Detective and Myth I
"As I said... I'm a Detective! I'm not in cahoots with those worthless people!"
Noir pulled out his license card and showed it to the officer.
"Here. Look! This is my identification card."
After they checked Noir's license as a Detective approved by the country, the officer finally let him go.
"I'm sorry for doubting you, Mr. Detective. As an apology, I'd like to offer you a ride to Shelton Village."
Noir looked ahead, spotting an airship parked on the prairie hundreds of meters from the railway.
Its design looked vintage yet modern-ish, adorned with gears, valves, and exposed pipes.
Overall, it resembled the modern airship---Zeppelin. However, it had a ship-like structure attached to the envelope or the balloon-looking part where the produced gas provided a lift.
The engine should be located in the engine room—it was the bottom level of the ship-like structure.
Noir remembered seeing, or precisely glancing, the airship model on the book page left open by his seatmate.
It was a mass-produced airship used by the Helgos Empire's patrol division.
'By the way... It looks like a passive Art from a Resonance isn't disabled even though I'm in a test.'
In the first place, there was no record of someone possessing passive ability as their first Art.
Maybe the passive Art was excluded from the 'No Resonance Allowed' rule. Or Noir was just confused about his initial thinking process with the [Memorization].
Before Noir received [Memorization], he was always good at remembering things even though he had only glanced at them.
But it was further enhanced by his first [Truth Seeker]'s Art.
'Whatever... I'm more interested in the airship than my problem.'
Turning to face the officer, Noir said:
"Alright. At least I got a free ride."
He was glad. Other than getting a free ride, he needed not to worry about getting lost. After all, he wasn't familiar with this... simulated world's geography.
"Great! We will depart as soon as all the passengers are evacuated. Please, go onto the airship first, Mr. Detective."
Noir raised an eyebrow.
"Are we going to the city first?"
"Of course. Shelton Village is a small place. It's also located between the forest and the sea. We can't park an airship there."
"Alright."
Noir sighed and walked toward the airship.
"Don't worry! I'll make sure you can arrive at your destination before midnight! But, if we were..."
Noir was already too far to hear what the officer was saying.
He could have missed important information, but he couldn't care less. Especially when the [Truth Seeker]'s Rapture (desire) kicked in.
Since he expressed his interest in the airship earlier, it seemed like the Rapture started to mess with his mind.
'I should learn how to control myself.'
If it was left unattended, it could backfire and cost him a life.
As Noir got onto the airship, he passed some officers. They always greeted him with a smile and respect.
Seeing that, Noir thought that perhaps being a Detective in this world, or maybe this empire, would make people see him in high regard.
'Seems like this empire has a lot of problems.'
Standing on the airship deck, Noir observed the officers as they placed the bodies in protective coverings.
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing he could do. And it was only a simulated world, after all. No need to get sentimental over this.
Back then, after Noir took down all the plunderers, he disguised himself as one of the hostages to avoid questioning from the officers.
Being caught as a witness, specifically, someone who single-handedly took care of the situation, would be troublesome.
On top of disguising themself as a hostage, Noir, being a Detective, could easily pass their inspection to see if there was any plunderer member among the hostages.
And without his luggage being inspected, Noir could hide that he brought combat equipment, which would make him a suspect.
Noir dropped his suitcase and stretched.
'With this, I've secured the first objective.'
Turning around, he picked up his suitcase and began exploring the airship.
Noir froze for a moment as if realizing something.
'I'm an idiot,' he mused while pressing his forehead.
Shaking his head, he proceeded with his initial plan to explore the airship.
'Please don't let that be a flag.'
***
It seemed the airship wasn't much faster than the train.
According to the officer, it would take Noir an hour to reach Bronzeen City if nothing happened to the train.
But with a patrol airship, he would reach the city within two to three hours or more.
Why? Because it's a patrol airship, not a transport.
They needed to go slow so they could monitor the land below. If they found something unusual on the road and deemed it check-worthy, they would stop to check what was going on.
Unfortunately for him, the patrol had stopped many times because of the trouble on the road.
'At this rate, I'll arrive by sunset.'
It was 1 PM the last time Noir checked the clock while exploring the airship, but it was already 4 PM.
Earlier, he had asked one of the officers when they would arrive at Bronzeen City and got an answer that they would advent soon.
But it wasn't clear when that 'soon' was.
'I guess I'll take a nap.'
Then, another hour passed by quickly...
"Mr. Detective, wake up! We've arrived."
Yawning, Noir stretched and slowly opened his eyes.
Walking toward the deck, he saw a city surrounded by high walls, even taller than Haven Liberty's.
'Why would they build such colossal walls like that? Are gigantic monsters also exist in this world? But I thought it was a world of steam and technology, without fantasy's interference.'
Blinking, Noir continued.
'Well, steampunk is a fantasy itself... but whatever, I mean, I thought there wouldn't be magic, magical creatures, or supernatural here...'
Then, as the airship got closer to the city, Noir noticed that it was an unusually big city.
The road was wide. Enough to build four houses on it. And everything else was slightly colossal, as though it was a city intended for giant people whose height could reach three to four meters.
Noir's eyes wandered on the city until he saw the largest dome-shaped structure take almost a quarter of Bronzeen City.
'Oh... I think I know what kind of steampunk world this is...'
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone