Eldritch Horror Theatre

Of course, Takagi obviously wasn't thinking that far ahead.

At this moment, his pride had undoubtedly reached its absolute peak.

Though he had displayed unusual humility when faced with a room full of praise, his eyes shone brightly as he stepped out the door.

"Let's head straight to the station. I'm truly sorry about today. First we ran into that accident, and then I poked my nose into other people's business. I've already held you up for quite a while, Mister Dancy."

Stepping onto the road outside the Clinic, Takagi patted Kisaragi Kana's hand, looking utterly self-assured.

"All right."

Fu Qian glanced at Su Gao. This time, he didn't even bother exchanging pleasantries and simply agreed to head back.

The person playing these petty tricks behind the scenes likely intended to use this setup to cause some trouble for him and Su Gao.

But without a doubt, the impact of such an indirect approach was ultimately limited.

As a highly curious person, Fu Qian was eager to see what the mastermind behind the scenes would do next—whether they would test him again or try to find a way to keep him here.

Or would they just let the matter drop?

"What's the point of just apologizing with words!"

Amid his anticipation, Kisaragi Kana suddenly spoke up beside them.

She had been leaning half her weight against Takagi, but as she spoke, she shot her boyfriend a reproachful glance.

"Mister Dancy."

The next moment, she let go of Takagi's arm and stepped forward. She reached straight into her collar and began to rummage around, completely oblivious to exposing far more skin than before.

"Please accept this. We really caused you a lot of trouble today."

After a brief search, she pulled an item from an inner pocket and offered it to Fu Qian.

"But that's the precious Badge they gave you!"

Under Takagi's instantly stiffened gaze, Fu Qian looked at the item Kisaragi Kana was holding out.

A black background, red patterns, and four stars.

Sure enough, it was the very Badge Kisaragi Kana had previously won at Wushe Temple.

To think she would simply give away this symbol of "glory."

So her previous demeanor really was just a disguise? It seemed she could no longer suppress her true nature.

Looking at the Badge that Kisaragi Kana had kept so close to her skin, which seemed to still carry her lingering warmth, Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

Just a moment ago, Takagi's gaze had lost focus in an instant.

His earlier apology had essentially been an act of smugness, but Kisaragi Kana's apology gift was a true backstab.

From riding high on pride, to suffering a sudden blow, then rallying in the face of adversity, and finally returning as the Dragon King.

Without a doubt, throughout this entire process, Kisaragi Kana's reaction was the only thing Takagi cared about.

Yet this scene playing out before him felt one hundred percent like being used as a tool.

'My performance only served to make my girlfriend's flattery carry more weight...'

'From beginning to end, she only ever wanted to win this guy's attention...'

'She can't even be bothered to spare a second glance at the person she's already conquered. I should have known...'

For a moment, countless surging emotions churned within Takagi's heart, battering against something until it was on the verge of collapse.

"Yes, which is exactly why you must keep it safe, Mister Dancy!"

Kisaragi Kana, however, looked entirely oblivious to her boyfriend's reaction and smiled radiantly.

"Although it's just a meaningless honor, it brought me a great deal of joy. Even if Takagi asked for it, I wouldn't give it to him."

How had such a bizarre atmosphere been created in just a few sentences?

Were the people in this place really so twisted?

Looking at Takagi's practically shattered expression, Fu Qian fell into deep reflection.

However, he didn't think Kisaragi Kana was blessed with extreme luck like Takagi.

She was likely just purely twisted.

Or, more accurately, she ran purely on animal instinct.

Her sister, Kisaragi Chie, had once commented that the current Kisaragi Kana was nothing more than an empty shell driven purely by paranoia and desire. That assessment made a certain amount of sense.

Moreover, it felt nine times out of ten that this stemmed from her untapped talents.

"I'm deeply honored."

As for the Badge, seeing that Kisaragi Kana was practically grabbing his hand and forcing it onto him, Fu Qian amiably refrained from refusing again.

Kisaragi Kana's smile instantly grew even brighter, and she shot an intentional—or perhaps unintentional—glance at Su Gao.

"We should get going."

Su Gao's expression didn't change at all in response to that glance, but a few seconds later, she took the initiative to speak, breaking the strange atmosphere surrounding the three of them.

"All right."

Kisaragi Kana became even more satisfied.

In her eyes, this was naturally a sign of a rival's displeasure.

Of course, to the person hiding in the dark, this was equally a sign of Su Gao's displeasure.

This Peak Tier 4 from Siren was no longer willing to be led by the nose.

...

Given that they hadn't walked too far from the hospital, the four ultimately chose to continue to the station on foot.

During this journey, at least on the surface, everything remained normal.

Kisaragi Kana, who was clearly overjoyed, continued to affectionately hold onto Takagi's arm.

The fawning of a conquered person was the best kind of accessory. Before finding a shinier one, it wasn't completely worthless.

Meanwhile, Takagi, despite wearing a smile so fake it looked pasted on, barely managed to maintain his composure, acting as though he didn't care about his girlfriend's recent behavior.

Amid this delicate atmosphere, the station soon appeared before them.

Just as Fu Qian was wondering if that hidden figure had backed down and decided to leave things at that, a voice spoke up right on cue.

"Takagi?"

It was a pedestrian walking ahead of them, who had accidentally glanced back and spotted the group of four.

After a brief moment of shock, the person shouted in their direction and waved excitedly, clearly an acquaintance of Takagi's.

Uh...

Unfortunately, Takagi obviously wasn't too keen on running into acquaintances at this moment. He even instinctively shrank back a little, only managing a forced response.

"Is this your girlfriend?"

The other party didn't seem to notice his reluctance and eagerly jogged over while speaking.

Upon reaching Takagi and seeing Kisaragi Kana holding his arm, the acquaintance was stunned by her beauty and gave a teasing wink.

"It's been a while, but you're doing pretty well for yourself!"

...

If this had been not too long ago, Takagi clearly would have relished such praise.

But at this exact moment, those words were incredibly grating.

"Hello."

In response to the praise, Kisaragi Kana greeted the person in an excellent mood, then looked at Takagi, waiting for him to introduce them.

"Yeah."

Under Kisaragi Kana's stare, however, Takagi fell silent. After a long while, he gave a heavy nod, speaking in a tone that sounded like he was muttering to himself.

"What are you doing?"

Kisaragi Kana suddenly cried out in surprise. It seemed her hand was being gripped too tightly, but Takagi's strength was so great that she couldn't pull it free at all.

"I'm sorry."

Scolded by his displeased girlfriend, Takagi finally snapped out of his daze, awaking as if from a dream. Upon realizing what he had done, an expression of sheer panic crossed his face, and he even tried to kiss Kisaragi Kana's hand.

It seemed Brother Takagi was starting to hit a streak of bad luck!

Watching this scene unfold, Fu Qian silently evaluated the situation from the sidelines.

At the same time, he noticed Su Gao slowly looking over.

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