Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 507 - 507 Twenty-six

507: Twenty-six.

Lady Merlin 507: Twenty-six.

Lady Merlin Seaside Town—local people had referred to it this way hundreds of years ago.

Such a prolonged designation had caused the original name of the town to vanish from people’s memories; even official documents and maps referred to the place as “Seaside Town.” Perhaps only the Royal Library of the Arlen Kingdom still held records of its original name.

The Seaside Town, located at the foot of the southern Falling Leaves Mountain Range, was far from Ailen Peninsula.

When Lu Li’s carriage traveled along the coastal street, no land contours could be seen on the horizon.

The nearest location to the northeast, the Southern Shadow Swamp, was also nearly a hundred miles away.

The population of Seaside Town was less than four thousand—this number was already significantly higher than most towns on the Ailen Peninsula, but compared to other towns on the Main Affinity Continent, it was just a minor town.

In contrast, its fame far surpassed those towns with larger populations.

Seaside Town was a tourist town, with its mild environment, comfortable climate, friendly inhabitants, and proximity to the mountains and the ocean, which all made it a cherished tourist destination of the Main Affinity Continent.

Moreover, hurricanes struggled to bypass the Ailen Peninsula to strike here,

except for an unknown hurricane named “Arthur” more than a month ago.

Yet, the increasingly severe environment still impacted this mountain-foot town.

A reduction in tourists and some residents moving away had made the place much quieter.

In the void, Anna sat beside Lu Li, unnoticed as she gently leaned on him, quietly admiring the architectural style of Seaside Town.

It was very different from the buildings on the Ailen Peninsula; Anna could not pinpoint the differences, attributing the gap to cultural heritage and novelty.

There were also clean, tidy streets and the beautiful ivory-colored beaches.

The gloomy sky did not spoil the atmosphere too much; seagulls flew above the coast, and the laughter of children, reduced to tiny specks on the beach, came with the cool afternoon sea breeze along the streets—neither boisterous nor desolate, with some of the passersby clearly being tourists from other places.

The quiet Seaside Town appeared as if it had never suffered from bizarre troubles, suddenly granting Anna the impulse to settle here.

Just her and Lu Li.

Whoosh—

A poster on a street-side bench fluttered in the sea breeze, spinning towards the passing carriage, heading straight for Lu Li’s face.

Before Anna’s rising breath could tear it apart, Lu Li reached out and grabbed the poster, unfolding it in front of him.

[Lennon Islands, your best choice to avoid the weird and start a new life!]

Beneath the text, there was an illustration of a young couple walking towards an island with palm trees, with a local phone number and address listed at the bottom.

This was a promotional poster for the Lennon Islands.

It seemed that the matters of the Lennon Islands were already widely known.

If it wasn’t for the damned existence behind the scenes, she and Lu Li would already be on a large ship heading to the Lennon Islands.

Anna thought coldly.

Creak—Creak—

A bicycle overtook the slowly moving carriage, pedaled by a postman in dark green uniform who sped further away.

Lu Li shifted his attention from the poster, silently watching the departing postman.

Bicycles were definitely not seen in Belfast.

The damning slopes in the city limited bicycles’ usage to just a few neighboring streets, and this form of transportation, which was not cost-effective, naturally wasn’t adopted by people who favored practicality, nor would the upper-class ever consider cycling.

“Are the Blood-Colored Tentacles present here?”

Once the bicycling postman had vanished from sight, Anna’s soft whisper reached his ears.

“Yes…”

Lu Li’s response carried an unusual uncertainty.

He slightly tilted his head back, gazing up at the skies above the coastal town, but only for a brief moment before again focusing on the nearby coastline.

The blood-colored tentacles descending from the clouds were split into two above the seaside town, one dangling amidst the uneven sprawl of town buildings, and the other stretching towards the vast sea.

Twins?

Or is it a case of two overly close blood-colored tentacles appearing similar?

Lu Li couldn’t be sure, but what he could confirm was that this town was his destination.

At that moment, the sound of flapping wings arose close by.

Lu Li looked towards the direction of the sound as a dark crow flew towards him, landing on the arm he had raised amid the astonished stares of passersby.

The bamboo tube on its leg revealed the crow’s identity.

“Get some bread.”

Lu Li said, and removed the bamboo tube from the crow’s leg, extracting a slip of paper.

The curtain behind him lifted slightly as if blown by a gust of wind, attracting no attention.

[Welcome to the beautiful seaside town.]

[Demon Slayer Lady Merlin resides here.

Should any Exorcist/Investigator/Night Watcher require assistance, you may visit Lady Merlin at Spiritual Fortune-Telling House, Sea Wind Street no.

13]

The yellowed, aged paper bore the above words.

Not an investigator organization, but almost.

The Exorcists Association also uses crows as messengers.

After reading, Lu Li stuffed it back into the crow’s message tube.

The crow didn’t linger and took to the sky, silently, unlike the usual crows.

At that moment, Anna emerged from the carriage holding a piece of dry, shriveled bread.

“Has it left?”

“Yes.”

Lu Li uttered a syllable, then suddenly tilted his head back and sniffed gently.

The air left behind by the departing crow held a faint odor nearly dissipated, akin to the smell of rotten eggs.

Or more specifically, like sulfur.

A nearby sulfur mine?

Lu Li considered this but quickly shifted his focus.

It was normal for there to be some minerals in the forests at the foot of the Falling Leaves Mountain Range where the seaside town was located.

Looking at the street sign on the right building, Sea Wind Street no.

68, he decided to continue straight to the residence of the Demon Slayer.

There was some time before it got dark.

Remembering the content of the note, Lu Li thought he might visit before nightfall and searching for the tentacles.

The blood-colored tentacles that had reached the town wouldn’t have been here for more than three days, and the town’s Exorcist might know something.

Taking the reins, the carriage moved along Sea Wind Street, arriving at destination no.

13 after a few minutes.

[Spiritual Fortune-Telling House]The sign was inscribed with rose-like, intricate script.

Lu Li parked the carriage by the roadside, and, accompanied by Anna, entered the dimly lit little house.

Candles scattered around the floor of the cabin, in the center of the room, an old woman sat on a circular rug, surrounded by candles arranged in a circle.

The flickering flames caused the old woman’s face to shift between light and shadow.

Her palm clutched a handkerchief, oddly resting on a low chair with water flowing through, slowly dripping over her wrists and into a copper basin below.

A middle-aged man sat reverently outside the rug, with his back to Lu Li, apparently waiting for some outcome.

Tick-tock—tick-tock—

Amid the slow dripping sounds, the old woman surrounded by candles slowly opened her ghostly pale eyes.