Chapter 139: Registering For Beauty Pageant Of The Past

"I’m here to participate in the Most Beautiful Female Selection."

The moment she said this, the surrounding females fell silent.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then—

Laughter erupted.

"Did I hear that correctly?"

"Kaelira is participating in the Most Beautiful Female Selection?"

"Then I definitely want to see her rank!"

"She’ll probably come in last."

"This is going to be interesting."

"I heard Serena is participating too."

"Really? Then won’t the sisters be competing against each other?"

"Wouldn’t that be embarrassing for Sora?"

"Oh my goodness, I already feel embarrassed for her."

"Where did she get the courage to sign up?"

The laughter grew louder.

Sora stood calmly in the middle of the crowd.

She had expected this reaction.

She knew exactly what these females thought of her.

For years, she had been considered unattractive.

She had deliberately avoided gatherings where appearance mattered.

She had never willingly placed herself in a situation where people could openly compare her with beautiful females.

And now she had voluntarily signed up for the biggest beauty competition in the region.

Naturally, everyone was shocked.

But Sora didn’t care.

She had her own reason.

She wasn’t participating simply because she wanted to prove that she was beautiful.

She needed the system’s reward.

More importantly, she needed information about Damien.

As long as she could win, everything else was secondary.

The news spread through the tribe at astonishing speed.

Before long, almost everyone knew.

Sora was participating in the Most Beautiful Female Selection.

When Lyra heard the news, she looked incredulous.

She immediately turned toward the female who had just returned from the registration area.

"Did Kaelira really sign up?"

The female nodded.

"Yes. I saw her register personally."

Lyra’s expression became complicated.

In the past, Sora had possessed an unusual amount of self-awareness.

She knew she wasn’t beautiful.

Because of that, she wouldn’t even go near the Most Beautiful Female Selection.

Whenever people discussed it, she would hide far away.

She was afraid that others would even notice her presence.

Yet now...

Sora had actually dared to register.

How could Lyra not be shocked?

But this wasn’t merely some small competition held within their own tribe.

The Most Beautiful Female Selection attracted participants from more than ten surrounding tribes.

Beautiful females from various tribes would gather together.

The competition was intense.

The winner would receive recognition from numerous tribes and gain the right to choose from the beastmen who admired her.

For someone like Sora to participate...

Lyra felt that she was simply asking to embarrass herself.

Then she remembered something else.

Sora had once introduced herself as Lyra’s daughter.

The thought of Sora standing in front of so many people and being ridiculed made Lyra’s face burn with embarrassment.

She immediately glared at the female beside her.

"Why didn’t you stop her?"

The female looked helpless.

"How could I stop her? She had already made up her mind."

Lyra’s expression remained ugly.

She had to admit that she also thought Sora’s decision was inappropriate.

But there was something else that bothered her.

Sora had changed.

That was the part Lyra couldn’t understand.

A few months ago, Sora would have hidden herself whenever people mentioned beauty.

Now she had not only volunteered to participate, but she had done so without hesitation.

What had happened to her?

How had the timid and self-conscious female suddenly become so bold?

Lyra’s eyes narrowed.

She couldn’t help feeling that something was wrong.

Meanwhile, the gossip continued spreading.

"Kaelira really registered!"

"Can you imagine her competing with the beautiful females from the other tribes?"

"She won’t have any chance."

"This year’s selection will certainly be lively."

Some people laughed.

Some looked forward to the spectacle.

Others simply wanted to see how badly Sora would rank.

But Sora herself had already returned to her small room.

She wasn’t interested in their opinions.

She sat beside the bed and began planning.

First, she needed to find talc.

Then mica.

She could use her metal-type ability to search for mineral deposits.

After that, she needed pearls or another fine material that could be ground into powder.

She would have to experiment with the proportions.

Then there was the mirror.

That might be more difficult.

But difficult didn’t mean impossible.

Sora’s eyes became increasingly determined.

She had only a short amount of time.

The Most Beautiful Female Selection was approaching.

If she wanted to completely change the way everyone saw her, she had to prepare quickly.

She touched her face.

Then she smiled.

The people outside believed she had entered the competition to embarrass herself.

They believed she would come in last.

They believed she didn’t even have the qualification to stand among the other females.

Fine.

Let them think that.

Sora had never been afraid of starting from nothing.

She had already built almost everything she needed with her own hands.

This time, she would build her own beauty as well.

And when the competition began, she would let everyone see the result.

Most importantly, if the system was telling the truth, winning the title could finally reveal whether Damien was one of her target hosts.

That was what mattered most.

Sora clenched her fists.

"Let’s begin."

Her gaze became sharp.

"First, I’ll find the minerals."

"Then I’ll make the cosmetics."

"And after that..."

She touched her face again, a confident smile slowly appearing.

"I’ll make myself beautiful."

* * * * *

The females who had been registering for the competition didn’t think Sora’s participation was entirely ridiculous.

After all, everyone had noticed that Sora’s figure had changed dramatically in recent months.

She had lost a considerable amount of weight, and although her appearance still couldn’t be compared with the most beautiful females in the surrounding tribes, there was no denying that she looked much better than before.

So, in their opinion, Sora participating in the Most Beautiful Female Selection might not necessarily end in complete disaster.

However, Lyra’s reaction was far too exaggerated.

The female who had registered Sora glanced at Lyra and remembered the question she had asked Sora earlier.

Sora’s answer had been surprisingly confident.

She hadn’t shown even the slightest trace of fear.

Instead, she had calmly said that she was confident she could win first place.

The female couldn’t help repeating those words.

"Kaelira said she’s confident she can win first place."

Lyra’s expression immediately darkened.

"First place?"

Her voice was filled with disbelief.

"Let her go out there and embarrass herself, then."

The female beside her remained silent.

Lyra clearly didn’t want to hear anything that might contradict her opinion.