Chapter 99: Will Auceptin, Bernadette, A Family of Three?

Chapter 99: Will Auceptin, Bernadette, A Family of Three?

Will Auceptin, eager to fleece a good deal, immediately asked Hastur to head to Queens as soon as they got in the car.

That place was a gathering of nobility, and the ice cream sold in the shops there was the most delicious. His parents usually only took him to the East District.

The ice cream in the East District was mediocre at best, nowhere near as good as the ice cream Hastur had brought him.

Hastur naturally didn't refuse Will Auceptin's small request.

After all, raising a mercury serpent was quite an interesting affair.

How much could a little ice cream possibly cost him?

But as it turned out, he was wrong, very wrong.

Ice cream might seem like just a small portion, but a single serving from a big store could cost several Sule!

For something more luxurious, the price started in gold pounds.

Will Auceptin was small and thin, but when it came to eating ice cream, he only chose the most expensive ones, and he ate them one after another.

His stomach seemed like a bottomless pit; he ate a lot but didn't seem to get full.

"I haven't eaten so happily in a long time!"

Will Auceptin held an ice cream in each hand, licking them contentedly while comfortably closing his eyes, feeling very pleased.

Hastur gently advised, "A child's stomach is delicate, eating too much ice cream isn't good for your growth."

"I'm not an ordinary child."

"Aren't you supposed to go with the flow, to be a normal kid?"

"Sometimes, I need to give myself a break."

In the midst of their conversation, Will Auceptin had already finished the two servings of ice cream worth 10 Sule and 6 pence and was pulling Hastur to another ice cream shop.

Hastur followed silently, ready to pay. Seeing Will Auceptin eat so happily, he bought himself a serving too. It wouldn't do for him to pay and just watch.

Will Auceptin came over and asked, "How does it taste? I think this strawberry ice cream is the best."

"The chocolate one is better. The strawberry is too sweet, it gets sickening after a while."

"I don't like the bitterness of chocolate."

"Bitterness followed by sweetness. The bitterness enhances the sweetness, making it stand out more, and it's also more fragrant."

Hastur seriously discussed with Will Auceptin which flavor of ice cream was better.

A tall and a short figure walking down the street, they looked like a father and son.

Whenever passersby gave them such looks, Hastur would always show a kind smile.

Will Auceptin, on the other hand, just smirked, not taking it seriously.

Who decided that a tall and a short person must be father and son?

Couldn't they be the serpent of fate and his dedicated keeper?

As they passed by a newly opened restaurant, Will Auceptin stopped and whispered to Hastur, "Bernadette is here too, be careful."

Bernadette is here too?

What a coincidence. Beckland was big, and even Queens was not small. To bump into her on the street could only be described as fateful.

"Can she recognize you?"

"She'll just think I'm an ordinary kid unless I want her to know."

Will Auceptin said, licking his ice cream again, a faint smile on his little face.

Bernadette carried the Wheel of Fortune card, a tarot card of the Path of Fate, which should have automatically belonged to him and the foolish snake.

But to protect Bernadette, Roselle deliberately left the card with her to shield her fate.

Bernadette herself was not an extraordinary person of the Path of Fate, so the effects she could exert were limited, and she was still a long way from him.

"Then let's pretend we didn't see her."

Hastur understood and had no concerns, leading Will Auceptin straight into the newly opened restaurant.

If they turned around and left, it would only make Bernadette more suspicious.

Once inside the restaurant, they found a table and sat down. Will Auceptin stood up, flipped through the menu, and ordered one of each type of ice cream.

Hastur only ordered a drink for himself; he didn't have the same appetite as Will Auceptin.

They hadn't been sitting long when Bernadette, like a breeze, arrived in front of Hastur and Will Auceptin without disturbing anyone else.

She looked at Hastur with interest, "Logically, I shouldn't run into you so often."

Hastur thought for a moment and said, "It's fate."

"It's not just fate. There might be something special about you."

Bernadette spoke calmly, her eyes flashing like hidden thunder, her presence like the oppressive air before a storm.

Will Auceptin sweetly smiled and said, "This big sister is so pretty."

A compliment that made Bernadette's imposing aura dissipate quite a bit.

Bernadette teased, "Is this little boy your son?"

Hastur didn't explain, after all, he didn't lose anything by the title.

Will Auceptin's smile was sweet and innocent as he asked, "Big sister, can you be my mom? Then we would be a family of three."

"…"

"…"

Bernadette and Hastur were both stunned by this statement.

Bernadette had not expected the little boy in front of her to suddenly say such a thing.

To be a mom? Did she look that old?

Hastur admired Will Auceptin's thick skin; truly, he was a being who had lived for who knows how many years.

Even on such a topic, he could speak so lightly, without a hint of embarrassment.

"Kid, you're not father and son, do you think I can't tell?"

"He's my big brother. Otherwise, big sister, you can be my big sister-in-law!"

Will Auceptin's eyes shone with hope.

"Cough cough…"

Hastur coughed twice, signaling Will Auceptin to stop talking nonsense; he was really at his limit.

He realized that Will Auceptin was having a lot of fun, taking advantage of his status as a child to tease and joke with Bernadette.

Even if Bernadette got angry, she would come after him, not Will Auceptin, who was just a child speaking his mind.

Bernadette's face showed a faint smile, and she wasn't angry. She flicked Will Auceptin's forehead and said, "Do you talk like this to every pretty sister you meet?"

"No, I just genuinely think you and big brother are a good match. Weren't you just talking about fate?"

Will Auceptin stepped back, holding his forehead, his eyes innocent.

Bernadette didn't continue the topic with Will Auceptin and looked at Hastur again, "If I run into you a third time in Beckland, then I'll really be interested in you."

"Big sister, I heard big brother say, a sign a woman likes a man is when she's interested in him."

Will Auceptin smiled as he pinned a dark and shiny pot on Hastur.

Hastur refuted righteously, "Nonsense, I never said that."

"Oh."

Will Auceptin looked down dejectedly, then muttered softly, "Don't you think big sister is pretty, big brother? Wouldn't she be suitable to marry and bring home as a wife?"

"…"

Hastur showed an embarrassed but polite smile, saying, "Kids always like to talk nonsense."

Bernadette didn't pay attention to such words, and her presence dissipated like light smoke.

Once Bernadette had left, Hastur stretched out his hands and pinched Will Auceptin's cheeks, rubbing them a bit, and said fiercely, "You're really getting cheeky, kid!"

"Didn't you find it interesting just now?"

"…"

"Speaking of which, Bernadette is also favored by fate. If you could really marry her, maybe you could even become the Black Emperor."

"Stop worrying about it, hurry up and eat your ice cream, it's almost melted."

"My judgment is based on fate, it has a basis in destiny."

Will Auceptin grumbled dissatisfiedly, then started battling with the seven or eight servings of ice cream in front of him.

…

Hastur got home after seven in the evening, mainly because Will Auceptin's house was a bit far from here.

He had to take Will Auceptin to the south of the Great Bridge, then circle back to Queens. The travel time alone was counted in hours.

At least it wasn't all for nothing. Before leaving, Will Auceptin gave him a paper crane for dream contact. Thinking one wasn't enough, he took a whole string, probably more than a dozen.

On the way back, he spent 1 Sule and 3 pence on an ordinary wind chime.

It was perfect for hanging the string of paper cranes.

And indeed, Will Auceptin's craftsmanship was quite good.

Carrying the wind chime upstairs, Hastur hung it on the windowsill of the study.

The bedroom was a place for rest; he didn't want Will Auceptin to observe his sleepng posture through the paper cranes.

And hanging it by the window, if Mr. A came knocking on the window again, Will Auceptin would be the first to be disturbed.

After doing all this, Hastur went to the Hall of Stars, sat at the long table, materialized paper and pen, and organized the content of his conversation with Will Auceptin today.

This talk resolved many of his doubts, such as Voltaire's problem, the connection between the golden box and the yellow-robed monks, and the King in Yellow.

The organization of the yellow-robed monks was now a threat to him.

They worship the King in Yellow, walking a path outside the twenty-two extraordinary paths, the path of the outer gods.

From any perspective, it was something to be wary of.

"Should I report this organization to the Church of the Seven Gods?"

Hastur thought for a while and then abandoned the idea. For now, the yellow

The yellow-robed monks were a group to be wary of. Their worship of the King in Yellow and their path outside the twenty-two extraordinary paths raised concerns.

"Should I report this organization to the Church of the Seven Gods?" Hastur pondered. However, he decided against it for now. The connection between him and the King in Yellow seemed more akin to… the true Creator and Adam?

(End of this chapter)