Yes! He's the god of acting

"Is it really this late already..." Fred sat by the doorway, glancing down at his pocket watch with a heavy sigh.

"Why isn't he back yet?" Henry rested his chin on his hands, sitting beside Fred, both of them gazing longingly down the empty street.

The amber sunset gradually sank below the horizon, and the blue aurora in the sky grew more vivid. The two sat side by side as cold wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden boards, making the oil lamp on the table flicker unsteadily.

Finally, at the end of the street where the aurora danced, a figure began to take shape.

"He's back!" Henry shot up from his seat, waving at the distant silhouette. "Brother!"

William dragged his weary body toward home, step by step. When he spotted the two figures waiting by the door, his eyes narrowed slightly, but he raised his hand to wave back at Henry without hesitation.

Fred startled, then pushed himself up from the ground using his knees, offering a polite smile and wave.

"You must be..."

"You would be Mr. William, I presume?" Fred adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses. "My name is Fred. I'm a doctor from Aurora City."

"Oh... hello." William shook his hand. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Not too long, really."

"Forever!" Henry immediately chimed in. "Brother, you left this morning, and he arrived right after. He's been sitting in the living room ever since..."

"You came this morning? Did you at least offer him some water?"

"I did... but he wouldn't drink it."

William's gaze shifted from Henry to Fred, looking somewhat apologetic. "Dr.Fred, I'm terribly sorry you had to make this journey and wait so long... Actually, my illness has already cleared up. How about I treat you to dinner tonight and escort you back tomorrow?"

Initially, William had been frightened by the audience and sought medical help. But now he didn't consider his condition an illness, nor did he believe anyone could cure him. After all, could a random doctor really solve a "World-Ending" level calamity? Especially when there was that mysterious theater capable of suppressing such disasters.

Having Fred stay would not only fail to cure him, but given enough time, the doctor might even discover the calamity lurking in his mind.

Fred was taken aback.

He studied William for a long moment before speaking hesitantly:

"Well... Mr. William, often the human body doesn't recognize when it's ill. You might feel fine now, but that doesn't mean you actually are. Perhaps you should let me conduct a thorough examination."

"No, I don't need that."

This time William's refusal was firm.

After all, he didn't even have a heart anymore. Let Fred examine him? That would be tantamount to exposing his identity!

Fred: ...

"Dr.Fred, I'm deeply grateful that you traveled all this way from Aurora City... but I truly don't need any examination or treatment right now." William noticed his tone had been too harsh and quickly added with sincerity.

"...Very well." Fred sighed. "However, I may not be able to return home now."

"Why not?"

"District Three is under complete lockdown. No one is allowed in or out. Didn't you know?"

"...Then how did you get in?"

"I have a friend among the Enforcers who pulled some strings to let me through." Fred smiled ruefully. "But you know, getting in is easy... getting out is an entirely different matter."

The Enforcers had sealed District Three to prevent calamities from escaping. Some calamities were small enough to hide in human backpacks or even inside bodies, or could merge with humans entirely. In any case, the difficulty of entering versus leaving was incomparable.

This was something William, now a member of the Enforcers' reserve, understood perfectly well.

"This is..." William felt troubled.

Fred had traveled from Aurora City specifically to treat him, without asking for any payment—it was practically charity. Now that he was here and couldn't return home, William couldn't very well turn him away to wander the streets.

"Brother, I don't think he's a bad person," Henry spoke up at the right moment. "That Enforcer Beker came by today acting all threatening, and he helped chase him away."

At this, William's eyes lit up slightly.

"May I ask you something?"

"Go ahead." Fred nodded.

"When Beker came today, how did you get rid of him?"

"Oh, I simply told him no one was home, and that entering someone's residence without the owner's permission was highly impolite."

"But he's an Enforcer. Enforcers have the right to search private homes." William couldn't believe that tough character would leave so easily.

"He tends to listen when I speak," Fred replied calmly. "I saved his life a few years ago... twice, actually."

"...I understand."

William nodded. "Then you can stay here until District Three is unsealed, but I have one condition."

"What condition?"

"Without my permission, you cannot examine me in any way... the same goes for my brother."

"Agreed." Fred pushed up his silver-rimmed glasses and accepted without hesitation.

When William returned home, he discovered that the original holes had all been patched with wooden boards. Though some wind still leaked through occasionally, it was far better than last night's complete exposure to the elements.

He turned to see Henry with his hands clasped behind his back, head slightly lowered, seemingly waiting for praise.

"Thank goodness for you." William ruffled his hair. "Otherwise, we'd be sleeping under the stars again tonight."

"There are still some gaps that need filling... tomorrow I'll go to the back mountain to get some clay to seal them up." Henry smiled somewhat bashfully.

Fred entered and witnessed this scene, smiling warmly:

"You two really have a wonderful relationship."

"Of course we do," Henry pouted.

"You look quite alike too."

"Do we?" William glanced at Henry. "I suppose so, though we're not blood brothers... but living together for so long, people do tend to grow similar."

"I think we look really alike," Henry replied earnestly.

"By the way, that's your room over there. The conditions are rather modest, I hope you don't mind." William had cleared out the room that once belonged to the Vito couple for Fred.

"No problem at all. I'm not picky."

Henry watched this exchange from the living room, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes.

Next, William personally took to the kitchen to prepare dinner for the three of them. After a day of exhausting work, he was famished. Fortunately, his previous life as a corporate slave had taught him solid cooking skills that served him well even in this other world.

Half an hour later, the hot dishes emerged from the kitchen, their aroma making both Henry and Fred, seated at the table, salivate.

"Mr. William's cooking is excellent," Fred said after tasting the potato slices, unable to hide his admiration. "Better than most restaurants in Aurora City."

"Just William is fine."

While eating, William discretely observed Fred. From his attire and demeanor, he was clearly an intellectual—refined in both speech and manner, giving off an air of gentle sophistication. William had never encountered such bearing in District Three or Two. People from Aurora City truly were different.

Suddenly, William seemed to remember something.

"Dr.Fred."

"Yes?"

"Regarding the Path to Divinity, how much do you know about it?"