Eldritch Horror Theatre

”How do you know it’s still early? Just because you finished eating?”

Unfortunately, His Excellency Reginald was clearly in a foul mood. Faced with Fu Qian’s greeting, he carried the demeanor of someone experiencing qi deviation in logic.

Of course, even so, Fu Qian could somewhat decipher his meaning.

First, it was almost certain the other party had stayed up all night, so there was indeed no such thing as waking up early.

Second, thanks to the incident he had triggered, The Order had clearly been thrown into quite a frenzy.

From the Hunters to them, though the interval was short, the underlying shift in strategy was far beyond what a clueless participant could imagine.

This was His Excellency Reginald’s perspective. Due to a lack of information, his judgment was bound to be somewhat one-sided.

Of course, in terms of pure logic, he was lacking as well.

”Maybe it’s because none of you have eaten yet?”

Fu Qian blinked and answered without much politeness.”How did you know...”

As Reginald found himself unable to retort, Amira couldn’t help but look a little surprised.

”I just figured you all might not have much of an appetite. It seems I was right. If you have the time, I suggest you try Mrs. Harper’s cooking.”

Pointing back the way he had come, Fu Qian didn’t hold back his praise for his own breakfast.

”...You certainly look like you have an appetite.”

Sizing Fu Qian up, Reginald finally spoke again.

”That goes without saying. Unlike your confusion, my heart has never been so calm and resolute.”

Faced with this subtly threatening remark, Fu Qian tapped his head.

”The clear moonlight guides me. I am absolutely certain I will never lose my way again.”

This was the charm of a fanatic.

Whether in his actions or his words, the brimming power of his faith unexpectedly left Reginald speechless once more.

”It’s a pity, but we really don’t have time.”

Beside them, Amira keenly sensed they couldn’t keep bickering like this. Sounding regretful, she pulled open the carriage door.

”In fact, your time is running short as well. We need to hurry.”

”Alright.”

The moment the door opened, Fu Qian came face-to-face with the carriage’s original passenger.

A hood revealing only a pair of eyes, a coat adorned with silver-threaded patterns, and an aura like a killing machine.

It was indeed the classic Hunter look. At the same time, the previous conversation clearly hadn’t provoked the slightest reaction from this person.

At this moment, those icy eyes were staring unblinkingly at him.

...

”Pardon the intrusion.”

Without tarnishing the Dark Moon’s prestige, and bolstered by his fanatic persona, Fu Qian offered another greeting with an undiminished smile.

Unsurprisingly, he received no response.

Without needing a reminder from the two behind him, he immediately stepped into the carriage and sat opposite the unfamiliar Hunter.

Seeing him cooperate so well, Amira seemed a little relieved and followed him inside alongside Reginald.

The carriage was quite spacious, but she almost immediately chose to sit beside Fu Qian, rather than evaluating him alongside her two colleagues.

Fu Qian’s understanding of this was that, given his current style, she was constantly prepared to stop him from doing anything suicidal.

In fact, when he greeted the Hunter just now, she had visibly tensed up.

”This is His Excellency Simon. He will be joining us for the ride.”

The carriage started moving almost instantly. Amira hesitated for a moment before briefly introducing him to Fu Qian.

It was obvious from her vague phrasing that she didn’t want Fu Qian to know the real reason this person was here.

...

”Understood. Carpooling for official business saves resources.”

To her relief, Mr. Anke clearly had no intention of getting to the bottom of it, even nodding repeatedly in understanding.

”Regarding your haul from last night, did you make any subsequent discoveries?”

Reginald clearly couldn’t listen to this anymore and directly changed the subject.

”I did.”

Knowing what he was referring to, Fu Qian casually pulled out the Pocket Watch and opened it.

”What discovery?”

”It’s a lady.”

...

The reactions from Reginald and Amira undoubtedly proved once again that the words engraved on the back of the Pocket Watch were no secret to them.

”Anything else?”

Adjusting his expression, Reginald pressed further, as if simply doing his due diligence.

”I know why she turned out like this.”

”What!”

Inside the steady carriage, Amira nearly jumped out of her seat.

As an opponent of this plan, she clearly hadn’t expected it to yield actual results.

”Why did she turn out like this?”

They naturally knew the contents on the Pocket Watch’s back cover, but it was hard to say if they held any meaning.

Yet this guy had not only referred to the Pocket Watch as a lady, but even claimed to know her?

It was truly unbelievable.

”This thing was originally a Sacred Relic of The Church. Before it was damaged, it even sealed the blood of the Dragon of Time. It’s just that it was later stolen by a female thief... Here, this female thief.”

As he let the Pocket Watch tumble between his fingertips, the Countess’s decisive and ruthless figure surfaced in Fu Qian’s mind.

He wondered what she would think of taking on such a form.

”She stole and destroyed a Sacred Relic, and was then cursed?”

Fu Qian was telling the truth, of course, and Reginald very naturally helped fill in the omitted parts with his own conjectures.

”That could be considered a rather common tale. Do you have anything to prove this claim?”

Although he maintained a high degree of skepticism toward this conjecture himself.

”I do. For instance, the Rayson couple.”

Fu Qian answered fluently, however, and in the next moment, stared at the other man’s suddenly frozen face.

”Why don’t you tell me first—how did you find this thing?”

”...Why do you ask? Isn’t this your loot from last night?”

Answering subconsciously, Reginald glanced at Amira, only to find that despite her shock, she had simply turned her head away in silence.

Her stance couldn’t be more obvious: whoever caused this mess could explain it.

”Considering what we’re currently doing, I can’t see the point of you answering like that.”

Fu Qian shook his head, doing nothing to hide his disappointment.

”If you’re certain you want to play it like this, there is no need for this conversation to continue.”

...

”I admit, I intentionally let you take it... This Pocket Watch is somewhat special. More than one person who has been to the same place as you has mentioned it.”

Reginald ultimately chose to be honest.

”We followed the description of its appearance, spent a considerable amount of effort, and finally found it in someone’s private collection.”

”Unfortunately, because there were too many collectibles, that person clearly couldn’t remember when it was damaged or what the deal was with the words on the back cover.”

”Out of all those collectibles, you only found this one?”

Fu Qian remained noncommittal.

”Yes, there were no other items that fit the victims’ descriptions, which is why we wanted to know what made it special.”

Reginald’s tone was resolute.

”Is there anything else you can share about this lady?”

”We’re here.”

Regrettably, almost the moment he asked the question, Simon, the Hunter who had been silent the whole time, bluntly interrupted their conversation.

Along with his words, the carriage came to a steady halt, and the door was opened.

It really was a dense fog.

Falling silent as he took in the sight outside, Fu Qian wore a look of gratification.

The direction the carriage faced was dominated by an endless, surging expanse of grayish-white, and the surroundings were just as desolate.

The legendary Mist Outside the City.

Compared to being dragged off to the Church for a strict interrogation, the folks from The Order had finally come up with a new trick for him.