The Bizarre Detective Agency Chapter 34

The translucent specter drifted gracefully onto the sofa, settling into an aristocratic pose. It wasn't quite perfect, but it was more than enough to fool Lu Li.

Seated at his desk, Lu Li calmly recounted the events that had transpired since dawn.

After a few moments, Anna began to feel awkward. Since she couldn't interact with physical objects, the sensation of sitting was nothing more than an illusion. She floated back over to the desk.

"And so, I brought your painting and the sculpture back to the agency," Lu Li concluded.

Leaning closer to Lu Li in the lamplight, a faint blush colored Anna's delicate, doll-like face. Her clear eyes sparkled as if holding a thousand stars, conveying a silent message:

"So... you bought me?"

"Strictly speaking, it was to settle a debt," Lu Li replied, either oblivious to or simply ignoring the charged atmosphere.

"I thought you might want to return to the gallery."

"Not really," Anna replied, her mood shifting in an instant. Realizing she had drifted too close to Lu Li, she pulled back toward the edge of the desk. It was hard to tell if the lamplight or something else was making her cheeks glow red.

Anna seemed completely unaware that she herself was one of those "terrifying ghosts."

"I've already dealt with the ghosts at the gallery. It's safe now," Lu Li replied, predictably.

Anna took this to mean that Lu Li didn't want her around. She lowered her head, her face falling into shadow, hiding her expression. A quiet, stifled sob could be heard.

Lu Li's expression remained impassive. "No... I mean, you can stay here."

Anna timidly raised her head.

"But I may need your help in the future. To put it simply, I'm hiring you. And the work of an exorcist, as you know, is fraught with danger."

"Will I get a salary?" Anna asked cautiously.

"No."

"Why?!"

"Can you spend money?"

"N-no... probably not..."

"Then what would you need money for?"

"Oh... right..."

After Lu Li's logical breakdown, Anna had to admit that demanding a salary was perhaps a bit much.

Lu Li leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk and steepling his fingers before his lips, contemplating how best to utilize Anna's assistance.

Even with a new ghostly staff member at the agency, he had no intention of changing his ways. Lu Li valued his freedom and disliked setting rules, especially not forcing Anna into blind obedience.

"First, I want to apologize for bringing you here without asking for your consent. That was my mistake."

"Oh, it's alright..." Anna mumbled, embarrassed, scratching the back of her neck as Lu Li spoke.

"I don't like unnecessary hassle or complicated rules, so I won't restrict you. You're free to stay here or go elsewhere, to do as you please—as long as it's not illegal. I would advise against straying too far, though. There are many exorcists like me in the world, but not all of them are as reasonable." Lu Li watched her calmly, paying no mind to her reaction as he continued, "When a new case comes up, I'll ask if you want to participate; I won't force you. In other words, you're free. If I weren't concerned you might get into trouble, I wouldn't care what you did. So, what do you say?"

It took a dozen seconds for Anna to process what he'd said, as if waking from a dream. "Is... is that really okay?"

"I may have taken your painting, but this isn't a master-servant relationship," Lu Li said, leaning back in his chair. "Think of us more like roommates, forced to live together by circumstance, who just haven't gotten to know each other yet."

"Living together..." Anna murmured, latching onto that particular phrase and, as teenage girls often do, imbuing it with a meaning all its own.

Ultimately, the arrangement was mutually beneficial. Anna got what she wanted: new experiences and a chance to continue her existence. Lu Li got a ghostly assistant, free of charge.

A mutually beneficial partnership. With the question of Anna's residence settled, only a few questions about ghosts remained.

"Do you feel any restrictions related to the painting?"

Anna gave a hesitant nod, then shook her head. "That's a bit too vague."

"Let me be more specific. Can you only appear after dark?"

"I think I can appear during the day, but I've never tried... There were always staff and visitors at the gallery, and I didn't want to frighten them."

"Does daylight or bright light cause you any harm?"

"Bright light doesn't, but daylight... I don't know. I've only ever appeared at night."

"How long can you stay outside the painting?"

"Usually the whole night. By morning, I get tired and return to the frame to rest."

"Tired?"

"It feels like I need to sleep, just like when I was alive."

"And when you rest?"

"It's like sleeping. When I wake up, the fatigue is completely gone."

"So, aside from a reversed sleep-wake cycle, you're not much different from a living person?"

"Mm... I suppose so."

"Can you use any abilities?"

"Huh? What kind of abilities?"

"The special abilities ghosts have. Like Asina's... entrail attack. Or how Ruth could turn invisible and cause a ruckus."

"I think you're getting me mixed up with Daisy... Alright, let me try."

*Pop*

"Oh, I did it!"

"Next time, try it on an empty glass. The water will ruin the floorboards."

"Oh."

"So your ability is a form of telekinesis."

"What's telekinesis?"

"Literally, mind over matter. The ability to move objects with your thoughts."

"Ooooh~"

*Scraaaape*

"Ugh... huff... This chair is so heavy!"

"So you can only manage to budge a chair for now?"

"Yeah..."

"Not bad. Does using your ability drain you at all? Make you tired?"

"I think so. I feel a little tired."

"And when you get tired, you go back into the painting to rest?"

"Yep!"

For the moment, the questions were over. Anna asked a few of her own, like what an exorcist was and why Lu Li's pistol could harm ghosts.

At two in the morning, Lu Li sent Anna back into her painting to rest, telling her to try emerging during the day to see if ghosts could be active in the light.

Once Anna had returned to the painting, silence settled over the detective agency once more. The sculpture by the door remained motionless, still not having awakened. Was it because it had been removed from the gallery, or was there some other reason?

Time passed.

At five in the morning, the sky began to pale, and the first few pedestrians appeared on the street below.

At some point, Anna drifted out of the painting. Drawn by the view from the window, she floated over and brushed her fingers against the thin curtain.

The bustle of the cobblestone street below flooded Anna's senses. For a moment, she felt as if she were alive again, no longer a creature of the night.

She turned slowly and looked at the figure sitting at the desk.

"Good morning, Anna," he said calmly.