Chapter 16: Cat Lovers

Anna didn't respond, still looking down below. While the people of the Royal Capital weren't starving to the point of being unable to function normally, their lives weren't exactly comfortable either. Everyone was bustling about, doing work that far exceeded their physical limits. Anna saw a thin man carrying a sack larger than himself.

"Thinking about this won't help much. Let's go out and get something to eat."

"Okay."

Anna suddenly hugged Loren. After witnessing how cruel this world could be, she truly understood just how well Loren had been protecting her.

In a place where even ordinary people struggled to survive, Loren had managed to raise two witches so comfortably.

"Let's go."

Loren picked Anna up, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest.

The streets of the Royal Capital were filled with numerous stalls, far more prosperous than the small town where Loren had originally lived. The sounds of vendors hawking their goods were continuous.

Under the temptation of delicious food, Anna's mood gradually stabilized. No matter what might happen in the future, she couldn't let food go to waste right in front of her.

Loren and his companions wandered outside for a long time until the sun began to set. As the King's ball was about to begin, Loren started heading back.

When they reached near the palace, Anna suddenly tugged at Loren:

"Master Mentor, can you save that little bird?"

Loren followed Anna's pointing finger and saw a black cat tormenting a nightingale by the roadside. The black cat pressed the nightingale under its paw, then suddenly released it, only to slap it back to the ground when the nightingale tried to fly away, enjoying the sight of the nightingale's dying struggles.

Many people gathered around, all praising the black cat's agility while ignoring the nightingale's pitiful cries. Their laughter was rather piercing to the ears.

The black cat released its mouth once more, but this time the nightingale had lost its ability to fly and could only hobble away from the cat.

Just as the black cat prepared to pounce on the nightingale again, a flying stone suddenly struck the ground in front of the cat. Loren had just casually allocated a point to his strength attribute, and the splashing gravel frightened the black cat away.

Loren didn't like cats. Back when he worked in wildlife conservation in his previous life, cats had caused him plenty of trouble. More than once, the wild animals he had painstakingly rescued were tortured to death by cats.

Once, a group of college students abandoned cats at Loren's conservation base, resulting in a nest of owls he had just rescued meeting tragic ends. When Loren found them through social media, they were still patting themselves on the back for their "good deed." If they hadn't bragged about their "charitable act," Loren wouldn't have been able to track them down.

The black cat fled screaming toward its owner, then hissed at the stone. Its owner was a middle-aged woman dressed in luxurious clothing.

She walked on stiletto heels, and Loren felt he could almost hear the heels crying out in pain. When she wore those high heels, it was like pouring thick yogurt into a cup—layers of fat piled up, seemingly ready to overflow at any moment.

In this manner, she walked up to Loren, grabbed his collar, her eyes filled with intense superiority. If she ever lost her memory someday, the only words she'd probably remember would be the slurs she used to discriminate against country folk.

Loren looked down at her heels, thinking he definitely needed to find out which shop made these high heels. That way, if he ever needed to manufacture airplanes in the future, he'd know where to get the material for the landing gear.

"Do you know how much my little female cat costs? She's purebred. A lowlife like you would never see that much money in your entire lifetime."

Her first concern wasn't for her cat's wellbeing, but rather emphasizing how valuable her cat was.

"And what are you? Don't touch my clothes—they're expensive, you can't afford to compensate for them."

Loren easily brushed away the woman's hand, bent down, and gently picked up the injured nightingale, completely ignoring the woman.

"My name is Simone, and I'm a teacher at the Gedlan Royal Magic Academy! My husband is on the invitation list for the King's ball today, and even that Master Mentor will be attending the ball tonight!"

Hearing Simone's words, Loren, who was examining the nightingale's injuries, suddenly felt like he couldn't hold back. He never expected to encounter this kind of situation himself one day, and it took considerable effort not to laugh out loud.

"Master Mentor..."

Anna tugged at Loren's sleeve. If her request had genuinely caused trouble for Loren, Anna would feel terribly guilty.

Hearing Anna's form of address for Loren, Simone suddenly had an ominous premonition. Many stories had this kind of plot—a noble insults a beggar, only to discover he's actually a prince, then the noble gets their comeuppance... Simone began contemplating how likely such scenarios were to occur in real life.

She scanned the people around Loren—none of them looked ordinary. Sure enough, the next moment, Loren stroked Anna's hair and spoke as if no one else was present:

"Anna, remember this—you don't need to fear any spoiled noble here, because you are the most badass spoiled noble of them all."

After saying this, Loren turned to face Simone and removed his black cloak's hood:

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Loren, a rather unremarkable composer."

After hearing Simone's name, Loren remembered her. She had appeared in the game, just a minor character, not even significant enough to be considered a minor enemy, but Loren had a strong impression of her.

Because when the Gedlan Kingdom went to war with the neighboring Bardo Kingdom that worshipped the God of Plague, she betrayed her own country without hesitation, even though they had decent chances of winning. If not for her, the Gedlan Kingdom wouldn't have suffered so badly.

If that were all, Loren wouldn't have remembered her so vividly—many people betrayed their country after the war started, with nobles fleeing faster than each other. What truly disgusted Loren were her other actions. Not only did she throw herself at the enemy forces (though she was rejected), she also seduced her own students to become playthings for the enemy troops.

The most repulsive part was that after the God of Bountiful Harvest ultimately won, she instead became portrayed as a positive character, celebrated by many women, which earned her a spot on Finale's must-kill list.

In Loren's eyes, Simone had already been sentenced to death—he just didn't want her to die too easily.

Realizing the shift in atmosphere, those who had initially sided with Simone suddenly began condemning her in unison. Even Simone herself started trembling. She was wicked, not stupid. Even if the person before her might not be the real Loren, she didn't dare take the risk. She could always seek revenge later...

"My clothes are made of high-grade materials, fireproof and waterproof, so two hundred gold is quite reasonable. Moreover, many of my song inspirations come from this nightingale—its value is truly immeasurable."

"However, I'm a magnanimous person. Whatever you do to me doesn't matter... but this black cloak holds symbolic significance. It's covered with the God of Bountiful Harvest's runes, essentially equivalent to an altar, and you've destroyed my clothes..."

The implied meaning behind these words was clear—he was framing Simone with the charge of blasphemy.

Before Loren could even finish, Simone began screaming and raging, throwing her cat to the ground. Those sturdy high heels came down on the cat's head:

"Damn stray cat! How dare you attack the Master Mentor's nightingale!"

This was the first time Loren had directly witnessed what "war stomping" truly meant. Both Anna and Naclis couldn't bear to watch, covering their eyes.

"Wasn't this your cat?"

"This is a stray—"

"Shh..." Loren interrupted Simone's attempted excuse: "Save your explanations for the King. Disgusting."

After that, Loren didn't spare Simone another glance, walking directly toward the palace.

Every guest entering the palace underwent meticulous inspection—both invitations and guest lists were carefully checked. Only when Loren approached did the gatekeepers suddenly become extremely reverent, not checking his invitation while offering him solemn salutes.

Witnessing this scene, Simone's heart sank into despair.