<strong>Detective Mia and the Case of the Crystal Clear Spring</strong>


    A clearing appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the thick forest.


    Water from a spring trickled down a small rock face and rippled the surface of a pond that was at least twice as big as the biggest bath in Saint-Noel. The mesmerising beauty of the spring, with its bright nkets of tiny flowers in full bloom, made it look like a scene from a fairy tale, as if a goddess was about toe out of the water at any moment.


    At its edge, the figure of a young, beautiful girl could be seen. She dipped her cute bathing suit-d toe into the water to see how it felt. Squealing in surprise, she quickly pulled her foot back.


    Even though she had felt how cold the water was, she sucked up some with her hand and sshed it over her skinny arms and legs. Glimmering globules of crystalline fluid rolled over the skin, making it shine even more.


    Now, the way the scene was set up could make some people think that a young beauty was about to make her first appearance in the story. To make things as clear as the spring water she was sshing on herself, the girl’s name was Mia, and she wasn’t divine or especially charming in terms of her looks.


    Also, the surprised squeal wasn’t a cute “Eeek!” as much as it was a “Ngaah!” with a cracked voice.


    Again, just so that everyone is clear. What brought her here in the first ce? That was Anne’s idea.


    “Mdy, why don’t you put on your swimsuit and take a quick dip this spring?”


    Esmeralda agreed and supported Anne’s.


    They werepletely muddy from slogging through mud in the rain. Their skin and clothes were both covered in mud.


    Mia was so used to living in a dungeon that she didn’t mind not washing for a day or two, but…


    “I’m so sorry, mdy… I can’t get the mud out of all of your hair. Oh, this is the worst thing ever… Your lovely hair…”


    Seeing how upset Anne was made her realise that she should take a bath. She was lucky that Esmeralda had brought her a swimsuit, so she could at least be partially covered during the act.


    Mia didn’t have the guts to go naked swimming, even on an ind by herself.


    <em>So I thought, but to be honest, this is still a little embarrassing.</em>


    She looked over at Esmeralda, who was washing herself off in the spring, even though she was wearing the same swimsuit as Mia. Esmeralda’s was never in danger because they were at the bottom of the trunk. While Mia’s almost got blown away with the rest of their clothes.


    Nina had been holding on to it the whole time, careful to keep the swimsuit out of harm’s way.


    Mia gave Esmeralda a look that said, “Are you serious?” because she couldn’t believe that a simple piece of clothing had been so well taken care of. But Esmeralda didn’t seem to mind at all.


    Nina had given her the only answer, which she gave in a matter-of-fact way:


    “Mdy Esmeralda was very excited about ying with Your Highness in swimsuits that matched. So that Mdy’s hopes wouldn’t be dashed, I decided to be extra careful and keep it with me at all times.”


    <em>Like mistress, like maid, I guess. This Nina person also seems pretty strange.</em>


    “Hmm, that’s great. You said that your maid came up with this, Miss Mia? Not bad for amoner,” Esmeralda said, and Mia was pulled out of her brief thought by her happy voice.


    <em>Oh no, there she goes again with her “I’m so important” act… I swear that if she doesn’t change her attitude soon, she’s going to—Oh?</em>


    Mia’s attention was suddenly drawn to one thing. The point was, of course, that Esmeralda’s midriff, or more specifically, her stomach, was showing. Because she swam a lot, it was firm and t, and it made a beautiful straight line from her chest to her hips. There, in that bared stomach, Mia saw the perfect curve she had always dreamed of having.


    “B-But… I…”


    She stuttered because she was too shocked to speak, and her hands went to her stomach. She yed with it. It had definitely lost its early-summer bounce and was back to how it was before spring break. It no longer made a mound of flesh when you pinched it. It’s no longer a hill, but it’s still a knob!


    When she looked again at Esmeralda’s thin stomach, she had to admit a sad truth.


    <em>I’m… I’m losing to Esmeralda!</em>


    Anne said, “Okay, mdy, it’s time to clean you up.”


    “Okay, I’ll wash your hair first.”


    “…Okay, go ahead…”


    Mia gave a weak answer because she felt so defeated, but then she suddenly understood what Anne’s question meant.


    “Wait, you said you’d wash my hair before anything else?”


    Unlike Esmeralda and the other high-ranking nobles, Mia could take care of her own hygiene and bathe on her own. It was unthinkable to make Anne wait on her hand and foot for something like this.


    She knew it, and so did Anne. So, when Anne said “first,” she wasn’t talking about the order of body parts like hair, face, body, etc.


    She was going to wash something else after her hair.


    Knowing Anne, that something wasn’t herself. Her devotion made her always put Mia’s needs ahead of her own.


    <em>Then what does she want to wash after she washes my hair?</em>


    She took a quick look around her, but she stopped when she saw a certain object, or rather a pile of objects. Slowly, fear crept into the pit of her stomach, and she shivered. Her own muddy clothes were lying in a dirty pile at the edge of the pond.


    Now that the storm was over, the sky was clear and there was a lot of sunlight.


    Anne’s clothes wouldn’t take too long to dry if she washed and hung them up right now. Taking these things into ount, it was clear that after Anne washed her hair, she would wash her pile of clothes.


    Which was all right. Mia had no ns to put on her muddy clothes again after she had just taken a bath. What would happen while her clothes dried was the problem. She would just sit here and wait, right?


    No, because Anne would probably say something like, “Leave the clothes to me, mdy. I’ll wash and hang them up for you so you can go back and see the princes first.”


    Esmeralda would without a doubt agree with this statement and then say something like, “That’s right. Laundry is done by the servants. As people from well-born families, we should hang out with other high-born people. To the princes!”


    They would all want to send Mia back to the princes, which would not be good. Even worse, Mia agreed that they couldn’t just wait until their clothes were dry to put them back on. That would make the boys wait a long time.


    <em>I’m probably the one who knows the most about what we can find on this ind to eat… I can’t waste time here or our dinner tonight will suffer.</em>


    Also, she would have to follow Esmeralda back to camp even though she didn’t want to.


    In her swimsuit! With her stomach out! She would be embarrassed if she went back. She was terrified by what could happen, so she tried to stop it as soon as she could.


    “Oh, I just had a good idea! Could you bring me my clothes, Anne?”


    “Huh? What for, mdy?”


    “Well, since I’m already in the water, I figured I might as well scrub them while you wash my hair.”


    “What? No! That’s what I do. Mdy, I can’t let you do something like that.”


    “Miss Mia, she’s right. Just have your maid do the menial tasks.” said Esmeralda, whose belly was so t it drove her crazy.


    Mia gave it a dirty look. In all honesty, it was rude. It should be against thew to be so t. She gave an angry snort.


    “About what are you talking? Maids? Masters? It’s not the right time to do that. Everyone needs to do what they can to help.”


    “Anne,” she told her with amanding look, “you pay attention to your work. If you’re going to wash my hair, make sure it’s clean all the way through. I’ll do what I can until then…”


    She waded towards her pile of clothes.


    <em>I’ll wash my clothes while Anne washes my hair. I’ll hang them up after that. So, they will be dry by the time I’m done taking a bath. I’m sure of it! But I have to work quickly! Wash quickly! Hang fast! So they dry quickly! Then put them on and go back.</em>


    She thought to herself as she put a piece of clothing in the water and started to scrub it.