Eldritch Horror Theatre

Evidently, Fu Qian’s performance had deeply shocked everyone present.

For about ten seconds, the room fell into a dead silence.

Almost in unison, everyone turned to look at the person upon whom Fu Qian’s gaze had finally come to rest—Kisaragi Kana.

She stared blankly at the bathtub, her expression wooden. Even facing her father’s corpse, she showed no visible signs of grief.

Hayami Suzune, whose brows were already furrowed, now looked even more grim.

Deep down, she was clearly still reluctant to believe in such a horrific family tragedy.

Yet Kisaragi Kana’s reaction severely challenged her preconceived notions.

Could it really be her?

”Thank you for your help, Mister Dancy. Do you have any leads on the killer?”

Breaking the delicate atmosphere, it was Kisaragi Kana’s older sister who spoke up first, looking directly at Fu Qian.”You’ll have to ask the professionals about that.”

Fu Qian, who had acted like an absolute professional just moments ago, immediately bowed out.

Hearing this, the female fortune teller naturally turned her gaze to Hayami Suzune.

Uh...

Under that stare, Hayami Suzune found herself momentarily at a loss for words.

”I’m sorry, but the investigation is still ongoing. We haven’t identified any suspects yet.”

One of the police officers spoke up, breaking the silence.

Although he seemed confused as to why the Night Watchers were paying attention to this, he still treated it as a standard homicide case under his jurisdiction.

”We’ll leave it in your hands, then.”

The fortune teller showed no dissatisfaction with the lack of progress. Instead, she bowed politely to the two officers.

”May we leave now?”

”...Of course.”

The two officers exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

Given the late hour, such a gruesome scene was indeed too much for two young women to handle.

”Thank you.”

The fortune teller said no more. She offered a slight nod to Fu Qian and Hayami Suzune, took her younger sister’s hand, and turned to head downstairs.

...

Hayami Suzune narrowed her eyes as she watched them. Just as the two figures were about to disappear around the corner, she finally chased after them.

”Mister Dancy, thank you for your assistance. We will carefully consider your input.”

The two remaining officers clearly recognized Fu Qian’s current look.

”Don’t mention it.”

Fu Qian didn’t elaborate, nor did he ask about the details of the case. He spared one last glance at Kisaragi Iken’s corpse before heading downstairs as well.

...

”I apologize, but there are a few things I need to verify with Miss Kisaragi.”

As Fu Qian walked out into the yard, he saw Hayami Suzune intercepting the Kisaragi sisters.

”Please do.”

The fortune teller naturally dared not object to a Night Watcher’s request. She gave Suzune a deep look and released her sister’s hand.

Kisaragi Kana seemed a bit stunned by this turn of events. Unsure why the Night Watcher wanted to speak with her alone, she subconsciously glanced at Fu Qian as he walked out.

Fu Qian knew exactly what she was worried about, but he simply smiled and said nothing.

”Right this way, Miss Kisaragi Kana.”

Hayami Suzune had already opened her car door, gesturing for the girl to get inside.

Though bewildered, defying a Night Watcher’s orders was out of the question. Kisaragi Kana quickly climbed into the car as instructed.

”I have some things to take care of, so I won’t be hitching a ride.”

Fu Qian announced, standing where he was with a cheerful smile.

Even when Hayami Suzune shot him a dark glare, he remained completely unfazed.

It seemed that after the night’s tangled events, her resolve to risk her position as a Night Watcher to deal with him had somewhat wavered.

In the end, she didn’t jump out of the car to drag this piece of scum along with her.

...

Watching Hayami Suzune drive off with Kana, Fu Qian withdrew his gaze and hailed a taxi.

As the cab pulled over to the curb, he turned directly to the fortune teller.

”I’ll see you home.”

”Alright.”

Giving him a deep look, the fortune teller voiced no objections and slid into the back seat.

However, she clearly had no desire to chat. She kept her eyes lowered and maintained complete silence for the entire ride.

Amidst this quiet, the taxi soon arrived at their destination. The Fortune Teller’s Cabin sat just ahead.

Gesturing for the fortune teller to get out, Fu Qian paid the fare and stepped out of the car as well.

At being followed to her home in the dead of night, the fortune teller merely sighed softly. She didn’t seem particularly afraid.

Leading the way, she unlocked the door, stepped inside with soundless footsteps, and moved behind the dark divination table.

”What do you want to ask?”

Smoothing out her clothes, she sat up perfectly straight and stared at Fu Qian.

What a familiar line.

If memory served him right, at the very beginning of this mission, he had faced this exact place and this exact question.

For a moment, Fu Qian couldn’t help but marvel at the fickle nature of fate.

”What do you think of your sister?”

...

It was clear that Fu Qian’s question had caught the fortune teller off guard.

”I thought you would ask when Kana came back.”

She hesitated, seemingly struggling to find the right words.

”That’s a question for Madam Suzune to ask, and I’m sure she’ll be asking it plenty of times tonight.”

”My father’s death truly had nothing to do with Kana.”

”I know.”

”...You know?”

The fortune teller could no longer suppress her astonishment.

”Then what was all that you said earlier?”

”That was obviously for our hot-blooded Night Watcher to hear.”

Fu Qian chuckled.

”I can still tell the difference between a stomach sliced open by one’s own hand and one sliced open by someone else.”

...

”You know my father committed suicide?”

In that instant, the horror on her face became impossible to hide.

”What else?”

”It’s obvious that Kisaragi Kana shares practically everything with you. I assume she’s told you quite a bit about me?”

...

”Kana... has indeed told me a great deal about you.”

After a long silence, the fortune teller finally spoke again.

”But please believe me, it was not out of malice. She was merely showing off to her older sister.”

”A mysterious figure taking a special interest in her... I’ve experienced similar situations far too many times since we were children...”

”Don’t worry. I’m actually just curious—why did you relay all of that to your father?”

...

”An ignorant daughter comes into contact with an extremely dangerous individual, yet her old father is powerless to do anything.”

”When you told him all this, you should have anticipated the possibility of him taking extreme measures.”

...

”He was a father.”

The fortune teller fell silent for a long time once more.

”Being powerless was his responsibility... and his right.”

”I genuinely didn’t expect him to go this far, but thinking about it carefully, he undoubtedly did everything within his power.”

”A bizarre death and missing organs... even if he couldn’t use the Night Watchers to kill you directly, creating such a horrific incident ensures that the victim’s daughter would at least be placed in a slightly safer position.”

”Besides, it was a release for him. After all, he had suffered far too much torment.”

The fortune teller let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

”Didn’t you ask me earlier what I think of Kana? Have you ever seen a wax figure?”