Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 496 There's Always a Way
It's snowing lightly outside.

Miller Schneider sat in his tent, a fire burning beside him, the coffee pot emitting an enticing aroma. Elsewhere, Miller would have thoroughly enjoyed this. As an adventurer, he loved exploring the world, searching for and excavating unknown or lost ancient sites, relegated to legend.

Moreover, he did indeed gain something from it, which made him an expert in this field.

But Miller never imagined that this would lead him down such a troublesome path.

Those damned Krant soldiers!

Miller was furious at the thought of them. He had been quite surprised when he first received the invitation from the Krant government, but the mission he was tasked with greatly intrigued him. The Krant government required him to lead a team to Francis to find the legendary location of the Saintess Clan.

It must be said that this was an excellent commission for Miller, who had always wanted to follow in the footsteps of the Twelve Knights and uncover their past and history. However, Francis was previously an enemy nation, and Miller had never imagined he would go there. But now, things were different; Francis had become part of Crant, and he could finally come here and find the legendary castle of the saintess, just as he had wished.

But now, he regrets it.

I shouldn't have taken this damn official job!
Miller was initially quite pleased. The government was covering all the expenses, the chimeras were provided by the military, and he was even able to lead a group of soldiers on the search. These were privileges Miller had never enjoyed before, which was why he could be enjoying delicious coffee in this beautiful tent, instead of huddled in a cave, shivering and worrying about attracting some damned beasts, as was his usual routine.

The word "adventurer" sounds romantic and helps him meet naive girls at the ball who know nothing about it but whose eyes light up at the mention of the word.

But in reality, nothing is more wretched or dangerous than venturing into the wild.

An adventurer's life is rarely romantic.

But he didn't expect that these soldiers would be so annoying. They seemed very eager to achieve results, asking about progress several times a day!

Screw the progress!

Miller muttered a curse under his breath. What did they think ruins were? Mushrooms in the forest? That you could just walk in, look carefully, and find them under the fallen leaves? If it were that simple, there wouldn't be so many ruins still buried deep in history.

Just then, footsteps approached. Hearing the footsteps, Miller sighed in despair. He then turned around and saw an officer lift the curtain and enter the tent with a gust of wind and snow.

“We’ve been working on this for almost two months, Mr. Schneider.”

The officer stood there ramrod straight, coldly staring at the adventurer before him.

"But right now, we haven't found anything yet."

"Isn't that obvious?"

Miller stared at the other person.

“I’ve told you all before that finding those legendary ruins is an extremely difficult task, and historical legends are always mixed with lies and exaggerations. What seemed like an impregnable fortress back then might just be a small mound of earth now. Besides, the legend of the Twelve Knights dates back to the time of Emperor Arthur—thousands of years ago!”

"so what?"

"So, even if that castle once existed, it could have been destroyed, for example, by an earthquake, avalanche, mudslide... Once you look at it on a time scale, anything can happen. An adventurer's life is always accompanied by disappointment; we don't succeed in every adventure..."

But the officer didn't listen to Miller's complaints; instead, he interrupted him.

"So, are you really sure?"

"I'm looking! But there's just too little information!"

“We have sent out scout eagles to search every hilltop, and they have not found any trace of man-made structures. According to you, the castle should be on the top of the hill.”

"Yes, that's how it is according to the legend..."

Miller fidgeted with his hands somewhat anxiously.

"The saint built a castle, and the people in her territory can see the glory emanating from it whenever they look up. So it must be in a very high place, a place that can be seen from most of Francis. Jungfrau is a very suitable place."

"But we gained nothing."

The officer stared at him.

"We didn't even find a single piece of debris!"

"I don't know how to explain it to you, but anyway, it's normal."

Miller looked at the officer and helplessly spread his hands. That's how adventures are; most of the time, they return empty-handed. Only rarely, due to luck or some other reason, do they find something. However, people never learn from their mistakes, and the Krant people were no exception. They only knew they had discovered a few buried historical sites, but they had no idea that most of the time they returned empty-handed.

"And I've said before that I don't approve of coming to Francis at this time of year. At this time of year, the heavy snow can easily cover up everything."

Miller wasn't lying; he had brought up the matter when he learned that Krant had hired him to search for the castle of the Virgin Mary. Winter was approaching, and as everyone knew, Mount Sainte was covered in snow for six months of the year, making the search for castle ruins virtually impossible.

The best time to search is during the summer and autumn seasons, after the snow has melted.

However, the Krant government was very anxious about this, so Miller had no choice but to give it a try.

As it turned out, his idea was correct.

Winter hasn't officially arrived yet, but for high-altitude areas, heavy snow has already covered most of the mountaintops, so even if there are any relics, they won't be able to find them under the snow.

What a farce!
Miller thought bitterly, "If I had known it would turn out like this, I shouldn't have accepted this job in the first place! Maybe staying at home would have been much better than coming to this freezing, godforsaken place!"

He also had to endure being held accountable by a group of laymen... so he didn't like dealing with these idiots!
"You told me we're looking for a lily symbol, what does that mean?"

"That's exactly what I meant, sir."

Miller sighed again in exasperation and began to explain to the officer.

"Contrary to the legends many people know, Saint Darke was not an illiterate shepherdess. She was an alchemist, knowledgeable and wise. The emblem of this saintly knight was a lily, and since she built a castle here, there must be a lily symbol. Therefore, even if we can find just a clue, we might be able to... find the location of that castle."

Of course, it's only a possibility.

"So, you can't guarantee there will be a result?"

“How can I guarantee that? I must remind you, this is a very old castle. Assuming it really exists, it's been thousands of years! Unless it's the saintess herself, it would be very difficult for anyone else to find the castle's true location!”

As he spoke, Miller turned around and walked to the table, picking up his coffee cup. Just then, he saw a small shadow dart away from the side, startling Miller so much that his right hand trembled and the coffee cup fell to the ground.

"Oh, damn it! You scared me!"

"what happened?"

"nothing."

Miller composed himself and looked at the table again, but there was nothing there.

"It's just an insect. Maybe it came here to warm itself by the fire, or maybe I'm just seeing things."

As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at the map again.

At the same time, Li Wei withdrew his gaze from the distant hillside and thought to himself.

Unfortunately, even with the saintess present, she herself was unaware of it.

Li Wei thought to himself, then looked at Jeanne beside him. She was wearing a fur coat and was looking around at the valley with a bewildered expression.

"So, you have absolutely no recollection of this place?"

“Not at all, Mr. Levi.”

Jeanne shook her head. Levi didn't have many clues either. He had one advantage over the Crants: he had a saintess by his side. Unfortunately, she was an amnesiac saintess.

However, this does not mean that Li Wei has no solution.

He and Jeanne traveled to Mount Sainte with the Eye of the Sky. Jeanne said that although she had never been to many places, she could recall them as soon as she stepped into them. Therefore, Levi's initial hope was that as long as Jeanne returned to Mount Sainte, she would remember the location of the castle, and perhaps thus be able to solve the mystery of the castle.

Unfortunately, when Jeanne arrived here, she did recall some places, but only simple geographical features, such as where the hillsides were gentle, where there were streams, and where there were cliffs. However, she did not recall the location of the castle.

Or rather, in Jeanne's memory, this place did not include a castle.

But for Li Wei, this is not a problem.

He's a detective, not a historian, but people don't change.

The things people thought about hundreds of years ago are no different from what they think about hundreds of years later.

Times may change, technology may develop, but human nature remains constant.

"Alright, Jeanne, let's continue."

Li Wei sat on a rock, looking at the girl in front of him. She was focused on the map in front of her. They were at the edge of a canyon, from which they could see the entire Sunset Mountains.

"Think about it. Suppose you were a lord and you wanted to build a castle here. Where would you build it?"

"Isn't the legend about it being on the mountaintop?"

"That's just a legend. Now I want you to see with your own eyes, to think, and to imagine."

"………………………"

Jeanne glanced at Li Wei, then looked around, and frowned.

"If you ask me, building a castle on a mountaintop is very inappropriate."

She spoke each word clearly.

"It's too far from the settlement area, so supplies are a problem in themselves. Moreover, if I, as the lord, need to be constantly vigilant about danger, I would choose a place with more convenient and developed transportation. But the Sunset Mountains... are too steep, and it would be difficult for both cavalry and infantry to quickly pass through these areas and reach the cities and plains below."

"But the higher you stand, the farther you can see, isn't that right?"

"It doesn't need to be that high."

Jeanne shook her head.

"If it's just to notify people of an attack, you can use beacon fires or send out messengers, or even use light signals. There's no need to go all the way to such a high place."

That makes sense.

Li Wei nodded silently. Jeanne's consideration was correct. Historically, strategic locations have always been places with convenient transportation. In such remote mountainous areas, it's impossible to move freely. Of course, unless the saint's army can fly, that's a different story.

"So you think the castle isn't here?"

"If you ask for my opinion, my view is that there is no benefit to building a castle here... at least that's what I think."

indeed so.

"So where do you think would be a better place?"

"Of course it should be a plain, or some major transportation route, at least not a remote place like this where almost no one comes."

Jeanne looked around again.

“I think… even if the Holy Maiden were to build a castle, she probably wouldn’t choose this place. Besides, building a castle requires a lot of stone, wood, tools, manpower, and supplies. Building a castle deep in the mountains like this? That’s a really difficult thing.”

Who knows what people were thinking back then?

Li Wei didn't think so. He remembered seeing King Solomon in his dream; the saint was from the same era as him and seemed to be a very famous alchemist. So she might also be able to fly, or create some kind of flying object.

Of course, he didn't tell Jeanne his thoughts, and whether she would accept them was still a question.

"Then, let's continue our search."

Li Wei returned to the original topic. Since they couldn't determine whether there was a castle here based on Jeanne's knowledge, the next thing became very important.

Do you remember this place?

Li Wei began pointing to the mountains and asking questions about each one, while Jeanne nodded.

"Yes."

What about here?

“I remember.”

"So, here?"

Jeanne could provide some answer to every point Li Wei pointed out about the Sunset Mountains; although covered in snow, at least the outlines were still visible. Jeanne seemed genuinely familiar with the area, able to answer every single one of Li Wei's descriptions.

It wasn't until Li Wei headed straight for a hillside that her reaction became hesitant.

"Here...I don't know..."

Jeanne looked at the snow-covered hillside with a puzzled expression. It looked like an ordinary hillside, no different from anywhere else. But Jeanne was surprised and somewhat confused.

"It's really surprising. In my memory, that place shouldn't be like that."

"Is the terrain changed due to mudslides or earthquakes?"

When Li Wei asked her, Jeanne shook her head.

"That's not true, I don't remember this place at all..."

As Jeanne spoke, she looked at the hillside with a puzzled expression. It resembled a tall wall, rising high and connecting to the summit of Mount Sainte.

"Is there anything else that doesn't quite match your memory?"

"Hmm... from here... to here."

Jeanne drew a circle with her finger, and Levi realized that it included the main peak of Mount Sainte, which was quite a large area.

"Inconsistent?"

"I have absolutely no recollection of it."

"Then let's start there."

Li Wei stretched his body and stood up.

"I think there's always a way."

(End of this chapter)