Becoming a god by raising witches

Chapter 39, The Secret of the Funeral

The next day, when Locke woke up again, he had returned to his own body.

Hannah was deeply worried about Weina, and walked out of the bedroom with dark circles under her eyes.

Locke made her a cozy breakfast, still the same flavorful mashed potatoes made from potatoes.

Eileen returned to her body and began to enjoy the dishes Locke had prepared.

Simple ingredients, yet a wonderful flavor; Eileen began to like potatoes.

[Ding! Successfully fed the witch!]

[Randomly acquire one of the witch's abilities]

[Retrieving data...]

[Acuity of hearing: Your hearing has improved; you can clearly hear what others are saying within a range of 100 meters.]

[The Path to Advancement: Overhear 1000 secret conversations to upgrade to the Insightful One]

[The one who hears others' thoughts: able to hear their innermost feelings and thus understand their secrets.]

[Due to the extraction of a duplicate ability, proficiency +100]

[Acuity of hearing: 106/1000]

I drew the same ability again. Could it be that Miss Eileen, who claims to be all-around, actually only has these few skills?

Locke looked at Eileen with suspicion.

He decided to take some time to read "The Witch's Revelation" to find out which type of witch Miss Irene was.

Last night, the generous Eileen had agreed to lend him the book, but she hadn't yet kept her promise.

Meanwhile, Locke summarized the proficiency bonus obtained by repeatedly drawing the same ability, which is about one-tenth of the base value. For example, the [Witch Affinity] ability, which only requires chatting with 10 different witches to advance, will directly increase by 1 point of proficiency after repeated drawing. On the other hand, the [Acuity of Hearing] and [Body Coordination] abilities, which require listening to secrets 1000 times to advance, will directly increase by 100 points of proficiency.

In addition to the six secrets he had overheard intermittently before, Locke's auditory acuity has now reached 106.

After Hannah finished breakfast, she changed into black clothes and put on a lady's hat.

"Locke, I'm going to Werner's funeral. Do you want to come with me?"

"of course."

Weina had visited Hannah's house a few times and had a good relationship with Locke, so Locke felt he should go too.

Hannah nodded slightly, waiting for Locke to put on his coat before the two left the apartment together.

Hannah was in a low mood the whole way, and Locke didn't know how to comfort her.

Werner's funeral was organized by a small funeral home; her family was much wealthier than Hannah's, which allowed them to afford such a dignified funeral.

As Werner lay in her coffin, many relatives and friends came to say goodbye, each offering a white rose.

Her makeup was not very refined, her golden hair was like withered weeds, having lost its former luster, her fair skin was covered with thick blush, and she lay stiffly with a bouquet of white roses in her hand.

Father Barnes of the Cathedral of Life stood at the front, holding a golden leaf, and read the eulogy.

Many of Hannah's acquaintances attended the funeral; reporters and editors from the Kossork Evening News were all there.

This includes Lloyd Haber, the editor-in-chief who has a rosacea nose and is overweight.

Hannah frowned instinctively when she saw him.

Free drinks, beverages, and desserts were served at the funeral, and Locke, with his black cat, searched for food to feed her.

As a result, the black cat didn't eat anything, but Locke drank quite a lot of beverages, which caused him to frequently go in and out of the bathroom.

"Do you think Véna's suicide was related to Lloyd?"

"Shh, you can't talk nonsense about this. Do you want to lose your job?"

"Did you just see Hannah? She looks so haggard."

"Yes, it's so pitiful. If I weren't already married, I would definitely be willing to help her. Poor Hannah, she can't find a job and has to support a useless younger brother. Her life must be very difficult."

Locke was in the bathroom when he heard people talking about his sister Hannah outside the door, so he perked up his ears.

“She has no chance of finding a job related to journalism. I really want to remind him, but I’m afraid Lloyd will find out.”

“Lloyd is spreading rumors that she seduced her superiors and fabricated fake news to ruin her reputation. No newspaper will accept her now. Hopefully, she can come to her senses soon and find another job.”

Two reporters from the Kossork Evening News whispered to each other as they washed their hands.

They never imagined that their low-volume conversation would be overheard by Locke in the bathroom.

At the same time, Locke also received feedback from the system, receiving a notification that his hearing acuity had increased by 1.

[Acuity of hearing: 107/1000]

It seems that only those with keen hearing can hear secrets to increase their proficiency.

Locke remembered that the Lloyd they were talking about was the editor-in-chief of the Kossork Evening News, who was Hannah's boss.

Was Hannah fired because she offended the editor-in-chief?

Furthermore, this editor-in-chief is highly likely to be involved in Weina's death.

Hannah is usually warm and outgoing, how could she have offended the editor-in-chief?

Locke could only think of one possibility.

Lloyd fell for his sister Hannah, but Hannah refused, so he held a grudge and not only fired Hannah but also spread rumors and slanders against her, making it impossible for her to find work in her field again.

Lloyd's purpose in doing this was probably to make Hannah cry and beg him to come back.

What a disgusting bastard.

Locke left the washroom and returned to the funeral.

Picky eater Eileen finally found something she could swallow: a brightly colored cherry pie.

Unfortunately, just as she stretched out her claws to grab a piece, Locke lifted her up.

Locke picked up the cherry pie and handed it to Eileen.

The results showed that feeding failed.

Yeah, things that aren't made by myself are bound to be bad.

We must make sugar when we get back!

Carry some candy with you!

This is a good way to solve the problem once and for all.

Locke saw the cherry pie and was inspired to make candy.

Locke looked around but couldn't see Hannah. He could only ask Eric, a familiar person next to him.

"Eri, have you seen Hannah?"

"She went to the dense forest with Editor-in-Chief Lloyd."

Eric pointed in the direction east of the cemetery.

Locke thanked Eric and immediately took two steps at a time, quickly heading east, straining his ears to catch Hannah's voice.

A moment later, Locke overheard Lloyd and Hannah talking.

"Hannah, how are you feeling? Do you regret it? Do you want to go back to the Kosork Evening News?"

Can I go back?

"Of course, as long as you agree to be my mistress, the doors of the Kossork Evening Post will always be open for you."

“Lloyd, I won’t agree to that.”

"hehe."

Lloyd sneered, "Foolish Hannah, haven't you realized that after searching for so long, not a single newspaper is willing to hire you?"

Hannah gritted her teeth and glared angrily at the fat, big-eared Lloyd.

It's because of you!

"That's right, it's because of me. If you don't agree to my terms, I will cut off all your means of survival. No matter how talented you are in journalism, you will never have a chance to make it in the world. You will only be a rat in the sewers of Pete District, living a life in the slums."

Lloyd smiled with a twisted expression, while Hannah trembled with rage.

Snapped--

A resounding slap landed on Lloyd's face.

Lloyd and Hannah were both stunned.

Hannah's eyes instantly reddened when she saw Locke suddenly appear.

Lloyd covered his swollen left cheek and pointed angrily at Locke.

"Damn it! You slum bug, how dare you hit me!"

Locke stared at him coldly, uttering a single, clear word.

"roll!"