Backlund, the Earl Hall family estate.
Audrey, having returned from above the gray fog, carefully opened the door. At the doorway, Susie was standing guard seriously, preventing anyone else from suddenly approaching this place.
Audrey squatted down and happily rubbed Susie's head. "Susie, thank you for your help."
"Woof, woof woof!"
After barking a few times, Audrey quickly understood what it wanted to express. She took it back into the room and then closed the door.
After finishing all this, Audrey herself froze for a moment.
When had she started being able to understand Susie's dog language?
"Audrey, why do you humans always like to touch pets on the head when you're happy?"
"Probably because it feels more comfortable to touch."
Susie retorted, "I read in a book that this kind of behavior by humans comes from a desire to dominate. Humans like weak creatures because they are weak, and you have absolute control over them, so even if we're very angry, you humans will only think we're acting cute."
"..." Audrey didn't want to argue with Susie about these topics. Otherwise, by the end of it, she would always end up being influenced by Susie.
"Susie, I'm preparing to join the Psychology Alchemists. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll express my interest in psychology at the tea party."
"Audrey, I also want to advance to Sequence 7, Psychologist."
"..." Audrey fell silent. She had originally planned to keep helping Susie so she could advance alongside her all the way.
But now, she was a bit hesitant.
What if Susie became too smart in the future? She couldn't, like her, spend all her time reading books.
In the future, when it came to competing in knowledge, she would definitely lose to Susie.
"Audrey, you hesitated. You don't want me to accompany you in advancing to higher sequences?"
"I think it will be very difficult to obtain two portions of the Psychologist Beyonder potion from the Psychology Alchemists. I don't want you to hold too much hope."
"Alright." Susie lowered its head, its ears drooping, its mood a little low.
"But, Susie, you are my best friend. I will definitely find a way to obtain another portion of the Psychologist Beyonder potion!"
"Audrey, you're really nice." Susie swept away its earlier disappointment and happily wagged its tail.
"..." Audrey felt a little guilty, her cheeks heating up. In her conversation with Susie just now, she had actually learned to play a bit of mind games, just to make Susie feel more grateful to her.
'Audrey, Audrey, is this the only way you can gain the upper hand now?'
After thinking for a moment, Audrey very sincerely apologized to Susie for what had just happened.
Susie very generously said, "I know. I was just deliberately playing along with your act."
"..." Audrey's eyes widened. Now she really had to consider whether she should continue helping Susie advance.
...
Late at night, around eleven o'clock.
Fors returned to her room, shut the doors and windows, covered herself with the blanket, and began praying to the stars.
The familiar starry sky appeared, filling the room with radiance.
Along with the appearance of the Hall of Stars, Hastur appeared as well, seated high in the hall.
Without needing to speak, Fors told everything about how she had pretended to be ill, how she had prayed to that Mr. Fool late at night, and how she had finally mixed into the Tarot Club.
"You did very well." Hearing that Fors had been disturbing that Mr. Fool's sleep at three or four in the morning, Hastur gave her a very favorable evaluation.
"This is what I should be doing."
Although Fors pretended to be very modest, the smile in her eyes could not be concealed.
"What should I do next?"
"Continue observation."
"I understand!" Fors accepted this task with a solemn expression, carrying a kind of heroic resolve, as if heading generously toward death.
Hastur didn't correct her way of thinking, letting her continue to maintain this vigorous fighting spirit.
It was better than her lying flat all the way. After the starry sky dissipated, Fors was still immersed in that praise from earlier.
This was affirmation from the stars, the deserved reward for her efforts.
"You did very well."
"You did very well."
...
In the Hall of Stars, after finishing his exchange with Fors, Hastur did not leave immediately. As usual, he swept his gaze across the stars above his head.
Only the star belonging to the High-Dimensional Overseer showed a slight abnormality.
Originally, the scene contained only himself. Now, another figure had appeared, Alger Wilson.
The place they were currently in should be aboard the Blue Avenger.
"Alger is truly unfortunate. No wonder his code name is the Hanged Man, it really is a symbol of sacrifice."
"Strange. The sea is so vast, so how could the High-Dimensional Overseer precisely locate Alger?"
"Just a coincidence? Then Alger's luck really is terrible." Hastur merely chose to observe and had no intention of intervening in this matter.
Such things should be left for Mr. Fool to worry about.
Hastur watched for a while longer, then left the Hall of Stars.
The next day, Hastur made thorough preparations, even having Will secretly keep watch, before once again heading to the Talent and Employment Association.
He had the others leave first, keeping only Caius behind.
Inside the room, Caius was not at all surprised that he was the winner among the eight.
"Caius, why do you think I chose you?" Hastur threw out his question.
"Because I'm the most outstanding among the eight. Anyone with discernment would choose to hire me as this investigator."
Caius looked calm, his words filled with absolute confidence in himself.
"Do you think you're a winner or a loser in life?" Faced with Hastur's sudden change in direction, Caius frowned slightly and said, "A winner. I consider myself a winner in life. I rarely experience failure."
"Have you ever had contact with a mysterious organization that likes to wear yellow robes?"
"I have."
"What do you think of that organization?"
"They are the most noble ascetics I have ever seen. They possess a unified goal and move forward together."
"Are you also a member of that organization?"
Caius fell silent for a moment before looking at Hastur with a strange expression. "You really are very different."
"You still haven't answered my question."
"Yes, I am also a member of that organization."
This time, it was Hastur who felt curious. This Caius answered every question without any attempt to hide anything.
Was he simple-minded, or did he disdain lying?
After thinking for a moment, Hastur asked again, "For what reason did you come to participate in this recruitment? As an outstanding life winner like you, there's no need to earn such a small amount of pounds."
"Because I accepted a task from the organization. The task required me to come to this recruitment and then complete your commission."
"Heh, an organizational task. Does the task require you to be honest and forthright?"
"Yes. Deception is not allowed."
Hastur grew even more curious. The Yellow-Robed Monks sent someone like this to meet him and even forbade him from lying. Were they really not afraid he would ask everything about them?
"Which deity does your organization believe in?"
"I don't know."
"You've never come into contact with divine revelations?"
"I don't know."
"How many members does your organization have?"
"I don't know."
"Who is your superior?"
"I don't have a superior."
"Who is usually responsible for maintaining the entire organization?"
"I don't know."
"...." Only then did Hastur understand. The Yellow-Robed Monks had sent over this utterly straightforward fellow and forbid him from lying because he knew too little, basically, he knew nothing about anything.
"When did you join this organization?"
"This March. It hasn't even been half a year."
"Are you very loyal to this organization?"
"Not really. I'm only here for the task rewards."
To this, Hastur could only say one thing: super. Beyond that, there was no other suitable evaluation.
"What is the task reward?"
"The potion formula for advancing to Sequence 4."
"What is Sequence 4 of this extraordinary pathway called?"
"Priest."
"And the higher sequences?"
"I don't know."
Hastur fell silent for a while, then continued asking many questions, all of which Caius answered one by one.
But once it involved the true secrets of the Yellow-Robed Monks, he knew nothing at all, with his most frequent answer being, "I don't know."
In the end, Hastur still decided to hire Caius, sending him to Southville County to investigate the land situation of Viscount Abel.
"I will return after completing the task." After expressing his resolve, Caius departed directly from Backlund and headed for Southville County.
During this process, Caius did not even ask about the remuneration for this task.
It was clear that what he cared about was not Hastur's meager pounds, but obtaining the organization's task reward.
"Yellow-Robed Monks… what a bizarre organization."
After pondering for a long time, Hastur could only give it that evaluation: bizarre.