Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 27 Mercury's List

Seemingly noticing Suren's gaze, the girl slightly turned her head, her cold eyes accurately capturing him. Then her gaze moved down, lingering for a moment on Suren's epaulets.

Suren instinctively avoided eye contact and walked to the bookshelf filled with occult books, pretending to select a book.

The girl walked past Suren expressionlessly and headed to the bookshelves further inside, leaving behind a strange fragrance.

This scent is different from ordinary perfumes; it smells powdery and more like the sweet fragrance of soft, juicy apricots.

Suren felt the scent was very familiar, but couldn't quite place it. However, she was certain that the perfume wasn't cheap, and combined with the other person's attire, it suggested they came from a well-off family.

However, Suren noticed the disgust hidden in the girl's eyes, a disgust that began the moment she saw the armband.

Suren guessed that the girl was most likely a "Filthy One," and a well-trained one at that. Suren could even imagine the girl slitting the throat of her enemy with a dagger.

"But this has nothing to do with me." Suren thought to himself, as long as the other party didn't provoke him, he didn't intend to break off relations with them.

I am nothing more than a fake "Deathbird". My primary goal now is to improve my own strength. There is no need to cause unnecessary trouble.

Looking through the bookshelf in front of him, Suren found that most of the books were folk records, and a few were official church books.

This makes sense; if the knowledge of the church could be easily obtained, Suren wouldn't have needed to go through the trouble of joining the Deathbird.

However, this makes the book's content less credible, with many conflicting speculations about supernatural powers.

Suren even came across an utterly absurd idea in a book, in which the author claimed that the church had been secretly consuming the flesh of demons to gain supernatural powers.

"What's so special about this? You are what you eat?" Suren was somewhat impressed by their imagination.

Countless attempts have been made in this regard, but most have ended in failure. After all, if it were so easy to find a way to transcend, the Church's rule wouldn't have lasted for a thousand years.

Suren speculated that some of the folk sayings may have inadvertently met the standard, and after being refined by later generations, those folk organizations that could confront the church came into being.

The "Classical Wisdom Society" should have originally possessed the corresponding methods, but its leader, Alf, was bewitched by the mysterious Mr. Wilder and performed that terrifying ritual.

Suren's thoughts were wandering. He had a hunch that this Mr. Wilder was very likely a member of the "Gate of Truth," and possibly even a high-ranking member.

The "Gate of Truth" is also related to the previous "Prometheus" incident. Unfortunately, all the relevant records have been erased. Through other people's fragmentary words, Suren can only vaguely know that those manuscripts are related to electrical research.

"Da da da..."

A series of crisp footsteps pulled Suren back to reality. The young girl had already chosen her favorite books and was heading to the counter to pay.

Suren's excellent eyesight allowed him to see the title of the book in the girl's hand. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow because the title of the book on top didn't quite match her temperament; it was called "The Moon Girl and the Black Cat Prince."

This is clearly a romance novel. Suren shook her head, thinking to herself, "After all, she's a young girl, so it's normal for her to have some girlish thoughts. I also have a stereotype; I subconsciously felt that the girl should be reading some more unusual books."

Suren picked out another book, "Excerpts from Folk Rituals," and prepared to pay the bill.

He approached the bar, where the owner was brewing coffee, and the rich aroma filled Suren's nostrils.

Suren placed the two books on the bar counter. The shopkeeper stood up, picked up the books, looked at them, and quoted a price: "Sir, that'll be 15 shillings."

"That's expensive," Suren thought to himself. He counted out 15 silver shillings from his wallet, handed them to the shopkeeper, picked up the book, put it in his canvas bag, and got up to leave.

"Sir, since you were introduced by Professor Derwent, you must have some knowledge. I actually have a question I'd like to discuss with you." The shopkeeper gave a gentle smile. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Erasmus Mercury."

"Surren Chern." Surren nodded politely in response, then asked with some doubt, "I wonder what Mr. Mercury would like to discuss? To be frank, my level is not very high. If you are expecting a discussion like that of Professor Derwent, I'm afraid you will be disappointed."

Elas shook his head, his movements slow but powerful: "Mr. Chern, I can see that you are a man of ambition. If you were given better conditions, I believe you could at least become a professor."

What I really wanted to ask you was, what are your thoughts on order?

Suren stared blankly at Elas, surprised that this man would ask such a question. After a moment's thought, he replied earnestly, "I like an orderly social environment. Perhaps it sometimes requires some sacrifices, but I think necessary sacrifices are worthwhile. The key is what the sacrifices bring."

Elas's grey-green eyes stared silently at Suren, their gaze unfathomable, like a deep pool.

Suren stared at him, but could not see any trace of agreement or disagreement in his calm expression.

"When order goes to extremes, does it itself become a form of disorder?" Elas's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached Suren's ears, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.

This question came abruptly, yet it didn't seem like a spur-of-the-moment inquiry. Suren took a deep breath, looked into Elas's grey-green eyes, and slowly said, "If that's the case, then it's precisely the time we need to make changes."

Elas nodded slightly, so lightly it was almost imperceptible, seemingly quite satisfied with Suren's answer.

"What if no solution can be found?" he continued, his tone still calm, as if discussing a trivial matter. "Is it to continue living in this environment, or to reshape ourselves and create new variables?"

Elas maintained the same expression, his gaze deep, but Suren smiled: "To be honest, Mr. Mercury, I haven't considered such profound questions. Rather than thinking about that, I'm more concerned about what to eat tonight."

Elas paused for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his lips as he removed his hat apologetically: "I'm so sorry, it's just an old habit of mine, I can't stop talking about these kinds of topics."

He paused, then casually waved his right hand, as if to chase away those profound questions. His expression became lively, completely different from his previous deep and thoughtful demeanor.

"You're right," he said with a smile. "What we're having for dinner tonight is more important than worrying about that."

Suren responded with a polite smile, said goodbye to Elas, and then left the bookstore.

Elas sat down, took a sip of coffee, and opened the thick book in front of him. Inside, there was a notebook filled with names.

Each of these names has a simple comment, some marked with an "X" and others with a "✓".

He flipped through the pages, finally stopping at one page with only one name—Surren Chern. Behind the name was a blank page, devoid of any commentary.

Ailas picked up his pen, hesitated for a moment, and slowly typed a question mark after Suren's name.