupt them, okay?"
"Okay, but can you reward me first?"
"What kind of reward?"
As she spoke, Mirrorheart had already knelt before Loren. She had only uttered two words when Loren couldn't help but cover her mouth.
Loren slapped his own forehead—he still couldn't quite accept Mirrorheart's strange preferences.
Meanwhile, Scarlett, who was still pretending to be unconscious, had already broken out in cold sweat. Her acting was terrible, and Loren saw through her easily.
Scarlett secretly opened her eyes to glance at the items on the floor, immediately feeling her chances of survival were slim. Perhaps suicide now would grant a quicker death, but as soon as this thought emerged, Scarlett considered what if Loren preferred them warm? She found herself torn again.
"Awake?"
Loren didn't want to continue interacting with Mirrorheart and began interrogating Scarlett instead. He feared that one day he might truly be assimilated by Mirrorheart's quirks.
Once, Mirrorheart made blood tofu stew for Loren. When he asked what blood it was, she said pig's blood, then showed him the not-yet-healed wound on her wrist, saying: "I'm your little pig."
Seeing Scarlett still pretending to be unconscious, Loren simply removed her glasses:
"If you're still unconscious, that's perfect. Her eyes are quite beautiful—they'll make fine additions to my collection. If I remove them now, we won't have to worry about her seeing our faces."
"Big brother, I'm awake! My eyesight is terrible—I don't deserve to be part of your collection!"
She wasn't wrong. The moment her glasses came off, Scarlett's gaze became noticeably less intelligent, her eyes even failing to align properly. Her true nature was completely exposed, transforming from the academic committee member into someone requiring special attention.
Scarlett still tried to struggle, but Mirrorheart had tied the ropes. Her technique was excellent—no matter how Scarlett struggled, she couldn't break free.
Given Scarlett's Arcane Ability, Loren actually couldn't restrain her at all. But her mind couldn't make the connection—she only knew how to pick pockets. If discovered and unable to escape, she'd steal memories. This simple combo had kept her barely surviving until now.
And her success rate wasn't even high, leaving her constantly hungry.
Even in the late game stages, Scarlett never discovered new applications of her ability. Only once, facing death, did she steal someone else's life to survive, which completely corrupted her.
If Loren controlled Scarlett, he could speedrun the game in a month. Life Thief had incredibly high potential—at basic levels, stealing opponents' equipment and skills; more cleverly, stealing momentum to render bullets harmless; desperately, even stealing divine authority. However, stealing higher-level things consumed more energy, but if deception preceded the theft, the cost would be much lower.
Like right now, she could simply steal the ropes and escape—but Scarlett hadn't thought of that.
The things she stole were stored in a special space, which was actually quite useful. One of the game's criticized aspects was the lack of inventory space—otherwise Loren wouldn't need to stuff so many things under his black robe.
So he needed to find a way to recruit Scarlett to his side. With Scarlett's help, many of his future plans would become much easier.
"This is your wallet, please let me go..."
Loren's money pouch suddenly appeared in Scarlett's hand without any warning—this was Life Thief's effect.
Scarlett looked at him with tearful eyes, as if already seeing her own death.
"Work for me. Room and board included."
Loren took the wallet back. Under Scarlett's tearful gaze, he cut her ropes with a knife—even he couldn't undo Mirrorheart's knots.
Hearing that Loren meant her no harm and was instead offering her work, Scarlett finally relaxed. As long as she could survive, submitting to Loren wasn't unacceptable—certainly no worse than her previous life. Scarlett even had the leisure to ask about wages:
"How much is the pay?"
Loren knew she was scatterbrained—otherwise she wouldn't make such abrupt requests.
"Five copper."
In the Royal Capital, five copper couldn't even buy a bowl of rice. Loren said it casually, not expecting Scarlett to agree.
"Deal."
Surprisingly, Scarlett actually agreed. Her reasoning was simple—she normally stole money just to eat, and given her identity, finding accommodation was difficult. Working for Loren perfectly solved her predicament.