Chapter 195: The Five Orange Pips
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 195: The Five Orange Pips
Knock, knock, knock—
"Who is it?"
Several days had already passed since Adler had been placed under protective custody in Lestrade’s home.
"Adler! I’ve brought you some food."
"…Ah, it’s you."
Adler, who had been lying idly on the bed in Lestrade’s room playing word games with the System as usual, looked up with a bright smile as the inspector’s little sister entered.
"As always, thank you…"
"Hehe."
Adler gently stroked her hair as she set the tray down by his bed. He leaned in and whispered softly.
"It seems your elder sister is surprisingly good at cooking."
"What?"
"This is good enough to be served in a restaurant."
He tilted his head toward her, his eyes clouded with an absent-minded, dreamy look.
"Uh, I’m the one who cooked it, though…?"
"Eh?"
"Until two days ago, my sister did the cooking, but she cut her hand pretty badly with a knife."
"…Oh dear."
"So I’m cooking instead! Because I’m actually really good at it!"
Seizing the moment, the inspector’s sister began to brag, her expression bright with excitement.
"How commendable of you."
"Ah… Hehe…"
"What is your name?"
Seeing Adler smiling at her, she blushed and fidgeted, twisting her body shyly as she answered.
"I-I’m Gina Lestrade…"
"…Ah, so it’s Gina."
"Mhm."
When Adler suddenly said her name, she momentarily lost her composure and let out a small gasp.
"Could you perhaps help me get out of the house? It’s as if I’m under some kind of spell… I just can’t seem to leave on my own."
"W-W-Why? Uh, my sister told me not to let you out…"
"It’s because your sister hurt her hand while cooking for me. I want to go out and buy something to repay the favor…"
Adler gave her an innocent, pleading smile.
"But my memory is a bit shaky right now, you see? I don’t know the area very well."
Losing your memory is quite convenient, isn’t it?
"So, I’d like to go shopping with you, Gina…"
"…!"
Upon hearing his words, her eyes widened briefly before a mischievous, almost sinister smirk stretched across her lips.
"If that’s the case… I should definitely accompany you…"
…Good. This is my escape.
How much of his memory has he lost? Did he forget basic knowledge too? If that’s the case…
Just as the mismatched intentions of the boy and girl were about to unfold—
"I’m sorry, but that won’t be necessary."
"…!"
A slightly gruff voice came from behind the firmly closed door.
"Your warm sentiments are enough for me."
"Ah, Sis."
"You should go do the shopping yourself."
The door swung open, and Inspector Lestrade appeared, dressed in her uniform with her cap pressed down low. After a sharp glance at her younger sister, the girl bowed her head and scurried out the door.
"…Tch."
"……"
With that, only the two of them were left in the house, which was now enveloped in a heavy silence.
"Have your memories started to return?"
"Ah, no. I’m still not sure…"
Amid the silence, Lestrade tilted her head and asked gently. Adler hurriedly averted his gaze and spoke.
"B-By the way… were you a police officer, perhaps?"
"…I am currently serving as an inspector at the Metropolitan Police Service of London."
"W-Wow, that’s impressive…!"
Adler’s eyes twinkled as he acted like he was hearing this for the first time.
"But… don’t you think it would be tough to manage both police work and household chores at the same time?"
"…?"
"So… I mean… should I go work outside and earn some money?"
"Oh, that won’t be a problem."
Hearing his hesitant words, Lestrade blushed and shifted her weight, looking remarkably like her sister had moments ago.
"…After all, you were the homemaker from the very beginning."
"What?"
"I-I’ve always been the one earning the money… and you took care of the house."
Adler’s eyes began to waver.
"R-Really…?"
Just as he had lost half of his autonomy to Charlotte and could no longer run from her, Adler had become unable to escape Lestrade due to the Marriage Contract.
So far, he had managed to slip away by catching her off guard, but now that Lestrade was patrolling the house with grim determination, even that had become impossible.
Thus, Adler had resorted to feigning memory loss to tempt Lestrade into circumventing the contract.
"Yes, it’s true."
"Ah… haha."
But Lestrade, who had become obsessed with keeping him confined for some reason, was not fooled by his tricks.
"By the way."
"…?"
"…I’m off duty now."
As Adler quietly resigned himself to his fate, Lestrade stepped forward and muttered.
"When we were dating, you always used to do it… won’t you do it now?"
…I’m going to go insane.
At those words, Adler almost lost his composure, but he quickly forced a blush and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Mwah…
"…Mmm."
As Adler gently kissed her lips, Inspector Gia Lestrade’s body twitched, and she bit her lip.
Flutter…
An unknown amount of time passed like that.
"…Thank you."
With a blushing face turned slightly away, Lestrade murmured in a voice barely above a whisper while covering her mouth.
"N-N-Next is the cheek…"
Pop—!
"…!?"
Carefully holding onto the hem of Adler’s shirt, she was about to offer her burning cheek to him when her eyes suddenly sharpened with vigilance. She jerked her head to the side.
Crackle—!
The next moment, with superhuman speed, she reached out and shattered the window, catching a barrage of projectiles moving toward her in quick succession.
"…It seems there is a mosquito."
Clink…
"D-Do mosquitoes make a metallic sound these days…?"
"In any case, it’s merely a mosquito."
Lestrade glanced out the window with a murderous glint in her eyes. She hid something resembling a bullet behind her back and corrected Adler’s statement.
Swoosh…
"Ah…"
Silently, she laid Adler back on the bed and pulled the duvet over him.
"These days, mosquitoes are becoming quite a nuisance."
"I-Is that so…?"
"But don’t worry. Whether they are grey mosquitoes, black mosquitoes, or any other nasty little buggers, I will block them all."
After whispering that into Adler’s ear, Lestrade looked down at him. Seeing him staring back with a frightened, wary gaze, she spoke again.
"Speaking of which."
"…?"
"F-From today on… I would like to start sleeping as we used to."
Adler stared at her in silence, too stunned to speak.
"What do you mean, 'as we used to'…?"
"Sh-Sharing the same bed… covering ourselves with the same duvet… and sleeping while holding hands."
"Ah…"
"Sh-Shall we try it? Not right away, but we should at least practice…"
Lestrade, her heart pounding rapidly, was about to climb onto the bed where Adler lay with trembling eyes when—
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
Suddenly, the sound of the doorbell echoed from the living room.
"…Please wait a moment."
"Ye-Yes…"
Adler, watching from under the covers as Lestrade sat halfway mounted over him, nodded quickly. Lestrade let out a sigh of frustration before stepping out of the room.
"……"
Then, there was silence.
"Holmes. I’ve told you several times. Adler isn’t here…"
Lestrade’s voice rang out clearly before abruptly cutting off.
"Hey…"
"……"
"What’s going on?"
Curiously peering out, Adler called toward the living room.
"Ah, it’s nothing. Just a package."
"…A package?"
"Yes, and… what is this?"
Responding nonchalantly, Lestrade picked up something resting on top of the package, tilting her head in confusion.
"…Orange seeds?"
After opening the envelope, she mumbled with a puzzled expression.
"What kind of person sends just five orange seeds in such an expensive envelope…"
Bang—!!!
"…!?"
In the very next moment, Adler, who had been staring blankly into space, suddenly turned pale. He dashed out of the room with all his might.
"Get down!!!"
"Ah…?"
Desperately, he lunged at the inspector, embracing her tightly as black wings erupted from his back.
Tick-tock, tick-tock…
"…Could it be?"
Tick—!
A low, ominous ticking that had been echoing from the package suddenly grew loud as the mechanism inside activated.
Boooooooooooom—!!!!!
With a tremendous roar, a pillar of flame erupted, shattering the inspector’s house and dyeing the darkening London sky in a bloody red hue.
.
.
.
.
.
"…Ah."
Meanwhile, at that same time.
"Ah…?"
From a forest not far from the inspector’s house, Celestia Moran—who had been eagerly waiting for a chance to snipe her target—wore a blank expression as she watched the towering flames rise into the sky.
"……"
It was the same for the members of The Last Ceasefire, who had been surrounding the house from multiple angles in a tense but quiet standoff.
"…Who the hell is responsible for this?"
On that very day, as those words escaped their lips simultaneously, not only London but the entire British Empire was thrown into an uproar like no other.