Eldritch Horror Theatre

Recalling the Goddess Envoy’s expression of utter disgust, Fu Qian felt this theory was becoming more and more likely.

Was she unwilling to mentally parasitize him simply because he was a man?

Blatant sexism!

Clicking his tongue in silent amusement, Fu Qian felt completely unfazed by his current predicament.

After all, he encountered blatant speciesism on a regular basis.

Today, he actually had to thank her for her little quirk.

Technically, the crisis wasn’t over yet. She was, after all, still ”sitting” right there.

Still, compared to the danger he had anticipated just moments ago, this was nothing.

Now that he understood the Goddess Envoy’s form of existence, Fu Qian dropped his Grade 1 alert for the Pseudo-God Incarnation.

In her current form, her concealment might be flawless, but it was hard to say if she had any actual offensive power.He also doubted she had the ability to command Su Gao to cut him down; an order like that would instantly put the latter on high alert.

All things considered, the current outcome wasn’t too bad.

Su Gao was secretly a demigod. That information had definitely been leaked.

But thanks to his good habit of preparing for a rainy day, the Goddess Envoy likely hadn’t realized there was actually another demigod here.

As long as he gave her a perfect curtain call and sent her on her way, he would actually come out of this encounter with the upper hand.

Moreover, the fact that Anjing somehow had two Divine Emissaries was astonishing. He would need to thoroughly investigate their background later.

...

As for how to get the Goddess Envoy to make her exit without noticing a thing?

First, after the dream shifted earlier, she hadn’t reacted to the change in her situation at all. This basically proved that due to her unique state, he didn’t need to worry about her noticing the dream fading away.

The only issue left was the discrepancy between inside and outside the dream.

Right now, his physical self in reality had indeed walked back to the table, but Sakura Asao wasn’t brewing tea—she was fast asleep.

If he dispelled the dream and she was sitting there rubbing her eyes, any fool would notice the sudden jump in the plot.

Fortunately, he was now the Dream Dominator.

”Not bad.”

The next moment, Fu Qian studied Sakura Asao’s practiced movements and gave an approving nod.

”Though compared to Hayami Suzune, it feels like it’s lacking a little something.”

He quickly followed that up with a quiet murmur to himself.

...

Still busy preparing the tea, Sakura Asao felt a sudden urge to hurl the teapot right into Fu Qian’s face.

To calm her nerves, she had poured an unprecedented level of focus and care into this routine. She felt she was performing at a hundred and twenty percent, easily rivaling any professional.

And this guy had the nerve to say someone else brewed it better?

She desperately reminded herself that this was just a trivial matter, but being inexplicably compared and found wanting still infuriated her.

Smelling the fragrance wafting from the cup in front of her, Sakura Asao gritted her teeth, picked it up, and downed it in one gulp.

”I am truly sorry. I will be sure to practice,” she said. ”Or perhaps Mister Dancy can give a live demonstration.”

Finishing her drink, she tossed the cup aside and sat back in her chair.

Her message was clear: since her skills weren’t up to par, she was done serving him. He could do it himself.

”Sure.”

To Sakura Asao’s surprise, the guy actually took the teapot with utmost readiness and even poured a cup for her.

”Please, help yourself.”

His attitude was much better than expected, but all he did was pour the tea. Was that supposed to be a demonstration?

So how exactly could he tell that Hayami Suzune poured tea better?

Amid her silent complaints, Sakura Asao suddenly realized something was wrong.

Accompanying the head full of question marks was a heavy wave of disorientation and drowsiness.

I’m a transcendent... How could this be? Was there something in the tea?

Feeling her eyelids become as heavy as lead doors, Sakura Asao forced herself to stay upright, trying to fight off the sensation.

In mere seconds, however, it swept over her like a surging tide, shattering the last remnants of her consciousness.

...

When Sakura Asao slowly came to, the first thing she saw was the teacup in front of her, filled once again.

Staring blankly for a few seconds, she instantly recalled what had just happened and practically leaped out of her chair.

This sudden movement seemed to startle the person sitting across from her.

Wearing his bizarre mask, Dancy Crawford stiffened, looking exactly like someone who had just been caught red-handed.

”You... what was in the tea?”

She immediately checked herself over. Confirming that nothing was wrong, Sakura Asao glared at Fu Qian, her voice ice-cold.

”You woke up faster than I expected, Ms. Asao.”

After a few seconds of silence, the guy behind the mask finally spoke.

”Have you been too tired lately? You fell right asleep in the middle of our conversation.”

”What... exactly... was in the tea?”

Completely ignoring Fu Qian’s attempt to deflect, Sakura Asao ground the words out one by one, screaming internally.

Is this guy a psychopath?

How dare he use such underhanded tricks on someone from Anjing?

I was still too careless. I never imagined the tea would actually be drugged.

Right, the past files showed he really does use this kind of thing all the time.

Whether this guy is one of Siren’s pawns or not, he is definitely a creep.

Beyond her fury, Sakura Asao was also secretly alarmed.

As a Mid-Tier Transcendent, even though physical strength wasn’t her specialty, being knocked out by an ordinary drug completely defied common sense.

Fortunately, he had still underestimated a Mid-Tier Transcendent’s constitution.

”You must be joking, Ms. Asao. It’s just tea leaves in the tea.”

Fu Qian’s tone was full of astonishment.

”Don’t tell me you think I tampered with it to make you fall asleep?”

”You brewed it with your own hands.”

But you were the one who brought the tea set and the leaves! This guy had even deliberately let her brew the tea just to make her lower her guard.

In that moment, even though Sakura Asao didn’t consider herself a good person either, she felt a faint urge to rid the world of this menace.

Don’t be impulsive, don’t be impulsive...

After repeatedly warning herself, Sakura Asao finally took a deep breath.

”Please think carefully about what I said earlier.”

Leaving those words behind, she lost all desire to stick around, walking off without another word.

...

Playing the part of the ”exposed” villain, Fu Qian finally fell silent, sitting there and watching Sakura Asao walk away.

At the same time, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the ethereal clarity clinging to Su Gao quietly fading away.

Just being in the same room as a piece of trash like me feels polluting, so she has to run away immediately?

Imagining the Goddess Envoy’s lines, Fu Qian turned to look at Su Gao.

”The tea... shouldn’t have any problems, right?”

Due to Sakura Asao’s words, the latter currently wore a look of confusion.

Fu Qian shook his head.

Of course there was no knockout drug in the tea.

The only reason Sakura Asao grew sleepy was because the condition he had set to dispel the dream was simply for her to fall asleep.

That was also why Sakura Asao had fallen asleep so quickly.

As a Mid Tier, trying to resist the rules of a dream was still very difficult for her.

In any case, the crisis was averted.

”The tea doesn’t, but you do.”

The next moment, Fu Qian took a sip of his tea and pointed at Su Gao as he spoke.