Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 385 Sophia's Day

Sofia's day begins in the early morning.

"Slap slap slap..."

Feeling the touch on her cheek, Sofia opened her eyes and saw a small dog standing next to her, wagging its tail and watching her.

"Ah, Betty... Good morning..."

“Woof woof! Woof woof!”

Hearing Sofia's greeting, Betty barked back, as if to say hello. Then the puppy turned and jumped off the bed, running out through the crack in the door. Sofia also sat up, stretched, and stared blankly for a while before getting out of bed to wash up and change her clothes.

Back in the castle, Sophia did the same thing herself. Although other noble children seemed to have maids to take care of them, in Sophia's memory, her maid would only pull her to the washbasin and urge her to wash her face and brush her teeth quickly. If she was slow, she would be scolded...

Sophia quickly finished washing up and changing her clothes. Of course, there was no maid urging her, and Sophia had her own reasons for doing so so quickly.

"Dong dong dong."

Just as Sofia finished preparing, there was a knock on the door. Sofia opened the door and saw a blonde, blue-eyed girl smiling at her.

"Sister Sophia, let's go!"

"Okay, I'll be right there, Alice."

In the tower, Sophia's closest friend is Alice, as they are about the same age. Sophia is nine years old, and Alice is a year younger, making her the youngest child in the tower. This leads Sophia to often treat Alice like a younger sister, a rather novel experience for her, as she has never had a sister before.

Sophia left the room and, together with Alice, took Betty down the elevator to the first floor.

They started their day with a morning walk with Betty.

That's right. Since arriving here, Sophia and Alice have taken Betty for a walk every morning, and then they come back for breakfast. This is a very rare experience for Sophia. Before, in the castle, she was never allowed to leave unless her parents took her out, and she rarely even went to the castle garden.

But now, she could walk with her beloved little dog, Alice, on the misty streets of the city early in the morning, and even see some people passing by. This was a scene that Sophia had never experienced before.

After their walk, the two returned to the tower. When they arrived at the elevator entrance, they could usually see a dazed, sleepwalking figure.

"Ah, good morning, Sister Qiya!"

Seeing the girl yawning incessantly at the elevator entrance, Alice quickly greeted her loudly, and Sophia bowed in return. She had heard that this Miss Qiya was staying with Mr. Levi, but she didn't usually play with others; instead, she secluded herself in a dimly lit room, fiddling with a bizarre steel machine.

Moreover, Sophia was quite surprised to hear that although this Miss Qiya was young, she was already a student at the Imperial Royal Academy. She had also heard about the Imperial Royal Academy during her education, and that only the most intelligent and capable people in the entire empire were qualified to study there.

However, in Sophia's eyes, Miss Qiya was nothing like the exceptionally intelligent person she had imagined. She always wore glasses and seemed listless every day…

"Oh, Sister Qiya, you stayed up late again last night? I'm going to tell Dad!"

"Sigh, I couldn't help it. I'm more inspired at night, and things have been going well lately, so I stayed up a little longer..."

In response to Alice's statement, Kia hurriedly defended herself, saying that although she was much older than Alice, she felt like a child in front of Alice.

"No, Dad said it's bad for your health to stay up late! You're not allowed to stay up late anymore!"

"Waaah..."

As they were talking, the elevator reached the top floor, and with a "ding," the door opened, and the three people and the dog walked out.

The aroma of breakfast already filled the air, and Alice cheered, running happily to the table. At the head of the table, Levi sat reading a newspaper and listening to the news on the radio. Seeing the three girls enter, Levi looked up and greeted them.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Dad! Sister Qiya stayed up late again last night!"

Alice responded to Levi's greeting with great energy, and then, as expected, immediately started complaining.

"Oh?"

Li Wei glanced at Qi Ya, who looked speechless.

"We're at a critical juncture right now, and I don't want to, but... I do get more inspiration at night."

"Um……………"

Upon hearing Qi Ya's answer, Li Wei pondered for a moment.

"Alright then, you can stay up late occasionally until this job is finished, but you need to be careful about your health. I don't want Dr. Tester to come back and find that something has happened to his precious granddaughter."

“Okay, Mr. Li Wei, I will keep that in mind.”

Hearing Li Wei's answer, Qi Ya breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in her seat, while Sophia sat on the other side. Next to her was Miss Adele, the governess who taught Alice and was now also teaching Sophia. Of course, Sophia had already learned most of the lessons Miss Adele taught, but this governess wasn't as strict as her own, who would scold her at the drop of a hat, so Sophia actually felt much more relaxed.

The maid, Miss Eileen, was responsible for serving breakfast to everyone. She pushed the food cart out of the elevator and then delivered the steaming breakfast to everyone.

Today's breakfast consisted of fried eggs, sausages, tomatoes, bacon, baked beans, milk, and bread. Alice let out a small cheer upon seeing the breakfast. If she were at Sophia's house, making such a sound during breakfast would surely have earned her a scolding from her parents. But here, neither Mr. Levy nor Miss Irene and Miss Adele paid much attention to such a trivial matter.

"Splash—!"

Just then, the sound of water came from the pool not far away. Sophia looked in the direction of the sound and saw Sister Muse peeking out of the pool, looking at them excitedly. Miss Eileen placed a plate of salad and other vegetables, along with fish and chips, in front of Sister Muse, who picked up a fork and began to enjoy her meal. At the same time, the large, beautiful fish tail swayed gently in the pool, seemingly in a very good mood.

When Sophia first saw Sister Muse, she was quite startled, since she had only ever heard of water fairies in stories and had never seen one in person. However, Sister Muse's singing voice was very beautiful, and Sophia gradually grew closer to her without realizing it.

However, because Sister Muse could only sing and not speak, Sophia had no way to communicate with her. But what Sophia couldn't understand was that Alice could understand what she was saying.

And it wasn't just Muse; Alice seemed to understand even Betty's cries.

Speaking of Betty...

Sofia subconsciously looked up across the street and saw Betty engrossed in her food on a platform not far away. Not far behind her, a black cat crouched low and cautiously approached Betty. Perhaps sensing Sofia's gaze, the black cat glanced in her direction, seemingly signaling her to stay out of it. Then, the black cat crouched again, staring intently at Betty's food bowl, before suddenly leaping away!
"Whoosh—!"

At that very moment, Betty, who had been eating with her head down, suddenly raised her head, then slapped the black cat on the head with a paw, knocking it to the ground. Betty then stepped on the black cat and resumed eating her breakfast with relish.

The black cat struggled desperately, even letting out pitiful meows.

However, everyone present seemed indifferent to this scene, and Alice even chuckled.

"Haha, Buck lost again. How many times has this happened? Sister Qiya, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

"Why……………"

Qi Ya looked up, pushed up her glasses, and sighed helplessly at Buck, the black cat being trampled under Betty's feet. "Buck... why does he always provoke Betty... I really don't understand..."

However, although Qi Ya said this, she didn't actually do anything. Sophia also knew that Betty was very cute and obedient in this house, but the black cat Buck was quite naughty and always liked to play pranks. Every time it played a prank, Betty would stop it, so Buck didn't like Betty very much.

This back-and-forth battle between the two continues every day, and everyone has gotten used to it.

By the way, Buck has never won a single game so far.

"Coo coo..."

Because she had gone for a walk in the morning, Sofia was feeling a bit hungry, so she turned her attention back to her breakfast.

She used to eat very little because she always gave herself very small portions. But after moving to Levi's house, the portions were much larger than what Sophia used to eat at home, to the point that Sophia initially doubted whether she could finish it.

To Sofia's surprise, despite the seemingly large amount of food, she was always able to finish it all without feeling strained at all.

She had also asked Miss Eileen about it out of curiosity, and Miss Eileen seemed quite surprised to hear Sophia's question.

"This is a normal portion for a child, not much at all. Children need to eat more to grow faster when they are growing."

Is that right?

Sophia had never known these things before, because her maid always told her that because she was a child, she should eat less. Sophia had always thought that was the right thing to do, but now it seemed... that wasn't the case?

After breakfast, Sophia saw Levi stand up and wipe his mouth with a napkin.

"Well then, I have some errands to run today."

"The factory?"

"That's right, so if anyone contacts me, I'll refer them to the factory."

"Okay, my lord."

Every day after breakfast, Mr. Levi would leave the tower to run errands. Of course, his father also frequently went out after meals, but…

"Then I'm leaving."

"Okay, goodbye Dad! Come back soon!"

"La la la~~~~"

"Take care, Mr. Li Wei."

Upon hearing Li Wei's greeting, Alice, the little mermaid, and Qi Ya bid farewell, while Sophia paused for a moment before looking at Li Wei.

"Mr. Li Wei... goodbye."

"Well, then I'm leaving."

Li Wei smiled slightly at everyone, then took the elevator and left. Sophia was momentarily stunned by this scene.

Because her father never said goodbye before leaving...

After breakfast, it's time for class.

Alice used to attend classes alone, but now Sophia attends with her. Alice is very happy about this, saying that studying alone is too boring, and it's much more interesting with Sophia accompanying her. Sophia agrees; she also had no experience studying with others before, but studying with Alice is indeed very fun.

Even when reviewing material you've learned before, the feeling is completely different from when you first learned it.

She used to think that studying was a long process, but here, it always seemed to end in the blink of an eye. If Ms. Adele hadn't said that was the end of it, she would have thought that it had only just begun.

Whenever Sophia and Alice left the room and came to the living room, they would always see a figure.

"Hey, Alice, Sophia! Hello!"

Sitting on the sofa, Katie fiddled with Buck in her hand while greeting the two with a grin. Strangely enough, the black cat, who was always mischievous and disrespectful to everyone, was only well-behaved in front of Levi and Katie.

Katie, on the other hand, was a very cheerful and lively older sister. She was rumored to be the daughter of a nobleman, but Sophia had never met such a warm and outgoing noblewoman. She was like an older sister, always teasing Sophia, Alice, and the Muse with a smile.

However... Katie's strength is just too great.

The first time Sofia was taken to the rooftop by her sister Katie to play the game of being lifted high in the air, she thought she was going to fall to her death.

Although she had been carried by Li Wei and jumped off the third-floor balcony before, the feeling of being thrown alone into the air... well, it was terrifying.

Alice, on the other hand, had a great time, but Sophia simply couldn't accept it.

Just looking at it makes me feel terrified.

However, Katie's visit wasn't just to play with them; on the contrary, it was also part of their "homework."

"Yes, stand up straight, don't sway, and keep your punch steady!"

That's right. Every day after lunch break, Sophia and Alice also have to undergo physical and combat training from Katie. According to Katie, this is to protect themselves so that they won't be bullied by bad guys.

Sophia knew that noble boys learned fencing and shooting, but she never knew that noble girls also learned boxing and martial arts.
In short, although it was very painful, Sophia persevered. After all, Alice had persevered, and as the "older sister," she certainly couldn't lose to Alice.

After that, it's afternoon tea time, and then it's dinner time. Mr. Levi will come back, and everyone will have a happy and lively dinner together. Afterwards, Mr. Levi and Sister Muse will play and sing some very nice songs for everyone.

Then, when it's time for bed, Sophia and Alice will leave the top floor together and take the elevator back to their bedroom floor.

"Well, see you tomorrow!"

After saying goodnight with a smile, Alice returned to her room, while Sophia also went into the bedroom, changed into her pajamas, and went to the window—outside, she could clearly see the dazzling night view of the foggy city. In Sophia's eyes, this view was far brighter than the dark, terrifying forest that she had seen in the castle, which seemed to be devouring everything.

"Well... goodnight..."

Sofia got into bed, crawled under the covers, and closed her eyes.

This was a feeling she had never experienced while she was in the castle.

The feeling is called "peace of mind".

(End of this chapter)