Chapter 21: The Tiger’s Lair
“…What did you just say?”
Just a few hours after realizing that my life was on the line owing to the karma system that I had received as a reward for solving the case…
“As you have already heard, Miss Wilson…”
I was meeting Diana Wilson, who had been a victim of the <b>Red Mana League </b>incident, at a cafe near the August Detective Academy.
“I have no more business with you.”
To be precise, I was breaking up with her.
“Let’s part ways here.”
Upon hearing that, Wilson looked at me with a shocked expression on her face.
“”………..””
Almost simultaneously, gazes poured in from all around us.
Most people gave me cold looks as if they expected me to do this again, and then soon looked away as though they had lost interest.
Given that the general public in a cafe, not a school, was reacting this way, it truly seemed that Isaac Adler was quite famous for such antics of his.
“Why… at least?”
“………..”
“Please tell me why.”
I let out a quiet sigh as Diana Wilson asked me such a question with a pale face.
“…You want to know the reason?”
In truth, the reason itself was quite simple.
As I was already overwhelmed with just the task of aplishing the main quests, I couldn’t possibly handle her on top of that.
This wasn’t just about her; it also applied to the stakeholders and clients of the unfolding cases ahead.
The original Sherlock Holmes series alone had up to 60 individual parts— 56 short stories and 4 novels. All of which had been adapted to the game into 60 individual episodes.
On top of that, there were also the absurd original episodes that had been added by the story department into the game.
It was overwhelming enough to deal with the <b>main characters</b> associated with the <b>main quest</b>, let alone maintaining rtionships with everyone involved in the numerous episodes. I couldn’t even fathom how exhausted I’d be if I were to try to do something absurd like that.
Thus, I needed to set a rule.
From now on, when one case ended, my rtionship with the characters rted to that case would alsoe to an end.
Except for cases like the Queen of Bohemia or Lady Joan y— people that might be of assistance in my future endeavors and survival.
Given my age and the challenge of dealing with the <b>main characters</b> rted to the <b>main quest</b>, it was just an inevitable decision.
‘And, getting involved with me is quite risky to begin with.’
Moreover, this was for the sake of Diana Wilson and the connections that woulde into my life in the future.
I was under the threat of an assassination by an unidentified entity— someone that even the reputation system wasn’t able to identify.
Starting from the previous mansion explosion incident, countless dangers would probablye my way in the future.
I didn’t want others to get dragged into these incidents only due to being associated with me.
Especially not a girl who had just escaped a ticking clock, that sparked the countdown of her life, and was now envisioning her future.
“I’m tired of you now.”
With my eyes tightly shut, I spat out harsh words at the trembling girl seated in front of me.
“From the start, you were just bait to lure out Charlotte Holmes.”
“What do you mean…”
“What I was interested in was solely her.”
As she heard those words, the gaze she directed toward me was one of disbelief.
“Thank you for ying the link between her and me, Miss Diana.”
Suppressing the overwhelming guilt I felt, I finished uttering those words. After a while, Diana Wilson, who had been shivering as she looked at me, moved her hand to the ss of water ced beside her.
<i>– Ssh…!</i>
Momentster, I was drenched in ice-cold water.
“I had hoped… to go on myst journey with you.”
With tears forming in her eyes, she stood up and looked down at me, whispering.
“You trash of a man.”
Leaving those words behind, Diana Wilson withdrew her gaze from me and turned around.
“…Just drop dead.”
After leaving that short yet powerful remark, she quietly exited the cafe.
“Take care, Miss Wilson.”
Amidst the sea of people who sneaked nces at me and then looked away soon after, all I could do was chuckle bitterly and murmur.
“Stay safe.”
Although it had only been a week, the time I spent with her was quite enjoyable for me.
I wonder if she received the anonymous letter I sent, suggesting a clue to lift the curse that had been guing her was in Romania?
If she were to live in the country that is known to be the origin of vampires, she, being a pureblood vampire by nature, might be able to extend her lifespan.
“I sincerely pray that she finds peace and happiness in her life at that ce.”
.
.
.
.
.
“Hello, Mr. Adler.”
“……?”
Just as Adler was about to quietly get up from his seat, a male student approached and addressed him at that very moment.
“May I sit with you for a moment?”
Wearing a puzzled expression, as if wondering if he knew this individual, Adler only recognized the male student upon hearing a soft whisper in his ear.
“Ms. Nurse, we’re now tied, aren’t we?”
“…Miss Holmes?”
Charlotte Holmes, disguised as a male, said so with a triumphant look and then took a seat right next to him.
“Um…”
Specifically, not across from him, but right beside him.
“…No, it’s not.”
Adler wanted to ask about the reason, but overpowered by Holmes’s piercing gaze he swallowed his words.
“What you just said, is it true?”
“Pardon?”
After observing Holmes for a moment, Adler cocked his head at her even-toned voice.
“Your reason for courting Diana Wilson.”
“Ah.”
“Was it truly just to establish a connection with me?”
Of course, Adler’s reason for courting Wilson wasn’t solely for that purpose.
“…Yes.”
However, there was some truth to it and for some reason, Adler felt the need to nod in agreement to this query of hers.
“………”
Then, Charlotte subtly avoided his gaze, rested her chin on her hand, and began to swing her legs back and forth under the table.
“You’re truly the worst.”
For a fleeting moment, a blush seemed to rise on her face but Adler only chalked it up to his wild imagination.
“So, the reason you never revealed that you lifted her curse and saved her life was also because of this?”
“Having achieved my goal, it’s only right to end a half-hearted rtionship, isn’t it?”
“Scum.”
“Thank you for thepliment.”
Adler, after rubbing his eyes for a moment, smiled coldly and smirked at Charlotte, who was always so assertive with her words.
“I’m d I didn’t send a telegram revealing the truth to her.”
“What did you say?”
Suddenly, Adler widened his eyes in surprise at the unexpected statement that she made.
“When you showed up at the academy the next day, and the incident was passed off as a mere coincidence, I didn’t have the time to tell the truth to our client, Miss Wilson.”
“What are you talking about?”
“And since she suddenly decided to leave Ennd today, I had nned to send a telegram to the hotel in Romania where she would be staying, revealing everything to her.”
Upon hearing her remark, Adler began to break out in a cold sweat.
“Had I sent it, Miss Wilson would only have realized upon her arrival, right?”
“……….”
“That a man, who wore the vampire’s curse on her behalf and became a time bomb for her, was the one she had just doused with water and told to drop dead before leaving.”
Then, struggling to maintain hisposure, Adler spoke out.
“I’ll say it again, I am not living on borrowed time. And anyway it’s something that wouldn’t happen to me.”
“That was a close call. Given Miss Wilson’s weakened state, she might not have been able to escape Romania even if she knew the truth.”
“……….”
“And what if those members of the radical faction called <b>Red Mana League</b>, who had rejected and distanced themselves from Mr. Adler, approached such a weakened Miss Wilson?”
However, Holmes continued her hypothetical story— a smile still lingering on her androgynous face.
“In Romania, the homnd of the vampires, she might have be the new leader of the <b>Red Mana League </b>and might even target Mr. Adler for the rest of her life.”
“Miss Holmes, I didn’t know you also had the talent of a novelist.”
“I’m not joking. It’s a scenario that could very well happen.”
With that, Holmes’ eyes shone darkly as she leaned in closer toward Adler.
“What if I, who knows the whole truth, were to send a telegram to that Romanian hotel right now?”
“…Are you threatening me?”
“You’ve hit the nail on the head, Mr. Adler.”
Hearing this, Adler let out a sigh and asked,
“What do you want?”
“I need you toe somewhere with me.”
“Excuse me, but I’m quite busy today.”
“Are you sure you’re alright with that?”
For some unknown, ominous reason when Adler adamantly refused, Holmes began to whisper in a hushed tone into his ear.
“That woman at the table over there is watching you.”
“What?”
“A few months ago, she devoted everything to you and was subsequently discarded by you.”
Following her words, Adler’s gaze shifted to the table she pointed toward, and he caught sight of a woman in a corner, looking at him with a spine-chilling stare.
“There are two more women just like her. The second table to the right and the third table to the left.”
“It’s not a man… It’s female… That’s…”
<i>– Ssshhh…</i>
Beside her was another woman with a distasteful expression murmuring to herself, and a schoolgirl, looking at him with lifeless eyes fiddling with her dining knife.
“Did you not notice they’ve been tailing you?”
“Uh, well…”
“By the way that person over there, sneakily peeping at us behind arge newspaper is Miss Gia Lestrade.”
“Ah, I know that one.”
With a humorous disguise, Lestrade had been spying on Adler for a while already. As Adler murmured while looking at Lestrade, Holmes once again whispered into his ear.
“If you don’t follow me right now, you’ll die.”
<strong>Warning</strong>
– <strong>Probability of Assassination</strong> — 69%
It was then that Adler realized the credibility of the probabilities he had checked a few hours earlier.
“I guess I have no choice.”
“Hmm.”
As he linked arms with Holmes, she rose from her seat with a quiet smile on her face.
“I’ll hold off on sending that message to Miss Wilson for now.”
Unbeknownst to her, Professor Moriarty had already executed the n she had told Adler about that morning.
<strong>Warning</strong>
– <strong>Probability of Confinement</strong> — 36% → 40%
– <strong>Probability of Kidnapping</strong> — 21% → 25%
Due to this, in a few months, without anyone’s knowledge, a secret organization directly under Moriarty would be born in Romania.
“Damn, what’s this?”
“Hmm?”
And this was something that even Adler, who would be both a target and a person under the organization’s protection, had no clue about.
.
.
.
.
.
“We’re here.”
“…Holmes.”
Not long after he shook off the crazed women with eyes hungrily set on taking his life, and Gia Lestrade, who poorly tailed them even after leaving the café.
“Where is…”
I froze as I followed where Holmes was pointing and saw the signboard of the building.
Diogenes Club
“It’s the quietest ce in Ennd. Perfect for a hideout.”
I prayed that my suspicions were wrong, but the following words from Charlotte shattered those hopes.
“For your information, myzy older sister is the president here.”
It seems I’ve willingly entered the den overseen by a woman who might as well be the British government itself.
<strong>Mycrony Holmes is watching you closely.</strong>
‘Please save me, Professor Moriarty.’
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