The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 663: Confusion

[We should be glad they didn't bring an even greater disaster upon us. Silence did not punish us for this insult.]

[You might say, "Oh my God, how can you talk like that? They sacrificed themselves for us!" But a fool's reckless bravery is not courage. Why would you think such senseless behavior wouldn't enrage the anomaly, provoking its wrath and retribution?]

[Think about it: even the aura it passively radiates envelops us like a shadow. What would happen if it were to become enraged?]

[Fighting anomalies is a joke. Silence alone could easily wipe us from the face of the earth. Before you take up arms against an enemy, you must understand this: you cannot stop a tsunami with an axe.]

"The Believers' Gazette" continued to cause a stir.

Whatever its motives, more and more people began to read it, even as many other newspapers and scholars condemned "The Believers' Gazette" for its cowardice and its "man on the shore" stance.

The phrase "man on the shore" came from a book written a century ago by an author of the Slott School. It described a burning ship at sea, where a man standing on the shore mocked the crew's panic or admonished them for not saving the cargo.

The phrase was typically used to ridicule those who offer advice from the sidelines, or those who pontificate on how things should have been done after the fact.

Either way, humanity was fracturing.

"The Believers' Gazette" wasn't the only one. A rift had formed, and public opinion was growing increasingly polarized."What do you think?" Remi asked Lu Li with a frown. She didn't like "The Believers' Gazette". Seeing herself as no different from a human, she, like most people, admired heroes.

And "The Believers' Gazette"? It was nothing more than a pack of noisy rats, squeaking in filthy, stinking sewers.

"Anomalies bring people together, and they tear people apart," Lu Li replied calmly, leafing through another newspaper.

It was bound to happen sooner or later, or perhaps it had been happening all along and had never stopped—the believers were always the first.

"You're right..." Remi sighed, setting "The Believers' Gazette" aside. "But it's still disheartening to see some people calling for surrender while so many others are still fighting. Don't they understand there can be no peace between humans and anomalies?"

As she said it, Remi suddenly remembered that on Watcher's Cliff, everyone except Lu Li was an anomaly. She quickly corrected herself, "At least, in the vast majority of cases."

"What if they have other goals?" Lu Li's calm words carried a hint of something more.

"Other goals... like what?" Remi had a vague suspicion.

Lu Li didn't answer, merely tapping his finger on the headline of "The Believers' Gazette".

"Belief..." Remi whispered. "Do you think they're followers of some entity?"

"Perhaps," Lu Li answered evasively.

"But..." Remi was faced with a huge question. "If that's the case, why is 'The Believers' Gazette' even being printed and distributed?"

"Cooperation, or something like it." Lu Li paused for a moment, his dark eyes fixed on Remi. "You know humanity has never been a monolith."

Remi was a scholar, but her knowledge was limited to anomalies; of humanity as a society, she knew no more than the average person. Lu Li's words were like a guide leading her to the edge of a forest, saying, "Look. This is where we truly live."

Following Lu Li's train of thought, Remi could almost picture what would happen if "The Believers' Gazette" were shut down by force. People would cry conspiracy, claiming the authorities and exorcists were suppressing the truth. Even those who hadn't believed before would grow suspicious and uncertain.

All it would take is a small push—or perhaps no push at all.

Remi started to say something, but her gaze suddenly shifted to the mouth of the cave. "Anna's back."

Thud!

As if in answer to her words, the dull sound of something heavy falling echoed from outside.

Anna entered the shelter. Upon seeing Remi, the hint of a smile vanished from her eyes, replaced by a faint wariness.

"I'll go check on the haul," Remi said. As if sensing Anna's animosity, she wasn't offended—in fact, she was happy for her. She stepped outside, making sure to wake Amper, who was asleep in the cave.

The cold weather was likely making Amper increasingly lazy.

When he first arrived at Watcher's Cliff, he used to patrol the Elm Forest or play with the children. Now, he spent most of his days dozing in the dry cave or snatching food from Jimmy.

"Remi has been around you a lot lately," Anna remarked, watching her leave.

"She has a lot of questions."

"Why doesn't she ask them when I'm here?" Anna's question came out a little tangled.

Lu Li considered this seriously before replying, "Perhaps because it isn't teatime yet."

The oblivious Lu Li probably hadn't noticed a thing...

With a touch of exasperation, Anna stroked Lu Li's hair. Her gaze fell upon the book on the table, a bookmark peeking from its pages.

"Maple Leaf Mountains," an adventure novel Lu Li had picked out the previous evening.

A book...

Anna grew thoughtful.

Perhaps a book held the answer she was looking for.

Apparently not wanting to give Anna any reason for jealousy, Remi didn't enter the shelter again. As night fell, she, Anna, and Adamfiya wished each other a good night and returned to their respective homes.

Lu Li closed his book and turned down the lamp.

As was his habit, he finished the water he'd warmed by the hearth and got into bed.

"Good night." To Anna's tender words, spoken like a wife's, Lu Li drifted off to sleep.

Crack!

The flickering flame in the hearth sent shadows dancing across the shelter's walls.

In the quiet, Anna picked up the lamp, walked over to the bookshelves, selected a detective novel, and returned to the table.

Click.

Setting the lamp down with a barely audible sound, Anna opened the book.

...

"I don't quite understand." Selika Daler sat on a rug in the basement, her legs drawn up, her arms wrapped around her ankles. The firelight illuminated her face, and the dancing shadows made her, with her missing lower lip, resemble a malevolent spirit. "If you truly care for him, why do you want to drag him out of safety?"

"I..." Anna started to answer, but a sudden wave of confusion left her speechless.

Every day she loved Lu Li more than the day before; she had never been so devoted to him... So why did she want him to leave the safety of Watcher's Cliff?

"Possessiveness?" Selika Daler guessed. "I've heard of it... It makes the closest of friends tear at each other's hair and claw at each other's faces, and it turns loyal companions into enemies with weapons drawn."

"Perhaps..."

"Do you have a rival?" Selika Daler asked.

Anna thought of Remi and gave an uncertain shake of her head.

Remi was fond of Lu Li, but her affection seemed to be more one of respect and admiration.

"You saved me... I owe you my life, and I want to help." Selika Daler looked at Anna earnestly, and the sparks of humanity in her eyes softened her terrifying appearance.

"To do that, I need to understand why you want to do this."