Chapter 133: Monster Showdown (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 133: Monster Showdown (7)
“H-hey, guys.”
Witnessing the sudden, abnormal spike in probabilities, Isaac Adler looked up at his subordinates with a skeptical expression.
“…No, it couldn’t be, right?”
He posed the tentative question while staring at Celestia Moran and Princess Clay, both of whom were looking down at him with frigid gazes.
“Y-you’re going to save me, right? You won’t do anything… strange?”
As he began to wriggle his bound body while gauging their reactions, the two henchwomen exchanged a subtle glance.
Step, stomp…
“Guys…?”
The two women moved toward Adler in silence.
“…Ah.”
As Moran raised the butt of her air rifle and Princess Clay began conjuring red mana in her palm, Adler closed his eyes. A smile of liberation touched his lips as he prepared to accept his fate.
Bam—!!!
A crisp, striking sound echoed through the outskirts of the walkway.
“……Eh?”
Shivering with his eyes shut, Adler soon realized his consciousness hadn’t faded as expected. Puzzled, he opened his eyes.
“………”
The first thing he saw was the collapsed Silver Blaze—two large bumps protruding from her head and her eyes spinning in dizzying swirls.
“What are you doing, Dad?”
“Why are you shivering so much?”
Adler blinked blankly at the scene… until he heard the soft voices of Moran and Princess Clay.
“Did you just… grant my request?”
“…I am your hunting dog, aren’t I, Dad?”
“It wasn’t really for you, to be honest. I just couldn’t stand to see this poor beast forcing herself to take care of trash like you.”
As Adler cocked his head and listened to their words, a touched expression washed over his face.
“Everyone~!”
Staggering to his feet, Adler slipped his arms out of the now-loose ropes and hugged Moran and Princess Clay tightly.
“I love you guys~!”
With an innocent smile and a twinkle in his eyes, he began to rub his cheeks against theirs.
“”……….””
As they were pulled into the hug, both women looked sideways, their eyes instantly turning cold as they stared at Adler.
“This isn’t the time or place for this, Dad.”
“Correct. So let go of us. Now.”
“Huh?”
Both women spoke simultaneously in the next instant.
“You must hide immediately.”
“…Why?”
“This incident has drawn the attention of not only supernatural entities but also several suspicious and highly dangerous organizations.”
Upon hearing her reply, Adler tilted his head with a naive expression, prompting Princess Clay to sigh and begin her explanation.
“Of course, that alone wouldn’t be a problem. However, the issue is that these groups might collaborate.”
“…Collaborate?”
“Except for the Queen’s damned dogs, most are either unofficial intelligence organizations or illegal groups. Working together for a common goal is hardly an issue for them.”
“Are you certain?”
“Our battle with the royal knights was systematically interrupted by them. The attackers included at least three different types of ability users.”
With that, Princess Clay turned toward Adler and demanded, “Of course, you’ve prepared for such a situation, I assume?”
“……..”
“Wasn’t it you who devised this insane plan?”
Adler, feigning ignorance, merely shrugged his shoulders.
“…Dunno.”
“Madman.”
Princess Clay cursed under her breath and grabbed Adler by the collar, her voice rising.
“Forget about actually accomplishing that insane plan of yours—just escaping this park isn’t even going to be easy now!”
“Ugh…”
“And what if they catch us, huh? What are you going to do then?”
Still appearing clueless, Adler was vigorously shaken by the princess as she vented her mounting frustration on him.
“…But that’s a bit strange, isn’t it?”
Celestia Moran, who had been observing the scene with narrowed eyes, suddenly began questioning Princess Clay.
“Weren’t you just reluctantly being manipulated after falling for Dad’s schemes?”
“………”
“Isn’t it better for Dad to be captured by them than to continue being treated like a cat or cleaning the hideout in a maid outfit?”
Hearing that, the light in Princess Clay’s eyes began to dim.
“…..Isn’t that right, Princess?”
Moran began to subtly prod her with a sly voice.
“Moran…?”
Adler, sweating profusely as he watched the princess look dazed—as if she had just experienced a sudden epiphany—quietly whispered to Moran.
“Why bring this up now?”
“You should be reviving the vampires, not wasting time here.”
But Moran, still staring intently at Adler, continued to hold onto the princess’s sleeve and pressed the conversation.
“………”
…Dad is surrounded by too many women.
As a result of the subtle prodding, the silent Princess Clay began gazing intently at Adler, her lips quietly curling upward.
I alone am enough…
“Hmph, I know that too!”
However, in that instant, the princess crossed her arms, whipped her head around, and raised her voice once more.
“If my powers hadn’t been sealed by Adler, I would have betrayed him long ago!”
“If you say that in front of me…”
“But since I still haven’t recovered enough strength to defeat a true vampire, I have no choice but to live in captivity…”
“…Lies.”
Looking up at the princess with a cold gaze, Moran spoke. Her icy voice cut through the princess’s mumblings.
“Is that something someone who wiped out half the knights with just a few drops of blood should say?”
“……..”
“And last time, when it was just us, you coldly turned away the subordinates who came to our hideout to rescue you…”
“Uh—ugghh! I’m already running out of strength!”
In a panic, Princess Clay covered her mouth, her body twisting unnaturally.
“Don’t misunderstand, you bastard!”
She turned her gaze toward Adler and raised her voice.
“…I, I will.”
But her outburst was short-lived. Soon, she began to stutter, her eyes downturned.
“I’ll protect you.”
As her words trailed off, a brief silence fell over the walkway.
“Pardon?”
“I’m not doing this because I’m worried about you or because I like you! It’s only because I’ve been using you all this time, that’s all!”
As Adler stared at her blankly, the princess blushed and screamed.
“Just… just… it’s just that the existence of a true vampire is helpful in a multitude of ways for rekindling the Red Mana Alliance, so…”
“……..”
“I’m just reluctantly helping you—a nuisance—at my own expense. So consider it an honor!”
Upon hearing this, a genuinely flustered expression appeared on Adler’s face.
…At this point, do I really need to get kidnapped?
[Deliberately creating a situation where the monsters fight each other and the unknown, suspicious groups collaborate, isolating Princess Clay, who is clearly the least loyal.]
[Due to that, the burden of guarding him naturally increases for Moran, who is relatively easy to shake off. Finally, Adler, acting alone, goes to find Lupin to willingly get kidnapped.]
“Princess, but…”
“H-how dare you! I will not entertain objections. Remember, royal British blood flows through my veins!”
His perfect plan was increasingly going awry with each passing second.
“…How will you protect me?”
“I… I could just kidnap you from here.”
“What?”
“It’s a staged act. I’ll divert their attention to the Red Mana Alliance that I oversee.”
When Adler threw out a puzzled question, the Princess immediately proposed a solution—a feat befitting the fourth smartest woman in London.
“The Alliance is scattered all over Britain, so we could buy some time to escape to America or even a third country.”
“…And after that?”
“W-we settle in a new place and start afresh.”
The suggestion seemed quite normal and appealing compared to the insane solutions he was used to hearing from the women in his life, causing Adler’s gaze to waver ever so slightly.
“…I-I’ll pretend to be your wife. To gather all the vampires scattered across the country, we’ll need the authority you possess as a true vampire.”
“……”
“Of course! It will merely be a masked performance! Even that would be an honor for someone who is merely a hostage in a kidnapping play!”
Having said her piece in a loud voice, the princess crossed her arms and turned her head aside.
“If you are unwilling, just say so…”
“But, Princess.”
Adler, gazing intently at her, raised a question with a look of confusion.
“…If this kidnapping act goes on forever, wouldn’t it be no different from marriage?”
“What did you just say?”
She exclaimed, visibly shocked.
“How dare you!”
However, she apparently had nothing else to say. No reply followed her outcry.
“…..Dad.”
In the meantime, Celestia Moran had quietly approached Adler’s side and began whispering while holding onto his sleeve.
“I will kidnap you. For real, I mean.”
“……..”
“I’ll tie you up with chains and inflict a bit of harm here and there—nothing serious. And then, I’ll circulate the photos among the monsters and the unknown organizations after us.”
“…Huh?”
“On the back of the photo, I’ll even write a message: 'This man’s life is over unless you back off.'”
Her eyes glinted darkly under the moonlight.
“That way, no one will chase after you anymore. It’s several times safer than the Princess’s method.”
“But Moran…”
“I’ve done this plenty of times, so I can pull it off flawlessly… What?”
“…How is that different from a real kidnapping?”
Adler asked in a slightly frightened voice, but again, no answer came.
.
.
.
.
.
“In my opinion, both options are particularly poor.”
“………!?”
A vaguely familiar—yet somehow different—voice began to echo from the fog-covered walkway.
“Isn’t that so, Isaac?”
“Professor…?”
.
.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, at London’s finest hospital.
“Miss Jane Moriarty. Did you sleep well?”
“Hmmmh.”
Professor Jane Moriarty opened her eyes in her private hospital room and stretched languidly as she faced her attending doctor.
“Your recovery speed is unbelievable for a human; I’m positively astonished. It seems you can be discharged soon…”
“…Thank you.”
She thanked the doctor with a grateful look, though a sharp glare remained hidden within her eyes as she began imbuing her concealed hand with grey mana.
“However, it would have been better had you not made that stateme—”
“Pardon?”
But just before her grey mana could claim another life, the professor retracted it entirely. She stopped speaking mid-sentence, her expression suddenly turning startled.
“Ah!?”
She rose abruptly from her bed, beads of cold sweat trickling down her forehead.
“Adler…”
Ever since the day she met Isaac Adler, she had been constantly watching over him. But now, his presence seemed strangely obscured, as if veiled by smoke—the source of her sudden anxiety and fear.