Relax, I'm not some troublemaker from a role-playing game.

In that instant, only deathly silence remained on the narrow staircase leading to the basement.

A long, deathly silence.

Chaos's eyes were lowered, and Bai Xi could not discern any particular emotion from his gaze.

He could only hear Chaos breathing, which seemed slightly more rapid than usual.

"The Cult of Serpes..."

Finally, Chaos murmured the name, breaking the exceptionally long silence.

Of course he had heard of the name. As the eldest son of the Mansfield family, it was only natural.

From old Mansfield's ramblings in his sleep, the occasional fearful murmurs in his later years, and those solemn admonitions and entrustments...

He said, "If you ever encounter members of the Serpens Order, remember to stay as far away from them as possible."

"Because I'm already their enemy."

And now, the chosen ones of the Serpes Order are standing before him.

Chaos's fingertips twitched almost imperceptibly, but before he could do anything, he heard Bai Xi's calm voice:

"Mr. Chaos, if I were you, I wouldn't do anything right now. As I said, I am a chosen one of the Sepes Order."

Bai Xi said calmly, "Moreover, they are people specially sent here to investigate. If I lose contact with them here, things will become very difficult."

Are you threatening me?

Chaos responded coldly, while Bai Xi shrugged noncommittally.

"I know... there's always a way. Making someone disappear without a trace is a simple thing. But that takes time to prepare, doesn't it?"

Do you have time?

Bai Xi asked this question, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chaos's hand clench into a fist silently. A moment later, Bai Xi heard the sound of dice rolling.

A successful speech grants a 10-point bonus to the Persuasion check.

【说服检定=74/70+10=74/80，成功】

Seeing this result, Bai Xi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, I managed to scare them; I almost fell into a ditch...

After mentally wiping away non-existent cold sweat from his brow, Bai Xi turned his gaze back to Chaos in front of him.

Chaos's clenched hand slowly loosened, and he finally looked at Bai Xi again.

"She's still waiting, isn't she?"

Bai Xi spoke first, trying to take control of the conversation. Chaos's expression turned somewhat gloomy:

"What exactly do you want?"

At this point, even those insignificant honorifics have been discarded.

Chaos spoke so bluntly to Bai Xi.

Bai Xi just smiled helplessly: "I am a favored member of the Serpes Order... and I call that child a blasphemous creation."

"Isn't it obvious enough?"

He stepped forward, looked at Chaos, and said, enunciating each word clearly, "I need to know what old Mansfield did, Mr. Chaos."

Chaos's hand stiffened, but he still forced himself to ask:

"Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you right here, Mr. Baek Hee, no matter what?"

"You won't."

Bai Xi shook her head, so decisive and firm: "Just like you said, you still have to maintain the Mansfield family's reputation, and... she's still waiting inside."

"But how can I trust you?"

Chaos stared intently at Bai Xi, who was just about to speak when her cerebellum suddenly went blank.

Oh right... I'm the judge, which means my mission is to cut down blasphemous works!

But he still coughed symbolically twice, and said seriously:

"If I'm certain it's not a blasphemous work, then of course there won't be any problem."

"Moreover, the Mansfield family will regain the friendship of the Seraphine Order. I believe our friendship can last forever."

And so, he spouted a bunch of nonsense that even he himself didn't believe.

However, to Bai Xi's surprise, Chaos believed it. And that Sima's face even revealed a look... akin to ecstatic joy?

"That's great."

Chaos let out a long sigh of relief, as if he had finally relaxed, and looked into the distance, remaining silent for a moment.

"I thought it would be a fight to the death."

In the end, Chaos said this, which left Bai Xi completely bewildered.

Wait, what's going on, bro? What happened?

Why can't I keep up?

"...What exactly happened?"

Bai Xi frowned. Chaos seemed to be pondering his answer for a long time before finally handing it over:

"Alice... is not an ordinary little girl. In a sense, she is my father's most prized 'creation.' I use this unfortunate word to refer to her."

"What do you mean? Explain it more clearly."

“Mr. Bai,” Chaos turned to Bai Xi and said in a calm tone, “my father once received the grace of the great Serpes.”

"And Alice is the creation of this grace."

For a moment, Bai Xi was stunned. He looked at Chaos, his eyes wide.

God the hell, God created this! The backgrounds of this group are all incredibly outrageous!

But Chaos continued on, seemingly oblivious to his own words: "They cannot die, and they recover quickly from injuries. Born of the gods, they are entirely new human beings, possessing an innocent and beautiful self. Apart from lacking common sense and being overly naive, they have no problems whatsoever. They are... perfect creations."

"Therefore, I am certain that she is not a blasphemous work. How could a gift bestowed by His own hand be blasphemous?"

"But……"

“My father did indeed call her ‘blasphemy,’” Chaos replied coldly, “but in his later years he often went mad, which is shameful, but his words are often unreliable.”

Bai Xi watched Chaos's every move in silence.

[Psychological test score = 63/70, average success]

You can sense that everything right now is Chaos's true feeling.

Is Alice not a blasphemous work?

For a moment, a sense of confusion flashed through Bai Xi's mind. He glanced at the task panel; neither of the two hidden tasks showed any sign of completion.

It was neither Alice nor old Mansfield's Invisible Child transformation ritual...?

What the hell is that? Are you going to conjure up some kind of living god and make an Abhoth pop out of nowhere?

"...I will continue to observe."

After thinking for a long time without any clue, Bai Xi could only give his answer in this way.

Chaos bowed slightly. After figuring out Bai Xi's purpose, he found Bai Xi more agreeable.

At least, it won't affect this family...

Yeah.

He closed his eyes and thought to himself.

"Brother Chaos?"

A somewhat timid voice rang out from inside the small house:

"Five minutes are up..."

"Okay, I'm coming right now."

Chaos answered in a gentle voice, then turned his gaze to Bai Xi:

"I have fulfilled your request, Mr. Bai. Now, may I ask if you could finish the play...?"

"I'll go in with you."

Bai Xi sighed, looked at the basement door in front of him, and said decisively.

But since Serapace said the blasphemous work is in the basement... well, we should at least go in and take a look, right?

There must be some clues... and in any case, Alice is definitely a key.

Then, there's only one thing left to do.

Try to get some clues from Alice.

Thinking of this, Bai Xi gritted her teeth.

It's just playing with kids, right? I'm the best at that!

Look at my 85-year-old appearance and 70-year-old charm!