The silver coin was thrown up -

Fall into the palm of your hand.

And then thrown up again.

Hugo repeated this simple action and saw that the patterns on the small music box spinning in the air gradually connected into one, forming a symbol that looked like both an eye and a key.

Its red eyes reflected the afterimage left by the coin at its highest point.

Then the bionic man raised his hand, caught it with a "snap", and put it in his pocket.

"Where's Azathoth? Is he still sleeping in?"

As the main breadwinner for the family, Igor has several businesses under several fake identities that he often uses. He spends at least an hour every day handling official business, and this work is usually perfectly completed before Azathoth gets up.

He was sitting on the sofa holding his computer, staring at the screen in thought. Hearing this, he replied, "What's up?"

——It is impossible to admit that Azathoth sleeps in, and it is impossible to admit it in this lifetime.

Can you call sleeping in when it comes to God’s affairs?

Hugo got up from the carpet, walked over to the seat opposite Igor and sat down cross-legged: "I thought he would be willing to take Erica to school."

Igor closed the laptop and said to Hugo, "Mr. Ford is her temporary guardian, but if you want to go out, it should still be in time."

The android looked at him for two seconds, then suddenly changed the subject: "How much do you know about Azathoth?"

"Sir..."

"I'm not referring to the kind of things you can figure out between strangers through a brief encounter: their appearance, outward personality, displayed preferences, and living habits," Hugo continued before Igor could finish his words. "I know you humans can disguise superficial friendships as quite sincere if you wish, but I'm guessing that's not the case between you and him."

"In other words, putting aside the sense of oppression caused by the power gap, why should you trust him wholeheartedly and regard him as a signpost ahead rather than a rein tied to your body?"

Igor was stunned for a moment, a trace of deep thought flashing across his eyes. "...Are you asking this question because I'm no longer a 'stranger' in your eyes?"

Hugo snorted. "A little better than a stranger, after all. You already know so much about my past. One of the most important things in life is fairness. By the way, don't tell Azathoth or Erica about our conversation."

It’s understandable that he didn’t tell this request to Azathoth... But he didn’t tell Erica. Was he afraid that the little girl would feel sad after hearing it?

Igor quickly grasped the android's logic and, rather than feeling offended by the android's aggressive questioning, felt a tinge of laughter. A hint of a smile did appear on his face, but it quickly faded after his master noticed.

"As you said, I really don't know much about you, sir."

He thought for a moment, then put on a serious posture as if he were about to have a long conversation. "So far, I only know of the powers He has demonstrated to me and the...parts of His characteristics He has personally acknowledged. For example, I know that Sir's dreams can affect reality, and I also know that He has no sense of taste or pain."

Hugo nodded, revealing a mischievous expression: "But you refuse to talk about Azathoth's shortcomings, right?"

Igor immediately denied it: "No, it's just that I don't think those are shortcomings."

"Really?" Hugo said, "First of all, he often sleeps in."

Igor hesitated and wanted to say something, but Hugo raised his hand to stop him.

"Don't be so quick to deny it. Just listen to me." The android continued, counting on his fingers. "And the most obvious point is that Azathoth hates contact with strangers. You could even say he's afraid of them."

"Perhaps the word 'fear' isn't accurate enough." Igor tightened his grip on the computer. "No offense, but I think the gentleman is just a little inexperienced in social interaction."

"Don't confuse the concepts. Low emotional intelligence and social phobia should not be confused."

"Besides that, as you mentioned, he has no sense of taste or pain, and his perception of the outside world is dulled most of the time. In fact, he doesn't need to eat at all, and his metabolism is quite slow. This may be a negative effect of his long lifespan. The long years have prolonged his experience of the fast-paced world. Perhaps human birth, aging, illness, and death are no more than natural and insignificant to him, like the sprouting of plants in spring and the shedding of leaves in autumn."

Hugo fully demonstrated how quickly a paragraph can be spoken if the mind is quick enough and the vocal organs can keep up.

After it finished stating this series of contents, Igor took a second or two to react.

"…What's your purpose in saying this?"

If Hugo and Azathoth did not have a close and friendly relationship, Igor would have conspired to say that it was here to sow discord and create chaos in the world.

"I just think you should understand," Hugo said slowly, slowing down his speech. "The shortcomings you and I are discussing are actually insignificant to the gods. But from another perspective, these shortcomings are what you—as a favored one—should pay the most attention to."

Igor was a little confused: "What?"

"Flaws reflect human nature," the android said. "Gods shouldn't have flaws, but they are an integral part of being human."

It thought for a moment and explained, "Many years ago, when I first met Azathoth, he seemed much colder than he is now."

"But do you think being cold is a flaw? No, for a god, it simply manifests a disregard for beings less powerful than himself."

"But then I discovered that Azathoth's most striking characteristic is that his indifference isn't because he doesn't care about human life. You wouldn't feel guilty if you crushed a nest of ants because you don't see ants as equals to humans. Azathoth is different... Part of his personality is indistinguishable from that of humans. His inability to sympathize and empathize is simply due to his dulled senses, unable to empathize with the suffering of others."

Igor vaguely understood what Hugo was going to say, but he still didn't know the purpose of this conversation: "You mean to ask me to treat a god in the same way I analyze humans?"

"Treat Azathoth the same way you treat humans?" Hugo jumped up, looking a little excited. "Are you kidding me? That's not what I mean. I just want you to fully understand him. The most important thing is to face his shortcomings and his humanity!"

It walked around the table and approached Igor, tapping his chest with one hand. "You must also face up to your own role. It was you who allowed him to leave the desolate planet even though he didn't want to communicate with humans. It was you who made him feel the unfamiliar emotions of humans. Your communication was definitely not just verbal!"

"Igor Sullivan, although I don't want to admit this explicitly, it was you who awakened the human qualities of Azathoth."

"You must understand your importance to Azathoth. Whether or not to respond to this favor is another matter."

Igor subconsciously leaned back on the sofa. He was stunned by his own reaction, and then a look of pain appeared on his face.

"...I won't deny that I was the one who brought the gods into this world."

He whispered.

Was he unaware of what Hugo said?

Not really. Igor has always been a perceptive person. Even Azathoth vaguely noticed his changes. It is impossible for Igor to say against his will that he didn't know.

And perhaps this is what he fears.

God is like a shepherd, guiding the flock. A shepherd is always smarter and more powerful than the sheep, so the sheep don't have to think about anything; they just have to follow the path they're told. But what if one day, one of the sheep suddenly discovers that it can influence the shepherd's decisions?

Some people might be ecstatic about this... but Igor's first reaction was to feel a long-lost fear.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Azathoth. It was that he didn't trust himself.

Or rather... he shouldn't trust himself as much as Azathoth trusts him.

"I don't quite understand." Hugo said confusedly, "With your life experience, shouldn't you develop a self-satisfied personality?"

Igor smiled bitterly.

He dodged the question and said, "You're right. My attitude was the problem before. I will consider myself more important."

The gray-haired young man quickly calmed down and shut down his laptop, setting it aside. "But your first question is about 'why do I trust God?' I can answer that question anytime."

"Humans are not as complicated as you think, Mr. Hugo."

He smiled and said, "Anything can be weighed on both ends of a scale. But to me right now, He weighs more than anything else in the world. Therefore, I will always follow you until He is no longer needed."

Hugo stared at him and fell silent.

Igor stood up naturally: "I'll go see if the master is awake."

"Also, there's one thing I must clarify: I still don't think sleeping in is a disadvantage. Perhaps there's a difference in perception between us on this point."

Hugo: "...So what about emotional intelligence and social anxiety?"

Igor: "Forgive me for saying this, but isn't that cute?"

"Tsk." The android rolled his eyes. "What... are you two really not in a relationship? I heard that only lovers look at each other through an eight-meter-thick filter."

The human who walked up the stairs coughed softly. "...Actually, humans are sometimes a little more complicated than you think, Mr. Hugo. Not all emotions can be simply categorized as pure love."

Hugo scoffed: "Thank you, I don't want to understand."

After Igor went upstairs, he did not return to the living room until the afternoon.

The android was watching the TV program bored and felt like he was going to get moldy.

Around one or two o'clock in the afternoon, the ringing of a communication message broke the silence of the villa.

Ford Hill sent them a 400-500-word email, its language rigorous and formal, its tone gentle and respectful, its every honorific and courtesy sprinkled throughout, and its greetings and pleasantries interspersed throughout. In fact, if you extract the core keywords from the entire email, you can condense it into a short sentence:

"Erica's parents were called in on her first day of school because she got into a fight with a classmate. Do you want to come to the capital to find out what happened?"