Chapter 135: Kidnap
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 135: Kidnap
“Adler.”
“…Hmm?”
Inside the carriage, Adler, who had been nodding off, groggily opened his eyes at the soft voice calling from beside him.
“It hurts…”
“……..”
His gaze met Professor Jane Moriarty’s. Her face was a mess of handprints and bruises, and tears welled in her distinct gray eyes.
“Why would you do such a thing…?”
“Ha.”
Adler couldn’t help but sigh as he looked at her. He spoke flatly.
“Stop with the jokes already.”
“Adler…”
“This look doesn’t suit my adorable professor in the slightest.”
At his cold response, the corners of her mouth curled into a playful smirk.
“The Professor is stiffer than I expected, isn’t she?”
“……..”
“According to my investigation, I really thought the two of you would be on a first-name basis by now.”
“…I can’t get used to this. Please, just go back to your original self.”
Struggling to reconcile the playful expression with the body of the usually rigid professor, Adler muttered under his breath. In response, she smirked and snapped her fingers.
Swish—
In an instant, the guise of the mature professor vanished, replaced by a young girl shrouded in an air of mystery.
“Hehe.”
“What’s so funny that you’re giggling like that?”
Lupin, still wearing a leash and sporting a face full of bruises, flashed him a bright smile. Adler sighed.
“And for the record, those injuries weren’t caused by me.”
“…That crazy princess was a bit too much to handle,” Lupin muttered, scratching her head sullenly. “In my head, princesses were just easy marks for treasure. Now? I think I’ve been traumatized.”
“It would be a blessing if that trauma actually stopped you from stealing.”
“But hey… aren’t you trying to dodge responsibility a bit too easily?” Tilting her head, she gazed at Adler with gleaming eyes. “After causing all this chaos, you cleverly used me to escape the mess, didn’t you?”
“………”
“You even made me fight that battle-crazed princess. I ended up with scars on my beautiful face.”
“That’s…”
As Adler stammered, Lupin leaned in until her face was nearly touching his. She whispered, “And honestly, I think some of those handprints and bruises were definitely your doing.”
“………”
“A slap here, a punch there, a few kicks… it only makes sense for you to take responsibility.”
“You forced my hand—”
“Haha! You’re so cute when you take my jokes seriously.”
Ignoring Adler’s aggrieved protest, Lupin cheerfully patted his shoulder.
“…I really, really want you now.”
An ominous undertone slipped into her voice for a fleeting second. However, as if that shift were a lie, she instantly bounced back to her usual cheerful mood, clapping her hands.
“So, where are you planning to get off?”
“What?”
“Weren’t you planning to use my reputation to stage a kidnapping and disappear from London?”
Adler scratched his head, looking confused. “I suppose so, but…”
“So where are you going, and what’s the next move? I helped you pull this off, so I can at least ask that much, right?”
“Uh, well…”
He looked at Lupin, who was grinning curiously despite being bound by the leash. With a troubled expression, he asked in a faint voice, “Are you… not going to kidnap me?”
“What are you talking about?” Her expression immediately turned somber. “I can’t kidnap you right now.”
“What?”
“I can’t. It’s impossible.”
Hearing her serious tone, Adler blinked, his forehead breaking into a sweat. He lowered his voice. “That’s disappointing.”
“…Huh?”
“The greatest thief in France, backing out because she’s scared of a few monsters.”
Lupin stared at Adler with an incredulous expression. “Why are you leaving out the fact that those ‘monsters’ are operating on a national scale?”
“…The numbers might have decreased by now, right?”
“Not to mention there are at least eight other countries and organizations involved in this incident!”
“So, the great thief Lupin only operates after calculating profit and loss, huh…”
Her eyes narrowed at the sigh in Adler’s voice. “There is nothing in this world I can’t handle…”
“And yet, here we are.”
“That’s not why I can’t kidnap you!”
Adler tilted his head, confused. “Then what do you mean?”
“Well, you can’t stay bound for long, can you?” Lupin muttered, her tone dripping with regret. “I’ve secretly watched you get put in handcuffs or ropes several times. The moment I look away, you escape in the blink of an eye.”
“……..”
“That’s a perfect talent for a thief. Just what kind of curse do you have?”
Her explanation made Adler reflect on the numerous times Charlotte had handcuffed him.
“Come to think of it, you’re right.”
“Right?”
“Perhaps it’s because devils are always free beings, unless bound by a contract.”
At his cryptic words, Lupin quietly licked her lips. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but it seems there’s no way to restrain you after all.”
“Um…”
“And I’m in far worse shape than I thought.” A trickle of blood escaped her lips as she spoke. “The princess was stronger than I ever anticipated.”
“…….”
“In this condition, there’s more than a fifty percent chance I’d lose even if I fought you seriously… Kidnapping you is nothing but a pipe dream.”
Wiping the blood from her mouth with her sleeve, she turned toward Adler, her eyes filled with regret.
“So, unfortunately, I’ll have to wait for another opportunity.”
“Another opportunity?”
“I don’t know what your goal was, but I’m going back to France to recover until the chaos you’ve caused in London dies down. I’ll probably stay there for a year or so…”
Adler’s eyes began to quiver violently.
“Kidnapping will have to wait. There’s too much risk right now.”
“Er, uh…”
“So, don’t die. Just wait for me.”
Gently caressing his cheek, Lupin rose from her seat. “I’ll be leaving now.”
She swung her cloak, preparing to vanish through the carriage window, when—
Squeeze!
“…Cough!”
The collar around her neck suddenly tightened.
“What are you doing?!”
Dragged back into the carriage, her face flushed as she glared at Adler.
“Blehh.”
Adler stared at her intently and stuck out his tongue with clear mischief in his eyes.
“What is this now? A signal to pounce?”
“…Hehe.”
“I don’t know what your special ability is, but relying solely on that could get you into big trouble…”
As he tugged at the collar around her neck, Lupin muttered with a cold smile.
“…Ah, suddenly I feel so weaaak~”
In the next moment, Adler theatrically clutched his forehead and collapsed to the floor.
“Hee… I’m losing… my strength…”
“…….”
“D-Did Jill the Ripper secretly cast some strange magic on me…?”
Avoiding Lupin’s puzzled gaze, he continued his blatant act.
“I’m so drained… even a passing thief could kidnap me without any resistance…”
“………”
“What should I do…?”
As he sneakily glanced at her, Lupin stared back in disbelief. “You’re joking, right?”
“………”
Adler closed his eyes and slowly turned his hand, revealing the back of it.
“…A wedding ring?”
Noticing the ring on his finger, Lupin’s voice trembled. “Are you married?”
Her expression began to morph, a hint of betrayal flickering in her eyes.
“…So you already belong to someone else, huh?”
“……….”
“If I don’t steal you now, I’d be disqualified as a thief…”
A moment passed as the charade continued.
“…Hey.”
Quietly approaching Adler, who lay "unconscious" on the floor, Lupin whispered in a subdued voice as she unfolded her cape.
“…Did you plan all of this?”
She spread her cape wide.
“Just stay inside for now.”
“…Huh?”
At the ominous statement, Adler opened one eye and tilted his head with a naive expression.
“Why? Did you think I had no way to kidnap a person?”
“Uh, umm…”
Wrapped in Lupin’s cape, Adler’s voice trailed off as his body began to shrink, getting sucked into the fabric’s interior.
“Uh, ahh…!”
Feeling that staying still would make things irreversible, Adler instinctively began to struggle.
『Phantom Thief's Treasure』
– Description: Get kidnapped by Phantom Thief Lupin
– Progress: 0% → 74%
“…Ah.”
Upon seeing the system message, he muttered in an enlightened voice.
“I’m drained… can’t resist…”
“……..”
“Being kidnapped…”
As he was completely sucked into the cape, Lupin remained silent for a long moment.
“Ah…”
Then, she suddenly sat down, bowing her head as she muttered in a trembling voice.
“It’s the first time I’ve absorbed a living being…”
Squirm!
“Ah… the feeling of him wriggling inside is so intense…”
Thus began Lupin and Adler’s bizarre kidnapping play.
*
Meanwhile, at that same moment.
“……..”
A pair of eyes watched a carriage speeding through the streets of London, escaping the city in the early hours of dawn.
“…Ha.”
The owner of those eyes, hidden within ominous black smoke, was none other than Charlotte Holmes. The dark circles under her eyes had grown significantly over the past few days, giving her the appearance of a ghost.
“Trying to escape now, are we?”
As she extended her hand, the black smoke began to slowly coil around the wheels of the distant carriage.
“…Too late for that.”