The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 194: Always Together

[You've received my letter]

[You mentioned there might be a way to solve my problem with my Mind Level, and it's something I desperately need. Now that you have this letter, I hope you're doing well and can come to Belfast as soon as possible.]

[I'll be waiting for you here.]

[Lu Li]

Lu Li, as always, was direct and concise.

He folded the letter, sealed the envelope, and handed it to the postman with 10 shillings for delivery.

The postman affixed a stamp, pressed a wax seal onto the envelope, said his goodbyes, and left the house.

Click.

The door closed.

Anna appeared beside him and asked impatiently, "But they're fictional, aren't they?""That's why I'm trying. On the off chance they actually exist for some reason," Lu Li replied, returning to his desk to put away his pen.

"They're my only hope of restoring my Mind Level."

Anna stammered, "Th-then... did Tesla agree to let you stay?"

Her voice sounded strange.

"He didn't refuse."

Perhaps it was due to Lu Li's persistence, or maybe because he had only just become a trainee investigator, but Tesla decided to drop the subject for the time being.

But the moment Lu Li showed any sign of ill health, Tesla would force him into retirement.

He'd even hinted at it, telling Lu Li about the pension for retired investigators: the same minimum weekly salary as a trainee—350 shillings—adjusted for the cost of living.

Lu Li wasn't planning on retiring yet, at least not until he got the information he needed and earned enough money.

The arrival of the postman and the matter of Remi and her brother had cut Anna off. She didn't know how to resume her attempts to dissuade Lu Li, so she simply changed her line of questioning. "I remember that trainee investigators have to solve a case to become fully certified, so you're..."

"Yes. I'll be preparing for it."

"But that's dangerous!" After calming down slightly, Anna lost control of her emotions again. She suddenly lunged, trying to snatch the Spirit Gun from Lu Li's belt.

Lu Li pushed off lightly with his feet, and his chair slid back until it bumped against the bookshelf.

Dodging Anna's sudden lunge, Lu Li looked at her. "I know my limits. I won't overuse it."

"You're already overusing it!"

"That's how I know my limits."

As usual, Anna was at a loss for words, unable to counter his seemingly logical yet infuriatingly sly arguments.

"Like Tesla, I just don't understand why you're doing this..." A deep sorrow filled Anna's eyes—the same sorrow he had seen when she, still trapped in her portrait, had learned of her mother's death.

Lu Li nodded. "I can explain part of it. You know my goal is to understand just how dire the world's situation is, how much time we have left, and then prepare accordingly. We have to act, not just wait for everything we need to magically appear on our doorstep."

"But you're just one man! Saving the world should be the job of those damn councilors and some stupid organization!"

Anna's anger flared unexpectedly. She completely forgot her manners, shouting and cursing at Lu Li like a common ruffian, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Why! Why won't any of you just do what you can, instead of always chasing the impossible, taking on things that are beyond you? You're just like her! Just like my mother! You're all fools!"

Tears poured from her eyes, but they vanished without a trace as they rolled down her cheeks and touched the floor.

She covered her face with her hands and began to sob, releasing all the emotions she had bottled up since her death.

"I... I don't want to lose anyone else..."

A bitter chill radiated from Anna as her aura began to shift.

"Calm down, Anna." Sensing something was wrong, Lu Li stood and watched the girl hiding her face in her hands. "It's not as bad as all that. It just seems the Mind Level is non-recoverable."

Lu Li's attempts to reason with her were useless.

"I won't take any risks unless I'm sure of success."

Those words seemed to work. The chill radiating from Anna stopped spreading.

But Lu Li didn't know what else to say. Maybe if he left her alone for a while to calm down, she'd come to her senses?

So Lu Li walked around the weeping girl, glanced at the drizzle outside, grabbed an umbrella from by the door, and left.

Click.

The door closed behind him.

...

The signs of the recent hurricane seemed to have vanished completely.

Sailor Street was once again filled with its usual bustle. The wreckage of collapsed homes had been cleared away, and new wooden or sturdier stone buildings were going up in their place.

Children ran through the street in the rain, some faces familiar, others new. They shouted greetings to every adult they passed as they dashed across the cobblestones.

It was the first time Lu Li had left the house without a specific destination in mind. The feeling was a little unsettling, so he simply kept walking forward.

He found himself at a noisy market without realizing it. Watching the crowds and hearing the merchants' cries, Lu Li suddenly recalled that Anna seemed to enjoy cooking.

Maybe cooking would lift her spirits?

...

Click.

Lu Li put the keys under the doormat and entered the detective agency.

A faint smell of damp wood hung in the agency's quiet air.

Lu Li set down the wet umbrella, closed the door, and went into the living room.

The blanket on the bed was mounded up, as if someone were hiding underneath.

"Did you get a body?" Lu Li asked.

The mounded blanket didn't stir.

"I brought food," Lu Li said.

The blanket twitched, but there was no answer.

"Are we cooking tonight?" Lu Li asked again.

Rustle.

The mound of blankets fell still for a few seconds, then rustled again. A head peeked out from underneath, followed by a sniffle.

"We will."

Half an hour later.

A pot of hot soup was placed on the table.

Anna looked downcast, her eyes red and swollen. She sat down across from Lu Li.

"When you go on your case..." she mumbled, her voice thick and nasal from crying.

Lu Li ladled soup into a wooden bowl. "I don't know yet. I have to wait for the investigators to assign a case, but I imagine it will be soon."

"What can I do?"

"Help me."

Her fists tightening beneath the table, Anna nodded. "I'll help."

Lu Li raised a spoonful of soup, but immediately lowered it back into the bowl. "Where did you get the salt?"

"From that round jar... is something wrong...?"

"Nothing."

After dinner, things seemed to return to normal, except that Anna was a little awkward around Lu Li.

Night fell. A lamp was lit in the detective agency, and Lu Li lay down on the sofa, ready to rest.

A moment later, Anna's voice drifted from the bedroom.

"Lu Li?"

"What?"

"Are you asleep?"

"I don't talk in my sleep."

"You won't leave me, will you?"

"No."

"Will we always be together?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"I never lie."