The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 769: The Second Portrait

Prusius's appearance made it impossible for him to show himself in public.

Though he couldn't return to the streets where people lived, Prusius was content with his current life. He sat by the windowsill, almost greedily gazing at the sprawling streets outside the windows of the University of Claire.

But the landscape he saw was different from the one Lu Li beheld.

That afternoon, Dean Rolens brought a painter with him.

“This is Mr. Kamil Barwald, former court painter of the Lennon Archipelago. He will be painting your portrait,” Dean Rolens introduced him to Lu Li, who stood by a window draped in gray cloth.

“Greetings, Mr. Lu Li. Your exploits are the stuff of legend even in my homeland,” the disheveled old man with a long beard said, placing his left hand over his chest and bowing respectfully, following the courtly etiquette of the Lennon Archipelago.

Since the Lennon Archipelago had participated in the second expedition against the Third Calamity, its people had followed the news with keen interest and were well aware of the third expedition Lu Li had undertaken alone.

“It is a great honor for me to paint your portrait.”

“Will this take long?” Lu Li frowned.

He had no desire to sit motionless for hours.“Not too long. The court school of painting in the Lennon Archipelago is famous for its speed. First, an outline is sketched, and then the colors are added,” replied the painter, Barwald.

He had Lu Li sit in an armchair before the fireplace, adding a few logs of smokeless wood so that the light and shadows would play across Lu Li’s face, then stepped back toward the door to set up his easel.

Dean Rolens didn’t leave. As he watched the outlines take shape on the canvas, he informed Lu Li of the upcoming plans.

He placed a list on the low table next to the armchair. It contained the names of people who wished to meet with Lu Li, arranged by Dean Rolens in order of importance.

“It’s fine, you can pick it up,” Barwald said.

Lu Li took the list. It was a long register of names and titles: the head of the Hunter’s Guild, a lord, an elder of the Great Old Ones.

“Decline them all,” Lu Li said, setting the list aside and leaning back in the chair.

“Hm... You don’t wish to meet with them?” Dean Rolens asked cautiously.

Lu Li nodded.

“Very well, I will decline all these unnecessary private meetings for you...” Dean Rolens was beginning to understand Lu Li’s character. “The city hall has decided to host a reception in your honor tomorrow evening. It would be good if you could attend.”

Lu Li was the guest of honor; without him, the reception would be meaningless.

“I’ll be there,” Lu Li did not refuse this time.

“At least that’s one thing settled,” Dean Rolens thought. Before leaving, he remembered something else. “Ah, yes, the Hunter’s Guild wishes to speak with Ms. Katerina. I believe they want to feature her story of accompanying you...”

“Let her decide for herself.”

“Very well.”

Dean Rolens left the room and headed to the adjacent one to inform Katerina.

The room fell silent, save for the soft rustle of the brush against the canvas.

A few minutes passed before a knock broke the silence.

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

The painter, Barwald, focused on his work, paid it no mind.

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

The knocking repeated, more insistent this time.

Barwald frowned but continued to ignore the visitor.

Knock, knock, knock, KNOCK!

The door shuddered, and the noise finally got the better of Barwald’s patience.

“You’d better open it,” Lu Li said. “Otherwise, she might break it down.”

“Of course...” The painter Barwald sighed wearily, set down his brush, and opened the door.

Katerina stood in the hallway. She had already taken a few steps back and, just as Lu Li had predicted, was preparing to kick the door in.

Had she done so, Barwald, standing just behind it, would have been the first casualty, and the portrait would have to be started anew.

Katerina entered the room. Barwald slammed the door shut, his displeasure evident, and returned to his easel.

“Am I interrupting?” Katerina asked, stopping halfway to the fireplace.

“What is it?” Lu Li asked.

“That dean was just talking to me. He said the Hunter’s Guild wants to use me for publicity. I wanted your advice.”

Lu Li was the only person she knew here. The unfamiliar surroundings made her anxious, but she felt calmer near him.

Plus, that hyena was sitting on the windowsill.

“That’s your decision to make,” Lu Li replied.

“Meaning?” Katerina didn’t understand.

“I don’t mind if you tell them everything as it happened,” Lu Li clarified. “As long as it’s the truth.”

Katerina wanted to say something more, but glancing at the third person in the room, she felt a distrust of the stranger.

Just then, Barwald suddenly tore off a few strips of paper, rolled them into balls, and plugged his ears with them.

“You may speak freely.”

Lu Li averted his gaze from Barwald.

“...The truth is, I don’t want to be a hunter anymore,” Katerina said. This time, she wasn’t in a fluffy robe but a man’s shirt and trousers; a dress made her feel naked. “Life these past two days... The water wasn’t bitter, the meat was so delicious, and carrots and greens were just food, not some precious medicine...”

“I’m like a sewer rat that’s stumbled into a warm, safe house full of food... This rat has only lived in the house for two days, and it already doesn’t want to go back to the sewer... Do you know what I mean?”

“Then stay,” Lu Li said calmly. “You’ll soon receive resident status and enough money to live comfortably.”

“...I’m afraid none of this is real. That it’s just another illusion caused by the Emerald Dream.”

Doubts were beginning to consume Katerina.

But before Lu Li could answer, Katerina, who had fought for survival since birth, convinced herself: a pleasant illusion was still better than a cruel reality.

Katerina had no obsession with the idea that she *had* to return to reality. Even if none of this was real, she was prepared to accept it. She just wanted to know the truth.

The question of whether she was in the Emerald Dream would continue to torment her for some time.

Barwald painted for nearly two hours, only finishing as evening approached.

He covered the canvas with a white cloth, planning to take it home and apply his court techniques to transform it into a perfect painting.

Both Lu Li and Katerina, who had remained in the room, had seen the portrait. It was realistic and artistic enough, but it still lacked the depth and sense of history characteristic of oil paintings.

Shortly after Barwald left with the canvas, a sudden commotion erupted outside the door, the noise filtering into the room.

The people gathered outside were loudly discussing something with excitement and agitation. Some began to disperse.

Dean Rolens hurried into Lu Li’s room. He did not share the general excitement; instead, he looked unusually alarmed.

“What happened?”

Dean Rolens said nothing, simply holding out a crumpled newspaper to Lu Li.

On the front page, printed in a large, bold font, was the headline: “One Becomes Two! Another Exorcist from the Old Era Has Returned!”