Seth watched Rayelle sitting on the altar, lost in brief contemplation.

Who is this person?

If it were a Chaos Cultist he recognized, preparing early for screening, Seth might have felt relieved. After all, they’d be considerate of his hard work.

But the petite pink-haired loli on the altar was someone Seth had never seen before.

Though Seth considered himself not very diligent, always dreaming of slacking off and leaving early, he was certain the Chaos Sect had no such petite loli members.

Let alone a pink-haired one.

Meanwhile, Rayelle hadn’t noticed Seth hiding in the nearby bushes, his entire body and aura concealed in shadows. She continued impersonating the examiner with perfect seriousness.

“...Hmm, your answer is quite good.”

Rayelle looked at the black-haired girl before her. After listening to her meticulously prepared, flawless response, she nodded.

But just as Aerin breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she’d passed, Rayelle suddenly fixed her gaze on a certain part of Aerin’s body, her voice laced with strange emotion.

“However, I must ask—are you padding that? How can a normal person be so big?”

Aerin froze, staring at the pink-haired loli’s resentful expression. A trace of foreboding rose in her heart.

“No.”

“Really? For real? Let me see?”

Under Rayelle’s stare, a surge of intense anger flared in Aerin’s chest.

Since when did Rigmore, this evil dragon, become so lecherous!

In her past life, she was merely scummy.

Now, she was both scummy and lewd. Could it be because she turned into a loli?

Aerin used every ounce of willpower to suppress her rage, barely resisting the urge to slash this pink-haired loli, drag her home, and “train” her properly. Instead, she pulled her collar open a hair’s width, revealing a hint of flesh.

This humiliation—I’ll make this trashy dragon pay double later!

Aerin stared expressionlessly at Rayelle, adding another tally to her inner grudge.

Rayelle, however, glanced seriously at the faint glimpse of flesh, nodding with a peculiar expression.

“Hmm... good, it’s real. But I dislike large ones. Do you know, ‘How can one pacify the world with uneven breasts?’ Too big hinders movement and is hard to conceal.”

Rayelle waved her hand, stretching lazily.

“You might not suit the Chaos Sect. Go back. Next.”

“...”

The corner of Aerin’s eye twitched slightly. She felt utterly numb.

Huh?

Pulling this stunt?

This evil dragon is so scummy!

Disqualifying after checking her out—what a way to discard someone after use.

Meanwhile, Seth, hidden in the bushes and observing silently, also felt completely numb.

Is this even allowed?

What a bizarre rejection reason?

After watching awhile, Seth felt the pink-haired loli on the altar wore an invisible sign: “Our sect doesn’t recruit people.”

Though Seth had been a Chaos Cultist for decades, traveled countless nations and cities, weathered major events and historical tides, he thought he’d seen everything.

But this scene—he’d truly never witnessed anything like it.

Could this person be impersonating an examiner to eliminate rivals and secure a spot?

Seth gritted his teeth in fury.

So despicable!

If he hadn’t arrived an hour early, this scummy, lewd pink-haired loli would have driven everyone away!

Seth concealed his aura, swiftly moved behind Rayelle, and slapped out with rage.

“How dare you! Impersonating an examiner here!”

The slap, carrying terrifying momentum and a fierce gust, blew the altar queue back several meters.

But Rayelle had sensed danger as he approached. The moment the slap swung, she leaped away nimbly, landing aside and dodging.

“Speak! Who are you! What evil intentions drive you to cause trouble like this!”

Facing Seth’s fierce interrogation, Rayelle blinked twice. Tears welled faintly in her eyes as she pouted, looking deeply wronged.

“Sir! I’m innocent! I, Aelora, have the Chaos Sect’s future at heart! Absolutely no ulterior motives!”

Seeing Rayelle’s cute, wronged expression and hearing her sincere, soft voice, Seth, fuming, was momentarily speechless.

You’re the one feeling wronged?

Damn it—if I hadn’t come early, everyone would be gone!

“Explain! How exactly have you been thinking of the Chaos Sect!”

Facing Seth’s anger, Rayelle bowed respectfully, replying earnestly.

“Sir, look—these people are outlaws yet so foolish they believed I was the examiner. The Chaos Sect needs intelligent, ambitious individuals who are naturally suspicious. That way, they won’t be tricked by the Church into spilling secrets and can resist them!”

Under Rayelle’s respectful posture and truthful tone, Seth’s anger lessened slightly.

Her words held some logic.

“Moreover, I came early to check for spies from the Adventurers Guild or Church. What if they disrupted the official assessment? So I took preemptive action to screen them out, preventing ritual disruption and spy infiltration. Why not?”

As she spoke, Rayelle narrowed her eyes, scanning the crowd below with suspicion, as if certain righteous spies lurked among them.

“I’d say, Adventurers Guild spies might even hide here right now!”

Hearing this, Aerin’s heart skipped a beat. Cold sweat formed on her palms.

What!?

Had she been discovered?

When?

Aerin gritted her teeth inwardly.

No wonder Rigmore is formidable—even with my perfect disguise, she saw through it!

While Aerin tensed in alert, Rayelle merely put on a show, scanning without glancing at her.

She wasn’t actually interested in spies.

Just acting on the spot.

At the same time, Rayelle felt oddly familiar with this behavior, as if she’d done it countless times before.

Like Rigmore playing her true role.

Seth watched Rayelle’s earnest face and sincere tone, not seeming to lie. His expression relaxed slightly.

After all, in that brief clash, he’d sensed this pink-haired loli’s strength was formidable.

Recruiting her could boost the Sacrifice Ritual’s success rate on Crimson Moon Day.

Seth worried the Hero Aerin might disrupt the ritual. They needed cannon fodder or strong fighters to hold her off.

“I truly have no ill intentions—I came early, there are many here, and most are foolish minnows, not matching my little finger. Kicking them out early saves you effort and reduces my competition. It’s a win-win.”

Rayelle stated seriously.

Seth nodded, feeling her sincerity.

Moreover, this pink-haired thing was delightfully scummy, strong, and clever—perfect for the Chaos Sect’s standards.

She’d likely shine in the Crimson Moon Day battle.

Plus, with headquarters soon evaluating performance, her promotion would count as his achievement.

He might gain the High Priest’s favor, leave this backward Bonn City, and enjoy riches near the Chaos Sect headquarters!

While Seth happily imagined his future, the crowd below erupted.

“What!? That guy isn’t the examiner?”

“Damn, we were tricked!”

“Fuck! I’ll pin her down and beat her!”

People below the altar turned red-faced, jumping like monkeys unable to reach tourists’ bananas.

But they only bluffed; none dared charge.

First, Seth stood there, seemingly approving of Rayelle.

Second, they’d seen her strength—even matching the real examiner. Not to be underestimated.

These deterred direct attacks.

But their fury simmered.

“Tsk, such idiots.”

Rayelle ignored the commotion. She narrowed her eyes, covered her mouth, and let out mocking giggles that made the crowd’s blood pressure skyrocket. They longed to rush up and pin her down.

Of course, just thoughts—no one dared act.

Even Lucas and Shipman, the strongest, stood cautiously below, not approaching.

Weaker minions were even less likely to become her punching bags.

“What pathetic minnows~ Only good at trash talk~”

Rayelle watched the furious crowd, her eyes glinting with deeper amusement.

I love seeing your angry faces—so mad but powerless against me.

Amidst the clamor, Rayelle felt torrents of magic power flooding her dry mana channels, gushing into her body.

The satisfying fullness made her half-close her eyes, sighing comfortably.

This was her goal.

The magic gained now was dozens of times more than last night’s, still pouring in!

Her small mana pool filled instantly, then stretched larger under the deluge.

The explosion directly multiplied her mana limit.

Total mana meant combat power!

With more mana, her versatile ability could do even more—like healing Chriss later.

While Rayelle savored the surge and planned ahead, Aerin below froze in shock.

Wasn’t Rigmore already allied with the Chaos Sect?

Why, from this scene, did she seem completely unfamiliar with them?