The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 375: Departure

The bubbling of boiling water echoed from the kitchen.

"Stay here," Lu Li said to Anna as he rose from the table. She had been watching him the entire time.

The smile vanished from her beautiful face. "I'm going with you. Don't even think you're going alone."

"I'll take you with me, but I need to go to headquarters right now."

He needed to find out what had happened in Tenebrae and the Elm Forest.

"Oh," Anna replied meekly, realizing she had misunderstood him. "When will you be back?"

"Soon."

Pulling his coat from the rack, Lu Li remembered something and said to Anna, "You haven't been in touch with Daisy for a while."

"Daisy..." Anna realized it had indeed been a long time since she had spoken to her friend. To her surprise, she found that she hadn't missed her all that much. Nevertheless, Anna replied, "I'll contact her when I get back."

After all, it was rare for Lu Li to show such concern.Lu Li nodded. The last time Daisy had called was before the incident with the Shadow Puppeteer. She had mentioned that her professor had found a bard's diary and had been acting strangely ever since.

Daisy hadn't called since. Lu Li didn't know if the matter with the professor had been resolved or if something terrible had happened to prevent her from calling. Something like... death.

Click.

Lu Li stepped out, closing the door behind him.

Anna went into the kitchen and poured out half of the boiling water from the pot.

Since they were leaving Belfast in two hours, there was no need to cook dinner.

Placing the pot with the remaining water back on the stove, Anna put on an apron and began to cook, humming quietly to herself.

...

The rain did not penetrate the interior of the Friendship and Love Repair Shop, owned by the Andreis brothers.

The streets had turned into rivers. Water from the upper avenues cascaded down the coastal lanes, rushing toward the beach.

A cloaked figure entered the workshop, undeterred by the foul weather.

"Welcome!"

When the figure lowered their hood, revealing familiar black hair, the attendant recognized Lu Li and offered a friendly smile.

"Is Tesla here?" Lu Li asked, shrugging off his cloak and hanging it on a hook by the door.

"Of course."

"Thanks."

Walking deeper into the workshop, Lu Li produced his Investigator Badge and passed through the mural, emerging in the subterranean chamber.

Tesla, usually the picture of elegance, was sitting in the lounge area by the fireplace, wrapped in a thick animal-hide blanket that made him look like a savage.

"Hello, Lu Li. It's cold today, isn't it?" Tesla murmured, his captivating voice tinged with the rasp of a cold. The tip of his aquiline nose was red.

"Not particularly," Lu Li replied, taking a seat across from him.

Tesla pulled the blanket tighter around himself, sighed, and said, "I used to live deep inland, where cold was just cold. But here, the dampness seeps through your clothes and skin, right into your bones. It's dreadful."

He grumbled about the weather for a moment before getting to the point. "Let me guess why you're here. More trouble?"

Lu Li's endless questions didn't seem to annoy Tesla. On the contrary, he appreciated curiosity in people.

"Do you know what happened in Tenebrae?" Lu Li asked.

Tesla nodded, looking slightly surprised. "I know a few things. Why do you ask?"

"A friend of mine went missing there. I have to find him."

"Now?" Tesla frowned, his gaze suddenly shifting to the side.

An Alliance employee approached and placed a cup of milk in front of Lu Li, though he hadn't ordered anything.

"Everyone here already knows your preferences," Tesla teased.

"Is this the work of the Mother of the Swamp?" Lu Li asked. He had no time for small talk.

Tesla grew serious. "That's the problem. It seems Tenebrae has been cut off from the world by another Evil God."

Zenster was not far from Tenebrae—about 300 kilometers, a distance that could be covered in a day.

So, when news broke that contact with Tenebrae had been lost, the exorcists assumed the Awful Giant had appeared there. However, the teams that arrived on-site found no trace of it. Tenebrae was enveloped in a different, unfamiliar evil aura, distinct from that of the Mother of the Swamp.

According to the available intelligence, a new Evil God has appeared in Tenebrae, while the Mother of the Swamp remains in the neighboring Shadow Swamp.

"That's why there's trouble," Tesla said.

"They're at war," Lu Li finished Tesla's thought.

Receiving Tesla's confirmation, Lu Li asked, "Is this new Evil God connected to the residents of Tenebrae in some way?"

The letter from the figure in the bird-beak mask had vaguely stated that something was wrong with Tenebrae.

And the letter from the other version of the "door" explicitly said that the people of Tenebrae were followers of the Mother of the Swamp.

Either way, Tenebrae had now become the battleground for two Evil Gods.

"Until their conflict ends, that place is a forbidden zone. It's extremely dangerous to approach. Are you still determined to go?"

"Has headquarters issued a bulletin on the Tenebrae incident?" Lu Li's question was his answer.

"Alas... Here, take this," Tesla sighed, handing a piece of parchment to Lu Li.

Lu Li took the still-warm parchment and unfurled it.

[New Event in the Tenebrae Region: Conflict of the Evil Gods]

[Difficulty: High]

[Information Level: 38%]

[Known Information:]

[15%: The Evil God, the Mother of the Swamp, from the Shadow Swamp is in conflict with an unknown Evil God in Tenebrae.]

[10%: The residents of Tenebrae previously worshipped both the unknown Evil God and the Mother of the Swamp.]

[8%: Servants of the Mother of the Swamp have infiltrated Tenebrae from the Shadow Swamp.]

[5%: No survivors have been detected on the streets.]

A high difficulty rating meant this was a mission for an Agent-rank Investigator—someone who had already successfully completed nine missions of varying difficulty.

And Lu Li still needed to complete one more mission to be promoted to Senior Investigator.

"Are you still determined to go?" Tesla asked, his eyes fixed on Lu Li.

Lu Li silently finished reading the report on the parchment and handed it back to Tesla.

"Yes. I made her a promise."

A mixture of pity and admiration filled Tesla's gaze. He sympathized with Lu Li's recklessness but also respected his unshakeable resolve in the face of danger.

"Good luck," Tesla said.

...

Lu Li finished the meat broth and set the bowl on the table.

Anna deftly cleared the table while Lu Li went into the bedroom to take off his shirt and change the bandage on his stomach.

As she washed the dishes, Anna watched him furtively through the pass-through window between the kitchen and the bedroom.

From time to time, as if sensing her gaze, Lu Li would look up, but he only ever saw Anna busy with her chores.

The wound was no longer bleeding. A scab had already formed over the narrow, two-centimeter-long cut. After re-dressing the wound, Lu Li put his shirt back on.

At one in the afternoon, a carriage pulled up to the house. It was Jojo.

"I'm ready. When are we leaving?" Jojo asked, looking at Lu Li expectantly.

"Now."