Eldritch Horror Theatre

”So, Doctor, is there a solution to my problem?”

While a patient shouldn’t hide their illness from a doctor, the situation Fu Qian presented was clearly far too complex.

For a moment, even the Cold Mountain Sacred Hand, Dorian, frowned deeply, looking as though he found it incredibly thorny.

However, Fu Qian didn’t give him much time to deliberate, quickly pressing for a diagnosis.

”...Of course there is.”

”Whether treating the townsfolk or an outsider, the reputation of my medical skills has never been in question.”

The doctor did not disappoint. After giving Fu Qian a deep look, he finally delivered a rather encouraging answer.

”But how do you intend to pay the fee?”

This was where the drawback of leaving no trace revealed itself. The medical fee arranged by the Warehouse had clearly been swallowed up, meaning he had to pay anew.

Fu Qian looked down at his clothes, checked both of his hands, and finally locked his gaze on the Doll.”How about using this?”

”...Of course. I did just say that this Doll was exceptionally well made.”

In that moment, the atmosphere inside the already quiet Clinic seemed to freeze.

As Fu Qian looked over, a distinct undercurrent surged in Dorian’s eyes.

Yet he ultimately nodded, even going so far as to proactively offer a justification.

”I think so too. Lady Hilaria’s craftsmanship is quite excellent, after all.”

Having smoothly resolved the issue of the fee, Fu Qian looked thoroughly pleased as he directly handed the Doll over.

...

Even with no memories of their previous interactions remaining, Fu Qian never expected Dorian not to suspect him.

A Doll of Hilaria alone was enough to fill the doctor’s head with a barrage of questions, leaving him to puzzle over it countless times.

This was undoubtedly his own work, and there was absolutely no way he would believe it was a sheer coincidence that Hilaria had crafted an identical one.

But Fu Qian had still brought the Doll here, and he had deliberately phrased it that way.

The reason was simple: it was meant to make Dorian suspicious in the first place.

One’s thinking couldn’t be rigid. When peddling antiques—pah, crafts—having a genuinely good backstory was certainly important. But a story that was obviously fake at a single glance wasn’t necessarily useless either.

Just imagine: if he perfectly played the role of an outsider seeking medical treatment during his visit, what would Dorian’s reaction be?

The most likely outcome was that he would simply repeat his previous encounter—once again experiencing Hilaria’s embrace and listening to the stories of the Church Quartet.

Would that be meaningful?

Of course, but not enough.

Quite some time had passed since the mission began.

Although the Warehouse hadn’t given a countdown, Fu Qian wasn’t optimistic enough to believe that a mission designated as ’number 1’ would leave much room for taking things slowly.

One shouldn’t forget that even the Containment Conditions had only finally appeared with his own help.

For reasons that were still uncertain, the Warehouse seemed somewhat sluggish in this place.

At the same time, the objective of this mission was to stop something from ”maturing.”

It was easy to picture the scenario: in this seemingly lifeless place, with every second that passed, some imperceptible thing was spreading and growing stronger.

Therefore, in this reunion with the Attending Physician, Fu Qian had never intended to take a gentle approach. Instead, he needed to squeeze out Dorian’s value with maximum efficiency.

Of course, from that perspective, it seemed he shouldn’t be wasting his breath at all. He should just violently ravage the doctor’s body and mind and use harsh torture to extract a confession—he had plenty of methods in that regard.

But even that wasn’t enough.

From what he had seen in their interactions, the Natives of Akons were each a crouching tiger, hidden dragon; none of them were entirely normal.

But judging from the Doll and the manifestations within the Healing Dreamscape, Dorian was clearly a very special existence among them.

The absolute secrets that the Natives had only revealed under his coercion were actually reflected directly in the dreamscape, and even in the appearance of the Doll.

This could no longer be described merely as a miraculous skill; it gave an almost palpable sense that he was ”looking down” on everything.

So simply becoming a subject of torture was still letting Doctor Dorian off too easily. Fu Qian needed him to do more—

Such as raising his own perceived threat level, forcing the doctor to use every trick in his arsenal and go to any extreme to deal with him.

That was why Fu Qian hadn’t made the slightest effort to conceal the mountain of anomalies and logical flaws surrounding him. He had even amplified them with a story riddled with holes, putting his ulterior motives on full display.

The only thing he needed to be careful about in this whole process was not to push the pressure past the breaking point, which would make Dorian abandon the treatment and opt for a direct confrontation to kill him—which would just drag them back into the torture and interrogation phase anyway.

”Then I won’t be polite.”

Fortunately, Dorian was clearly quite confident in his own medical skills. He hesitated for only a moment before accepting the medical fee.

”As you should. When do we begin?”

Toying with the only sword he had left, Fu Qian was completely unwilling to waste any time.

He was genuinely looking forward to seeing what kind of treatment plan awaited him next.

...

”Now then, your condition cannot be delayed any longer.”

The moment he took the Doll, Dorian felt a sense of relief, as if happy occasions lift the spirit, and his previous hesitation was swept away.

The next moment, he stood straight up and walked to the side, signaling for Fu Qian to follow.

Of course, Fu Qian didn’t think this was the joy of recovering something lost. Just as he could see through Fu Qian’s clumsy cover-up, Dorian could obviously also see through the deliberate nature of that very clumsiness.

The doctor not only knew that Fu Qian was spouting nonsense, but he even knew that Fu Qian was deliberately telling such a lie just so it would be seen through, purely to test his reaction.

However, Dorian was simply too confident in his medical skills, so he chose to accept the challenge.

What followed was destined to be an exchange between doctor and patient, with each harboring sinister schemes.

”Sit over there.”

Amid an atmosphere of tacit understanding without words, the spot Dorian indicated was indeed the exact same one as last time.

At least on the surface, it seemed the treatment method would be similar to the last time.

And in the gaze he cast over, he was clearly anticipating Fu Qian’s reaction to this.

”Alright. Hold this for me for a moment.”

Without any objection, Fu Qian casually handed over the sword while adjusting his clothes.

”No problem at all...”

A low chuckle escaping his throat, Dorian actually reached out and took it. At the same time, he casually placed Hilary’s Doll opposite Fu Qian, in the exact same spot as last time.

Not only that, but the next moment he walked over to a wooden cabinet, opened it, and took out another doll, this one wearing a white wedding dress.

Then came the Old Lady, the middle-aged man wearing a hat, and the strongman with his head lowered...

”This one seems a bit superfluous. Do you mind if I increase the dosage?”

After gathering the Church Quartet in the blink of an eye, Dorian frowned slightly the next moment, as if he had encountered a difficult problem.

However, he ultimately didn’t close the cabinet, instead casually pulling out one more.

A black veil, a black robe, and captivating eyes—it was another Hilaria.

”I don’t mind.”

Fu Qian, who had been anticipating this very scene all along, shook his head without hesitation.