His wisdom and restraint were such that he seemed less like a newborn Evil God's offspring… and more like an Evil God's avatar!
-------------------------------------
He could not handle this matter alone; he had to request reinforcements!
Ace Snake thought for a moment, then drove the carriage away, leaving part of the Church Executors here to monitor the situation.
He now fully believed what the Mystic Queen had said, this was definitely not the offspring of an ordinary evil god!
If it were to be resolved, they would have to summon a Saint, or even an Angel!
And only the Pope himself had the authority to make such a decision.
Above the clouds, Bernadette also concealed her figure, making no rash moves.
She had no intention of relying on her own strength to deal with this matter.
She had to wait until someone from the Storm Church, someone truly capable of resolving this, arrived before taking action.
…
At Greg's Villa, Hastur pushed open the window and looked at the unusual rain outside, his mood somewhat heavy.
Chief Reed was intent on asking him to name his child, yet all he wanted was to kill that child...
It sounded far too cruel.
"What a choice indeed."
In Backlund, babies were born every day, but the High-Dimensional Overseer had singled out Chief Reed's child. Was this just incredible luck?
Or should it be said, was it all destiny's arrangement?
Hastur watched for a while, then closed the window, lay down on the bed, and entered the Hall of Stars to observe the current state of the High-Dimensional Overseer.
This time, he only watched from afar, so that the Overseer would not detect his peeping.
After observing for a while and confirming that the Overseer had made no unusual moves, he withdrew his gaze and began to ponder the matter of formulating the third rule.
He believed what he most needed right now was the authority of the Evernight Goddess, ideally, the ability to completely conceal his own information.
For example, when encountering Oroboros face-to-face, the latter would not perceive his connection to destiny; when meeting the High-Dimensional Overseer in the street, the latter would not notice his abnormality.
Only in this way could he walk the world more safely.
Otherwise, with more and more monsters and demons in Backlund, each encounter before he had matured would be a great disaster.
"What is the essence of secrecy?"
"What kind of description could precisely point to secrecy?"
"And which aspects does information about oneself mainly include?"
Hastur fell into deep thought again.
…
Two days later, Hastur finally met the Prime Minister of the Loen Kingdom, Aguesid Negan, in the study of Greg's Villa.
He was well maintained; the wrinkles at his mouth and forehead were shallow, his hair still thick and black. Compared to those who went bald young and whose figures had gone out of shape early, his condition was much better.
"Uncle, this is Baron Hastur Campbell, whom I often mention, he is my dearest friend."
"Hastur, standing before you is the man whose heroic spirit has not diminished with the years, the Prime Minister of our kingdom, my uncle, Aguesid Negan."
Greg warmly introduced the two.
Aguesid only gave a slight nod, while Hastur smiled and said: "Now I understand why our Loen Kingdom's national strength has been continuously rising, it is because we have a Prime Minister full of wisdom and loyalty, who diligently devises strategies for the King every day."
Greg chimed in enthusiastically: "Of course! The development of the ironclad warship, back then, it was my uncle who argued against the opposition and persuaded the King to build it. That was the key step in our Loen Kingdom's conquest of the seas."
Hearing the praise from the two juniors, Aguesid laughed and waved his hand, telling them not to exaggerate, then said kindly: "You are Greg's friend, and thus a friend of the Negan family. With friends, there's no need for excessive formality or courtesy."
Hastur shook his head and said: "You misunderstand, I merely spoke my most genuine thoughts from the heart. There was absolutely no exaggeration."
Although he was not good at flattery, he understood how to say a few words for appearances' sake.
Everyone liked to hear pleasant words. It was only that sometimes, as a leader, one had to emphasize that bootlicking and flattery were not allowed.
But if you truly believed that, then you would be the real fool.
The leader emphasizes what he must; you continue flattering as you should.
As long as the leader doesn't sternly forbid it, it means he still appreciates it in his heart.
In this regard, the people of from Earth could certainly hand in a perfect score on their exam in interpersonal relations.
Aguesid smiled: "Now, you young people are far more promising than we were back then."
"We young ones still have much to learn. If we do something improperly in the future, I hope you can give us more guidance."
After a few exchanges of pleasantries, Aguesid found Hastur much more agreeable, and said to Greg: "You always said your friend was too shy and immature, but now I see he is already a very mature noble."
Greg also hadn't expected Hastur's temperament to change so quickly, and said with a smile: "Yes, Hastur is already a qualified noble. In the future, I will have many things I need his help with."
The three chatted for a while longer, and then Greg made arrangements for that evening's drinking and merrymaking.
Aguesid rejected the proposal and even scolded Greg, saying he must not be so extravagant again next time and must maintain the face of their Negan family in public.
Greg put on an expression of being taught and ashamed, and saw Prime Minister off, who had a very busy life.
In the hall, Greg sat on the sofa with one leg crossed, in a casual posture, swirling a glass of wine as he said, "It seems my uncle still hasn't truly accepted you."
"After all, it was only our first meeting." Hastur understood what Greg meant by that.
If the Prime Minister had just agreed to go out and play for a night, it would have proved he had accepted him.
But he didn't agree; instead he scolded Greg about tonight's arrangement, the real meaning being that Greg's actions were too hasty.
"Hastur, you really have changed a lot now."
"It was simply unnecessary before. Knowing is one thing; actually doing it is another."
"Indeed. I hope you won't regret your choice later."
"Can't help it, people have to grow. I just hope that one day you won't suddenly feel I've become a stranger."
Greg savored that remark for a while, drained his glass, then rose and laughed, "Let's go. I've already booked places for tonight, we can't just stay at home. Call Hibbert too; he doesn't have a bad impression of you."
Hastur smiled, "I'm just afraid Count Hall won't let him go out."
"No problem. I have experience with this matter."
...
Hastur truly experienced a noble's lavish nightlife following Greg, but he firmly refused Greg's final arrangement.
Greg said he couldn't let go; Hibert judged him too innocent.
On both points, Hastur felt guilty and was chastened, but he still had a resistance to that sort of thing.
Moreover, if he really stayed, he felt he would be the one to lose out.
In the end, using the excuse that he didn't want to tarnish his reputation for the time being, he left a step earlier.
Checking the time, it was already close to midnight. Hastur boarded a carriage and, after thinking for a moment, headed to the Braveheart's Bar.
He didn't specifically go looking for Maric; he just ordered a few drinks to sample.
Watching the revelers drinking heartily and chatting loudly, he pondered his path forward.
If he truly walked the Black Emperor path, many things would be unavoidable. If tonight the person asking him to stay until dawn were the Prime Minister, or even the King, how could he refuse?
They were not Greg or Hibbert; his refusal, in their eyes, would be a loss of face, a sign of unwillingness to get close.
This way of thinking sounds vulgar, but in real social interaction, especially among the nobility, this is the truth of bringing people closer.
He wasn't trying to be some lotus untouched by the mud; he simply didn't have the inclination.
"Corruption is easy, restraint is hard."
From his own perspective, Hastur felt some emotion about the current state of the Rose School of thought.
Desire and restraint, in this world, it is the indulgent doctrine of the Mother tree of desire that truly follows the tide of the times.
Those like Sharon, who are of the restraint faction, are instead stubborn relics against the era.
After all, the essence of this world is chaos and madness.
Hastur had also considered whether to jump early to the Judgment path, since playing that role would be less pressure.
But even if he wanted to jump paths, he would have to wait until Sequence 5 was promoted to Sequence 4.
And if he waited until Sequence 1 and that path still didn't work out, switching from the Judgment path to the Black Emperor path later would be even harder.
"Maybe to play a role is to let yourself know and become a different self."
Hastur thought a lot, and finally gave himself a two-character verdict: sentimental.
Fortunately there are other ways to bring people closer, like giving gifts.
Not troublesome, just a waste of pounds.
"When will that Vice Admiral Hurricane come to Backlund?"
Hastur recalled the pirate admiral in the original story who dared to attempt to assassinate Duke Negan.
If he stopped him from assassinating Duke Negan, he would probably easily draw closer to the Negan family.
...
Late at night, a ship landed, and a figure passed through the port, secretly heading toward Backlund.
The waves of the Sonia Sea rose and fell, carrying a dark-blue ship named Avenger; the vessel was sometimes thrown high, sometimes rolled, yet strangely it showed no sign of being capsized by the sea.
Alger Wilson stood in the captain's cabin, gazing toward Backlund and pacing back and forth.
Finally he made up his mind and murmured, "Qilangos, don't blame me for being ruthless. As long as you don't die, you will forever threaten me and I can't enjoy that secret alone."
He had decided: next Monday at the Tarot meeting he would seek help from Mr. Fool, and could also ask Ms. Justice for assistance, he must strangle Qilangos in Backlund!