After the False Tree was dealt with, the town returned to peace, and Loren once again lived the life of an old man who walks his bird.
Apart from Scarlett being solo-killed by a goose, nothing else happened.
"Wah wah wah... Am I useless, Master..."
Scarlett lay on Loren's lap. Loren was applying medicine to the wounds on her face, causing Naclis to burn with jealousy.
"Yes, you are useless."
Loren told the truth. Tonight, Mirrorheart planned to make iron pot stewed goose. Scarlett had volunteered to help handle the goose, only to get beaten up by it. In the end, Anna saved her by chopping off the goose's head with one slash, spraying blood everywhere.
"Can't you comfort me a little..."
"Praising you would be harming you."
Just like how Loren didn't directly use a magic potion to heal Scarlett this time, he still hoped she would learn a lesson.
After applying medicine to Scarlett, there was still some time before dinner. Loren reached his hand out toward the sky. Before Starnight could fly over, Anna rushed over first, pressing her face against Loren's hand. Starnight had no choice but to land on Anna's head and start pecking at her skull.
"What are you suddenly doing?"
Anna didn't respond to Loren. She just grabbed his hand and kept rubbing her face against his palm.
"Master Mentor, am I the cutest girl in the whole world?"
"Why are you suddenly asking this?"
Loren flicked Anna's forehead, but she still clung to him, demanding an answer to this question. She grabbed Loren's hand and started shaking it.
"Answer me..."
"Yes, you are the cutest girl in the whole world."
Loren just played along with her. Anna liked to act cute and clingy from time to time. Anyway, Naclis was already so grown up;
she probably wouldn't bother competing with Anna over this.
"Mwah! I knew it!"
Anna suddenly kissed Loren on the cheek, stuck her tongue out at Scarlett, then hopped and skipped away.
"This darn kid... Holy crap, what are you doing?"
Before Loren could react, Scarlett suddenly kissed him on the other cheek. She crossed her arms over her chest, puffing out her cheeks as she stared in the direction Anna had left.
"Are you a three-year-old?"
Loren rapped Scarlett on the head. Scarlett was very indignant about this.
"I'm only 18! If a witch's thousand years equals a human's fifty years, then I'm less than one year old now! You should hold me and feed me milk!"
After saying this, Scarlett hugged Loren regardless, continuously burrowing into his embrace.
"You actually didn't miscalculate... I am beyond pleased..."
...
"*Crack*..."
"What's wrong?"
On the balcony, Naclis was teaching Luna how to cast magic. She had suddenly crushed the violin in her hand, her golden eyes seemingly already ablaze with fire.
"It's nothing..."
As Naclis relaxed her grip, wood shavings fell to the ground. This violin was pretty much ruined. In the end, Naclis could only go and get another violin.
"Dinner's ready."
It wasn't until Mirrorheart called them for dinner that Naclis let go of the violin. She had been playing with exceptional force today;
Luna even felt like the strings were about to start smoking.
"Dinner's ready, let go already..."
Today, Scarlett wasn't the first to rush over when dinner was called. This was a rare occurrence. In the end, Loren had to forcefully push her away.
Eating iron pot stewed goose in a Western fantasy setting gave Loren a sense of dissonance, but Mirrorheart's cooking skills were still excellent. Even the royal palace's chefs couldn't compare to Mirrorheart.
Another peaceful day passed. Loren was starting to get a bit bored. He was wondering if he should raise some more pets. After all, since he was idle anyway...
But something was about to happen. Loren had just ordered some potion-making equipment and medicinal ingredients from the Falling Star Merchant Guild. The Tear of Condensed Wishes was already in hand. This time, Loren's goal was to brew a ninth-tier magic potion.
Ninth-tier magic potions were already the pinnacle of this world. Even Loren had to expend considerable effort to purchase the materials. Buying all these things had almost drained all of Loren's assets, so he needed to think about how to make money now.
But all of this was worth it. Loren's hypothetical enemy was an Angel. Although Loren might not confront an Angel for ten years, he liked to prepare for the future.
If that day really came and he faced an Angel, Loren had to be prepared. Otherwise, he truly couldn't be certain he could kill an Angel with one hundred percent certainty as he was now.
...
Meanwhile, Scarlett secretly sought out Mirrorheart.
"I'm such a failure, Mirrorheart. I don't know how to do anything..."
"It's good that you have this self-awareness."
Mirrorheart patted Scarlett's head, giving her a big thumbs-up.
"Stop joking. I want to know how I can be as useful as you..."
Scarlett swatted Mirrorheart's hand away. She was genuinely feeling anxious. In this household, she really was the most useless one. Anna and Naclis were Loren's daughters, so it didn't matter if they didn't do anything.
Luna was Loren's student. She had also shown her talent. Moreover, Luna's combat power was the strongest among them, unlike Scarlett who couldn't even beat a goose.
The most useful one was Mirrorheart. Mirrorheart took care of all their daily lives and chores, doing everything with great efficiency, something Scarlett simply couldn't compare to.
"Actually, you can do many things, and get even closer to Master... At the very least, closer than Anna..."
Mirrorheart coaxed and guided her, like a demon tempting people.
These words struck a chord in Scarlett's heart. She immediately became excited.
"What can I do?"
Mirrorheart leaned close to her ear and said a lot. The more she spoke, the redder Scarlett's face became, to the point where she couldn't quite believe it.
"Is that really okay?"
"Really."
Nothing could be discerned from Mirrorheart's expression. Scarlett could only choose to believe her. She had no other options anyway.
"Do you still have that outfit I gave you before?"
"The one from when I first arrived..."
Just remembering this made Scarlett feel a wave of embarrassment. That was still the first time she had seen such clothing, but she did still have it.
On one hand, she was frugal and wanted to keep everything. On the other hand, she genuinely wanted to wear it for Loren to see.
"Yes. When you've made up your mind, wear that outfit and go find Master Mentor. Remember what I said..."
"Thank you, Mirrorheart. From now on, you're my good sister."
Scarlett was immensely moved. Mirrorheart was the most generous woman she had ever met.
Just as Scarlett was about to leave, Mirrorheart stopped her.
"One thing at a time. Put down the things you stole."
"Uh... Sorry, I subconsciously pocketed it..."
Scarlett turned around awkwardly and placed a pair of boxer shorts back on Mirrorheart's bed.
"I can give you anything else of mine, but not this one. I went through a lot of trouble to steal it."