Chapter 277: Side Story: The Adventures of Isaac Adler (11)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 277: Side Story: The Adventures of Isaac Adler (11)
After successfully subduing(?) Mycrony Holmes, I headed for the Swiss border under her luxurious escort.
“Mr. Adler, come over here for a moment.”
“.....?”
“Here, take a look at this.”
Of course, true to form for the cast of lunatics I call my associates, it was no ordinary escort.
“It's a glow-in-the-dark dildo.”
“.......”
“Here's a question. Whose size do you think this was modeled after?”
I sighed and shook my head at Mycrony, who had suddenly called me over only to open her luggage, pull out a familiarly shaped rod, and wave it around.
“Not interested.”
“...Hmph.”
“Just keep walking.”
Then, I tugged the collar around her neck, urging her to walk faster.
...How long can I keep this up?
On the surface, it's an ideal situation. I've gained the protection of Mycrony Holmes, and even my old subordinates are cooperating.
But if you look a little deeper, you can immediately tell it's not that simple.
Because this entire arrangement is held together by Mycrony's cooperation...
“...Hehe.”
No matter how I think about it, I can't believe she's genuinely submitted to me now.
This is Mycrony Holmes, a woman whose intellect surpasses even that of Charlotte Holmes, and whose power rivals Professor Moriarty's.
And considering her insidious nature, the only explanation is that she's simply playing along because she finds this situation amusing.
“...Ah, hey.”
“......”
“Couldn't you pull a little harder? Hmm.”
Look at that. The moment she sees me lost in thought, her expression turns serious and she starts muttering to herself.
In other words, this isn't Mycrony Holmes submitting to me.
It's just me catering to Mycrony's masochistic tastes.
Still, if I can just make it safely to England, I'll have a fighting chance.
The only reason I'm meekly playing along with this WWE-style charade is that I know I have a chance if I can just get to Auguste Academy in England.
The reason I headed there in the first place was because of the Omake Room I had set up.
If my predictions are correct, I should be able to use the system there to resolve my current predicament.
And the system entity that reappeared before me recently also wants me to return to the August Detective Academy.
Alright, then. What I need to do is clear.
First, I'll humor Mycrony Holmes as much as possible and accept her escort to England. Then, I'll somehow shake her off and get to the academy...
“...Ghk. Keuk.”
“Whoa.”
As I was lost in these thoughts, tightening Mycrony's collar as much as I could, I saw her suddenly flinch and start trembling beside me. I quickly loosened my grip.
“......”
She frowned for a moment, then fixed her gaze on me.
“...Sigh.”
“Ghk, keuk. Haaah...”
When I tightened my grip again, Mycrony Holmes's face flushed, drool trickled from her lips, and her expression turned ecstatic.
I was suddenly reminded of something Mycrony Holmes said when we engaged in similar play a long time ago.
‘You're already so frail, how hard should I choke you?’
‘...At least until your nose bleeds. It'd be even better if you passed out from lack of oxygen.’
‘You could die.’
‘Wouldn't that be the best?’
Why the hell am I surrounded by nothing but crazy women?
[You have no conscience.]
“What.”
[Don't 'what' me. Just die.]
*
Time passed, and they reached the entrance to the Swiss border.
After everything that had happened, and with night beginning to fall, Adler's group decided to make camp before leaving Switzerland completely.
Fortunately, the guards at a nearby border post were kind enough to cooperate (thanks to Mycrony's sleeping spell disguised as persuasion), allowing them to safely build a campfire and set up camp in a nearby forest.
“......Zzz.”
This would have been impossible for Adler, a fugitive, but it was feasible only because he had the escort of Mycrony Holmes and her forces.
Of course, there was the matter of a certain pureblooded vampire girl who had been incapacitated by Adler's former subordinates, but under Mycrony's protection, they had easily evaded her pursuit.
“...Hmm.”
In any case, Mycrony gazed silently at Adler, who had fallen asleep in front of the campfire, enjoying a much-needed rest.
Suddenly, she opened her slender eyes. As she caressed the magical cord Adler had placed around her neck, the restraint—strong enough to withstand the combined force of 200 elephants—emitted a puff of black smoke and instantly came undone.
For the record, Mycrony had prepared the magical device herself. She was putting on the whole show.
“Hey.”
“......”
“Wake up.”
She then tapped Adler's face, and he groaned, stirred, and began to sit up.
“Ughhh... Huh?”
“No, not you.”
“...Ghk.”
But Mycrony simply chopped the back of Adler's neck with a mana-infused hand, knocking him out cold. A sly smile touched her lips as she spoke again.
“The person beyond him.”
“.......”
“No answer. Should I be more specific?”
Her next words were a faint whisper, but they reached their intended recipient perfectly.
“The one who sends messages through an opaque window, visible only to Adler's eyes.”
“......”
“I'm talking to you right now.”
The moment she finished speaking, an opaque window materialized in front of the unconscious Adler.
[Impossible.]
“Haha, is anything truly impossible in this world?”
And then, an eerie silence began.
[How can you see me?]
“My eyes see through everything.”
[No, that's not the kind of problem this is...]
“Was it when Adler briefly vanished from this world? I did some research to find him again and boosted my output a bit.”
As Mycrony conversed with the system window as if talking to herself in the silence, her expression suddenly turned cold, and she posed a question.
“What is your identity?”
[Irene Adler]
“What? Hahaha...”
Mycrony burst out laughing at the answer. She leaned in close to the floating system window and whispered in a low voice.
“Stop with the childish lies that only work on Adler.”
“.......”
“I think I have a pretty good idea of who you really are.”
And once again, silence fell.
“I'd like to probe further, but it's a shame.”
Mycrony, who had been glaring at the system window, quietly stood up and turned her head.
“It seems we have some uninvited guests.”
A familiar grey aura was slowly approaching their location from the distance.
[Wait, hey...]
The opaque system window suddenly popped up in front of Mycrony, who now had her back turned, blocking her path.
But with a light wave of Mycrony's hand, the system window was helplessly flung aside and shut.
“My, it's been a while.”
“.......”
“Leaving me out of the meeting... how rude of you.”
Having dealt with the interruption, Mycrony finally saw the figure that had appeared before her and spoke, another sly smile on her face.
“But are you planning to fight here? I'm sorry, but I wouldn't recommend it.”
““......””
“As you know, this is neutral territory. We haven't even crossed out of Switzerland yet.”
And then, the Professor's voice came from ahead.
“...Did you think we would honor such a hollow neutrality?”
“Huhu. Switzerland has maintained its neutrality since ancient times by demonstrating its power through various forms of ancient magic. To call it 'hollow' is a bit of a contradiction, don't you think?”
“.......”
“Are you perhaps trying to destroy the very alliance you created? If so, I'd welcome it.”
But Mycrony Holmes showed no signs of backing down either.
“You know, Professor Moriarty, you must be well aware that I haven't been serious until now.”
“......”
“The great war you're trying to start using your forces spread across the country? I'm leaving it alone because the outcome is so painfully obvious.”
A massive flow of mana began to slowly erode the foggy border.
“Well, if you insist on fighting... I won't stop you.”
“It seems you want to believe you have the upper hand.”
“My, those were my words exactly.”
Just as a bloody battle between the two titans seemed all but certain...
“But before that, I should secure the safety of our cute little mosquito... Huh?”
“.......!?”
The situation came to a rather anticlimactic end.
“Adler?”
Because Adler, who had been right behind her just a moment ago, had vanished without a trace.
“Hah, hah...”
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
“Fuck.”
Someone was sprinting under the night sky with the unconscious Adler slung over her shoulder, a smile of pure ecstasy on her face.
“Found it, my dildo.”
It was Rachel Watson, who had finally succeeded in her desperate, once-in-a-lifetime gamble.