Chapter 319: Hastur: Does Mr. Klein Really Like Bathrooms?

Chapter 319: Hastur: Does Mr. Klein Really Like Bathrooms?

Pirate corpses hung by ropes around their necks, their eyes bulging like fish eyes. No one cared why the pirates died with their eyes open - they only cared about victory in this war.

For years, Puning Port had been plagued by pirates, especially troubling for merchants who despised these rampaging buccaneers. A few years ago, several wealthy merchants donated a large sum to eradicate the pirates. However, the governor who received the money kept delaying action with excuses. Eventually, people lost faith in South Weill County's navy.

Today, the returning warships greatly encouraged local residents. After a brief silence, thunderous applause and cheers erupted. 

"Hanging pirates on the gallows is the greatest mercy for them," was Hastur's most memorable statement.

That night, Puning Port was brightly lit. All taverns offered discounts to celebrate, with free drinks for naval soldiers who participated in the battle. Every tavern was packed, with people bringing chairs from home to drink and laugh merrily outside.

"It's hard to imagine what hardships the residents here endured in the past,"Crestet Cesimirsaid. He and Klein paused their investigation to have a few drinks at a less crowded tavern.

After eating half a fried fish and drinking a beer, Klein hiccupped slightly and said, "The greater the joy today, the greater the suffering in the past."

Grace clinked glasses with Klein and took a big gulp. "When I lived in Backlund, I always thought coastal areas were good for business and should have more prosperous economies than Backlund. But after truly leaving Backlund, I realized coastal life is hard, especially for fishermen making a living at sea."

"Natural disasters, man-made calamities... especially with an incompetent... nevermind, let's drink,"Crestet Cesimirsaid, clearly a bit tipsy and more sentimental than usual.

Klein shook his head and sighed, turning to look at the lively scene of people singing and laughing happily in the tavern.

As it approached 10 PM, the tavern was still bustling. Klein had no intention of staying up all night with them. His wallet wouldn't allow it either - even splitting the bill with Grace, he had spent 1 pound 9 soli in just a few hours, and that was with the tavern's 50% discount.

Klein stood up, put on his black coat, and half-supportedCrestet Cesimiras they headed back to their lodgings. As they walked down the street, a voice called out from behind:

"Mr. Klein, I didn't expect to run into you here."

Klein instinctively looked back to see it was Hastur greeting him.

Grace, who had been a bit drunk, sobered up completely at this point. He raised his head with a vigilant gaze, somewhat on guard.

"Earl Campbell, what brings you here?"

"I just finished drinking at the military camp and thought I'd take a walk. I happened to run into you," Hastur explained, then smiled and added, "This isn't a formal occasion, so there's no need for such titles."

"Mr. Hastur, it's quite impressive that you were able to train a navy capable of defeating pirates in just three months after arriving in South Weill County,"Crestet Cesimirsaid. He was now standing steadily without Klein's support, his posture upright and unyielding.

Hastur calmly replied, "The king has high expectations for me. He sent me here to solve South Weill County's coastal defense issues."

He glanced at the now-alert Klein and Grace, then smiled and pointed to a tavern that was still open on the street, inviting them for a drink.

Klein, who had already drunk quite a bit, initially wanted to refuse. However,Crestet Cesimiraccepted before he could, so he had no choice but to follow them to the tavern.

At a square table, several small dishes were laid out as snacks. The rest of the space was filled with alcohol - half brought byCrestet Cesimirand half ordered by Hastur from the tavern owner.

Klein sat between Hastur and Grace, feeling that tonight's drinking session was a bit unusual.

Sure enough, before Klein could eat much of the snacks,Crestet Cesimirbegan praising Hastur for his youth and talent, his success in training the navy, and his achievements in suppressing pirates. He invited Hastur to drink several glasses in succession.

Seeing this, Klein quietly moved his position back a bit to avoid getting caught up in it. His alcohol tolerance was average - at home, he would occasionally drink one or two glasses with Benson. At work gatherings, he had attended a few drinking sessions but never drank too much or too quickly.

If he drank likeCrestet Cesimirwas doing now, he would definitely have a headache and be unable to get up the next day. While Beyonders were stronger than ordinary people, it didn't mean they could necessarily drink more.

Originally, Klein thought he could avoid it, but afterCrestet Cesimirand Hastur drank to a certain point, they joined forces to drag him into the drinking session. In the end, he felt dizzy and wasn't sure how much he had drunk.

To avoid getting drunk, Klein went to the bathroom several times, claiming he needed to relieve himself and splash some water on his face to sober up. He would wait for the effects of the alcohol to subside a bit before returning.

Regarding this, Hastur smiled and said, "Mr. Klein seems to be very fond of bathrooms."

This comment made Klein's heart skip a beat. He couldn't tell if Hastur was just teasing or if he had noticed something.

Grace also laughed and said, "The bathroom is a good place. Middle-aged men like to hide there for some peace and quiet when they're troubled."

He then looked Klein up and down and said, "I'm sure Klein definitely wasn't secretly vomiting in the bathroom."

Hastur also glanced at Klein and said with a smile, "The bathroom is indeed very quiet. One can do many things in secret when hiding there alone."

To avoid arousing Klein's suspicion, Hastur deliberately made this statement sound a bit ambiguous.

Grace laughed heartily and winked at Klein, his eyes full of teasing.

Klein smiled without responding. He really didn't want to discuss this topic, even though he did like bathrooms very much.

After all, the bathroom was equivalent to Mr. Fool's earthly kingdom.

...

When Klein woke up, it was already the afternoon of the next day.

He first gently rubbed his slightly aching head, then surveyed his surroundings.

Fortunately, he was in his own room.

His clothes were intact, and he didn't feel pain anywhere else on his body.

When this thought occurred to him, Klein was stunned for a moment, finally blaming such ideas on Roselle.

If he hadn't read so many of Roselle's diary entries, he wouldn't be so familiar with the peculiar habits of nobles.

"Did we talk about bathrooms last night?" 

Klein shook his still slightly dizzy head, trying to carefully recall what had happened the night before.

Luckily, he hadn't said anything he shouldn't have.

Last night, he had half-supportedCrestet Cesimirback to their lodgings. Upon returning, he had taken a bath in the bathroom, then grinned stupidly at himself in the mirror for a long while before finally lying down to sleep.

It's best to drink less alcohol!

Klein sighed, rested a bit more, then got up to wash.

To his surprise,Crestet Cesimirwas already awake, sitting on the living room sofa drinking coffee and reading a newspaper with his legs crossed. He had even thoughtfully prepared a fish soup for Klein.

"..."

After finishing his washing up and returning, Klein finally couldn't help but ask howCrestet Cesimircould be so energetic today when he had been barely able to walk from drinking so much last night.

"Drinking interferes with work, so I never let myself get drunk. The Earl of Campbell was the same - he was still very alert last night."

So I was the only one who got drunk?

Klein didn't want to speak. He silently sat down and drank the still-warm milky fish soup.

After Klein finished the soup and was fully awake,Crestet Cesimirclosed the newspaper he was holding and said in a serious tone, "We're returning to Backlund tomorrow."

Klein was stunned. "Aren't we continuing the investigation?"

"The Church has asked us to abandon the mission and return to Backlund."

"Just because of the pirate eradication?"

"There are other reasons. Backlund has been unstable lately and needs manpower."

Klein didn't say anything more.Crestet Cesimirstood up and said jokingly, "Relax, at least we're still alive. There's nothing luckier than being alive."

"What exactly happened in Backlund?" Klein was a bit worried about Benson and Melissa.

"They say a powerful evil spirit has appeared."

"An evil spirit?"

"The message didn't give many details, but the fact that the Church is taking it so seriously proves that this evil spirit is quite extraordinary."

Klein nodded. "Let's go buy boat tickets later then."

In the evening, after Klein and Crestet Cesimir went to the port to buy tickets,Crestet Cesimirreceived another message from the Church.

They were instructed to first go to Bansy Port to investigate, as a major supernatural event had occurred there. They were to work with people from the Church of Storms to investigate together.

Looking at the two boat tickets that had cost a full 10 gold pounds, Klein sighed, "Can we get a refund now?"

"Don't worry, the Church will reimburse all our daily expenses while we're away."

After saying this,Crestet Cesimirturned and went to buy two tickets to Bansy Port.