Chapter 21: The Tiger’s Lair
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 21: The Tiger’s Lair
“…What did you just say?”
It had only been a few hours since I realized my life was hanging by a thread, all thanks to the karma system I’d triggered as a reward for solving the case.
“As you’ve already heard, Miss Wilson…”
I was meeting Diana Wilson, a victim of the Red Mana League incident, at a cafe near the Auguste Detective Academy.
“I have no more business with you.”
To be precise, I was severing our ties.
“Let’s part ways here.”
Upon hearing those words, Wilson stared at me, her expression frozen in shock.
“………”
Almost simultaneously, the weight of several gazes pressed down on us from around the cafe.
Most of the patrons gave me cold, knowing looks, as if they had expected me to pull a stunt like this eventually. They soon turned away, their interest waning. Given that these were ordinary citizens in a public cafe, not students at the academy, it seemed Isaac Adler’s reputation for this sort of thing was truly widespread.
“Why… at least tell me why.”
“………”
“Please, tell me the reason.”
I let out a quiet sigh as Diana Wilson pressed for an answer, her face turning deathly pale.
“…You want to know why?”
In truth, the reason was simple.
I was already overwhelmed just trying to complete the main quests; I couldn’t possibly handle her on top of everything else. This didn’t just apply to her; it went for every stakeholder and client involved in the cases to come.
The original Sherlock Holmes canon consisted of sixty cases—fifty-six short stories and four novels. In this world, those had been adapted into sixty individual episodes, supplemented by a slew of "original" cases added by the game’s developers.
It was exhausting enough dealing with the main characters associated with the main quest. Maintaining relationships with every single person involved in those dozens of episodes was a logistical nightmare. I couldn’t even fathom the level of burnout I’d face if I tried to be everyone’s hero.
Thus, I had to establish a rule.
From now on, when a case ended, my relationship with the characters involved ended with it.
The only exceptions would be figures like the Queen of Bohemia or Lady Joan Clay—people who might actually be of use to my future endeavors and survival. Given my current situation and the sheer difficulty of managing the main quest cast, it was an inevitable, if cold, decision.
Besides, getting involved with me is a death sentence anyway.
Moreover, this was for Diana Wilson’s own good, as well as any other connections I might make. I was currently under the threat of assassination by an unidentified entity—someone even the reputation system couldn’t pin down.
Starting with the recent mansion explosion, countless dangers were bound to come my way. I didn’t want innocent people dragged into the crossfire just because they knew me. Especially not a girl who had just escaped a ticking clock and was finally looking toward a future.
“I’m tired of you.”
Closing my eyes tight, I spat the harsh words at the trembling girl across from me.
“From the start, you were just bait to lure out Charlotte Holmes.”
“What do you mean…?”
“The only thing I was ever interested in was her.”
She stared at me in utter disbelief.
“Thank you for acting as the bridge between us, Miss Diana.”
Suppressing a wave of overwhelming guilt, I forced the words out. After a long moment of shivering under my gaze, Diana Wilson’s hand moved toward the glass of water on the table.
Splash!
A second later, I was drenched in ice-cold water.
“I had hoped… to go on my last journey with you,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes as she stood up to look down at me. “You absolute trash of a man.”
With that final indictment, Diana Wilson turned her back on me.
“…Just drop dead.”
Leaving that short, powerful curse behind, she walked out of the cafe.
“Take care, Miss Wilson,” I murmured, a bitter chuckle escaping my lips as the other patrons stole glances at me before looking away. “Stay safe.”
Though it had only been a week, the time I spent with her had been genuinely enjoyable.
I wondered if she had received the anonymous letter I sent, suggesting that the clue to lifting her curse lay in Romania. If she lived in the land known as the origin of vampires, she—a pureblood by nature—might find a way to extend her lifespan.
I sincerely pray she finds peace and happiness there.
*
“Hello, Mr. Adler.”
“……?”
Just as I was about to get up and leave, a male student approached and addressed me.
“May I sit with you for a moment?”
I looked at him with a puzzled expression, wondering if I knew him. It wasn't until he leaned in and whispered softly in my ear that I recognized him.
“Miss Nurse, we’re even now, aren’t we?”
“…Miss Holmes?”
Charlotte Holmes, disguised as a man, gave me a triumphant look and slid into the seat right next to me.
“Um…”
Specifically, she sat right beside me, rather than across from me.
“…No, never mind.”
I wanted to ask why she was sitting so close, but I swallowed my words under her piercing gaze.
“What you just said—was it true?”
“Pardon?”
I cocked my head at her even tone.
“Your reason for courting Diana Wilson.”
“Ah.”
“Was it truly just to establish a connection with me?”
Of course, that wasn't the only reason I had pursued Wilson.
“…Yes.”
However, there was a grain of truth to it, and for some reason, I felt compelled to nod in agreement.
“………”
Charlotte subtly avoided my gaze, resting her chin on her hand while her legs swung back and forth under the table.
“You really are the worst.”
For a fleeting second, I thought I saw a blush creep onto her face, but I dismissed it as a trick of my imagination.
“So, the reason you never told her that you were the one who lifted her curse and saved her life… was that also because of this?”
“I achieved my goal. It’s only right to end a half-hearted relationship, isn’t it?”
“Scum.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
I rubbed my eyes, offering a cold smirk to Charlotte, who was always so blunt with her words.
“I’m glad I didn’t send that telegram revealing the truth to her, then.”
“What did you say?”
My eyes widened in surprise at her sudden statement.
“When you showed up at the academy the next day and the incident was dismissed as a mere coincidence, I didn't have the chance to tell the truth to our client, Miss Wilson.”
“What are you talking about?”
“And since she suddenly decided to leave England today, I had planned to send a telegram to her hotel in Romania, revealing everything.”
I felt a cold sweat break out on my forehead.
“If I had sent it, Miss Wilson would have only realized the truth upon her arrival, wouldn't she?”
“………”
“She would have realized that the man who took the vampire’s curse onto himself on her behalf—the man who became a walking time bomb for her sake—was the same man she just doused with water and told to drop dead.”
Struggling to maintain my composure, I spoke up. “I’ll say it again: I am not living on borrowed time. That isn't going to happen to me.”
“That was a close call. Given Miss Wilson’s weakened state, she might not have been able to leave Romania even if she knew the truth.”
“………”
“And what if the radical members of the Red Mana League, who have been distanced from Mr. Adler, approached a weakened Miss Wilson?”
Holmes continued her hypothetical scenario, a small smile lingering on her androgynous face.
“In Romania, the homeland of vampires, she might have become the new leader of the Red Mana League. She might have spent the rest of her life hunting you down.”
“Miss Holmes, I didn't realize you had the soul of a novelist.”
“I’m not joking. It’s a scenario that could very well happen.”
Holmes’s eyes glinted darkly as she leaned in closer.
“What if I, knowing the whole truth, were to send a telegram to that Romanian hotel right now?”
“…Are you threatening me?”
“You’ve hit the nail on the head, Mr. Adler.”
I let out a long, weary sigh. “What do you want?”
“I need you to come somewhere with me.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m quite busy today.”
“Are you sure you want to refuse?”
When I stood my ground, Holmes began to whisper urgently into my ear.
“That woman at the table over there is watching you.”
“What?”
“A few months ago, she devoted everything to you, only to be discarded.”
I shifted my gaze to the table she indicated. In the corner sat a woman staring at me with a spine-chilling, vacant intensity.
“There are two more just like her. Second table to the right, third table to the left.”
“That’s not a man… that’s a woman… and she’s…”
Ssshhh…
Beside her, another woman was muttering to herself with a look of pure loathing, while a schoolgirl with lifeless eyes sat nearby, idly fiddling with a steak knife.
“Did you not notice they’ve been tailing you?”
“Uh, well…”
“By the way, that person over there, peeping at us from behind the large newspaper, is Miss Gia Lestrade.”
“Ah, I recognized that one.”
Lestrade’s disguise was laughably poor; she had been spying on me for a while. As I muttered to myself, Holmes whispered in my ear once more.
“If you don’t follow me right now, you’re going to die.”
[Warning]
• Probability of Assassination: 69%
It was then that I realized the terrifying accuracy of the probabilities I had checked earlier.
“I guess I have no choice.”
“Hmm.”
As I linked arms with Holmes, she rose from her seat with a satisfied smile.
“I’ll hold off on sending that message to Miss Wilson for now.”
Unbeknownst to her, Professor Moriarty had already executed the very plan she had described to me that morning.
[Warning]
• Probability of Confinement: 36% → 40%
• Probability of Kidnapping: 21% → 25%
Because of this, in a few months’ time, a secret organization directly under Moriarty would be born in Romania. And I, the man who would become both their target and the person under their protection, had no clue.
*
“We’re here.”
“…Holmes.”
We had successfully shaken off the crazed women and the poorly-disguised Gia Lestrade.
“Where exactly is…”
I froze as I looked up at the sign on the building Holmes was pointing to.
[Diogenes Club]
“It’s the quietest place in England. The perfect hideout.”
I prayed my suspicions were wrong, but Charlotte’s next words shattered that hope.
“For your information, my lazy older sister is the president here.”
I had willingly walked into the den of the woman who practically was the British government.
[Mycrony Holmes is watching you closely.]
Please save me, Professor Moriarty.