Eldritch Horror Theatre

”It couldn’t be The Bookstore from last time, could it?”

The Knight’s response time was truly astonishing, to the point that the Witch seemed momentarily surprised.

Of course, it only seemed that way. As she returned the question, she didn’t even forget to slowly pull out the Brain Fork.

”What? Is that not allowed?”

It was undeniably a fascinating tool. Almost the instant it was pulled from flesh and blood, the wound healed in sync with its withdrawal.

Watching this scene, Fu Qian casually returned the question while marveling at the sight.

To think the Pope still remembered such an obscure corner; it seemed the coffee prepared by Madam Loretta tasted quite good.

”No, it is not.”

Unexpectedly, however, the Witch shook her head in all seriousness the very next moment.

”Oh?”Fu Qian didn’t hide his surprise.

”Because I drank it all.”

Tossing the Brain Fork aside, the Witch responded as if this were a matter of course.

...

Drank it all.

Even though the original intent was to leave it just for Bernard alone, the portion Loretta had prepared was not small by any means.

Faced with this truly unexpected answer, Fu Qian clicked his tongue in admiration.

Still, one had to look on the bright side. This proved the Pope was highly receptive to drinking tea; choosing it for their break was the right call.

”Relax. We’ll switch to a different drink this time. Are you used to drinking black tea?”

Imagining the Witch drinking alone in The Bookstore, Fu Qian shook his head to signal she could rest assured and trust in a Templar Knight’s arrangements.

”I don’t drink it often, but it seems to be quite popular as well.”

The Witch actually gave it some serious thought and expressed her willingness to try, rather than just blindly agreeing.

”Sounds like you’ve been mingling with the common folk quite a bit lately. Has the Law of Not Gazing Directly at the Dark Moon been revoked?”

From her words, Fu Qian seemed to pick up on some extra information.

”More or less. Doing so wasn’t actually difficult, but I dislike changing things back and forth.”

The Witch’s tone was incredibly relaxed, conveying the full, domineering nature of her custom rules.

”So I defined in greater detail under what circumstances I am the Dark Moon—for instance, right now I am not.”

The next moment, she moved her hand, and a hat materialized out of nowhere.

A pointed tip and a wide brim. The general outline looked a bit like the one she wore while operating in the Nightmare, but the style was much softer.

It was no longer that overly cold, desolate color. The overall tone had changed to the warm hues ladies typically preferred, and one could even see exquisite, uncomplicated accessories on it.

As the Witch placed the hat on her head, she seemed much better suited to blend into the outside world of Laerdin.

”Is there nothing else?”

But it only seemed that way. Fu Qian looked at her purely natural face, devoid of even a hint of makeup.

Putting on a hat meant she wasn’t the Dark Moon, allowing her to stroll freely through the afterglow of the past outside. It certainly fit the Witch’s style.

Yet, even though it should have been far easier than conjuring a hat, the Witch clearly had no intention of making any changes to her face.

That was also very much in line with her style. Still, walking down the street with a face like that, the resulting impact would likely shake even the presently flourishing Dark Moon Faith, wouldn’t it?

”Nothing else. However, I have severed some of their perception. They will not realize what they are looking at... Actually, it was like this earlier on, too.”

Confirming this casually, the Witch clearly knew what Fu Qian was thinking and followed up with an explanation.

...

Understood. That made perfect sense.

Fu Qian recalled sensing it during their very first meeting. The Witch’s human face was clearly not artificially molded like his own, but a direct manifestation imbued with a transcendent nature.

Therefore, sometimes, even if she did nothing at all, others might not be able to withstand it.

The facts proved the Witch hadn’t done nothing; she had always taken precautions while outside.

Furthermore, her mention of ”earlier on” was easy to understand. He had wondered before: with a face like that, how could the Witch have been rejected by the Natives upon arriving in the Painting World?

Even if the sheer intensity of it had triggered their instinctual fear, resulting in her being driven into the Underground prison, the Countess couldn’t possibly have failed to give him a special warning about this when sending him to communicate with her.

Or she would have simply taken preventative measures, finding someone to help him reach the Sage State before allowing him to set out.

So even back then, she had already been operating with the effect of severed perception.

”That’s wonderful. So it seems I don’t need to change my clothes either?”

Highly praising this revelation, Fu Qian finally stood up and gestured to his own body.

Granted, it wasn’t as extreme as the Witch’s situation, but going to drink tea while fully clad in Armor was still a bit too imposing and domineering.

”So what were you originally planning to change into?”

The Witch’s response, as expected, showed that everything was within her grasp. Intensely curious about Fu Qian’s original plan, she stared at his face as she asked.

”Don’t forget, I used to work in this place. I’m quite experienced when it comes to the dress code... But I would definitely still keep this face. Most of the time, I prefer to be an honest person.”

Fu Qian’s reasoning was brimming with confidence, clearly referring to his experience operating under the identity of Encore.

”So the very first time you came here, you were using your own face?”

The Witch seemed highly satisfied with this answer, pressing for further confirmation.

”Yes.”

Fu Qian nodded.

”Let’s set out, you mysterious aesthetics connoisseur.”

To think that both of them had used their true appearances during their first meeting. The Witch was indeed very pleased by this. Smiling, she stood up and called out to him, even using a seemingly familiar title.

...

”So you kept the original layout?”

Although his last visit had been many days ago, Fu Qian still had a deep impression of the structure of the West District Church of the Order.

They proceeded unhindered along the route in his memory. Then, as they crossed a certain node, the surroundings suddenly became lively.

Feeling the sudden influx of human presence, Fu Qian’s gaze landed on a nearby window as he casually asked.

If he remembered correctly, the last time he came here, he had plucked a piece of cloth from this spot to use as a cape.

As for his mention of the ”original layout,” it was partly related to this—

The regime had already changed, yet the curtains hanging there still retained their original night-sky hue.

As an object of worship, the Dark Moon exhibited considerable confidence, not even guiding her followers to change such ceremonial rites.

On the other hand, the reason for this abrupt shift from silence to liveliness was clearly similar to the layout used when the Blood Clan once treated this place as a gathering spot.

A special Star Law had created an overlapping domain. Other people could pass through without the slightest hindrance, but they would never reach the true reality where the Blood Clan resided.

The Witch had actually preserved this setup as well.

”I thought it was quite nice. So, what do you think?”

Because she was wearing a hat, the Witch’s nod was even softer as she immediately asked for Fu Qian’s opinion in return.

”It’s nice.”

Fu Qian agreed in an instant.