Eldritch Horror Theatre

Pretending to be favored by a Deity was certainly one way to interpret the "Blue Eyes"—and a rather reasonable one at that.

Though they were essentially just killing time with idle chatter, Fu Qian could already confirm one thing: however mysterious Clara acted, she was ultimately an ordinary person.

But that didn't mean their conversation held no value.

From the beginning until now, she had clearly remained fixated on a single point: what a visitor thought and felt about Lanphilai. And wasn't he doing the exact same thing?

As someone with rather eccentric motives who also understood this place exceptionally well, her perspective—especially her views on the "Inviolable"—was highly valuable reference material.

Clara's stance was crystal clear: she thought the thing was utterly useless.

It was nearly identical to the impression given by the Dancer he had encountered earlier.

He had to admit, it was a reasonable and intriguing answer.

It was common knowledge that across various cultures, traditions carrying people's hopes for a better life often displayed tremendous resilience.

Ironically, if they actually worked, that very effectiveness would pose a risk to their survival.

This was exactly why Fu Qian found Clara's perspective so reasonable, and why he had deliberately asked the Dancer about her experience using it.

But here lay the fascinating contradiction: Fu Qian was equally certain that the "Inviolable" was currently working.

Its specific function might not necessarily be warding off disaster or acting as a contraceptive, but its Transcendent Tier effects undeniably existed.

This was the absolute confidence that came with being the master of that authority.

How, then, could this contradiction be explained?

Were the users simply blind to their own blessings, entirely oblivious to it?

And even though it actually worked, had it somehow avoided sparking widespread greed and vigilance, allowing it to stubbornly endure to the present day?

For things to make sense, that seemed like the only logical assumption. But there was actually a much simpler possibility.

It never had any effect to begin with. It only became effective after his arrival.

...

The original "Inviolable" was truly just as Clara described: a mere comforting prop used to feign a Deity's favor.

The only reason "breakpoints" indicative of Transcendent Tier properties had appeared on these people was that he had entered this mission.

Once he factored that in, didn't everything make much more sense?

Being entirely self-centered in his deductions apparently had its merits after all.

The Dancer and Clara were both right; it truly was useless before. The various Transcendent Tier organizations weren't just useless fools who had somehow failed to discover the miracles of this power for all these years.

But if that was the case, the Warehouse's motive for arranging this mission became all the more intriguing.

It was originally a harmless Emblem used by locals for folklore traditions and to earn some extra cash. That hardly seemed like an unforgivable sin, yet it warranted a dedicated mission to deal with it?

Furthermore, the very process of dealing with it might harbor hidden dangers.

It was undoubtedly a baffling decision—unless a true crisis was brewing, and "desecration" referred to something far worse than a simple folk tradition.

Beneath the surface of this seemingly sluggish ancient city, unseen changes were unfolding.

This proved that his earlier decision not to rush in and indiscriminately massacre everyone was the right one.

...

As the saying went, communication fostered progress. Anyone could be squeezed for value.

Having swiftly unraveled a train of thought to address his earlier doubts, Fu Qian felt his coffee money had been remarkably well spent.

Though, this also meant that to deal with the Third Cause—which had already seeped into every aspect of life here—he would need to dissect this city even more deeply.

Fortunately, he had a highly professional tour guide.

Along with a small, but distinctly unique, group of tour members.

"Another cup?"

Looking at Clara—who had somehow made herself look incredibly solemn just by answering his questions—Fu Qian, currently in a fantastic mood, smiled and offered.

Not only were the prices here outrageous and the cups painfully tiny, but the shop didn't even offer free refills.

And the woman sitting across from him was evidently undergoing such intense mental gymnastics that she had drained her cup in the blink of an eye.

"Thank you."

Unsurprisingly, Clara didn't stand on ceremony.

"Don't mention it. Pulling off what you did back there couldn't have been easy."

Waving a hand dismissively, Fu Qian brought up the earlier incident, highly praising Clara's performance while watching the "show."

'Then you should give me my money back...'

Unfortunately, his audience wasn't particularly appreciative. Clara didn't even bother with false modesty; she simply stared back at him with an incredibly odd expression.

It turned out he hadn't been spouting nonsense. He really was just sitting here brazenly, waiting for the others to regroup...

It was hard to attribute his behavior to mere courage anymore. Calling him inhuman would probably be more accurate.

Though she remained silent, Fu Qian easily read those emotions off her face, his smile never wavering.

As he had mentioned before, if those people actually managed to call the police or even the Night Watchers, he would be more than happy to see it.

For one thing, he truly didn't want to miss the carefully curated itinerary the tour guide had prepared. For another, this small tour group served as an excellent sample pool to observe how outsiders reacted upon contacting this city.

So, if necessary, he had no problem treating them all to coffee.

"Ah? You guys are already here?"

The very next moment, more than one new customer stepped over the heavily worn threshold, filing into the shop one after another.

Walking at the very front, the female tour guide couldn't hide her utter astonishment when she saw Fu Qian and Clara sitting across from each other, casually sipping coffee.

It looked as though she had been fully prepared to go searching for them immediately after settling the rest of the group here.

"Good work. Order whatever you'd like to drink."

Looking at the reunited team, Fu Qian nodded and called out in greeting, his tone brimming with generosity.

...

"Thank you."

The fact that her two biggest headaches hadn't required her to worry at all, and had even beaten them to the rendezvous point...

...made the female guide visibly experience the beauty of life in that very moment.

So much so that after a brief pause, she didn't even bother with polite refusals and sat right down.

The remaining four did the same. And clearly, they had reaped quite a harvest in this short period of time.

For example, save for the oldest uncle among them, every single person was clutching an "Inviolable."

Brother Mediterranean was the most egregious of the bunch. On top of the charm, he was draped in a messy pile of extra trinkets, fully immersing himself in the local flavor.

"Did everything go smoothly? Did you catch the show?"

Even as he sat down, he didn't forget to shoot Fu Qian a mischievous wink, asking about his own haul.

"I did. It was spectacular."

Fu Qian answered honestly.

"At the place I told you about?"

The tour guide looked a little surprised; she had clearly assumed he'd come up empty-handed earlier.

"No, a kindhearted local took me to a different spot."

"Ah... did you lose anything?"

The guide's heart seemed to jump into her throat once again.

"None at all."

Fu Qian patted his pockets, while Clara, in the end, kept her mouth shut.

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