Because he followed Amon into mischief, Antigonus' three-day vacation ended early.
This clearly dealt a blow to the demonic wolf, whose ears drooped noticeably. However, the heartless boss Alaric showed no mercy and directly led Antigonus to where Sasrir was.
At that moment, Sasrir was, unusually, not working. Instead, he was reading a book on legal matters. Alaric glanced at the desk in front of him, and as expected, aside from some processed work documents, there were various reference books on law, as well as guides to the customs of countries like Loen.
Clearly, even though Sasrir appeared to be taking a break, he was still working, likely reading these books to prepare for establishing rules.
"Are the laws of this era worth referencing?" Alaric asked with mild curiosity.
"They at least help me understand the current state of the world, which has some reference value," Sasrir replied, setting down his book. He wasn't particularly surprised by Alaric's arrival but did a slight double-take when he saw the imposing wolf beside him. After a moment's thought, as if recalling something, he said, "Antigonus?"
It wasn't surprising that Sasrir reacted this way. In his era, Antigonus was a nobody, and in this era, before Alaric's intervention, Antigonus had long lost control and been sealed away by Amanises. Sasrir had little chance to know him, so recalling his name at all spoke to Sasrir's impressive memory.
While Sasrir needed a moment to recall, Antigonus clearly recognized the famed Dark Angel at first glance.
He wasn't surprised to meet Sasrir in this era, largely because Amon had already briefed him on Lucifer's remarkable abilities. Still, Antigonus was a bit nervous, speaking hesitantly, "Hello, Mr. Sasrir."
Though both were Kings of Angels, not all Kings of Angels were equal. As the avatar of the Ancient Sun God, former Deputy of Heaven, and later True Creator, Sasrir was a towering figure in Antigonus' eyes. Facing such a being, it was impossible not to feel tense.
This was especially true since, during the Fourth Epoch, Antigonus had spent a long time working for Tudor, standing in opposition to the True Creator.
Sasrir easily picked up on Antigonus' nervousness. He offered a gentle, reassuring smile before turning to Alaric.
"Antigonus is my new subordinate. He'll assist you with establishing the rules," Alaric said, meeting Sasrir's gaze with a smile. Without beating around the bush, he briefly explained his plan and concluded, "You probably won't finish a complete set of rules anytime soon, but for a trial run, there's no need to roll out a full version right away. You could start with one or two simple rules to test the waters. Have you finalized any rules yet?"
Sasrir's expression turned thoughtful. He pulled a notebook from the stack of books beside him, filled with densely written rules. Some were repeatedly revised, others crossed out entirely, and a few marked with checkmarks and labeled "pending."
Clearly, Sasrir hadn't been idle; he'd been diligently working on the rules.
He flipped to a specific page and circled two rules with his pen. "These two should be fine to implement directly," He said.
Alaric glanced at them. The rules were simple yet complex. The first could be summed up as "no killing," but it included several caveats, such as exceptions for law enforcement in necessary situations or self-defense.
The second was equally straightforward, summarized as "those who help others will gain good fortune," though it had fewer stipulations than the first.
Clearly, Sasrir was playing it safe, avoiding overly strict rules at the outset.
Alaric studied the two rules for a moment without commenting directly. Instead, he took the densely filled notebook from Sasrir and flipped through it carefully. Suddenly, he chuckled and said, "You've specified that helping others brings good fortune, but why not state that harming others brings misfortune?"
Sasrir gave Alaric a slightly exasperated look, clearly suspecting Alaric knew the answer but was asking anyway.
"Harm is difficult to define," Sasrir explained. "Beyond obvious acts like murder or arson, many things have both positive and negative sides. Take the steam engine, for example... it's a boon for many, but for some, it's a disaster, a form of harm."
"If I declared that harming others leads to punishment, everyone would live in fear of overstepping, and the world would lose its future."
Sasrir saw this clearly, which was why he'd invested so much effort into studying the laws and customs of the current era, aiming to craft the most suitable rules rather than taking a blunt approach.
"But isn't helping others just as hard to define?" Alaric countered with a grin. "What about creating a problem just to swoop in and save the day? Does that count as help?"
Sasrir froze, then rubbed his temple. "That was an oversight."
He'd been so focused on prohibitions that he'd neglected the potential loopholes in the "helping others" rule.
"No need to rush. Even the best rules will have flaws... you're not an omniscient god. We just need to minimize those flaws as much as possible. As for the unavoidable ones, that's for future enforcers to handle," Alaric said with a carefree smile, handing the notebook back to Sasrir. "These two rules are solid enough. Refine the second one a bit more, and we can roll them out in the trial. Don't worry... even if there are major issues, the trial's there to catch them. Isn't that the whole point of a trial?"
"You're right," Sasrir said, not one to wallow in self-doubt. He nodded, took the notebook, and a thoughtful look crossed his face, clearly already considering how to improve the second rule.
Alaric, as if struck by a sudden thought, glanced at Amon, who was watching the scene with amusement. He grinned and said to Sasrir, "You know, you could consult your 'dear son' on this. Amon may not excel in much, but he's a master at finding loopholes. No one's better suited to patch them up."
It was like asking an escape artist to design a prison's anti-escape measures... using a bug to fix a bug.
***
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