The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 873: Don't Forget Me

Lu Li had a bizarre dream.

He dreamed that none of it had happened yet—or rather, that everything had changed.

In a foreign land to the west, in a port city on a peninsula called Bel, he had opened a small detective agency to make a living.

It was during those days that he met Anna through a case. She would often come to help at the agency, and feelings began to blossom between them.

He could never forget the sight of her in a white dress, silhouetted against the brilliant sun and the azure sea.

But life abroad was far from peaceful, both politically and socially. Creditors came knocking, their attitude—and that of their men—utterly vile. Anna argued with them, and the confrontation escalated into a fight.

Lu Li threw himself into the fray, but one of the creditors pulled a pistol from the belt holding up his trousers. A shot rang out, and blood sprayed through the air—

He lost her.

The colors of the dream faded and vanished. With a throbbing pain in the back of his head, Lu Li slowly awoke.

The oil lamp on the desk burned dimly, casting its weak light over the grim, oppressive underground room.It had replaced the vibrant world of his dream, but one thing remained unchanged.

He had lost her.

"Did I fall asleep?"

Lu Li pushed himself up, leaning against the cold wall.

The lump on the back of his head ached as it pressed against the stone, but the chill helped to numb the pain.

"Yes... you lost consciousness."

Ophelia stepped outside the door and spoke to Bishop John and the other cultists waiting there.

"He... he's awake."

When Lu Li had collapsed, Ophelia, suspicious of everything in this place, had forbidden the cultists from the Church of Shadows from coming near.

They were devout enough to obey, not taking a single step into the room.

Now that Lu Li had woken up, it was clear his fainting spell had nothing to do with these heretics, and her suspicions were laid to rest.

"Come in... please."

Bishop John and two of the cultists, overcome with a mixture of fear and excitement, entered the room as if it were a shrine watched over by a compassionate deity.

"What... was... written... on the note?" Ophelia asked.

"Nothing."

"Then... why... did you... lose consciousness?"

As her perplexed question hung in the air, Ophelia suddenly felt an awe-inspiring aura engulf him.

The ground trembled, dust sifted from the ceiling, and deep, muffled sounds echoed from the corridor outside.

Cultists rushed in to report that something that could not be looked upon was passing over the Stone Forest.

Ophelia's gaze snapped to Lu Li. His once-calm black eyes seemed to have shattered; they had lost their vitality and grown dim, as if resonating with the being overhead.

"Do you want... to go through... that again?" she asked abruptly.

"What?"

Lu Li's eyes shifted toward her, but they remained unfocused.

"You have to... believe... in her," Ophelia said.

"Believe... that she... can come back."

This convinced Lu Li more than any words of comfort could have.

The awe-inspiring aura slowly faded, and the colossal creature—which had not been passing overhead by chance—gradually moved away.

"Until... then... you have to... survive... and meet her return... with beauty."

"For instance... this... world... itself."

"This world?"

Lu Li's pupils gradually came into focus.

"You... are an exorcist."

"To... this... world... you are... like a master... who builds... houses... like a carpenter... who mends... furniture... like a painter... who coats... the walls."

"I... will help... you, just as... Anna... once did."

Ophelia's moving words came out in a hoarse voice.

"Saving... this... crumbling... world... begins... with your comrades."

The missing Katerina and Andrea, the infected Prusius, the barely surviving Enni, as well as Remi and her siblings, who have presumably moved to Paradise Valley, and the others.

Lu Li finally calmed down, thanks to Ophelia's reassurance.

But who could say if this was anything more than a drowning man instinctively grasping at a lifeline.

Lu Li's current state made it impossible for him to travel through the misty tide and the Eternal Night; wandering anomalies were most fond of souls as lost as his.

They rested in the Stone Forest for a day.

During that time, Bishop John pledged his allegiance to Lu Li, declaring that they were willing to pay any price to find their Lord.

The Church of Shadows, like Lu Li, was following in Anna's footsteps.

The only difference was that they craved Anna's power.

Lu Li, however, only wanted to find Anna herself.

Lu Li assigned Bishop John a new mission for the Church of Shadows.

"Find her."

The oil lamp stretched Bishop John's shadow long across the room. His stooped, cloaked silhouette resembled that of a monster, reminding Lu Li that these were heretics—they worshipped an evil spirit, they sacrificed human beings.

In Lu Li's eyes, this was wrong, but perhaps he was the one who was mistaken. If even ordinary people no longer abided by the old laws, how could a group of heretics be bound by old covenants?

"Do not harm people of your own accord," Lu Li added nonetheless.

Bishop John bowed his head respectfully.

Lu Li was one with their Lord; his words were their Lord's words, and they would obey without question, even if it meant their deaths.

Ophelia watched this with satisfaction, feeling it was a sign of improvement in Lu Li's condition—though the change had come so quickly that she hadn't had time to offer any more words of comfort.

"However, you should continue to rest."

"Resting makes it harder to control my thoughts," Lu Li replied, shaking his head slightly.

The longer he remained idle, the faster the encroaching sorrow and confusion, seeping through the cracks in his mind, would consume him.

Keeping busy was the only way to maintain his sanity.

Lu Li prompted Bishop John to continue.

"Furthermore, because of your investigation, Vinnelag is actively arresting our members. Two cultists have already been taken into custody."

Bishop John expressed no displeasure at this, merely stating the facts.

"When?"

"Seven days ago, and three days ago."

Lu Li silently recalled the details.

Mayor Matteus hadn't mentioned catching any cultists from the Church of Shadows; the only one they had identified was still under covert surveillance.

"Who arrested them?"

"The Inquisition."

Was the problem Mayor Matteus, or the Inquisition...

Lu Li looked at the Merchant in the corner.

"Contact Mayor Matteus and tell him that the Inquisition arrested two cultists from the Church of Shadows, one three days ago and the other seven days ago."

A short time later, the Merchant produced a note from Mayor Matteus.

It contained only a single, simple line: "Understood. I'll look into it."

Ugly politics and power games; even on the brink of death, a group of insatiable people still clung tightly to them.

However, it could also mean they were suspicious of Lu Li.

By the third morning, the swelling on the back of Lu Li's head had gone down, and it was time for them to leave.

Bishop John hoped they might be allowed to accompany Lu Li, but he was refused. At Ophelia's insistence, not even the servants remained behind.

She still didn't trust these members of the Church of Shadows.

However, Bishop John gave Lu Li the contact information for all their strongholds, and Lu Li, in turn, left several boxes of eyeballs for summoning a Merchant. It was a shame there was a shortage of Merchants; otherwise, he could have left one in the Stone Forest so the Church of Shadows could receive his orders at any time.

Before leaving, Lu Li took out the book, but a white hand blocked his path.

"This is anticipation, not rejection." Anna's clear eyes were very close.

"Carrying too many books is a burden," Lu Li replied, lowering his gaze.

Ophelia, who was packing some clothes, turned around.

Anna said nothing, only carefully tore a page of text from the book and pressed it into Lu Li's hand.

A soft whisper brushed against his ear.

"Don't forget me..."