Bab 374: Chapter 374: King George Augustus III's Speech Day
Chapter 374: King George Augustus III's Speech Day
"Klein, you're still causing trouble even after death," Leonard said with a bitter smile. "Since you still remember me as a friend, I won't hold this dream visitation against you. Just don't scare me like that next time."
After bathing and changing clothes, Leonard saw it was still early, so he returned to bed and began calling out to the old man in his mind. Perhaps the old man could provide some answers about this dream visitation.
"Dream visitation? How would I know what you encountered in your dreams? I have no interest in peeking into your messy dreamscapes," the old man's disdainful voice responded.
"But this dream felt so real. Could Klein's spirit have actually returned to Backlund from the sea?" Leonard wondered.
"Hah, the spirits near Saint Samuel Cathedral have long been resting deep underground. How could they appear before you?" the old man scoffed.
Leonard sighed, "I thought the same, but this dream just felt different."
After a moment, the old man simply uttered the word "fate."
"Dream visitations are also a kind of fate?" Leonard was even more confused.
The old man chuckled without explaining further. Instead, he said, "In the extraordinary world, the dead can speak. A dream visitation is normal. Even coming back to life wouldn't be that surprising."
"I wish Klein was still alive," Leonard lamented.
"I've told you before, your luck is quite good. Perhaps your wish will come true," the old man replied cryptically.
Leonard immediately recalled Klein's gruesome death in the dream and quickly rejected the idea: "I don't want that kind of wish fulfillment!"
This time the old man didn't respond, only sighing as if lamenting something.
Leonard sat alone on the bed, unable to sleep until after 6 AM. He then quickly fixed his hair, left his room, and took a carriage to the Great Bridge South District where Klein used to live.
When Klein had sacrificed himself, the church had purchased the house to allow Benson and Melissa to live there comfortably, along with providing a death benefit.
Leonard knocked on the door. After a moment, Benson opened it, his usually expressionless face showing a hint of animation.
"Sorry to disturb you," Leonard said as he entered. This was only his second visit here. The first time was when he had personally come to inform Benson and Melissa of Klein's death.
"What brings you here?" Benson asked directly after pouring Leonard some hot tea. "I need to leave for work soon, so I can't chat for long."
Leonard glanced around the house, noticing nothing unusual. He smiled and said, "I just wanted to see if you needed any help with anything."
"No, we're fine. Really, we're doing well," Benson replied, his gaze drifting to a framed photo in the center of the living room - a New Year's picture of him, Klein, and Melissa.
"Actually, I had a dream last night where Klein asked me to take good care of you," Leonard decided to share.
Benson's eyes immediately reddened. Even Melissa, who had been eavesdropping from the inner room, came out.
"He... Klein... he really appeared in your dream?" Melissa asked in disbelief, her eyes also reddening as she sat beside Benson across from Leonard.
"Yes," Leonard nodded.
Benson remained silent, head lowered. Melissa wiped tears from the corners of her eyes and asked cautiously, "Is he doing alright?"
"He's fine. He wants you to take care of yourselves and not grieve too much over his passing," Leonard said, forcing a slight smile. He dared not describe Klein's horrific state in the dream - that would be like stabbing Benson and Melissa in the heart.
"We'll be fine. We'll keep living well," Benson said heavily.
After a long silence, Benson suggested, "I miss him. Would you like to visit him with us?"
"Of course," Leonard agreed. After last night's dream, he also wanted to visit Klein's grave.
After tidying up a bit, the three of them left the house and took a carriage to the cemetery where Klein was buried.
While waiting for the carriage, Leonard's gaze fell on a familiar figure sitting by the window of a nearby restaurant.
It wasn't until they were in the carriage passing by that he clearly saw it was the same person he and Hastur had encountered at the Brave Bar that night.
As the carriage quickly passed the window, Klein calmly watched it leave before returning his attention to his breakfast.
Everything was going well so far.
...
As King George Augustus III's national address day approached, Backlund's chaotic situation suddenly quieted down. The last three days passed peacefully without incident.
However, just after midnight on the day of the speech, as the starry sky shone brilliantly, Backlund was once again plunged into massive turmoil.
Chaos erupted throughout the city. From small incidents of arson to brazen street shootings, evil sacrificial rituals, and even assassination attempts on important Loen Kingdom officials and nobles.
Under these circumstances, the three churches only dispatched a small portion of their forces to maintain some semblance of order. Most of their manpower and resources were focused on monitoring the royal family's movements.
Hastur stood silently on the balcony, observing Backlund's chaos and madness that night.
When morning came, King George Augustus III would emerge from his palace and ascend the prepared stage to deliver his speech to the entire Loen Kingdom - an address about declaring all-out war.
Perhaps knowing Hastur wanted to do something, Sharon had returned specially to help care for Aisala. Currently, Aisala was comfortably lying in her arms, enjoying some tasty dried fish.
"How can we just wait idly on a night like this?" Hastur turned from the view and sat at the small table next to Sharon. He instructed the maids who were still awake to prepare some wine and delicacies.
"You seem rather carefree," Sharon remarked, unable to understand Hastur's thinking.
Hastur laughed, "You don't think I'm planning to assassinate George Augustus III in the streets, do you?"
Sharon simply stared at him silently. Her meaning was clear - if it was him, he really might attempt such a risky and bold move.
"Sigh, how could you think me so foolish? Assassination is Aisala's job," Hastur said.
"Meow?" Aisala let out a displeased cry at being called out.
"I sense you're going to do something," Sharon glanced at the ongoing chaos in the distance. "Is this what you wanted?"
"Creating chaos, guiding chaos - these are indeed things my role requires," Hastur replied.
"You've progressed so quickly," Sharon sincerely admired Hastur's growth in power.
At this rate, Hastur would soon surpass her. Perhaps he had already surpassed her in many ways.
Hastur sighed, "It's not necessarily a good thing."
Advancing too quickly was definitely not ideal, as evidenced by Klein's example.
He constantly worried about following a path similar to Klein's.
That's why he was still deliberating whether to cross pathways when advancing to Sequence 4 - choosing between the Judgment pathway, the extraordinary pathway left by the Yellow King, or the Cosmos pathway.
He feared accidentally advancing rapidly from Sequence 4 all the way to Sequence 0, resulting in some entity awakening within him.
Sharon said nothing, agreeing with Hastur's assessment that it wasn't a good thing.
The night passed quickly. No matter how chaotic, even the darkest night gives way to the rising sun.
When King George Augustus III's carriage emerged from the open palace gates, order had been restored over the chaos.
Crowds gathered along both sides of the street, watching as George Augustus III proceeded towards the prepared stage, led by a solemn and orderly honor guard.
The nobles and ministers of the Loen Kingdom were already waiting there to hear George Augustus III's address.
As a count, Hastur was among the nobility, seated with the other aristocrats on either side of the stage, observing George Augustus III as he alighted from his carriage and approached step by step.
Unlike the other nobles who wanted to witness how George Augustus III would lead the Loen Kingdom to its peak, Hastur wanted to see firsthand how George Augustus III would walk step by step towards destruction.
Indeed, Hastur had never planned to personally destroy George Augustus III's mausoleum. Of the four mausoleums they targeted, Mr. Fool took two, while the remaining two were assigned to Bernadette and Madam Lisa respectively.
If Klein hadn't come seeking cooperation, Hastur would have had the Cosmos anchor arrive here. He could even have called on Gregory and Sharon's teacher for assistance, or had Ouroboros lend a hand. He could have sat upon the Cosmic Throne and used the authority of divine revelation to turn the Witch Cult against George Augustus III.
He had too many options and didn't need to risk acting personally.
He only needed to sit in the audience and wait to see how George Augustus III would fall.
"Time to begin your performance, Mr. Fool," Hastur thought silently as he watched George Augustus III take his place at the microphone, ready to start his speech.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone