For a Diviner, abnormalities appearing in an astrological chart during divination were perfectly normal. There could be many possible reasons.
For example, there might be a powerful existence of a higher level than oneself active nearby.
Such beings would conceal their secrets, making themselves difficult to discover, while also interfering with Diviners attempting to divine information about the area, causing the results they obtained to lose their authenticity.
A powerful Sealed Artifact could also produce the same effect.
It could also be a problem with the divination statement itself. Divination was not omnipotent and could not solve everything. When one's abilities were insufficient to support uncovering the corresponding secrets, forcibly performing divination would only bring disaster upon oneself.
Ulrich stopped walking and carefully thought it over. He believed there was probably a powerful Beyonder in the nearby area who far surpassed him, causing his divination to become distorted and produce chaotic abnormalities.
"The previous divination result told me to head in this direction. Could it be hinting that I should seek help from this powerful Beyonder?"
In the end, Ulrich rejected the idea. Rashly disturbing a powerful Beyonder might result in him dying without even knowing how.
There were still soldiers and members of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun patrolling the streets late at night.
Faced with this situation, he could only find somewhere safe to hide for the time being.
Ulrich cautiously looked around, then crouched down and carefully hid inside a storeroom used to store kitchen ingredients.
On the second floor of the hotel, Hastur was standing by the window enjoying the breeze and taking in the atmosphere of Intis when he naturally noticed the furtive figure not far away.
Judging from the way he was acting, he was either a thief or a wanted criminal.
Considering what had happened recently, the latter seemed more likely.
But Hastur had no intention of getting involved right now. After glancing over a few times, he withdrew his gaze and instead looked around the empty room.
Ever since Cattleya and Sharon chatted earlier today, their relationship seemed to have improved considerably. In the evening, Cattleya had taken Sharon out sightseeing, and when it was time to rest, she had even invited Sharon to her room, leaving Hastur alone.
"It seems that in this confrontation between Suah's Rose School of Thought and the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, Suah's side has actually gained the upper hand. Considering His luck, that really isn't an easy feat."
Hastur observed for a while, shut the doors and windows tightly, lay down on the bed, and entered the Hall of Stars.
He skillfully found the star where the Mother Tree of Desire resided and saw Suah, who had merged into the tree roots with only a single face exposed.
Surprisingly, Suah and the Rose School of Thought had not taken any action recently. Had something gone wrong within the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun itself?
Could it be that the Eternal Blazing Sun was about to fall?
As Hastur thought about this, he turned his gaze toward the star where the Supernova Dominator resided. As usual, there was nothing abnormal.
Then he glanced toward the High-Dimensional Overseer. Hmm, His avatar was still playing hide-and-seek with Amon in the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
Ever since the last sacrifice to the Stars, when two of Amon's avatars were caught by the High-Dimensional Overseer, Amon seemed to have realized that something was wrong and concealed His traces before disappearing.
Unfortunately, He had underestimated the High-Dimensional Overseer's patience. During this period, He had remained in the Forsaken Land of the Gods and had even blocked the gateway Amon could use to leave.
At this moment, He was slowly tightening the encirclement, trying to catch Amon, who was hiding all over the place.
Hastur only watched for a while before looking away. Given their authorities and abilities, as well as their cunning and intelligence, this game of hide-and-seek would be enough to keep them occupied for several months.
...
The next morning.
Bernadette still had not returned, but members of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun came by. They were also searching for the wanted criminal from before.
They said someone had witnessed a suspicious person appearing in the area and asked them to pay a little more attention. If they learned anything, they could directly contact the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun.
There were clearly even more patrols on the streets now. They were practically searching every household one by one.
Hastur continued to remain an observer, taking Cattleya and Sharon around to visit many of Intis's distinctive attractions.
Unfortunately, although the White Maple Palace had already been abandoned and was no longer in use, it had not been opened to the public. There were still people guarding the place, probably leaving an opening while waiting for Bernadette to walk into the trap herself.
"You want to go inside?" Cattleya could tell that Hastur was very interested in the White Maple Palace.
"I am indeed very interested. Emperor Roselle is a person well worth studying." Standing outside the White Maple Palace, Hastur gazed at the extremely famous building and fell slightly into a daze.
No matter what, Roselle was a fellow transmigrator from the same homeland. Coming to the place where he had fallen inevitably left Hastur feeling rather emotional.
However, when he remembered that Roselle had once indulged in debauchery inside the White Maple Palace with noblewomen, young noble ladies, and even Demonesses, that tiny bit of sympathy instantly vanished.
"You can try going in tonight."
"I don't have a habit of looking for trouble."
"I can go with you."
A strange light flickered in Cattleya's eyes. There was no need to think about it to know that she wanted to help Bernadette investigate the White Maple Palace.
Hastur smiled and politely declined her proposal. If he truly wanted to enter the White Maple Palace, it would actually be easier for him to act alone. Bringing Cattleya along would instead make them more likely to be discovered.
That afternoon, Hastur took some time to look around Intis' investment market. He had no intention of investing; he simply wanted to use the opportunity to see how far Intis' technological research had progressed.
The project that impressed him most was one proposing the development of something similar to an internal combustion engine. They had already produced a simple model, and its future prospects were promising.
If this project had appeared in Loen, he wouldn't have minded investing some money in it or even offering a few small suggestions.
At around eight in the evening, a burst of commotion came from the streets. Hastur, Cattleya, and Sharon stood by the window of their second-floor hotel room, looking down at what was happening below.
After the soldiers and members of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun conducted a thorough search, the wanted criminal's whereabouts had finally been exposed. However, at the critical moment, he jumped into one of the city's waterways and escaped.
The soldiers and members of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun were now holding torches and searching along both sides of the waterway.
Cattleya suggested, "This is a very good opportunity."
"I'm not interested." Hastur smiled. "Of course, I won't interfere with your actions either."
"I don't believe you really came here purely for sightseeing."
After saying this, Cattleya left the hotel, clearly intending to get involved in the matter.
Sharon calmly asked, "You're really not interested?"
"With her around, there's no need for me to personally do anything. I only need to stay in the room and wait for the results." As Hastur spoke, he glanced curiously at Sharon beside him. "Didn't you go with Cattleya to buy new clothes?"
"I don't like them."
"Changing the way you dress once in a while might have a different effect."
"You're looking forward to it?" Sharon stared directly at Hastur, seemingly seeing through his little thoughts.
"A little."
Hastur honestly nodded. He really was looking forward to seeing Sharon in modern professional women's attire.
The collision between classical and modern styles should possess a unique kind of beauty.
Sharon did not respond to Hastur's expectant gaze. She simply returned to the mirror expressionlessly.
...
At around two in the morning, someone knocked on Hastur's door.
Hastur helplessly got out of bed and opened the door. Outside stood Cattleya along with a man dressed in black robes. His entire body was soaking wet, and there was even a faint sour stench reminiscent of a garbage bin.
"Couldn't you take him to your own room?" Hastur sighed.
Meeting Hastur's gaze, Cattleya seriously replied, "He stinks."
"..."
As if I don't mind the smell?
Hastur looked speechlessly at the serious-faced Cattleya. Knowing that she was in the wrong, she shifted her gaze away and stared at the mirror on the table, pretending not to notice Hastur looking at her.
Only after Hastur stopped staring at her did she look back and briefly describe what had happened tonight.
After leaving the hotel, Cattleya had quietly followed behind the search party. It wasn't until they were about to find their target that she acted first, taking him out of the encirclement.
Throughout the process, her luck had been very good, and she had not encountered any additional incidents.
"I saved you tonight. It's time you properly introduced yourself."
Ulrich, looking pitiful after being disliked because of his sour stench, quickly spilled everything upon hearing Cattleya's words, explaining his identity, background, and the reason he was being hunted.
Hastur silently listened to the entire story. Then his gaze shifted toward the pocket of Ulrich's coat. He extended a finger and pointed at it.
"You haven't introduced what's inside your coat pocket."
"Ah!" Ulrich instinctively covered his coat pocket with his hand and retreated several steps until his back struck the doorframe, stopping him.
He stared in disbelief. "How did you know I had something on me?"
"If you really were just an ordinary priest, the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun wouldn't make such a huge fuss trying to capture you. Excluding the possibility that you're the Pope's illegitimate son, the most likely explanation is that you escaped while carrying something important."
Ulrich looked at Hastur with admiration. "You're amazing. You've only met me once, yet you've already guessed most of what happened."
Because that's how the plot goes in most books. Otherwise, how would the story continue developing?
Hastur silently complained to himself.
"I can tell you the truth. I can even give this thing to you." Ulrich carefully reached into his coat pocket and took out the supposed treasure. Then he opened his palm.
A dull gray, perfectly round stone?
"I only have one condition. You must safely escort me out of Trier." Ulrich quickly closed his palm again, blocking Hastur and Cattleya's examining gazes. "I'll only give this to you."
Ulrich opened his palm again in front of Cattleya, revealing the round stone and signaling for her to take it.
Cattleya remained silent for a moment.
She really did find it dirty. And smelly.
"Sorry. I-I'll put it on the table."
Realizing the problem, Ulrich flushed with embarrassment. He stepped forward and placed the round stone on the table, very close to the mirror.
When his hand moved away, the stone that had been sitting still silently rolled several times, putting a considerable distance between itself and the mirror.
"..."
Ulrich stared dumbfounded. Then he exclaimed in shock, "What the hell? It was never this magical when it was in my hands!"