Miss Witch’s Devotion Has Gone… Twisted-Chapter 79: Lyra

"Master Mentor, travel with me on this journey, I'll protect you."
Laila hooked her arm around Loren's neck and patted her own chest. Loren also glanced at her chest—very flat.
But Loren knew that Laila was extremely deep and concealed. To hide her identity, Laila had always dressed as a man, after all, a man couldn't be a witch.
To achieve this, she didn't hesitate to wear a chest binder and deliberately wore looser clothing. Her actual size was terrifyingly large;
at the very least, no one present could surpass her.
A tomboy with a baby face and huge... yeah.
...
"Who is this guy? Why is he so close to Master Mentor?"
Luna moved her mouth close to Anna's ear and muttered.
But she also breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it was a guy, and her Master Mentor was very straight.
Anna swallowed the snack in her mouth, took a sip of juice to wash it down, and only then answered Luna:
"Nope, that's a girl. A very cute girl."
Hearing this, Luna immediately became alert, though she still held onto a sliver of wishful thinking:
"Do you think it's possible Master Mentor hasn't realized she's a girl?"
"How could that be? Master Mentor could tell you're a witch at a glance, how could he not see she's a girl?"
"!"
Anna's words were piercing, but they were indeed the truth.
"Enough talking, I'm sleepy."
After licking the food residue off her finger, Anna simply pushed her way between Loren and Laila without a care and flopped directly onto Loren's lap.
Luna and Naclis both looked at Anna simultaneously;
they both longed to have such courage themselves.
In this regard, they couldn't even compare to Scarlett.
Loren also casually placed his hand on Anna's hair, gently stroking it.
In the past, when Loren traveled alone by train, he had also seen other people with children whose kids slept on the adults' laps like this.
Feeling Loren's touch, the corner of Anna's mouth lifted slightly.
"By the way, what's their relationship with you?"
Seeing Loren and Anna being so intimate, Laila inquired.
"This is my disciple."
While stroking Anna's hair, Loren answered.
Seeing an opportunity at last, Naclis began to assert her claim:
"I am Master Mentor's closed-door disciple. We've lived together for twelve years, inseparable."
"I am Master Mentor's most accomplished student."
Luna also chimed in promptly, though she clearly didn't have as much confidence as Naclis. As long as she wasn't facing Loren, Naclis could still put on that unapproachable, intimidating aura.
Scarlett didn't quite understand the situation and thought it was time for everyone to introduce themselves in turn:
"Oh oh, I am the master's most useful maid."
Since last night, Scarlett had gained a lot more confidence.
"I am the master's ***."
Mirrorheart remained calm as ever, but after she finished speaking, Loren's face instantly changed color. He really wanted to sew Mirrorheart's mouth shut right then and there, but he was afraid it would actually please her.
"Are you married?"
Fortunately, Laila didn't focus on Mirrorheart's words, only showing concern about Loren's marital status.
Naclis looked at Loren expectantly. She knew Loren cared about their feelings and usually wouldn't admit they were his adopted daughters.
But the moment this thought was born, Naclis felt a pang of guilt. They had already burdened Loren for so long, yet they could still feel such possessiveness and even think about exploiting Loren's love for them.
"Nope, Master Mentor has never had any romantic experiences in his life. He's very pure."
"..."
Even so, Loren felt Anna was mocking him.
Naclis didn't know what she felt now either. On one hand, Anna's words meant Loren might be taken away;
on the other hand, it also meant they hadn't hindered Loren from seeking his own happiness.
"So, how about it? Marry Master Mentor and become a mother painlessly, plus you'd get a cute student like me."
Anna rolled over, facing upwards, looking at Laila's face.
"Isn't it a bit too early to talk about this..."
As she said this, Laila's face flushed slightly, but she quickly realized something and added:
"Besides, two men can't be together anyway."
"It's fine. In the Bardo Kingdom, two men can get married too."
"This..."
"Alright, that's enough."
Loren promptly covered Anna's mouth. Immediately afterward, he felt Anna licking his hand, startling him so much he instantly pulled his hand back.
At the same time, Loren looked at Mirrorheart. Mirrorheart put on an innocent expression. Whether Loren believed it or not, Anna doing this kind of thing really had nothing to do with her.
"How old are you, Laila?"
Freed from restraint, Anna began chatting familiarly with Laila again.
"I'm twenty-one this year."
"Oh, I see. I thought you weren't much older than me, but you're actually that much older. You look really young."
Low emotional intelligence: shorty.
High emotional intelligence: You look really young.
This was also the first time Loren learned Laila's age. For witches, age isn't very important. As they grow older, neither their mindset nor their appearance changes much.
But witches find it hard to live very long. Once their appearance stops changing over a long period, it raises suspicion. In this world, moving isn't a simple matter either.
So most witches are also under thirty. Because of their longevity, long-lived species actually live shorter lives than ordinary people.
The average lifespan of a witch doesn't exceed three years, and that's with a few thousand-year-old monsters pulling up the average.
Laila was actually older than all the witches present, something Loren hadn't expected.
Anna is 12, Luna is 17, Scarlett is 18, Naclis is 20. As for Mirrorheart, Loren doesn't know her age. She might be only ten, or she might be several thousand.
The train continued on its journey. Anna lay asleep on Loren's lap. She ate until full, then slept, and liked to hug him while sleeping. Sometimes Loren wondered if he was raising a koala.
Loren simply took the remaining snacks from his backpack and placed them on the table to share with everyone.
What Anna left behind was enough for them to eat. It was the same at home usually;
Anna alone ate more than all of them combined.
Laila naturally joined them as well. Since she already considered Loren a friend, Laila wasn't so reserved anymore.
The journey passed amidst laughter and chatter. The train wasn't exactly fast, purely coal-fired, but it was relatively comfortable. At the very least, the carriage was sealed, so they wouldn't get a face full of coal dust.
Several hours later, Loren and the others entered the territory of the Bardo Kingdom. But there was still some distance to the train station in the Bardo Royal Capital. The Bardo Kingdom's area was several times that of the Gedlan Kingdom, making it a medium-sized country.
By the time they reached their destination, it was already late, the sky dark.