Chapter 212: The Sign of Four
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 212: The Sign of Four
“Adler.”
“………”
Through the hazy fog of my consciousness, the professor’s gentle voice drifted into my ears.
“Adler. Wake up.”
“Ugh…”
“I know you’re faking it. You’d better open your eyes before I ravish you like the horny mutt you are.”
“…Eek!”
I desperately wanted to keep my eyes shut, but those words made them snap open instantly. I bolted upright.
“……?”
An unfamiliar room came into focus. It wasn’t exactly dusty or dilapidated, but it didn’t feel welcoming either. The lighting was dim, and the air felt heavy with claustrophobia.
“Where are we, Professor?”
“Oh, you mean this place?”
As I looked around warily, the professor answered with an utterly nonchalant expression.
“This is the basement of my manor.”
“What?”
“The walls are lined with solid silver, and a holy cross hangs just outside the only exit.”
I could hardly believe my ears as she continued.
“A demon like you is better subdued by magical confinement than by mere iron chains.”
“Wait a moment, Professor…”
“No. I won’t give you another moment. Shut your mouth.”
I tried to speak cautiously, but the professor was resolute.
“…You have tested my patience far too much.”
“What did I even do…”
“I cast aside the pride and purity I’ve maintained my entire life just to bed you. And in return? You go off to meddle with that thieving detective and that mutt from Scotland Yard.”
“……..”
“Adler. Who is next? That ungrateful beast who thinks of nothing but rutting with you? Or that fox-like vampire who acts demure while secretly expanding her influence behind your back? Or perhaps your young bodyguard, whose hands are still stained with the blood of a lifetime of slaughter?”
I was starting to feel a bit indignant, but the professor’s sheer intensity made those thoughts vanish instantly.
“Just calm down…”
—Thud!
“…Argh.”
Perhaps my expression gave me away. The professor, her eyes frigid and irritated, punched me square in the gut.
“From now on, your home is this basement.”
“…….”
“Do you understand?”
“Ye-Yes…”
She murmured in a chilling voice, her fist tightening as if ready to strike again. I nodded frantically, desperate to appease her.
“I’m glad you understand your situation.”
Satisfied, the professor turned and headed out of the room.
I knew I’d end up confined eventually.
[Just to remind you, this doesn’t even qualify as confinement.]
…What?
I muttered gloomily to myself as I watched her retreating figure, but my mind went blank when the System’s message appeared.
[The 100% confinement rate I mentioned refers to a state of detention where both body and mind are completely incapacitated, with zero possibility of escape—forever.]
……..
[Compared to that, this is practically protective custody.]
What the hell was she yapping about now?
Perhaps because the System was tasked with managing this insane world, its logic had become just as twisted as the world itself. That was the only logical explanation.
“Oh, I almost forgot to mention something.”
As I pondered my escape from this Anti-Demon Chamber, the professor’s amused voice broke the silence.
“…A different species—no, that’s not it. Hmm.”
“……?”
“I should tell you, I am actually infertile. However, I recently discovered a magic that can solve that problem.”
Why did chills immediately start racing down my spine?
“To complete the spell, I require your genetic material. You’ll need to cooperate with me daily from now on.”
“…….”
“Why the long face, dear? Don’t we need an heir for the kingdom we’re going to build?”
My face didn't just pale because a permanent tether to this world was about to be forced upon me.
[Warning!]
[Erosion Rate: 80% → 90%]
[The world is in grave danger.]
At that exact moment, a dire warning flashed before my eyes. The erosion rate had hit 90%.
[It seems the true adversary of this world is finally making their move.]
“…….”
[The grace period is three months at most. It might even be less.]
That meant my original six-month plan had to be condensed into three.
[Will you be able to finish all the quests in time?]
[If not, you can just return home and leave poor me and this world behind. I’ll just quietly resent you from afar.]
“What do you take me for?”
Of course I could do it.
[Really? I thought you’d start whining again…]
“There’s one condition, though.”
Something was bothering me.
“If you could just go on a date with me in your human form later…”
[Go rot and die, you man-whore!]
How could Lovecraft—still a young girl so naive that simple leading questions could reveal her identity—possibly have orchestrated such a vast scheme on her own?
*
“Hmm?”
While Isaac Adler was busy pondering yet another suicidal suggestion from the System…
“Oh, I didn’t realize we had guests.”
Professor Jane Moriarty had ascended from the basement to the living room. A sly, toothy grin played on her lips as she murmured to herself.
“………”
Meanwhile, Charlotte Holmes and Gia Lestrade, who had already commandeered the living room table, glared at her in silence.
“You two, despite appearances, are a detective and an inspector, are you not? You should know that this constitutes breaking and entering without a warrant.”
“…We are aware.”
“Then you must also understand that if I were to kill you right now, it would be considered self-defense, yes?”
Unflinching, they met Moriarty’s menacing gaze.
“Try it if you think you can.”
“I share Holmes’ sentiment.”
“It is truly displeasing to see inferior beings act so arrogant.”
The atmosphere, as usual, began to reach a boiling point.
—Rumble, rumble!
The relatively clear weather suddenly shifted into a storm, complete with thunder and lightning. The brief stalemate was about to end in violence.
“…Wait! Time out!”
Just before the situation exploded into a bloodbath, a young man’s shout caused the air in the room to freeze.
“Time out!”
Despite the elaborate confinement room Moriarty had prepared, Adler burst into the room, stepping between the three women with a playful smirk.
“………”
A chilling silence followed his arrival.
“…Any last words before you die?”
In the silence, Professor Moriarty noticed out of the corner of her eye that the cross she had set up was now hanging upside down. She spoke in an eerily calm voice.
“I have a proposal for all of you.”
“Shut up.”
“Quiet.”
“I don’t care what you’re talking about, just shut the hell up.”
Adler’s expression fell slightly at the murderous voices that erupted simultaneously from the three women.
“…But I was going to choose my favorite among you.”
At those words, the three women, who hadn’t even deigned to look at Adler, froze.
“What did he just say?”
“What the hell did you say?”
“What did you say?”
They turned their gaze toward him in perfect unison.
“I said I’m going to choose my favorite among you.”
“””………..”””
“So, how about we stop fighting for a moment, sit down, and listen to what I have to say?”
Slowly, the three women took their seats, quietly observing one another.
*
“Now, would you mind signing here first?”
Professor Moriarty, Charlotte, and Lestrade sat around the table, looking far too demure for women who had been radiating killing intent moments ago.
“Well, it’s nothing complicated. To summarize the key points…”
“One of us, whom you choose, must be designated as your unique, lifelong partner.”
“Yes. The deadline is in three months. I need time to think as well.”
“Those not chosen must accept the outcome without question.”
“For someone who enjoys playing tricks with contracts, this is surprisingly clean and simple.”
As they scanned the document Isaac Adler had placed on the table, they each spoke up.
“Putting us aside… what are the penalties you’ll incur if this contract is breached?”
Lestrade, showing an unusual flash of sharpness, threw out the question.
“…It’s simple. If I break it, I die.”
“””……..”””
“And the same goes for you.”
Moriarty and Lestrade seemed satisfied with the answer, but Charlotte looked at him with a sour expression.
“But you’re a…”
“Don’t say that death means nothing to a demon. I am talking about permanent eradication from this world, soul and all.”
“……..”
Adler’s immediate response left Charlotte momentarily speechless. She murmured in a low voice.
“What, so… I’ve been worried over nothing…”
“…According to ancient texts, a demon can reincarnate even after death, though it usually comes with the side effect of losing their memories.”
Seeing her reaction, Professor Moriarty chuckled.
“Well, it’s understandable if one lacks knowledge. No need to apologize.”
“Would you mind shutting up? Your reaction just now suggests you didn’t know that until recently either.”
“Ignorance is not a sin, Miss Holmes. One should always strive to augment their knowledge, as I do…”
—Swoosh.
Just as their verbal sparring was about to reignite…
—Click, clack.
“”……..!””
Lestrade, who had been listening with an impassive face, suddenly picked up a pen and signed her name first.
“Excuse me. Are you aware of what that document signifies, Inspector Lestrade?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Yet you seem fearless.”
Charlotte and Moriarty both remarked on Lestrade’s bold move. She simply shrugged.
“Well, Adler wouldn’t choose anyone but me, would he?”
“……..”
Charlotte and Moriarty stared at her with frigid expressions.
—Rustle, rustle.
A silent battle of wills ensued as they sequentially signed the contract.
“It’s your turn now.”
Time passed uneventfully.
“Don’t even think about tampering with the document. You cannot deceive the eyes of the three of us…”
“Wait, that’s odd.”
Charlotte handed the document to Adler, but Professor Moriarty tilted her head, interrupting.
“As far as I know, that document is written with your unique mana, so your signature isn’t strictly necessary.”
“Is that so?”
“But then, why are there four signature lines?”
Charlotte and Lestrade looked puzzled.
“Ah! Look over there!”
Adler pointed behind them, his eyes wide with feigned shock.
“……….”
Having been through hell and back with Adler, not a single one of them turned around.
—Swoosh!
“Oh.”
The contract in Adler’s hand swiftly transformed into a card with a Joker drawn on it, visible to everyone.
“…Ehehe.”
Adler scratched his head with an innocent expression, gauging their reactions.
—Swoosh.
“…Um, everyone.”
As the three women stood up with expressionless faces, he began to mutter in a cowering voice.
“You’re not going to hit me, are you?”
*
“Haa…”
Meanwhile, high above the clouds of London…
“…This is it.”
The French phantom thief, her cloak billowing in the wind, smiled to herself as she looked at the document in her hand.
—Flick!
“…….!”
The moment was brief.
“Argh…”
Barely dodging a bullet that screamed up from below, she lost her balance and began to fall.
“You pilfering, baguette-choking, frog-guzzling wretch! How dare you challenge the Master’s authority!”
“…Where did you even learn such language?”
As she plummeted, Lupin caught sight of Celestia Moran and Princess Clay glaring fiercely at her from the ground.
—Gooooooooo…
The next moment, Lupin felt the weight of every woman’s gaze in London targeting the document in her hand.
“…Is voyeurism legal in Britain, by any chance?”
The right to the Fourth Signature—essentially a bidding ticket for the lifetime ownership of Adler—marked the beginning of a bloody struggle.