Lord of Mysteries: Return of the Stars!

But as soon as he walked in, he froze, staring at a figure choosing clothes inside.

Miss Sharon!

--------------------------------------------

Is this due to the irresistible encounter of fate?

The first thought that came to Hastur's mind was the rule he had set for himself upon entering the dock district.

He had visited the Braveheart Bar many times, not only to attend Beyonder gatherings but also in hopes of accidentally running into Miss Sharon.

Unexpectedly, today he encountered her in an ordinary clothing store in the dock district.

Her light golden hair was tied into a bun, her eyes were blue, her features delicate, her complexion pale. She wore an intricately designed black Gothic court dress and a small, delicate black soft hat.

Her posture was elegant, and she seemed somewhat unsmiling.

The astonishment in Hastur's eyes quickly faded. He withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the store owner, a woman in her thirties, simply dressed yet with a stylish and elegant air.

"I need a proper set of clothes, preferably of a rugged and bold style."

Hastur briefly described his requirements, then let the proprietress recommend a suitable outfit for him.

Soon, a female shop assistant came with measuring tools to take his body measurements in order to select the best-fitting clothing.

With nothing else to do, Hastur unconsciously glanced toward Sharon again, only to find that she had already disappeared.

Perhaps she had finished picking out her clothes and left while he was chatting with the proprietress.

Not being able to exchange even a few words left Hastur feeling somewhat regretful.

The proprietress chuckled and said, "Unexpected encounters always make people believe in fate more easily."

Hastur caught the implication behind her words and smiled slightly. "If destined, a fateful encounter is irresistible."

"It really makes one feel nostalgic about youth."

"Youth has never truly passed; it still resides well within you."

Hastur complimented her, and under her brightened gaze, he chatted a bit about Sharon.

According to the proprietress, this was already Sharon's second time buying clothes at their store.

Each time she would pick several sets, all the latest fashionable styles. The last time she came was two months ago.

The proprietress had asked Sharon if she wanted a few custom-made outfits, but she had politely declined, saying she preferred picking her favorite styles herself from the wide array of options.

As for why such a girl with a temperament so different from the dock district would come alone to shop here, the proprietress hadn't asked.

Regarding private matters such as where she lived, she naturally knew nothing.

After chatting for about twenty minutes, the female assistant returned, saying she had picked out the clothes, and reluctantly, the proprietress let Hastur go to try them on.

After changing and benefiting from the proprietress's generous discount, Hastur paid only 3 gold pounds for a set of Southern Continent–style clothing that would have cost at least 5 gold pounds in the Empress's Borough, and he also received a small bag to hold his dirty clothes.

Leaving the store, Hastur looked around but saw no trace of Miss Sharon, so he hailed a carriage and returned to his home in the Western District.

Just as he boarded the carriage, a calm, emotionless voice reached his ears: "Are you the blond young noble interested in mysticism that Maric mentioned?"

That voice, was it Miss Sharon's?

Hastur's expression shifted slightly, and he looked around but could not see her anywhere.

As expected of a Sequence 5 Wraith, her ability to conceal herself was truly formidable.

Would she appear if he established a rule forbidding invisibility in this place?

Hastur only thought about it but didn't act on it, replying steadily, "If Maric doesn't know any other blond nobles, then that should be me."

"Hmm, can you do me a favor?"

Even when asking for help, Sharon's voice was still as calm as water, without the slightest ripple, yet pleasant to the ear.

"What kind of favor?"

Hastur didn't mind providing some help to Sharon and Maric. In a big city like Backlund, the two of them could become excellent allies and close friends.

"Maric was arrested by the police for some reason. I hope you can step in and resolve it."

"Aren't you both Beyonders?"

"Here, ordinary people are actually safer."

Hastur understood the meaning behind her words, Backlund was indeed the metropolis where a god's descent could be triggered at any moment!

Hidden among Backlund's Beyonders were not just Demigods but quite a few Angels as well.

The higher the sequence of a Beyonder entering Backlund, the more cautious they had to be, lest they be investigated by the Church of the Evernight Goddess or the Church of the Storm.

"I need to know exactly why Maric was arrested so I can help speak on his behalf and bail him out."

…

Backlund Bridge District, police substation.

Hastur arrived by carriage and asked Sharon to wait inside, while he went alone to handle the matter. Although he didn't know where Sharon was hiding, she surely wouldn't be far from the carriage.

This incident involving Maric's arrest wasn't very serious; as long as the other party agreed to drop the charges, he wouldn't face any real penalty.

The cause was rather simple.

Two nights ago at the Braveheart Bar, someone got drunk and caused trouble. Maric used one of his zombies to teach the guy a lesson, but the zombie didn't control its strength properly and injured him, leaving him with bruises and swelling.

The man eventually apologized and left the bar, and it seemed like the matter was over.

Unexpectedly, less than twenty minutes later, he called the police, claiming he had been maliciously assaulted.

When the officers came to arrest someone, Maric obviously couldn't allow his zombie to be taken to the police station, which would have caused a huge incident.

He had no choice but to take the blame himself and was thus arrested and detained.

With Maric and Sharon's Beyonder abilities, escaping from prison would naturally be easy. However, doing so would expose their identities, making it difficult for them to live peacefully in Backlund.

Among the people Maric and Sharon knew, there were quite a few nobles, but it was hard to ask those nobles to help plead their case because the person who was injured was a viscount.

That viscount was Glaint.

Through her own channels, Sharon learned that the reason Viscount Glaint went to the Braveheart Bar that night was because his friend, Baron Hastur Campbell, had been there multiple times, so he wanted to see what the place was like.

Unexpectedly, before he could uncover any secrets, he was beaten up, and, unable to hold back his anger, he chose to call the police.

Following this lead, Sharon easily found information about Hastur, and after understanding his appearance and discussing it with Maric, she decided to seek Hastur's help to resolve the matter.

She originally planned to choose a few formal outfits and personally speak with Hastur about it, but unexpectedly, she ran into him at a clothing store in the dock area.

And so, the later events unfolded.

Regarding this, Hastur could only sigh at Glaint's luck, just one visit to the Braveheart Bar and he ran into Maric, a Sequence 6 Beyonder, and even managed to have him thrown into prison.

In a way, he himself benefited from Glaint's misfortune, as it gave him a chance to meet Miss Sharon and have her owe him a small favor.

Upon entering the police station, Hastur identified himself, explained the purpose of his visit, and asked the police to consult Glaint's opinion.

About an hour later, Hastur left the police station with Maric, boarded a carriage, and headed to Glaint's residence.

He still had to explain the matter to Glaint in person.

When Maric learned that Glaint had been seeking the Apothecary potion formula to step into the Beyonder world, he asked Hastur to bring him along, claiming he could help Glaint solve the Apothecary formula problem.

Hastur didn't expose his ulterior motive, this was clearly just an excuse to openly show his identity as a Beyonder in front of Glaint.

Indeed, after being locked up for two days and one night, he must have been holding in a lot of anger.

Hastur didn't refuse Maric's request; Maric's willingness to meet Glaint meant he was willing to let the matter go and wouldn't seek revenge later.

Otherwise, given how badly Glaint had made him suffer this time, he would have to be cautious every time he went out, lest he be beaten up by Maric's zombie squad.

In the villa, upon hearing that Hastur was coming to visit, Glaint prepared tea and snacks early.

When he saw Hastur walking in with Maric, Glaint's face stiffened slightly, but he quickly lifted his chin and gave a soft snort.

In his view, Hastur bringing Maric must mean Maric was here to apologize.

Maric's eyes gleamed with a smile as he walked up to Glaint, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and said, "Viscount Glaint, let's get to know each other again, Maric, Sequence 6 Beyonder."

"...!"

Glaint froze for a while, then looked up at Hastur. After receiving Hastur's confirmation, he stood there dumbfounded.

A Sequence 6 Beyonder!

That was probably the strongest Beyonder he had ever met!

Recently, he had learned quite a bit about mysticism from Hastur and roughly understood what a Sequence 6 represented.

That was already considered mid-tier power in the Beyonder world!

Yet he himself hadn't even stepped into Sequence 9, the initial stage.

After recovering from the shock, Glaint gave a bitter smile and shot Hastur a pleading look for help.

"Don't worry, Mr. Maric is lawful and good. He won't secretly come after you because of what happened before." Hastur reassured him.

Glaint hadn't yet figured out what "lawful and good" meant when he heard Maric's cold voice: "I'm not lawful and good. I just like killing people and turning them into zombies, so even in death, they can't escape my control."

"..."

Glaint shivered, his face turning slightly pale, before forcing a stiff smile and saying, "Mr. Maric is joking; you must be a good man."

"Even the best man changes after being locked up in prison."

Hearing this, Glaint actually felt relieved; the man just wanted an apology.

"Mr. Maric, it was my fault. I'm willing to make appropriate compensation for this..."

Before he could finish, Maric interrupted, "Forget it, I'm not that petty. Let's put this behind us, well, for his sake."

Maric pointed at Hastur.

"Glaint and I are good friends," Hastur said with a smile.

Glaint's face gradually returned to normal, and he felt much more at ease.

"I have the Apothecary potion formula you need. How many gold pounds are you willing to pay for it?"

Maric gave Glaint yet another surprise.