Eldritch Horror Theatre

Realizing he had been given a new face this time, he thought the Warehouse was finally stepping up its game, but it turned out they immediately started cutting corners where it couldn’t be seen.

”Then you can call me Anke.”

Complaints aside, being perfunctory was the Warehouse’s problem. He wasn’t about to take his frustration out on the person providing him with extra information.

Facing Clara, the Woman in White Dress who had taken the initiative to introduce herself, Fu Qian remained as easygoing as ever.

”So, Anke... why did you want to go see that kind of show the moment you arrived here?”

Even with his attitude, Clara still looked quite tense.

So much so that asking this question after a moment’s thought made her seem rather courageous.

”Oh... are you questioning my taste?”

Sure enough, her question was maliciously misinterpreted the next moment, though no dissatisfaction showed on Fu Qian’s face.

”—No, it’s just that you didn’t seem all that interested in the performance.”Startled, Clara immediately explained herself, yet valiantly pushed on with the topic.

”How could that be? I even bought a souvenir as the venue’s most honored guest.”

Unfortunately, His Excellency Anke clearly found her a bit baffling. With an odd expression, he showed off the item hanging around his neck.

What did he mean, ’bought’? Didn’t he rob the money back...?

It was obvious that Clara desperately wanted to retort, but in the end, she merely reached back and clutched her own share of the cash.

”But you didn’t even take your glasses off the entire time.”

...

That did seem to be true.

Reminded, Fu Qian reached up and touched his face.

Given his currently unrestricted constitution, the slightly dark lenses undoubtedly didn’t affect his vision at all.

So much so that he couldn’t be bothered to take them off, even while watching a show in dim lighting.

And his scalpel-like precision in combat earlier meant that from the beginning to the end of the conflict, the glasses hadn’t shifted a single millimeter.

”Is it possible that this makes me look more audacious?”

Nodding slightly, Fu Qian offered this theory and took off the sunglasses for the first time, casually tossing them into his backpack.

”I really can’t rule that out. The money... can you give it back to me?”

While forced to admit that his reasoning made sense, Clara couldn’t help but be drawn to his action—especially to the corner of the thick wad of cash.

”How is this your money?”

Hearing this, the usually calm and collected Fu Qian finally looked somewhat incredulous.

”...Two of those bills were ones I paid.”

”But didn’t you also get a veil? This is my loot from a robbery. Are you sure you want to be an accomplice?”

...

Fu Qian’s final remark clearly dealt a critical blow.

It was apparent that although she had no confidence in the Lanphilai Police’s competence, Clara still didn’t want to invite such a criminal charge upon herself.

She dropped the subject of the money for the moment. However, amid the silence, she didn’t run away either, instead quietly following by his side.

Fu Qian didn’t mind this. He casually observed his surroundings, taking in the exotic local customs... especially the omnipresent Blue Eyes.

”But if you’re interested, I can treat you to a cup of coffee as thanks for speaking up earlier.”

Not much time had passed before Fu Qian finally stopped in his tracks. Seeing that the young woman was still stubbornly trailing a few steps behind him, he signaled that he could offer this small repayment.

”...Are you still planning to continue with the travel itinerary?”

Looking up at the storefront before them, Clara was somewhat surprised by his generosity, but what shocked her even more was that she recognized the shop.

It was clearly the meeting point the tour guide had designated earlier.

After taking in a show and committing a crime along the way, this guy had actually returned straight here according to the agreement?

And he was even quite early.

”Yeah. Otherwise, why would I have gone out of my way to raise these funds?”

Fu Qian’s tone made it sound like a matter of course as he patted the pocket holding the money.

”Aren’t you going to finish the tour?”

...

”I just feel... you seem to have a rather unique perception of this place.”

Clara had ultimately accepted Fu Qian’s gratitude. After quietly taking her first sip of coffee, she offered this explanation for her previous question.

That went without saying.

However, this overly sentimental observation did stir a slight sense of resonance in Fu Qian.

He hadn’t been talking nonsense just now. He had returned here specifically to continue with the tour group.

The reason was simple enough. During the second half of his return trip, even after deliberately switching routes, he had spotted no fewer Blue Eyes than on his way there. And there was far more than one Boon Bearer marked with a ”breakpoint.”

This obviously wasn’t limited to the Dancer group. The power of the Third Cause was being severely abused.

Even ordinary tourists like himself, who casually bought a Blue Eye to wear, were exhibiting similar symptoms, differing only in severity.

Perhaps the only silver lining was that it only affected living creatures; otherwise, the numbers would be even more outrageous.

Even so, this proved that trying to complete the mission through brute-force elimination would require an absurd amount of work.

So, in the end, Fu Qian hadn’t rushed to strip the boon from that bunch of Fated individuals. Instead, he decided to first gain a deeper feel for the city of Lanphilai—and the person sitting across from him was a pretty good starting point.

”I actually think your perception of this place is even more unique.”

The next moment, he turned the exact same observation back on Clara.

He wasn’t spouting nonsense. If his own behavior could be explained away as typical lowbrow taste, then her actions were simply bizarre beyond all reason.

Wearing sunglasses to watch a dance might be weird, but at least he hadn’t terrified that crowd of spectators.

Her choice for a first stop seemed far more unhinged, didn’t it?

”...If you put it that way, I have no way to refute it.”

”My perception of this ancient city is rather unique, and of course, I am indeed more familiar with it.”

Realizing that the coffee hadn’t come for free, Clara still didn’t storm off. After a moment, she nodded.

”I could tell. So, the moment I left, you left as well?”

No matter how stupid Brother Zhang was, he wouldn’t have led a customer like her there. The only explanation was that she had found her own way there. She had already known where to catch a performance at that hour.

Furthermore, she had arrived barely a step behind him.

”Yes. I was originally planning to act alone, but I didn’t expect you to beat me to it.”

Clara still looked quite honest.

”So, can you describe your perception of this city?”

Despite being so familiar with it, she had still insisted on finding a tour guide.

She had hired a guide, only to act alone the moment she arrived.

Despite such eccentric behavior, Fu Qian remained surprisingly respectful of her privacy, merely asking out of casual curiosity what her perception actually was.

”A magnificent mummy, with the stench of preservatives filling every street...”

Clara’s response was just as blunt.

”What else? Those eyes?”

Fu Qian still offered no commentary.

”Mm... I can only say they represent a very beautiful hope. But the fear is that they’re just pretending to be blessed by a Deity.”