Chapter 217: Deal
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 217: Deal
A few hours after the grand finale of London’s largest treasure hunt...
“… Ugh.”
Rachel Watson, the victor, lay sprawled on a cold floor. Dazed but feeling oddly refreshed, she sat up and stretched with a long yawn.
“What the hell?”
She froze a second later, her eyes clouding with confusion.
“Where am I…?”
Instead of the familiar, cracked ceiling of 221B Baker Street, she was staring at an opulent, lavishly decorated ceiling she had never seen before.
“What did I do last night…?”
Grimacing, she tried to piece together the previous day's events.
“It was a holiday, so I went to the racetrack… I lost horribly on every bet… In frustration, I ended up at a pub… And then… um…”
Her memory was a hazy blur, likely the result of drowning her sorrows in enough alcohol to bypass her tolerance entirely.
“Did I do something weird? I feel like I was watching something that looked like a horse race…”
Muttering to herself with a troubled expression, she started to stand up.
Slosh…♥︎
“… Huh?”
Suddenly, a heavy sense of fullness and warmth shifted in her lower abdomen. Her legs gave way instantly, and she collapsed back onto the floor.
“What did I eat yesterday…?”
“What you ate…”
“… Huh?”
Just then, she heard the faint, muffled sound of someone sobbing nearby.
“……..!”
Watson whipped her head around, her half-closed eyes widening in pure shock.
“Was me… You ate me…”
Isaac Adler—the man she had vowed to kill after that miserable day—was twitching on a dining table beside her, his palms pressed over his eyes.
“Please… I was wrong… I was wrong, okay…?”
He was completely naked, bound in shimmering silver ropes, his breath hitching in hot, ragged gasps.
“Please stop… just stop it…”
“……..”
“No, thinking about it, you didn’t listen even when I screamed myself hoarse… It’s pointless…”
Watson stared at the prominent bite marks and scratches decorating his shoulders. The realization of the atrocity she had committed finally crashed down on her.
“… Then, please, just be a bit more gentle.”
“Ah…”
It wasn't just him. She realized she was wearing nothing but her white doctor’s coat, as naked underneath as the sobbing man before her.
“Oh, or… please… I’m begging you…”
“………”
“Please, at least use a condom next time…”
It didn't take long for her to realize why her abdomen felt so full, and why her body felt both utterly exhausted and strangely invigorated.
“… Fuck. Bloody fucking fuck!”
“I’m sorry. I’ll just shut up now…”
“……..”
.
.
.
.
.
“Excuse me.”
“Ye-Yes?”
Still half-naked, Rachel Watson sat at the dining table in stony silence for a long while. Suddenly, she shot Adler a look so cold it made him break into a heavy sweat.
“Got a lighter?”
“What?”
“… Can you make a fire?”
“Oh, yes.”
Adler looked puzzled for a moment, but he quickly conjured a small flame with magic. Still glaring at him, Watson leaned in and sparked a cigarette over the magical flame.
“Phew…”
“………”
“… I quit smoking after the surgery. Fuck.”
Taking a deep drag of nicotine, Watson began to curse under her breath.
“Even that drug addict roommate of mine couldn't break my streak… yet a fucking London bastard like you comes along and ruins it…”
“Um… it’s not like Miss Watson was the one violated here. It was me. Why are you the one getting angry…?”
“… Shut up, bastard.”
Easily crushing Adler’s timid protest, she reached out.
Glug, glug, fizz…
“……?”
She grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the table and poured a glass to the brim without hesitation.
“What are you doing?”
“… Hangover cure.”
“What?”
She downed the entire glass in one gulp, recoiled from the burn, and then slumped her head forward.
“Khhaaa…”
“Curing an alcohol overdose with more alcohol…?”
“Just shut the fuck up…”
She was about to snap at Adler’s increasingly pathetic tone when—
Drip…
“Uh.”
The source of her abdominal bloating leaked ever so slightly. Her face turned a deep, vivid crimson, and she bowed her head in absolute shame.
“E-E-Excuse me.”
“…….?”
“There’s something you need to check…”
Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, Adler hesitated before pushing a document toward her.
“Ha.”
Watson, her eyes dark, scanned the paper. She looked up, her expression one of pure incredulity.
“What is this?”
“Um, it’s… a contract signed by your own hand, Miss Watson.”
“… I signed this ridiculous contract?”
Adler could only nod dumbly in response.
“With Professor Moriarty, Holmes… and Inspector Lestrade?”
“Yes.”
“Among the four of us… you will choose one to be your wife?”
“That’s right.”
“You really are out of your mind, aren’t you!?”
Glaring at him with smoldering intensity, Watson threw the contract into Adler’s face and screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Did you really think I would participate in this crap? You are seriously mistaken! I don’t—”
But she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
“I don’t…”
She stammered, her gaze flickering toward Adler before she finally looked away.
“… Listen.”
“Yes?”
“Do you remember what you asked me when we first met?”
After a brief silence, Watson suddenly threw the question out.
“Um…”
“… You really don’t remember, do you?”
As Adler failed to respond while gauging her reaction, her expression turned colder than an arctic wind.
“Forget it. I don’t know what I was expecting…”
Her face etched with disappointment, she rose from her seat.
“Let’s pretend today never happened. Take it to the grave. It’s better for both of us…”
“… Your eyes are lovely.”
“…….!”
Just as she was about to walk out, Adler’s uncertain remark made her stop dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Do you… remember?”
“Uh… no, that’s not it…”
Adler seemed more startled by her reaction than anything else.
“I just suddenly thought your eyes looked quite lovely.”
As he muttered this with a dazed expression, Watson’s eyebrows twitched. She remained turned away from him.
“What was the reason for that?” she asked, pausing. “You’re a piece of shit who charms women with your looks, ruins them in a few days, and then discards them to start the cycle all over again…”
“T-That’s a bit harsh.”
“… Then why did you meet me in such a normal way? Why was there no significant physical contact for months?”
Finally, she posed the question that had been gnawing at her—the one she never had the courage to ask.
“And why did you leave my side overnight? I really don’t understand… I don’t understand any of it…”
“That’s…”
“… What was your purpose in approaching me?”
A heavy silence enveloped the room.
“Do you want to know?” Adler asked softly.
“… Yes.”
“There’s one condition.”
In the quiet, Adler’s eyes shone with a scheming light as he made his proposal.
“I need to go abroad for a while. Will you come with me as my personal physician?”
“As your doctor…?”
“I have to… cough, hack.”
He was interrupted by a violent coughing fit.
“I have to last three months, at least… you see.”
“…….!”
A moment later, he raised his head. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
“… If you help me this time, I’ll tell you the reason after the three months are up. What do you say?”
As if it were nothing, Adler wiped the blood with his sleeve. His voice carried an almost imperceptible quiver. Watson observed him for a long, long time before finally speaking.
“Exactly where are we going? I’m a busy person. I can’t go too far.”
At her question, Adler checked his remaining quests.
◈ Quests
1. Make Watson confess to you again.
2. Maximize the killing intent Charlotte Holmes and Professor Moriarty have for each other.
3. Maximize the danger level of the organization...
He quickly turned back to Watson.
“It’s not too far. Just the USA.”
“The USA is incredibly far!”
“That’s alright. I’ll cover all the expenses.”
“Haaa…”
Feeling a throbbing headache coming on at his cheeky response, Watson let out a pained sigh.
“So, where is it?”
“Ah, there’s one more favor I need to ask.”
Adler leaned in and whispered, his voice even softer than before.
“Please kidnap me.”
“… The hell?”
In his eyes, the terrifying scene beyond the windows was reflected.
“If I don’t use this opportunity, I might get raped repeatedly for the next three months…”
“……..”
“… Please save me.”
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Meanwhile, outside Professor Moriarty’s mansion...
“Move!! You damn bitches!!!”
“I won’t allow it!!! Who decided you could determine Adler’s ownership amongst yourselves?!”
“Monopolizing public goods is illegal!!! This is no different from a trade blockade!!! It’s basic common sense!!!”
In the yard, more than half the women of London—including the runners-up of the treasure hunt—were rioting with crazed eyes.
“… I really dislike crowds.”
“Yes, it seems so.”
“… Is London really going to be alright at this rate?”
Professor Moriarty, Charlotte Holmes, and Gia Lestrade stood together, facing the mob head-on.
“Wait~”
Simultaneously, they turned their heads at a voice from behind.
“Excuse me, I need to get through.”
“”………?””
Their gazes landed on Rachel Watson, who was stepping out of the mansion carrying a notably large briefcase.
“I’m totally unrelated to this case. I only got involved because I was drunk, and personally, I really dislike Adler. I’m sure many here are aware of just how much I detest that man, right?”
Thud, thud…
“So, I’ll just quietly leave now. Goodbye to all…”
She delivered her statement with the utmost composure and began to move naturally through the crowd.
“… Watson.”
Charlotte, wearing a dark smile that didn't reach her eyes, suddenly grabbed Watson’s arm as she passed. She leaned in, her voice a low growl.
“I’m quite curious… what exactly is in that bag?”
Clunk, clunk…
In the ensuing silence, the sound of something shifting inside the briefcase echoed clearly.
“… You don’t need to know.”
“The audacity of this woman…!”