This wizard only wishes to be a teacher

So the moment the maid entered the room, Lucien instinctively took a small step backward.

At the same time, his hands were clasped behind his back, exhibiting the nervousness and imperfections appropriate for Lurah’s age.

"Who are you? Where is Sister Mier? Where is my father?" Lucien’s body trembled slightly, and he kept retreating until his back was against the wall, looking frail, pitiful, and helpless.

"Who is this little girl?" Observing Lucien’s movements through a clergyman with a special seeing gift and also glancing at a subordinate by his side, Bishop Waona silently took note and inquired.

"She is Menter Lurah, Duke Menter’s daughter..." The clergyman stood up reverently and began to introduce the general situation concerning the identity of "Lurah."

Bishop Waona listened without much change in expression, simply continuing his observations of Lucien’s performance and the interactions between Lucien and the maid transferred from another family.

"We’ll tentatively categorize her as D-class. This noble, who hasn’t even awakened her talent and has little influence within her family, doesn’t hold much value for control. Perhaps she merely witnessed something she shouldn’t have at night and was therefore targeted by the demon race."

Waona’s brow furrowed slightly, but he eventually shook his head, a touch of disappointment flickering in his eyes, for he did not catch anything of interest from Lurah.

"Is this the last one?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I’ll go personally and have a chat with this little lady." Bishop Waona stood up, ending the ongoing inspection spell, and after straightening his bishop’s robe, he strode out of the room and into the one where Lucien was currently in.

"Are you Lurah? I am Bishop Waona, responsible for the St. Anton Church in the royal capital. If I’m not mistaken, I also conducted your baptism..." Bishop Waona’s tone was gentle; a soft glow emanated from his body, which seemed to have a calming effect on the mind.

"Just an ordinary ’identity,’ though it seems to possess some special psychic talent. No significant threat to the team." Lucien let out a sigh of relief inwardly and cooperated with this informal "inquisition."

...

Northern Border.

"Why is this happening? Why can’t I sense Elder’s presence anymore?" Rafael looked at the rising sun in the east, his expression clearly panicked.

His eyes betrayed an indelible fatigue, having had a foreboding feeling since last night when he noticed something was wrong with the chaos seed given to him by the Elder.

He had been anxious all night long, only to find in the end that the chaos seed planted inside him by Elder Abu had completely vanished, and even the Twisted Talisman granted by Abu had lost much of its effect, turning from a "living creature" to something seemingly dead.

The Twisted Talisman was the key artifact he relied on to deceive the rules; its essence was a massive concentration of divine power, imbued with twisting forces.

In some ways, the Twisted Talisman could be considered a part split off from Elder Abu’s body, and with it, Rafael could even wield some of the rules controlled by the goblin priest Abu.

But now, the Twisted Talisman was "dead," though it retained a last trace of activity, it had become silent and was on the verge of losing the soul that once clung to it.

What did this mean?

Rafael had a bold, and perhaps presumptuous suspicion in his heart—one that he, himself, was not willing to accept, forcing him to look for any other possibility to invalidate this conjecture.

After all, that was Elder Abu! Even within the chaos civilization, he was a personage next only to a few sovereigns and divine lords, a great existence!

It was next to impossible for such a high-level being to be killed, shielded by numerous precautions and life-saving contingencies, and should any accidents occur, it was likely that Elder Abu would be brought back by the Great Mother Goddess from eternal silence.

But whether Elder Abu had survived or perished, the Twisted Talisman should either remain intact as before or have shattered due to Abu’s death...

However, the current state of the Twisted Talisman, being dull but intact, clearly indicated that Elder Abu was in a terrible condition, undoubtedly in some trouble, yet Rafael had received no notification.

"I can’t keep waiting like this!" Rafael made up his mind, looking towards the sun in the east as his right hand reached for the Twisted Talisman on his chest.

If he could fully activate the power of this talisman, there was a chance to restart this cycle and, perhaps, his companions, including the Elder, could be reverted back to normal...

Rafael contemplated, or rather, he was like a gambler convincing himself, downplaying the risks of failure and amplifying the potential benefits of success.

After all, he was without a better option. Without Abu, they, weak beings without the ability to journey through the Star Sea, were completely unprepared to escape from the Dream Layer where they had infiltrated that minor world.

And to be gathered by the Mother Goddess?

That was even less probable! They, who lacked the qualifications to preside over a ritual, and even to worship the Mother Goddess directly, could not expect her to turn her gaze upon them.

Thus, for Rafael, such a desperate measure was actually the best choice under the circumstances.

But given the resources Rafael could muster, he needed to find the right opportunity, which was still beneath the Demon Nest.

"I must endure." Rafael clenched his fists.

"Although the Dream Rules have been revised, some changes related to Rafael are still effective in this cycle, my assumption of Rafael’s identity is now an established fact; the Dream Rules will not reject me outright. However... I absolutely must not leave this body to act on my own, for if I do, I might be directly eliminated on return due to resistance by the rules..."

With these thoughts, Rafael did not hesitate to stand up and head towards Roland’s—or rather Hercules’s—tent. He had to make every second count, even if it meant taking certain risks to increase the likelihood of exposure, to initiate the Demon Nest ahead of schedule.