The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 251: A Verbal Spar with Lu Li

“That’s why I’m demanding 1,500 shillings,” Lu Li stated calmly.

Gades adopted a pathetic, helpless tone. “You’ve dealt with the Traders; you know a Spirit Gun costs 500 shillings. If I give you back 1,500, I won’t make a single shilling.”

Lu Li remained impassive, stating the facts. “I can't speak for others, but you bought that Spirit Gun on sale for 350 shillings. You sold it to me for 2,000, and with one bullet instead of three.”

Gades looked flustered. “I’d like to think our relationship isn’t something you can put a price on...”

Lu Li’s gaze dropped, his voice chillingly devoid of emotion. “Keep talking, and I might just start tallying up what I paid for the bullets.”

From the Traders, silver bullets were only 20 shillings—and that was with the standard discount on basic equipment.

Gades’s expression grew even more sheepish, and he finally let out a defeated sigh.

“Fine... What’s a man to do? I believe in you, after all. Wait here, I'll go upstairs and get the money.” Gades sighed again, shuffled out from behind the counter, and, under Lu Li's unwavering stare, climbed the creaking, dust-caked stairs into the gloom of the second floor. A door groaned open and then shut, and silence descended.

Lu Li looked away, resting his hands on the counter as he waited.

For Gades to return. Or not....

Shuffling...

The sound of frantic searching emanated from a cluttered room, a space crammed with oddities and wooden crates.

Gades was on his knees before a large chest, his head and shoulders plunged inside as he rummaged around. Finally, the racket ceased, and he pulled out a small coffer—a perfect miniature of the chest itself.

Gades tucked the coffer inside his coat, closed the chest, and locked it with an absurd thirteen locks. He stepped out into the corridor, pulling the door shut behind him.

A plaque on the door read “Storeroom.” Gades secured it with a staggering twenty-three locks, patted the coffer hidden in his coat, and returned to his bedroom.

After closing the door without a sound, Gades spun around and scurried to his nightstand, yanking open the drawer.

The drawer was filled with gleaming gold bars.

Gades picked up one ingot and tossed it onto the bed. Weighing a pound or two, it sank into the quilt. After a moment's thought, he placed it back on the nightstand, setting it at a slight angle to make it look less staged.

These “gold ingots” were fakes, custom-made to Gades’s specifications. A layer of gold paint covered a thin shell of hard clay—firm enough to take a tooth mark—with a solid iron bar at the core. Each one cost him 12 shillings, or 9 if bought in bulk. More than convincing enough to pass for the real thing.

Gades kept them as a defense against thieves. Any robber finding the ingots would instinctively focus on the nightstand, then gleefully make off with as many of the heavy iron bars as they could carry.

Meanwhile, his truly valuable possessions would be left untouched.

But thanks to his special status as an exorcist and the decent security in the district, the decoy had never been needed. Until today.

Even so, Gades felt a pang of regret.

“Let's just call these few dozen shillings compensation for the kid,” Gades muttered, pressing a hand to his chest as he walked to the window on the far side of the bed. He slid the window open and, with considerable effort, hauled his out-of-shape body through the opening, swinging a leg over the sill to plant his foot on the roof tiles.

“I'll just slip away and wait out this little storm. An Investigator is always busy. He can’t watch me forever. Then I’ll come back...”

“And where will you go?” a clear voice piped up beside him.

“An excellent question. I've done favors for many wealthy men, including several down-on-their-luck nobles. I'm sure they wouldn't mind putting me up for a—”

His words caught in his throat. Gades turned his head with painstaking slowness, back toward the open window where the voice had originated.

Hovering in the air just outside was a girl in a white dress.

Gades grimaced. “Does that kid really drag you along everywhere?”

“Yup,” Anna replied proudly, planting her hands on her hips.

...

Clomp-clomp-clomp...

A series of quick, somewhat clumsy footsteps clattered down the stairs. Gades came stumbling into view, with Anna floating calmly behind him, arms crossed.

Anna lifted her chin, looking smug. “Just as you thought. He was trying to make a run for it.”

“I was just checking the roof for leaks while I was getting your money,” Gades sputtered. “The real rainy season is about to start, you know.”

The rainy season had technically begun some time ago, but so far the showers had been light. The real rainy season would bring torrential downpours, relentless rains that could last for days, or even weeks.

Anna gave him a contemptuous look, unimpressed by his flimsy excuse. “And do you normally check for leaks while clutching a money box?”

Gades suddenly clutched at his chest, his eyes darting warily toward Anna.

“When does the real rainy season start?”

The voice came suddenly from behind her. Anna spun around in disbelief, meeting a pair of dark eyes. Had Lu Li actually fallen for Gades's excuse?!

A flicker of hope ignited in Gades’s eyes, and he quickly elaborated, “I remember you’re not from around here. The rainy season on the Allen Peninsula isn’t what you might be used to. I’m talking about deluges that can last for days, even weeks. This current overcast weather and these light showers? That’s not even the appetizer. It's just a cup of coffee before the storm really hits.”

This was news to Lu Li, and apparently to Anna as well. It stood to reason that if the real rainy season was imminent, Lu Li, who hadn’t stocked up on supplies, would be in a difficult position.

“We care more about the money than the rainy season,” Anna cut in, refusing to let Gades distract Lu Li. She steered the conversation back on topic. “And you look pretty rich. If we take all your money... well, then we’d have a lot of money!”

Putting aside the question of the rainy season, Lu Li fell into thought.

He did, in fact, need a great deal of money. And as it happened, Gades had a great deal of money.

“How could you?!” Gades’s eyes bulged, his face flushing red. “This is illegal! I’ll call the police!”

“The police have little control over Investigators,” Lu Li replied flatly.

Gades clutched the coffer to his chest and shrieked, “I’ll kill anyone who touches my money!”

An icy chill suddenly erupted from Anna, and a black, almost tangible shadow unfurled from behind her, radiating a deeply unsettling aura.

Anna’s voice was like ice. “Go on, try. Let’s see who’s faster.”

“My apologies, I misspoke. Fifteen hundred shillings. You can have them right now,” Gades surrendered instantly, trembling under the oppressive weight of her presence. Terror swam in his downcast eyes.

Lu Li had allowed this ghost's power to approach the level of a vengeful spirit... Wasn’t he afraid she’d kill him in his sleep?

Under the intense stares of Lu Li and Anna, Gades moved like a decrepit old man, slowly producing the coffer and unlocking it. Then, his movements suddenly became a blur. He flipped open the lid, snatched out the money, snapped the coffer shut, and his motions slowed to a crawl once more.

It was as if the preceding flurry of motion had been nothing but an illusion.