The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 573: The Gift

The people gathered at the door fell back in alarm.

Aware of the high status and mysterious nature of exorcists, they didn't try to pressure Lu Li or appeal to his conscience, instead asking timidly for help. Anna almost wished they had been more forceful—then she would have had an outlet for her anger, rather than this awkward helplessness as she tried to shield Lu Li from their persistent pleas.

“The situation in the capital is more complicated than you think,” Avalan Montes interjected, fearing a confrontation between Lu Li and the crowd. “There are thousands of exorcists in the city. Even if Lu Li agrees to help, it won’t change a thing.”

“Lu Li is worth more than all of them combined,” Anna retorted coldly.

For a moment, Avalan Montes thought he heard his Mind Level counter crackle. He gave a bitter chuckle. “Of course. I only meant that Lu Li can’t look after the entire city on his own...”

He already knew who Lu Li was—the man who had heralded the fall of an evil god. He didn't consider it an exaggeration, even if there were exorcists in the capital who were stronger than Lu Li.

“If it is within my power, I will help.”

A calm voice drifted from the bedroom. Anna, who had been blocking the doorway, stepped aside, revealing Lu Li in a wheelchair.

In other words, Lu Li didn't believe he could fulfill their request. “The situation in the capital is unclear. Besides, the people from the caravan outside the gates need help more than the city dwellers.”

Their request denied, the people returned downstairs in disappointment.The suffering of others brought them a mix of sympathy and relief. Though their own pleas had gone unanswered, they knew that countless others were stranded outside the capital's sealed gates, shivering in the biting wind. The thought was a small, grim comfort.

“Mama, tell me a story,” a little girl named Angela whispered, snuggling against her mother in a corner of the hut.

The living room grew quiet once more. The woman stroked her daughter’s back and began to speak in a soft voice. “Once, there lived a husband and a wife. They loved each other dearly, and even after many years, their love hadn't faded... A holiday was drawing near. The wife, whose name was Della, wanted to give her husband a present, but they were so poor they couldn't afford anything of worth...”

...

“I won’t disturb you any longer,” Avalan Montes said with a slight bow to Lu Li and Anna, before heading back to the attic to resume his watch over the farm.

Anna closed the door, wheeled the chair over to the warm fireplace, and draped a blanket that had slipped to the floor over Lu Li’s legs.

“I want to go take a look,” she said, kneeling in front of Lu Li and smoothing the folds of the blanket.

Anna looked up, and her hood slid back a little, revealing her beautiful yet ethereal face.

“Why?” Lu Li asked. This wasn't like her.

“Because you want to help them.”

Lu Li watched her in silence. He opened his mouth to speak, but Anna placed her cold, weightless hand on his. “You stay here.”

It was as if she were answering his unasked question. “I’m just like them. It will be easier for me to approach them, to earn their trust...”

“Be careful,” Lu Li said.

Anna gave a faint smile, stood, and placed the Beacon beside Lu Li. Then she took off her cloak. “If I’m not back in an hour, don’t come looking for me. Get out of here as fast as you can. The farther away you go, the better.”

“Alright.”

In his current state, worse off than any ordinary person, going there himself would only be asking for trouble.

Anna vanished into thin air. A moment later, Lu Li felt a faint coolness on his forehead, though it might have just been his imagination.

No one noticed her departure, not even the other exorcists at the farm.

...

“...Mama, what happened next?” little Angela asked as the door creaked open for a moment, letting in a gust of wind and its howling sound, which roused a few of the sleepers.

The woman smiled and continued, “To buy her husband a present, Della sold her magnificent hair, hair so beautiful it would have put any queen to shame. With the money, she bought a handsome chain for his watch. It was the perfect complement to the gold watch that had been in his family for generations. Then, one morning...”

The woman’s voice grew softer and softer, and the hand stroking her daughter's back stilled. Angela had fallen asleep.

Midnight drew near. Worn out from the long day's journey, most of the people had forgotten their fears and drifted off to sleep. Only a few of the elderly and some women remained awake, sitting by the window to watch the men who periodically patrolled the yard.

The bonfire was burning down faster than expected. It wasn’t the strong wind, but the frightened people, who kept tossing too much wood onto the flames. The exorcists had to take control, rationing the wood to thirty pounds every half hour. That should be enough to last until dawn, with about a hundred pounds to spare. The few pounds of coal they had were sufficient to keep everyone in the house and barn warm. As a last resort, there were still bales of hay in the barn that could be burned, though most had already been pulled apart and spread over the cold ground for bedding.

In the quiet, an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

In the bedroom on the second floor, Lu Li glanced at the alarm clock beside the lamp. The minute hand had made a full rotation since Anna left.

But Anna hadn’t returned.

Lu Li tossed aside the blanket and, as slowly as an old man, rose from his wheelchair. He left the room and made his way to the attic.

“Your legs... Are you planning to leave the farm?” Avalan Montes instinctively reached out to steady Lu Li, whose movements were unsteady, but Lu Li’s next word stunned him.

“Yes.”

Avalan Montes glanced toward the stairs behind Lu Li. “And your assistant?”

“She stepped away for a moment.”

“Stepped away? When... Ahem. But it’s dangerous outside, and you’re in no condition to go anywhere.”

Avalan Montes tried to talk him out of it, but to no avail. He then asked if Lu Li needed help, and after being refused again, he simply escorted him to the door. He and his companions watched as Lu Li, holding nothing but a single lamp, walked slowly but resolutely into the fog-shrouded darkness.

Toward Ellen, the royal capital.

...

“Mama, what happened next in the story?” Angela asked as the door creaked open again for a moment.

The woman smiled and went on, “So, Della sold her hair and bought the watch chain. Her husband, Jim, wanted to give her a gift as well. He remembered her beautiful hair and wanted to buy her a set of combs, but they were far too expensive. To raise the money, Jim sold his priceless gold watch and bought the combs.”

“On the day of the holiday, they exchanged the most heartfelt, and the most useless, of gifts: a chain for a watch that was no more, and combs for hair that was gone. Each had sacrificed their most treasured possession to give a gift to the other.”

“How silly...” Angela murmured, chewing on her fingernail.

The woman gently stroked Angela’s head and pulled her into a hug. “That isn’t foolishness, my dear. It’s love. When you’re older, you’ll understand.”