Lord of Mysteries: Return of the Stars!

It was far better than Hastur going home alone to chew on oat bread.

After dinner, Glaint chatted with Hastur a bit more.

Hastur thought for a moment and steered the conversation toward the manuscripts left behind by Emperor Roselle.

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Glaint lowered his voice and said, "I heard that as long as you can decipher the manuscript left behind by Emperor Roselle, you can gain tremendous power!"

"That's indeed the case." Hastur gave an affirmative answer.

If you understood Chinese characters, Roselle's manuscripts could be described as priceless treasures—of course, you'd have to filter out some of the less proper content, like the taste of witches is quite nice.

Glaint sighed, "I actually have two or three pages, but I've never been able to decipher the contents."

Hastur laughed, "I'm a devotee of Emperor Roselle, and I'm eager to collect the manuscripts he left in this world. If you're willing to sell, I'm prepared to offer100 pounds per page."

"No need for all that." Glaint waved his hand with a smile. "I'll just give you the manuscripts I have. If you manage to decipher them, I hope you'll let me know what they say."

"Of course."

Hastur agreed with a smile—this was a deal where he could only profit.

Before leaving, Hastur also asked Glaint to keep an eye out for any information regarding Emperor Roselle's manuscripts.

On the one hand, he was genuinely interested in these diaries; on the other hand, he planned to hoard a bunch and then sell them to the exceedingly wealthy Miss Justice.

Hmm, let's say, at 500 pounds per page—he believed Miss Justice would generously fork over such a small sum.

With a fortune of 2,000 pounds in his pocket, Hastur naturally didn't choose to walk home. Instead, he hired a carriage, first depositing 1,000 pounds at Backlund's largest bank—the Backlund Bank—before returning home.

The door was still tightly shut, the lock intact. Most of Hastur's worries faded. He went inside, up to the second floor, and checked the drawer where he kept his collection of pocket watches—not a single one was missing.

"Looks like the West Borough's public security is still quite good."

Hastur smiled and headed to the study on the left, placing the three beginner law books he had picked up earlier from Backlund University on the desk.

Staring at them for a long moment, Hastur sighed. Now that the books were back, there was no choice but to get to work.

...

Wednesday, February 28, 1349.

Hastur got up from bed, yawning. He had returned home around 10 p.m. last night, and despite being sleepy, he forced himself to study the beginner law books for an hour—he was utterly exhausted.

As he slept, he once again entered the Hall of Stars, where he observed the Son of Chaos and Mr. Door for a while, then exited the hall and fell into a deep sleep.

Getting out of bed, getting dressed, going to the washroom to freshen up—he then went downstairs to the kitchen on the right side and continued having his usual breakfast of oatmeal bread with honey and water.

He was getting tired of it. If he weren't so hungry, he would've wanted to try something else.

After breakfast, he went back up to the second floor, changed into a fresh outfit, then donned a top hat, took his cane, and headed out.

Today, he planned to visit some of the original's friends—mainly to reassure them, to avoid raising concern and attracting the attention of the Church—and to buy some ingredients he liked to eat.

He really didn't want to eat oatmeal bread for breakfast every day. If he could buy some rice, cook some porridge, and pair it with some side dishes, that would be much more to his taste.

Of course, being able to cook a bowl of rice would be even better.

Leaving the house, he spent 6 penny on a carriage ride to the home of the first noble friend. After a pleasant chat, Hastur naturally stayed for lunch.

After lunch, Hastur went to Saint Samuel Cathedral in the North Borough—this was the headquarters of the Church of the Evernight Goddess in Backlund.

If Hastur had to choose a true deity to follow, he would undoubtedly throw himself into the arms of the Evernight Goddess.

After staying at the church for half an hour, Hastur headed to Backlund's most prosperous area—Hillston District.

This was the economic, commercial, and financial hub of the Loen Kingdom. It housed the Backlund Stock Exchange, bill clearing houses, the futures center, the headquarters of the seven major banks, various trust funds, railway companies, and bulk commodity trading firms.

Hastur explored the area with great interest. By the time he was done, it was around 3 p.m., and he stopped by another friend's home to enjoy afternoon tea in a pleasant chat.

As dusk approached, Hastur was at the third friend's home. Unable to refuse the warm hospitality, he stayed for dinner as well.

After visiting all his friends, Hastur took a stroll through the streets to digest his food. He was quite satisfied with his busy schedule.

Back in the West Borough, he spent 12 soli on a good haul: plenty of beef, steaks, pork chops, vegetables, two loaves of oatmeal bread, and a Tassock fish suitable for roasting—unfortunately, he didn't manage to buy any rice for cooking.

After bringing the groceries home, Hastur went upstairs to take a bath, changed into simpler casual clothes, locked all the doors and windows, and took a carriage to the Bravehearts Bar.

Although the original host had lived in Backlund for many years, he hadn't attended many Beyonder gatherings—certainly no regular ones.

Hastur had no choice but to go with the Bravehearts Bar, a relatively discreet place for such gatherings. Besides, he might even get a chance to see Miss Sharon.

Even if we can't meet, getting familiar with the crowd here isn't a bad idea either.

Hastur spent 5 penny to try a glass of Southwell beer, took a sip, smacked his lips—it tasted fine, but he didn't want a second sip.

After wandering around for a bit, he found Kaspars Kalinin outside Billiards Room No. 3. Under Kaspars' slightly surprised gaze, he calmly stated that he had been referred by "the old man."

"Come in."

Hastur walked in, and the other person in the room left on his own and closed the door behind him.

Kaspars, with a red, alcohol-riddled nose, eyed Hastur unkindly and said, "What do you want?"

"I want to attend tonight's extraordinary gathering."

"Five pounds."

I remember Klein only spent two pounds to get into the gathering, and now it's five when it's my turn?

Is it because I look young, and he wants to rip me off?

Hastur hesitated for a moment but still chose to pay the five pounds to resolve the issue.

"You're generous."

Looking at the five-pound note Hastur handed over, Kaspars was momentarily stunned, then said,

"People like you aren't suited for that dangerous and mad world."

Hastur smiled and replied, "I'm just here to take a look and broaden my horizons."

Kaspars said nothing more—his kind reminder would only be given once.

Leaving the billiard room, Kaspars gave a few instructions and then led Hastur through the back door of the kitchen into a rear alleyway, circling around to a dark, unlit house.

He took out an iron mask that only covered the upper half of the face, handed it to Hastur, and said in a low voice, "Wear this mask—it'll save you unnecessary trouble, if you don't want to be recognized."

"Thanks for the reminder." Hastur took the iron mask and put it on, slightly messing up his hair.

Seeing he was ready, Kaspars rhythmically knocked on the door.

Seven or eight seconds later, a small wooden panel on the door slid open, revealing a pair of brown eyes.

After examining him for a moment, the door opened. The person behind it handed Hastur a hooded robe with a displeased expression.

Then, he led Hastur through the dark living room into the first-floor parlor.

On the coffee table inside, a single candle emitted dim yellow light, faintly illuminating about a dozen people seated around.

Hastur naturally found a corner seat and sat down, waiting for the gathering to continue.

Soon, the calm atmosphere was broken—someone was buying potions, someone was seeking sequence formulas, someone was selling magical items, and someone was selling extraordinary weapons.

Hastur simply listened quietly, observing their orderly transactions.

Unfortunately, he didn't hear the annoying voice and speech pattern of the apothecary.

As the trading neared its end, the old gentleman known as the Eye of Wisdom, seated on a single sofa, looked in Hastur's direction. "New friend, do you have any requests?"

"I want the potion formula for Sequence 9 Lawyer. I'll pay in gold pounds. The price is negotiable."

Hastur stated his purpose.

When he heard a female Beyonder was selling weapons, he knew he could buy the Lawyer's potion formula from her tonight.

"I can sell it to you, but I want 300 pounds."

Perhaps feeling that her price was a bit steep, she added, "I'm not that short on money at the moment."

"Alright."

Hastur agreed to the deal. He didn't mind the slight markup.

What mattered most was that since she was charging extra for the Sequence 9 Lawyer formula tonight, he would later double the price when selling her the Sequence 8 Barbarian potion formula.

He already knew the potion formulas for Sequence 8 Barbarian and Sequence 7 Briber of the Black Emperor pathway—only the starting Sequence 9 Lawyer formula was missing.

After being notarized by the Eye of Wisdom, the transaction was completed.

As expected, the lady who sold him the Lawyer formula then expressed interest in purchasing the Barbarian formula.

Judging by her tone, she wasn't in a hurry yet—perhaps the potion hadn't been fully digested.

Hastur remained silent. He would only sell the Barbarian formula at double the price the next time he attended a gathering.

Time passed quickly. Aside from the Lawyer formula, he didn't need anything else. He waited until the gathering ended, and the attendees left one by one.

Upon exiting, Hastur returned the hooded robe to the doorman and retraced his steps back to the Bravehearts Bar.

Kaspars was a bit surprised to see Hastur return. "You made it back alive, not bad."

"As long as one can restrain their desires, they won't die so easily."

Hastur replied with a smile and spent 5 penny to treat Kaspars to a Southwell beer.

It was getting late, so he didn't linger at the Bravehearts Bar. He left, hailed a carriage, and went home.

"Restrain desires—it sounds easy, but how many can truly stick to that?"

Hearing a voice behind him, Kaspars asked curiously, "You're interested in that young man?"

Behind him, Maric replied, "The reason desire is called desire is because the human heart is never satisfied."

Kaspars chuckled and said, "Right now, my only desire is to make more gold pounds—make enough, and I can retire early and enjoy life."