Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 494 Mysteries of History
Here, we need to review.

When MI7 was established, in addition to Li Wei, three other experts were hired. Among them, weapons expert Benjamin was the person Li Wei was most familiar with, after all, his weapons, cane guns, and those special bullets were all made by Benjamin.

The other two are Richard Scott, whose main fields of study are history and folklore.

There's also Windsor Hessen, a psychologist.

Li Wei didn't have much contact with the latter two, but they did a lot of work related to him. For example, after Li Wei defeated the boss, Richard Scott led a team to study the ruins, mainly to figure out what era the ruins were from, what their purpose was, what records were inside, and so on.

As for Miss Windsor Hessen, she was mainly responsible for the psychological counseling of the soldiers—especially those who had suffered psychological trauma while facing the alien monsters with Levi.

So Li Wei and the other two didn't see each other often, but their relationship was quite close.

This time, however, Li Wei will have to deal directly with one of them.

That's Richard.

"Oh, so you're going to go with that lady to investigate the secret of the saintess?"

The sound coming from the signal was somewhat distorted, but Professor Richard's joy and excitement could still be heard.

"A real saintess awakened in modern times? If that's true, it's huge news. You see, the Dark family is one of the most mysterious clans even in the empire. Not to mention, after those bastards in Francis burned her to death, they persecuted her relentlessly under the guise of a cult witch, burning almost all records about the saintess and the Dark family. Even the most evil devil wouldn't do such a thing! I really hope those Francisans pay the price for what they've done..."

Richard's words were filled with disdain and anger towards the Franciscans, which is understandable.

"They've already paid the price."

Li Wei leaned back in his chair, looking at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window, quite leisurely.

"Now the occupying forces of Krant have turned the whole city of Florence upside down. Anyone even slightly suspected has been arrested and sent to concentration camps to do hard labor. Since the Franciscans are so satisfied with the current situation, I think we should just let them have their way."

The assassination of General von Kaleman was highly effective. Not only did the Krant occupying forces cancel their original withdrawal schedule, but they even planned to continue sending troops to Francis. They began a massive search of the entire city, arresting all members of the resistance forces. Now, the whole city of Florence has been turned upside down by those guys.

Many people were arrested and sent to concentration camps, and those who resisted were executed on the spot.

From the Empire's perspective, Krant's actions also benefited them. Krant helped them kill all the rebels, so when the Empire occupied Francis, they wouldn't have to kill so many people anymore.

Of course, Richard's dislike for Francis was not simply due to the Empire's aversion to him. When the land of Arthur was divided into twelve territories and given to twelve knights, Francis was the fiefdom of the Dark family. Naturally, the Dark family took all their possessions with them to Francis.

This resulted in very few records of these families within the empire, especially after these regions gained independence; these families were either destroyed or disappeared. This is understandable, as the independent territories wanted to sever their historical ties with the empire as much as possible, since these places were originally fiefdoms.

However, once the lord is gone, the fiefdom has no master and is free and independent.

For the Empire, the Twelve Knights not only represent the inheritance of history, but also the legitimacy and orthodoxy of the Empire's territory.

Unfortunately, those territories fragmented during times when the empire was extremely weak and preoccupied with its own survival. By the time the empire recovered, those families had already disintegrated or completely disappeared into the annals of history.

Richard Scott, as a historian, primarily studies the Twelve Knights. For him, the history of the Twelve Knights and the locations of their families have always been the focus of his research.

Therefore, when he learned that Li Wei was looking for information about the Holy Maiden's family, he immediately became excited.

"Unfortunately, there are not many records left in the empire about the Holy Maiden's family."

The sound of turning pages came through the microphone, and Li Wei could imagine Richard on the other end of the line, clutching a large book and frantically flipping through it.

"The Saintess family's mystique is among the highest even among the Twelve Knights; even the biography of Emperor Arthur doesn't describe them much. Do you have a biography of Emperor Arthur on hand?"

"of course."

Li Wei looked at the huge book beside him, thicker than an encyclopedia. Almost everyone had one; whether they used it or not, those who could afford it would buy one and keep it. Li Wei had one at home, and naturally, there was one on the airship—it seemed to have been added by default when it was purchased.

There is probably no more profitable business in the world than publishing this book.

"In fact, many of the legends about the saintess are the result of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Franciscans smearing her. It must be said that they are indeed very talented in artistic embellishment and distortion of others."

Perhaps because the Holy Church was expelled from the Empire by Her Majesty the Queen, Professor Richard now speaks of it without any restraint. His gritted teeth reveal that his dissatisfaction with the Holy Church is nothing new.

"Legend claims that the saint was originally a shepherdess who received the blessing of the Holy Lord and gained glory, but this is not the case. If you open the book 'The Legend of Arthurian Legend' and turn to page 187, you will find the part about Arthurian Legend recruiting the saint among the twelve knights."

Li Wei did as instructed and turned to this chapter, then began to read it.

"...Emperor Arthur traveled to his beloved mountain and learned of a beautiful maiden there who selflessly helped others and healed their ailments. Drawn by the rumors, Arthur went to visit the maiden. Her beautiful face appeared as fragile as crystal, but her will was as firm as diamond."

"She looked at Emperor Arthur and asked him why he had come. Emperor Arthur said that he longed to conquer the world. He wanted to eliminate the barriers in the world and make the whole world submit to a great emperor. The girl was moved by Emperor Arthur's firm will and accepted his invitation to travel with him."

"The middle part is all nonsense used to scam royalties, so let's skip directly to the end of this chapter."

Li Wei turned to the end of this chapter and continued reading.

"...The immortal maiden and her immortal army became the vanguard of the Great Emperor. Wherever the Great Emperor's sword pointed, that was the direction this army would advance. They had only one goal: to eliminate the barriers in this world and unite everyone under the same banner. In the eyes of this holy maiden, this was a mission far more important than curing diseases."

"After that, the Emperor established the Empire, and this young girl volunteered to go to the northeastern border region to guard the empire's gates. The Emperor was moved by the girl's holy and noble qualities, so he appointed her as one of the Twelve Knights and personally bestowed upon her the title of Saintess."

Upon seeing this, Li Wei raised an eyebrow.

"so……………"

"Therefore, the title of Saintess has nothing to do with the Holy Church. In ancient times, the word Saintess meant a holy maiden, praising a girl's noble, holy, and pure character. But the Holy Church twisted the word, changing its meaning to a sacred maiden, making it seem as if the Saintess has become an appendage of religion... Ugh, it's disgusting!"

Richard snorted coldly as he spoke.

"I suspect this is why Francis betrayed her when that saint appeared and helped him defeat Crant. According to rumors, the reason Crant didn't completely annex Francis was because the Holy Church secretly mediated, saying that if Francis was willing to betray the saint, they would persuade Crant not to completely annex Francis. Francis agreed to this condition, so in the end, he only ceded territory."

The more Richard talked, the angrier he became.

"At the time, the Church of Christ was making a huge fuss about the saint being a witch, and many historians suspected foul play. Unfortunately, there is no evidence to prove whether this speculation is true..."

"This is really a mess..."

Li Wei sighed silently. Although the truth of the matter was unknown, it was clear that the struggle between Emperor Arthur and the Church of Jesus Christ had continued to this day.

The empire, representing monarchical power, and the Holy Church, representing divine authority, both tried every means to kill the other.

Hmm? Wait a minute, if that's the case...

Thinking of this, Li Wei narrowed his eyes, and an idea resurfaced in his mind.

Upon closer examination, the Holy Lord's Church has a grudge against the Empire, especially now that the Queen has directly purged its influence from the Empire, forcing them to establish their own independent factions. On the other hand, capitalists also have a grudge against the Empire, particularly the It capitalists, whose families have been wiped out by the Queen.

Krant's goods have always sought to usurp the Empire's market dominance, while the Empire has always tried to prevent it. The saying "cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents" applies here; this is a deep-seated grudge.

The headquarters of the Franciscan Catholic Church is in Francis. Due to the reform system, capitalists have a strong political influence in this country, and the Franciscans themselves do not have a good impression of the empire.

Given the long-standing feud between Francis and Krant, Francis's swift kneeling surrender was quite unexpected.

However, if we add the variable of empire, then it becomes a different story.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Francis himself is already incapable of defeating Krant, so why resist to the end and contribute to the Empire's conquest of the world? In other words, Francis's surrender to Krant means that the stronger Krant is, the more likely it is to threaten or even defeat the Empire!
"That's enough for the history lesson."

Li Wei snapped out of his thoughts; he hadn't made that long-distance call to have the other party give him a history lesson.

"But these descriptions are also strange. I can understand an immortal saintess, but what about an immortal army? Does it mean that this saintess is immortal, and her army is also immortal?"

"Hehe, that might just be an exaggeration, but there's something I think you probably haven't noticed."

Professor Richard let out a smug laugh.

"In fact, the identity of this saintess was already explained at the beginning of this chapter."

"The opening?"

Li Wei flipped it back over.

"Emperor Arthur learned of a young woman who selflessly helped others and healed their ailments... Was she a doctor?"

"More likely... an alchemist."

"An alchemist?"

At first, Li Wei was somewhat surprised by this, but upon closer reflection, Professor Richard's statement was not without merit. After all, according to historical records, the initial purpose of alchemy was not to turn lead into gold, but rather to obtain elixirs of immortality and panaceas—the former granting eternal life, and the latter curing all diseases.

In modern terms, this falls entirely within the scope of biomedicine.

However, the impression of "turning stone into gold" in alchemy is so profound that people often regard alchemists as chemists—but in fact, in the beginning, alchemists were closer to doctors who could prepare their own medicines.

Even the concept of "turning lead into gold" itself initially served the purpose of medicine, because in ancient times pure gold was considered the noblest and most perfect metal. Potions made from it could restore the vitality of all life, and even grant immortality. Therefore, alchemists practiced turning lead into gold to pave the way for the elixir of life.

To put it bluntly, in the eyes of alchemists, "turning lead into gold" is merely a prerequisite technology for the "elixir of immortality," not the ultimate goal.

When Livy obtained the Wisdom of Solomon, he did indeed acquire many alchemical recipes. Now, upon closer reflection, these recipes were almost all used for healing, strengthening the body, and prolonging life.

Emperor Arthur's search for the saintess likely occurred during the same era as Solomon. If we think about it carefully, if the saintess was also an alchemist, then it wouldn't be so surprising that she possessed medical skills.

and many more………

"You're not saying the immortal saintess is because she has achieved the goal of all alchemists' legends—the elixir of immortality, are you?"

"That's possible, isn't it?"

"Well, this..."

Li Wei recalled seeing Jeanne Darcz; her soul was white, no different from that of an ordinary person. But…

"She said she has lost her memory. Is this a side effect of the elixir of immortality?"

"That's possible. After all, a person's memory is limited. If she had lived from the time of Emperor Arthur to the present, her brain would probably have stored up countless pieces of knowledge. If some of it isn't cleared out, her head might explode, and she might experience excruciating pain."

Li Wei thought Richard was talking complete nonsense... He remembered reading somewhere that the human brain is incredibly powerful and won't explode from storing too much information... But the other person was just a historian, not a neuroscientist.

Besides, no brain expert in this era dares to claim a complete understanding of the human brain, and Li Wei wasn't sure if what he saw was correct.

but……………

"If she loses her memory, then she can't be considered immortal, right? After all, once a person loses their memory, it's the same as losing themselves, which is equivalent to dying."

From a philosophical perspective, such immortality is meaningless.

"But there's also the possibility of regaining memories; wouldn't that be resurrection?"

"Anyway, let's try to find it first."

Li Wei brought the topic back to the present.

What are your thoughts on this?

"If I had to tell you, there's a place you can explore, which is the mountain climbing area... It's also known as the Jungfrau in Francis. We suspect that the origin of this place is related to the Saintess. According to imperial records, after the Saintess was conferred her title, she built a castle here to guard the entire Francis territory. However, this castle has never been found, at least not in Francis."

"The Empire hadn't found it before?"

"The Empire didn't want to find it before."

That's true. When the Empire and Francis are not at war, finding this castle would not benefit the Empire; it might even lead to Francis destroying it.

But things are different now. Since Francis has surrendered, it means that Francis no longer exists.

Then the empire... had nothing to worry about anymore.

If we can find this castle, we can prove the legitimacy of the Empire's claim to Francis, and... maybe we can also unlock the secret of the saintess.

What are your thoughts on an undead army?

Professor Richard remained silent for a moment in response to Li Wei's question.

"I really want to say that this might be a copying error by the person who originally wrote the book, but... to be honest, I don't know either."

"In short..."

Li Wei looked at the map on the desk, then took out a pencil and drew a circle on it.

"Let's go take a look first and then decide."

(End of this chapter)