The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 939: In the Library

The library.

There was no guard at the wide-open doors, and Lu Li could see rows of bookshelves inside, with students reading at long tables of brown birch.

The silence and the scent of old books were pleasantly calming. Lu Li looked around, but aside from the corners filled with bookshelves, he saw no stairs leading to an upper floor.

Lu Li interrupted a first-year student who was reading "A History of the Academy of Giant Trees." The student pointed to a staircase surrounded by bookshelves and informed Lu Li that the second floor was actually downstairs.

That was the area for middle-course students.

"Can first-year students go in there?"

"Um... there's no official rule against it, but the guards sometimes stop us, and the knowledge on the lower levels is still too advanced for us..."

The student told Lu Li everything he knew.

Approaching the stairs leading to the second floor, Lu Li saw a guard—the same skinny guard who had been on duty at the entrance the night before.

With a smirk on his face, he watched Lu Li step onto the stairs but made no move to stop him.Perhaps he realized he couldn't stop Lu Li anyway.

Stepping onto the second floor proper, Lu Li noticed that the atmosphere in the middle-course students' section was different. The bookshelves were more massive, their color a dark gray, almost like ironwood, as if to block the contamination emanating from the knowledge held within the books.

The students had changed as well; there were almost no first-years to be seen here.

Unlike the varied attire of the first-year students, most here wore robes or cloaks in the style of mages or cultists, completely covering their bodies. Considering the Academy of Giant Trees didn't issue uniforms, this was clearly a personal choice.

A tangible, indistinct aura lingered throughout the library, clinging to the students and the books in their hands. It didn't seem malicious, but it wasn't a sign that "nothing is here" either.

Lu Li averted his gaze as the Merchant appeared.

Having not seen him for several days, the Merchant, who had been busy with affairs in Winnelag, seemed even filthier. Or perhaps nothing had changed—his appearance just starkly contrasted with the library's cleanliness.

The Merchant's arrival drew little attention; only when he accidentally made a loud noise did he earn a few scowls.

He brought letters from Prusius, Ophelia, and Gades in Hell.

Unfolding Prusius's letter, Lu Li read as he recounted in a naive tone his life in Hell over the past ten-odd days. For instance, it was very dry, unbearably hot even underground, and every morning when he woke, his throat felt like it was on fire. Gades had helped him shave his fur, which made it much better, but Ophelia said he had become ugly, like a young warthog with a human head.

The letter ended by saying he had prepared a New Year's gift for Lu Li, with a paw print serving as his signature.

Next was Ophelia's letter.

She wrote that Gades was unhappy about her arrival, but she believed it was just an excuse to make her work—because the very next day, Gades had put her to work building a fortress.

Though Ophelia did feel full of energy, such unpaid labor quickly bored her.

There was nothing here but rocks and lava, them, and those ugly, malicious lesser demons.

However, Ophelia had recently found a good way to pass the time. The fantastical sky of Hell always formed various magnificent and bizarre giant patterns, and she could watch it for almost the entire day. And just two days ago, she had seen a silhouette that looked very much like Lu Li, but unfortunately, by the time she found a brush and paper to sketch it, it had already disappeared.

Ophelia told Lu Li not to worry about her and Prusius. Gades had already protected them from the denizens of Hell. She also said that if Lu Li needed it, she could ask Prusius for the secret to resisting the powers of Hell, because Gades treated him like his own son.

Finally, just like Prusius, Ophelia had prepared a New Year's gift for Lu Li.

All that was left was to wait for the New Year, just a month away.

The last letter was from Gades, and it was so stingy it didn't even have an envelope, consisting of just a single sheet of paper: Gades claimed that building the fortress in Hell, meant to serve as a refuge for humans, required a large quantity of raw materials, and he hoped Lu Li could provide them. For the sake of humanity, he was willing to pay one shilling. A heavy, golden shilling.

Gades repeatedly mentioned "for the sake of humanity" and "freeing Ophelia and the others from their living expenses," clearly hinting at something.

He made no mention of a New Year's gift.

Lu Li briefly wrote a few lines in reply to Prusius and Ophelia, then told the Merchant:

"Meet Gades's needs, but don't forget to make him pay. At the original price."

After the Merchant had vanished, Lu Li followed the signs to section three.

Several bookshelves, reaching up to the high ceiling, comprised section three. Fortunately, the book classification system allowed Lu Li to find the one Professor Haig had hinted at—on the fifth shelf, a level he could reach without standing on his toes.

But just as Lu Li raised his hand to touch it, a hideous palm, covered in countless warts that sprouted new warts of their own, snatched the book and pulled it from the shelf.

A middle-course female student, completely wrapped in a black cloak, had taken it.

Lu Li didn't think it was a coincidence.

Her hoarse voice then confirmed it:

"Mr. Lu Li, I've been waiting for you."

"You knew I was coming?" Lu Li asked calmly, his dark eyes fixed on her.

Only Professor Haig and that guard knew he was heading to the library.

"A little divination... Word of your deeds travels fast, an exorcist who possesses four Cursed Titles." Her words referred to the events of just a few dozen minutes prior.

"I have no ill intentions. I simply want to invite you to temporarily join my team for one day in the future."

Lu Li said nothing and turned toward the exit.

"If you're going to the guard, don't bother," her hoarse voice came from behind him.

"They respect the rules, and I was the one who took the book first."

Lu Li stopped and turned back to her.

"It seems you need time to think... When you've decided, leave a note where this book was, and I will bring it to you... along with more of the knowledge you seek."

The shadow beneath the cloak glanced past the bookshelf, and she turned to leave from the other side.

Meanwhile, a figure emerged from around the corner of the bookshelf.

"What are you doing here? And getting involved with that troublesome girl from that troublesome family?"

Fudot frowned, then, as if realizing something, covered her mouth with a pale hand.

"Don't tell me you came here to meet me in secret?"

"I need that book. She took it."

"I heard."

Fudot instantly regained the pride unique to a noblewoman and, leaning lightly against the bookshelf, said to Lu Li, who was passing by on his way out:

"You're not going to agree to her terms?"

Lu Li replied calmly, "You called her 'troublesome.' I don't have time to waste."

"Need help?" Fudot said suddenly.

"Alright."

Lu Li blocked most of the light from the oil lamp, and in the shadow, Fudot's eyes alone shone like gemstones. She asked quietly:

"What do I get out of it?"

"My gratitude."

In other words, "nothing."

"It's a deal." Fudot lifted her swan-like chin.

"Wait for my good news."

Fudot left as if she had nothing to do with it.

Someone's pet—a student's or a professor's—slipped past the bookshelf with a squeak. Wearing a collar, it darted past the guard's legs and scurried down the stairs. Lu Li looked away, returned to the upper floor, and left the library.