Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 22: Descending from the Sky

The blonde girl walked through the gates of the Royal Master Academy, looking a little excited.

Right after, a brown-haired girl with freckles on her face appeared behind her with a grin and patted her shoulder.

“Betty!”

“Uwah! Maggie……… you really scared me.”

Startled, the blonde girl turned her head and saw her friend, letting out a breath of relief.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

Maggie looked at Betty with a grin and walked to her side.

“You look good today. Did something good happen? Did the professor praise your thesis?”

“No, it’s just…………… I had a dream last night.”

Betty’s cheeks flushed slightly as she said this, and seeing her like that, Maggie’s eyes immediately lit up.

“What dream? Don’t tell me you dreamed of your prince charming? What did you two do?”

As Maggie spoke, she leaned closer to Betty’s ear, smiling mischievously. Although they were both the proud daughters of the Royal Master Academy, at the end of the day, they were still sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girls. Whispering secrets to each other was only natural.

“You could say it was a prince charming………”

Betty hesitated before speaking.

“Last night I had a nightmare. I dreamed I was in Mist City, and the whole place was eerily silent, with not a single person on the streets. I kept walking, then suddenly a terrifying stranger appeared. He had a dagger and wanted to kill me. I realized the danger and ran as fast as I could, then……… then……… ”

“And then what?”

Hearing this, Maggie grew curious and asked.

“Then I met someone. He defeated the monster chasing me, and I threw myself into his arms………”

The more Betty spoke, the redder her face became, until she nearly buried her head into her chest.

“Oooh! A prince charming saving the princess from danger? Who was it? Harry from the Literature Department? Or Klein from the Law Department?”

Seeing Betty blushing furiously only made Maggie more excited, but Betty hesitated, then shook her head.

“It was, it was……… that detective gentleman.”

“Detective?”

Hearing Betty’s reply, Maggie froze for a moment, then quickly came to her senses.

“You mean Mr. Levi, the detective who solved the Courtesan Killer case?”

“Mm………”

Although the Courtesan Killer had only killed three victims, because of the unusual circumstances and the developed media in this world, almost no one in Mist City was unaware of the case. Naturally, once the case was solved, Levi’s name had become widely known.

And on the other hand———he really was very handsome.

Maggie recalled the half-length portrait published in the newspapers. Wearing a well-tailored suit, his smooth black hair, his handsome face, and his confident, gentlemanly smile……… Mm, no doubt, in recent times, he had indeed become the prince charming in the hearts of many girls.

“So that’s the type of boy you like………”

“Maggie, don’t you like him?”

“Of course I do. Handsome, intelligent, a young detective who can solve cases! If I could go on a thrilling adventure with him, it would be perfect……… but unfortunately……… ”

At this point, Maggie sighed.

“We don’t actually know him.”

“That’s true……… ”

As they spoke, the two had already arrived at the teaching building of the Royal Master Academy. At that moment, suddenly, a black shadow fell from above, landing right in front of them with a loud “thud.”

“Eh?”

Faced with the sudden scene, the two girls froze, then lowered their heads to look at their feet. Immediately after……… an ear-piercing scream shattered the quiet of the campus.

By the time Levi arrived at the scene by carriage, half an hour had already passed.

After breakfast, Levi had originally planned to go to the Police Station to request an audit of Madam Clattie’s financial accounts. This was not yet an era where personal privacy was valued. Nobles naturally had legal protection, but for someone like Madam Clattie, whose status was not so high, filing an official request usually meant approval.

But while Levi was waiting for the result, Inspector Lestrade caught him and said that a murder had occurred at the Royal Master Academy. As the Police’s special investigation consultant———well, Levi naturally had to earn his stipend.

So Levi came to investigate the crime scene.

Incidentally, Katie had not come along today. She had already agreed with Levi that if she couldn’t come, she would notify him in advance via communicator. That morning, while Levi was having breakfast, Katie had contacted him, saying she had to attend class and couldn’t get away, but reminded him not to forget to tell her later if he ran into anything interesting………

Mm, this case was certainly interesting enough.

Looking at the mangled remains before him, Levi silently muttered in his heart.

That’s right, remains.

The man had jumped from the rooftop and smashed onto the ground, like a block of tofu hitting the floor. Everyone knew what that would look like.

And the corpse before him was just like that.

However, the reason Inspector Lestrade had called Levi in to investigate was for two reasons.

The first reason was that Levi knew the victim.

Levi stared at the barely recognizable face at his feet, and at the broken thick glasses lying nearby, and managed to recognize the victim. It was none other than Edwards, the “ex-boyfriend of Emilia” whom he had questioned in an earlier investigation.

As for the second reason……………

Levi looked silently at the ground before him.

By logic, a fall like this would have sent blood and flesh flying everywhere. Yet, around Edwards’s corpse, not a single drop of blood could be found!

Not even on his body was there a trace of blood!

Levi crouched beside the corpse and carefully examined it. The skin was pale with no marks. Even in the wounds, no red could be seen, as if all the blood in his body had been drained away!

Could it be……………

Levi frowned, placed his hand on the victim’s neck, tilted it slightly, and at once noticed two small punctures standing out against the pale skin.

Seeing this, a word immediately came to Levi’s mind.

Vampire!

What was going on, first a Ripper and now vampires? Couldn’t he ever run into a normal case?

Levi grumbled inwardly, sighed helplessly, then stood up and gestured to the officer beside him.

“Take it for examination.”

Hearing Levi’s order, the officer nodded, and soon men came forward, handling the body with practiced motions and carrying it away. Nothing unusual had been found nearby. The entrance of the Academy had already been sealed off. Students stood at a distance, or peered curiously from windows, whispering among themselves.

Levi scanned the surroundings, then his eyes sharpened.

Soul Sight!

In an instant, the world turned black and white. Levi swept his gaze around, but found no soul traces connected to the corpse.

Mm, it seemed not every culprit would return to the crime scene.

Thinking this, Levi closed Soul Sight and withdrew his gaze.

“Take me to see the eyewitnesses.”

When Levi entered the infirmary of the Royal Master Academy, he saw two female students sitting on a bed. Wrapped in blankets, pale-faced, and trembling as they held cups of coffee. Only when the door opened and Levi stepped in did they instinctively raise their heads toward him.

At the same time, Levi got a clear look at them, which made him pause for a moment.

The reason was simple—he had seen one of these girls before!

In that dream not long ago!

But Levi quickly masked his expression, keeping calm, then looked at the two girls with a gentle smile. Seeing his smile, the girls’ pale cheeks flushed slightly, and their tense, anxious expressions eased.

Mm, Levi was familiar with this reaction. Whenever he wanted to calm people down, all it took was a smile, and they would relax.

At this moment, Betty and Maggie stared wide-eyed at the gentleman approaching them, their hearts pounding wildly. To them, he was the very picture of elegance, his expression warm as sunshine. The fear that had coiled around their hearts now began to melt away.

“Good day, young ladies. My apologies for disturbing you.”

Levi removed his top hat and bowed politely, and the two girls quickly stood, flustered, gathering their skirts to return the courtesy.

“Ah, hello, detective sir……”

“If possible, may I ask you a few questions?”

“O-of course.”

The two glanced at each other, then, at Levi’s gesture, sat back down.

“I’d like to know what happened at that time. What do you remember?”

“We……………”

Hearing Levi’s question, Maggie’s expression grew uneasy again. After all, they were just ordinary girls, who had never seen such things before. To describe it now filled her with fear.

But when she saw Levi’s smile, that deep unease melted away like the first snow. Almost instinctively, she began recalling the events as he asked.

“At that time, I was chatting with Betty, then suddenly something fell from above………”

“Mm, yes, that’s right…………”

Betty nodded repeatedly, agreeing with her friend’s account.

“We looked down and saw someone lying on the ground……… we screamed in fright, then a teacher took us away………”

“I see……… Did you know him?”

“…………………”

Maggie hesitated for a moment, then shook her head, while Betty only gave her a glance and said nothing.

“Alright, I understand. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Levi nodded slightly to them, then asked,

“By the way, did you see anything unusual at that time? Even if it was only a hallucination, that’s fine.”

“This…………………”

The two girls frowned, thought for a moment, then shook their heads.

No leads.

Levi sighed inwardly, then smiled again at them.

“Thank you. You may leave now. Mm……… of course, this must have been very difficult for you, so I suggest you go home and get some rest. Leave the rest to me…………”

“I believe in you, detective sir!”

But before Levi could finish speaking, Betty clenched her fists, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on him.

“I believe you will catch the culprit!”

Looking at the innocent young girl before him, what else could Levi say?

He could only smile.

“Thank you, miss.”