Chapter 25: Piling Karma
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 25: Piling Karma
A few hours after the heart-pounding events at the Diogenes Club—
“… Miss Holmes.”
“………..”
A strange tension hung between Adler and Holmes as they sat inside a quiet coffee house.
“Why have you been acting like this?”
“… What do you mean?”
“You’ve looked rather glum for a while now.”
Adler, who had been uneasily gauging Charlotte’s mood amidst the heavy atmosphere, finally ventured the question.
“……….”
In response, Charlotte simply stared at Adler with an intense, unblinking gaze.
Slide…
“Huh?”
Suddenly, she leaned across the table and thrust her finger into Adler’s mouth.
“……???”
Startled by the abrupt move, Adler could only blink in confusion as he instinctively bit down on her finger. Charlotte leaned in closer, her gaze turning icy as she applied pressure.
“From now on, drink only my blood.”
The sharp, metallic tang of blood from the wound on her finger flooded Adler’s mouth.
““………””
Charlotte tilted her head and rested her chin on her hand, her dark eyes locked onto Adler’s. He instinctively tried to look away.
“That’s how it should be, right?”
“… Miss Holmes.”
“Keep biting, Mr. Adler.”
Adler, who had been slowly trying to pull back, found himself obediently sucking on her finger the moment he heard the chilling edge in Charlotte’s voice.
““………..””
An ominous silence enveloped the coffee house.
“Your drinks are—”
The server, arriving with their order, witnessed the eerie and bizarre scene. His voice trailed off, and he took several cautious steps back.
“… Pfft.”
It was several minutes later that Charlotte’s "blood donation" finally came to an end.
“Just a moment.”
“……?”
As she started to gently withdraw her finger, Adler suddenly caught her hand, earning a puzzled look from her.
“It’s still bleeding. The wound, I mean.”
Adler pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and began to carefully bandage her finger.
“By the way, it seems you’ve finally quit smoking, judging by the faint, pleasant scent on your hands.”
“………”
“You’ve done well. The symptoms of Mana Poisoning have also significantly receded. At this rate, you’ll be no different from an ordinary person in a few months.”
Adler spoke in a gentle tone to Charlotte, who was staring blankly at him.
“… But what is this scent?”
Suddenly, he tilted his head, murmuring to himself.
“It’s somehow… sweet.”
“Saying something like that to a woman… you’re a bad man, Mr. Adler.”
As he leaned in closer to investigate, Charlotte hastily pushed him away.
“If we’re going by that logic… Miss Holmes, you’re the one who suddenly shoved a finger into someone’s mouth…”
“Be quiet.”
Adler had a point, of course, but she couldn't admit it. She certainly didn't want him to find out that the sweet scent was a perfume she had impulsively tried from Watson’s dressing table before leaving the boarding house.
“… Don’t stare at me like that.”
“……?”
Once again, an awkward tension settled between them.
“Miss Holmes.”
“… What is it?”
“I have a question for you.”
Adler, still watching her reactions closely, posed the question softly.
“What exactly is a curse?”
Charlotte’s gaze sharpened as she looked at him.
“What are you getting at, Mr. Adler?”
“I don’t have any ulterior motives. I’m genuinely asking because I don’t know.”
She studied him with a suspicious glare for a moment before sighing.
“Discussing information classified as state secrets in a public café isn't exactly appropriate.”
“… Is that so?”
“Besides, you’ve been afflicted with a curse yourself from the start. You should already be well-acquainted with them.”
As Charlotte spoke, a soft, mocking smile played on her lips.
Shaaa…
Suddenly, a golden message began to manifest on the back of Adler's hand.
｢The 21st has already passed. Why haven’t you come to meet me?｣
｢I waited there for days.｣
｢Is something wrong?｣
Adler stared blankly at the message. As he felt the atmosphere in front of him turn frigid, a cold sweat began to pour down his neck. He slowly raised his head.
“… Look at that.”
Charlotte Holmes was murmuring in a low, airy voice, a thin smile stretched across her face.
“You, too, are tormented by a curse.”
“No, Miss Holmes. I don’t know what this is…”
“Do you know how many crimes I prevented while walking the streets today?”
“Just one…”
Adler tried to explain himself with a composed expression, but his words died in his throat as her smile grew darker.
“If it weren’t for me, Mr. Adler, you would have been chopped into pieces and floating in London’s sewers by now.”
“………”
“Or perhaps tied up from head to toe, trampled under the feet of your enemies.”
A faint, eerie haze began to rise from Charlotte’s body. Only then did Adler notice the phenomenon.
… Am I dreaming?
“Um, I’m thinking of taking a brief rest in the countryside for a few weeks.”
“Excuse me?”
Adler rubbed his eyes and looked at her again, shaking his head in disbelief at her whispered words.
“Why don’t you come along, Mr. Adler?”
“… Me?”
“While I’m recuperating, I can’t bear the thought of my nemesis being killed by amateurs who lack even the basic fundamentals.”
With that, she grabbed Adler’s sleeve and stood up.
“After all, I’m the only one who can dispel the curse that’s been so annoyingly following you around, aren’t I?”
“That’s…”
“Pack your things. I’ve already made train reservations for tomorrow.”
“Wait, just a moment, Miss Holmes.”
Feeling like he was about to be pseudo-kidnapped on the spot, Adler hastily stood up.
“I urgently need to use the restroom. Let’s talk in a moment.”
“…Alright, then.”
Charlotte nodded, her eyes fixed on him.
“After all, London itself is no different from a vast prison for you.”
“………”
“Don’t foolishly disappear and turn up as a corpse. Come back to me soon.”
Adler stared at her for a beat, then responded with a hint of wry amusement.
“You’re awfully persistent, Miss Holmes.”
“This isn’t a joke.”
“You don’t need to threaten me. I’ll provide you with the next riddle soon enough.”
With that whispered exchange, Adler headed toward the restroom outside the cafe.
“… I’m truly not joking.”
As she watched his retreating figure, Charlotte murmured to herself, a slight tinge of genuine worry in her voice.
“Oh dear, Miss Holmes.”
A voice laced with laughter reached her ears from behind.
“Who—”
Frowning, Charlotte began to turn her head, but the words died in her throat. Her eyes widened in shock at the figure sitting behind her.
“You really do look out of sorts.”
In the booth directly behind her, Professor Moriarty was elegantly spooning her sherbet. She waved at Charlotte with a sly, knowing smile.
.
.
.
.
.
“Since when were you sitting there?”
“You’re truly failing as a detective. Asking a question to the very person you should have deduced yourself.”
As Charlotte took her seat, her expression taut with uncharacteristic tension, Moriarty rose gracefully, leaving her drink behind.
“But considering your current state, I’ll give you the answer. I’ve been here from the very beginning.”
“That’s impossible…”
“London doesn’t have only one brilliant mind, Miss Holmes.”
A cold glint flashed in Moriarty’s eyes.
“I, too, have only recently come to realize that fact for certain.”
“…….?”
“A telegram arrived at my office a few hours ago.”
Moriarty sat opposite Charlotte and leaned in, her voice soft and probing.
“Do you happen to have someone close to you who is, in essence, the British government itself, Miss Holmes?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Otherwise, there’s no reason for the government to order an audit of a professor who has only been at Auguste Academy for a year.”
Upon hearing that, Charlotte clenched her fist and muttered under her breath.
… I told you not to interfere, sis.
“Even so, you won’t be able to touch my claim over Isaac Adler.”
Moriarty’s eyes continued to shine as she whispered.
“If you don’t want to worsen Adler’s curse, you might want to hand him over as my assistant sooner rather than later.”
“You seem to be under a rather arrogant misconception. You’re not the only one who can neutralize his curse.”
Their greyish gazes clashed fiercely.
“While he’s asleep, there are others besides you who can silently drip blood into his mouth.”
“………..”
“And you’re not the only one who can discreetly deal with the pests hunting my dear assistant.”
“You seem quite annoyed by me, Professor.”
Charlotte posed the question with a sardonic smile, but Moriarty parried it with a relaxed, effortless expression.
“I’m not bothered by a young lady who doesn’t even know how to properly apply perfume.”
“……….”
“Is today your first time wearing makeup? It looks rather comical. Excessive, even.”
Stung by the humiliation, Charlotte’s face contorted slightly. She shot back in an annoyed tone.
“Regardless, you’re nothing but a tool.”
Moriarty looked down at her with an expression that said, how cute.
“No matter how much you smile, the riddles he creates in the future are meant for me alone.”
“Have you never considered that perhaps… you are just a device for my amusement?”
“Sorry, but there’s absolutely no chance of that.”
“I believe I mentioned before that absolutes do exist, Miss Holmes.”
Moriarty leaned in, her voice a soft whisper.
“This conversation is going in circles.”
“I think so too, Professor.”
Charlotte rose from her seat.
“It seems we have no choice but to end our talk for today.”
“We likely won’t have any more conversations in the future.”
“It seems that way.”
Moriarty rose as well, a sly smile playing on her lips.
“We’ll never have anything to do with each other again.”
“Don’t say such dreadful things.”
“If you had come under my wing, I might have shown you some special consideration.”
“That’s rather presumptuous of you.”
Just as the lines between the two women were being drawn in stone…
“Aaaahhhhhhhh!!”
A piercing scream echoed from outside the coffee house.
“…………”
Both Holmes and Moriarty froze. They turned their heads toward the sound, their expressions instantly turning cold.
“….. Ugh.”
Isaac Adler, the very subject of their dispute, was staggering. He had been stabbed by a knife held by a young girl.
.
.
.
.
.
Mr. Adler…
I knew it would be this person.
While returning to the café from the restroom, I was ambushed by the girl who had been tailing me with a knife. I silently smirked to myself and murmured…
“The Speckled Band.”
Now Holmes and the Professor won’t have to worry about being bored.
“It was the Speckled Band… that thing.”
At that very moment, a message flashed before my eyes.
[Probability Error!]
– Case: The canon event—The Secret of the Speckled Band—has a critically low probability of transpiring!
– Key: Ensure the case’s probability to prevent the erosion of the world!
Reading the message, I smiled triumphantly. I turned to face the two women rushing toward me, spreading my arms wide with a bright expression.
“It’s a new mystery, everyone!”
““……………””
Detective Holmes and Professor Moriarty both stared at me with gazes that could freeze the sun.
[Warning!]
– Probability of Being Imprisoned: 60% → 70%
Wait, why?