Hastur really wanted to refuse the invitation, but Audrey's expectant gaze was simply too lethal.
"That's great! I've never really dared to explore too deeply. With Mr. Hastur accompanying me, I'll finally be able to completely unveil its mysteries."
Audrey made no attempt to hide the excitement in her voice. After speaking, she gave Hastur an embarrassed glance, then turned around and flashed Susie a smug smile.
"Woof." Susie stood up from the ground, walked over, and rubbed against Hastur's trouser leg, indicating that she wanted to join this mental adventure as well.
"No, Susie can't come!" Audrey objected, her face slightly flushed.
"Woof?" Susie looked at Audrey in confusion, and Hastur also turned his gaze toward her.
After thinking about it briefly, he understood what Audrey was worried about.
There were definitely certain special places in that world of the mind, such as places where one might unconsciously speak their true thoughts aloud.
Audrey was probably afraid that Susie might accidentally expose some of her little secrets, which was why she was so resistant.
Thinking of this, Hastur immediately sided with Susie.
"I also think Susie needs some training to develop her Beyonder abilities. Besides, Susie's non-human nature might sometimes help us solve certain difficulties."
"Woof." Susie wagged her tail happily.
"Fine." Audrey could only reluctantly agree to let Susie participate, while already thinking about how to give Susie some emergency training.
She absolutely could not allow Susie to expose all her secrets in front of Mr. Hastur while they were in the world of the mind.
Soon, Audrey used the excuse that she needed to return to her room and rest, taking Susie with her even though Susie wanted to chat with Hastur about psychology.
Since he would be entering that world of the mind with Audrey tonight, Hastur did not refuse Countess Hall's invitation this time and chose to stay overnight in a guest room at Earl Hall's residence.
This caused Earl Hall's gaze to deepen slightly, but he merely looked quietly at Hastur without saying anything. Countess Hall, on the other hand, was quite pleased and busied herself arranging a guest room for Hastur.
Alfred patted Hastur on the shoulder with an inexplicable smile.
"Hastur, it seems my family all likes you quite a lot."
...
A little after eleven at night, after finishing a few drinks with Alfred and Earl Hall, Hastur returned to his room and lay down in the guest room that had already been prepared.
After waiting another half hour, he appeared in Audrey's room in spiritual-body form.
Audrey was half leaning over the edge of the bed, her upper body slightly bent forward as she reached out to tease Susie's head while tirelessly reminding her, "Susie, you must remember everything I just told you. Whatever happens, don't let your thoughts wander."
"All right, Audrey."
Susie nodded firmly. "Audrey, you should trust me, and you should also trust Mr. Hastur. No matter what secrets I reveal, it won't affect your image in Hastur's heart."
"Susie, don't you know that every young lady should have secrets that belong only to herself?"
"Oh. Then what if you accidentally say them yourself?"
"Then I would definitely be doing it on purpose."
"Woof." Susie said nothing more.
Knock. Knock-knock. Knock-knock-knock.
A rhythmic knocking sounded against the window. It was the signal Hastur and Audrey had agreed upon.
Audrey, who had already been waiting for quite some time, activated her Spirit Vision and saw Hastur by the window.
This was the first time she had seen Mr. Hastur in spiritual-body form. He appeared only as a rough silhouette without distinct facial features, which were presumably being deliberately concealed.
Looking at him like this, his figure perfectly matched the one that had knocked on her window last time.
Smiling, Audrey took out the crystal ball from beside her pillow, the hub that could connect to that world of the mind.
In the past, whenever she wanted to enter that world, she only needed to place the crystal ball beneath her pillow and would naturally enter it.
However, she had never tried inviting anyone else into the world of the mind, not even Susie.
To guard against any unexpected accidents, she had always left Susie outside so that Susie could wake her if something went wrong.
"Audrey, lie down and rest just like usual. Enter the world of the mind first. I'll handle everything else."
After Hastur gave this simple instruction, Audrey lay flat on her back, slowly closed her eyes, and her breathing gradually became steady. Before long, she entered the world of the mind.
"Susie, you know how to enter someone else's mind, right?"
"Woof." After reminding Susie what she needed to watch out for, Hastur brought her into Audrey's mental world.
Then, through the crystal hub, they arrived at the silver-white Tower of the Mind.
Audrey had already been waiting there. When Hastur and Susie appeared, she happily greeted them like the master of the place.
"Mr. Hastur, Susie, welcome to the Silver Tower."
Silver Tower was the name Audrey had given this silver-white Tower of the Mind. The strange forest outside also had a new name: the Twisted Forest.
"Woof." Susie curiously circled around the Silver Tower, investigating it from every angle.
Hastur, meanwhile, stood by the railing outside the tower, gazing out over this hazy and strange mind world.
Last time, he had looked down upon this world from the perspective of the Stars, his vision expanding across an entire sea of minds. Now, however, he stood only upon one small island within it.
If this world of the mind truly contained some secret or gift, then it should be hidden deep within the sea of minds, at the place where the remains of the Mind Dragon had fallen.
"Mr. Hastur, to the east is the Twisted Forest, to the south is the Silent Castle, to the west is the Witch's House, and the north borders the sea. If we want to leave this place, heading north is the best choice."
Audrey brought Susie over to Hastur and gave a brief introduction while pointing toward the different regions.
"Every place needs a suitable name." Audrey sensed Hastur's surprised gaze and her cheeks reddened slightly.
Whenever she explored this world of the mind, she had gotten into the habit of giving distinctive names to certain special regions and buildings.
For example, the name Silent Castle in the south came from an old castle there. Once inside, one would unconsciously close the doors of one's mind, as though completely cut off from the outside world, without wanting to say a single word.
As for the Witch's House in the west... that was simply because there was an empty wooden cabin there with candles burning inside, despite no one living there.
She thought it looked exactly like the sort of place witches would live in while out in the wilderness.
The north... Hastur recalled the full view of this world of the mind that he had seen last time. The remains of the Mind Dragon did indeed seem to lie north of this island.
The two people and one dog descended from the Silver Tower and headed north. The areas along the way had all been explored by Audrey before, so there was no real danger.
Only after passing through a black forest and arriving before a crystal-clear lake did Audrey slow her pace. She took a deep breath and gave Susie a meaningful glance.
In this world of the mind, there was no crimson moon even at night. Instead, faint starlight descended from above.
Hastur guessed that this was likely a change caused by his previous descent into this place in the form of the Stars.
Under the hazy starlight, the lake appeared even more tranquil and sacred. Hastur casually asked Audrey what the lake was called.
Audrey blinked lightly and said, "It's a Wishing Lake. Mr. Hastur can try making a wish to it."
"Woof." Susie also voiced her agreement from the side.
Hastur glanced at the girl and dog, both of whom were clearly hiding some little scheme, then walked several steps toward the lake and stopped at the shore.
The originally calm surface of the lake rippled gently, then gathered into the form of a small, lake-blue spirit.
Half of its body emerged from the water. It had delicate features, pointed upright ears, and a pair of blue wings formed from water lightly flapping behind its back. Its eyes were filled with innocent curiosity as it studied Hastur.
After a moment, it spoke.
"Traveler from afar, what help do you require?"
"I want to know the secret thoughts hidden by a certain young lady."
As Hastur spoke, he pointed at Audrey, who had been preparing to watch the fun.
"Mr. Hastur!"
Audrey immediately panicked. All of her previous composure vanished. Her hands clutched at the hem of her clothes as her cheeks turned red.
She had only wanted to give Mr. Hastur a surprise, yet she had never expected Mr. Hastur to give her an even greater surprise in return.
"I can fulfill your wish, but you must also answer one of my questions."
"No problem." Hastur agreed to the small exchange.
The lake spirit merged back into the water, and before long, a scene appeared upon the calm surface.
It showed Audrey once standing beside the lake, chatting with the little spirit within it.
"Can you leave the world of the mind and stay by my side? I really want a cute little spirit that can accompany me, tiny enough that I can hold it in my palm whenever I want."
"Susie really is wonderful, but lately she's become far too obsessed with studying. She's obviously just a dog, yet now I have to work hard too, because I'm afraid she'll accidentally surpass me."
"Whenever I imagine her looking at me with confused and disappointed eyes and saying, 'Audrey, you don't even know the answer to this question?'"
...
"Since you like asking questions so much, next time I'll bring Mr. Hastur with me. He's extremely knowledgeable, so he'll definitely be able to satisfy your curiosity."
"I kind of miss the Mr. Hastur from back when he was still poor. At least back then, I could still beat him when it came to money..."
Audrey's clear, melodious voice rang out from the surface of the lake.
Hastur and Susie simultaneously turned to look at her.
What exactly did it feel like to die of embarrassment?
Right now, Audrey truly wanted to jump into the lake, hide at the very bottom, and escape the knowing looks Hastur and Susie were giving her.
"Audrey, so you really do acknowledge my hard work and intelligence." Susie happily wagged her tail, nearly raising it toward the sky.
"..."
Audrey did her best to suppress the strange emotions within her. She turned slightly to the side and pretended not to hear Susie's smug voice.