The Bizarre Detective Agency Chapter 73

"Phew," the girl in the white dress sniffled, holding back the tears that had welled up in her eyes.

Lu Li hesitated for a moment before continuing, "You can stay here, as long as you don't harm anyone."

As for whether to destroy the two remaining ghosts, Lu Li and Anna were in complete agreement: there was no point, and certainly no need. They weren't bloodthirsty, even when their adversaries were specters. These spirits possessed limited power and were relatively benign, content to hide away in the Haunted House, playing their parts and scaring visitors.

Lu Li's Spirit Gun might have needed sustenance, but he wasn't about to grow stronger through indiscriminate killing.

"We won't, we won't... You can count on it," Mark assured him hurriedly, then quickly changed the subject. "Mr. Exorcist, we're practically your people now, so to speak. Could you perhaps leave us your contact details? Just so we can get in touch in the future, if... you know..."

In response, Lu Li simply held out a business card. Mark took it with both hands, his eyes scanning it quickly before he tucked it away with care.

"Our work here is done. It's time to go," Lu Li announced, turning to leave.

He turned to Anna. "Where's the note?"

"What note?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Weren't you the one looking for them? Why would I have them? You're being silly," Anna declared, planting her hands on her hips with a completely straight face.

Lu Li calmly shifted his gaze to Mark. "Sir, would you be so kind as to show us the way out?"

"Of course, of course! Mr. Exorcist, Miss Anna, and, er..."

"My assistant."

"Ah, yes, and the assistant. Please, right this way," Mark said, his face breaking into a wide grin. He scurried ahead to lead them. The girl in the white dress and the twisted shadow trailed timidly behind.

Stepping out of a side exit, they traded the dim glow of oil lamps for an equally overcast sky. A cool breeze swept away the stale, stuffy air of the Haunted House.

Standing under the awning of the Haunted House, Lu Li surveyed his surroundings. The rain was falling just as steadily as when they'd arrived; they hadn't been inside for long. Through the misty curtain of the downpour, the park was a blur of indistinct shapes.

This was just a temporary reprieve. Soon, the rain would begin to fall even harder.

A pudgy, trembling hand holding a cigar entered his line of sight.

"I don't smoke," Lu Li said.

"Oh," Mark mumbled, hastily withdrawing the cigar. He sheepishly plucked an unlit one from his own mouth as well.

A sudden, bone-deep chill radiated from Mark's direction. Anna was hovering right behind him, her breathing quickening as the cold intensified around her. If it weren't for her adorable pout, she might have actually looked menacing.

"Well? Where's our prize?" Having failed to find a single note, Anna was still determined to collect her reward for completing the attraction.

"Ah? Right, right away!" Mark caught on instantly and scurried over to the prize counter. He returned clutching three plush toys, each in a paper bag.

"The Haunted House doesn't bring in much, so the prize is a little... modest. I hope you can understand, Miss Anna. I'll be sure to have something better for you next time."

"Hmph," Anna huffed, crossing her arms and turning her head away.

Playing her part as the assistant, JoJo stepped forward to take the three toys. Lu Li reached out, took one of the bags from her, and placed the stone mask inside.

With the prizes in hand, the trio had no reason to linger. They opened their umbrellas and stepped out into the rain. One man and two ghosts remained under the awning, watching as the three figures slowly faded into the downpour. The faint strains of their conversation drifted back.

"It's like something out of a dream... To think that exorcists are real..."

"Well... you've all become ghosts. Shouldn't the existence of exorcists seem normal?"

"Right, let's head back inside. Ugh... we're short two staff members now. I'm worried we won't be able to manage once the rainy season is over..."

In stark contrast to her excitement on the way there, Anna was now dejected. Her dream of a joyous day at the park hadn't quite materialized.

"You've never been here before, have you?" Lu Li asked, noticing her mood.

Anna floated beside him, pouting. "No one ever brought me," she muttered. "It's no fun to come alone, so..."

"I see," Lu Li said with a quiet nod. "We'll come back again, once the weather clears up."

"I-I don't need your pity," Anna grumbled, her irritation a clear attempt to mask her embarrassment.

"Alright, then," Lu Li replied, taking a step away.

???

The air felt cool—perhaps it was the rain, or perhaps it was Anna.

After taking a carriage to the client's place and collecting his fee, Lu Li dropped JoJo off at her academy before returning to the detective agency with Anna. A few minutes later, he emerged again, a thousand shillings in hand.

The time had come to learn the truth about this world from Gades.

Jingle-jingle-jingle-jingle.

The bell on the door swung wildly as wind and rain burst into the open tavern—or rather, the detective agency.

Creak.

As the door shut, the frantic jingling slowly subsided. The agency was darker than usual. From behind the counter, illuminated by a single oil lamp, a pair of eyes fell upon him.

Gades looked as carefree and indolent as ever. Perhaps Lu Li, with his incessant questions, was his only client these days.

Lu Li ignored Gades's customary greeting—the fourth or fifth of its kind he'd heard—and pulled the stone mask from the paper bag, setting it on the counter.

"What is this? Is it related to the Spirit Gun?"

"What the hell, do you take me for an appraiser..."

"I have the thousand shillings," Lu Li cut in, reaching into his coat and pulling out a thick wad of 100- and 50-shilling notes.

"My dear friend, you've hit the nail on the head. It does indeed share a common origin with the Spirit Gun... May I have a look?"

"You may," Lu Li said, ignoring the sudden shift in Gades's tone.

Rustle.

Gades lifted the stone mask from the bag. As his fingers made contact, a faint, ghostly aura seemed to breathe from it.

He squinted slightly, and in the lamplight, the shadows of his eye sockets deepened. "Its aura is very faint... quite an ancient piece... Yes, this is an Anomaly, too."

"An Anomaly?"

"For a thousand shillings, that bit of information comes free," Gades grinned, flashing a gold tooth. Lu Li noticed he had one more than the last time they'd met.

"The Spirit Gun, the stone mask—they can all be classified as Anomalies. If you plan on staying in this line of work, you'll be running into them often. 'Anomaly' is just the term we use in our circle. There's a lot of disagreement on terminology here in Belfast, and even more so beyond it. There's no single, unified name for them."

"I want to know what they are."

"That's related to what you're about to ask next," Gades chuckled, his eyes drifting to the wad of cash in Lu Li's hand. "Unless, of course, you've changed your mind."

The kerosene in the lamp was running low, and the flame sputtered. In the flickering light, Gades's eyes tracked the movement of the bills. The wad of cash landed on the counter, and then a pair of long fingers slid it toward him.

"Now, tell me everything I want to know," came Lu Li's steady voice.

"What is it that hides in the dark?"