Eldritch Horror Theatre

'Looks like I've gained another enemy that challenges the imagination.'

Their Rank was incredibly high, and their authority involved the domain of the mind. Under specific conditions, they could directly banish him, even at Tier 2.

Under even more extreme conditions, they could perfectly manifest the power of ancient superiors without any degradation.

Based purely on what he already knew, if he were ever dragged onto their home turf, 'troublesome' wouldn't even begin to cover it.

Truly, each generation produces new talents. He wondered if the Night Watchers had any concept of this.

He had a feeling it wasn't one of their internal members.

Judging by the descriptions, if something went wrong with Akons, the consequences would likely be far more severe than the incident over at West Plain.

But without a doubt, they had some concept of that barrier. After all, they had left their own alarm devices behind it.

He could see if there was a chance to borrow their power to track the person down later.

Of course, that was a matter for later. Right now, it seemed he should head back for breakfast... maybe a Pretzel?

Deep in thought, Fu Qian casually tossed the Umbilical Cord onto the table. He took one last look at his increasingly dazzling collection and activated the Imprint on his hand.

...

"Sir, are you... in a rush for a blind date?"

The sun was climbing higher, making the interior behind the street-facing shop windows increasingly bright and clear.

However, it was still early on a weekday morning, so foot traffic remained somewhat sparse.

A young clerk with immaculate makeup and a crimson uniform packed items according to Fu Qian's requests, unable to stop stealing glances at the young customer's face.

And seeing his good-natured demeanor, she finally couldn't help but marvel.

It couldn't be helped. Not only was his appearance hard to ignore, but in her boredom after finishing her opening prep, she had watched him cross the street to buy a piece of bread, casually finish it on the walk back, and wipe his mouth clean just as he reached the door.

Eating on the go was clearly a hurried behavior, yet he moved with complete, leisurely ease. The contrast was staggering.

Just as she was wondering if he might come in for a chat to make the morning a little more interesting, he actually walked through the door. He stated his measurements, selected five outfits, and immediately asked for two sets of each.

The whole process took less than two minutes.

Landing a sale like that first thing in the morning naturally felt like winning the lottery.

But even without worrying about his ability to pay, this situation was truly a rare sight.

Youthful curiosity finally drove her to risk saying a few extra words.

"It's for work."

Fortunately, he still showed no signs of displeasure. He merely shook his head, concisely shooting down her guess.

It was just that the answer was...

Excellent professional training kept any odd expression off the clerk's face, but her packing hands stiffened slightly.

"Ah, I see... It must be a very large company, with such formal attire."

Stopping the conversation there felt too abrupt, so she forced out some awkward small talk.

"It's very small in scale, actually. I just want to showcase the style of Lincheng."

Unfortunately, she had clearly guessed wrong again.

"Do you work out of town? No wonder you need to prepare so much at once... thank you for your patronage."

Faced with such a civic-minded citizen, even the experienced clerk was finally at a loss for words.

Especially after he paid, filled out his address, went straight back across the street, ordered the exact same bread plus a drink, and sat down to continue his breakfast.

...

A day's plan begins in the morning, indeed. It felt like he had finished an entire day's work right at dawn.

Tearing off a piece of the bread he had just confirmed tasted decent and tossing it into his mouth, Mr. Fu—who had been busy for two full days and nights—finally sat back and comfortably enjoyed his breakfast.

The main purpose of this trip was to restock his rapidly depleting wardrobe; he just happened to spot the food he had been thinking about earlier on the way.

Given the immediate sense of déjà vu it gave him at first glance, Fu Qian was quite satisfied with his own powers of association and decided to buy one for a taste.

The shop wasn't large, sporting only three small round tables.

Because of the hour, most diners hurriedly took their food to go, rarely putting the tables to use. This made Fu Qian's leisurely posture all the more conspicuous.

Naturally, Fu Qian didn't care about that. He simply sat there, experiencing the rush around him and his own complete detachment from it.

Returning so abruptly from a place like Akons created a strong contrast. But in the end, the food here definitely looked much cuter—

"Morning, Mr. Consultant."

A warm, familiar greeting chimed in, but it didn't come from a new customer walking through the door.

As he had noted before, his few acquaintances were all busy with their own affairs. It was impossible to run into them every day.

The voice came from a remote call within his consciousness. Sissi Gatsby, wearing her nightgown, was sitting up in bed with a luxurious stretch.

...

Ever since he had helped her 'turn back time,' she seemed to have developed a habit.

Fu Qian didn't think it was pure coincidence that he would receive his employer's greeting right when he occasionally came back to eat breakfast.

Most likely, she casually tossed out a greeting every time she woke up.

"Morning."

Even so, there was no need to be rude when they bumped into each other like this. Fu Qian sent a response back through his consciousness as well.

As for the fact that it was far past morning on her end, she was clearly accommodating his time zone, so he didn't point it out.

Moreover, after his treatment, Madam Sissi was indeed acting noticeably more relaxed day by day. She had even taken to sleeping until dusk—a highly dangerous behavior given her emotional state.

Even her nightgown, while still conservative in design, was made of a much thinner, more comfortable fabric.

"...How rare! I suppose giving gifts really does work."

Clearly, getting a response to her greeting was a bit unexpected. Sissi blanked for a moment, but a second later, her face broke into a radiant smile.

"This is where Mother used to live. Looks pretty nice, doesn't it?"

The next moment, she hopped directly out of bed and ran lightly over to pull open the curtains.

Towering mountains stretched across the view, their snow-capped peaks clearly visible.

Although the fiery evening glow was no longer very bright, that level of visibility wasn't a problem at all for Fu Qian.

"It really is nice."

Her comment about giving gifts being useful obviously referred to the Crown from earlier. Naturally, Fu Qian didn't mind this kind of joking slander.

"The place is a bit small, but I still try to make time to visit every year. It's just a shame there aren't any gifts here to give you..."

With a sigh, Madam Sissi leaned against the window to gaze out once more. For a moment, she seemed deeply lost in memories.

But then she reacted to something, running over to point toward the other side of the room.

"How about this? Mother always loved these handmade crafts. She even taught me to make them with her, but sadly, I had no patience."

"If you like it, I'll give you a chance to win it."

'A handmade craft?'

Fu Qian studied the small blanket with its green base and white patterns. Imagining how it would look draped over his shoulders, he gave another affirmative reply.

"Sure."

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