"Audrey, I'm not very clear about this either." Susie shook her head and began telling Audrey about what had happened last night.
"Mr. Hastur only asked you to help keep watch around the area. He didn't tell you what exactly was going to happen?"
Audrey wasn't sure whether it had been Mr. Hastur and Susie who helped her last night, or whether she had saved herself.
"I don't know. He just said there should be a tower there and asked if I had seen it, but I didn't find anything."
"I see." Audrey nodded, then asked, "How did Mr. Hastur know there was a tower there?"
"I'm not sure. He seems able to see things that I can't."
"Anything else?"
"Audrey, do dogs dream too? Are the dreams humans have different from the dreams dogs have?"
"...Susie, I just want to know about Mr. Hastur."
"When we left, he was very certain that you would be able to regain consciousness. I don't know where that confidence came from."
"Susie, I also saw you and Mr. Hastur in the foggy dream last night." Audrey then told Susie about her own adventure the previous night. She didn't hide anything, because Susie wouldn't tell anyone else about it.
"That's really amazing. I really want to go in and see it too." Susie looked very longing.
"If there's a chance in the future, I'll take you in."
"Audrey, can you freely enter and leave that place now?"
"Yes, but there's something you can't tell anyone else. There's now an extra crystal ball in my inner world. Through that crystal ball, I can enter that mysterious world again."
"That's really interesting."
"Yes, it's very interesting, but I still can't guarantee absolute safety when entering that inner world, so for now I can't take you in with me."
"Alright, Audrey, I believe you." Susie sighed with some regret.
Audrey was in a good mood. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Susie, what do you think of Mr. Hastur?"
"He's very mysterious, and he's very concerned about you."
Susie began talking about some of the details of getting along with Hastur last night.
When Audrey heard that Hastur's clothes had all been torn by thorns and that he had no choice but to go home to change, she already understood that Mr. Hastur must have helped her somewhere she didn't know about last night.
He was certain she would regain consciousness, which was why he could calmly return to his estate first, then come back here to check on her condition.
"Susie, you didn't expose the fact that you can speak human language, did you?"
"No." Susie shook her head, then said uncertainly, "Sometimes I suspect that Mr. Hastur is a mind reader. He always seems to know exactly what I want to express."
"Susie, could it be that you've already been seen through by Mr. Hastur?"
"..." Susie's tail lifted and stiffened, and she suddenly felt a bit nervous.
She had had a similar premonition last night, but hadn't dared to be sure. Thinking about it now, it really did seem possible.
"..." Seeing this, Audrey also fell silent.
"Audrey, then what should we do? Can you humans accept a dog that can speak human language?"
"...I think that wouldn't be too difficult."
"Oh, then it's fine." Susie immediately became cheerful again, wagging her tail, not caring at all about the issue from just now.
Seeing this, Audrey said a little dejectedly, "Susie, you don't seem to care much about this at all?"
"Emperor Roselle once said: when you're faced with a situation you're powerless to change, the only thing you can do is learn to accept it silently."
"..." Audrey's eyes widened. She really hadn't expected that one day she would hear a quote of Emperor Roselle come out of Susie's mouth.
Good heavens, which book did it read that from? How was it that she herself didn't know?
"Audrey, is that sentence really worth being so surprised about?"
Susie looked at Audrey with some confusion. That expression was inexplicably punchable.
"..." Seeing Audrey silent, Susie said happily, "Emperor Roselle also once said: when you use knowledge to gain the upper hand in a conversation, you should feel proud, because knowledge is humanity's best weapon."
"..." Audrey hadn't intended to say anything, but seeing that Susie showed no sign of stopping this topic, she decisively said, "Susie, are you hungry?"
"...Audrey, I think I haven't eaten anything since last night."
"Very good. Let's go enjoy lunch."
In a good mood, Audrey led Susie out of the room.
At lunch, Hastur was kept by Earl Hall to eat, and Hibbert also rushed back. Greg also came with him.
They really had come out to have some fun this weekend, at Greg's estate.
After hearing Audrey's news, Hibbert and Greg hurried over.
After lunch, Hastur originally wanted to go back and rest for a bit. After all, he had explored the forest from night until dawn last night, and then had to rush over to Earl Hall's estate early this morning. He really was a bit tired.
He had always paid great attention to his sleep.
Hibbert and Greg stopped him and asked him about Audrey.
They only knew that Earl Hall had sent people to request help from the Church of the Goddess of Evernight, and that it had ultimately alerted Archbishop Anthony.
As for the other details, they didn't know them.
Because of Earl Hall's prior reminder, Hastur avoided talking about his own contributions, attributing Audrey's awakening to the Goddess of Evernight's blessing.
Hearing this, Hibbert looked relieved, while Greg was slightly doubtful.
He knew Hastur's personality well and knew that he would definitely do something, that it was impossible for him to just quietly wait for Audrey to regain consciousness on her own.
Hastur didn't explain anything. While the three were chatting, Glaint, who had finished taking care of Hogg's lunch, also came over.
The four went to the back garden of the estate to chat, and happened to run into Audrey, Earl Hall, and Susie lying on the ground resting.
"You all chat first. I'm a bit sleepy, so I'll go back to my room to rest."
Audrey checked the time. It was already close to three in the afternoon. Today was Monday, the day the Tarot Club was held.
"I'm a bit tired too. I'd also like to go rest for a while." Hastur also proposed leaving for the time being. He really wanted to catch up on some sleep.
But in Hibbert and Greg's eyes, Hastur was clearly trying to create an opportunity to be alone with Audrey and chat, so they very generously let him leave.
Under the maid's guidance, Hastur went to a guest room on the second floor.
Passing by Audrey's room, he discovered Susie guarding the door outside with a vigilant expression.
Thinking that today happened to be Monday, that Audrey was hiding inside to attend the Tarot Club and had asked Susie to keep watch for her, Hastur stopped and prepared to tease Susie a bit.
"Susie, where is Miss Audrey?"
"Woof."
"I want to see Miss Audrey. Can you lead the way?"
"Woof!"
"At least we explored together last night. You shouldn't be so heartless, right?"
"Woof."
"Emperor Roselle once said: dogs are humanity's most loyal friends."
"Woof." Susie started wagging her tail.
"Emperor Roselle also said: the pursuit of knowledge is what distinguishes all intelligent beings from other animals."
"Woof?"
"You also like Emperor Roselle's quotes?"
"Woof."
"Then I recommend that you buy a copy of The Complete Collection of Emperor Roselle's Quotations. It records in detail all kinds of interesting remarks by Emperor Roselle."
"Woof!" Susie's eyes lit up slightly, showing great interest.
Hastur had originally planned to say more, but then he saw Audrey's personal maid approaching, looking at him with a guarded expression.
"Susie, next time we'll discuss Emperor Roselle's artistic achievements."
"Woof."
After Hastur left, Susie lay down on the ground with lingering fear. She had almost blurted out a "yes" just now.
Fortunately, she managed to restrain herself in time.
The Complete Collection of Emperor Roselle's Quotations, just hearing the name, it sounded like a very good book. Do humans also like Emperor Roselle?
She had thought that only she knew how to appreciate Emperor Roselle's lonely, unrecognized state of mind.
Next time, she would have Audrey help buy a copy for her to read.
....
Tarot Club.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
"Good afternoon, Miss Magician."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Sun."
"Huh… where is Mr. Hanged Man?"
After greeting everyone, Audrey scanned the familiar members of the Tarot Club, but suddenly realized that Mr. Hanged Man was missing.
While curious, she also felt a bit relieved. If she had woken up one day later, wouldn't she have missed the Tarot Club she had been looking forward to all week, just like Mr. Hanged Man?
"He encountered some matters, so he's absent from this Tarot Club session," Klein spoke up to answer Audrey's question.
Two days earlier, Klein had received a prayer from Mr. Hanged Man.
In that prayer, Mr. Hanged Man mentioned that he was currently in a very bad situation and might be unable to attend the Tarot Club normally next Monday.
At the same time, he mentioned that he would need Mr. Fool's help at a critical moment.
After saying this, Mr. Hanged Man immediately ended the prayer, as if he were wary of something.
Faced with such a situation, Klein could only treat it as something he already knew.
As for how to provide help, he currently had no ability to directly intervene in matters happening at sea.
He could only wish Mr. Hanged Man good luck on his own.