Eldritch Horror Theatre

To be honest, the room Lucy had passed down to Wendy didn't feel terribly girlish.

Even the view was ordinary. Looking out the small window, most of the scenery was blocked by other buildings.

Whether looking up at the starry sky or down at the river, the glimpse was so narrow it felt like peeping.

But it was precisely this—combined with the memories Lucy had just recounted—that made standing in the room feel like a forbidden thrill.

And Fu Qian's response had been, to put it mildly, blunt in both words and logic.

It was enough to genuinely startle Kadon, the man actually involved in all this.

When Fu Qian came upstairs, Kadon hadn't been doing anything strange. He was simply sitting by the window, leaning sideways to gaze outside.

Now, however, the old man couldn't help but turn around, squinting at him for a long time.

It was as if he were seeing Fu Qian—the winner of his little interview—in a completely new light all over again.

It seemed the blunt words had struck a chord after all. Kadon let out a sigh, expressing his complete understanding of the young girl's feelings after she sent that invitation.

He made no attempt to hide the fact that he had been listening to the conversation downstairs.

"What can you see?"

Although the young man in front of him was sharper than expected, Kadon clearly didn't expect much empathy from him.

Without waiting for Fu Qian to answer, he motioned for him to come closer.

See what?

Fu Qian readily obliged, stepping up to the window and looking out from the exact same angle.

The view was indeed poor, but it afforded a stronger sense of privacy in return.

It was entirely possible to imagine a young girl, her heart surging with passion, gazing out this window before finally drawing the curtains with conflicted emotions.

Of course, that was painfully obvious. It was far too simple to serve as the answer.

"It isn't just human lives that have regrets. Cat lives have them, too."

Fu Qian's gaze ultimately fell on the gaps between the buildings outside. While they ruined the view for a person, they formed a perfectly staggered path for a nimble little creature.

...

"Lucy said the calico cat used to climb down from here three times a day."

It sounded like Fu Qian had provided the correct answer once again.

Kadon's tone held a hint of surprise, but it was mostly colored by nostalgia. After a moment, he began to recount the past.

"But it would only come back this way twice... For the final trip, it would always use the front door, whether the window was open or not."

The scene he described was incredibly vivid.

It was just a pity that the peculiar little performance had never found its intended audience.

"Fascinating. It sounds like you remember what Lucy said very clearly—"

Fu Qian gave a slight nod, highly praising these emotional bonds of the past.

"But you're wondering why I never came."

Kadon finished the thought for him almost before Fu Qian had stopped speaking.

"I imagine anyone would be."

Fu Qian admitted it readily, glancing back over his shoulder as he spoke.

The wooden stairs were simply too old. No matter how carefully someone walked, there was no way to avoid making noise entirely.

Even with ordinary hearing, one could easily pick up the hesitant footsteps pacing out in the hall.

It was perfectly normal. You couldn't just barge into a family dinner, hijack a bedroom to reminisce about your youth, and expect the hosts to do absolutely nothing.

In fact, Lucy's family was already showing remarkable restraint. A more hot-tempered bunch might have drawn blood by now.

That was probably why Kadon had mentioned earlier that he thought Fu Qian would pull his gun.

If you wanted to buy a few moments of peace to reminisce, using a lethal weapon to control the room was obviously the easiest way.

While he had chosen the most peaceful method, that fragile balance was only ever going to last a short while.

"It's simple. I really wanted to come, and I had plenty of time... but I just didn't do it."

The old man had undoubtedly noticed the commotion outside as well, but his expression remained perfectly calm as he softly explained what had happened back then.

That was the reason... wasn't that a little too brutal?

...

I wanted to come, and I had the time, but I just didn't.

People often wondered just how perfectly a single sentence could encapsulate the feeling of regret.

But in Fu Qian's view, Kadon's excuse demonstrated just how brutally a single sentence could crush a person holding onto that regret.

Reminiscing about one's youth was fine. Everyone had their moments of reckless passion, and people could understand that.

Look at Lucy's family out in the hall—even after learning the whole story, they hadn't lost control despite their complicated feelings.

If the whole affair was handled with a bit of tact, it might even become a conversation piece at their next family reunion.

And yet, to a question Madam Lucy had spent decades agonizing over, Kadon was giving such an abstract answer?

No matter how you looked at it, this didn't seem like making peace with the past. For the next few days, it was questionable whether the poor woman would even be able to sleep at night.

In fact, the moment the words left Kadon's mouth, the careful footsteps outside came to a dead halt.

Of course, these were ultimately just details; he didn't really need to worry so much about them.

The core issue lay elsewhere: what if the old man was telling the truth?

When it came to this assignment, it seemed the bizarre elements were finally starting to show.

"Alright, we should go. It wouldn't be polite to intrude any longer."

Though Kadon clearly had no intention of explaining further, he took a deep breath and stood up, looking thoroughly satisfied.

"Alright."

Fu Qian didn't press the matter and simply took the lead.

"Sorry for the intrusion."

Stepping out onto the stairs and meeting the face staring back at them, he took the initiative to apologize for the disturbance.

...

Madam Lucy was clearly questioning her entire life, and she wasn't finding any satisfying answers.

As previously noted, this family was exceptionally mild-mannered.

Faced with an intrusion that was practically the social equivalent of breaking in and defecating on the rug, they had still chosen to respect Lucy's youth and sent her upstairs to wrap things up.

But for it to wrap up this efficiently was clearly beyond everyone's expectations.

Sparing the poor woman from any further embarrassing eye contact, Fu Qian quickly brushed past her, only to be met by the dumbfounded stares of the crowd downstairs.

"Mission accomplished."

Seeing even the proud Wendy staring unconsciously at them, Fu Qian smiled brightly, showing absolutely zero modesty.

Thud!

Before any of them could process what had just happened or figure out how they were supposed to react, the door was already casually pulled shut behind him.

The entire process was so quiet and peaceful that even the youngest child didn't make a fuss on their way out.

"Drive back."

It seemed Kadon had zero interest in taking a single backward glance at the object of his youthful regret.

In fact, this very first stop on his Dying Wish List couldn't even draw a parting glance from him.

The moment they were in the car, the old man settled back into the same posture he had held on the drive over. With his eyes half-closed, he casually gave his next instruction.

"Alright."

Fu Qian similarly didn't mind continuing his duties as chauffeur and simply started the car.

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