Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 151 Orient Express

A week later, Levi arrived at the station as promised and, as expected, met Miss Olivia there.

"Ah, you've finally arrived, Mr. Li Wei."

Olivia, standing on the platform, saw Levi and immediately smiled happily, waving at him. She was still dressed in the elegant attire of a young lady from a wealthy family, while the little puppy that the hellhound had transformed into was held in Olivia's arms as always, appearing harmless on the surface.

Of course, that's just what it appears to be.

"Hello, Miss Olivia."

Li Wei stepped forward and nodded to Olivia.

"It seems you're really looking forward to this trip."

As he spoke, Levi glanced behind Olivia, where her maid was pushing a luggage cart piled high with luggage taller than Olivia herself.

"Is this all Mr. Li Wei took with him when he went out?"

Olivia, on the other hand, looked at Levi with some curiosity. Today, he was still carrying a cane in one hand and a briefcase in the other, and there didn't seem to be any special luggage or boxes.

"For me, the main thing about traveling is convenience and lightness, since I can buy many things locally with money. Most importantly... at least I can know where my towel is."

"?"

"As the saying goes, Miss Olivia."

Li Wei chuckled.

"If a person still knows where their towel after a long journey and countless experiences, then that person is obviously trustworthy."

"Although I don't know what this means, I will pay more attention to my towels from now on."

Olivia, of course, had no idea what Levi was talking about, but it was clearly quite amusing. Levi simply smiled slightly and then made a gesture.

"please."

As two wealthy people, Levi and Olivia naturally stayed in the first-class carriage. The layout of the carriage was similar to the one Levi stayed in in Melisia, except that the latter had two rooms, while the first-class carriage of the Orient Express had three rooms. There was no living room for entertaining guests, but the compartment itself was still very spacious and comfortable.

"I don't see your maid. Didn't you bring her with you?"

Olivia invited Levi to her room, and her maid began preparing tea for the two of them. Olivia looked at Levi curiously and asked him questions.

"As a detective, I feel it would be safer for her not to be around me all the time."

Li Wei chuckled and explained that this was why he never took Eileen out with him. After all, Li Wei didn't know what might happen to him. Moreover, Eileen didn't have the same self-defense abilities as Katie or Olivia, and if she went out with him, she was very likely to run into trouble.

"But don't you find it inconvenient to go out alone?"

"It's become a habit, and I don't find it inconvenient at all."

For a wealthy young lady like Olivia, having servants with her when going out is probably standard practice, but Levi clearly prefers to act alone.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Olivia got down to business, mainly telling Levi about her subsequent succession as head of the Baskerville family. Most of the time, things went smoothly, but there were a few things that made Olivia uneasy.

“I am very worried about how things will develop next, Mr. Li Wei.”

Olivia sighed as she stroked the puppy in her arms.

"To be honest, I initially really hated what my grandfather and great-grandfather did, but after I became the head of the Baskerville family, I suddenly realized that it was indeed a difficult choice. The power of the Baskerville family can only be inherited by women, which is obviously unfair to boys."

Olivia reached out and stroked the puppy's chin, and the puppy squinted its eyes comfortably, wagging its tail incessantly.

"So I've been thinking, what if I have children in the future, and I give birth to twins? If I want the Baskerville family to continue, then naturally I can only appoint a woman as the patriarch, but the abandoned boys will inevitably feel resentment and discontent... After thinking it over, I realized that my great-grandfather's approach was actually the best of the worst. In any case, at least this way I wouldn't have to worry about a family split in the future, but that's just too terrible..."

At this point, Olivia looked dejected, clearly indicating that this problem had been tormenting her for a long time.

"Perhaps there is a way to solve this problem."

Li Wei also reached out to tease the little puppy, which shook its head and comfortably climbed back into Olivia's arms.

"Of course, it's not easy."

"That's true. I've also thought about talking to it to see if we can change the approach, such as letting it choose who will succeed as the head of the family?"

At this point, Olivia turned her gaze back to the puppy in her arms and then shook her head.

"No, this is not a good idea."

“I think times have changed, Miss Olivia.”

Li Wei looked at the puppy, stroking its head as he spoke.

"The Baskerville family's era was completely different from the present. Perhaps back then, your ancestors needed to rely on these powers to protect their territory, people, and country. But the situation is completely different now. Forgive me for speaking frankly, but even though your great-grandfather and grandfather did some terrible things, you have to admit that under their leadership, the Baskerville family and the Delicat region did not suffer much as a result."

"...That's true."

Hearing Levi's words of comfort, Olivia's expression relaxed considerably. Just as Levi had said, perhaps the Baskerville family's curse had caused some trouble, but it had not affected the Baskerville family itself, nor had the Delicat region become arid, uninhabitable, or displaced.

Although her great-grandfather and grandfather did very cruel things, objectively speaking, losing the protection of this little puppy does not seem to have had a significant impact on the Baskerville family in a strict sense.

"And I think, maybe it doesn't actually care about this either."

Li Wei teased the puppy's nose again, and the puppy sneezed in dissatisfaction.

"If it weren't for those Luddites placing the corpses under the statues in the ancestral tombs, the Baskerville family might not have been cursed."

"So, you mean we should completely...abandon tradition?"

Olivia looked somewhat uneasy. She understood what Levi meant. After all, strictly speaking, the curse that befell the Baskerville family had nothing to do with their ancestors. It was entirely caused by the Luddites deliberately burying the corpses under the statues in their ancestors' tombs.

Conversely, if the Luddites hadn't done this, the Baskerville family might not have suffered the werewolf curse, and the great-grandfather and grandfather wouldn't have disappeared on their thirty-eighth birthdays, meaning... they wouldn't have faced any retribution.

Although this way of thinking may be unpleasant, it is the truth.

"In fact, you have already abandoned the tradition, haven't you? In fact, nowadays, apart from you, probably no one remembers the Baskerville family tradition anymore."

"………………………"

Upon hearing this, Olivia fell silent.

“You’re right, Mr. Levy. If you hadn’t found the evidence, I probably wouldn’t have known that the Baskerville family had such a tradition in the past.”

"Therefore, it may not be good for me to say this, but... Miss Olivia, your great-grandfather and grandfather completely made the Baskerville family abandon its former traditions, that is to say, their motives were bad, but the result was good."

"It's a joke that's not funny at all."

"It's really hard to laugh."

After finishing his tea, Li Wei stood up and nodded to Olivia.

"Perhaps you need to rest for a while, so I'll take my leave now."

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Li Wei."

Knowing that Olivia needed to think things over, Li Wei didn't disturb her further. Instead, he left Olivia's compartment and went to the salon carriage.

Since there's no one in my room anyway, I might as well go to the salon carriage to see the scenery and people.

But to Li Wei's surprise, after arriving at the salon carriage, he encountered an acquaintance. "Ah, boss."

Anthony, dressed in a suit, was sitting by the car window looking at the scenery. When he saw Levi appear, he clearly showed a look of surprise. Levi nodded to him, then walked over and sat down opposite Anthony.

“I’m really surprised, Anthony, I never expected to see you here.”

"That's my idea too, boss."

Anthony looked at Li Wei speechlessly.

"You know what? Today I even changed into my favorite grey suit and came to the salon compartment, hoping that perhaps a beautiful lady or woman would have a romantic encounter with me here. We'd chat, drink, and have a heart-to-heart talk. Maybe they'd invite me to their private room..."

Anthony helplessly spread his hands.

"It seems there's no hope now. With you here, boss, I'm afraid I can only be a backup option. And I don't think any man wants to be a backup option."

"You talk like a Franciscan. What, have you been studying in Paris lately?"

Li Wei asked the waiter for a pot of tea, then looked at Anthony with interest, while the latter rolled his eyes.

"Boss, that's really vulgar. Do I look like that kind of person?"

"I think you are that kind of person."

Li Wei chuckled. He didn't press Anthony about what he was doing on the train. Judging from their previous encounter in Melisia, Anthony was probably working for the cabinet. He didn't know which department he belonged to, but it was clear that, unlike Li Wei, this was a legitimate intelligence agent specializing in this kind of work.

"You're going to Bisubaru too?"

"Everyone gets very nervous at times like this."

Anthony sighed.

"Large-scale events sound great, but that's only for the big shots. They appreciate all that fancy stuff and grand displays, but we nobody can only run ourselves ragged."

"Then you're really unlucky."

Li Wei could only express his sympathy. After all, Anthony was right. It was just like when the school inspection team came; they only took a cursory look, but the students had to spend a lot of time cleaning every corner of the school spotless…

"By the way, are you in first class?"

"Yes."

"It's good to be rich. I can only afford to stay in a third-class carriage, and it's not even reimbursed."

Anthony immediately began to complain.

"Boss, you don't know, those people in the third-class carriages are a lot of trouble, let alone during this time."

Are there any problems during this period?

"It seems this is your first time attending a steam machinery exposition."

Anthony laughed heartily.

"Then I suppose you, boss, don't know that at this time of year, inventors from all over the empire go to the Steam Machinery Exposition to showcase their inventions. Of course, we're not talking about the manufacturers and large corporations with power and reputation that can get booths at the exposition, but rather the folk inventors."

Anthony said, pursing his lips.

"You'll see when you get there. They'll loiter outside the exhibition hall, like street vendors, trying to sell their boring inventions to everyone coming and going. They all hope that some rich person will take a liking to their invention, then they'll get investment and become rich overnight."

At this point, Anthony sighed.

"Moreover, each of them is very confident in their own inventions, while many others belittle the inventions of others. As a result, they often end up arguing and fighting—well, this happens frequently in third class."

"So that's why you came here?"

"Of course, if I hadn't been wearing these clothes, the train conductor wouldn't have let me in. I even gave him a little tip, so at least I can have some peace and quiet here."

As he spoke, Anthony glanced unhappily behind Levi.

"But they don't care what people in first class wear."

Following Anthony's gaze, Li Wei saw a man enter the salon carriage. He was wearing a somewhat wrinkled suit, his hair was a mess, looking as if it hadn't been properly combed, and he was carrying a briefcase. Holding the briefcase, he looked around and walked to a corner of the salon carriage, where he sat down in a seat.

"I'm really curious how he got on the bus."

Anthony looked away, his face showing displeasure.

"If I were the train conductor, I would only think that he probably stole the ticket from somewhere."

"indeed so."

Li Wei nodded. First class on the Orient Express was very expensive; those who could afford it were wealthy, had plenty of free time, and held high social status. Whether they were elegant or rude, they would at least show signs of adapting to the place. However, this man was different. He looked like a beggar walking into a five-star hotel, so uneasy that he didn't even know where to put his hands.

"Of course, maybe he won some prize, like a first-class train ticket?"

"Nowhere would they hold such a tasteless award."

Anthony shook his head, his face full of disdain.

"Just by looking at him, you can tell he's no different from those down-on-their-luck folk inventors. I should go back and tell those guys that one of their kind lives in first class. Maybe at the next station, they'll be so jealous that they'll drag this unfortunate fellow onto the tracks."

Just then, the train door opened, and two more people entered the carriage. It was a man and a woman; the woman was holding the man's hand, and they looked quite intimate.

"Ah, a married couple, how boring."

Anthony commented again.

"Just look at how inseparable they are, and you can tell this is a honeymoon."

"You've become a detective now, Anthony?"

“Even I don’t need to be a detective to know, boss, any couple that has been married for more than a year will no longer have the same clinginess they have now. They will only grow tired of each other and won’t even look at each other.”

At this point, Anthony looked at Levi and chuckled.

"And I guarantee they'll stay far away from us."

After saying this, the couple entered the salon carriage. They glanced around and naturally spotted Levi and Anthony. Levi politely nodded to them, and the young lady returned the nod. Her husband, with a serious expression, nodded warily but politely to Levi before leading his wife to sit in a corner on the other side of the carriage.

"You see it."

Anthony drank his wine, grinning with a smug look on his face.

"By the way, if I had a girlfriend, I would never introduce her to you, boss."

Do you have a girlfriend?

When Li Wei asked him the question, Anthony's smile froze.

"I think being single is great..."

Then, Anthony muttered to himself.

(End of this chapter)