The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 764: A Brewing Conspiracy

The professors exchanged questioning glances before turning to Nuno Alexandrovich. The expressions on Professor Leon and Professor Tesmi's faces shifted from bewilderment to contemplation.

They seemed to recall something.

—A descendant of that exorcist? — Professor Tesmi adjusted his monocle, trying to get a better look at Lu Li.

Professor Nuno Alexandrovich shook his head.

—No, that is the man himself.

A dead silence fell over the room. Professor Leon and Professor Tesmi were too stunned to speak.

Only the other two professors were still completely in the dark.

—Nuno, I didn't know you were so fond of riddles, — Professor Deizi Shmidt prodded impatiently.

—He is an exorcist from the Old Sun Era, — Professor Nuno Alexandrovich began, recounting Lu Li's tale.

—A legend... — Professor Deizi Shmidt murmured thoughtfully.—Nuno, are you sure you're not mistaken? — Professor Sesar asked, frowning.

—I would never mistake him for anyone else, — Professor Nuno Alexandrovich glanced at Professor Leon and Professor Tesmi. — Besides, Leon and Tesmi recognized Mr. Lu Li as well.

Professor Leon and Professor Tesmi, just as Nuno Alexandrovich had shortly before, were lost in their own memories and excitement.

—How did you find this... Mr. Lu Li? — Professor Sesar asked, his voice laced with suspicion.

—They found me, — Professor Nuno Alexandrovich explained how Lu Li and Katerina had come from Mantistown.

Professor Sesar's piercing gaze fell upon Lu Li. —The Light Stealer left only recently. How did you manage to get here?

—The Cursed Title, Beacon, — Katerina interjected suddenly, lifting her head proudly. — It's a Cursed Title that Mr. Lu Li... acquired on his journey. The Emerald Dream granted it to him.

Katerina understood the situation. Just as she used to sell goods to an old man named Peter, who would look for flaws to drive down the price, this Professor Sesar was also trying to "bargain." So she decided to do the opposite: raise the price.

As soon as she fell silent, the description of the Cursed Title surfaced in the minds of the elderly professors in the room.

—The Emerald Dream... — Professor Sesar muttered, his suspicions easing slightly. — But we still can't fully trust the two of you. Mr. Lu Li is a pureblood human, correct? We will verify your identity.

—How long will that take?

Katerina felt that things were going wrong again. She hated waiting. For Katerina, who had never been lucky, waiting usually meant misfortune. It made her habitually assume the worst.

—It won't take long. If Mr. Lu Li is still human and not contaminated, you will only need to answer a few questions, — said Professor Sesar.

—And if he's not? — Katerina asked.

—It might be a bit more complicated... But if Mr. Lu Li's identity is confirmed, it won't matter whether he is contaminated or not, — Professor Sesar replied.

At that moment, Professor Nuno Alexandrovich suddenly told him, —I've already given them the beans.

The two golden beans that allow one to see the truth.

—You... — Professor Sesar started to scold him, but he remembered something and softened his tone. — You're too hasty, Nuno. Don't be so reckless next time.

—There won't be a next time... — Professor Nuno Alexandrovich rubbed his right arm with a bitter smile and looked at Lu Li. — We believe your identity, but we still must confirm it. For the sake of Midnight.

—Very well, — Lu Li understood their caution. Careless people wouldn't have survived this long, nor would they have been able to rebuild civilization.

—I have a question, — Lu Li said.

—If it's something we know, — replied Professor Sesar.

—About the evil spirit, the Shadow Maiden.

The four professors thought for a moment, then shook their heads and told Lu Li they had never heard of the Shadow Maiden.

Lu Li, lowering his dark eyes, asked about the Trader. At first, the professors thought Lu Li was talking about an ordinary merchant or the Underground Trading Guild.

After learning more, Professor Sesar told him, —The Underground Trading Guild originated from below ground; its origins are shrouded in mystery. If you wish to find the "Trader" you speak of, you might find some clues there.

—Finding the Shadow Maiden is my top priority, — Lu Li stated.

—Leave it to us! — the short-tempered Professor Leon, snapping out of his reverie, answered impatiently.

Until Lu Li's identity could be confirmed, he was to remain at the University of Claire. Professor Tesmi stayed behind to look after Professor Nuno Alexandrovich, Professor Sesar led Lu Li and Katerina to a conference room, and Professor Leon and Deizi Shmidt departed for the World Tree with the news.

—Nuno is old. He wants to see the birth of hope with his own eyes, — Professor Sesar said quietly in the hallway.

Cold light filtered into the hallway through a window on the side. The giant World Tree, obscuring the sky, loomed in the distance. Lu Li and Professor Sesar walked side by side, while Katerina followed, her gaze fixed on the Tree outside the window.

—But you've already built Midnight, — Lu Li said.

—That is not humanity's hope, or rather, not the hope we once had... — Professor Sesar shook his head. — Nuno is a fundamentalist, more like the people of Vinnelag. He wants to restore our former glory, not mingle with anomalies and turn into something... unseemly.

His choice of words—"something unseemly"—revealed that Professor Sesar shared Professor Nuno Alexandrovich's view.

This was not the first time Lu Li had heard about the differences between Vinnelag and the cities of the Wastelands. According to Professor Sesar, the inhabitants of the Main Continent hoped to return to the old ways of the Old Sun Era, using anomalies merely as tools, not as a foundation. In the Wastelands, they believed otherwise: anomalies were part of the future, the direction in which civilization was evolving.

It could be compared to a division between fundamentalists and reformists.

—Are the disagreements serious?

—Not entirely. Both sides simply have different views. In the end, we have a common enemy.

Reaching the end of the corridor that led to the conference room, Professor Sesar opened the door.

Inside, two figures who had arrived shortly before them were waiting.

—Mr. Lu Li, welcome back, — a middle-aged man in old-fashioned clothes greeted Lu Li enthusiastically.

—Dean Rolens, — Professor Sesar said with a frown, addressing him, then looked at Professor Deizi Shmidt. — What are you doing here? Where is Professor Leon?

—We split up. Professor Leon went to the Tree, — Professor Deizi Shmidt smiled. — And I called for the dean.

The dean standing nearby introduced himself to Lu Li: —Mr. Lu Li, I am Flakimir Rolens, dean of the outer University of Claire.

—Why did you call for the dean? We haven't confirmed Mr. Lu Li's identity yet, — Professor Sesar eyed Professor Deizi Shmidt warily.

—Nuno, Leon, and Tesmi recognized him. Isn't that enough? — Professor Deizi Shmidt shook his head.

Professor Sesar remained wary.

—What are you plotting?