A starry sky poured down light. Under the gaze of the stars, Bernadette prayed devoutly, and in the distance, a cage held a twisted, hazy Magic Wishing Lamp.
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Just from this scene alone, he could imagine a few scenarios.
Under the gaze of the stars, Bernadette sought the aid of the great Lord of the Stars. The Lord of the Stars cast down His gaze, swung forth the Chains of Order, transforming them into a cage that imprisoned the evil Son of Chaos!
Hmm, that is a very reasonable interpretation.
Hastur silently imagined this scene.
Of course, there could be other interpretations. For example, Bernadette might not yet be an apostle of the stars, she could simply be seeking the stars' aid through a certain ritual or engaging in communication.
And the Son of Chaos might not necessarily be evil, it was only that the power of the stars obscured His perception of the outside world, making Him unable to perceive what was happening to Bernadette.
But regardless of the interpretation, in the future, Bernadette would have a deep connection with him.
This meant that it was indeed possible for him to make Bernadette an apostle of the stars.
The future was heading in a good direction.
As for how to guide Bernadette to become an apostle of the stars, he already had ideas in mind.
Next time he summoned the Son of Chaos for a meeting, he would prepare to make an attempt.
Hastur, in good spirits, swept his gaze across the stars where the Mother Tree of Desire and the Mother Goddess of Depravity resided. Everything was normal, without any anomalies.
…
Hillston Borough, the most prosperous commercial center.
A new law firm officially opened today. Greg stood by Hastur to build momentum, prompting many nearby companies to send opening gifts.
Lecturer Fron sighed: "This was once my dream as well."
Hastur smiled: "Now doesn't this dream also include your share?"
After careful thought, he had already decided on the profit distribution method of this law firm.
He held the majority, with 51%. Of the remaining 49%, Lecturer Fron received 25%, while the last 24% was split evenly between the other two lawyers.
This was the overall profit distribution method. For each case, the lawyer handling it would directly receive 60% of the commission, while the other 40% would go into the firm's total revenue.
At the end of the year, profits would be redistributed according to each person's share.
As for lawyers joining later, they could only work as ordinary employees.
This decision was made by Hastur after combining the opinions of Greg and Lecturer Fron.
Greg was already considering potential future expansion and investment issues, so he insisted Hastur should hold a majority share.
Lecturer Fron, on the other hand, offered a relatively fair suggestion based on his own experience running a law firm.
With Greg's help, the firm was bound to receive more cases than they could handle. Any lawyer with adequate skills would be able to secure plenty of cases here.
He even believed that a 60% commission was too much and suggested reducing it to around 40%, leaving the other 60% to the firm.
After handling the opening matters, more than 30 business cases were received on just the first day.
Many companies sent these deliberately for Greg's sake, helping the law firm build its record.
At the same time, they were testing the firm's professional capabilities.
If the firm proved competent, a large number of future cases would flow in.
After all, this was a law firm personally founded by a baron, with the heir of a duke as its backing.
In future trials, as long as they weren't at a clear disadvantage, judges would extend a bit of courtesy to this law firm.
Even that slight tilt would be enough to influence the outcome of a case.
Hastur entrusted Lecturer Fron with managing all affairs of the firm, while he himself acted as a hands-off boss, only occasionally coming in to select a few interesting cases to practice with.
As for whether Lecturer Fron could handle it all, Hastur wasn't worried at all. If things got too busy, Lecturer Fron would naturally recruit new lawyers.
After finishing the day's work, in the evening, Hastur inevitably had to invite Greg and several nearby company heads out for a gathering.
Hibbert, Audrey's elder brother also came to show his support, helping the firm make a name for itself in Hillston Borough on its very first day.
That night, Hastur returned home looking tipsy.
Seated in his study, he drank a bowl of sobering soup and rested for a while before heading to the washroom to freshen up, after which he quickly recovered.
He had already mastered several methods of refusing drinks, for instance, pretending to feel bloated after a few rounds and slipping away to an empty place for a walk under the guise of going to the washroom.
When the drinking had gone on long enough, he would pretend to be at his limit, putting on a drunken act to decline further toasts.
Finally, feigning complete incapacity, he would excuse himself and head home by carriage.
Although he appeared to have drunk a lot tonight, in reality, his barbarian physique could easily suppress that much alcohol.
After all, he still had proper business to attend to tonight, and he had no desire to keep drinking with Greg until late night.
Returning to his bedroom, he lay down on the bed and entered the Hall of Stars.
With a thought, two Chains of Order respectively pulled the Son of Chaos and the Mother Tree of Desire into attendance.
During this process, Hastur kept a close eye on the star belonging to the Son of Chaos.
As he expected, Bernadette had been guarding the Magic Wishing Lamp all along to prevent any accidents.
When sending the Son of Chaos back later, he would have a chance to communicate with Bernadette.
Soon, the Son of Chaos and the Mother Tree of Desire arrived at the Hall of Stars and took their seats.
The Son of Chaos, having barely sat down, immediately lashed out: "Don't you think your follower is far too stupid?"
The Mother Tree of Desire said nothing. She couldn't constantly observe what was happening below; She required specific rituals to descend an oracle.
"A Sequence 1 actually wandering so close to Backlund, does he think the Evernight Goddess and the other deities are fools?"
"Making such a show against Bernadette will soon attract the attention of the Seven Gods. When that happens, our plans will become several times more difficult to complete!"
"Call your stupid son back immediately. Have him set up a trap near the Dawn to deal with Bernadette, that's the only chance to handle her."
Facing the Son of Chaos's angry accusations and suggestions, the Mother Tree of Desire did not grow angry.
She knew well that the wisdom of the Divine Offspring, Suah, was not very high, chaos and madness had consumed most of his mind.
Outside of oracles, he rarely acted on his own initiative.
The Mother Tree of Desire spoke: "I will descend an oracle to guide him."
The Son of Chaos nodded in satisfaction. "To deal with Bernadette, cunning is required. She has many treasures in her possession, some even I do not know of."
Hastur listened silently from the side, unable to help but feel worried for Bernadette.
If Suah truly acted according to the Son of Chaos's plan, Bernadette would most likely be ambushed.
Given the vast difference in strength, even if she managed to escape, it would come at a heavy cost.
He should give Bernadette a warning.
The Magic Wishing Lamp must not fall into the hands of the Rose School of Thought. Otherwise, the Mother Tree of Desire would certainly hold a ritual to restore the Son of Chaos's strength.
At that time, the Son of Chaos would be freed, and doomsday would come.
Hastur glanced at the Son of Chaos and said with a smile: "How does it feel to personally betray your own dependent?"
The Son of Chaos replied indifferently: "There's no need to mock me for this. For my dependents, sacrificing everything for their god is the greatest honor."
He had been in Bernadette's hands for many years, sharing countless days and nights together, but he would never grow soft-hearted because of it.
All moral restraints existed only among mortals. Between gods and mortals, there was an essential difference. They would never bind themselves by mortal-made morals.
That would be utterly laughable.
The Son of Chaos thought for a moment and added: "If it were you, you would make the same choice. Your dependents are just as worthless in your eyes."
He then glanced at the Mother Tree of Desire. "Even if it were life you birthed yourself, when sacrifice is required, you would still choose to sacrifice it."
The Mother Tree of Desire said coldly: "You speak too much."
"Hmph, there are only the three of us here. One holds aloof and says nothing, you remain ever-calm, if I don't speak, are we supposed to sit here staring blankly?"
The Son of Chaos was rather displeased. If not for him livening things up and raising topics, this so-called gathering would have long since fallen into dead silence.
His talkativeness was a necessary supplement to this gathering.
It was absolutely not because he had been sealed by Bernadette for so long, rarely even able to breathe fresh air.
The Mother Tree of Desire's gaze fell on Hastur, signaling for the host of the gathering to say something.
Clearly, this was probing him.
Too many words lead to mistakes, that saying held great truth.
Compared to raising topics himself, he preferred that the Son of Chaos initiate conversation, while he only guided and summarized when necessary.
But now, both the Son of Chaos and the Mother Tree of Desire were clearly waiting for him to speak.
If he said something wrong, or raised too shallow a topic, they would see through his flaws.
Hastur tapped his finger lightly on the table and said with a smile: "The starry sky once descended a gift."
The Son of Chaos had no impression of this. The Mother Tree of Desire pondered for a moment and said: "That was your work?"
"That was destiny's gift."
"Destiny… no wonder it completely vanished without a trace after breaking through the initial barrier."
"Only those connected with destiny can perceive its existence."
The Son of Chaos listened, completely lost. What gift of destiny? He had no impression at all.
He frowned and asked: "What are you talking about?"
Seeing that Hastur had no intention of answering, he turned his gaze to the Mother Tree of Desire.
"That nameless being who briefly appeared once cast something down from the depths of the cosmos into the initial barrier. Though it was intercepted, it still managed to break through the barrier's blockade and reach the real world."