Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 510 Eager to Try
"Wow, the atmosphere feels so tense."

As Katie left the room, she was filled with emotion and cautiously began to speak.

"I thought they were going to start fighting over something."

"I also think that fighting is more interesting to watch, it's a pity that a fight didn't happen."

Li Wei said that he enjoys watching women fight the most.

Especially things like pulling hair.

Unfortunately, both of them are civilized people, so they probably won't fight.

"On another note, is the issue they're arguing about really that serious?"

"It is indeed very serious."

At this point, Li Wei nodded solemnly. This was actually more serious than the chicken-or-egg question. If we accepted the bishop's view, it would be tantamount to handing over humanity's moral compass and future entirely to the Church. All good things would then be attributed to the bishop, while all bad things would be seen as a sign of moral decay and betrayal of God.

That's what Elizabeth said, and strictly speaking, she's right. Every large organization has its bad apples, and the Empire has its share of criminals, but you can't assume that all Empire citizens are criminals just because the Empire has criminals.

However, there is still one difference between the two sides.

That means the empire knows it's not perfect, and the Queen is constantly implementing reforms to keep up with the times, which is why it's moving forward. Because if you don't reform, you're doomed, and the Queen is very clear about that.

Religion is different. The logic of religion is: if you believe in me and do everything I say, you are perfect and don't have to do anything. Those who do bad things are those who don't believe in me, so if someone commits a crime, it's not that my religious system has a problem, but that the person themselves has a problem.

This is what Li Wei cannot accept.

To put it bluntly, religion is about stagnation, isolation, and maintaining tight control over the people. They claim that the church is the only place to communicate with God, so the church, which controls the church, naturally becomes the people's only choice.

This is one of the reasons why the Queen took action against the Holy Bishops. People may not necessarily care about the royal family, but they will definitely care about whether they will meet the Holy Lord after they die. If the channels to meet the Holy Lord are controlled by the Holy Bishops, it is actually a monopoly, and what can a monopolistic force do...? Anyway, it is definitely not a good thing for others.

That's why the Queen supported the Church of England, advocating that everyone could experience the Holy Lord's teachings without necessarily going to church, thus wresting control of the Empire's subjects back from the Holy Bishops.

Some might argue that this could create problems with the control of biblical interpretation, but in Livy's view, Her Majesty intends to gradually dilute the influence of religion. After all, churches are currently a monopoly of the Church, but they also have a crucial responsibility: gathering people. Only when people are gathered can evangelism be effective.

If it's just one or two people talking nonsense in private, it's completely useless.

In this era of rapid technological advancement, the emergence of science has largely replaced the original explanations of religion. This has further weakened the role of religious belief, making it impossible to continue many traditional folk tales, so people are now forced to focus on the spiritual aspects of people's lives.

However, if you are not allowed to gather, then proselytizing in private will not be very effective.

As for private gatherings?

This is illegal... and there are plenty of reasons to arrest you.

Levi gave Katie a brief explanation, and she seemed to understand what he meant.

So, to put it simply, should we listen to people or to God?

"That's right, that's exactly it. Let's not discuss whether the Holy Lord exists or not. Even if he does exist, why should we always listen to him? Parents don't keep their children by their side forever; they always let them become independent at the appropriate time. Animals are the same; birds grow up and leave the nest, tigers grow up and leave their mothers, but why are humans an exception? Why are humans the only ones who must be controlled by the Holy Lord every moment, every year, every month? Why can't you go east?"

"Waaah..."

Katie squinted, thought about it carefully, and then nodded.

"Indeed, if someone keeps nagging and pointing fingers in my ear, I'll find it annoying too."

"See, this is the reason."

Li Wei spread his hands.

"Therefore, I do not agree with Sister Elizabeth's statement. God and bishops are not necessary for humanity. In the end, humanity must rely on itself, not on gods."

"Well said."

Just then, the saintess's voice rang out. Li Wei turned his head and saw the saintess walking over from behind.

“Arthur thought so too; he believed that humans could solve the problems they faced.”

"Mephisto isn't right, is he?"

"Yes."

The saintess nodded with a wry smile.

“He thought humanity was just so-so… I’m not saying he’s lost faith in humanity, but I’m sure he definitely doesn’t have much faith in humanity.” “But humanity… or rather, most ordinary people, are what drive all of this; behind history are the people.”

"Oh?"

The saintess looked at Li Wei with curiosity.

“That’s not what Arthur thought.”

"is it?"

"That's right, he believes that a hero will always step up and turn the tide, and he will lead everyone to overcome the difficulties."

"That's true, but I think it works for the majority of people."

"is it?"

The saintess returned the question to Li Wei.

“But I remember you seem to be an imperial hero, and you even accomplished the feat of slaying a dragon.”

"I admit that."

Li Wei nodded.

"But I can't do it by myself alone. I can't do it without the help of most people."

"Mr. Li Wei, are you referring to the crew of the Eye in the Sky?"

At this moment, Katie asked curiously.

"They certainly count, but they're not the only ones."

As Li Wei spoke, he turned his head to look at the Sky Eye moored not far away.

"Look at this airship. It wasn't built by me alone. Some people mined the ore, some smelted it, some designed it, some assembled it, and some manufactured it. Without their help, I couldn't have built an airship by myself, let alone commanded it to fight a giant dragon."

As he spoke, Li Wei looked at the saintess.

"Miss Saint, what do you think? Without the actions of most ordinary people, could you lead an invincible army to conquer all directions?"

The saintess seemed thoughtful when Li Wei asked her question.

"So, according to you, it wasn't just Arthur and us who created the empire, but also those ordinary people?"

"of course."

Li Wei chuckled.

"Otherwise, what will you eat, wear, drink, use, and live in? These things don't fall from the sky, right?"

“Mr. Li Wei, what you said makes a lot of sense.”

Katie thought about it carefully and nodded vigorously.

"Indeed, I don't know how to make clothes, weave cloth, or harvest grain..."

"That's right, but many people don't realize this problem. They seem to think that everything they have is something they were born with... But unfortunately, there is never anything in this world that you deserve."

Li Wei chuckled.

"What you want, you can only strive for, not just pray all day and hope that some god will suddenly appear."

"Um…………………"

Katie pondered for a moment, then decisively gave up thinking about it.

"I'm a little tired after hearing so much. By the way, Mr. Li Wei!"

Thinking of this, Katie seemed to suddenly realize something, and looked at Levi with shining eyes.

"I've heard there are demons here? Can I play with them?"

This person clearly prefers using his fists to using his brain.

(End of this chapter)