Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Thank you for the explanation. So your action just now—was that because whoever helped Yasui Tokiyuki cover his tracks likely had some kind of mark left on them?”

Following Chaumont’s explanation, the tension in the room eased considerably. Beside him, Li Weixuan gave a slight nod.

”To be perfectly honest, that thing you brought out felt rather sinister. That actually has something to do with Emperor Yasui?”

He made no effort to conceal his doubts, clearly hoping for a more thorough explanation.

As the leader of the Academy, Li Weixuan had realized early on that there was something highly suspicious about today’s events. Although he had weighed his options and chosen to cooperate, the way things were unfolding made him want to demand a clearer answer for the members of the Academy.

”Truth be told, that thing really has nothing to do with Yasui Tokiyuki. It was merely disturbed by some of his actions in passing.”

Chaumont hesitated for a brief moment before evidently yielding to Li Weixuan’s request.

”Otherwise, his death wouldn’t have waited until today.”

Having delivered that calm yet firm assessment of Emperor Yasui, Chaumont took out the metal cylinder that had held the ear and placed it on the table in front of him.

”What lies behind this object is an exceedingly dangerous entity. Even though it died long ago—to the point where not even a speck of its ashes remains in the Real World—we have never once relaxed our surveillance over it.””Then, not long ago, it exhibited an anomaly. Yet, the countermeasures we had put in place failed completely.”

”Once we realized this, we spent a considerable amount of effort searching for the cause. Just as we traced the anomaly to Ye Island, we received a report submitted from that very region.”

Chaumont let out a long sigh.

”After further investigation, we uncovered Yasui Tokiyuki’s transgressions, and confirmed that his actions were most likely what triggered it.”

”But this is where things get bizarre. The disturbance caused by Yasui Tokiyuki’s actions could almost be written off as a pure accident. It’s hard to imagine anyone being able to anticipate and prevent it, yet someone actually managed to do exactly that.”

”In a way, what lies behind this is far more severe than Yasui Tokiyuki’s actions themselves.”

That much was certainly true.

Although he had been vague about certain details, the majority of the room understood exactly what Chaumont meant.

An accidental exposure of a massive risk from a completely unrelated motive—and yet, someone had managed to perfectly conceal and neutralize the fallout.

Such an impossibly flawless intervention inevitably sparked the worry that an unseen pair of eyes was watching from the shadows.

At the same time, it also meant that the arrangements the Night Watchers had made to guard against that dangerous entity could fail at any moment.

None of them knew exactly what Yasui Tokiyuki had done, but considering he was already dead, it was no wonder the Night Watchers were focusing so intensely on the matter.

In an instant, the crowd’s last trace of resentment over Chaumont’s impolite test earlier vanished into thin air.

”The ear inside came from a contaminated corpse.”

Chaumont toyed with the metal cylinder in his hands as he continued his explanation.

”Based on our experience, no matter what form of contact one has with that dangerous entity, a mark is inevitably left behind. When they are exposed to this type of contaminant again, their reaction will be noticeably different.”

”Of course, as the facts have just proven, everyone here is clean... Are there any other questions?”

Chaumont swept his gaze across the room, his eyes finally landing on Fu Qian.

Fu Qian met the stare with perfect composure, showing not a single trace of a guilty conscience.

It was only natural for a demigod who had ranked up so abruptly to attract a few extra glances. As long as he walked a straight line, he had nothing to fear.

”Excellency Chaumont mentioned earlier that not even the ashes of this dangerous entity exist in the Real World. So, where exactly is it?”

In the next second, he actually treated Chaumont’s scrutiny as an open invitation for a Q&A session, bluntly asking the question on his mind.

”Since contaminated corpses exist, I assume there must still be some way to interact with it. A rather fascinating state of being—does it happen through the Mind World?”

The man was clearly just offering a polite courtesy, yet he actually asked? And about such a sensitive topic, no less...

While Fu Qian’s words made him the center of attention, a few of the instructors were already eyeing him with resentment.

’I don’t want to learn any more weird knowledge!’

”It is no wonder you were able to reach the demigod level. Your thirst for knowledge is truly admirable, Professor Fu.”

Chaumont didn’t seem to mind too much. After a brief pause, he let out a laugh.

”But unfortunately, I truly cannot answer that question. I can only tell you that it is an extremely dangerous place, and there is far more than just one entity in that kind of state. Unless you personally walk through it, it is impossible to imagine what is hidden inside... In short, it is best not to make any contact. Naturally, we also forbid any contact.”

That last sentence was thoroughly domineering despite its peaceful delivery. Translated into plain terms, it meant: We are watching, so don’t go courting death.

”Understood. Thank you for the answer.”

Fu Qian expressed his thanks with complete earnestness.

The answer seemed devoid of any real substance, but two key points within it caught his attention.

A non-Real World dimension, and an unknowable concealment.

Wasn’t the senior who hid herself away—the one who even managed to evade the Warehouse’s draft—named Liliana?

Furthermore, back when he had swallowed that Ear Stud, he had reached back and touched a very peculiar place.

Could that be the mass grave-like existence that old man Chaumont was talking about?

While he pondered this, no one else asked any further questions. Seeing this, Li Weixuan promptly concluded the meeting and let the instructors go.

......

”My apologies. Duty calls.”

Once most of the crowd had dispersed, Chaumont actually walked down and offered a rather casual greeting to Cass.

As the leader of the investigation team, Cass possessed enough self-knowledge not to leave just yet.

”There is no need to apologize over something this utterly uncontrollable.”

Cass let out a hearty laugh.

”In fact, your explanation today actually helped me figure a few things out. You could call it an unexpected harvest.”

He was referring to the bizarre incident involving the Kamakura Family.

Although the crisis back then had been resolved at the cost of the Kamakura Family losing their supernatural power, the cause of the mutation had remained a mystery that the investigation team couldn’t figure out.

But according to what Chaumont had just said, Yasui Tokiyuki had recently done something that created a large-scale impact.

Could the Kamakura Clan have been distorted by that very same influence, causing the ”Deity” to deem them no longer pious?

If that was truly the case, did ”Yun”—the one who had treated Kamakura—know about it or not?

Casting a thoughtful glance at Fu Qian, Cass did not suspect him of having any ties to the events Chaumont had described.

Motives aside, that test just now had already cleared him of suspicion.

”Almost everyone on the list is here, except for a student who went home halfway through. Do you want to recall her?”

At this moment, Brother Yuan Fang, who had remained silent the whole time, finally stepped forward.

”Forget it. The odds of her being involved are practically zero, and I don’t have that much time.”

Chaumont shook his head.

”Let me guess, Gin Kazuhiro gave you a rather long list?”

Cass let out a strange chuckle.

”He did.”

Chaumont sighed.

”And some of the people on it are clearly not very easy to find.”