The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 637: The Safest Place

"Haaa..." Jimmy breathed out a puff of steam at the entrance. The cold on the gloomy clifftop made him hunch his shoulders, and without a second thought, he retreated back into the hut, pulling the door shut.

"I'll catch a cold... I'm definitely going to catch a cold..." Huddling under a blanket, he pressed himself against the stove and rubbed his nearly numb nose.

"But you're an anomaly," Remi remarked with a hint of reproach from her spot by the window, where she was reading. An anomaly being afraid of the cold sounded like a bad joke.

"This anomaly gets cold," Jimmy shivered. Though he knew he wasn't human, he loved to emphasize the fact, just like any braggart.

"Fine, stay by the stove. I'm going to see Adamfiya."

Adamfiya needed company. Lu Li and Anna were too busy, so that left only Remi.

"Don't open it!" Jimmy cried out, but it was too late. His sister had already swung the door open. An icy wind blasted inside, causing the flames in the stove to waver and Jimmy's shadow to jerk on the wall.

Remi, who had opened the door on purpose, laughed and went out, leaving her brother to shiver by the slowly steadying stove.

At the entrance to the neighboring hut, Remi knocked. "Madam Adamfiya, are you awake?"

Creak...The damp-swollen door scraped across the floor with a groan. Even the sea wind whipping across the clifftop couldn't banish the scent of musty wood from inside.

Adamfiya's hut also had a stove. She didn't need it for warmth, of course—it was there to keep the hut dry.

The dampness didn't bother a ghost; it couldn't cause illness or discomfort. But this was more pleasant.

"Please, just call me Adamfiya," she said, ushering Remi inside and closing the door. "I rested well. Even though I'm no longer human, a stove still gives one a sense of security."

They chatted quietly for a while. When the sky outside brightened and the fog lifted, they headed to the cave together.

Before leaving, Adamfiya remembered to add more wood to the stove so it wouldn't go out while she was away.

There was plenty of wood here—it was lying all over the place. What was scarce were matches and lighters.

Matches could sometimes be found in the ruins—it required a bit of luck, but one box would last a long time. They searched for lighters in restaurants or mansion kitchens, but the ones they found were almost always broken.

In all this time, Anna had only found a single lighter and an oil lamp with a built-in flint.

Of course, the Trader almost certainly had matches.

"Good morning."

After greeting Lu Li and Anna, they lit a lamp and set it on a freshly crafted wooden table. They took their bookmarked books from a shelf, settled in, and began to read in silence.

Jimmy arrived soon after. Since he couldn't read, he played with the children.

They didn't usually gather this early, if they came at all.

Today was Monday—the day the new issue of the "Investigator Weekly" was delivered.

Just as the aroma of food cooking over the hearth filled the cave, a shadow fell across the entrance.

The Trader entered. He brought the latest issue of the "Investigator Weekly," newspapers from other publishers, and the weekly stipend.

Lu Li handed the Trader a sheet of coarse paper and a quill. The paper listed the supplies they needed: canned goods, kerosene, coal, matches, and dried meat.

"Write down the prices," Lu Li said.

When the Trader, holding the tiny pen in his huge palm, had scrawled out the prices, Lu Li politely declined to buy anything and watched him leave.

The Trader's prices allowed the cliff dwellers, cut off from the news, to understand the state of the world.

And it was free.

Would the Trader really charge a fee just for asking about prices?

The new issue of the "Investigator Weekly" mentioned the Third Calamity in the Wastelands only once. Though the grief was still fresh, dwelling on it when everything was getting worse would only make moving forward more difficult.

It predicted that "Silence" would envelop the human world within a month. Its first point of contact would be the outpost reefs of the Lennon Archipelago, set to arrive in five days. Next would be the island clusters off the Main Continent, followed by the inland territories.

The Allen Peninsula was among the first regions to be affected, with an expected arrival in ten days.

Four of the regular newspapers had also published the information. They had been reporting on "Silence" for several days, so the news didn't spark widespread panic.

The "Investigator Weekly" also advised people to move to coastal cities or settlements near large rivers. While coastal cities were more frequently attacked by creatures from the anomalous fog, they didn't have food shortages.

A city of tens of thousands consumed food in enormous quantities. With no harvests, it was nearly impossible for people in the inland regions to procure enough to survive.

"The Allen Peninsula Gazette" also ran a story, though its tone was boastful. It claimed Himmfast was in a perfect position—close enough to the sea to avoid food shortages, yet far enough to be safe from attacks by creatures from the depths and the fog. The paper praised the foresight of the mayor and the council for building the port, as well as that of the nobles who had invested.

This strengthened the resolve of those who had been hesitating to stay. They even began to consider Himmfast no worse than the distant Lennon Archipelago.

The Lennon Archipelago, meanwhile, continued to trumpet its own safety. Phrases like "Land Under the Gods' Protection," "The Land Chosen by the Gods," and "The Queen Keeps Us Safe" were tossed about as freely as cheap trinkets. Any voices of concern were drowned out in the chorus of praise.

The people's anxiety had its reasons, but it was useless. Regardless of whether the Lennon Archipelago was involved in some anomaly-related conspiracy, right now it was the safest place.

While the cities of the Main Continent and the Wastelands bustled with activity—taking in refugees, expanding city limits, raising walls, and stockpiling supplies—everything on the Lennon Archipelago continued as usual.

Except that the people there were already sick of the endless fish, though even the poorest could eat their fill of washed-up shellfish and dead fish from the shore.

Rumor had it that shipping companies were once again selling tickets to the Lennon Archipelago. To minimize the danger, they were using mid-sized sailboats that hugged the coast. The tickets were expensive, but they sold out instantly.

If the first ship reached the Lennon Archipelago safely, the rush for tickets would become even more intense, and other companies would surely join in.

Commerce and capital always find a way.

It was nearing hunting time. Remi asked Anna to bring a tarp, and if she could find any roof tiles, that would be even better.

"I want to go back to that beach," Anna said, putting away the holster Lu Li had given her.

Lu Li looked up at her. He knew which beach she meant—the one by the Ghost Prison.

"Belfast is too close, right on our doorstep. We need to know what's happening there," Anna said, meeting his gaze.

Lu Li thought for a few moments in silence and then agreed.

"Be careful."