In front of the harbor, Hastur looked at Klein, whose appearance had clearly changed, and continued in a tempting tone, "The waters of the Sea of Ruins are extremely dangerous. The slightest carelessness could lead to the destruction of the ship and the deaths of everyone aboard. The dangers there are worth a payment of 1,000 pounds."
"…"
Klein remained silent for a moment before saying, "I don't have that much money on me right now."
"I have great faith in your character. You can write me an IOU first and pay it back later."
The money itself didn't really matter. Hastur mainly enjoyed the pleasure of earning pounds from Klein.
"…Fine."
In the end, Klein agreed. Since Hastur had even brought up something like an IOU, he must already know Klein's hidden identity.
On the sea, trust was something extremely valuable.
Since his identity had already been seen through, there was no need for him to keep acting so awkwardly.
After following Hastur to purchase some supplies, he boarded the Hope. The ship could only be considered medium-sized, one size smaller than a flagship like the Golden Dream.
On board, he once again saw the blonde noble girl, Miss Audrey.
Through his subtle observations during the Tarot Gatherings, he was already basically certain that this Miss Audrey was Miss Justice.
After all, Miss Justice, who originally lived in Backlund, had clearly come to the sea recently, and her movements happened to perfectly coincide with those of Miss Audrey.
Especially after seeing Susie, there was no longer any doubt about Miss Justice's real-world identity.
When he saw Fors and Xio, he froze slightly. Then, after secretly glancing at their heights, he focused most of his attention on Fors.
This Ms. Fors greatly resembled Miss Magician, whether in terms of her figure and appearance or her personality.
So Miss Justice and Miss Magician actually knew each other in the real world. No wonder their interactions during the Tarot Gatherings had always felt somewhat different.
"This is Mr. Wilson, a natural biologist who wishes to go out to sea in search of mermaids. He is also from Backlund in Loen."
Hastur briefly introduced Klein's new identity.
"A natural biologist… Has Mr. Wilson traveled to many places?" Xio asked with a slight frown.
For some reason, she had sensed an uncomfortable, scrutinizing gaze from Mr. Wilson just now.
"I only left Loen not long ago. I've merely traveled around the nearby waters, and there are still many places I haven't visited."
In order to properly play his new identity, Klein introduced Xio, Fors, and the others to quite a few strange creatures found at sea.
For example, there were marine creatures large enough for a group of people to live normally inside their stomachs, as well as Storm Giant Eagles capable of destroying an entire ship.
Audrey silently observed him for a while. This person gave her a feeling somewhat similar to Mr. World.
Fors was also secretly sizing up Mr. Wilson, trying to guess his true origins. She didn't believe Mr. Hastur would casually allow an ordinary natural biologist aboard the Hope.
Susie also hid far away in the shadows, observing everything.
As the instigator behind all of this, Hastur quietly watched the scene and couldn't help feeling as though he were watching a spy movie.
Come to think of it, Fors really could be considered a spy.
Although everyone had their own hidden thoughts, on the surface, they still got along quite harmoniously.
That night, Xio and Fors began discussing the newly arrived Mr. Wilson in their room.
Xio declared with absolute certainty, "I can guarantee that he's definitely more than just a natural biologist!"
"Then go investigate and find out his true identity." Fors naturally handed the task over to Xio.
"Aren't you curious at all?"
"I simply trust Mr. Hastur."
"…" That was a perfectly valid excuse for being lazy, leaving Xio with nothing to say.
Meanwhile, in Audrey and Susie's room.
Susie, already lying beneath the bed, lowered her voice and said, "Audrey, that Mr. Wilson secretly observed you several times today. He seemed to be trying to confirm something."
"He was secretly observing me?"
"Yes. He also secretly glanced at Ms. Fors several times." Susie naturally reported what she had observed that day. "He seems to know both of you."
"I see." Audrey immediately understood and smiled. "Susie, you did very well."
She didn't know anyone else on the sea, nor had she ever met Mr. Wilson before. If he knew both her and Fors, then he had to be a member of the Tarot Club!
Little Sun was still in the City of Silver. Mr. Vampire would never even think of disguising himself, while Mr. Hanged Man's true identity should be the captain of a pirate crew.
Only the mysterious Mr. World fit the circumstances.
Mr. Wilson was Mr. World, or, more accurately, he was one of Mr. World's disguised identities.
Come to think of it, she had even fed Mr. World many times back then.
Meeting a fellow Tarot Club member in the real world through such a coincidence was simply too interesting.
She wondered if she might also encounter Mr. Hanged Man, who was likewise adventuring on the sea. And there was also the newly joined Madam Hermit. She seemed to be on the sea as well.
Past eleven that night, Klein was likewise still awake in his room. He sat at his desk and had even found a mirror to place in front of himself.
What had happened today had nearly caught him completely off guard. He truly didn't want to encounter the mysterious Mr. Hastur again. Every time they met, nothing good seemed to happen, especially after he had come to the sea.
First, he encountered the King in Yellow disguised as Hastur. Then, while cross-dressing as Elaine, he encountered the real Hastur. And today, he had even ended up owing a 1,000-pound IOU…
Fortunately, meeting Miss Justice and Miss Magician could at least be considered an unexpected pleasant surprise.
After thinking over everything that had happened today, Klein looked at himself in the mirror. The person reflected there looked nothing like his original self. He was completely different, so why had Hastur still been able to see through him so easily?
Could it be that a Faceless's Beyonder abilities were practically nonexistent in his eyes?
Klein sighed, got up, and returned to bed. Although the bed was very soft and comfortable, he didn't feel sleepy at all.
Deep into the night, Audrey was another person lying in bed unable to sleep.
Usually, around this time, Mr. Hastur would take her out through a travel portal to experience a different kind of adventurous life. But tonight, Mr. Hastur seemed to have broken their appointment.
Was it because he didn't want Mr. World to notice?
"Susie, are you asleep?"
"Audrey, you clearly know I'm always very energetic at night."
"Help me go check Mr. Hastur's room." After saying this, Audrey gently pulled the blanket over her slightly burning cheeks.
"Audrey, if you like someone, you have to face it bravely and act decisively. Hesitation only leads to defeat."
"…Susie, what books have you been secretly reading lately?"
"This is knowledge I learned a long time ago from Emperor Roselle's quotations."
"…" Audrey no longer knew how she should feel about Susie giving her lessons on romance.
"Audrey, going out on adventures is one of the few opportunities you have to spend time alone with Mr. Hastur."
"Once the adventure ends and you return, you'll have to go back to Backlund. Then only that Miss Sharon will remain constantly by Mr. Hastur's side…"
Susie stood up, her gaze sharp and her emotions impassioned, clearly prepared to continue elaborating on the subject.
"Susie, I finally understand where the term 'dog-headed strategist' came from."
"…"
This time, it was Susie's turn to fall silent. She quickly slipped out of the room and headed toward the room where Hastur was staying.
"Woof, woof, woof."
Susie simply stood outside the door and barked a few times. She believed Mr. Hastur would understand what she meant.
This was the tacit understanding between her and Mr. Hastur, born from their mutual trust.
After a while, a portal rippling with spatial fluctuations appeared out of thin air inside Audrey's room.
Hastur had originally not planned to go out tonight, because fluctuations of this sort could never escape the spiritually sensitive Klein's notice.
But since Susie had come outside his room to call him, he no longer worried about Klein discovering this minor detail.
When Hastur appeared inside the room, Audrey pulled the blanket over her flushed cheeks and lay on her side with her back facing him.
After taking a moment to compose herself, she finally lifted the blanket and naturally looked toward Hastur, who was surrounded by countless specks of light from the spatial portal.
Then she walked over and, just as naturally as usual, reached out and wrapped her arms around Hastur's left arm.
Only this time, her feelings were far more unusual than before. She lowered her head slightly, inwardly blaming Susie for saying far too many strange things tonight.
When the two of them left through the travel portal, Klein, who was still awake, indeed keenly sensed the faint spatial fluctuation.
But he didn't get out of bed to investigate. He merely turned over and continued failing to fall asleep.
…
"Mr. Hastur, did Susie say anything to you just now?"
Audrey and Hastur strolled along the streets late at night. Several lit streetlamps stood at the corners, casting dim yellow light that made everything hazy and dreamlike.
Hastur didn't answer her question. Instead, he moved a little closer, gently took Audrey's small hand, and held it in his palm.
"Mr. Hastur, you…"
The sudden intimate gesture made Audrey's body stiffen slightly. Her footsteps stopped, and her heart abruptly began beating faster.
What made her even more flustered was wondering exactly what Susie had said to Mr. Hastur just now.