Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 127 Duel of Honor
Li Wei's first night on the train was quiet and peaceful, and he was very satisfied with the journey. He spent most of his time in his room, enjoying the scenery rushing past the window.

Vast wilderness, herds of bison, sprawling mountain ranges, and rushing rivers.

Traveling through the area by train, one can indeed feel a desolate and wild beauty.

Levi had little to complain about regarding the trip. During afternoon tea, he would go to the salon carriage to chat with Mrs. Molly, but he rarely saw Anne. According to Mrs. Molly, the young lady was busy preparing for her exchange program.

"She has liked these strange and unusual things since she was a child."

When Mrs. Molly spoke of Anne, she couldn't hide her affection for her.

"This child has always been different from others, not just in appearance, but also in her hobbies. But I know she's an obedient, sensible, and intelligent child. There are always rumors that she's a cursed witch, which is truly heartbreaking gossip. Admittedly, digging in the ground and being obsessed with bones of unknown origin doesn't seem like a lady's hobby, but she hasn't bothered anyone, has she? Besides, she brought such a large fortune to my husband and me, how can she be called a witch?"

"Excuse me for asking, but what about her parents...?"

"A family's tragedy, Mr. Li Wei."

Mrs. Molly sighed and shook her head.

“Not everyone appreciates this child. Her mother went to the Holy Lord when she was born, and her father abandoned her. I took pity on this little one and adopted her. Although she doesn’t talk much and rarely expresses her feelings, and I often don’t know what she’s thinking, she is still a good child.”

As she spoke, Mrs. Molly chuckled.

"See, she took very good care of me on this trip, didn't she?"

"You mean..."

Although Mrs. Molly looked like a nouveau riche, she had a good attitude. When she had nothing to do, she would go to the salon carriage to chat with other passengers. Li Wei only showed up occasionally. Most of the time, he preferred to stay in his room alone, drinking tea and reading books, occasionally looking at the scenery outside, or waiting for the train to arrive at the station to take a stroll on the platform outside.

The peaceful journey continued until that afternoon when a herd of bison blocked the train's path. They were massive and numbered in the thousands. Faced with so many bison, the train driver could only stop temporarily and wait for the herd to sway their bodies and slowly cross the tracks to continue their journey.

This natural beauty has attracted many passengers to the observation carriage, and Li Wei was no exception.

When he arrived at the observation car, he found that Annie had also come out of her room, and was sketching the bison in her sketchbook.

It seems she really likes this.

Because Anne was sketching, Levi didn't go up to say hello, and just watched the bison for a while before planning to leave. However, at that moment, Levi saw a young man walk in.

If it were just an ordinary person, Li Wei wouldn't care about them at all. It was only because the guy's flamboyant peacock-like attire caught Li Wei's attention that he stopped and took a second look.

A Franciscan.

Looking at the man wearing a wig and dressed like a flamboyant peacock, Li Wei raised an eyebrow.

Having spent a long time in the Empire, Li Wei had learned how to distinguish the nationalities of people from a large group of foreigners. At least for now, besides some typical facial features, clothing was also a very important aspect.

The Empire's men's clothing has always been pragmatic. Men's formal wear and suits are required to be sturdy, durable, and comfortable, and are mostly in dark colors to show the calmness, composure, and restraint of the Empire's men.

In contrast, Francis's clothing design was the complete opposite of that of the Empire. Their clothing never pursued durability; instead, it was replaced as soon as it was worn out—in other words, a set of clothes could only be worn once, not twice. This was also the trend among the nobles of the Franciscan Kingdom at the time, with some noblewomen even changing their clothes three times a day.

One set in the morning, one set at noon, and one set in the afternoon.

Moreover, these clothes are all high-end in design, use expensive materials, and have high costs.

Hmm... Given the way Francis the nobleman behaved, it would be strange if he hadn't been sent to the guillotine.

Francis's aristocratic male attire was also quite baffling, with things like lace cuffs, bows on shoes, wigs, braids, makeup, perfume, and even stockings under his trousers—this was Francis's standard upper-class men's suit.

Naturally, this became the reason why the Empire despised Francis, believing that their men were a bunch of effeminate, pretentious sissies. Moreover, the Franciscans were notoriously casual and open-minded.

There's an old saying that goes, "Don't let your wife go to Francis alone."

Conversely, the Franciscans viewed the Imperials as unromantic, conservative, and as cold as stone.

The man in front of me is dressed in typical Franciscan high society attire, so he must be Franciscan—men from other countries wouldn't dress so effeminately, like a flamboyant peacock.

Then, the male peacock walked into the carriage with a grin, head held high and chest puffed out, and then—walked toward Anne, who was sketching.

"Ah, this beautiful lady."

Li Wei watched as the male peacock walked up to Anne and bowed deeply in greeting.

"Your presence is so dazzling that I cannot resist coming to disturb you. May I ask if I may have the honor of knowing your name?"

Holy crap!
When Li Wei heard this, he got goosebumps all over. This was even more embarrassing than watching a short film about a domineering CEO in real life. It was disgusting!

Others also witnessed this scene and looked at the man with curiosity, astonishment, disgust, and other expressions.

However, the latter was completely unaware of this, or perhaps that's just how narcissistic Franciscans are; they interpret others' ridicule as mere jealousy.

Right now, it's clear that this male peacock only has eyes for Annie.

"…………………"

However, Anne didn't even glance at the male peacock, her eyes fixed solely on the view outside the window. She seemed oblivious to everything around her, her attention solely focused on the bison herd.

Upon seeing this, the surrounding crowd burst into laughter—most of the passengers were Melesians, known for their recklessness, carelessness, and rudeness. In their eyes, mocking such a flamboyant and perverted woman dressed like a woman was perfectly justified.

However, the latter remained deaf to the jeers and ridicule, and persistently took out another rose and handed it to Anne.

“Oh, beautiful lady…”

However, before the male peacock could offer his rose, it was stopped by a cane that appeared out of nowhere.

"It is not polite for a gentleman to pester a young lady."

Li Wei, holding his cane, chased the male peacock aside, much like the gentlemen of the Battleship Street chased away begging vagrants.

"Since this young lady has her own things to do, I think you should learn to respect her choices."

Upon seeing Li Wei's appearance, the male peacock puffed out his chest, as if he had encountered an obstacle in his courtship. However, when he saw Li Wei's face clearly, the male peacock's expression immediately darkened, and his puffed-up chest dissipated considerably.

"May I ask who you are? This uninvited gentleman?"

"I know this lady; I'm her friend."

Li Wei leaned on his cane, raised his head, and stared at the male peacock before him. The latter's originally flamboyant demeanor had clearly weakened considerably—well, that was to be expected.

"If you want to pursue this lady, please follow the Imperial methods, not your boring Francis-style ostentation."

"It's just that you imperial people don't understand what romance and aesthetics are."

"Not necessarily. I think the heads that fall from the guillotine have a certain aesthetic appeal."

Li Wei stared at the male peacock, a contemptuous sneer appearing on his lips.

"Perhaps this happens precisely because you can never find the point."

Upon hearing this, the male peacock stopped retreating, then puffed out his chest again and stared at Li Wei.

"So, you are insulting my country."

"I'm just stating the facts."

Levi spread his hands. "If you Franciscans had devoted even a tenth of the energy you spend on women to affairs of state, things wouldn't have come to this. But then again, only dwarfs and foreigners can save Francis, after all..."

Li Wei casually made a sarcastic remark, after all... doing *that* every day is considered a daily check-in.

However, upon hearing Li Wei's words, the male peacock's expression darkened. He then took off his gloves and threw them forcefully at Li Wei.

"I want to duel with you!"

"……………duel?"

"That's right, the duel will take place here."

The male peacock stared at Li Wei.

"You have insulted my country and me! This is intolerable! I will defend Francis's honor with my blood and my life!"

"………………………"

I got into trouble just for checking in for a daily task?
"Can I say no?"

"What? Are you scared?"

Upon hearing Li Wei's answer, the male peacock sounded somewhat smug.

"I just feel it's unfair, since I'm sure to win and you're sure to die. That's not exactly gentlemanly behavior."

"But I don't think so."

Upon hearing this, the male peacock's face twisted and darkened once again.

"In the name of the Holy Lord, I demand this duel, and there is no turning back!"

"Haa..."

Li Wei sighed silently.

Duels, in this era, are a rather unique way of resolving disputes. Actually, in this world, duels originally arose for the purpose of refereeing. People at the time believed that a divine intervention would ensure the victory of the righteous side and the defeat of the evil side during duels.

In this era, duels have become a means of resolving disputes or fighting for a certain honor.

Simply put, if one person accuses another of a crime, and the accused vehemently denies it, the judge will order a duel between the two. The winner of the duel wins the case. The loser, even if they don't die, will still be punished by law.

Even more interestingly, even after the duel ends, if a party disagrees with the judge's ruling, they can request another duel with the judge. If they win, the ruling can be overturned without incurring legal liability.

Of course, such duels usually only occur between people of high status and position; it's not that ordinary people are qualified to duel.

However, ordinary people wouldn't bother with duels if they had nothing better to do. In their eyes, these were just games played by rich people who had nothing better to do.

In this day and age, most countries have largely abandoned duels, and the same is true in the Empire. After all, the current Queen is very powerful, and if you encounter any disputes and choose to duel instead of going through legal procedures, people will think that you do not trust the Queen's laws and authority.

Therefore, duels between imperial nobles are now rare.

However, dueling was very popular in Francis. Perhaps these people were the kind of romantics who would love even unto death, willing to risk their lives to uphold their honor.

“My name is Jean Dilva! I am a noble descendant of the Dilva family! Who are you? State your name!”

"……………Li Wei, a detective."

"Li Wei?"

When Li Wei announced his name, there was a commotion in the carriage. After all, the reputation of the Sea Monster Hunter was so great that almost everyone here knew him.

"So you're that sea monster hunter? Very well, let me see what kind of skills you, this fame-seeking scoundrel, really have!"

The male peacock paused for a moment, but didn't take Li Wei seriously. In his opinion, this pretty boy probably had no real ability. Although he was the one who killed the sea monster, the male peacock could imagine that it was definitely the sailors on the ship who did it. Even if this detective intervened, he would only have helped a little.

The reason the media praises him as a sea monster hunter is simply because he's handsome.

Since the other side insisted on going to their deaths, Li Wei had no reason to stop them. Besides, the bison was still wandering between the tracks, and there was nothing else to do. Everyone was tired of just watching the bison, and with a group of people urging them on, a duel was quickly arranged. Li Wei and the peacock would duel in a clearing in the wilderness behind the train, with the train conductor and a traveling bishop priest serving as witnesses.

The duel itself was quite simple: the two sides stood ten meters apart and then drew their guns and fired at each other. It didn't end until one side surrendered or died.

The news of the duel spread throughout the entire train even before it began, and passengers rushed out to join in the excitement. Some even set up betting pools to see who would win.

Most people bet on Levi, after all, the Kraken Hunter was a well-known figure, and some passengers even knew about Levi's fame and stories in the Fog City.

In contrast, far fewer people bet on the male peacock; most were betting on an upset.

Incidentally, Annie was still engrossed in sketching, seemingly oblivious to what was happening around her.

"call……………"

The wind howled.

Li Wei stood still, looking at the male peacock opposite him, who was gripping his gun tightly and staring at Li Wei.

"Where's your gun? Aren't you going to draw it?"

"Don't worry, I'm much faster than you."

As Li Wei spoke, he opened his right hand and placed it in mid-air beside the gun handle at his waist.

Then, at that very moment… the agreed-upon signal, the train's whistle, suddenly rang out.

"Whoosh—!"

"Snapped."

Before the male peacock could even react to what was happening, the gun in his hand flew high into the air, spun several times, and then fell to the ground. When he looked closely, he saw that opposite him, Li Wei had somehow acquired a gun in his right hand, the muzzle still smoking.

How... how is this possible?

The male peacock lowered its head, looking at its right hand, which was trembling slightly.

"That's it."

Li Wei sheathed his gun and nodded at the male peacock. Needless to say, everyone knew who the winner was. Soon, cheers and shouts erupted from the train. Li Wei merely glanced at the male peacock before turning to return to the carriage.

"Stop right there, you bastard!"

However, watching Li Wei's departing figure, the peacock was furious. He roared and then suddenly pulled out another gun from his chest and aimed it at Li Wei!

"boom!!"

Gunfire rang out.

Before the male peacock could pull the trigger, he stood frozen in place, a gun muzzle appearing in the center of his forehead. Then, the male peacock fell to the ground and never moved again.

"How stupid."

Only then did Li Wei turn around, shake his head again, and walk into the train.

(End of this chapter)