The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 853: They Fell in Love in Belfast

After what seemed like a long wait, the Merchant produced a letter of reply from the backpack connected to the In-Between.

Of the two statues, only one could communicate—the consciousness of the other had faded away over the long centuries, leaving nothing but instinct.

The questions and answers of the people of the previous generation had been translated by the holder of the Cursed Title "Linguist" and inscribed on parchment bearing the seal of the Winnelag Mayor's Office.

A communication between two generations of beings, separated by tens of thousands of years.

Prusius's imagination ran wild. Clinging to his chair, he asked:

"What did the people of the previous generation say in reply?"

"It sensed strangers infiltrating the underground ruins. It sees no connection to the prophecy of the Everlasting Dreamer, but it does know of an Abyss."

The people of the previous generation called this Abyss Sugra-Dno, and it was located at the end of the Great Taiatide Rift Valley in the Duchy of Kertilas.

Except, on the Main Continent, there was no Duchy of Kertilas, nor was there a Great Taiatide Rift Valley.

Prusius let out a low whimper. This wasn't what he had imagined at all..."What came next?"

Katerina gazed at the parchment, feeling that the words were not as alien to her as they once were.

"It asked me whether the people of the previous generation survived, and if the catastrophe was over."

The statue had been taken directly from the underground ruins into the In-Between without ever touching the surface. Otherwise, it would have seen the dark ring of light that had existed since its own time, still hanging hopelessly in the void.

The answer was, nothing.

Lu Li had the Merchant relay his answer, and also asked him to prepare a map and send it into the In-Between so the people of the previous generation could mark the location of Sugra-Dno.

But things were not so simple: the map returned blank.

The people of the previous generation did not recognize the old contours of the land.

Perhaps the people of the previous generation had lost their memories, but it was more likely that tectonic shifts or the power of anomalies had altered the continental shelf.

Lu Li asked the holder of the "Linguist" Cursed Title to coordinate with the people of the previous generation to establish a unit of length, and then have them draw their own map.

After an even longer wait, a crudely sketched map materialized. Besides the continental outlines, it showed terrain and waves to denote the ocean. But the scale used by the people of the previous generation was so vast it nearly made Katerina think they had mistaken the units of measurement—

Lu Li stared at the map drawn by the people of the previous generation, a territory more vast than all the known lands of humanity combined. Trying to fit the Main Continent and the Wastelands onto it was like trying to complete a puzzle with only a dozen or so pieces.

It seemed to be the truth.

Because Lu Li could see the World's Spine Mountains.

In the current world, they were located at the northernmost edge of the Wastelands, beyond which stretched the Sea of Mists, still unexplored by humankind.

But on the map from the previous generation, they stood at the center of the continent, with an irregularly shaped landmass surrounding the snow-capped peaks.

The Main Continent and the Wastelands had once been a single landmass. The strait that now separated them had been a plain, the eastern Lennon Archipelago was nothing more than a cluster of marshy islands, and the Allen Peninsula was connected directly to the Main Continent—not a peninsula at all, but part of the mainland.

There were no outlines of the Arable Lands on the map. Whether due to the immense size of their continent or for other reasons, the people of the previous generation had not developed seafaring, and their knowledge of the deep oceans was less than that of modern humanity.

Then something happened: either the land subsided or the sea level rose, and most of the continent was flooded.

Using the World's Spine Mountains as a dividing line, the entire northern landmass vanished. All that remained were the Wastelands at the southern foot of the mountains and the Main Continent to the southwest, while the marshy islands became the Lennon Archipelago.

This was why humanity knew so little about the people of the previous generation.

The people of the previous generation and their history had long ago been swallowed by the boundless deep seas, along with their land.

Gazing at the map drawn by the people of the previous generation, Katerina suddenly felt a strange sense of relief about their current predicament.

Though the world had become a hunting ground for anomalies, with dangers and calamities at every turn... humanity still had a chance to catch its breath.

Lu Li had the holder of the "Linguist" Cursed Title relay the news of the drowned continent to the people of the previous generation. For a long time after that, no parchment came. The Merchant reported that the statue had fallen silent.

After another long wait, the Merchant produced a newly translated parchment.

In the end, the statue marked the location for Lu Li, roughly circling the area of Sugra-Dno based on its memory of the ruins: the northwest of the Allen Kingdom.

Lu Li knew the place.

The Tashufik Excavation Site—the same one from the story Kigg Flay had told at the exorcist gathering in King's City Allen.

In his tale of exorcism, the site was shrouded in a gray fog that led to another world.

Lu Li then wrote two letters: one he sent to Mayor Matteus, tasking him with investigating the situation at the Tashufik Excavation Site, and the other he gave to the statue, asking it to record any information it had about Sugra-Dno.

The reply from the people of the previous generation arrived first: they knew little about Sugra-Dno, only that the Abyss appeared to lead to another world—

Exactly what had been reported at the Tashufik Excavation Site.

Lu Li also asked about the outsiders, but unfortunately, the statue was asleep most of the time. It could only confirm that one of the outsiders possessed immense power and could resurrect the dead of the previous generation. The statue said the one who was resurrected had been a commoner who fled after the catastrophe and, out of cowardice, chose to starve rather than venture outside.

The site was not an altar, either, but rather a place where the people of the previous generation recorded their history.

Unfortunately, not even stone could withstand the erosion of time.

At the end of their conversation, Lu Li told the statue that if it wished, the Merchant could transport it to Winnelag. He assured it that, thanks to his influence, the councilors there wouldn't simply put it on display in a museum for a fee. At worst, it would be sought out by scholars eager to learn the history of the previous generation.

The statue expressed its gratitude but declined the offer. It had no other desire than to be returned to the ruins; they wished to remain in their homeland until the very end.

A stone sphere appeared along with the parchment—it was the statue's eyeball. It explained that if they encountered other Guardians, this would ensure they would not be harmed.

After all, every Guardian was meant to be left with only instinct, itself included. For some unknown reason, however, it had regained its consciousness over the centuries.

A vague realization dawned on Lu Li, but he forced himself not to dwell on it—

After promising to return them to the ruins the next day, the rather unremarkable conversation that had spanned two generations finally concluded.

The sound of the waves enveloped the Andrea, and the people in the wheelhouse gradually drifted off to sleep.

...

"Aah!"

Katerina was startled awake by Prusius's cry. Lu Li was already up, watching as Prusius scrambled to his feet, paws twitching with fright.

"Another nightmare?" Katerina asked, glancing at the window, which was already growing light.

"Mm..." Prusius's face was covered in fine beads of sweat. Still shaken, he stammered,

"I... I'm just so worried about whether we'll be able to find Miss Anna."

"Are we heading to Sugra-Dno next?"

Katerina looked at Lu Li.

"To Himpfast first," Lu Li answered.

After eating the canned food the Merchant had brought and waiting for the anomalous fog to dissipate, they disembarked from the Andrea. Taking a small boat ashore, they returned the two statues, which had once again fallen into a deep slumber, to the ruins. They also asked the Merchant to relay the news to the shelter that the Guardians were staying behind.

For the people in the shelter, this was not bad news. At least the surface would be safe.

Once back aboard the Andrea, they set sail along the coastline of the Allen Peninsula, heading for the port of Himpfast, dozens of nautical miles away.