Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 68 The Cancelled Bounty

Suren stood in the sunlight, looking at the former "Harp Library," and took a deep breath.

The calm reality before their eyes suggested that Mr. "Eras Mercury" was indeed no ordinary person.

The disappearance of the "Harp Library" also signifies the end of this thread.

Recalling the two possible interpretations of the "Revelation," two theories emerged in Suren's mind: either two groups of people stole the goods, or the same group of people stored the goods in two different locations.

Suren felt that the former was more likely, since given the abilities Elas had demonstrated so far, there was no need to divide them into two groups.

Thinking of this, Suren shook his head. It was probably impossible to get the Dead Sea Scrolls back. The other party had already disappeared. Even if he could find them, Suren wouldn't have the ability to retrieve them. He might as well focus his energy on the other part of the goods.

But at another location, Suren also had no clue whatsoever.

He sighed. After all, he was just a half-baked detective, and once the "Revelation" didn't provide any clear clues, he couldn't continue the investigation.

Fortunately, Suren had a backup plan – the Manuscript of the Truth Speakers.

Suren carefully strolled to a relatively clean alley. He did not take out the "Manuscript of the Truth Speaker" directly, but planned to first conceive a suitable question in his mind. After all, the "Manuscript of the Truth Speaker" currently has a limited number of pages, and he could not afford to waste them.

Should he directly inquire about the promotion ceremony? That was the first thought that popped into Suren's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

While this would save the risk of searching for the goods, the limited length of the manuscript's answers—a single line simply cannot answer such a broad question, and it might not even be able to display a complete sentence—makes the risks far greater than searching for the two ritual books.

In contrast, Suren thought it would be better to go find the two books first. If there were no clear clues in the books, then use the copies to ask relevant questions later. This would be the optimal solution.

So, should we just ask about the whereabouts of the two books? Suren looked around at the houses. Loren Town was too small; many places didn't even have house numbers or street names.

This leads to a problem: the answers given in books are mostly things like "a basement with strange markings" or "a room with whitewash on the walls," which is essentially meaningless.

After some thought, Suren decided to have the book provide a traceable clue so that he could follow it and explore the area.

There are still potential risks associated with this issue. For example, clues might be impossible to follow due to Suren's abilities, or she might run into the wrong people while investigating. However, it is unrealistic to completely avoid all risks. All Suren can do is minimize the risks.

He made up his mind, and with a thought, the "Manuscript of the Truth Speaker" and a quill pen already dipped in ink appeared in his hand. The smooth touch of human skin made Suren frown.

He pressed the copy against the wall and wrote down his question with a dip pen:

"What is the most direct clue that would allow Suren Chern to safely find Charles's two lost ritual books?"

A moment later, the Manuscript of Truth appeared out of thin air with lines of pitch-black text: "William Miller".

"William Miller?" Suren frowned as he looked at the somewhat unfamiliar name on the copy.

Logically speaking, since Suren asked for the "most direct clue," the answer shouldn't include people he hadn't met.

Suren began searching her memory.

Finally, he remembered the name; it was the one on the notice board at the police station who initiated the reward for clearing out the "haunted house".

Suren wasted no more time, put away the copy and the pen, and strode toward the duty station.

On the way, Suren thought back to the bounty. He clearly remembered that he saw the bounty on the day he joined the "Deathbird Monks", but when he went there the next day, the bounty was gone.

A moment later, Suren pushed open the door to the duty station. Lawrence was still sitting behind the counter, sorting through the seemingly endless files.

Suren strode up to Lawrence, plopped down on the stool in front of the counter, tapped the table to get Lawrence's attention, and asked in a calm tone, "Mr. Lawrence, do you remember a man named William Miller?"

Lawrence looked up at Suren with a puzzled expression. He adjusted his glasses, pondered for a moment, and then shook his head.

"That guy posted a bounty for cleaning up a 'haunted house,' did you forget?" Suren pointed to the notice board, trying to remind Lawrence.

Lawrence stared at the notice board for a while, then, as if remembering something, he opened the drawer beside him and took out a small stack of documents.

After rummaging through the documents, he took one out and handed it to Suren, asking with a puzzled look, "What happened?"

"It's nothing, I just took on a last-minute commission, and the clue just happened to point to this guy." Suren gave Lawrence a vague answer, his eyes quickly scanning the text on the document.

According to the documents, this guy was an ordinary surgeon with two small properties, a fairly wealthy life, and no bad records.

The tasks he issued were just ordinary tasks to cleanse "evil spirits".

In reality, aside from the possibility of demons being created due to failed rituals or "uncleaners" going out of control, demons sometimes appear out of nowhere in the city. The frequency is not high, but it doesn't mean they don't exist.

According to the church, this situation was caused by the defilement produced by impious people, but Suren felt that it was more likely that the barrier had been breached.

After reading the document, Suren was puzzled. According to the document, the bounty was not resolved by the "Deathbird," but was canceled by William himself, which was very unusual.

After returning the documents to Lawrence, Suren stood up, intending to meet with William Miller.

When registering the bounty, Lawrence recorded William's address, which saved Suren the trouble of investigating.

Suren soon arrived at a two-story building, which was William's small clinic, located on the edge of the central square, not too far from the duty station.

The storefront is small, with only a simple brass sign that reads "William's Clinic" hanging on the wooden door.

Suren pushed open the door and was greeted by a cramped waiting room filled with a nauseating stench of cheap tobacco, sweat, and festering wounds, causing Suren to instinctively cover her nose. Two old benches stood against the right wall, with several people sitting on them.

Directly in front of them was a long table, more than a meter long. Behind the table sat a teenage girl, and in front of her sat a patient. At that moment, the girl was writing something down on a piece of paper.

Suren knocked on the wooden door and called out, "Is Mr. William Miller in?"

The people on the bench looked up at him, and after recognizing Suren's uniform, they quickly lowered their heads. The girl who was taking notes also peeked out with some confusion.

As soon as he finished speaking, the door on the right was pushed open, and a man in a black robe walked out, followed by a patient with a bandage on his hand, who looked like he had just had his wound treated.

"Who is it, so rude!" The man said, then his gaze fell on Suren's uniform, his expression froze for a moment, and then he quickly put on a smile, "Ah, Lord Deathbird, I'm so sorry, please don't mind."

"You're William Miller?" Suren didn't bother arguing with him and glanced at the patients around him.

William Miller nodded, then followed Suren's gaze and instantly understood what Suren meant. He bowed slightly, extended his right hand towards the door that had just closed, and gestured for the door to proceed.

The two entered the room one after the other. Inside was a simple examination room, illuminated by a dim gas lamp. Some medical equipment could be seen on the table, and the room was filled with the smell of medicine.

"Don't be nervous. I'm just here to investigate some things, and I hope you'll cooperate," Suren said with a smile, trying to reassure him. "I want to know why you canceled the previous bounty on the haunted house."

William Miller tensed up slightly, and said nervously, "I didn't mean it, sir. Actually, two gentlemen came the day after I submitted the reward, solved the problem for me, and only charged me 10 pounds."

"Ten pounds?" Suren asked, somewhat puzzled. He rubbed his temples. "So, do you remember what he looked like?"

William Miller opened his mouth and described the other person's appearance haltingly. The two were of medium height, with fair skin, noses of average height, and ordinary gray-brown eyes. The more he spoke, the more vague it became, and even he himself felt that the description was too ordinary to pinpoint any distinctive features.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, his eyes lit up, and his voice carried a hint of urgency: "That's right, sir, they also brought a raven!"