Enough to carry the law firm through its early stage.
Tsk, the power of connections truly was formidable.
-------------------------------------------
Boom!
In the dead of night, the dock district erupted with one deafening roar after another.
The sound was enormous, as if thunder itself had descended upon the world, pounding relentlessly against the sea.
Hastur woke from his sleep. After pausing for a moment, he got up from bed, turned on the brightest lamp, walked to the window, and pushed it open, his face grave as he looked toward the docks.
The weather tonight was clear. The crimson moon shed its light, covering every visible house in a thin red blanket.
But in the distance, over the dock district, dark clouds seemed to be gathering. Muffled thunder rolled, each strike pounding on the heart, making it hard to sleep.
It looked as if a thunderstorm was raging at the docks.
But Hastur knew this phenomenon was anything but ordinary.
It was the sign of high-sequence Beyonders clashing. His spirituality quivered slightly, as if warning him not to approach that place.
Had Bernadette clashed with the people of the Rose School of Thought?
Perhaps not just them, such fierce winds and thunder suggested the Church of the Storms might have entered the battle as well.
From what he knew of the Seven Churches, they would first oppose the current Rose School of Thought, then target Bernadette.
"I hope Miss Sharon and the others aren't with Bernadette right now, or they'll definitely be caught up in it."
Hastur felt some worry for Sharon and Maric. If high-sequence members of the Rose School of Thought made their move, it might trigger corresponding changes along that pathway.
The aura on Sharon and Maric could no longer be hidden.
If just one demigod noticed them, it would mean a brutal battle.
But at this moment, there was nothing he could do, only pray that Miss Sharon and the others were near St. Samuel's Cathedral.
After quietly observing for a while, Hastur noticed that the battle at the docks wasn't too intense tonight, and the fighting seemed to be happening out at sea.
He continued to watch for a bit, but all he could see were dark clouds and flashing lightning twisting together, nothing else was clear.
He gently closed the window, preparing to lie back down to rest.
But just as he reached his bed, the window slammed open with a bang, both panes rattling wildly in the wind.
An unusual wind! A familiar feeling!
Sensing danger, Hastur quickly took two steps forward, gripped a cane, and drew the sword hidden within it, his sharp gaze fixed on the window.
The gale still howled, looking like nothing more than a natural phenomenon.
Hastur did not step forward to close the window. He stayed on high alert, edging toward the door.
His mind raced, thinking of what rules he should set to protect his own safety.
Suddenly, a figure arrived with the wind, floating outside the window.
By the light in the room, Hastur could clearly see the figure.
He looked very handsome, with delicate features, pale skin, and a somewhat frail build, his aura resembling that of a civil official.
Only his eyes stood out, intense, filled with unrestrained curiosity as they swept across everything around him.
Mr. A! The name surged up in Hastur's heart!
He had never expected Mr. A to show up at his house at such a time!
It was probably because the Night Watchers had been dispatched to the docks tonight to maintain order and fight, giving Mr. A the chance to move freely.
Mr. A said nothing, only stared at him, as if admiring a fine piece of porcelain.
Hastur had already backed up to the door. If Mr. A made any sudden move, he could break through the door at once and shout for help.
If that failed, he would call out the name of the Lord of Storms.
Perhaps tonight's battle had already drawn the God of Storm's attention to Backlund.
"Mr. A, long time no see. What brings you here so late at night?"
Hastur felt it necessary to break the silence, since last time Mr. A had already shown goodwill,
Though that "gift of goodwill" had been rather disturbing.
"You truly are different." Mr. A finally spoke, his tone calm, without a trace of madness or frenzy.
"I am but an ordinary minor noble."
"At the last gathering, I was wearing a mask. How did you recognize me at first glance?"
"…"
Hastur couldn't answer. His sudden nervousness made him forget this detail, leaving a flaw in his words for Mr. A to catch.
Wait, wasn't Mr. A supposed to be crazed? Why did he sound so reasonable now?
"I've always been good at observing. By a person's outward appearance, I can roughly imagine what they truly look like."
It was a flimsy excuse, even Hastur didn't believe it himself.
"So that's it. You truly have a remarkable gift."
"…" Hastur froze again. He had no idea what level of intelligence Mr. A possessed if he could believe such an obvious lie.
"Just a small trick, nothing worth mentioning." Hastur laughed it off, hoping to change the subject.
"I came to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"Would you be willing to join us?"
"...I am already a follower of the Goddess of the Night."
Hastur declined once again. He couldn't guess Mr. A's intentions at all, so how could he possibly choose to join the Aurora Order?
"The night has never sheltered you."
Mr. A's words were bold, yet seemed to carry some deeper implication.
"I will not waver in my faith so easily."
"Perhaps."
Mr. A gave Hastur a deep look, then rode away on a gust of wind, closing the window behind him as he left.
When it came to closing windows, Hastur could give Mr. A a glowing five-star review.
"Hu…"
Hastur took a deep breath, finally easing the taut string inside his heart.
He had thought Mr. A had come in the dead of night to settle accounts with him, but it turned out he just wanted to say a few words.
That was far too strange. Even if Mr. A really were mad, would he behave in such a way?
Coming at midnight, only to ask if he wanted to join the Aurora Order?
Was he really that enthusiastic about proselytizing?
Hastur was confident in his looks, but surely looks alone weren't enough to make Mr. A do such a thing, right?
And what did Mr. A mean by saying, "The night has never sheltered you"?
If the Goddess of Evernight had never sheltered him, could it be that the True Creator once had?
That was no joking matter.
Wait a second, the True Creator's protection?
Hastur's heart stirred inexplicably. He frowned in deep thought for a long while, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall to whom the original host had prayed during the resurrection ritual.
That night's memory seemed to have been partly erased.
Otherwise, with his memory, he couldn't possibly have forgotten such a critical piece of information.
Could it be that the original host had prayed to the True Creator during the resurrection ritual?
And furthermore, had actually received some measure of protection from the True Creator?
Impossible.
Waves of turmoil surged in Hastur's heart, this was even more thrilling than Mr. A showing up tonight!
The original host had been just an ordinary person, not even part of the Beyonder world yet. Even if he prayed to the True Creator, the likeliest outcome would have been immediate madness, or at best death.
There was no way he could have drawn the attention of the True Creator, let alone gained His protection!
It had to be that Mr. A's sudden appearance had left him paranoid, leading to such wild speculation.
Hastur took a few more deep breaths, calming his restless emotions.
Glancing at the lamp that continued to shine brightly, Hastur chose to leave it on.
He walked to the bed, placed his sword-cane within arm's reach, and finally lay down.
But after being disturbed by Mr. A, he no longer felt the slightest drowsiness.
"Ah, if this goes on, I don't know if Mr. A is truly mad, but I'll certainly go insane."
"Could it be that driving me mad is Mr. A's real goal? Wow, Mr. A really is a schemer!"
"I still need to hurry and move to Empress Borough. I believe that once I'm there, it'll be much harder for Mr. A to come knocking on my window in the middle of the night."
Hastur's thoughts wandered endlessly, until dawn finally broke and he drifted off to sleep.
But he hadn't slept long when the maid's knocking woke him.
Yawning, he stayed in bed another ten minutes before finally getting up.
After washing up and taking a bath, he finally felt refreshed.
Once downstairs for breakfast, Butler Neil came to report on recent household affairs, what had been done, how many maids and workers had been hired, and so on.
Hastur had originally thought of personally interviewing the new maids and workers, but found it too troublesome, and ultimately left everything to Butler Neil.
Now that the household was running smoothly, even if a few ill-intentioned pests had slipped in, it wasn't much of a problem.
He only needed to set a rule at some point, and they would all reveal themselves.
Around nine o'clock, Hastur took a carriage out.
He needed to head to the Hillston District to find someone to renovate his law office.
Things like the office's style, the fee structure for ordinary versus commercial cases, and whether to hold a grand opening promotion all required his personal attention.
Originally, he had wanted Lecturer Fron's help, but Fron was currently busy teaching, with little free time.
It was said that Professor Wayne had assigned him plenty of extra coursework, keeping him constantly busy.
With no one to rely on, Hastur had no choice but to handle everything himself.
By afternoon, Manager Harley heard that Hastur was planning to open a law office there, and made a special trip to check it out.
"You're usually not very busy in the afternoons, right?"
"If there are no clients, it's generally quite idle."
"Idle is good."
With a broad smile on his face, Hastur let Manager Harley help out until seven in the evening before finally leaving work.