The Bizarre Detective Agency

Lu Li had no intention of pursuing this lead further. The eyeless ghost, Ruth, had already been dealt with physically, and the “it” described in the diary was beyond his ability to confront. At most, he would hand the diary over to the police or the Night Watchers at an appropriate time.

Next, Lu Li checked the other two beds but, unfortunately, found no clues related to the ghost Athena Leslie.

Lu Li turned to the ghostly girl on the windowsill. “Do you know anything about Athena Leslie?”

Anna shook her head. “I only got to know her after she became a ghost. Before that, I’d only seen her a few times.”

“Can you sense where she is?”

“Hmm… she’s not nearby.”

Lu Li nodded and left the break room. “Let’s head back.”

The other two rooms on the second floor—a studio and a storage room—weren’t likely to hold any clues.

It was nearing midnight. The dim, silent hallway was illuminated only by the oil lamp in Lu Li’s hand. Beside him floated a slightly translucent girl in a white dress, chattering nonstop.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

“Lu Li.”

“You’re different from the other night guards. They were all so scared of us. Why aren’t you afraid?”

“Because fear and impulsiveness are useless. They only cloud your judgment and hinder your actions.”

Returning to the first-floor hallway, they encountered Athena’s ghost again.

“…My…

Dragging the intestine that extended from beneath her dress, Athena murmured the same words as she floated aimlessly down the hallway.

She had absorbed part of Ruth’s ghostly essence, and her aura had grown even stronger. A shadowy silhouette loomed faintly behind her, with indescribable, twisted tendrils gently writhing around its edges.

This dispelled Lu Li’s thoughts of taking her on directly. Athena was no ordinary ghost; she might have already reached the level of a vengeful spirit, far beyond what a novice exorcist like him could handle.

Fortunately, unlike Ruth, she hadn’t shown any overt hostility.

Lu Li pressed his back against the wall, remaining silent as he waited for Athena to pass. When she floated into the circle of light cast by the oil lamp, she vanished.

“You can come out now. She’s gone.” Lu Li turned his head and addressed Anna, who was hiding behind him. “Are you afraid of ghosts too?”

Anna put her hands on her hips and stubbornly retorted, “Why shouldn’t ghosts be allowed to fear other ghosts?”

Lu Li couldn’t find a logical counter to such a statement, so he chose silence.

Back at the desk by the door, Lu Li set down the oil lamp and sat in the wooden chair.

“Why were you in the painting?” he asked.

Anna floated in the air, darting playfully from side to side like a sprite. Her voice was clear and cheerful. “I don’t know. When I woke up, I was already in the painting.”

“So, are you Anna? Or are you a painting named Anna?”

Anna rolled her eyes and floated down in front of him. “What kind of nonsense is that? If I were just a painting, how could I have memories from when I was alive?”

Lu Li asked a few more questions. Though Anna kept making snarky remarks, she still answered earnestly and even seemed a bit excited.

Perhaps she had been alone in the painting for too long. Every night guard before Lu Li had been terrified of ghosts, let alone willing to talk to her. Anna seemed to genuinely enjoy their conversation.

Lu Li’s thoughts drifted to the statue. Perhaps it had been following him for the same reason?

Madame Anlef, or Anlef Bessie, was the founder of Madame Anlef’s Art Gallery. The gallery originally resided in Schimfast, a city about 200 miles from Belfast on the Allen Peninsula.

Schimfast was known as the “Art Capital” of the Allen Peninsula, renowned for its rich artistic atmosphere. Even commoners there had some level of art appreciation. However, after the “Nightly Calamity” Anna described, no one had the time or capacity to care about art anymore. Galleries and museums fell into decline, and Madame Anlef and her daughter Anna succumbed to illness during the chaos.

On her deathbed, Madame Anlef entrusted the gallery to Benjamin, a man passionate about art. To his credit, he honored her trust by relocating the gallery to Belfast—a harbor city utterly devoid of an artistic atmosphere—rather than selling it.

Some employees chose to follow the gallery to Belfast, including James Campbell, who had both killed Ruth and been killed by her in turn.

Anna Bessie had gained consciousness, or “awoken,” only after the gallery moved to Belfast. She was the first ghost to appear in the gallery, followed by the statue, and then Ruth and Athena.

“Was Athena a local?”

“Yeah, Benjamin hired her after he moved here. I saw her a few times. She always worked late into the night and only left with her oil lamp. She was such a hardworking girl… what a pity…”

Anna was shy and timid. For a long time after her awakening, she had hidden in the painting, peeking out at the outside world.

“You can only appear after dark?”

“I need to rest during the day.” Anna turned to look back, then tilted her head. “But I think I could come out during the day too?”

“You’ve never tried?”

“No… I thought ghosts could only come out at night…” Anna admitted sheepishly. Her habit of resting during the day and appearing at night had come from ghost stories she’d read, where “ghosts usually haunt at night.”

After her explanation, Anna began urging Lu Li to share his own story. Floating across from him, she rested her chin in her hands, staring at him expectantly.

Lu Li briefly recounted some of his experiences since arriving in Belfast, omitting his identity as an exorcist.

“And before that?” Anna pressed, like a little girl eager for a bedtime story.

“…”

Lu Li remained silent.

In the end, he didn’t share more. Though Anna seemed a bit disappointed, she hid it well. She didn’t want to risk losing Lu Li, her first friend since becoming a ghost—and the first one she’d ever had.

As Lu Li and Anna continued talking, time quietly slipped away.

A faint light began to spread across the horizon beyond the harbor. Dawn was breaking.

Anna yawned, then froze mid-yawn, realizing that Lu Li was watching her. Embarrassed, she quickly covered her mouth, her cheeks flushing slightly. “I’m going back to rest.”

“Alright.”

Rubbing his temples, Lu Li stood and escorted Anna back to her painting.

Hovering in front of the frame, Anna hesitated, then shyly asked, “Will you come back tomorrow?”

“I will.”

Lu Li nodded. By day, he planned to investigate Athena’s background and find a targeted solution. Dealing with just one ghost wouldn’t be enough to extract a proper commission from the stingy Benjamin.

“Hehe.” Anna let out a silly giggle before covering her face in embarrassment and retreating into the painting.

She resumed her original pose, her body and eyes freezing in place, melding seamlessly with the painted background.

Lu Li extinguished the oil lamp, plunging the surroundings into darkness.

Pale light filtered faintly into the quiet hallway through the window.