The Bizarre Detective Agency Chapter 84

The investigation was over.

There was no reward, no gain. The client herself had perished in the fire. Still, she had been reunited with her family before the flames consumed everything.

The carriage wheels rumbled over the uneven cobblestone street, breaking the silence of the deep night. The lights in the windows on either side of the road grew more frequent, as if surfacing from eternally dark depths to a calm, clear surface.

The oppressive feeling brought on by the darkness gradually receded. It was an intangible, elusive sensation, but as the surroundings grew brighter, the two men and the ghost, Anna, all felt a definite sense of relief.

Gades, sitting beside him, sighed incessantly, mostly because he had wasted his time. Lu Li sat next to him, lost in thought.

Lu Li had noticed something that the lamenting Gades had missed.

If the family of three had died last night, then who was the woman who had tearfully called Marcus asking for help?

The ghost of the lady of the house? Or someone else?

Lu Li turned his head. The carriage was moving away from Oak Street. But the flames rising from it were clearly visible even from two streets away, like a giant torch in the night.

— What is that Black Branch?

Turning away from the window, Lu Li asked Gades, who was sitting beside him.

— It's just what you think. An Anomaly. Weaker than a Spirit Gun, but with fewer side effects, — Gades answered, momentarily pulling himself from his gloomy thoughts. He looked exhausted.

— You have another pile of questions, don't you? — Suddenly, Gades's gaze turned sharp before Lu Li could say a word.

Lu Li simply gave a nod, seeing no need for words.

— If I'd known, I wouldn't have come, — Gades sighed, loud enough for it to be an intentional complaint. — No money, a dead client, and now I have to hand out answers for free.

— What is an Anomaly? — Lu Li asked, pretending not to notice Gades's sarcasm.

— I think I've told you already... alright, fine, it's easy enough to explain anyway. An Anomaly is an object that's been contaminated by the aura of the In-Between and has become unusual. Of course, this contamination can also be induced artificially, like with our Spirit Guns.

— Are there many Anomalies?

— Not too many, not too few. For people like us, who are always dealing with ghosts, there's always a chance of stumbling upon one. Your Anomaly Mask is also an Anomaly, didn't I tell you? You could try to figure out how to use it.

Lu Li had thought about this as well. The increased power of the Spirit Gun was obvious, and Lu Li had yet to unlock the special properties of the first rose. But the side effects were also quite tangible: its exorbitant cost, and the way it was irreversibly binding his very being to the In-Between.

First, fifty shillings a bullet. Every shot Lu Li fired was equivalent to four days of living expenses for a family of three. Second, Lu Li had recently started to notice that his hands and feet would grow cold in his sleep. He had been monitoring his diet carefully, so it clearly wasn't due to poor nutrition or the climate.

— Is there any risk?

— Of course there is. Anomalies are like Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans: you never know what you're gonna get next. — Gades's lamp flickered. He lifted it, gave it a shake, and discovering a loose valve, tightened it. Once he was satisfied the flame was burning steadily, he continued, — You can sense an object's aura to determine if it's dangerous or not, but that's not always accurate. Most Anomalies are very good at disguising themselves.

— Do they have consciousness? — Lu Li picked up on the word "disguising".

— Pfft, of course not. Well, maybe some do, but I've never come across one, — Gades said with a dismissive wave and a smirk. — Don't worry, it was just a figure of speech. There is one way, though: you could find someone else to put it on... just don't tell anyone I said that.

— How do you use them?

— If you want to know how to use an Anomaly properly, you can usually judge by its appearance. Like with the Spirit Gun: you just pull the trigger. For example, that Anomaly Mask you brought is obviously meant to be worn on your face.

— Not necessarily, — Lu Li said suddenly.

Gades was taken aback, then burst out laughing. — You're right, judging by appearance isn't always reliable. An Anomaly Mask doesn't necessarily have to go on your face. Who knows, maybe your mask belonged to some weirdo who wanted to wear it on his ass.

Ignoring Gades's crude comparison, Lu Li continued: — What's the ability of your Black Branch?

— It lets me temporarily take on the aura of the In-Between. Though, I don't think that was its original purpose, — Gades said, pulling out the black branch to show Lu Li. It was covered in horrifying bite marks. — I've tried planting it, watering it, throwing it in a fire... by the way, this branch wasn't originally black.

Lu Li nodded thoughtfully. — I've been thinking about something.

— Think all you want, just don't ask me about it. I hate the word "free," — Gades said, the reluctance written all over his face.

— Can ghosts get stronger too? — Lu Li asked.

Though he'd said he didn't want to answer, Gades replied anyway with a shrug. — And why not? Many Vengeful Spirits get that way by killing other ghosts or the living. You want to power up your little ghost, Anna?

Lu Li didn't answer. Then he noticed Gades open his mouth as if to say something, but for some reason, he remained silent. He glanced toward the back of the carriage, hidden by a curtain.

— I'll drop by your detective agency sometime, — Lu Li said, as if he understood what Gades had intended to say.

— Mmm, — Gades suddenly fell silent, and quiet settled over the carriage.

After fifteen minutes of silence, the carriage pulled up to Gades's detective agency. He gave a wave goodbye and got out.

With a flick of the reins, Lu Li guided the horses toward his own detective agency.

— That man... he looks strange, but he seems quite friendly, — Anna spoke up after a long silence. She didn't like to appear before strangers and was a little afraid of exorcists.

— Yes, — Lu Li agreed.

Half an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of Lu Li's house on Sailor Street. Lu Li hopped down, tilting an umbrella over his head as if preparing for Anna to emerge.

Anna, however, paid him no mind. She passed through the wall of the carriage and the house, returning to the detective agency.

Being incorporeal meant doing whatever you pleased.

Lu Li tied up the horse, took the lamp, and walked to the door.

Just before entering, Lu Li lowered his head and saw a newspaper clipping wedged in a crack between the cobblestones in front of the door. It was almost soaked through from the rain.

Lu Li gave it a quick glance and went inside.

The door closed slowly behind him. The newspaper remained on the ground, the letters on it gradually blurring.

[This message... anywhere... You see... Means... Now... not real. Your... condition... bad...]

[Don't be fooled..!]