Chapter 159: The Crawling ■■■■■
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 159: The Crawling ■■■■■
“I had a feeling you’d pull something like this.”
After surveying the Professor’s mansion for a while, Charlotte returned to the lobby, only to find Adler and Lestrade standing near the doorway. A scornful glint flashed in her eyes as she looked at the duo.
“Well, at least you didn’t kill him. The Inspector must have held back quite a bit.”
Lestrade’s police uniform was tattered, hanging loosely off her frame. Her face was redder than a ripe tomato, radiating pure shame and embarrassment.
As if that weren’t enough, the vivid red handprint on Adler’s face was a dead giveaway of what had transpired between them.
“It was my first time…”
“…”
“It was my first time, dammit…”
Charlotte smirked mockingly, bowing her head to hide her amusement. Lestrade, meanwhile, continued to mutter in a low, shaky whisper.
“I agreed to accept your affection, but… not like this. I never wanted it to be like this.”
“Look, it wasn’t on purpose, I—”
“Don’t speak to me right now… I might actually kill you…”
Lifting her scorching face, Lestrade whispered with such ferocity that Adler was forced to shut his mouth instantly.
“When I think about my first kiss from now on, I’ll always remember today…”
“…”
“I wanted to set the mood… I wanted to be a lady for my first kiss…”
“…What?”
“Didn’t I tell you to shut the fuck up, you bastard?!”
Charlotte gave them a sidelong glance, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.
“Now that I think about it, it’s quite strange.”
“…What is?”
“Inspector Lestrade’s curse… why didn’t it affect Isaac Adler’s transformation magic?”
She tilted her head, murmuring to herself.
“Um, Miss Holmes, I didn’t cast that spell…”
“No, what I mean is… if the Inspector’s curse nullifies all anomalies and oddities without exception, then it should have undone the magic cast on Adler as well. It’s odd that it only broke after a generic, fairy-tale kiss.”
“…Does that really matter anymore?”
“It definitely does, Inspector. It gives me a perfect opportunity to review one of my oldest theories.”
Face still flushed and head bowed, Lestrade looked puzzled as she listened to Charlotte.
“My curse, which prevents me from loving anything or anyone, had no effect on you, Mr. Adler.”
“That is…”
“It was the same with my sister. She, who was cursed never to feel any stimulation, was able to feel it because of you.”
Charlotte slowly walked toward Adler and whispered, her voice dangerously low.
“And now, you’re even openly resisting Inspector Lestrade’s ability. An ability so absolute that even Professor Moriarty cannot completely resist it.”
“Th-That’s true, I guess…”
“Shall I make a guess, then?”
“Su-Sure?”
Having reached Adler, she narrowed her eyes and whispered directly into his ear, her tone laced with an arctic chill.
“…Professor Moriarty’s initial interest in you was because her curse was nullified solely by you, wasn’t it?”
Cold sweat began to bead on Adler’s forehead, soon dripping down like a waterfall.
“Looks like my speculation was correct.”
“…….”
“Honestly, I thought you were just an incubus who had luckily survived the Crusades. It seems that isn’t the case, however.”
Charlotte Holmes wiped the sweat from his face with her sleeve and began prodding Adler with her summoned black mana.
“You’re still hiding a lot from me, aren’t you?”
“……..”
“I’ll forgive you if you confess here and now. Okay?”
At that moment, a red warning window appeared in front of Adler.
[I’m sure you understand the extent of what you can reveal to her.]
“……..”
[Specifically, keep everything about me a secret.]
As he read the warning, Adler made up his mind to speak, a resigned expression crossing his face. But—
“Miss Holmes, as I mentioned before—”
Swoosh…
“…What are you doing?”
Charlotte, who had been quietly observing him, suddenly grabbed his arm with a dangerous gleam in her eyes.
Swish, swish…
“Hey, my arm isn’t a toy…”
Adler looked at her with a troubled expression, but then he froze.
“Uh…”
His voice trailed off. He realized that the system window that had appeared before his eyes had vanished—dissipated by his own hand as Charlotte moved it.
“…So, you were there after all.”
A dark smile crossed Charlotte’s face as she murmured.
“The being that issues commands to you.”
Chills ran down Adler’s spine; even the hair on his arms stood on end.
“Why that face? Did you really think I wouldn’t notice something so obvious?”
Charlotte’s actions meant she had already deduced the existence and significance of the system—and had even theorized on how to interact with it.
“I—I don’t quite understand what you’re talking about…”
“…That flustered look of yours is quite cute.”
Adler, the chill spreading through his entire body, looked at her with abject terror. Charlotte only smiled at his horrified visage.
“Well, I’ll be going now.”
“…Pardon?”
“The case is closed, anyway. There are a few nagging points that still don’t sit right with me, but I have no grounds to delve deeper into a case that’s already solved.”
Charlotte Holmes, muttering to herself, trotted toward the mansion’s exit.
“…But I must admit, my curiosity is piqued.”
“What…?”
“I just went and asked Professor Presbury and Mr. Freud some questions, and I received some very interesting answers.”
She stopped walking and started muttering in a barely audible voice, as if talking to herself.
“What did you hear that prompted your intrigue?”
“Well, you see…”
Adler’s eyes widened at Charlotte’s response.
“Mr. Freud never ordered the Professor to crawl around the house naked every night, nor did he order her to pounce on the dog.”
“Uh…”
“Not to mention, he didn’t order her to climb up to the second floor and eerily glare at her son for ten minutes. He was actually surprised that a woman her age was even capable of such a feat. Even the Professor seemed dazed after hearing that question.”
Adler stood stunned for a long moment before muttering in amazement.
“If that’s true, then what do the stories we heard from the client even mean?”
“Honestly, I’d love to dig deeper, but when I contacted our client, he had already made up his mind to end the case.”
Charlotte showed Adler the unilateral cancellation declaration sent by the client. Her mood was clearly in the gutter.
“He spoke of his inability to understand the reasoning of his mother and Mr. Freud. That’s why he decided to become independent and study in America.”
“Well, that sounds… reasonable…”
“In other words, our chance to investigate this case has officially ended.”
Sighing, she muttered in a dejected voice.
“Well, I faced many such instances when I was a newbie. And frankly, a few more important cases have already come in, so this one is a lower priority now.”
“……….”
“Personally, I’d still like to search this house thoroughly, though.”
Charlotte concluded with a regretful look, glancing at Lestrade.
“If Miss Lestrade would turn a blind eye, I might just investigate a bit more…”
“…That would be a crime, I’m afraid.”
“Tch.”
“We only move if further requests or criminal activities are reported…”
Rejecting the suggestion as usual, Lestrade followed Charlotte toward the exit.
“…Mr. Adler, don’t just stand there. Come along.”
“……….”
“I’ll listen to your explanation thoroughly on the way…”
Her face was still flushed as she spoke to Adler. However, when she turned back toward him, her mind went blank.
“…Huh?”
Adler, who had been standing right behind her moments ago, was nowhere to be seen.
“Where has he gone this time…?”
“…Let’s just get out of here.”
After staring blankly for a while, Lestrade attempted to head back into the mansion, but Charlotte grabbed her arm and shook her head.
“It’s become a habit of his because we pay him too much attention.”
“…”
“I’ve heard that the ‘push and pull’ is essential in a relationship.”
Hearing this sincere advice, Lestrade tilted her head.
“I don’t think I require such knowledge, but… I understand what you mean.”
“Why wouldn’t you need it? Watson was adamant that it’s an essential rule of romance.”
Lestrade whispered to Charlotte with a wary look and then quietly stepped out of the mansion.
“Well, I… I’m already married, after all.”
“Oh…”
“…I don’t need such shallow knowledge of romance.”
Charlotte blinked, standing still as her expression visibly crumbled in real-time.
“Is that a challenge I hear…?”
*
…I’m still not used to this form.
Watching Charlotte Holmes and Gia Lestrade leave the mansion to catch a carriage, I—now transformed into a cat—turned around and slowly began treading down the corridor.
How the hell does the Professor know such magic?
Analyzing the magic circle the Professor had shown me made me realize… it wasn’t just a simple transformation, but a polymorph-level advanced spell.
How she could wield such systematized magic in a world where mana stones were discovered only recently and research had barely begun was beyond me, but it was certainly to my advantage.
Simply drawing the magic circle the Professor had sketched on the desk allowed me to transform into a full-fledged cat. It was perfect for scouting and escaping at a moment’s notice.
I must get to the bottom of this anomaly…
Normally, I would never poke around a case that was already closed, but things were different this time.
[Warning!]
[Erosion Rate — 55% → 60%]
[Warning!]
[Erosion Rate — 60% → 65%]
[Warning!]
[Erosion Rate — 65% → 70%]
Despite my direct intervention and crafting a plausible ending, the erosion rate had increased by 15 percent in just a few hours.
This was just like the Speckled Band case. I had to figure out why this was happening.
- Lick.
- …Yesshh♡
Judging from the moans leaking from above, it seemed Professor Presbury and Mr. Freud would be spending a heated night in the laboratory.
Even if it meant staying up all night, I had to uncover the reason behind the rising erosion rate today, no matter what…
“…..?”
With a serious expression, I continued down the corridor when I subtly tilted my head in curiosity.
“Meow?”
When I was in my human form, I hadn’t noticed it…
However, through the eyes of a cat, I saw that the study at the end of the corridor was shimmering ominously with sickening black smoke.
“………”
It wasn’t like the chilling, emotionless extension of Charlotte’s mana. This smoke was viscous, eerie, and filled with negative emotions that made me shudder in horror. It felt just like the shadowy Jill the Reaper.
Thud, thud…
Before I knew it, I began gingerly approaching the study.
“…Eh?”
Although I had transformed into a cat, my vision remained sharp. It didn’t take long to realize that what I’d thought was smoke was actually undulating, outstretched tentacles of nothingness itself.
*
“…No.”
“What?”
Meanwhile, at that same time.
Jane Moriarty sipped her overly sugared coffee at a nearby cafe, convinced that Adler, who had left her side without a word, would soon return to her embrace.
“You should never touch that, Adler…”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden…?”
“Not all beings from ancient times are like me…”
Mycrony Holmes, who had been observing her with interest, looked bewildered as the Professor turned pale and abruptly rose from her seat.
“…Isaac is in danger.”
Leaving those words behind, Moriarty vanished, dissolving into a puff of smoke.
“Haa, this happens every single time.”
Mycrony Holmes stared at the spot where Moriarty had disappeared with a flabbergasted look, finally whispering after a long silence.
“…Why are you all still sitting there looking so stunned?”
“””………..”””
“She said Adler is in danger, dammit!”
A few seconds later, the coffee house patrons rose from their seats, instantly returning to their roles as national agents.