The next day, Madam Lisa made a special trip over regarding the Red Gloves squad and last night's theft of fate.
After listening to Madam Lisa's account, Hastur truly felt that the King in Yellow's pathway was extremely terrifying.
Once one advanced to Sequence 3, "Fate Stealer," it was a qualitative leap.
"You handled this very well," Hastur said with a smile, offering praise.
"There may be some trouble from the Church of the Evernight Goddess."
"Tell them they are not to set foot in Southville again. If they agree, let them leave," Hastur thought for a moment before adding, "And before they go, erase all memories related to this matter. I don't like trouble."
"As you command, Lord Envoy." Madam Lisa bowed respectfully and withdrew.
On the desk, 008, which had been holding itself back all night, started bouncing around again.
Hastur glanced at it but still didn't open the pen case, letting it stew for a few more days.
After ten in the morning, Hastur went to the new recruit training camp to guide some of the training, while also learning various knowledge needed for naval combat himself.
As a commander, if one understands nothing, it's impossible to lead soldiers. In the army, soldiers respect capable men above all else.
....
Backlund, Saint Samuel Cathedral.
Archbishop Anthony finally received instructions from the Cathedral of Serenity.
The Red Gloves squad that had gone to Southville for investigation hadn't reported back in time over the past few days. This indicated they had run into trouble, serious enough that they couldn't even send out information.
Their last report was shortly after arriving at Puning Port. If nothing unexpected had happened, they were likely trapped there now.
Regarding this matter, they didn't dare act rashly. They could only send the information back to the Cathedral of Serenity and wait for instructions.
"The Yellow-robed Monks are skilled at weaving scripts that trap people within them. Beware of accidents and coincidences."
Though the reply was brief, it clearly expressed the Cathedral of Serenity's stance: dispatch personnel for rescue and strive to tear apart the black curtain over Puning Port.
That was territory of the Kingdom of Loen, under the protection of the Church of the Evernight Goddess. They had to find out exactly what was going on there.
Moreover, based on what Archbishop Anthony had learned over the past few days, maritime trade at Puning Port was continuing as usual. Movement of people wasn't restricted, and no major incidents had occurred.
All of this indicated that only the Red Gloves squad had fallen into trouble, ordinary people were unaffected.
Thus, they had to use this opportunity to better understand this emerging organization, the Yellow-robed Monks, so they could formulate countermeasures.
Having made his decision, Archbishop Anthony summoned Crestet Cesimir, who had recently returned to Backlund and was known as the Goddess's Sword.
Initially, the matter of Ince Zangwill had been handled by him. After Ince Zangwill's death, he shifted to other tasks, leaving the search for Ince Zangwill and 008 to Ilya, known as the Eye of the Goddess.
Half an hour later, Crestet arrived at Saint Samuel Cathedral. He had short golden-brown hair, a stern expression, and dark green eyes.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Archbishop Anthony explained the situation at Puning Port and asked him to handle it.
"Remember, when you arrive at Puning Port, do not act rashly. Operate in secret as much as possible. It would be best to first contact the local Church of Storms."
Archbishop Anthony added a few extra reminders to avoid any mishaps.
"Understood. I'll proceed cautiously. I won't reveal my identity unless absolutely necessary."
Crestet nodded and departed. When it came to handling matters involving Beyonders, he had always been careful.
Those who lost their reverence for the extraordinary had already become nothing more than a pile of graves.
....
Hall family residence.
Audrey was following her psychology teacher, Miss Escalante Oseleka, systematically studying psychological knowledge.
This teacher was the very person who had introduced her to the Psychology Alchemists.
Much of psychology was quite dull, and with the gentle afternoon breeze, Audrey felt a bit drowsy.
To avoid dozing off and committing such an impolite act, she forced herself to focus her gaze on Miss Escalante Oseleka's face.
Miss Escalante Oseleka had long black hair that reached her waist, lake-blue eyes, and a baby-faced appearance.
Despite already being a mature psychologist, she still looked like a schoolgirl. This contrast gave Audrey a bit of comfort amid the boring lesson.
"Woof!" Susie's voice rang out, instantly snapping Audrey, who had been struggling to stay awake, back to full alertness.
She instinctively looked toward Susie to see if something interesting had happened.
But when their eyes met, she understood. Nothing special had happened. Susie's bark was simply to jolt her out of her drowsiness and help her stay focused…
Although the effect was immediate, Audrey really wanted to cover her face. Being reminded like this by Susie was just too embarrassing.
Audrey forced herself to concentrate for a while longer, until she heard Miss Escalante Oseleka announce that today's lesson had ended. Only then did she finally escape her drowsiness.
With an elegant and proper smile, she warmly saw Miss Escalante Oseleka off.
"Susie!" Once there were no outsiders, Audrey went over to Susie, crouched down slightly, and pinched her right ear.
In a serious tone, she said, "Susie, next time when I'm in class, you mustn't bark like that. It disrupts my thoughts and makes it hard for me to concentrate."
Susie looked innocent. "Audrey, I was reminding you not to waste such a wonderful time for learning by dozing off."
Audrey replied solemnly, "I was thinking. Closing my eyes helps me focus better."
"But every time I get sleepy and doze off, I look exactly like you just did."
"...." Audrey fell silent for a long moment. Then she raised her chin slightly and walked away, leaving behind just one sentence:
"Susie, we're not the same."
Back in her room, since Susie had followed her in, Audrey couldn't immediately lie down for a nap.
She sighed, sat by the desk near the window, propped her cheeks up with both hands, and gazed out at the world beyond.
This year, now that she had come of age, she was much busier than before. She met more people, learned more knowledge, and had more responsibilities.
Even sneaking in a nap sometimes required checking whether Susie was around.
She felt life was truly difficult.
"I wonder if Mr. Hastur and Alfred have started interacting yet."
Knock, knock.
There was a knock on the door. After asking, Audrey learned it was Count Hall looking for her, so she stood up and went out.
In the study, Count Hall handed her a letter. "This is for Hastur. Please deliver it for me."
Audrey accepted the letter and asked in confusion, "Why go through so much trouble?"
"My status is rather sensitive. It's better if you send it. It concerns your second brother."
"Dear Father, I'll have someone send it to Southville shortly."
Audrey smiled as she left with the letter. She also planned to write one herself to ask about Mr. Hastur's recent situation.
"Woof!" Susie followed Audrey back into the room.
"Susie, don't tell me you also want to write a letter to Mr. Hastur?"
"Woof."
".... Susie, you're just a dog. Even if you write something, Mr. Hastur wouldn't be able to understand it, right?"
Audrey looked troubled. She really didn't want Susie maintaining frequent contact with Mr. Hastur. Every time they communicated, Susie's gaze toward her seemed to grow more complicated.
Susie carried over a sheet of paper from her dog bed. The writing on it was crooked, uneven in size, filling the entire page.
"Audrey, I've already learned basic Loen writing."
"...."
After a long silence, Audrey said in astonishment, "Susie, I don't remember ever teaching you Loen script."
She had only taught Susie how to understand and speak the language, not how to write.
After all, making a dog practice writing was simply too difficult.
"Audrey, have you forgotten? There's a Basic Linguistics book and also The Origin and Evolution of Loen Script on your shelf."
"You taught yourself?"
"Yes. After all, I'm just a dog. Unlike you, I don't have a dedicated teacher guiding me."
"...." Audrey's expression became even more complicated. She hesitated before asking softly, "How long have you been learning? Have you mastered it?"
"Half a month. I haven't fully mastered it yet."
"Phew… at least I'm still ahead of Susie in this regard."
Audrey secretly let out a sigh of relief, but soon felt troubled again. She was actually being chased by Susie and almost overtaken, this feeling was terrible.
Her gaze fell on Susie's letter again. "If you write like this, will Mr. Hastur be able to understand what you mean?"
Besides Loen script, there were also Susie's paw prints on it, making it obscure and hard to decipher.
Susie raised her head slightly. "Audrey, Mr. Hastur is not the same as you."
"...." Audrey suddenly didn't feel like sending a letter to Mr. Hastur anymore.