Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 206 Mysterious Building
Olivia, just like Levi, treated Levi and his companions with great hospitality.

At the same time, Olivia, looking somewhat pleased, told Levi about the reforms she had made to her territory after arriving in the Steel City—there wasn't much time for idle chatter in the Fog City, but it was different back in her own territory.

According to Olivia, Delicat did indeed have a bumper harvest last year, and fortunately, because Olivia and Levi helped Steel City resolve the terrorist attack, the governor of Steel City gave Olivia a favor in advance.

Normally, an order like Olivia's would take at least six months to arrive. However, the governor took a portion from the Steel City's current inventory and sold it directly to Olivia—with a discount, of course.

After returning to Delicat with the agricultural machinery, Olivia naturally got busy.

Because of the bumper harvest, everyone was busy with the autumn harvest, and there wasn't enough manpower. However, Olivia's side, having used steam machinery, was much faster than the others. In less than half a month, the fields belonging to the Baskerville family were completely cleared, while people elsewhere were still sweating profusely, their backs to the earth, busy harvesting.

Shortly after, Olivia adopted Levi's method and announced on the radio that the Baskerville family's fields had been harvested and that steam-powered harvesting machines were available for rent. Farmers could rent these machines to harvest their crops for a small fee.

Agriculture is inherently dependent on the weather; it's all about seizing the right time. Once that time is missed, and then there's wind and rain, everything is ruined. Not to mention that this year's harvest in Delicat is exceptionally bumper. At the current rate of human labor, it's absolutely impossible to harvest all the crops before the autumn harvest season ends.

Although everyone had reservations about these steam-powered machines—as Olivia mentioned before, many worried they were toxic and would pollute the land—the thought of watching their crops be ruined in the fields was even more heartbreaking. So, some impatient farmers, without hesitation, approached the farm hoping to rent these steam-powered machines.

Soon, their crops were harvested quickly, and then this group of people could watch others suffer with smiles on their faces.

Other farmers noticed this and felt resentful. Their fields, which took them days and nights to harvest, were cleared out in a single day by these farmers. As a result, more and more people quickly joined the ranks of those renting steam-powered harvesting machinery.

Logically, this should have been the time for the Luddites to cause trouble, but Olivia had already swept through the entire Delictau region, and the Luddites were basically all dead. Those who were still alive didn't dare to jump out and invite trouble. Therefore, the promotion of steam-powered machinery during this autumn harvest season was quite rapid.

However, precisely because of this, Olivia had to devote most of her time to managing her territory, leaving her with little energy to focus on the missing investigation team. It wasn't until the autumn harvest season ended that she had time to go to the castle to investigate.

"Although I initially thought it was a castle, it actually wasn't."

"It isn't?"

"Yes."

Olivia's expression became much more serious as she spoke.

"At first, because of its enormous size, I thought it was a castle, but in fact, it looks more like a monastery."

"So, where does the problem lie?"

"Like I said, volume."

Olivia's expression grew increasingly serious.

"When we got there, we felt like we'd turned into little dwarfs. Everything about that building was bigger than we'd ever imagined, for example..."

At this point, Olivia stood up and gestured to herself.

"Its first step is about this high."

"That is indeed very big."

Olivia's height was not much different from Levi's. Levi looked at her gestures and realized that if Olivia was telling the truth, each step there was almost a meter high. From this angle, one could imagine that the monastery was almost like a house of giants.

Have you investigated that place?

“I looked through the records after I came back, but at least in the Baskerville family records, there was no record of this monastery. I even suspect that even my ancestors might not have known about this monastery. It is hidden in a deep mountain valley, in a very secluded location. If it weren’t for that map, I wouldn’t have known that such a building was hidden in the Delicat region.”

"Did you see the pattern on it?"

Just then, Anne, who had been listening quietly the whole time, suddenly spoke up and asked a question.

“Buildings like these usually have patterns and emblems carved on them to prove their identity.”

"I'm sorry, the building is almost completely covered by vines, and I can't see any useful information at all."

"What happened to the previous investigation team?"

Li Wei asked.

“We found some of their remaining supplies outside the monastery. It seems they intended to search the building, but then disappeared.”

“I wanted to go in and search, but Xiao Hei seemed very uneasy.”

As she spoke, Olivia reached out and stroked the puppy in her arms, which shook its head and sneezed slightly.

"Furthermore, I also felt that the building was very eerie. Although some people suggested going in to search for people, or at least find their bodies, I had a bad feeling about it, so I decided to return for now. As for those people..."

Olivia shook her head, clearly not optimistic that they were still alive.

After all, if even the three-headed dog sensed something was wrong, it meant that the place must be extremely dangerous.

At that moment, Anne, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.

“If I’m not mistaken, those should be buildings from the Golden Age.” Li Wei had guessed this as well, after all, he had once discussed the underground ruins with Richard from MI7, who told him that some Golden Age buildings had actually been discovered within the Empire. Their common characteristic was their enormous size; they didn’t look like buildings used by ordinary people, but rather by giants.

Richard also told Levi that these colossal buildings might have originated from the worship of giant objects by the Golden Nation led by King Arthur, which is why they built these buildings so tall.

"Golden Age architecture? Is it really that old?"

Olivia, on the other hand, was somewhat surprised. After all, the Golden Age was basically equivalent to the era of Yao, Shun, and Yu for the people of this world. If you found a house from that time in modern times, you would also wonder if you had made a mistake.

"The History Research Society of the Master's Academy once investigated some buildings from the Golden Age, whose size and features are very similar to those you described, Duchess Baskerville."

Annie opened the notebook and looked at it carefully.

"According to research, the buildings of the Golden Age seem to have followed a certain set of proportions, perhaps fixed values ​​used by the Golden Nation when constructing buildings. And the records you described, Dame Baskerville, are very similar to them."

Is it dangerous to investigate buildings from the Golden Age?

"Of course there will be danger."

Annie nodded in response to Li Wei's question.

"After all, these are ancient buildings, so we have to consider all aspects. Moreover, according to records, some of these ancient buildings contain strange traps that have caused many casualties."

"trap?"

"That's what it says in the record, but it doesn't specify the details of the loss."

Anne shook her head, clearly dissatisfied with not being able to record the event in a complete and detailed manner.

"So you want us to go there to investigate, Miss Olivia? Is this the right season for us?"

Li Wei looked up and gestured towards the snow-capped mountains outside the window, while Olivia nodded.

"Of course, I will dispatch an airship to take us directly there, and I will go with you this time as well—it is my responsibility after all."

It turned out to be the case.

Seeing Olivia's serious expression, Levi understood her meaning. As the lord of the Delicat region, her primary responsibility was to manage the entire territory. For Delicat, an agricultural region, spring was for sowing, summer for irrigation, and autumn for harvesting; only in winter could everyone relax.

It's only at this time that Olivia can leave for ten days or half a month without causing problems; at other times, it's hard to say.

Are you sure you want to come along?

"I was the one who sent those people to investigate. At the very least, I need to know their fate, and if possible, I also want to bring back their belongings for their families."

"Miss Anne, do you have any other questions?"

Li Wei turned to ask Annie, who was sitting next to him, but she shook her head and didn't say anything.

"Then it's decided. When do we leave?"

"Everyone has come from afar, so let's rest for a day and set off again tomorrow."

"I don't care."

Li Wei stood up, stretched, and then walked to the window to look outside.

"And I think the others aren't really affected either... uh..."

Looking out the window, Li Wei saw Katie running around excitedly on what was once an endless plain, while in front of her, a snowball as tall as the house was rolling rapidly forward on the ground.

"Ah, Mr. Li Wei!"

Katie turned around, saw Levi, and waved to him excitedly.

"Did you see that? I made such a huge snowball! I'm even planning to dig an igloo!"

"Ah, um... I'm just glad you're having fun..."

Li Wei waved silently, and then saw Katie turn around excitedly and, like an Alaskan Malamute letting loose, continue rolling snowballs.

At this moment, Olivia also came to Levi's side, speechless as she watched the scene before her.

"Is this Miss Katie really human?"

"……………I guess so."

Li Wei couldn't be sure either.

(End of this chapter)