Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 406 - 406 263

406: 263.

Fright in the Firewood Room 406: 263.

Fright in the Firewood Room [“Thank you for your help,” Sara said to the servants.

After they left the room, she sat at the desk, opened her notebook, and wrote down the process of the third ritual.]

Petra’s inquiring gaze fell upon the butler Lulu, who turned to look at the middle-aged head maid standing beside,”What happened to Lola after we left?”

[“Because there was no loss of blood, the resurrection turned out slightly better this time, but he still couldn’t speak or think, just obeying my commands like a puppet.

Is it because something was missing?”]

“He seemed to collapse from poisoning, and then was …

dragged into the bedroom.

After a while, he walked out of the room stiffly like a marionette and went outside, into the cellar next to the woodshed,” the head maid’s narrative and cryptic, ancient sounds alternated.

In the real world, the corresponding location of the treehouse was just a former lawn; however, both the woodshed and the basement truly existed.

The butler Lulu nodded, asking them to bring lunch to the corridor before retreating back to the Baron’s side.

[“Perhaps I missed something,” Sara thought.

She placed that ancient book in the basement, looked towards the balcony, and spoke to Maid Irene before heading to the basement in the garden.]

The cryptic sounds ceased as Sara left.

“Perhaps we should follow her,” Petra suggested slowly.

The deaths of David and Lola unsettled him, and he was eager to do something.

“I wouldn’t recommend that,”

Suddenly speaking up, Vinson drew everyone’s attention, “Don’t forget this is a story, assisted by an omnipotent being for the protagonist.

If we do anything superfluous, we might be ignored by the story if we’re lucky.”

The group waited for a moment, and seeing that Vinson had no intention of continuing, the butler pushed up his thick, bottle-bottom glasses and asked, “And if we’re less lucky?”

“Just like those stories we’ve read, characters who try to secretly follow the protagonist always foolishly make noise and get noticed,” Vinson went on and reminded them they were in a misconception, “This is a story.

No matter what troubles the protagonist encounters, they always turn danger into safety; it’s only others who might be unlucky.”

Vinson’s hint made everyone fall into thought.

Petra agreed, but he had his own opinion, “But we need to know what happens next.”

“And then?” Vinson spread his hands.

“We can’t change anything.

The story will inevitably follow its path until the end.”

All they could do was barely fend for themselves.

Petra fell silent briefly, his gaze inquiringly falling on Lu Li.

This was perhaps the difference between a night watchman and an investigator.

“There is sense in both,” Lu Li calmly stated.

Vinson took out his pipe and smiled, “We don’t want to hear politician-like words from you.”

Lu Li continued, “So, let’s adopt both suggestions.

We’ll approach but maintain a distance, as long as we hear ‘the sound'”

“I have no problem with that,” the Baron said to Lu Li, her attire and demeanor making her appear like the girl next door conversing with her crush.

Tschh—

Striking a match to light his tobacco, Vinson flicked off the match and pocketed it nonchalantly, “Since the employer has decided, let’s do as you say.”

They entered the mansion’s room closest to the woodshed, the few maids who resided there having already left early.

Near the window, the outlines of the woodshed could faintly be seen through the torrential curtain of rain and flashes of lightning.

The cryptic, ancient sounds did not rise, neither for lack of plot at the moment nor because they were still too far away …

Standing by the window, he waited for several minutes until the glass was entirely obscured by fog, yet there was still no movement from the small cabin in the distance.

Petra looked at everyone, “Perhaps we should get closer.”

Vinson pocketed his extinguished pipe, “It’s pouring outside, and at my age, it’s uncertain whether I could recover from an illness.”

Of course, that was an excuse, being in the Baron’s backyard he would hardly fall ill.

“Then Lu Li and I will approach the woodshed,” Petra said after seeking Lu Li’s opinion and, receiving no objection, continued, “The Baron and Vinson will stay here.”

Without the aid of umbrellas or raincoats, Lu Li and Petra, led by a maid, stepped out of the mansion and into the curtain of rain.

The rain instantly soaked their servant clothes, and the accumulating water flowed down the path toward the lower terrain near the Shore of Agate Lake.

The two approached the woodshed, which now vaguely revealed its outline, and appeared within the view of several people in the maid’s room.

Lu Li and Petra paused in front of the woodshed door and, to their surprise, pushed it open and walked into the dimly lit interior.

“What have they found?” the butler whispered.

In fact, they heard an obscure and ancient sound.

Or rather, it was because of their arrival that the obscure and ancient sounds had resumed.

[Sara had been in the woodshed for a long time.

Following the Viscount’s orders, the servants Lu Li and Petra exchanged glances and quietly pushed open the door to enter.]

[Dust swirled near the door, as the servants Lu Li and Petra looked around the woodshed and did not find the young lady’s figure.

“Where is the young lady?” Petra asked, perplexed.

“Look at the floor…” Lu Li suddenly pointed at the floor, where disordered yet fresh footprints extended forward from their feet—]

The Shadow of Puppetry rationalized their actions.

After doing so, the plot began to change anew.

[Suddenly, a large amount of dust cascaded down, blinding Petra’s eyes.

As Petra stumbled about in panic, a figure suddenly appeared behind Lu Li.]

[Standing by the door, Sara swung a shovel, aiming it at the back of servant Lu Li.]

“Watch out!”

Anna’s cry sounded in his ear, and a gentle force accompanied by a chilly breath surfaced behind him, pushing Lu Li forward a few steps and allowing him to evade the falling shovel.

Whew—

A gust of wind blew past the back of his head.

“What are you doing here?” a steadied Lu Li said as he turned around.

In the dim doorway of the woodshed, a dark figure of Sara stood holding a shovel.

Petra, barely managing to open her eyes, looked on warily.

[“What are you doing here?” a breathless Lu Li asked.

“Help me hold this…

I’m really sorry, I almost hit you,” Sara hastily handed the shovel to Lu Li with an apologetic tone, “I wanted to grab a shovel to fix the garden, saw you guys coming, and wanted to greet you, but accidentally… Petra, are you alright?”]

[Sara’s delicate face was filled with innocence, looking like it was an accident.]

[“Of course, it’s just some dust,” Petra said, grinning casually.

Lu Li gave Petra a look and resignedly said to Sara, “Miss, the garden can’t be fixed with a shovel.

You can leave such things to the gardener; you don’t need to do it yourself.”]