Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Yesterday...”

Chief Yuan was far from happy, though it didn’t do her any good.

Realizing her slight concern had been seen right through from the start, she flared up for all of one second before quickly remembering that there was no getting through to the two beside her.

In the process, it also dawned on her why her teacher had turned the back of his head to her.

Letting out a resigned sigh at last, Yuan Shan answered Fu Qian’s question anyway.

”What bad timing.”

Fu Qian couldn’t help sighing over it for a moment.

Though he had called it a vacation, the entire trip to the Archipelago and back had taken little more than a day.

Which meant Henry had likely arrived right after he left yesterday.

The Old Man cared so much about the situation in Shangjing, only to be stood up the moment he got here; it really was a bit rude.Still, rude or not, surely it wasn’t enough to make him revert to his true form out of sheer anger?

In the span of just a few sentences, the black-and-white cat had already sprawled out on the counter, as languid as ever. The last time the Old Man had ended up in this state was when he nearly lost control in the Sacred Night Capital.

Yuan Shan had clearly said he was recovering well, so whatever new development had cropped up over there a few days ago must have been pretty serious after all.

”Care for some tea?”

Of course, even if the guest walked on four legs, basic courtesy had to be observed.

Amid his reflections, Fu Qian naturally asked after the Old Man’s preferences.

This time, the black-and-white cat finally turned its head back, its eyes narrowed to slits and faintly conveying wordless exasperation.

Still, he didn’t keep Fu Qian waiting long. After they locked eyes for the span of a single breath, those pupils rapidly expanded outward, shifting color as they went.

”Thank you.”

The change didn’t even stay confined to the eyes. It rippled outward like waves on water, rapidly swelling the entire silhouette.

Roughly two seconds later, Old Man Henry stood there in human form once more, indicating he had no objection to having tea in the evening.

...

Fascinating. It was his first time witnessing this process, though truth be told, it wasn’t much to look at.

Cats were often held up as symbols of elegance, yet today the Old Man seemed to have provided a counterexample—that transformation was rough to watch.

To put it concretely, it looked like a cat-shaped prawn cracker puffing up in every unexpected spot as it fried in a pot of hot oil.

The finished product turned out right, but the process itself was truly an eyesore.

Even without any scent in the air, every single frame in between seemed to radiate filth.

All in all, it shattered any illusions, dealing heavy damage to cat lovers everywhere.

Beyond that, the whole process gave off a peculiar impression: it didn’t look like a human cursed into the form of a cat, but rather as though the cat were his true body.

The Old Man’s human form looked as if it were being held up by sheer willpower alone; the moment he slackened even slightly, his entire body would compress right back down.

Was that how the Old Man forced himself to hold it together all the time? No wonder the pressure had gotten to him and driven him into early retirement.

”Just a moment.”

Motioning casually for Henry to take a seat, Fu Qian actually showed Chief Yuan some respect this time.

Instead of tossing the things to her again, he got busy with them himself.

”Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. I brought this back specially from Ye Island.”

Not only that, he even gave what he was holding a shake, cheerfully showing it off.

”...He rarely drinks this stuff anyway. You could throw just about anything together and he still wouldn’t be disappointed.”

In the overly genial atmosphere, Yuan Shan finally couldn’t resist cutting in.

”I see. I’ll leave it to you, then.”

Sure enough, Fu Qian took that in thoughtfully, then promptly shoved the whole lot over to her, downgrading the standard of hospitality on the spot.

...

”You look to be in good shape.”

As Yuan Shan froze for a second before resigning herself to taking the tea leaves yet again, Fu Qian had already settled back into his plush chair.

Henry, already seated, had even picked up a bit of worldly small talk.

After looking Fu Qian up and down, he remarked right away that since their parting in the Sacred Night Capital, this outlaw looked even more spirited than before.

”Mostly because the atmosphere over at the Academy is pretty good. I’ve gained a lot since joining,” Fu Qian replied without a shred of modesty, chatting casually about his academic life.

”Especially now that the tenure issue is settled—I don’t have a single worry holding me back.”

He made sure to place special emphasis on his promotion to full professor.

”I heard about that too. You’ve done very well indeed.”

Henry continued to nod, admitting he had been keeping an eye on things all along.

”The Academy’s position has always been rather delicate, and by extension, that crowd holds differing views on what you’ve been up to.”

More than that, he even volunteered internal secrets of the Night Watchers.

”Understandable. I heard earlier that there were some divisions within the Night Watchers?”

Fu Qian glanced at Yuan Shan, who was pricking up her ears to listen, and casually sold her out.

”Even within the Supreme Council.”

Since coming out of the Sacred Night Capital, Old Man Henry had grown markedly more uninhibited in his speech, directly naming the body that theoretically held the highest authority in this world.

”The way I see it, though, that’s actually a pretty healthy model.”

The subtext of Old Man Henry’s words clearly suggested that the Supreme Council had long been paying attention to the ever-rising Professor Fu, and had yet to reach a consensus on him.

Fu Qian, however, wasn’t particularly flattered; instead, he cheerfully gossiped about the discord within the Evaluation Council.

”True enough. I wasn’t involved with them for very long, but it seems they’ve operated that way for centuries.”

Fu Qian’s remark finally drew a flicker of surprise from Henry, though he quickly agreed.

”It seems you anticipated how you’d be treated all along. Which makes me wonder—why let things get to this point?

”Even if you couldn’t keep a low profile, wouldn’t the smarter move have been to find a way to open more of a dialogue beforehand?”

Shifting the topic, he turned his focus to matters far more pressing to Fu Qian’s own interests.

What he said made sense, too. The ”Supreme Council of the Night Watchers” was a name that hung like a sharp blade over the head of every transcendent.

Anyone could imagine the peril waiting in the upcoming summons from the Night Watchers Headquarters. How could someone like him fail to see it coming?

Anyone with a shred of sense knew that rather than scheming over how to deal with it once it arrived, finding a way to sidestep it beforehand was the real answer.

Yet he had done nothing at all, dragging himself all the way into this predicament.

”Didn’t I tell you already? This guy simply loves courting death.”

Old Man Henry’s question clearly cut deep, yet before Fu Qian could answer, Yuan Shan—having finally finished preparing the tea—chimed in with a dry jab as she poured.

”Truth is, the reason we were in such a rush to find you this time is that someone around here seems to be courting death just like you lately.”

Before the Old Man could say anything, she turned back toward Fu Qian, laying out the rest of why they had come.

”Remember Serana? Hard as it is to fathom, she actually seems tempted to follow in Ambor’s footsteps—she’s grown interested in taking that next step.”

Letting out a light sigh, Yuan Shan wore the expression of someone who could no longer make sense of the world.

Oh?

Fu Qian nodded thoughtfully.

”I ordered her to advance.”