Eldritch Horror Theatre

Calm and completely natural.

Fu Qian's answer carried a dignified righteousness—as if he were standing by his true name and surname even if Ariel himself had been present.

This confidence wasn't unfounded either. After all, everyone knew that the great recluse hides in the market.

Leaving aside why Brother Ariel was hiding his identity in the first place, what could possibly offer a higher level of security than tucking oneself away while a body double ran interference on the outside?

It truly killed two birds with one stone. It solved his own identity problem while conveniently easing an old friend's burden. Why wouldn't he do it?

Of course, one had to be realistic. This approach wasn't entirely without its risks.

For instance, this stunt was highly likely to draw whatever backlash was meant for Brother Ariel onto himself, plunging him into unnecessary danger.

Furthermore, the very person benefiting from this might not appreciate the gesture. Once Ariel found out, he might even bite the hand that fed him. But so what?

Accumulating merit through good deeds was the very path this seat walked. What need was there for gratitude?

The two interviewer figures didn't seem like the sort of ordinary folks to get hung up on such details.

Faced with Fu Qian openly volunteering his identity, they showed no signs of doubting its authenticity. The middle-aged woman sitting directly across from him simply scribbled some notes and continued her questioning.

"I don't know. Someone referred me."

Even though his situation remained unclear, it didn't stop Fu Qian from answering without missing a beat.

"Oh? Who was it? Care to share?"

The answer seemed somewhat refreshing. The female interviewer raised an eyebrow.

Though phrased as a question, her tone left no room for refusal.

"I can, but she prefers to keep a low profile. I hope you two can keep it confidential—Nepheli."

Fu Qian didn't hold back either. The moment he finished emphasizing the woman's preference for a low profile, he dropped her name without blinking an eye.

He wasn't spouting nonsense; he was simply respecting his current persona.

As established earlier, Brother Ariel was a man who categorically rejected mental friction. Therefore, regardless of who else was involved or the exact cause of this situation...

...the chances that his creator, Lady Nepheli, had no hand in this disguise operation were astronomically low.

Naturally, the aforementioned risks were also escalating.

By tossing out another new name, the odds of being targeted and having trouble show up at his doorstep increased accordingly.

After all, "interviewer" was a role that easily projected a facade of professionalism. Fu Qian didn't hold out much hope for their actual competence, much less their sense of confidentiality.

"Nepheli..."

At least for the moment, the two names didn't seem to provoke much of a reaction.

The female interviewer murmured the name to herself and exchanged a glance with her colleague.

"Have you ever killed anyone, or fantasized about killing someone?"

Her colleague didn't waste any time. He immediately took over with a rather sharp question.

"Of course."

Fu Qian answered with equal ease, his tone completely natural.

...

When lacking a solid grasp of the situation and trying to confirm things as efficiently as possible, it was best to avoid probing with overly mundane variables.

Although the mission briefing had mentioned earning the gatekeeper's approval, that didn't necessarily mean he had to project an image of absolute moral perfection.

The briefing might have been sparse, but several keywords could clearly be extracted from it: confusion, unwavering resolve, and revealing one's true self.

A confused sense of self, yet still needing to convince the gatekeeper of your unwavering resolve.

"So you wouldn't deny that your hands might be stained with the blood of innocents?"

Of course, maintaining a persona was never that easy. The next moment, the atmosphere in the room grew palpably tense.

On the male interviewer's scruffy face, his gaze sharpened like a pair of gleaming daggers.

"But I can confirm it."

Fu Qian nodded in response, his tone resolute.

...

That should have adequately conveyed his unwavering resolve.

The room fell dead silent. Amidst the interviewers' speechlessness, Fu Qian quietly drew his own conclusion.

Whatever the true purpose of this interview was, it was obvious they rarely encountered the kind of answers he was providing.

Normally, under such an effective shock, one would be expected to ask a few counter-questions to truly turn the tables. But that was conventional thinking.

More often than not, keeping one's mouth shut required a far firmer will than speaking out.

Asking questions now would likely undermine the strength of his persona. One wrong step, and he would come off as fierce of face and faint of heart.

Of course, that alone wasn't enough to make Fu Qian give up an opportunity to fish for information.

There was another factor at play, as previously mentioned: no matter how professional they looked, Fu Qian didn't have much faith in these interviewers' actual competence.

Probing them in return would weaken his persona, and even if he managed to glean any information, its reliability wouldn't be high enough to make it necessary.

"...Very well, Mr. Ariel. Please wait outside for a moment. We have other people to interview."

The silent standoff had lasted for a few more breaths.

The end result was that this "interview" concluded with astonishing efficiency after a mere three questions.

"But don't worry, we will provide the final results right here on the spot."

Sorting through her documents in all seriousness, the female interviewer motioned for Fu Qian to wait.

She also emphasized that the final decision would be just as swift; there would be no need to go home and wait for a notification.

"Excellent."

Regardless, Fu Qian appreciated that kind of efficiency. Giving a brief nod, he rose from his seat.

...

Click—

There was only one door to the room. As Fu Qian casually pulled it open, he immediately laid eyes on his competition for this endeavor.

Clearly, the competition was rather fierce.

Two men and two women, old and young.

Even though he had opened the door with polite restraint, keeping the noise to a discreet minimum, he was noticed instantly.

Four pairs of eyes locked onto him in unison. In that moment, the tension in the air was palpable.

Yet even then, Fu Qian easily caught the lingering sense of restless frustration clinging to all four faces.

He had to admit, it was very similar to the aura he'd projected earlier.

Was that why it was called 'a will wandering to this point'?

Recalling the phrasing from the mission briefing, Fu Qian met their collective scrutiny with a smiling nod of greeting.

Sadly, no one responded. If anything, the carefully managed expressions on a few of their faces showed signs of slipping.

Brother Ariel... didn't seem to be in this group.

Had he already been accepted, or were there multiple groups proceeding simultaneously?

Unbothered by their reactions, Fu Qian walked straight over to an empty seat and sat down, his mind wandering.

At a glance, at least from the perspective of his Vision Radar, all four of these people possessed entirely ordinary mortal physiques.

Even the two interviewers inside, despite displaying traits of the Transcendent Tier, were not of a high Rank.

It made his current actions feel an awful lot like playing house with a bunch of little kids.

But he couldn't forget that Brother Ariel was suspected of playing this very same game of house.

Which proved that in the eyes of the Origin Council, playing house was necessary.

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