Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 506 Mephistopheles
It has to be said, time is truly a cruel mistress.

For most people of that era, Francis was arguably the most prosperous place for the Holy Sepulchre, with Florence becoming its core. So much so that many subconsciously believed that the Holy Sepulchre actually originated in Florence.

But in fact, just as the capital of the empire has moved several times over the past thousand years, the headquarters of the Holy Bishop has also moved many times.

So much so that Livy was quite surprised when he learned that the Holy Bishops were originally founded in Crontes.

After all, Cront is now one of the regions that pays the least attention to the Holy Bishops, yet it turns out to be the birthplace of the Holy Bishops? I wonder what that priest would have thought if he had known this back then.

“I think we must first figure out what the Holy Bishop is doing.”

With this in mind, Li Wei finally sorted out his thoughts.

“Those beliefs couldn’t have disappeared without a reason. Since the gods didn’t get them, they must have gone somewhere else. If we can figure out the Holy Bishop’s plan, we can respond accordingly.”

This can be considered a decision made by Li Wei. If he didn't know how to persuade the Holy Maiden to abandon the plan before, now that he has enough information, Li Wei finally knows what to do. Of course, this doesn't mean Li Wei will let Hua Du off the hook. As he said, now he needs to figure out what the Holy Bishop is up to.

Once they figure out what they're doing, Li Wei won't object to the Saintess smashing the entire castle into the City of Flowers if the situation is indeed dangerous.

But the prerequisite is that you must obtain enough intelligence; otherwise, if you simply bomb the entire place and leave no intelligence behind, that would be a real problem.

"Hmm... Indeed, I don't have enough information to be sure what the Holy Bishop is doing right now."

The saintess reached out and rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

So what do you plan to do?

"Perhaps I could go to Krant and look for the remains of that Mr. Mephistopheles, to see if he left any records about the Holy Bishop..."

"That's probably very difficult."

However, the saint directly rejected Li Wei's idea.

"The Holy Bishop plan is top secret; only Arthur and the Twelve Knights know about it. What others know is only the version we've spread. Mephistopheles may be a terrible bastard, but he won't leave any written record of this, so that it can be investigated..."

As she spoke, the saintess suddenly paused and began to think.

"No, maybe he really will stay."

Muttering to herself, the saintess looked at Li Wei again and smiled slightly.

"You can try it and see if he did leave a record. Then you can bring it back."

"But didn't you say that keeping a written record would be dangerous?"

"It will indeed be very dangerous, but I think you don't know the power of Mephisto."

"This... I really don't know."

"Him... "

The saintess opened her mouth, then looked up at the sky outside.

"He can predict the future."

"…………………"

Well, it's not that surprising, since the ability to foresee the future has appeared in various works quite a few times.

"He never talks about whether the future can be changed, and I think he's deliberately hiding it. But this guy only reveals some prophecies he's seen in advance when facing a major crisis, and of course, none of them are good news. So this guy is also known as the 'Deathbird,' and he quite likes that nickname."

“I remember you said before that Mr. Mephistopheles was a priest?”

"Yes, he is a believer in some god. He claims to have this ability, and perhaps it is the god using his own voice to warn the world."

"But he didn't say whether the future could be changed, did he?"

He said he didn't care.

"Don't care?" "That's right."

The saintess nodded.

"That's what that guy said: it would be best if things could be changed, but it's okay if they can't be changed, at least he can die knowing why."

"That's indeed...quite good."

As a detective, Li Wei truly understood this statement. In fact, many victims died without even knowing why they died. In comparison, being able to die with understanding is, in a way, a blessing.

If that's the case, then the reason why the Holy Maiden wanted Li Wei to go find her becomes understandable.

"You mean, Mr. Mephistopheles may have foreseen our predicament while he was alive, and thus prepared the intelligence or something similar that we needed in advance?"

This does indeed seem like something many people who can foresee the future would do, except this future timeline is too far off—it's a thousand years from now.

"I thought so."

The saintess nodded, but her expression was like that of someone eating an apple and finding a worm that was only half there.

"But I hope that's not the case, because this guy's prophecies... always bring a lot of trouble every time they're released."

"In short, I'll only know if I go there."

Li Wei also hoped that things wouldn't be too difficult. After all, if it were so serious that people from a thousand years ago would have to leave behind information to warn the latter about the disaster, that would probably be a nightmare.

After all, there were no extraordinary beings like Emperor Arthur or King Solomon in this era.

This saintess is unreliable; her soul is imprisoned by the Holy Bishop, forcing her to hide in this sky city. Unless Levi finds a way to break the imprisonment, she will have to stay here indefinitely.

"Can you give me some clues? Like where he might be storing intelligence?"

"That's not difficult..."

The saintess looked at Li Wei and sighed.

"After all, that guy will only stay in one place in Krant, but that place might not be easy for you to get into."

Yes, in fact, just as the saintess said, it's not easy to get into this place.

"This is killing me..."

Standing atop the tower, Levi gazed speechlessly at the Crant Palace in the distance. According to the saint, Mephistopheles had built a secret archive beneath the Crant Palace, primarily housing the assimilated religious materials and manuals.

But there is a problem.

The entrance to this archive is located in the royal court of Krante.

This is the place where Emperor Cronte received his ministers and issued orders.

Needless to say, there are guards patrolling here 24 hours a day, and the entire hall is open. Moreover, the saintess also said that Li Wei must activate the switch located behind the throne in order to open the entrance.

As for why the saintess knew this, the reason is simple: she was the one who built this secret archive. And why was the archive built beneath the royal court? The reason is even simpler.

"That guy doesn't like to go out. He'd rather stay inside all year round, so he asked me to do this. That way, he can stay downstairs and look up information most of the time, and when something happens, he can just walk up a few steps and give orders to his subordinates directly."

That really makes the most of every minute!
Recalling the saint's explanation, Levi almost cried. This Knight Mephistopheles was incredibly lazy, unwilling to even walk a few steps. He was doomed. With the entire palace so heavily guarded, how could he possibly open the secret entrance without attracting the attention of the guards, then enter the archives and find the information he needed?

Staring at the Crown Palace, Li Wei stroked his chin and frowned.

It seems unlikely that it will be possible to avoid alerting the Crown Palace.

So... should we do the opposite?

(End of this chapter)