Chapter 417: Aisala: This Master Can't Be Carried

Chapter 417: Aisala: This Master Can't Be Carried

The returning memories gradually filled the void in his heart.

Hastur sat alone in the Hall of Stars, receiving fragmented memories while gazing at Sharon and Aisala, who were leaning on each other. The strange feeling in his heart grew stronger.

The gradually completed memories were so clear, yet they felt unfamiliar.

Were the memories he regained still the original ones?

Could a memory evoke the same feelings twice?

It was difficult, like watching a movie: one was your own memory, and the other was a scene playing on the screen.

Even if the memories overlapped with the scenes, the feelings they brought would be completely different.

Not unfamiliar, very calm—this was how Hastur felt about those gradually emerging memories.

In contrast, watching Sharon and Aisala at this moment touched him more deeply, because what he was experiencing now was a brand-new memory belonging to his present self.

Even though he did not exist in the other's memories at this moment.

"Maybe I should go and see."

Hastur had been watching for a long time, and the thought of experiencing it firsthand arose in his mind. He tried to touch the old memories.

His gaze swept across the stars, and the scene was no different from before. No matter how beautiful the scenery was, watching it for thousands of years would become boring.

He lowered his gaze again, looking at the house that was missing him. With a thought, he used the power of the Hall of Stars to suddenly descend.

He stood behind Sharon, who was silently staring out the window like a puppet. Just by watching quietly, his restless heart began to calm down.

His sudden arrival caught Sharon off guard. It was Aisala who first perked up her ears, stood up straight, and meowed.

"Meow?"

Aisala took two steps toward Hastur, her mouth slightly open. Then she stretched out her front paw and rubbed her eyes hard, thinking it must be a dream.

The disturbed Sharon turned around at this moment, looking at the person who suddenly appeared in her view. Her body stiffened slightly, her eyes lost focus, and her emotions were in turmoil. She opened her mouth but only said, "You're back."

"Sharon..." Hastur said the familiar name with difficulty, then lowered his gaze to the little black cat at his feet, who was obediently looking up at him. "Aisala..."

"Meow!"

The familiar voice finally made Aisala believe that the person in front of her was her long-awaited master. She leaped up, wanting to jump into Hastur's arms as before, but Hastur did not open his arms to catch her. He just curiously watched her actions, and Aisala fell back to the ground.

Her eyes were full of disbelief. She approached again and sniffed carefully but did not smell any other cats.

But why did her master feel a bit unfamiliar today?

Hastur ignored Aisala's complex emotions. His gaze turned to Sharon, the girl with light golden hair and blue eyes. Her emotions were too complex for him to fully understand at once.

Finally, the joy in Sharon's eyes outweighed other emotions. She looked at Hastur again, nodded slightly, and said calmly, "This is good."

After speaking, she turned around, her slightly thin figure continuing to look out the window. Her slightly trembling body indicated that her emotions were far from as calm as she appeared.

Hastur just watched quietly, without any other actions, even though his heart was also touched.

"Meow?"

Aisala looked at her master with disdain. Was this the time to be silent?

Even a cat like her knew that the most important thing now was to comfort Miss Sharon properly.

It would be best if he embraced Miss Sharon from behind, wrapped his arms around her waist, and whispered their mutual longing like couples in a stage play.

But in the end, Aisala was disappointed. The master who returned today was more like a piece of wood than the puppet-like Miss Sharon.

He just stood quietly, watching Miss Sharon's back, as if reminiscing about something.

Just as Aisala was about to remind him, her master suddenly disappeared from her sight.

She widened her eyes and quickly looked around but did not find any trace of her master.

His arrival today was like a bubble, coming quickly and disappearing just as fast.

"Meow?" Aisala let out a confused and sorrowful meow, feeling that her master was becoming more and more unfamiliar.

Sharon, who was working hard to suppress her emotions, calmly turned around, stared at the spot where Hastur had left, and then returned to her usual state, collecting her thoughts and falling into contemplation.

"Meow."

Aisala walked over, rubbed against Sharon's black court dress, looked up, and meowed for a while.

The general idea was to comfort Miss Sharon and speak on behalf of her suddenly departing master.

Sharon listened for a while, squatted down, picked up Aisala, and stroked her little head, her gaze returning to the window.

Her blue eyes were filled with a faint sadness.

Hastur had not gone far. He had just stepped from the room to the outside when he was stopped by Lady Lisa.

"Lord Messenger, you have finally returned." Lady Lisa's cloudy eyes seemed to see something wrong with Hastur and added, "Did Lord Messenger lose something? Is it a side effect of the successful promotion?"

"The Yellow King's follower."

Hastur said lightly, took a step forward, and his whole person bypassed Lady Lisa and left.

"An extraordinary path of the apprentice, the ability of a traveler?"

Lady Lisa stared at Hastur's departing figure and couldn't help but speculate.

The extraordinary path that Lord Messenger initially took was obviously the Black Emperor path. At the critical moment of ascending to Sequence 4, did he forcibly switch to the non-adjacent apprentice path?

The result of doing so would either be madness or loss of control. But Lord Messenger did not seem to be either. He looked more like he had lost something and was now trying to find it.

After thinking for a while, Lady Lisa called for Caius and asked him to have someone closely monitor Lord Messenger's every move to prevent any accidents.

Caius was shocked by the news of the count's return but quickly suppressed his emotions and began to arrange for people to handle the matter.

The streets of Puning Harbor were bustling with activity as the New Year approached. Various shops displayed discount banners to attract tourists.

Hastur walked aimlessly on the streets, feeling the noise different from the Hall of Stars, while gradually recovering memory fragments with each call of "Lord Count."

The port became more prosperous and lively because of his arrival.

He walked through the crowded streets and the dazzling shops like a ghost different from this world.

It wasn't until someone called his name that he paused slightly.

It was a lady wearing a beige dress with ruffled high collar and slightly curly brown hair.

Miss Salted Fish.

This was the first name that came to Hastur's mind, followed by Miss Fors.

"Mr. Hastur, is it really you!"

Fors put the goods back on the stall and shouted excitedly. Then she called out to a shop selling Puning Harbor specialties by the street, "Miss Audrey, I met Mr. Hastur!"

Her voice was loud, and even the nearby people looked over. When they saw Hastur, they all respectfully saluted from a distance and then withdrew their gazes.

Count Hastur Campbell was recognized as the savior of Puning Harbor by its residents.

Following Fors's call, a golden retriever dashed out of the shop, followed by a blonde girl with green eyes, lifting the hem of her light green dress and quickening her pace.

Seeing the combination of one person and one dog, Hastur's mind came up with another term: the fantasy dog Susie and her handler, Miss Audrey.

"Mr. Hastur!" Audrey's face was radiant with a bright smile, like a finely carved gem shining in the sunlight, making it hard to look away.

"Woof!" Susie barked loudly, asserting her presence.

Fors, who first spotted Hastur, naturally gave the main conversation space to the eager Miss Audrey, who had a slight sweat on her forehead.

"Mr. Hastur, it's so good to see you here." Audrey's unrestrained joy lifted Hastur's spirits.

"Audrey, Susie, Fors."

Hastur glanced at the two people and the dog in front of him, nodded slightly, and then took a step forward, bypassing them and disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Fors widened her eyes. The extraordinary ability just now seemed familiar.

Could Mr. Hastur be on the same extraordinary path as her?

"Mr. Hastur..." Audrey's excitement quickly faded, and she frowned slightly, waving her small fist. "Mr. Hastur's condition is not right. Susie, it's our turn to save Mr. Hastur!"

"Woof!" Susie nodded seriously.

"Miss Audrey, did you notice something?" Fors asked curiously, not detecting many problems herself.

"An empty heart, confused thoughts, a lost lamb." Audrey summarized.

"...Alright."

Fors didn't quite understand the meaning but trusted Audrey's serious expression.

"Seeing Mr. Hastur so soon is a good start."

Audrey smiled slightly, then returned to the shop with Susie to buy some specialties to send back to Backlund, so Earl Hall wouldn't worry too much about her safety.

As for Mr. Hastur's matter, as long as he was alive, there was a way to solve it.

Moreover, Mr. Hastur seemed very healthy, only his heart had some issues.