Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 716: Absolutely Impossible Information?
The plot shouldn't have developed like this.

Miss Gloria was thinking about a serious question: According to the normal development of the plot, shouldn't I just casually throw out some information related to the Witch Society, and these guests who were invited to come to my house would gasp, exclaim that this is impossible, and then earnestly beg me to reveal more information? As long as I arouse their curiosity, I can raise the price and I don't have to worry about them not taking the bait.

But the question is, why is this happening?
Why do these guys say that the information I got by risking my life to sneak into the witch society is outdated? Especially the guy named Alice, who mocked me for being uninformed! Do you know who you are talking to? You are facing Miss Gloria, the most perceptive, knowledgeable and righteous detective in the whole Old London - and her assistant Peanut!

Absolutely, no one knows the timeliness of intelligence better than me!!!
Gloria wanted to make a loud announcement, but her unimpressive performance made her lose the confidence to do so. The distrustful look in the eyes of the young man opposite her also made her feel ashamed. If she didn't do something to save her image, let alone raise the price, she might have to cling to these customers and beg them for help.

There is no way I will admit defeat!
Think about what Sherlock Holmes would do. He had encountered similar problems in his career, but didn't the great detective solve them perfectly? So life is full of challenges and fun. Thinking of this, Miss Gloria seemed to have regained her confidence. She took a deep puff of her pipe to relieve her restlessness, and then... it seemed that a small, round object was sucked into her mouth from the filter of the pipe and was sliding down her throat into the esophagus.

"Puh, cough, cough!!! Bah, bah, ah bah, bah! Hua, Peanut, what's wrong with you!? Don't die, Peanut!!!"

Ringer, Saint Shalia, and Alice: "..."

A minute later, after wiping clean the misguided (no mistake) Mr. Peanut with a handkerchief, the gray-haired girl carefully put her assistant back into the pipe, then held it in her mouth, sat back on the velvet recliner, and continued with the great detective of Cospreay (Alice's original words, Ringo and Saint Chariah had no idea what Cospreay was, but could roughly guess that it meant imitation).

After a fierce mental struggle, the detective's mood has returned to normal. She gracefully picked up the teacup on the table and sipped the coffee. Her movements and demeanor returned to the calmness she had when they first met. However, given her desperate coughing to try to cough Mr. Peanut out of her throat, her image in the eyes of Lingge and the other two has been shattered. If there is anything that can make them barely maintain respect for this girl, it is probably her fearless spirit of taking risks and going deep into the tiger's den - even though the information she has obtained is all outdated.

"I should have thought of it a long time ago." Miss Gloria smiled slightly. "You have been able to fight against the Witch Society for so long. They regard you as their formidable enemy and even set up a special file for you. Naturally, you should know their origins and deeds. It is my mistake to give you such trivial information. Please forgive me."

No, you didn't think of it at all, did you? You just kept saying that the information you had was very shocking, how come it has become a small fight now? You are just making excuses for yourself, right?
Lingge really wanted to complain like this, but he was afraid that Mr. Peanut's life might be in danger after he said it, so he held it back.

"But!" Gloria's eyes suddenly became sharp. "Next, I'm going to get serious. The next piece of information is classified as top secret even within the Witch Society. I went through a lot of trouble to get some of its contents, and I also exposed myself and was forced to end my undercover mission. So, this piece of information will definitely surprise you!"

She was very confident in her words, but she had said this many times before, so no one believed her. Ling Ge thought for a moment and asked, "Excuse me, what is this intelligence about?"

"Do you want me to reveal part of it first? It doesn't matter. It's about the information about the Witch Society and the Steam Cult, the ruler of the previous era."

Ah, this. Watt, who invented the steam engine, was actually a philosopher of the Witch Society? The Witch Society created the Constructor Mecha to fight against the Steam Engine God Alexander? The Constructor Mecha is codenamed the Creation Mecha, and there are at least three of them besides the Earth Witch-Femme Monte? Whatever you want to say, we seem to know this information, right?

And I just heard it from old man Pancras not long ago.

It seems that Miss Gloria's information is a step late again.

The three men looked at the gray-haired girl with more than just suspicion in their eyes, but also a hint of deeply hidden sympathy. They probably felt that her level of achievement as a detective could not be considered a failure, but only a funny example, even funnier than Alice's gaming skills.

But this time, facts will prove that truth always stands on the side of the minority.

Therefore, the first sentence Gloria said shocked the guests who were just planning to listen to some outdated information: "The religious organization established by the Witch Society, whose sphere of influence radiates the entire Western Continent, is not only the modern cult union, but also includes the modern steam cult."

The detective spoke eloquently, looking very relaxed: "In addition to Watt, who invented the steam engine and is a philosopher of the Witch Society, the first Pope Martha, Saint Mida, and Holy Creation Knight Dayan can also be confirmed as members of the Witch Society, and are very likely to be philosophers. However, their philosopher code names are still a mystery. I have not obtained any information about this part."

"In other words, the steam revolution and industrial innovation that have influenced the entire modern history, including contemporary history, were completely driven by the Witch Society behind the scenes, just like they promoted the Renaissance movement represented by Galileo and other four sages in the ancient times, the Hundred Years' War and constitutionalism represented by philosophers such as Marx and outstanding generals such as Marshal Napoleon in the Middle Ages, and the East Continent Route Exploration Movement represented by explorers and navigators such as Captain Drake and Da Gama in the Industrial Age... Just like that, the history of the entire Mirror Star World was completely destroyed or reborn in their hands."

"Although I have sighed countless times, every time I sort out their information, I feel like my worldview has been overturned. No matter what, this is a terrifying and despairing organization."

The detective ended with a sigh, then picked up the coffee on the table again and took a sip. As she swallowed the slightly bitter black coffee, Ling'er's voice came: "This is impossible!"

The young man stared at the girl opposite him and said word by word: "The Witch Society established the Steam Cult. This kind of thing is absolutely impossible to happen."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)