Eldritch Horror Theatre

It was certainly lively, fitting for the holiday.

Of the recurring characters in the past few scenarios, nearly half were likely tied to the Transcendent Tier by now.

Now even Salma, a victim from Bloodletting High School, turned out to be far from ordinary at her core.

Judging by her own account, she was just like Eva—originally nothing more than an ordinary high school girl.

Both had started experiencing changes related to the Transcendent Tier as the holiday approached.

It perfectly matched his earlier theory—bizarre phenomena attaching themselves to the concept of All Fools’ Day.

Unlike Eva and her Dark Constellation Spellbook, however, the Salma standing before him should probably be called a Saliva Succubus.

Considering she eagerly laid her cards on the table before he could even finish his drink, she was clearly highly confident in the effects of her saliva. She had most likely tested it more than once.

It perfectly aligned with the notes mentioning a charm that made even Eva jealous.

Of course, that still didn’t mean he had to pretend to be intoxicated by it.”Did you really spit in this? You haven’t even brushed your teeth since you got back, have you?”

Fu Qian finally spoke, his gaze locked on her face and his tone laced with heavy disgust.

...

Hm?

She actually jumped back a little. It was obvious that Fu Qian’s reaction had genuinely startled Salma for a moment.

But it only lasted a second. As her hand subconsciously grabbed the door handle, she stopped.

”I actually haven’t.”

Noticing that his gaze never left her face, her tense body instantly relaxed a fraction, and she actually smiled as she answered his question about brushing her teeth.

”You really are special, Mister Wolf... That idiot Wen always loved to self-righteously judge other people. He made me hold a bit of a prejudice against you at first.”

She stared right back without any hesitation, even looking Fu Qian up and down as if she had just found an amusing toy.

”In his descriptions, you were clearly some sort of clown who always wanted to act like you could do anything, when your mental age was actually stuck in kindergarten—but in reality, he was just describing himself.

”No matter how much effort it takes for you to put on this front, or what motives lie behind your stubbornness, it’s obvious he could never pull it off.”

Unapologetically scorning her technically-not-yet ex-boyfriend, Salma sounded completely confident in her judgment.

He didn’t even need to act.

People always possessed a considerable amount of motivation to preserve the illusions surrounding their own charm.

Faced with Salma’s assessment, Fu Qian felt no surprise, only deep satisfaction.

It was obvious to her that if he looked infatuated after drinking the saliva, it naturally meant he had been captivated and couldn’t resist her charm.

But if he looked completely serious and unmoved after drinking it, then he was just pretending—trying his absolute hardest to act as if he hadn’t been captivated.

Aside from this narcissism, which was just human nature, Fu Qian—as someone who wasn’t born into the Transcendent Tier—could easily understand the mindset of someone who had undergone a transformation and utterly refused to fall back into mediocrity.

With those two factors combined, the current turn of events wasn’t unexpected at all.

Furthermore, Salma’s comparison seemed to suggest that Wen had also consumed her saliva.

Since they were boyfriend and girlfriend, that was perfectly reasonable. However, that sentence also provided another vital piece of information: the absolute latest Salma could have awakened this charm was the day before yesterday.

After all, she had just mentioned that she last saw Wen the day before yesterday.

The time span of this All Fools’ Day power really was quite broad.

”Thanks for the compliment, but I’m not putting in any effort. No need to worry.”

As he thought it over, Fu Qian casually thanked her with a completely natural attitude.

”Ha... Really? Then I’m relieved.”

Unfortunately, that sort of defense wasn’t enough to make Salma pause for even a moment.

Entirely confident in her own judgment, she simply smiled and played along.

”In that case, it seems to be getting late... shouldn’t you be leaving?”

The next moment, as if she had just remembered something, she openly glanced at a small twin-bell alarm clock nearby and immediately ordered him to leave.

It was clear that Salma had absolute confidence in her powers of persuasion.

Her words might have sounded tactful, but her tone left no room for argument.

”It’s still early. The person hasn’t even arrived yet.”

Unfortunately for her, Fu Qian’s tone was exactly the same. He only ’hesitated’ for a second before directly shaking his head.

...

”It will be very hard to explain if my Mother finds you here...”

Her incredibly confident command had been refused. Salma’s expression finally stiffened a little, and she lowered her voice to emphasize her point.

”You’ve already used that excuse. Saying that it would be rude for me to see your Mother coming out of the shower might be a bit more original.”

Fu Qian only shook his head again, casually maintaining his unblinking stare.

”You... Fine. Then you can stay here until my Mother leaves.”

A brief flash of panic seemed to cross Salma’s heart for a moment, but Fu Qian’s steady gaze ultimately reassured her, prompting her to take a tactful step back.

”But could you turn around? I’m going to change my clothes.”

Ignoring Fu Qian’s reaction, she walked straight over to the Mirror and casually made her request.

”Of course. But wouldn’t it be better if I hid in the closet?”

This time, Fu Qian finally agreed with her, even pointing to the side.

Compared to the bed, the closet was massive. Hiding a person or two inside wouldn’t be a problem at all.

”Alright...”

She seemed pleasantly surprised by the suggestion. As she looked back at Fu Qian’s emotionless face, her smile grew deeply meaningful.

She seemed to interpret Fu Qian’s active cooperation as him finally deciding to escape.

The act of changing clothes put too much pressure on him. If he kept sitting there, he wouldn’t be able to hold on and would end up losing his composure.

”You can go inside once I grab my clothes. Remember not to rummage through anything.”

...

Wasn’t this place a little too perfect?

As the closet doors swung shut soon after, Fu Qian couldn’t help but admire his hiding spot.

Not only was it large, but its layout was also ideal. There was plenty of room for a person to stand inside without having to contort their body.

It even opened and closed practically in silence. It was perfect—

In the darkness, illuminated only by a sliver of light, Fu Qian’s fingers brushed against a strange mark on the closet’s wooden panel.

It was a hexagon. The pattern wasn’t complicated, but it was carved deep into the wood, positioned exactly where a person could easily reach up and touch it.

It seemed like someone really had hidden in this closet before.

Fu Qian naturally thought of the missing Wen, as well as the scenario where the two of them had secretly been intimate in here and nearly been caught by Salma’s Mother.

Given that guy’s habit of carrying tools with him, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had carved a pattern out of boredom while hiding in here.

Of course, he still wasn’t leaving right now, and the person he was waiting for was still not him.