Nyarlathotep's silence revealed his surprise.
It was an emotion that didn't require psychoanalysis to detect. He clearly hadn't expected Schiller to choose him.
But this was followed by a burst of delight so loud that it practically bothered Schiller. He sighed and said, "I advise you not to celebrate too early. I'm not the type to borrow money and refuse to pay it back, but whether I'll actually be able to repay it is another matter."
"All right," Nyarlathotep said. "My condition is actually quite simple. I placed a box deep within the underground caves, and I want you to help me find it."
"...That's it?" Schiller's tone was full of suspicion.
"Your request isn't difficult to fulfill either," Nyarlathotep said with apparent fairness. "It doesn't necessarily drive people mad. In fact, if you read it with a resistant mindset, nothing may happen at all. Otherwise, how would those lunatics in Arkham study spells?"
Schiller's thoughts stirred. He asked, "Does this universe have Arkham? Does it have Miskatonic University?"
"Perhaps, but it's very far from here."
Nyarlathotep gave an ambiguous answer, but Schiller felt that this might be an important clue.
He remembered that the famous Miskatonic University was located in Massachusetts, while the Siltec family's insurance business covered Connecticut and Massachusetts. Could that be a coincidence?
Connecticut and Massachusetts were neighboring states in the northeastern United States, sharing a long border. They could practically be considered part of the same region.
Neither state drew much attention because of its small size, but they had one thing in common: excellent educational resources. One had Yale University, the other had MIT, and both had quite a few other renowned universities.
And Arkham, home to Miskatonic University—the most famous fictional university in the Cthulhu Mythos system—was located in Massachusetts.
Considering Farainess's climate,