Eldritch Horror Theatre

As previously noted, as a skilled user of the Lucid Dream, his sensitivity to the transition between dream and reality was quite high.

The shift he hadn’t noticed when entering the Mist from the other side had just abruptly presented itself.

This trip truly carried a deeper purpose. Not only had the journey included a test to prove his innocence, but the destination itself also held its own mysteries.

This realization didn’t slow Fu Qian’s actions. The moment he noticed the anomaly, he flawlessly played along.

Given his continuous prodding, how could he possibly miss The Order’s peculiar reaction?

As for the slightly odd reactions from Amira and her companion, that wasn’t hard to understand either—they had also realized that what lay before them was not reality.

Their surprise was most likely genuine, meaning they hadn’t known beforehand that the end of this journey led into a dream. But their immediate restraint from looking deeper into the matter already gave away a few clues.

Considering the high-intensity Night Patrol over the past month, they wouldn’t be strangers to a Nightmare.

Combined with what Amira had mentioned earlier about her sensory connection to the Stars, sensing the anomaly shouldn’t have been difficult for them.

And they clearly wanted to hide their discovery from him.Quite dedicated to their duties, much like Excellency Simon.

Fu Qian glanced to the side. The hunter had finally put away his Broadsword, but he maintained a convenient striking distance and showed absolutely no intention of explaining the situation before them.

He didn’t push the matter, because from the corner of his eye, he saw someone already approaching the gate in response to his earlier knocks.

”Where did you... come from?”

A young man dressed in a classic uniform, looking much like a police officer, evaluated the four of them through the gap in the iron gate and asked warily.

”The other side of the road.”

As the one who had just knocked, Fu Qian didn’t dodge the question. While answering, he even cast a glance at the man’s waist.

Sure enough, it was the exact same model of sidearm he had just used himself.

”Laerdin? You crossed through the Mist?”

In contrast, the young man clearly lacked Lafadi’s composure and instantly cried out in shock.

”Yeah. You didn’t cross it?”

Fu Qian put on a confused expression.

”...No.”

Shaking his head slightly, the man scrutinized them very carefully, seemingly trying to confirm whether Fu Qian was lying.

”So Laerdin still exists? It hasn’t turned into what it looks like in the fog?”

”It’s perfectly fine. I just had breakfast there not too long ago.”

Fu Qian nodded, playing his role with great dedication.

”So you’ve been into the fog, but you didn’t cross it?”

”Right. That fog... it’s just like a nightmare. Some people went in, but they were quickly terrified and retreated. Some never came back at all.”

As the armed officer spoke, he looked as though he were still gripped by lingering fear.

”It’s like that in every direction. We weren’t sure what happened and were forced to close the gates. So, are you here specifically to check on the situation?”

”Good question. I’d like to know that myself.”

Fu Qian smiled mysteriously and tactfully stepped back, leaving the floor to Amira.

”...We need to go to the Church to visit Excellency Prout.”

Forced into the spotlight, Amira hesitated slightly before finally stating the purpose of their trip.

”Understood.”

The man had clearly noticed their attire early on and didn’t seem too surprised by this answer. After a brief deliberation, he signaled for the gate to be opened.

”Thank you for the good news you brought. The Church is over by the Plaza. I assume you don’t need me to lead the way?”

They shouldn’t need it.

Fu Qian gazed off into the near distance.

Although it couldn’t compare to the magnificent architecture of Laerdin, the scale of the Small Town wasn’t particularly large. Even from where they stood, one could spot the unique Spire of the Church at a single glance.

”No need. We can make our own way there.”

Sure enough, Amira gave the exact same response.

...

”Apologies, Mr. Encore. Due to the requirements of the Sanctuary, I needed to keep this a secret before we reached our destination.”

Finally entering the Small Town, the group quickly headed toward the Church.

Watching Fu Qian—who had completely dropped his earlier shepherd-like stance and was now leisurely looking around—Amira could no longer withstand the awkward atmosphere and tried to explain.

”It’s fine. Does this Excellency Prout permanently reside in this Small Town?”

Fu Qian waved his hand, gesturing for her not to worry about it.

”Yes... As a member of the Sanctuary, logically speaking, the Small Town wouldn’t need someone of his high rank to oversee things. But Excellency Prout has voluntarily stayed here for many years.”

Seemingly to express her apology, Amira explained in considerable detail.

”Sometimes things work out miraculously. If His Excellency weren’t here when this kind of thing happened, it probably would have been very difficult to establish contact with Laerdin.”

Fu Qian listened carefully, then made a remark the next moment.

What?

Faced with his comment, Amira was clearly slightly stunned.

”Wasn’t it Excellency Prout who managed to establish contact and inform Laerdin that everything was normal here in the Small Town?”

Fu Qian looked even more confused than she did.

”Didn’t you already know the situation over here? To think you kept it a secret earlier. I was wondering just now why you weren’t the least bit surprised to see that the Small Town was fine.”

”...Yes.”

Finally understanding Fu Qian’s meaning, Amira’s eyes flickered slightly. She ultimately held back from looking at the others and nodded in agreement.

Her lack of surprise earlier was, of course, because she knew what lay in front of them wasn’t reality. She just hadn’t expected him to notice it.

Considering she still didn’t want him to realize the truth, this seemed to be the only reasonable explanation. She could only bite the bullet and admit to it.

”So, does Mr. Encore have any other impressions of this place?”

In the slightly awkward atmosphere, the perpetually silent Simon suddenly interjected.

At first glance, it sounded like he was changing the subject to bail Amira out, but given the identity of the questioner, it was clearly hard to imagine him doing such a thing.

”I do.”

Fu Qian maintained his leisurely posture, seemingly completely unaware of the strange atmosphere.

”You probably really won’t be able to find any breakfast.”

Hmm?

Meeting everyone’s gazes, Fu Qian pointed around them and explained.

”The people in town clearly like to sleep in. All the way here, besides the two at the gate, we haven’t even seen ten people.”

...

It was such an unusual angle of observation that even the questioner, Simon, failed to respond for a moment.

Amira’s expression also stiffened, feeling somewhat regretful about even trying to explain things just now.

What he said was undeniably correct, but the real reason for it was clearly much harder to bluff their way out of than explaining their lack of surprise.

Fortunately, it seemed they no longer needed to worry about this issue. As the group rounded the final corner, the view suddenly opened up.

Paved with white stone, on one side of the slightly sloped Plaza, a small and exquisite Church stood tall.

Even from this distance, they could faintly hear the chanting echoing from within.

But listening a bit closer, this holy hymn seemed somewhat... lacking in solemnity.

Mixed within it was a strange sort of panting, filling the air with a bizarre, obscene decadence...

”Seems like they aren’t out of bed here, either?”

After listening for a few seconds, it was Fu Qian who broke the silence first.