Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 430 - 430 237

430: 237.

Quietly Changing Heart 430: 237.

Quietly Changing Heart Whoo—

A howling sound came from outside the closed window.

The sailor stood outside the door, carefully lifting his arm on which perched a raven the size of a human head, making ordinary crows look like children in front of it.

The giant raven painted on the entrance mural of the investigator base was likely depicting this very raven.

“Is this your pet?

Mrs.

Wright found it perched on your windowsill when she returned.”

Mr.

Luli turned his body as the intelligent raven stretched its wings, nearly one meter in diameter, and flew into the Detective Agency, landing on the desk.

Only a creature of its enormous size could navigate through the storm.

“Thank you.” Its behavior had already revealed its identity, Mr.

Luli and the sailor thanked each other, and he closed the door.

Anna went to the kitchen for bread while Mr.

Luli approached the raven, but found no message tube on its leg.

Just then, the black raven raised its beak, emitting an extremely piercing sharp cry: “The stars are back in place, the black sun appears, Tillage Garden has fallen!

The stars are back in place, the black sun appears, Tillage Garden has fallen!

The stars are back in place—”

The raven was mimicking human speech, resembling the sharp cries of a weeping child with a distinct southern Main Affinity Continent accent.

Given that the investigators’ headquarters were there, it was clear where it had come from.

“What is the black sun?” asked Mr.

Luli.

“The stars are back in place, the black sun appears, Tillage Garden has fallen!”

This behavior was foolish; the raven ignored Mr.

Luli’s question, endlessly repeating this terrifying proclamation in sharp tones.

“I understand,” Mr.

Luli responded.

Only then did the raven stop its high-decibel noise and bend its head to groom its water-dampened feathers.

“A raven that can talk…” Anna, holding bread crumbs, came over in amazement.

The raven paused its grooming, cocked its head, and its dark eyeballs reflected the approaching phantom figure and the pile of bread crumbs.

As Anna placed the bread crumbs on the edge of the desk, the raven bowed its head and began to eat.

“A raven can mimic human voices—it’s intelligent and not as delicate as a pigeon,” Mr.

Luli explained to Anna.

The raven ate quickly, its hard beak pecking forcefully at the old desk, taking the food and leaving behind white marks.

Seeing that the raven had finished eating, Anna was about to go back to the kitchen for more, but the raven emitted a loud cry and flapped its wings to fly.

Circling once, it landed on Mr.

Luli’s recently raised arm.

It was now time to go find the next Exorcist who needed its ominous message.

“I’ll take it out,” Mr.

Luli said.

After taking the raven outside, Mr.

Luli returned to the Detective Agency, closed the door, and walked to the desk to pick up the phone.

The call to Tesla was transferred to the telephone station, and the staff informed Mr.

Luli that the phone lines in Belfast were damaged due to the severe weather and would only be repaired after the storm had passed.

After hanging up, Mr.

Luli took a biological encyclopedia from a bookshelf behind him and continued flipping through it.

The clock’s hands moved, and the sounds of footsteps and voices from the corridor gradually disappeared as the residents fell into slumber.

Approaching nine o’clock at night, Anna emerged from the kitchen, carrying a dried blanket, which she spread on the sofa.

Mr.

Luli looked up, closed the almost finished book, walked toward the sofa, and started to untie his tie.

The dried blanket, still warm, blended the scent of baked wool with the smell of burning wood, bringing a comforting warmth to the heart.

After lying down, Anna fetched another blanket and personally covered Mr.

Luli with it.

Under normal circumstances, Anna would have been too embarrassed to do such a thing, but now she did it naturally.

Looking down at Lu Li, her crimson pupils stood out in the dim light.

“Good night.”

Once Lu Li closed his eyes, Anna, with her book in hand, sat at the desk where Lu Li had sat during the day and quietly flipped through it.

The Long House gradually became calm, with only the sound of thunderstorms and gusts coming from outside.

On the stormy night, the Detective Agency was relatively quiet, but this quietness did not last long before it was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Knock—knock—knock—

The slow, soft knocking carried a melancholy tone.

Lu Li, who had not yet fallen asleep, opened his eyes, exchanged looks with Anna, sat up, and lifted the blanket to open the door.

Squeak—

A woman wearing a faded coarse linen white dress stood at the door, a small boy standing in front of her.

She looked up at Lu Li and pleaded softly, “Hello Mr.

Luli, I am your neighbor, Patricia Murphy.

I… was wondering if you have any extra food?

Could you… give us some?

I can go without, but my two children have been hungry for a day and a half…”

“Please, Exorcist sir, just a portion will do; my sister, she’s still sick.” The little boy also looked up and pleaded.

He looked far too frail.

Lu Li looked at the small boy and his mother, turned his head, and said to Anna standing behind him, “Bring some canned goods.”

Soon, Anna brought six cans of pork and two cans of fruit, standing behind the door out of sight of the mother and son.

When Lu Li took them, they assumed there was someone else in the room, then their attention focused entirely on the small pile of cans.

“This is too much…” Patricia Murphy hesitated, while the little boy stared at the cans, speechless.

“This will be enough to last you until the storm is over,” Lu Li handed them to Patricia Murphy.

“Thank you… thank you so much, I don’t know how to thank you enough… Eck, quickly thank Mr.

Luli!” The woman nearly lost control of her voice, choking as she instructed her son to express gratitude.

“Thank you, Exorcist sir,” the little boy hurriedly said.

The mother and son turned and left, the little boy’s elated cheers of “Great, it’s fruit cans, my sister will be so happy!” gradually fading away.

Lu Li silently closed the door.

“What’s the matter?” Anna sensed a change in Lu Li’s emotions.

After a moment of silence, Lu Li frowned and looked at Anna, “Do you remember the story about caring about the fish?

I’ve realized I can’t save those fish.”

A massive storm was forming over the sea, and in comparison to the storm, humans are so insignificant; Lu Li throwing the fish back into the sea wouldn’t allow them to survive.

After all, even he himself was struggling to escape from the beach before the storm arrived.

Anna remembered the story, of course, her expression grew even more gentle, and she comforted Lu Li softly, “You did well; this was enough.

We can’t save everyone.”

Although Anna couldn’t understand why Lu Li felt depressed for not being able to help others, she found herself liking him more.

Rather than constantly maintaining a calm and rational demeanor, like an emotionless monster, the human touch that appeared on Lu Li now thrilled her more.

Lu Li soon regained his composure and returned to rest on the couch.

The quiet lasted for a while longer, only to be broken again around midnight.

Opening the door that was knocked on, Jojo stood outside, wearing a raincoat but still drenched like a drowned rat, water streaming from the edges of her shoes.

Jojo’s eyes were red, rain and tears mixed together.

“My brother, he’s in trouble!”