Chapter 51: Well, Just a Whip Will Do

Chapter 51: Well, Just a Whip Will Do

Returning home, Hastur discussed the matters of the suburban manor with Butler Neil.

"If we are to reside in the suburban manor, we'll need at least ten more people—maids, gardeners, handymen…"

"Let's try to minimize the number of staff; arrange the other matters as you've mentioned."

"When do you plan to move there?"

"Is within three days possible?"

"If the manor is as large as you say, three days won't be enough to clean and set it up."

Hastur didn't know how to respond to this; he had never visited the manor himself, only hearing from the old butler about its vastness.

As for how vast, he had no concrete concept.

"Well, you see to the arrangements; the sooner, the better."

Hastur decided to be a hands-off manager, leaving these troublesome matters to Butler Neil. After all, that's what butlers are for.

Glancing at his pocket watch, it was nearly seven o'clock.

After resting briefly at home, Hastur left in a carriage for the Brave's Tavern.

He needed to discuss something with Maric and the others. Normally, Maric wouldn't refuse, but it was uncertain if they were willing to take this risk.

Arriving at the Brave's Tavern, before Hastur could look for him, Caspars approached him first.

With a grave expression, he led Hastur to a secluded corner. When they were alone, he whispered, "Due to the recent brawl, Maric might have been marked and needs to lay low for a while."

Understanding the situation, Hastur smiled and said, "I have a large manor in the suburbs; he's welcome to stay there if he wishes."

"Indeed, it's a good refuge."

Caspars murmured softly, his expression much relaxed. Without further conversation, he acted as if they had merely bumped into each other and left.

Hastur waited a while before returning to the Brave's Tavern and ordered a cocktail named Blue Jellyfish.

Thankfully it wasn't called Blue Siren; that would have been hard to swallow.

Sitting at the bar, Hastur ordered some snacks to accompany his cocktail, savoring them slowly.

Half an hour later, he left the tavern by carriage.

Back home, he headed straight for the study.

To prepare for Miss Sharon's mysterious visit, he had strategically placed a mirror on the right side of the study, with a sofa directly in front of it, facilitating conversation.

He trusted Miss Sharon would understand his intentions and not enter the bathroom mirror while he was about to bathe.

While waiting for Miss Sharon, Hastur sat at his desk, flipping through books.

Although he no longer needed to play the role of a lawyer, studying law still aided his subsequent sequence promotion.

It was almost eleven o'clock when Miss Sharon's figure appeared in the mirror of the study.

She wore her familiar Gothic court-style long dress, adorned with a cute little black hat on her blonde hair.

"Sharon, that's my name."

Her voice was flat, without inflection, which Hastur preferred. He disliked noisy, incessant chatter.

"Hastur Campbell, I'm pleased to meet Miss Sharon."

Hastur rose and sat on the sofa, looking at Miss Sharon in the mirror and gave a brief introduction.

"Maric indeed needs to hide for a while; the suburban manor is quite nice."

"I'm not sure how long it will take to get the manor ready; I can't give you an exact time."

"Maric can wait near the manor first."

Hastur nodded, gave the address of the manor, and asked, "Will Miss Sharon also go?"

"Not necessarily."

"Isn't it too dangerous for one person to stay here?"

"No, they can't find me."

Miss Sharon was quite confident in her abilities.

It must be that the demigods pursuing them didn't dare approach Beckland. For any extraordinary being below a demigod, finding a wraith extraordinary being in the vast city of Beckland was indeed a daunting task.

Hastur chatted briefly with Miss Sharon, only to find there was nothing left to talk about.

Miss Sharon wasn't one to initiate conversation; even her responses were as brief and restrained as possible.

She was unlikely to bring up topics on her own.

"Miss Sharon seems to like this style of clothing?" Hastur tried to find a topic.

"Mm, I like it."

"Have you considered trying a different style?"

Sharon just stared at Hastur without responding, but from her gaze, Hastur could tell she was somewhat interested in the idea.

"Miss Sharon, please wait a moment."

Hastur left the sofa and went to his desk, taking out paper and pen to start sketching.

He drew a simple diagram of a Lolita dress, not too different in design from the Gothic court dresses Sharon favored.

The main difference was in style; Miss Sharon preferred black as the main color of her Gothic court dresses, exuding elegance and mystery with a touch of horror and death, fitting for the mystical domain.

The sketch Hastur drew had a primary palette of blue and white, adorned with lace and floral fabric, a classic and elegant style with an innocent charm.

Limited by the ink, Hastur noted the corresponding colors beside the sketch to give Sharon a clearer view.

Satisfied with his work, Hastur imagined Miss Sharon in the blue and white Lolita dress he had designed.

Wouldn't Miss Sharon look adorable in it?

"…"

Sharon looked at the Lolita dress sketch without speaking, and eventually disappeared from Hastur's astonished gaze.

"Is it too cute a style to accept?"

Hastur regretfully put away the sketch; he hadn't even used pink tones yet. If he added cake, candy, and little animal prints, the cuteness would be off the charts.

Cough, he didn't think he had any peculiar tastes; it was just that seeing Miss Sharon's doll-like appearance made him want to design several different styles of dresses for her.

"Perhaps my drawing was too ugly, and Miss Sharon disliked it."

Hastur admitted his drawing skills were average, not professional.

Deep into the night, Hastur ascended to the Hall of Stars, bypassing the star where the Lamp God resided, focusing on the star where the Mother tree of Desire was.

He wanted to whip it once as a test; otherwise, bringing it into the Hall of Stars later seemed unsettling.

Well, just a whip will do.

Better to whip it now than to bring it into the Hall of Stars and then have to guard against it.

There was definitely a risk, but he couldn't always have face-to-face meetings with only the Lamp God.

Before that, Hastur changed his form, appearing as the sovereign of the Hall of Stars.

Then, with a thought, he extended a chain of order towards the star where the Mother tree of Desire was, the chain bending and striking down like lightning.

Starlight shattered as the chain of order struck a fruit with a human face, which shook in alarm, emitting the cries of a baby.

The cries woke the nearby fruits with human faces, and soon their wails merged into a sea, echoing thunderously!

At that moment, Hastur quickly dissipated the segment of the chain of order into starlight on the spot, withdrawing his gaze from that star.

He was certain that if he had been in the same space-time as the Mother tree of Desire just now, he would have been contaminated by the sea of infant cries! Swallowed whole!

In that last instant, he sensed the Mother tree of Desire awakening, its gaze about to peer over.

After a while, the star where the Mother tree of Desire resided remained surrounded by dark light, with no other movement.

Hastur looked again at that star.

The Mother tree of Desire was indeed watching this place, even extending a branch towards where the chain of order had vanished, striking twice.

But no matter how it struggled, its power could not cross the starry sky to reach the Hall of Stars.

This scene left Hastur both surprised and puzzled.

How exactly does the Hall of Stars link the space-time of two places? Why could he extend the chain of order to the Mother tree of Desire 's location, yet it could not follow the chain back to the Hall of Stars?

Could it be that the Hall of Stars doesn't truly exist?

So neither the Lamp God nor the Mother tree of Desire could find it, nor could they exert their power here? Does it exist entirely in illusion?

Hastur surveyed the Hall of Stars, feeling that everything here didn't seem entirely fictitious. Perhaps his sequence was too low to unravel the secrets of the Hall of Stars.

Or maybe there's another possibility.

The Hall of Stars does exist, but it's not outside the starry sky; it's within the barrier left by the original creator!

That's why the Mother tree of Desire can't extend its power through the barrier to affect this place.

What about the Lamp God? For what reason? Could it be that it's too weak now?

Sealed in the wishing lamp by the lord of the Mysterious, relying on its high rank and the lamp, its defenses are indeed formidable, impervious even to true gods.

But the power it can reveal is already very weak, unable to cross the starry sky to reach the Hall of Stars.

If it truly possessed great power, it wouldn't still be in Bernadette's hands, it would have already corrupted Bernadette and returned to the stars.

Unable to deal with even a sequence 3, it's normal that it can't affect the Hall of Stars.

Hastur pondered seriously, feeling it wasn't that simple.

The origin of the Hall of Stars might be more mysterious than he thought.

The nine prime materials of Earth: the Sea

…the nine prime materials of Earth: the Chaotic Sea, theSefirah Castle, the Hive, the Eternal River of Darkness, the City of Calamity, the Sefirot the Shadow World, the Wilderness of Knowledge, and the Key of Light.

None of these prime materials correspond to the authority and power exhibited by the Hall of Stars.

Initially, Hastur thought the Hall of Stars might be part of the Sefirot one of the prime materials. But when the Lamp God couldn't intervene in the Hall of Stars, he dismissed this guess.

The Land of Disorder originally belonged to the Lamp God. If it had come here, it would have reacted, even directly reclaiming the Land of Disorder to break the seal.

"The power of the stars…"

Hastur recalled what the Lamp God had said.

Order and rules are only part of the Hall of Stars; the stars themselves are the masters here.

(End of Chapter)