Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 71: Found It

In the following day, Levi spent time separately collecting intelligence from Lestrade and MI7, but there was still no particularly useful information or clues regarding the Imperial Bridge.

The only thing he could currently confirm was that, in Levi’s eyes, the red glow inside that Imperial Bridge model was gradually taking shape.

As for that model, it had now become a bit tricky.

Although Levi had told Katie to take it home to play with, she had still temporarily left it at MI7, only playing with it occasionally when she came by.

Henry had even suggested simply smashing the damn thing, like the cursed straw dolls in ghost stories—perhaps if you destroyed it, the trouble would vanish.

But from Levi’s perspective, it was just like those reckless characters in horror films—if you smashed it and accidentally released something troublesome, who would deal with it? Levi certainly wasn’t about to stand at the front.

Whoever wanted to die could do so; he definitely would not.

So for the moment, the object was stored in MI7’s vault.

Every day, people would come to circle around it, checking if there were new changes……… at least for now, there were none.

But in a few days, who could say?

Still, the Queen wasn’t entirely without solutions.

Levi had heard from Anthony that Her Majesty had invited the Archbishop of the Holy Lord Church—the only one not arrested in this operation due to his special identity—to attend the opening ceremony of the Imperial Bridge.

How should one put it… it was a bit like “if I die, everyone dies together, you don’t get to escape.” If the Pope weren’t too old to travel, the Queen might well have dragged him along for the funeral too.

If the Archbishop were involved in this matter, perhaps he would give up the plan……… yeah, as if.

In Levi’s view, those religious lunatics had no sense of reason.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the Archbishop welcomed the idea of dying alongside the Queen.

After death, he could immediately go report to the Holy Lord, no need to queue.

As for the suggestion that the Queen not attend, Levi had raised it, but it was obvious she had no intention of backing down.

Clearly, she would never bow her head to such an illusory threat.

That couldn’t be helped.

You see, what the leader wanted wasn’t necessarily what you wanted.

All one could do was follow orders.

So don’t rush where your leader doesn’t rush, don’t think what your leader thinks—that was all nonsense.

As the saying went, “the emperor is not anxious, but the eunuch is.” No matter how much you prepared, if your leader didn’t follow your plan, wasn’t it all wasted?

“Hu……………”

Levi put down another report and rubbed his eyes.

The Police Station and MI7 had worked hard, and indeed gathered some rumors about the Imperial Bridge, but most were about corruption and bribery.

Some said workers had been buried inside the piles during construction, leading to vengeful spirits haunting the bridge.

But none of this was enough to damage the bridge itself, and certainly had nothing to do with the model.

If it really were vengeful spirits, wouldn’t a skull be more convenient?

In fact, rumors and gossip had always accompanied the Imperial Bridge’s construction.

After all, it was the Empire’s grandest project, so naturally people talked.

But none of those rumors ever questioned the bridge’s quality—after all, this was the capital, under the Queen’s feet, so people watched their tongues.

“You look rather tired.”

Irene walked over, poured Levi another cup of tea, and asked softly.

“Still manageable. The situation this time is a bit complicated, not easy to handle.”

Levi sighed and stood up.

He had been sitting at his desk the entire day, and his body felt stiff.

“I’ll take a walk outside. I’ll be back for dinner.”

“Alright.”

Feeling weary, Levi gave Irene a word of instruction, then stepped into the lift and left the room.

When Levi walked out of the clock tower, it was already afternoon.

The streets weren’t too crowded.

The sunlight was dim, but in Mist City that was the norm.

Having sunlight at all was already good enough—one couldn’t complain about brightness.

With hands clasped behind his back, Levi strolled while thinking.

This Imperial Bridge case was far more troublesome than the previous ones.

The issue was that even with all his cheat-like skills, without a target it was useless.

It was like a ball of yarn—you had to find the end of the thread before you could unravel it.

But right now, Levi couldn’t determine which strand was the thread’s end.

And even if he did, he wouldn’t know what to do.

Still, Levi didn’t feel much pressure.

If he failed……… well, failure didn’t mean much to him.

At worst, he would simply run.

The continent was vast, not just the Empire.

He could resign, take the train to some scenic place, live quietly while solving small cases to extend his life.

That didn’t sound bad at all.

He didn’t have deep feelings for this country.

For him, this case was just a job.

Even if the Imperial Bridge really collapsed……… it would just collapse, right?

What else could happen?

After a while, Levi grew tired.

He went into a nearby park, bought fish and chips from a stall, and sat on a bench to eat and rest—though strictly speaking, he only ate the chips.

He didn’t touch the fish, since he had never much liked fish anyway.

“Meow……….”

While Levi was enjoying the scenery, a stray cat approached with its tail raised, carefully walking toward him.

It looked up, staring at him, and gave a soft cry.

“Here, take this.”

Levi naturally understood what the cat wanted.

With such sudden friendliness, what else could it be asking for? He placed the fried fish on the bench beside him, laying a sheet of newspaper beneath it.

The cat looked at Levi, then at the fish on the newspaper, meowed once, then leapt onto the bench and began eating heartily.

Levi reached out and stroked the cat’s body, feeling its warmth.

At the same time, he narrowed his eyes, watching children playing in the distance.

How nostalgic.

Seeing the laughing children running about in the square, Levi felt sentimental.

Children of the past didn’t have today’s toys, yet still played happily together—games like “drop the handkerchief,” “eagle catches chicks,” “dodgeball,” “hopscotch,” jump rope………

Now, children only played on their phones.

He wondered if those old games would eventually be forgotten.

Levi petted the cat while watching the children at play.

This particular game he hadn’t seen before.

Two girls held hands, raising them high like an arch, while the others lined up, holding each other’s clothes like chicks in “eagle catches chicks,” circling through the arch.

Levi could faintly hear them singing.

“Imperial Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down.

  Imperial Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.

Build it up with wood and clay, wood and clay, wood and clay.

  Build it up with wood and clay, my fair lady.

Wood and clay will wash away, wash away, wash away.

  Wood and clay will wash away, my fair lady.

Build it up with bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar.

  Build it up with bricks and mortar, my fair lady.

Bricks and mortar won’t stay, won’t stay, won’t stay.

  Bricks and mortar won’t stay, my fair lady.

Build it up with iron and steel, iron and steel, iron and steel.

  Build it up with iron and steel, my fair lady.

Iron and steel will bend and bow, bend and bow, bend and bow.

  Iron and steel will bend and bow, my fair lady……….”

As he listened, Levi’s expression gradually changed.

He stared at the children, his gaze turning grave.

He even stopped petting the cat.

This song……… why did this song feel so strange?

Without hesitation, Levi stood and walked directly toward the children.

Seeing him approach, the children stopped, curiously watching.

Fortunately, Levi’s appearance was refined, and he looked the sort that children liked.

If it had been a red-nosed drunkard reeking of alcohol, it would have been a different matter.

“Hello, lovely young ladies.”

Levi removed his hat and smiled.

The children giggled, crowding together curiously.

One older girl stepped forward, lifted her skirt, and made a proper curtsey.

“Good day, sir.”

“And to you, miss.”

Levi nodded with a smile, then asked.

“I’m very interested in your game. May I ask, what game are you playing?”

“The Imperial Bridge Game!”

The children answered in unison, like students replying to a teacher.

“Oh? Could you teach me how to play?”

“Yeeees—————!”

For children, teaching a grown-up their game was clearly great fun.

They eagerly explained, all talking at once.

The rules weren’t complicated.

Two taller girls held hands and raised them high, pretending to be the Imperial Bridge, singing as they did so.

The others lined up and crawled underneath, one by one.

All the while, they sang:

“Imperial Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down, Imperial Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.”

When the last note fell, the two girls would drop their arms together, meaning the Imperial Bridge had collapsed.

The child caught inside was eliminated—that is, unlucky enough to be “crushed.”

Then the game continued, repeating until the last one remained, who became the winner.

“I see.”

After listening to their explanations, Levi nodded and took out his notebook.

“Could you sing the song for me again?”

He had found the thread.