Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Could we have taken a wrong turn? It’s hard to tell direction in here.”

Amira was clearly trying to gloss over the reality of the scene before them, though she was likely just as bewildered.

”Makes sense.”

Unfortunately for her, Fu Qian had no intention of letting her stay in her comfort zone. He nodded after listening intently to her explanation.

”It certainly looks like we took a wrong turn, mostly because our path has vanished.”

...

Hearing Fu Qian’s agreement, the other two looked down—and were struck speechless.

Beneath their feet, the ground had become as chaotic and blurry as the fog. There was no longer a single trace of the road.

”Heh... Has Excellency Prout really been in this Small Town the entire time? Say, roughly a month ago, on the day the thick Mist appeared?”

Letting out a tolerant laugh befitting a shepherd, Fu Qian didn’t push his two lambs too hard and changed the subject.”Not exactly...”

After a long silence, Amira finally answered the question.

”From what I understand, Excellency Prout had just returned to Laerdin for some reason at the time.”

That made much more sense.

The chances of Amira lying about this were slim. Fu Qian nodded in satisfaction.

”But he tried to come back here later?”

”Yes. Excellency Prout was among the first to explore the Mist.”

Amira sounded quite respectful when speaking of him.

”Don’t be nervous. So, what were the results of the exploration? What does the Small Town really look like?”

Fu Qian waved a hand.

His question, however, made the two avert their eyes in hesitation.

”I told you not to be nervous. Do you think it makes a big difference to me whether the scene just now was real or fake?”

True enough—he was a shepherd who walked the Nightmare to begin with.

Fu Qian’s guidance was highly professional. Amira grumbled a bit internally, but it actually did help her relax.

”Shrouded in thick Mist. And just like the ruined houses we saw earlier, it seems to have been destroyed for many years.”

A moment later, she let out a sigh.

”And The Order’s view aligns with the Two Weapons I found?”

True to his word, Fu Qian demonstrated remarkable emotional stability.

”...Yes.”

”And the people inside?”

...

Amira didn’t answer, but her silence made it perfectly clear.

”It’s been a while since this was discovered, hasn’t it? Seems The Order isn’t eager to announce the results just yet.”

Although the path they had just taken was fraught with danger, Fu Qian didn’t believe for a second that the Harmonic Sanctuary, packed with saints, lacked the strength to reach this place.

In fact, their willingness to send a team like this on a mission proved they already had a solid grasp of the dangers involved.

”The public might not be able to accept it... Honestly, I haven’t known about this for very long either.”

Ignoring Reginald’s warning glare, Amira kept her head down and continued in a muted voice.

It was obvious she truly hadn’t known for long—she hadn’t even had the time to mentally prepare herself yet.

”It’s fine. The identity of being a survivor will help them accept it.”

Gesturing that she didn’t need to view people as so fragile, Fu Qian clearly had no intention of getting tangled up in such a boring topic.

”So, do you want to pick up our topic from the Church and see if you can still leave this place?”

”You mean we should keep moving forward?”

Apparently deciding that Amira had said too much, Reginald finally interjected.

”Assuming you can tell which way is forward in a moment.”

Fu Qian smiled, gesturing to their surroundings with his eyes.

”...And if we can’t?”

Reginald choked on his words. He took a deep breath before asking with a straight face.

Although their earlier path had been desolate, it was sufficient as a guide.

Now, however, they were completely surrounded by thick Mist in every direction. If they stepped even slightly further away from the Small Town, distinguishing directions would be virtually impossible.

”If you can’t? You can try asking the Stars for help.”

Seeing Amira looking over in confusion, Fu Qian let out a long sigh and pointed the way for the two lost lambs.

Huh?

This suggestion completely caught them off guard.

”What is it? Considering your intensive Night Patrol duties over the past month, I doubt you’d lack a fail-safe for something like this.”

Fu Qian looked at the two of them with a meaningful smile.

”Or did you never even consider that it needed testing, and just assumed it was a guaranteed backup plan?”

”...I admit, what we saw just now probably wasn’t real. To be honest, I’m not sure what’s going on either.”

Avoiding Fu Qian’s gaze, Amira finally acknowledged their situation directly.

”I originally thought my mission was simply to bring you to the abandoned Church. Now, everything in here is deeply bizarre. We need to confirm exactly what happened.”

”Also, we do indeed have a way to escape—once we confirm that this is truly a Nightmare.”

”Theoretically, your mission has been over for a while. And I’m curious about your definition of a Nightmare.”

The sincerity of their conversation had gone up another level, much to Fu Qian’s satisfaction.

”Six minutes and fifty-four seconds—that’s what I calculated just now using my heartbeat. Or do you absolutely have to find the source of the pollution for it to count?”

”Indeed... Any dream lasting over a minute is a violation of the Star Law, whether that’s time in the dream or in reality.”

Amira clearly struggled to understand Fu Qian’s intentions.

”But we need to confirm more details... Why are you in such a hurry for us to leave? On that front, I’m just like Excellency Simon—I will no longer interfere with your actions from this point on. If you want to leave, you’re entirely free to try.”

”Why would I leave? Leave such a perfect place of teaching? Recommending that you try to leave was your first lesson.”

Fu Qian gave her a strange look, then assumed an expression of sheer bliss.

”Besides, while I understand your sense of duty, don’t you think sending one person out to report back to The Order would be a more rational choice?”

Fu Qian’s final rhetorical question was evidently quite persuasive, immediately extinguishing the lambs’ urge to argue.

”To go find Simon?”

Amira and Reginald exchanged a look before the latter made a suggestion.

”He might not be interested in listening. It would be better if you went back.”

Dealing with eccentric Hunters clearly gave Amira a massive headache.

”You won’t be able to handle this guy.”

Reginald didn’t refuse outright, casting a glance at Fu Qian instead.

”I wouldn’t be able to handle the outside, either.”

Amira’s attitude, however, was resolute.

”You must act within your limits, too. If it gets too dangerous, just turn around and try to come back in.”

...

”Fine.”

The suggestion was undoubtedly reasonable. After a brief moment of thought, Reginald ultimately didn’t refuse.

”I hope you understand your situation.”

Before setting off, he made sure to shoot Fu Qian a cold glare, his tone carrying a warning.

”Thank you for the blessing.”

Unfortunately, the other party seemed to take it the exact opposite way, thanking him with the utmost sincerity.