Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 70: No Clues

MI7.

The disturbances outside had little to do with this place.

Everyone sat at the table, mostly chatting idly.

“Those lords were a little frightened.”

Anthony took a sip of whiskey, swirling the glass in his hand.

“They knew the Queen would sooner or later strike at the conservative faction of the Church, just didn’t expect her to go this far. Now the Foreign Ministry is probably in a complete mess.”

“Did His Holiness the Pope lodge a protest?”

Katie blinked curiously, looking at Anthony.

He shrugged.

“I heard they’re sending a delegation. As for what they’ll discuss, that’s beyond me, and I don’t want to know.”

“But today’s battle was really dangerous.”

Henry’s face was stern.

He hadn’t joined the battle on Bishop Raphael’s side, but he had read the reports.

After being struck, they would spray feathers; anyone touched by the feathers would also turn into feather monsters.

And those feather monsters, when blasted, would in turn explode and spray feathers again, then…

Fortunately, most churches occupied their own plot of land, relatively independent, and the surroundings had been sealed off before the operation.

Levi had also reacted swiftly.

Otherwise, if those feather monsters had broken into the Mist City district… Just imagining the consequences sent chills down Henry’s spine.

Even if fire could solve it, how big a fire would it take? And how many would die?

“They actually dared to do this!”

Henry slammed the table in anger, growling lowly.

“They should all be hanged!”

“They’re already dead beyond dead. We should focus on the problems of the living.”

Levi closed the Holy Scripture of Creation in his hands and spoke calmly.

Hearing his words, the others turned their gazes toward him.

“Detective, did you find the origin of those feather monsters?”

Katie asked Levi curiously.

After all, Levi’s task had been to investigate whether Bishop Raphael’s mutation was caused by some rumor or tale—since it was impossible that he had simply turned into that monstrosity by himself.

“Mm, I did.”

Levi glanced at Eliza beside him and nodded.

“That was the image of an angel.”

“…………………???”

At Levi’s reply, everyone was dumbfounded.

“An angel? How could an angel look like that? Aren’t angels supposed to be beautiful?”

Katie asked in astonishment, while Levi shrugged and looked at Eliza.

She could only explain helplessly.

“Indeed, the general public believes so, but in fact it’s not true.

This angelic image was fabricated by the Church to make proselytizing easier.

The true form of angels is nothing like that.

For example, the Great Throne—its depiction in the Holy Scripture of Creation is a single eye, with three pairs of wings, the wings covered in countless eyes, watching sins of the world day and night, perceiving all things…”

“Something like this.”

Levi casually sketched on paper, then handed it to the others.

They saw a huge eyeball with three pairs of molting wings sprouting from its sides, each wing covered in eyes darting about.

“Ugh… this is an angel?”

Not only did Katie’s face stiffen, but the others looked equally horrified.

Hearing the description in words, one might not quite imagine it—but seeing it drawn out gave the feeling of one’s sanity slipping.

No wonder the Church beautified it.

Who would believe otherwise?

“Eh? But… weren’t these mutations supposed to follow rumors? If everyone thinks angels are beautiful, then shouldn’t they become beautiful angels?”

Katie’s words were messy, but her meaning was clear: since Bishop Raphael turned into an angel, shouldn’t it have been the pretty version in people’s minds?

“That’s just what the public thinks. True clergy do not.”

Levi shook his head, and Eliza also spoke.

“In fact, contrary to popular belief, clergy are more accepting of this terrifying angelic form.”

“No, but… why?”

Katie racked her brain but couldn’t understand.

With lovely angels available, why would they embrace monstrous ones instead?

What kind of logic was that?

“Because demons must tempt humans into corruption, so they need beautiful faces. Angels, on the other hand, need only terror to strike fear into those who side with demons.”

Eliza’s reasoning made sense to Levi.

Simply put, demons needed human souls, so they appeared pleasing to human tastes.

Angels had no such need; they were already righteous, and their form mattered not.

In fact, the more terrifying they appeared, the more they could strike fear into weak-willed mortals vulnerable to demonic whispers.

Of course, Levi admitted, if he encountered one of these himself, he’d fire a full magazine first and think later.

Besides, judging from the feather monsters encountered at the Church, these angels weren’t necessarily “good things.”

“I still prefer pretty angels.”

Katie muttered her complaint, falling silent.

Clearly, Eliza’s explanation had shattered her girlish fantasy—like telling a child there was no Santa Claus.

Levi, meanwhile, merely glanced at Katie before sinking into thought again.

It was clear Bishop Raphael’s mutation was still tied to rumors, but through two different systems.

The public’s notion of angels was like an external network, while Raphael’s concept was more like the clergy’s internal intranet—isolated and separate.

Thus, Raphael transformed into the angels clergy imagined, not those of the masses.

Yes.

He was beginning to understand more about the rules of these mutations.

“Clack.”

At that moment, the meeting room doors opened.

The Old Butler walked in.

Seeing him, everyone sat upright.

“Any results from the investigation?”

“More or less.”

Levi handed over the report.

The Old Butler looked it through carefully, then nodded.

“Good. What about the Imperial Bridge, any clues?”

“At the moment, no useful leads.”

Levi shook his head.

After returning to MI7 last night, they had immediately sent people out to collect rumors about the Imperial Bridge, and sifted through letters sent by readers, but unfortunately found little mention of it.

“What’s the situation at the Imperial Bridge?”

“They’re finishing the final work. In three days, it opens. Her Majesty the Queen will personally attend the opening ceremony.”

At this, the Old Butler’s expression grew stern.

“Before then, we must uncover exactly what danger lies with the Imperial Bridge!”

“How are we supposed to do that?”

Anthony was the first to groan.

“According to the boss, rumors need to spread widely, right? But now we can’t even find any useful ones.”

“But the Captain also said, if there’s already some mysterious force there, maybe it doesn’t need such widespread influence.”

Henry retorted.

This was a pattern Levi himself had observed from past cases.

Of the four he’d handled, the Courtesan Killer and the vampire involved broad influence, but the Haunted House and the Manor had almost none.

Yet the latter were far more dangerous.

“But no one died during construction of the Imperial Bridge, right? And no strange altars or anything like that?”

“No.”

The Old Butler shook his head.

“The Imperial Bridge was a key project designated by Her Majesty.

The media watched closely.

If too many people had died, we’d know.”

“And the altars?”

“Already inspected once. Nothing was found.”

The Old Butler looked at Levi.

“Perhaps you should check it yourselves.”

“No helping it.”

Levi sighed, rising to his feet.

“Let’s head to the site.”

The Mist City Bridge spanned the Tyles River estuary, 325 meters long.

On both banks stood granite-and-steel towers sixty meters tall.

When great ships passed, the central span would split open, lifting to either side.

Because of this, the Imperial Bridge at the river’s mouth resembled a giant city gate on the water.

Newspapers even called it the Water Gate of Mist City and the Empire, a symbol of the era’s greatest steam technology and steel might.

In short, a wonder.

Whether more entertainment or culture, who knew.

When Levi and the others arrived, they were stunned, especially Levi.

A six-lane-wide bridge, free of traffic jams, with people strolling about freely—it felt amazing.

As the Empire’s most prestigious wonder, the Imperial Bridge was, of course, tightly guarded.

Soldiers stopped them before they got close; only after showing identification were they allowed through.

Waiting at the bridge was already someone expecting them.

“We’ve searched the entire bridge thoroughly. Found no signs of sabotage.”

The man in charge of construction was a burly fellow, built much like Henry—tall and muscular, with the look of someone who could kill with one punch.

A pipe clamped in his mouth, his expression fierce.

His words sounded bold, but his eyes betrayed unease.

If something truly happened at the opening, his life would be over.

“What about explosives sabotage?”

Henry was especially concerned, and they quickly discussed it.

“Impossible. The bridge was designed with sabotage in mind.

Thousands of tons of steel and stone are piled here—you could never blast it down, at most disable a few components.”

The foreman shook his head.

“We checked those parts too. Nothing suspicious. This was built to wartime standards—the demands for sturdiness, reliability, and stability were the highest.”

“So sabotage would be very difficult?”

“These soldiers aren’t just for show.”

The foreman pointed smugly at the guards.

Indeed, such a project, being the nation’s face, deserved thorough protection.

“What about beneath the bridge?”

“Constant patrol.”

He gestured at the river.

Small motorboats were puttering back and forth below, scanning.

Levi ignored that, instead activating 【Soul Sight】, walking the bridge thoroughly, while sending his puppet bird to fly across and puppet cat to crawl beneath.

The result: nothing.

At least within 【Soul Sight】’s range, nothing unscientific appeared.

“Any results, Detective?”

When Levi returned to the bridgehead, Katie came running up.

“Nothing.”

Levi shook his head with a sigh.

“Let’s head back and search other leads.”

For now, that was all he could do.