The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 960: Lu Li's Dream

A low murmur of conversation hung over the platform.

The students, gradually spreading out, had informally separated into three distinct groups on the banquet platform.

The first-years were tense and green; the middle-years, wary and aloof; and the seniors, who simply ignored everything.

Fudot's gaze swept over the long tables laden with food. The banquet on the Trunk Level was just as exquisite, devoid of any suspicious body parts, organs, or raw dishes. She heard Dogmeat look up and remark, "So the Hour of Silence affects the Giant Tree..."

"Not before, but the Primordial Darkness has strengthened all anomalies... You've never once opened your mysticism textbook, have you?"

"I'm illiterate."

Dogmeat stated it as a simple fact, his attention already shifting from Montmis defending the banquet back to the spread on the table.

Lu Li scanned the lingering crowd of students and was surprised to spot the one who had once pleaded with him for rescue in the Mixed Zone. The boy was now missing an arm, the stump bound in a bloody bandage. He shuffled aimlessly behind the other figures, a vacant look on his face like a zombie.

Looking away, Lu Li slipped out of the crowd. He plucked a milk candy from a sugar bowl on one of the long tables and made his way to a quieter corner of the banquet hall.

He walked past lush, anomalous bushes and descended a staircase built alongside the gnarled, branching roots. The noise and light of the banquet faded behind him as he reached a lower level.Lu Li sat on a bench, the cold wind from the surface washing over him. Far in the distance, a lone alchemical tower flickered faintly, a single point of light in the depths of the roiling, malevolent darkness.

He took a Potion of Pleasant Dreams from his pocket. In the palm of his other hand rested the milk candy.

The taste of this refined Potion of Pleasant Dreams was much better than he had expected. An almond bitterness replaced the usual unbearable taste, making it almost like a regular beverage.

The senior alchemist who brewed it knew how to add ingredients that altered the taste without affecting its potency, which explained its higher price.

After downing the Potion of Pleasant Dreams, Lu Li slipped the milk candy and the empty vial back into his pocket.

"Great Exorcist."

A figure emerged from the shadows.

"We've wanted to see you for a long time, but the vice dean has kept you well hidden."

Helmund sat on the bench next to Lu Li, placing a hand on his chest. "Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Perison, Helmund's father."

"One body, two souls?"

Helmund's condition reminded Lu Li of Sarah and Adam.

"It's no surprise you're Lu Li. My father's soul and mine are fused within this single body. It is a curse, but also a gift."

Helmund removed his theatrical, flamboyant hat. "My father wanted to see you, and I... I also wish to express my gratitude."

"I don't understand."

Lu Li was certain he had never met Helmund before, and he didn't know anyone named Perison.

As if to mark the shift in who controlled the body, the persona that spoke now—Perison's—was calm, deep, and deeply respectful. "Of course, you wouldn't remember me... During the great evacuation of Revoltown, I was one of the hundred thousand citizens you saved."

"Every seed sown can bear fruit," Helmund remarked, his own personality now in control.

This reminded Lu Li of Helmund's intriguing attitude when Professor Kris was talking about the significance of the Academy of Giant Trees.

"I have no problem with the concept of the Academy of Giant Trees," Helmund explained, as if reading Lu Li's thoughts.

"It's just that the dean and his cronies are going about it the wrong way. We should be cultivating the strong to change the world, not wasting resources on a bunch of layabouts trying to relive their lives before the fall... I'm not referring to you, of course."

"Please forgive Helmund's impoliteness," Perison apologized at once. "We can't help but sense the thoughts of those around us."

Lu Li couldn't shield his thoughts to keep Helmund from hearing more, so he changed the subject to create a distraction.

"I want to know about the bearers of Cursed Titles."

"That's what you came for, right? Very well," Helmund collected his thoughts and began to explain:

"Different Cursed Titles have different qualities, which depend on their specific characteristics and the being that granted the title. To put it simply: Cursed Titles vary in both type and tier."

This senior mysticism professor knew the best way to explain things.

"A Cursed Title granted by a deity is more powerful than one from an anomaly lord. Yet, a Title granted by an anomaly lord who sacrifices itself is more powerful than one from a deity... When you begin to learn how to release your Cursed Title's power, the academy will assess it. Beyond tiers, we also classify their characteristics into three types: War, Defense, and—"

Without warning, a dark-golden radiance materialized from thin air, enveloping Helmund and freezing him in place.

"Professor Helmund, you have violated the academy's rules."

Professor Kris's cold voice drifted from the top of the stairs.

Bathed in the dark-golden radiance, Helmund could only manage a stiff turn of his eyes. A strained voice escaped his lips: "Vice Dean, you are overprotective of Lu Li. He's a legendary exorcist; he knows how to—"

"There is no need for him to face such problems and negativity yet. Leave, Helmund."

Professor Kris's voice carried a clear warning, and the radiance binding Helmund's body lessened its grip.

Helmund took a deep breath and rose from the bench. Perison's persona took over to give Lu Li a respectful bow. "Lu Li, I will look forward to our next meeting."

When their figures disappeared in the distance, Professor Kris's gaze fell upon Lu Li.

"You must learn to crawl before you can stand. Trying to stand up right away will only leave you bruised."

Without objecting, Lu Li followed Professor Kris back toward the banquet.

When his training first began, Lu Li had been focused solely on mastering his Cursed Title. But this experience was revealing just how ignorant he still was about the Age of Anomalies—

A slow, steady approach had no flaws, save for being slow.

Piano music drifted across the platform. The center of the banquet had become a dance floor, where students swayed to the music in pairs.

Pleased that Lu Li seemed to understand, Professor Kris invited him, "My dear, would you care for a dance?"

"No."

Lu Li couldn't dance, and besides, the difference in their builds was like that between an adult and a child.

Looking around the banquet, Lu Li saw that Dogmeat had already eaten his way to the senior students' area.

The senior students, wrapped in cloaks and capes, watched with amusement as the small boy invaded their space. The way they all consciously suppressed their auras made them look like a pride of lions toying with a lamb.

Fudot Lince was on the dance floor, dancing with a young man.

"Is it alright if I leave early?" The Potion of Pleasant Dreams seemed to be taking effect; Lu Li was starting to feel sleepy.

"What a shame..." Professor Kris said wistfully, adding with a hint of something more:

"Of course, you may. Pleasant dreams."

Lu Li left the banquet and made his way back to his room. The Academy of Giant Trees was quiet, with only a few gatekeepers on duty. There, he had his first dream of the new year.

He dreamed he was in Belfast, running a detective agency with a girl named Anna as his assistant. Everything was peaceful and good. But then it was all shattered by a young man named Mick and his cronies.

Just as things were about to take a dark turn, Lu Li woke with the dawn.

The dream, on the verge of becoming a nightmare, had been cut short.