Eldritch Horror Theatre

"What other friends? Why don't I see them?"

Kadon clearly found it difficult to refute the claim about a habit of drinking at night.

However, Fu Qian's following words took him by surprise, finally prompting him to voice his doubts.

"Because they haven't arrived yet."

The response he received was incredibly breezy. As Fu Qian set down the pot, his eyes revealed a detachment like illusions and empty flowers.

"...Are you so sure he'll come?"

"Can't I invite him even if I'm not sure?"

The rhetorical question plunged Kadon into silence. Fu Qian picked up his cup and took a sip.

Hmm... his earlier judgment had been correct; the taste was truly mediocre.

Indeed. Even though the friendship of gentlemen is pure as water, that water still required a certain reciprocity.

He had already tasted the private reserves of those two several times. On such a long night, he might as well show a little appreciation.

"Doing as one pleases, unconstrained by formality or even reality? I think I understand."

Staring at Fu Qian as he savored his drink, Kadon found himself in a momentarily awkward position, but he didn't storm off.

Instead, after a moment of silence, he even began to put himself in the shoes of a dying man to try and understand Fu Qian's behavior.

...

Although that sounded like forced profundity, it actually wasn't at all.

After all, Fu Qian's current behavior might be unexpected, but upon further thought, it was fundamentally no different from sitting alone by a window to attend a date that was decades late.

Worldly affairs no longer mattered; the only thing that mattered was one's own feelings.

"It looks like you'll be getting an extra harvest out of this trip, aside from the compensation."

Faced with Kadon's interpretation, Fu Qian finally looked up at his face and, after a moment, smiled as he spoke.

Regarding the fifth item on the Checklist, on the surface, it was exactly what Kadon had stated earlier: he wanted to "converse with himself."

Doing so entirely within his own mind was no longer enough. He needed a more direct, more intense method.

Under these circumstances, the question of why he had gone out of his way to hire a driver seemed to have an answer.

Kadon needed to swap identities with someone, turning the other person into his own Reflection, thereby gaining a unique perspective to scrutinize himself.

This also seemed to faintly explain why his attitude had been so ambiguous earlier.

Traveling together for the entire journey was to allow the driver to understand him, to experience his various eccentric words and deeds firsthand.

Yet at the same time, he hadn't forced the driver out of the car, and he had remained tight-lipped about his own affairs. It seemed contradictory, but it could actually be understood as maintaining a delicate balance.

Being proficient in technique but neglecting the essence—if the driver understood the role too well, his performance might become unnecessarily deliberate. It was better for him to maintain an authentic simplicity in his ignorance.

"I believe there will be... but I mainly came to remind you that things are already getting lively outside."

As their eyes met, Kadon seemed to sense that he was understood.

Yet, while nodding, he didn't continue speaking. Instead, he suddenly pointed outside.

...

He was right. This place was rarely this lively at such an hour.

Fu Qian followed his gaze and saw far more light sources than before, actively converging toward their location.

It was to be expected. Kadon had immediately lifted his suppression on the surroundings earlier, so waking a few people along the way was perfectly normal.

The abandoned car and the deep crater they had left behind were also bound to be discovered.

In such a small place, it was easy for people to notice that this shop was surprisingly still open. They would also realize the faces inside were completely unfamiliar, and the car parked outside essentially caught them red-handed with the stolen goods.

The old gentleman was merely offering a kind reminder that there wasn't much time left to enjoy the coffee.

Slap!

Fu Qian reached toward his waist, drew an object, and slapped it onto the counter.

It was a handgun, its design so exquisite it hardly looked like an instrument of murder. Truth be told, this was the second time it had been displayed on this very counter.

Instantly drawing Kadon's gaze, Fu Qian operated it single-handedly, checking to see if it was loaded.

"Even if you don't fire, this will immediately draw an even harsher manhunt..."

Kadon's expression instantly turned dead serious as he watched Fu Qian's overly practiced movements.

It was hard to say whether he regretted not swapping for that particular item, but he clearly understood Fu Qian's implication: it didn't matter if people came. At worst, a theft charge would escalate to armed robbery as he let them witness the power of a regulated weapon.

That was far more severe than simply intimidating a family by force. It was enough to cause the situation to quickly spiral out of control.

"It doesn't matter. Do you think there's anything out there that could make me afraid at a time like this?"

In response to Kadon's warning, however, Fu Qian fired back with a question that pierced straight to the soul.

He didn't even break his smiling gaze as his free hand poured another cup of coffee and pushed it across the counter toward him.

"Don't be so nervous. The night is still long."

...

"Remaining wide awake in the darkness, a time when one ought to let go of oneself—such an experience truly does induce irritability at first."

Fu Qian's reaction made it seem like he had suffered a qi deviation from immersing himself too deeply in his role.

As Kadon watched him in silence, his expression grew increasingly complex, showing faint signs that he couldn't quite keep up with the act.

"But trust me, once you tame that irritability, you'll develop far more interesting perceptions regarding the concept of self."

Unfortunately, Fu Qian showed no signs of letting up. Instead, he took his performance even deeper.

"So... are you saying you've experienced that feeling?"

With the atmosphere pushed to this point, Kadon seemed to realize he had no choice but to say his lines. He finally reached out and accepted the cup.

Even so, before taking a sip, he stared fixedly at Fu Qian and questioned him in a somewhat frigid tone.

"I have. For many years."

His smile never faltering, Fu Qian's answer was straightforward and honest.

...

Phew—

A moment later, Kadon let out a long breath and actually downed the cup of coffee.

It seemed the quality of the coffee truly didn't matter, as he was clearly swallowing it without tasting a thing.

The stolen goods outside had already been discovered, and shouts were now rising one after another.

This town was indeed quite tight-knit. More than one person could already be seen staring vigilantly into the shop.

There was even someone who looked like a local security officer signaling the others not to rush forward.

"You two—"

Unfortunately, as the man stepped closer, he froze the moment he opened his mouth.

"It looks like the 'Reflection' item has concluded."

It wasn't because Fu Qian had raised his gun, but because Kadon, sitting across from him, had set down his coffee cup.

Having just been worried about the situation spiraling out of control, he didn't even spare a glance outside now. He merely stared at Fu Qian and spoke softly.

The reason for his words was simple: the 'driver,' who was supposed to be a mere mortal, had just broken character by using Transcendent power.

Indeed. The people outside had just encountered the exact same phenomenon as when they were digging the crater.

Not only had they instantly fallen silent, but they were now slowly backing away and returning the way they came.

"Not necessarily."

Fu Qian merely shook his head inwardly at Kadon's claim. He then pointed toward a hidden corner outside, singling out a figure in a plaid shirt.

"Make him stay."

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