Chapter 179: The Korean Interpreter (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 179: The Korean Interpreter (3)
“Indeed… even I have never heard this language before.”
“…I-Is that so?”
As the woman screamed in agony under the men’s renewed torture, the Professor stroked her chin, lost in thought for a moment before speaking.
“Adler, I know far more languages than you can possibly imagine.”
“Th-That’s impressive…”
“And that includes Asian languages as well.”
I silently agreed with the Professor while doing my absolute best to ignore the screams of the tortured woman. The Professor turned to me, her eyes glinting with intrigue.
“I am especially fluent in Chinese; I even have a certain level of expertise in the tongue. I once had friends over there, in the distant past…”
“…You mean, Imugis?”
“What did you say, Adler?”
“We-We-Weapons! I meant to say those weapons are really cool. It would be great to have something like that at our base…”
Having misspoken out of sheer nervousness, I quickly pointed at the torture devices scattered around the room. I tried to divert her attention, but the Professor glared at me with barely concealed suspicion.
“So, she’s not Chinese? That is quite unexpected…”
“…Why are you sweating so much?”
“This request seems quite difficult. Ha ha ha…”
While I was busy giving the performance of a lifetime, one of the men in black suits stopped his musing and looked at us doubtfully.
“Can you really find an interpreter? This is a very sensitive matter.”
“It all depends on how much time and budget you can allocate,” the Professor replied calmly.
“We can provide a generous fee. However, we cannot give you much time.”
The man’s doubt deepened as he laid out his demands.
“You must bring an interpreter who can communicate with this woman within two days at most. Naturally, the interpreter must be someone familiar with our ‘dark dealings’ to ensure no complications arise.”
“That seems implausible. You know as well as I do that two days is pushing it.”
“Fine, three days maximum. I cannot give you a second more. As I mentioned earlier, there are diplomatic matters involved here.”
At his response, a frigid glint sparked in the Professor’s eyes.
“Your tone is becoming slightly impolite again.”
“I apologize, but it cannot be helped. This is not a matter we can negotiate on.”
“Hmm…”
“If you think it is beyond your capabilities, you may leave. I trust that a criminal consult as notorious as yourself wouldn’t blabber about this carelessly.”
The man threw the provocative remark at the Professor before politely bowing his head again.
““……..””
A brief, heavy silence washed over the room.
“…So, we just need to find a translator within three days, correct?”
“Technically, it’s fifty-two hours, but yes, that’s roughly correct.”
“Quite a peculiar and complex request indeed.”
In the silence that followed, the Professor wrapped an arm around my waist and began walking toward the exit.
“…This will make for an interesting diversion.”
“I don’t even know how to express my gratitude…”
Her soft-spoken words finally drew a smile from the man. “So… how should we proceed with the contract?”
“My assistant will stay behind to finalize it. He is more skilled in contract magic than I am…”
“That sounds good. We prefer a clean transaction as well.”
Prompted by the Professor’s gesture, I stepped toward the men in suits.
“By the way, what are you planning to do to that woman over the next three days?”
“…Well, unless something special comes up, we might as well continue the torture.”
Hearing this, I clenched my teeth and halted my steps.
“Who knows? Maybe if we keep it up, she might blurt out something in English.”
“That would certainly save us some money.”
“So far, we’ve only heard a bunch of bizarre words like ‘shibal,’ ‘saekki,’ ‘jonna’… at first, I thought it was Russian or something! Ha ha…” one of the men casually murmured while holding a red-hot poker.
Drip…
A single tear fell from the eyes of the woman tied to the chair. She flinched, watching us with a mixture of terror and deep-seated despair.
“Excuse me.”
“…What is it?”
And that right there—unbeknownst to me—was the moment I began digging my own grave.
“Actually, I know a bit about the language that woman is speaking.”
““……..?””
Behind me, Professor Moriarty’s lips slowly curled into a frigid smile. I decided to ignore it.
*
“Adler~”
The men prepared a chair for me to sit in, eliciting a puzzled expression from the tortured woman. As I prepared to interpret, a languid voice echoed from beside me.
“…Professor? Haven’t you left yet?”
“Well, it seems we no longer need to search for an interpreter, do we?”
“Ah.”
“And there is something I am curious about.”
The Professor tilted her head, flashing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“How do you know a language that even I am unaware of?”
“Ah, maybe you know it, but it’s just not clicking right now…?”
“Adler. Everything in this world has its own probability.”
“Uh…”
“I want an answer that fits the probability accurately.”
I tried to brush off the question, but the Professor’s sharp gaze made it clear that wouldn’t work.
“…I am a devil, so I can understand a diverse set of languages? Even ones that may have eluded you, Professor.”
“That’s quite a convenient setup.”
“Well, what can I do if it’s true? Haha…”
When I squeezed out a somewhat plausible excuse that fit the "probability" of the scenario, the Professor—finding it cute for some reason—patted my head and whispered.
“…Just out of curiosity, are you planning to charm that lady?”
“Definitely not.”
“I’ll make it clear either way.”
I quickly nodded, straightening my posture at the clear note of threat lingering in her voice.
“If you seduce her, I’ll be showing you our child this time next year.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
A brief moment of silence ensued.
“If you’re ready, let’s begin.”
The man who had been waiting for our conversation to end stepped forward.
“First, could you ask that lady if she has any intention of revealing the location of the documents?”
Do you have any intention of handing over the location of the documents?
As I relayed the message in Korean, a momentary look of confusion flashed across her exhausted face.
—Who are you?
—………
—Why is a foreigner speaking Korean?
As she uttered a longer sentence than usual, the men began to murmur in low voices.
“Clearly, he can communicate with her…”
“Didn’t I tell you? This place is very reliable.”
“…Hey, but what is she even saying?”
One of the men turned to me expectantly.
“She’s still too flustered to speak properly…” I explained calmly.
“Is that so…?”
The man’s gaze turned icy.
Slap!
“Ugh…!”
“Would you please tell her to get her act together and answer properly…?”
The man slapped the woman’s cheek with all his might, then flashed me a grin.
I’ll ask you once more. Do you have no intention of handing over the documents?
—You might as well kill me!
Following the brutal slap, I asked her again, only to have a venomous response thrown back at me.
Are you not concerned for your life?
—I would rather die than hand over documents that hold the fate of my nation!
They will treat you horrendously, you know.
At the men’s request, I issued another light threat. Her body began to tremble violently.
—…It doesn’t matter.
Perhaps the torture she had endured flashed before her eyes, as her complexion turned pale as a sheet, but her resolve remained steadfast.
“What does she say?”
“Um…”
The men, sensing the atmosphere, asked without much hope. I looked at the woman’s scarred face and then at the men quietly fondling their torture tools.
“She says she has a condition.”
I closed my eyes tightly and lied.
“A condition… you say?”
“Yes, that’s what she’s saying. I don’t know what the condition is yet.”
There wasn’t a logical reason for me to do this.
“Hmm…”
“Maybe we should continue the conversation?”
“…Ask what the condition is.”
It was just my capricious heart that led me to conduct this farce.
What is the condition?
(Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.)
“…….!?”
Much like the original story, The Greek Interpreter, I began to add hidden commentary to the words I conveyed to her.
[Warning!]
[Probability of Exposure — 75%]
Seeing the system message, I smirked and continued the conversation.
Respond quickly.
(I will help you.)
—Ah…?
I had been fired from my previous job because I couldn't choose between good and evil. It seemed history was repeating itself.
*
Squeak…
Meanwhile, as Adler began risking his life to start his trademark havoc…
“We’ve arrived.”
“Yes, thank you for your efforts.”
In the dangerous back alley where Adler and the others were located, an incongruously ornate carriage—one that did not fit the grime of the location—appeared.
“Ah, there’s no need for you all to get out.”
“But…!”
“…This is a matter of national importance.”
A very familiar face descended from the carriage, supported by her subordinates.
“Furthermore, this is a matter that must be handled by unofficial means.”
““………””
“I trust you understand what I mean.”
Mycrony Holmes, her voice gentle, began strolling along the road with her hands clasped behind her back.
“…By the way, is it just me, or is there a familiar scent of vampires here?”
Her eyes, which had been half-closed for weeks, were now thin slits carrying a razor-sharp glint.