Eldritch Horror Theatre

’So the situation had already grown this tense?’

’First the Goddess Envoy, and now the Chief of the Night Watchers.’

’With such an extreme chain reaction, if things truly took a turn for the worse, Yasui Tokiyuki might even go straight to the Night Watchers to confess his previous violations.’

’But judging from the tea party with Laige and Delin this morning, everyone was generally unconcerned about Anjing. They seemed certain a minor setback couldn’t damage such a behemoth.’

’Could Gin Kazuhiro have information that others lack?’

’I can’t shake the feeling that the wind is sweeping the tower before the mountain storm!’

”Chief Gin, you just mentioned that the conflict between Anjing and Siren is intensifying, but I haven’t heard much about it.”

Fu Qian deliberately asked.

”Not long ago, Anjing Company’s The Abyss sank just off the coast,” Gin Kazuhiro replied, his smile unwavering. ”There were no survivors, and even the wreckage vanished without a trace.”

”Over the past two days, Anjing Company has suffered at least three times that number in personnel losses. Even the more proactive Siren Group has only managed to gain a slight upper hand.””As for why you haven’t heard about it, Mister Dancy, that is naturally because corporate conflicts are not allowed to disrupt the lives of ordinary people.”

Gin Kazuhiro stared at Fu Qian’s mask as he spoke, deliberately emphasizing the words ’ordinary people.’

It was hard to tell if he knew about Fu Qian’s recent actions, or if he simply disapproved of an ordinary person getting involved in transcendent affairs.

”As long as that line is maintained, the Night Watchers will not restrict any normal competitive behavior.”

’So even if transcendents beat each other’s brains out, it’s considered normal competition as long as they don’t hurt ordinary people?’

’That really is the corporate culture of the Night Watchers.’

Fu Qian mused silently.

”I wonder what Ms. Violeta thinks?”

Gin Kazuhiro turned to Su Gao, seemingly seeking her opinion.

”If they can maintain perfect separation and know their limits.”

Su Gao’s voice revealed no emotion.

”In my opinion, achieving that is no easy task.”

Gin Kazuhiro fell silent for a few seconds at her assessment before finally nodding.

”A fair point. That is why it sometimes requires a bit of clever design.”

”There is a core principle on Ye Island: every action taken by a transcendent can be placed in the sunlight for public supervision. This ensures that ordinary people do not live in fear and can trust that they are protected.”

”Take me, for example.”

Fu Qian nodded.

Gin Kazuhiro’s working philosophy finally made him realize why Laige and the others were so constrained in how they operated.

”Yes, take you, for example.”

Gin Kazuhiro clearly knew about Fu Qian’s past actions, and his tone grew cold.

”So you should cherish this peace.”

”Or take this, for example.”

In response to the Chief’s warning, Fu Qian simply pulled out a badge and placed it on the table.

Black with red patterns and exquisitely crafted, the Infamy Badge provided by Kisaragi Kana had admittedly proven its usefulness time and again.

”I may be getting on in years, but to avoid becoming a relic, I still make an effort to understand what the youth enjoy doing.”

The Infamy Badge Fu Qian produced made Gin Kazuhiro fall silent, and he only spoke again after several seconds.

”I can tell you that this game hasn’t crossed the line. I even appreciate this model to some extent.”

”Understood. It didn’t cross the line; it’s just toeing it, right?”

Controlling the badge as it rolled nimbly between his fingers, Fu Qian spoke with an understanding tone.

”Does showing this kind of boundary-pushing behavior to ordinary citizens actually put them more at ease? A live, visible demonstration of transcendent power being kept in check?”

”You’re very sharp!”

Gin Kazuhiro was somewhat taken aback by Fu Qian’s quick comprehension.

But a moment later, he nodded in satisfaction.

”That puts my mind at ease. Dealing with smart people saves a lot of time and effort. So, Ms. Violeta...”

He looked at Su Gao the next moment, his tone turning serious.

”My purpose for coming here today is simple. Ye Island welcomes powerful young people like yourself. We don’t even care where you come from or what your goals are, provided you abide by the hard-won order here.”

”To me, conflicts between transcendents are a matter of personal freedom. They shouldn’t be interfered with, and there is no need to do so. We only need to uphold our principles.”

”I believe I understand your meaning, Chief Gin.”

Faced with the Chief of the Night Watchers’ warning, Su Gao finally gave a slow nod.

”Excellent. Then I won’t intrude any longer. I wish you a pleasant stay on Ye Island. As for you, Mister Dancy...”

Gin Kazuhiro turned back to look at Fu Qian.

”While your existence validates the perfection of our order in a sense, I would still be delighted to see the day you die a tragic death.”

Leaving behind two drastically different parting messages, Gin Kazuhiro took his leave directly.

...

”An idealist at his age. That’s truly rare.”

A long while after the Chief of Ye Island’s Night Watchers had departed, Fu Qian let out a heartfelt sigh.

”He doesn’t seem to know about Anjing’s illicit operations regarding the Miracle Potion.”

Su Gao also nodded from the side.

”Yeah. Given the style he just displayed, the consequences for doing that would be severe. It shouldn’t be worth such a massive cost for Yasui Tokiyuki to use him to intimidate us for now.”

Fu Qian agreed with Su Gao’s assessment.

”Plus, looking on the bright side, we don’t seem to need to rush out of here just yet.”

”With the higher-ups of the Night Watchers involved, the chances of Anjing’s two Divine Emissaries making a direct move on us drop significantly.”

”Mhm.”

Su Gao pondered for a moment.

”Gin Kazuhiro doesn’t seem entirely convinced that I’m with Siren.”

”Not surprising. Demigods aren’t cabbages. Even an organization like Siren can’t just casually pull another one out of nowhere.”

”In fact, Anjing is probably just as baffled right now about which faction we actually belong to. Going straight to Gin Kazuhiro might well have been their way of testing the waters.”

”And judging from the Chief’s attitude just now, there’s a high probability he thinks we’re freelance thugs hired by the Siren Group... he might even suspect we’re from the Night Watchers.”

”So that’s why he explained his governance philosophy for Ye Island in such detail. Even within the Night Watchers, it must be quite unorthodox, right?”

”Yeah, I can understand his thoughts, but it still feels too idealistic.”

”No need to feel it. An overly idealistic order is usually the result of failing to see the whole picture.”

Fu Qian shook his head and stood up.

”I’m heading out for a bit.”

”Need me to come with you?”

Su Gao nodded.

”No need. Chief Gin just visited, so we should respond to his call. If you get bored, you can write in your diary.”

Signaling for Su Gao to remain on standby, Fu Qian headed out directly.

...

’Is everyone just slacking off these days?’

Not long after, looking at the tightly shut Fortune Teller’s Cabin in front of him, Fu Qian frowned slightly.

Given his discoveries during the mission, he had intentionally come to observe the recent status of Kisaragi Kana, a Depth 4 player. He hadn’t expected to be completely shut out.

”What a coincidence, Mister Dancy.”

Just as Fu Qian was lamenting how human hearts were no longer pure, a sweet voice rang out from behind him.