Chapter 143: A Case of Identity (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 143: A Case of Identity (6)
Why is the professor here? Why is the professor here? Whyistheprofessorhere...!!?
"Mr. Groom."
Struck by an overwhelming sense of panic, Adler began to tremble, muttering incoherently under his breath. Just then, a subtle, gentle voice drifted into his mind from his side.
"Is there something troubling you?"
"Ah... well..."
"To wear such a lost expression on your wedding day—an event meant to be the pinnacle of one's life... how utterly tragic."
Her voice was so soothing it would have calmed anyone who didn't know the truth of the situation or her identity.
"Smile, Mr. Groom."
"...Ha-ha, ha."
"As I mentioned earlier, you won't be able to get your suit without the key in my possession. Please, follow me."
For Adler, however, it wasn't the voice that caught his attention, but rather the nun’s habit, which felt eerily familiar.
"...Understood."
After a moment of intense deliberation, Adler decided to follow the strangely familiar nun upstairs.
"Untie me before you go, Adler..."
"......"
Shuddering, he tried his best to ignore the soulless voice coming from behind him. However, he couldn't ignore the nun in front of him. Unable to bring himself to stay close to her out of sheer apprehension, yet left with no choice but to follow, Adler ascended the stairs behind the woman of the cloth, his face pale.
[You look splendid right now.]
"...Save me, Miss System."
[Hmph.]
Trying to invoke the System as his last hope, Adler found that the message window had vanished into thin air. It seemed to have developed a consciousness of its own and was now actively avoiding him.
"...Please, come this way."
"A-Alright..."
With a resigned look and slumped shoulders, Adler followed the nun into a shabby room on the second floor.
"Thank you for... Wait a moment."
Suddenly feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, Adler asked the nun in a low, trembling voice.
"Didn't you say you were taking me to a dressing room? There’s only a chair here...?"
"Ah, that’s true."
The nun paused at his inquiry, but then she nodded and snapped her fingers.
Swish—
In an instant, rows of clothing racks filled with high-quality vintage suits manifested out of thin air, filling the previously empty room.
"Wow..."
Adler, momentarily forgetting his predicament, couldn't help but mutter in amazement at the sudden, astonishing display. However, a look of contemplation soon crossed his face as if he had suddenly recalled something important.
"...But, you’re using magic."
"Yes."
"B-But, according to the setting... no, from what I remember... the Vatican and the Church are supposed to strongly denounce magic..."
Total silence engulfed the room.
"...Now that I think about it, didn't you say you needed a key?"
As the nun standing by the entrance gazed at him without a word, Adler felt a sudden chill run down his spine. He stuttered, trying to change the subject as fast as possible.
"This one?"
"Yes, yes. But it didn't seem like you used it when we came in thou—"
Click.
Before he could finish his sentence, the sound of the door locking echoed through the room.
"Aha. You were planning to use it to lock the door..."
"......"
"...But why lock the door? Haha."
Despite trying his best to keep his tone bright and lively, Adler’s voice eventually began to quiver.
"...I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?"
The reason? The nun was slowly approaching him while emitting a familiar black smoke.
"Does saying sorry make up for abandoning someone?"
"...S-Save me!"
Quietly backing away from the ominous nun, Adler hastily threw open the window behind him and started shouting at the top of his lungs, grasping at straws to escape this dangerous predicament.
"The detective’s here!!!"
*
A few minutes later.
"Shouting 'The detective’s here!' as a cry for help... don't you find that incredibly amusing yourself?"
"......"
"...Isn't escape magic your specialty? Why don't you try using it?"
Adler, having failed to escape, wore a sullen expression as he muttered next to the nun, who was closely watching his every move.
"Suddenly, my magic isn't working at all..."
"Of course it won't. A devil can't exert power inside a church, after all."
"Aha..."
At her words, Adler realized the truth of the situation and nodded.
"Then, I shall be taking my leave now—"
"Why did you abandon me?"
"Uh, ugh..."
As Adler quickly tried to head for the exit, the nun grabbed his arm and began to unbutton his shirt without his consent. Simultaneously, she began interrogating him.
"...H-How strong!"
"I was lonely. All this time."
Adler was momentarily startled by her sudden actions, making him restless. However, when he saw tears welling up in her eyes, he soon stopped resisting.
"We promised to be together forever..."
"......"
"Then why did you disappear?"
"...There were... circumstances."
Unable to tell her that he had been kidnapped by a phantom thief, Adler stammered out the words.
"Circumstances? What circumstances?"
Click, click...
Pushing her somber face, shaded by gloom, closer to Adler’s, the nun slowly stripped off his coat after finishing with the buttons.
"...Or was it just for the sake of pursuing pleasure?"
"Those are some strange words you said at the end there..."
"Correct me, then. After abandoning a capable woman like me, you took in some fresh-faced novices as your close aides, and now you even plan to marry and start a new life. How are my words strange...?"
As the nun began to unbutton her own shirt, Adler opened his mouth with a look of despair—the look of a man who had already resigned himself to an inevitable fate.
"As I said before, it was unavoidable."
"You never explained—"
"I love you."
Holding his gaze with a chilling look, the half-unbuttoned nun paused at Adler’s whisper.
"What... did you just say..."
"I said I love you."
"........"
"As you can already see in my eyes, it is a fact that can no longer be denied."
Finally noticing the color of Adler’s eyes, the nun’s hands began to tremble. She stopped unbuttoning her shirt.
"I wanted to hear that for so, so very long..."
"......?"
"Just that one sentence would have been enough..."
Muttering to herself, the nun continued her monologue, lost in her own world. Adler, on the other hand, looked at her with a puzzled expression before continuing his explanation.
"...That’s exactly why I’m doing this now."
"What?"
"If you are to continue existing in this world, this is the only way."
".......!"
Hearing his earnest words, the nun’s expression turned to one of utter shock and bewilderment. It was as if she had finally realized something profound—a fundamental truth of this world and her existence.
"Have you ever thought about the reason for your existence? Long story short, I’m here to fulfill that very reason—for your continued existence and survival."
"Ah..."
"I can’t get into the details due to... circumstances, but please try to understand. I’m doing my utmost for you. For you, whom I’ve come to love..."
As he finished his explanation, the nun, staring at him with a blank gaze, silently lowered her head. In the next moment, with trembling hands, she began to put Adler’s shirt back on.
"You once told me..."
"......?"
"Love is the deadliest poison for a devil."
Adler, noticing the change in her demeanor—a far cry from her earlier aggression and lunacy—quietly observed her actions.
"Did I ever say that?"
"You, who could control all manner of beings with a mere gesture, have become so weakened. Could it be... could it be..."
As tears began to stream down her face, a sense of unease once again started to creep into Adler’s mind.
"So everything you’ve done, all your actions until now, were just to avoid ending our contract..."
"Pardon?"
"...And I was oblivious, unaware of everything."
The nun began muttering to herself, her head buried in Adler’s shirt as her body trembled intermittently.
"My, my clothes..."
As she held the damp shirt and moved toward a rack of formal attire, Adler stretched out his hand with a bewildered look.
Shshsh...
".....?"
Ignoring him, the nun made a subtle gesture with her hands and summoned the most antique set of clothes and shirts from the collection.
"If that is your will, then I must comply..."
"Um, hey..."
"Since this has been our contract all along..."
Walking up to Adler, she whispered those words in a soothing tone. Quietly, she rose on her tiptoes and began dressing him with her own hands.
"......"
Every time her slender hand touched his bare skin, Adler flinched involuntarily. An overwhelming sense of awkwardness and an inexplicable dissonance washed over his entire being.
"Uh?"
As he was processing this feeling, wondering why something felt so amiss... the nun rose slightly higher on her tiptoes and gently pulled Adler’s tie toward her. Suddenly, a soft, dexterous tongue slipped into his mouth.
"Please forgive my impudence."
"......"
"Have a good wedding."
After what felt like an eternity veiled as a transient moment, the nun quietly stepped away from him. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and murmured to herself, lost in her musings.
"...Second or third, it doesn't matter to me anymore."
"........"
"As long as I am with you, as per our contract, I am satisfied..."
As she handed him a key, signaling their parting, Adler began moving toward the exit with uncertain steps.
"So, I should go now?"
"Yes, take care."
Only after receiving the nun’s confirmation was Adler able to reach for the doorknob with any sense of assurance.
"...My beloved master."
"......?"
Opening the door, the nun’s final words reached him. He couldn't help but react, muttering to himself.
Was Charlotte ever the type to say such things...?
*
But if I’m not wrong, that was definitely the scent of Charlotte’s clumsy makeup and perfume lingering on her...
Adler’s doubts and the sense of dissonance he had been feeling were suddenly clarified—
Creak...
And that dark aura around her felt exactly like Charlotte’s...
The very next moment, as he opened the door surrounded by an unsettling feeling.
"........"
"......!?"
The reason for the clarification was quite simple. Charlotte Holmes, still dressed in her usual detective attire, was standing silently outside the door.
"Now you’ve stooped to cheating with a fucking dog, huh..."
"...Woof."
Hearing that, Adler hastily turned around only to witness the nun, eyes glowing with a fierce gleam, stepping back into the shadows while giving a final, cheerful bark.
Swish—
Leaving behind only a stolen nun’s habit, the Hound of the Baskervilles quietly disappeared.
"...Miss Holmes, this is a misunderstanding."
"I’m about to 'mistakenly' pounce on you too, so don't misunderstand."
"What?"
A few minutes later, terrified groans began to seep out from the floor directly above Watson—the bride of this wedding, who had been choosing the perfect dress for herself with a flushed face.
"Arghhhuhghhhoghhhhh...!"
"What... what was that?"