Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 15: Searching for the Target

For Irene, this job was even easier than she had imagined.

As a citizen of the lower-middle class, Irene knew very well how people poorer than her lived.

To be honest, when she learned that her parents had died and had left behind a large debt, Irene had felt as if the sky was collapsing upon her.

She thought of the courtesans standing numbly at the street corners, the children in shabby rental houses who made matches and glued paper flowers with blank expressions, and the beggars curled up under bridges, waiting despairingly for death.

Would she also fall to that point?

She had once had a bright and beautiful future.

Now, was all of that going to vanish into nothingness?

Fortunately, the gods still favored her, allowing Irene to obtain a job far better than she had imagined.

The repair room was indeed smaller than her previous place, but it was warm, comfortable, and—most importantly—safe.

Unlike shared rental houses, she did not have to worry about her neighbors, fear police inspections, or suffer extortion from gangs.

For Irene, this slightly cramped but secure space could not have been more suitable.

And Levi was also an exceptionally easy master to serve.

Basically, Irene’s daily task was to prepare breakfast for him.

After eating, Levi would leave and not return until the afternoon.

During that time, Irene only needed to clean the room, organize documents, and tidy the bed.

Afterward, she would go out to buy groceries for lunch and dinner.

Levi was also generous in this regard, giving her a full pound as household expenses.

Irene did not betray Levi’s trust.

She carefully recorded every single expense in a notebook—whether it was food, spare clothing, or small miscellaneous items.

Of course, for Irene, the greatest benefit of this job was—her master was incredibly handsome!

She had met many men before, but she had never seen one as handsome as Levi.

The first time she clearly saw him, she had felt as if she had been struck by a petrification spell, standing frozen on the spot.

She could not believe that such a man could exist in this world.

In her eyes, if Levi were to change into another outfit and ride a white horse, he would definitely be the very image of the prince on a white horse that every young girl dreamed of.

However, though she fantasized about it, Irene never dared to hope that love would bloom between her and Levi.

Back at maid school, they often secretly passed around romantic tales of noblemen and servants overcoming class barriers to fall in love. But their teachers had repeatedly warned them sternly not to indulge in such foolish dreams.

A servant was a servant!

Indeed, some masters might get involved with servants, whether out of true affection or simply for amusement.

But if a servant thought she could climb to the top through that, it was only a delusion.

Once discovered—or if pregnancy occurred—her fate would only be to be kicked out by her master.

At that point, everything would be over.

Her job, her reputation, her future—everything would be ruined.

What awaited her was only the despair of falling from heaven to hell.

Of course, Levi’s current status was not high enough for such a scenario, but Irene had never thought about it anyway. Her master was simply too attractive.

She had no doubt that even the most beautiful young ladies of high society would not be able to resist him.

It was such a pity—if he became an actor, he would surely become the most famous star in the entire Empire.

She truly did not know why he had chosen the profession of detective.

And she also had no idea… what her master had been doing these past few days.

If Levi had known Irene’s inner doubts, he would have calmly replied—he had been doing nothing at all.

He had only been strolling around the church every day.

Yes, that was Levi’s recent daily routine.

After breakfast, he would go to a nearby church, stay for a while, then wander around, listening for information from others.

Of course, he would wear a disguise at such times.

Without it, he would draw too much attention.

And what Levi had been eavesdropping on was information about Doctor Doolittle.

As a well-known doctor in the Lower City, Doctor Doolittle held great respect in people’s hearts.

In fact, Levi had overheard many people saying that Doctor Doolittle could not possibly be the murderer and that the police had only taken him as a scapegoat.

Well, in a sense, they were right.

But of course, the police could not tell them that the killer had been a resurrected corpse.

Still, regardless of what people said, after Doolittle’s arrest, the Courtesan Killer had indeed never appeared again.

So now, many also believed that Doctor Doolittle truly was the murderer.

Levi had once passed by the pharmacy, which had already been sealed off and forbidden to enter.

Its contents had been abandoned, and its fate remained unknown…

Most likely, no one would bother with it anymore.

After that, Levi went once again to the warehouse where he had last fought, but Katie had not shown up.

Come to think of it, he had never asked for her contact information.

Or perhaps she had simply run too fast.

After they had defeated those monsters, Levi and Inspector Lestrade had been frantically searching the place, and by the time they came to their senses, Katie had already disappeared.

Even Officer Fletcher had not noticed when she had slipped away.

Hmm.

Thinking back to that petite figure shielding him, Levi muttered to himself—having an MT really did feel quite safe.

Unfortunately, that MT was unlikely to work for him long-term.

Maybe he should just play it like a game and raise a beast to tank for him?

Levi knew very well that, in this era, there were no taboos about protecting animals.

Quite the opposite—the rarer and more exotic an animal, the higher its price on the market.

So as long as he had money, he could buy any animal he wanted.

But even if he bought one, it would be useless.

This was not a game.

He was not a hunter, nor did he have any beast-taming skills.

And suitable MT-type beasts were hard to find.

They were usually large creatures, like bears.

It was impossible to drag something like that down the street.

Ah, if only he had drawn a skill like 【Fighting】.

Levi had never been in a real fight in his past life.

The only “martial art” he knew was throwing random punches.

Although his 【Shooting】 stat was extremely high, and he had the assistance of the 【Eye of the Reaper】, he only had six bullets. If more than six enemies rushed him, he would be finished.

Of course, Levi did not come to the church just to loaf around.

He had more important things to do.

“Creak——————”

Levi pushed open the church doors and stepped inside, only to find the normally empty place filled with people.

Raising a curious brow, he walked over to a nearby nun and asked in a low voice.

“What happened? Why are there so many people here today?”

The nun hesitated, but seeing that Levi had been coming frequently, she regarded him as a familiar face and quietly replied.

“The police have returned Doctor Doolittle’s body to us. We are preparing to hold a small burial service for him. These people are here for the funeral.”

“They…”

“They are all people Doctor Doolittle once saved.”

Facing the statue before her, the nun made a devout gesture.

“Although we don’t know why Doctor Doolittle did such things, he truly saved many lives.”

“May I attend as well?”

Hearing this, Levi asked calmly, without showing much expression.

“I was once under his care too.”

Yes—quite a bit of care, in fact.

“Of course.”

The nun nodded.

“No matter what sins one committed in life, before the Holy Lord after death, all are equal.”

Then your Holy Lord isn’t much use.

Levi resisted the urge to complain. If good people and bad people were the same in front of the Holy Lord, why bother being good at all?

His own beliefs were far more reliable—at least, after death, your deeds were judged to decide whether you fell into boiling oil or reincarnated into a new life.

Still… since this world really had strange rituals and monsters, could gods actually exist?

If this Holy Lord truly existed as the Church claimed, then that would be… rather dull.

Of course, Levi would never show such dissatisfaction in front of a nun.

Instead, he pressed down the brim of his hat, gave a slight nod, and joined the others as they left the church for the cemetery behind it.

A normal funeral required rites. But since Doctor Doolittle had been a criminal, the law forbade ceremonial blessings. So the burial could only be done directly at the cemetery.

The coffin had already been lowered into the grave.

Even the flower-offering was skipped—people merely looked at it once before the grave was filled.

He was a criminal, after all, and a serious one at that. What more could be expected?

The people stood before the coffin, removing their hats and staring silently into the grave.

The priest of the Church stepped forward, raising high the All-Seeing Eye in his hands.

“May the Holy Lord bless his soul with peace. May his suffering be ended. Sleep now. Rest now…”

As the priest spoke, gravekeepers came forward with shovels, throwing dirt to cover the coffin.

The crowd bowed their heads in sorrowful silence.

Levi stood at the back, imitating their grief—but what he was waiting for was exactly this moment!

When no one seemed to be watching, Levi closed his eyes, then suddenly snapped them open.

Soul Sight!

This was one of the upgraded skills he had obtained after completing missions.

According to the system, this ability allowed him to see fluctuations and lingering traces of interference at the soul level.

That was precisely why he had come here.

Clearly, the one who had given Doctor Doolittle the Magic Book must have interfered with his soul.

Now Levi wanted to see if that person was here!

The instant he opened his eyes again, the colorful world turned into black and white.

It was like watching a black-and-white television—everything around him had become stark and monotonous.

Focusing on Doolittle’s coffin, Levi saw only darkness within—obviously, the man was truly dead, with no soul remaining.

And then, Levi noticed a black thread appear from nowhere, connecting the coffin to a person nearby.

Clearly, that person was tied to Doolittle’s fate!

Levi followed the thread and saw where it led.

It was a woman.

She wore a black dress and a veiled hat, her face hidden. Her attire was perfectly ordinary, standard for someone attending a funeral…

Ugh…

Levi suddenly felt a sharp headache and quickly shut off his Soul Sight.

In an instant, the dull black-and-white world vanished, and color returned.

“Whew…”

Keeping his expression calm, Levi let out a quiet breath.

So that was what the world looked like through the soul’s eyes?

That was terrifying.

Looking once more at the “returned” scenery before him, Levi deeply appreciated the beauty of life again.

Blue skies, white clouds, green grass, leafy shade.

Now this was living.

Still… this ability was really something else.

Glancing at the lifespan he had just lost, Levi silently cursed.

It was a vicious cycle.

He needed to complete missions from the system to extend his life, but the very skills the system gave him consumed his lifespan whenever he used them.

Just now, those five seconds of 【Soul Sight】 had cost him twenty-five minutes of life.

Indeed, once lifespan became visible, it really did feel frightening.

Soon, the funeral ended and the crowd dispersed.

Levi blended in quietly, keeping his eyes on the woman in the black dress.

She left the church, got into a hired carriage at the street, and rode away.

Levi stood at the roadside, memorizing the carriage’s license number.

Then he walked to another carriage waiting for passengers nearby.

“Good day, sir. Where would you like to go?”

Seeing Levi approach, the driver quickly asked eagerly. Levi thought for a moment, then asked.

“Do you know the driver of that carriage just now?”

“Of course, sir.”

The coachman quickly replied.

“We often work around here. His name is Kent. He’s an honest fellow.”

“I’d like to meet him and ask about something. Make the arrangements.”

As he spoke, Levi pulled out a few coins.

The driver’s eyes lit up at the sight.

“No problem. At lunchtime, we all gather at the Golden Fish Tavern nearby. He should head there once he finishes this fare.”

“Good.”

Levi nodded and climbed into the carriage.

“Take me there.”