Eldritch Horror Theatre

Wasn't this a bit too dramatic?

In the "unreality" just moments ago, Cass had solemnly pointed out Lisa's problem, even pegging her as the trigger for the anomaly.

And now, right on the heels of that, Lisa had shown up alone to make the exact opposite accusation.

While it wasn't the most fitting description, it briefly carried the tragic air of kin turning against kin.

Looking on the bright side, it sounded like Professor Lisa had taken his hint after all and gone to report to the Dean.

The only difference from earlier was that Cass hadn't come with her.

"Oh? What's out of place?"

Lisa, of course, knew nothing of the conversation inside the Etched Intellect. Even as his mind raced, Fu Qian kept his expression perfectly neutral and casually asked the question.

"I can't put my finger on it. It just feels strange. He's not his usual self."

"And what about your condition?"

Fu Qian didn't press her for more; he only wanted to confirm Cass's stance on her situation.

"He said I was perfectly normal..." she trailed off. "He told me not to worry, asked how the preparations for the Preservation Chamber were coming along, and encouraged me to keep up the good work."

She let out a long exhale. Even though the diagnosis sounded positive, Professor Lisa still didn't seem thrilled.

"Did you say all that on purpose just to make me go to Cass? Did you know something from the start?"

Her head snapped up the next second, as if she had finally caught on to some ulterior motive.

...

He did know a few things, but the young woman was being a bit paranoid.

Seeing Professor Lisa's long, enchanting eyes practically bulging, Fu Qian lamented the lack of basic trust between people.

Of course, being a reasonable man, Fu Qian knew perfectly well that her reaction stemmed largely from his own track record of terrible behavior, so he couldn't blame her.

As for her accusation, it was exactly as mentioned earlier—he really had said all that on purpose to steer her toward Cass.

But fundamentally, given how bizarre the situation was, he had simply steered two elements of a similar nature into a minor collision.

When it came to Cass's actual situation, there were simply too many possibilities.

"Of course not. I was just speaking my mind. I really did think you seemed a little different from your usual self."

Fu Qian smiled and shook his head, denying the wild conspiracy theory.

"And now?"

Looking half-convinced, Lisa didn't press the issue. Instead, she cautiously asked for confirmation.

"You still aren't yourself."

Fu Qian's smile didn't waver as he upheld his original verdict.

"...This is no time for jokes. Then why would Cass say that?"

For a moment, Lisa's expression was indescribable as she stared, trying her hardest to find any trace of mockery on Fu Qian's face.

Inevitably failing, she resorted to her final option, bringing up Cass's authoritative diagnosis to refute him.

"That is indeed a good question."

Fu Qian didn't blindly deny it; he even admitted it was a fascinating point.

...

If Fu Qian could spot the anomaly on Lisa himself, Cass—with his deeper connection—should have been even more attuned to it.

Yet when she showed up at his door, he had firmly insisted that everything was perfectly normal. Even his parting encouragement had been entirely perfunctory.

What could cause such an abnormal reaction?

In truth, Fu Qian had been considering this long before Professor Lisa even asked the question.

So much so that, unlike the perplexed Professor Lisa, he could already think of more than one explanation—

For instance, Cass might have noticed the problem but used his extreme expertise to confirm it wasn't serious, offering a white lie to spare her unnecessary panic.

Or perhaps Cass did spot the problem, but it led him to an even more terrifying discovery—one that demanded his full attention and left him no time to deal with Lisa's issue.

It would be much like the scenario brought up during the flare-up of the Etched Intellect just moments ago.

Lastly, there was even the possibility that Cass truly hadn't noticed.

It might sound absurd at first, but viewing it through the lens of Lisa's own worries, it made sense: Cass's own condition was so severe that he had lost the ability to diagnose her at all.

And that was undoubtedly a much worse scenario.

"I wasn't wrong, then? Cass's condition is actually really bad, and that's why he rushed to send me away?"

After falling briefly silent at Fu Qian's response, even Professor Lisa seemed to suddenly realize a similarly grim possibility.

"I wouldn't rule it out."

Professor Fu's virtue of never lying remained fully intact. He actually nodded in agreement.

"Then we need to head over there immediately—"

Lisa practically jumped out of her chair.

No matter how much she usually defied authority, her concern for the old demigod whose Laboratory she had commandeered was genuine and overwhelming.

That's still not the worst possibility, actually.

She didn't hear the addendum Professor Fu silently tacked on in his head, however.

...

Up until now, many of their guesses had been based on the premise that Cass really was suffering from a problem. But they couldn't forget one core question: why would Cass have a problem in the first place?

People were easily swayed by preconceptions. Their earlier three-way discussion had progressed logically, step by step, ultimately concluding that this was tied to Melia—with Ah Kai standing right there as a prime example.

Fu Qian, however, refused to indulge in that kind of mental laziness. He wouldn't just coast on the assumption that this was yet another Melia victim incident.

That was exactly why he had insisted on having Lisa bite him.

What if the truth was far simpler? What if Lisa had never been the trigger, and none of this had anything to do with the Academy's connection to Melia? What if the source of the problem was Cass himself?

What if some accident had happened to him, affecting certain areas of the Academy, which in turn affected Lisa since her power type was much closer to his?

And if that were true, Cass's attitude toward Lisa implied something far more ominous—he was hiding it.

He had told Lisa everything was fine, and he hadn't accompanied her over here to ask for Fu Qian's help.

Stripped of personal bias, it was practically the most logical explanation.

But given Cass's personality, why would he make such a foolish choice?

Fu Qian had never considered him the type to be saving face at the cost of suffering—unless that wasn't a choice Cass had made himself.

For instance, it wasn't just his physical condition that was compromised, but his mental state as well. He could be caught in some specific distortion, with all his actions going completely against his true will.

The more he thought about it, the more chilling the situation became. Yet in that moment, Professor Lisa's suggestion to rush over and help still went unanswered.

"So you don't trust him?"

Still sitting comfortably in his chair, Fu Qian blinked and casually threw the question back at her.

Hmm...

"In your eyes, is Cass so hopelessly stubborn that he wouldn't even ask for help when he's in trouble?"

Lisa remained silent as Fu Qian pressed the issue.

"Of course not..." she finally replied, though she still sounded somewhat uneasy. "Are you saying you believe he can handle it on his own? That we'd only be getting in the way if we went over there?"

"I do. You might as well sit here for a while and give him some time."

Fu Qian gave a genuine nod.

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