The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 796: The Last Exorcist

To Lu Li, the information the Merchant possessed was more important than supplies.

"Why did the exorcists disappear?"

The Merchant was closely tied to the exorcists. His slumber meant that the exorcists had indeed vanished.

But it was unclear why they hadn't left behind a spark, as the shelters had.

Had they allowed their line of succession to be broken?

Perhaps because the contribution points had become mere numbers to Lu Li, the Merchant no longer spoke of the cost of information. "A curse."

The curse, called knowledge, had coiled around all exorcists like a snake.

Knowledge had become more malevolent, more corrupt. And the exorcists, who possessed the most of it, either fell into the abyss or went mad overnight. Apprentice exorcists and scholars were also consumed by the delirium of a low Mind Level, dying agonizingly in its embrace.

From then on, the exorcists' time in the Age of Anomalies came to an end, and the lingering effects of this curse still compel people to maintain a profound silence about knowledge.

No one knew whether the change in knowledge was caused by anomalies, or if the world, tilting toward the abyss, had simply become even more dangerous.That was why Lu Li was the last exorcist—he had escaped this fate by being deep underground.

After learning what had happened, Lu Li asked the questions that interested him.

"I need information about the Shadow Maiden."

"...None," the Merchant replied.

Information was also a type of supply. Though it couldn't be stolen, it was stored with each Merchant. When necessary, the Merchants would "visit" one another. But now, as the only one left, the Merchant obviously had no "neighbors" he could "visit."

Unless he could find other Merchants and awaken them.

There was no need to rush. He could ask the mayor of Vinnelag to help find other Merchants. For now, he needed to let the Merchant acclimate to this world and then re-establish the link between the value of contribution points and shillings.

After he conveyed his request to the servants waiting outside the door, they soon sent sociologists and historians from the University of Claire. Upon learning they were to teach the Merchant, not Lu Li, they were somewhat disappointed.

"Knowledge is tainted. How do you pass down history?"

During the lesson, Lu Li asked one of the scholars.

He remembered the Anomaly Bestiary, of which just three open pages had already tried to manifest from the paper.

Back then, Lu Li's Humanity had been only one unit. Now he had eleven; perhaps he could last longer.

"Knowledge unrelated to anomalies is rarely subject to contamination."

The scholar took out "Encyclopedia (13)," one of a series of books whose golden lacework indicated its value.

But what was expensive was not the golden thread, nor the knowledge itself, but the paper on which it was recorded.

"This is dull paper, sir. You must recognize it," the old scholar said, opening to a bookmarked page.

Dull paper was a special kind of paper capable of insulating against the power of anomalies. The three major organizations had once used it to transmit knowledge.

Unfortunately, knowledge within the mind was not protected by such paper.

The Merchant absorbed knowledge very quickly, and the tutoring session took the entire day. He revised his prices, even though he still had nothing to sell.

The cries of monsters echoed over Vinnelag, which was shrouded in a light drizzle.

Black Crows let out unsettling, hoarse caws as they perched on cornices and lampposts.

The crowd by the mayor's office had recently dispersed completely. The rain was still falling, and it was so cold outside that you could see your breath.

"What will you do now?" Lu Li asked.

"Trade."

The Merchant's reason for being was to trade.

Lu Li could still help. Many politicians, aristocrats, and wealthy merchants who wanted to get acquainted with him wouldn't mind spending money on contribution points.

Interestingly, both the politicians and the aristocrats offered very few supplies: ten crates of canned food, ten barrels of kerosene, a hundred thousand pounds of coal, as well as perishable goods that the Merchant wouldn't accept. It seemed they didn't believe in the return of the exorcists to the world.

The wealthy merchants, however, provided far more supplies than the politicians and aristocrats. One merchant, who had been saved by an exorcist in his childhood, even donated an entire warehouse of goods.

Although many of the items were questionable, such as furniture or canvas clothing, the Merchant actually accepted such goods.

Mayor Matteus also sent a cart of supplies.

The Merchant requested a few extra wooden boxes and, toward evening, handed them to Lu Li.

Inside a rather large wooden box, the kind that might hold necklaces and bracelets, lay eyeballs the size of a fingernail.

The eyeballs summoned Black Crows, and the Black Crows could summon the Merchant.

"Where did these eyeballs come from?"

Lu Li stared at the eyeballs resting peacefully in the wooden box.

"The Inspector's Eye."

"What's that?"

"A creature on the edge of the In-Between."

Tap-tap.

Katerina and Prusius were startled. A Black Crow had suddenly struck the window, then settled on the sill. It folded its wings and stared at the people in the room with its dark eyes.

It had been drawn by the eyeballs.

Lu Li opened the window, and a chill gust swept into the room.

The wooden box lay on the windowsill. The crow flew into the room and pecked at the gelatinous eyeballs in the box.

This Black Crow was larger than usual, and its attraction to the eyeballs likely indicated it was a descendant of the Black Crows that had been companions to the exorcists of the Old Era.

After swallowing the last fragment from the wooden box, the Black Crow lowered its head, preened its water-beaded wings, and then looked at Lu Li.

"There is nothing you can help me with," said the figure reflected in its dark eyes.

A gasp of astonishment came from behind. Prusius thought that talking to a crow was just so... exorcist-like!

"Caw!"

The crow cawed loudly and, with a flap of its wings, flew out of the room.

Lu Li closed the window, and the chill vanished.

"So why summon the crow?" Prusius asked curiously.

"The crow will call the Merchant," Lu Li replied.

Prusius understood the meaning of those words and, bewildered, said to the Merchant, "Aren't you coming with us?"

Prusius, immersed in epic tales, hoped for an ever-growing number of diverse companions—if that crow had joined the team, it would have been even better.

"The Merchant will follow me, but not all the time," Lu Li said.

It wasn't just Lu Li who received the eyeballs; the politicians, aristocrats, and wealthy merchants had also exchanged for them. If they needed to trade, the Merchant would go to them.

"So the Merchant is our companion now too, right?" Prusius asked hopefully.

"Until we find a second Merchant, yes."

For the time being, the Merchant would follow Lu Li.

As evening approached in the affluent district around the mayor's office, the streetlamps were the first to light up, and the streets gradually emptied. This was unlike Midnight, where a near-chaotic bustle always reigned, day or night.

A servant knocked on the door with a thick stack of invitations, but Lu Li accepted none of them.

Unlike in Midnight, Lu Li no longer needed to attend gatherings of various factions to get them to work for him. Now, even the newspapers were reporting that Lu Li was searching for the Shadow Maiden and the Merchant.

The politicians and aristocrats who failed to invite Lu Li complained in disappointment, but at the same time, they felt a sense of relief—at least they didn't have to worry that the influential Lu Li would side with their enemies.

At the same time, they understood Lu Li's inclination: he would not get involved in politics.

Time passed, and the sky grew dark.

A fog of anomalies crept over the leaden sea, spreading silently toward Vinnelag.