"No need to be so restrained."
Seeing how uncomfortable Xio and Fors were, Bernadette did not choose to sit on the sofa. Instead, she sat on a flat, high stool naturally woven together from pea vines.
The slightly greater distance inexplicably allowed Xio and Fors to breathe a sigh of relief. There was nothing they could do about it. Lady Sage's presence was simply too overwhelming, and whenever they faced her, they inevitably felt a sense of fear.
Xio and Fors sat back down and simultaneously looked toward Hastur, signaling for him to speak. Bernadette also turned her gaze toward him.
"We are all believers of the Stars, yet we've never truly spoken openly with one another. Tonight happens to be a good opportunity to hold a meeting for the believers of the Stars."
Hastur paused and swept his gaze over them before continuing, "Tonight's topic is how to stop George III from advancing to Sequence 0, Black Emperor."
Xio and Fors, who had only just sat down and hadn't even warmed their seats yet, were so frightened that they stood up again, their eyes filled with alarm and shock.
Xio looked at Hastur as if he were a madman and stammered, "Mr. Hastur, d-do you understand what you're saying? That's the king of the Loen Kingdom!"
"That's right, Mr. Hastur. This isn't something we can get involved in, is it?"
Fors didn't know exactly what the Black Emperor was, but she clearly understood what Sequence 0 represented. That was a deity, a true god of the same exalted status as the current Seven Gods!
With just the few of them, they wanted to interfere with George III's advancement to Sequence 0? That was simply wishful thinking!
Putting aside how many powerful Beyonders there were within the Loen royal family, George III himself, who was preparing to advance to Sequence 0, had to be a Sequence 1!
And a powerful existence comparable to a King of Angels at that!
Hastur merely looked toward Bernadette, whose brows were slightly furrowed.
"No wonder I've had a strange feeling whenever I stayed in Backlund recently." Bernadette quickly returned to her indifferent expression. "Is this the will of the Stars?"
"Yes. The Stars will not allow George III to successfully advance." Hastur answered with certainty.
"I'm willing to contribute." Bernadette agreed immediately.
She knew that her father had switched to the Black Emperor pathway at the final stage of his life. Although he had ultimately failed, one final mausoleum had remained undiscovered, and that was her father's last sliver of hope.
If George III successfully advanced to Black Emperor, then her father would completely perish and never again have the opportunity to resurrect and return.
Whether for public or personal reasons, she would never sit by and allow this to happen.
"How dare you!" Xio really wanted to blurt those words out, but when they reached her lips, she slightly changed her wording.
"With just the few of us, I'm afraid we won't be able to accomplish this operation, right?"
"It won't be just the few of us."
Hastur chuckled as he glanced at the terrified Xio and Fors. "There are more than just the four of us who believe in the Stars, and there are also more than just us who don't want to see George III successfully advance."
Xio and Fors relaxed slightly, but Hastur's next sentence made their hearts leap into their throats again.
"They have their own tasks, and we also have what we need to do."
"…" Xio and Fors exchanged glances and decided to remain silent. In any case, the two of them would ultimately just be assigned tasks. As for participating in the discussion of such a major affair?
They didn't even have a concrete concept of what kind of enemy they were facing, much less any idea what suggestions they could offer.
It was like a group of big shots discussing how to overthrow the existing order and create a new world, while inexplicably seated beside them were two insignificant figures still worrying about whether they would have bread to eat tomorrow.
"What's your plan?" Bernadette asked directly, without the slightest doubt as to whether Hastur possessed the ability to stir up the winds and clouds of Backlund.
"George III has been preparing for this for a long time. It would be very difficult to sabotage it from the front. My suggestion is to destroy the nine mausoleums he has left in Backlund at the moment he attempts his advancement."
"We don't need to destroy all of the mausoleums. Destroying two or three should be enough to disrupt his advancement and cause him to perish from the failed advancement."
"The royal family has quite a few powerful Beyonders, but there definitely aren't many who have reached Sequence 1 or Sequence 2. They also need to separately guard each mausoleum, which gives us the opportunity to defeat them one by one."
Hastur briefly explained his plan. In truth, there was an even simpler method: using curses to increase the probability of George III failing his advancement.
With the authority of the Hall of Stars, along with Will, the Mercury Serpent, if he could also pull Ouroboros into his camp... Simply relying on the power of fate would be enough to reduce George III's chances of successfully advancing to an extremely low level.
But it still wasn't entirely reliable. Destroying his mausoleums was the safer option.
And it would also give Bernadette a chance to play her part.
"Can you accurately determine when George III will advance and the locations of the mausoleums?" Bernadette had already approved of the plan, but she still had some concerns.
"The day he gives his speech to the entire kingdom will be the day of his advancement. As for the locations of the mausoleums, I do indeed know where several of them are."
"Why do you know so many secrets?"
"The Stars have always been guiding me forward."
As Hastur spoke, he raised his head and glanced at the ceiling. Bernadette no longer questioned him and agreed to the plan Hastur had proposed.
The brief exchange between the two left Xio and Fors dumbfounded.
Just like that? Their opponent was the king of the Loen Kingdom, who was preparing to advance to Sequence 0, Black Emperor!
And with just a few words, the two of you had already arranged his fate? Yet judging from the conversation between Hastur and Lady Sage, they didn't seem to be joking.
In the end, Xio and Fors could only deeply question whether they themselves were simply too incompetent.
After finishing their discussion about George III, Hastur finally turned his gaze toward the blankly staring Xio and Fors. "Does it seem unbelievable?"
Xio and Fors nodded together.
"In the Beyonder world, many things are like this. They seem very complicated, but in reality, they can be explained clearly in just a few words."
"…" Xio and Fors shook their heads simultaneously.
No, they didn't understand at all. They could barely follow what was being said. Nine mausoleums, a speech to the entire nation...
Besides, did he really think the two of them were fools? Could stopping George III from advancing to Sequence 0, Black Emperor really be that simple?
This would be an earth-shattering event throughout the entire Beyonder world, wouldn't it?
"There is no benefit in you investigating too deeply."
Bernadette's single indifferent sentence immediately extinguished all the little thoughts in Xio and Fors' minds, leaving them too afraid to think any further about the matter.
Bernadette turned her gaze toward Hastur again. "When did you become a believer of the Stars?"
This was also a question Xio and Fors were very interested in.
"I became a believer of the Stars a little earlier than all of you." Hastur didn't mind revealing this small piece of information.
Bernadette narrowed her eyes slightly. "Then during our previous meetings, you were pretending to be ignorant and playing dumb with me?"
"Ahem. You can never truly know another person's heart. I needed to observe you for a while before I could feel at ease."
"Hah." Bernadette let out a faint scoff but didn't continue questioning him.
Xio and Fors, however, were extremely curious and pestered Hastur with question after question.
For simple questions, Hastur didn't mind revealing a little to them. Whenever they touched upon anything crucial, he would bring out the great banner of the Stars.
"What kind of existence are the Stars, exactly?"
It was Xio who asked this question. She had held it in for a long time before finally daring to ask it now.
Hastur smiled without answering. Bernadette raised her head and looked upward, as if she could see through the ceiling to the brilliant starry sky beyond.
"The Stars... He is a deity who is watching over everything."
Fors quietly asked, "Are the Stars watching this place right now as well?"
"What do you think?" Bernadette merely gave her a look that told her to think about it herself.
Fors' body trembled slightly, and she no longer dared to speak carelessly.
"The Stars have always protected every one of His believers. It was because of the Stars that I was saved."
Hastur spoke those words with deep emotion.
Fors felt the same way. "My misfortune also changed after I encountered the Stars. He saved me as well."
Xio wanted to say something too, but for a moment, she didn't know what she should say. She could only sit there silently.
The atmosphere suddenly seemed to fall quiet. Bernadette glanced at them, left them with a simple instruction to rest well tonight, and then dispersed like a cluster of bubbles.
Expressions of relief immediately appeared on Xio and Fors' faces. Then they noticed Hastur looking at the two of them with a smile.
"We're just not used to speaking with Lady Sage at such close range."
"That's right. Lady Sage looks more like a queen. Her entire bearing carries an untouchable nobility and elegance."
Xio and Fors each offered an explanation. If she hadn't been afraid of blaspheming Lady Sage, Fors would have let her imagination run wild and added one more sentence:
"Lady Sage looks like a princess on the run."