Eldritch Horror Theatre

Old friends reuniting was never an easy thing.

Making this seemingly smooth meeting happen required far more than just one or two conditions.

As mentioned earlier, Fu Qian highly suspected that Nepheli was pulling the strings behind the scenes, and was even still on the ship.

But getting her to actually respond and accept his invitation to talk—thereby proving his suspicion—required considerable skill.

Timing, location, and the people involved—none could be lacking.

Most importantly, there had to be a motive. He needed to make her realize the necessity of this meeting.

Thanks to his excellent behavioral habits, Fu Qian had flawlessly pushed all these elements into place despite his own uncertainty, ultimately orchestrating the scene before him.

Yet he still didn’t think the current situation was enough to make this neat freak take any greater risks.

”You are right. I am not actually sitting here. I can merely project myself anywhere on this ship, so in theory, we could have met anywhere.

”Furthermore, our current state is hidden, so you do not need to worry about anyone outside overhearing us.”Sincerity really was the only way to move people. The Nepheli before him was clearly warming up to the atmosphere. After a brief moment of thought, she directly confirmed Fu Qian’s claim.

She even volunteered the fact that their conversation was completely secure.

”What I am more curious about is your motive for doing this,” Nepheli said, pivoting the conversation to cut straight to the core. Questioning Expert Fu’s intent, she cast a glance at Su Gao. ”To go as far as exposing such a massive secret to me, even dragging this Night Watcher along?”

...

What Nepheli brought up was undoubtedly the absolute crux of the matter.

The ”secret” went without saying. When Fu Qian had stood perfectly still and uttered, ”What a pity there is no tea,” he had essentially pierced the veil—

Back on Ye Island, when Yasui Tokiyuki fell, the two mysterious Demigods inside the human fiend’s home had been none other than himself and Su Gao.

Not only was it a matter of grave importance, but it was also terrifying upon deeper reflection.

An Academy professor and a Night Watcher Demigod had teamed up and traveled to Ye Island under assumed identities.

Not only had they observed the King of Ye Island’s ascension and rapid demise from start to finish, but they had also impersonated members of another illegal organization along the way, ultimately claiming responsibility for the entire incident.

Just thinking about it was enough to make one’s brain explode; Fu Qian could completely empathize with that feeling.

Of course, there was no way Nepheli believed what had been said in the Fortune Teller’s Cabin at the very end—that Yasui Tokiyuki had actually been killed by him.

But precisely because of that, the real reason for the two of them being there invited all the more wild speculation—

Night Watcher moles? Had the Rebirth Club actually managed to corrupt this law enforcement organization?

Or had the illegal organization been recruited by the Night Watchers to help carry out operations in gray areas?

Or was it a covert collaboration between the Academy and the Night Watchers, simply borrowing the Rebirth Club’s name while having long since set their sights on the Origin Council’s little schemes?

”The contents of today’s conversation will remain strictly between the three of us.”

Seeming to perfectly understand Nepheli’s shock while Fu Qian just smiled in silence, Su Gao, having caught her glance, spoke up directly in a calm tone.

Hm...

Although such a promise was theoretically worthless, it carried an indescribable persuasiveness coming from her mouth. For a moment, Nepheli’s gaze fell on Su Gao’s face once more.

Unfortunately, after this brief display of presence that made it even harder to judge who was truly leading the whole operation, Su Gao casually faded back into the role of a spectator. Leaving the rest to the consultant, she fully showcased her impeccable demeanor.

”It’s only fair. After all, you sitting here also implies a great many things.”

Only then did Fu Qian finally speak up with a smile, his words maintaining their candid approach.

As a heavyweight of the Origin Council, her actual presence on this ship was just as damning in nature.

Aside from scheming against the Night Watchers and subtly inducing them as tools, there was another fatal point: from Fu Qian’s perspective, this practically confirmed Kelin’s collusion with the Origin Council.

To give Nepheli the courage to make such a choice, showing his own sincerity first was only right.

Facilitating communication and reaching a consensus was never a simple matter.

As for what he would do if Excellency Nepheli just wanted a free ride—hearing and accepting his sincerity while refusing to show herself?

A little thought was all it took to know that the difference wasn’t actually that significant.

Standing outside that door and using tea to extend the invitation was proof enough that, thanks to the Marr Brothers’ earlier performance, he had already placed the Origin Council in the suspect’s seat.

Whether Nepheli made an appearance or not would only increase or decrease that suspicion slightly.

And if she did not show herself, she might end up bearing unnecessary losses—

”As for my motive, I actually wasn’t entirely certain before you appeared. But since we really could sit down for tea, the situation is much simpler.”

Knowing when to stop regarding his sincerity, Fu Qian quickly pivoted to the main topic, gesturing toward the miraculous scenery outside The Ark.

”With such a rare opportunity, you wouldn’t want it to end so quickly, would you?”

...

What exactly Nepheli was doing on the ship—or rather, what the Origin Council’s true purpose was in making these preparations in advance—was undoubtedly a core question.

Because it tied into the most important point of all: what kind of situation this team was truly in, and whether they needed to forcefully break the deadlock as quickly as possible to avoid irreversible consequences.

And as for their earlier actions intentionally guiding the Night Watchers into a conflict with this ship, Fu Qian still didn’t believe it was just a smokescreen.

Overly complex and intricate plots often lacked true feasibility.

Not to mention, the incident itself still fell firmly under the category of an emergency response.

As Fu Qian saw it, no matter what the purpose of instigating the conflict was, to the Origin Council, this was a matter of turning waste into treasure—squeezing whatever use they could out of it under the circumstances that they couldn’t bear to just abandon The Ark.

It was just a pity for them that they had failed due to his interference.

Their subsequent actions—like the Marr Brothers self-destructing, and the ship being repaired and setting sail—were all of the same nature. Since turning waste into treasure had failed, they were squeezing out its last drop of value.

Considering that the essence of a Miracle was a ”true story,” taking this opportunity to truly observe That Long Night from a millennium ago should have value to Nepheli.

And if that truly was her purpose, then the Old Man losing his patience to worry and deciding to forcefully breach the ship would undoubtedly count as a loss for her.

This was merely a guess. It was also why he had said earlier that everything wasn’t actually so certain before Nepheli showed up.

But as long as his previous words received a response, it meant Nepheli also had the intent to communicate and strive for an outcome, which would in turn partially prove that the above guess was correct.

”Indeed... such an opportunity is truly rare.”

Sure enough, in the very next moment, Nepheli let out a long sigh.

”Please believe me when I say there is truly no malice this time. I have even done my best to weaken the ship’s negative influences.

”If possible, I hope to continue observing the events from a millennium ago alongside the two of you.”