The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 449: Mistress Marylin

Coastal Town—that was what the locals had called it for centuries.

Over time, the town's true name had been erased from memory. Even official maps marked it simply as "Coastal Town." Perhaps only the royal library of the Kingdom of Ellen still held a record of its original name.

Nestled at the southern foot of the Fallen Leaves Mountains, the Coastal Town was a long way from the Allen Peninsula. At least, as Lu Li's carriage ambled along Coastal Street, not a sliver of land was visible on the horizon.

The closest point of reference to the northeast was the southern Shadow Swamp, nearly a hundred kilometers away.

The Coastal Town had a population of less than four thousand. This was significantly larger than most towns on the Allen Peninsula, but compared to the cities of the mainland, it remained little more than a dot on the map.

Nevertheless, its fame far outstripped that of many larger settlements.

The Coastal Town was a tourist hub. Its mild climate, friendly locals, and proximity to both mountains and sea made it an attractive destination for travelers from all over the continent.

Furthermore, hurricanes rarely reached this far, typically veering around the Allen Peninsula.

With the exception of Hurricane Arthur, which had struck the town just over a month ago. The reason for its appearance remained unknown.

But the worsening environmental situation had not spared this cozy town at the foot of the mountains. The flow of tourists had dwindled, some residents had left their homes, and the streets had grown noticeably quieter.Anna, invisible to the world, sat nestled close to Lu Li, silently taking in the scenery of the Coastal Town. The architecture here was vastly different from that of the Allen Peninsula. She couldn't pinpoint the exact reason for the difference, but she attributed it to cultural peculiarities and the novelty of it all.

And then there were the clean streets and the beautiful white sand beach.

The overcast sky didn't do much to spoil the overall picture. Gulls soared over the shore, and the cries of children playing on the beach mingled with the cool afternoon breeze. The streets weren't empty, but neither were they crowded. A few tourists could be seen among the passersby.

The tranquil Coastal Town seemed untouched by the scourge of anomalies, and Anna was suddenly struck with the desire to settle down here.

Just her and Lu Li.

Suddenly, a gust of wind snatched a promotional poster from a nearby bench. It tumbled through the air, flying straight toward Lu Li's face.

Before Anna's aura could tear it to shreds, Lu Li intercepted the poster and smoothed it out in front of him.

"The Lennon Archipelago—your best choice for a new life, far from the anomalies!"

Beneath the text was an illustration: a young couple walked hand-in-hand toward an island shore dotted with coconut palms. A local phone number and address were listed at the bottom.

It was an advertisement for the Lennon Archipelago.

It seemed news of it had already spread far and wide.

"If it weren't for the one behind all this, Lu Li and I would already be on a ship to the Lennon Archipelago," Anna thought bitterly.

The squeak of bicycle wheels sounded from behind the slow-moving carriage. A postman in a dark green uniform overtook Lu Li and quickly disappeared from sight.

Lu Li shifted his gaze from the poster to the receding figure of the postman.

In Belfast, such a mode of transport was a rarity.

The steep inclines and declines limited bicycle travel to just a few neighboring streets. This impractical vehicle held little appeal for the average citizen, and the wealthier residents preferred carriages anyway.

"Are the Bloody Tentacles here?" Anna asked quietly.

"Yes..." Lu Li replied with uncharacteristic uncertainty. He glanced up for a moment, his eyes scanning the sky over the Coastal Town before sweeping toward the shoreline.

The Bloody Tentacles descending from the clouds above the Coastal Town... split in two. One hung over the rooftops, while the other stretched out toward the sea.

Were they twins? Or were two separate tentacles simply positioned so close together that they created the illusion of one?

Lu Li didn't have the answer, but he was certain he had come to the right place.

Just then, the sound of beating wings came from nearby. Lu Li turned toward the sound and saw a black crow, which, to the surprise of passersby, landed on his outstretched arm.

A small bamboo tube tied to the bird's leg indicated its purpose.

"Bring it some bread," Lu Li said, untying the tube from the crow's leg and pulling out a small note.

The curtain on the carriage's rear window rustled slightly, as if stirred by a phantom breeze.

[Welcome to the beautiful Coastal Town.]

[The spirit exterminator Mistress Marylin resides here. If you, Mr. Exorcist/Investigator/Night's Watch, require assistance, you may find her at the House of Spiritual Divination, 13 Sea Street.]

That was the message written on the time-yellowed slip of paper.

It wasn't a message from the Investigators, but it was something similar. The Exorcist Association also used crows as messengers.

After reading the note, Lu Li returned it to the tube, and the crow promptly soared into the sky. It had been so quiet, it was as if it weren't a real bird at all.

Anna emerged from the carriage, a piece of dry bread in her hand.

"It's gone?"

"Yes," Lu Li answered curtly, tilting his head back slightly to breathe in the air.

A faint odor lingered in the air where the crow had just been, reminiscent of rotten eggs. Or, more precisely, the smell of sulfur.

"Is there a sulfur deposit nearby?" Lu Li wondered, but his thoughts quickly moved on. The Coastal Town was at the foot of the Fallen Leaves Mountains; the presence of minerals in the surrounding forests would be perfectly normal.

Glancing at the house number to his right—68 Sea Street—Lu Li realized the spirit exterminator's house was further down the road.

There was still some time before nightfall. Recalling the contents of the note, Lu Li decided he might as well visit Mistress Marylin before searching for the tentacles. The one hanging over the town had appeared no more than three days ago, and the local exorcist might know something useful.

Taking the reins, Lu Li guided the horse down Sea Street. A few minutes later, he arrived at number 13.

"House of Spiritual Divination," read the sign, painted in an ornate script that resembled a pattern of roses.

Lu Li stopped the carriage by the roadside and, with Anna at his side, stepped into the dark interior.

Candles burned on the floor in various parts of the room. In the center, on a round rug, sat an elderly woman encircled by a ring of lit candles.

The flickering flames cast bizarre shadows across her face. The woman clutched a cloth in her hand, which lay strangely draped over a small stool from which a thin trickle of water was flowing. The water washed over her wrist and dripped into a copper basin placed beneath the stool.

A middle-aged man knelt respectfully outside the circle, his back to Lu Li, as if awaiting some kind of judgment.

To the rhythmic drip of water, the woman surrounded by candles slowly opened her ghostly pale eyes.