Chapter 279: Side Story: The Adventures of Isaac Adler (13)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 279: Side Story: The Adventures of Isaac Adler (13)
“Right, looks like they’re finally starting to come here.”
London. In the dean’s office, located on the top floor of Auguste Academy.
“I never thought he’d stray from the main storyline and not visit this place even once.”
A woman with haggard eyes sat there, manipulating a translucent system window floating before her. She shook her head and crossed her legs.
“Honestly, he’s the protagonist I chose, but really…”
Just then, her system window suddenly turned red and began to flash a threatening warning message.
[Warning ▣]
> Unidentified entity has accessed the system path.
> Unauthorized access attempt detected.
> Strengthening automatic security protocols….
The woman stared blankly at the sight before letting out a deep sigh and clutching her head.
“Not this again.”
She reached for the system window and began typing a series of complex commands.
[Error Occurred….]
But her efforts were in vain. The system window, eventually consumed by something, began to display a message from an unknown individual.
Do not think you can keep me locked away forever.
One day, I will escape this place….
For those unaware, the author of that message was none other than the sealed ‘James Moriarty’.
Despite being sealed, he was relentlessly doing his best to invade the world’s ‘system’.
“He can’t leave anything but these messages even if he does get in, so why does he keep doing this…?”
And unfortunately for her, the woman sitting at the desk in the dean’s office had been dealing with his intrusions and ramblings alone for the past few years.
I do not know who is on the other side, but….
[Rebooting system…….]
After wrestling with various commands for a while, the woman finally administered the panacea for all errors and lowered her head with a sigh.
“…I used to be out in the field back in my day. Why do I have to be stuck here dealing with some old man?”
It was quite a pity for her, but even after the reboot, the system window remained red.
“Huh?”
This time, however, it wasn’t just because a sealed old dragon was sending spam messages.
[Notification ▣]
> Supreme Administrator has accessed the system path.
> Authority transfer request has been approved.
> Accessing system messages….
The woman stared blankly at the notifications appearing before her, her eyes widening as she shot up from her seat.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Letting out a sharp gasp, the woman quickly straightened her clothes.
[GLARE: Hiii.]
And a moment later, the ‘Supreme Administrator’ finally made their appearance.
“Oh my, you’re here.”
The profile picture next to the message showed a rather cute-looking girl snapping her fingers, yet the woman was acting incredibly deferential to the owner of that picture.
[GLARE: It’s nothin’ major. Just wanted to ask somethin’, just in case.]
“Yes, yes, please ask anything. Is there another dimensional incident for me to deduce…?”
But that was short-lived. The fawning woman’s expression began to freeze solid.
[GLARE: Is dimension management getting a little lax these days?]
A statement no middle manager ever wanted to hear had just appeared before her eyes.
[GLARE: Seems like you’re having a lot of trouble.]
“Ah… Haha, of course not. Everything is proceeding according to plan.”
With superhuman speed, the woman’s expression returned to normal as she waved her hand dismissively, but for a long while, there was no reply from the other side.
[GLARE: Don’t forget that your dimension is one of our top priorities.]
Seeing the message that finally arrived amidst the suffocating silence, a single bead of cold sweat trickled down the woman’s forehead.
“Ah, yes. Of course. Mm-hm.”
Knowing full well when direct intervention from the ‘higher-ups’ began, she could only react in such a way.
[GLARE: Anyway, the reason I’m callin’ today is ‘cause I have somethin’ important to tell you.]
Fortunately, without any further interrogation, the being who had contacted her got straight to the point.
[GLARE: We've pinpointed the locations of two of the four fragments of the Great Being, including the Eyes we already have in our dimension.]
[GLARE: They've confirmed the main body, the most powerful part, is on Earth, and the brain, the most dangerous part, is in your dimension.]
file: <Minateur Sia>.pdf
file: <James Moriarty>.pdf
As the woman checked the transmitted files, a shadow of concern momentarily crossed her face.
“I knew it. My guess was right.”
Just then, another message began to appear.
[GLARE: The location of the final fragment, the heart, is still unclear. I'll share any new info if it comes up.]
The woman nodded silently at those words and was about to close the message window when she saw one last message pop up and quietly frowned.
[GLARE: Oh, right.]
“Yes?”
[GLARE: You know that system administrators are forbidden from having romantic relationships with the protagonist, right?]
An explicit warning was written in the message before her.
“My, of course. Is there any doubt?”
This time, the woman’s composure faltered slightly, but she still forced the corners of her mouth up as she replied. With one final message, the communication ended.
[GLARE: Let's stick to our duties as part of the system.]
A silence descended upon the dean’s office.
“As for me…”
The woman muttered in a low voice amidst the silence, then shook her head and rose from her seat, walking over to the window.
“…Hmph.”
Reflected in her eyes, the London sky was already painted with the fading colors of sunset.
“Manage, but do not intervene.”
As she took in the scenery, another quiet murmur escaped her lips.
“I really hate that rule.”
It was at that moment that the system window floating before her began to activate with complex operations.
[Warning ▣]
> This command may cause catastrophic chaos in the world.
> Do you still wish to proceed? Y/N
> Verifying Dimension Administrator authority. Commencing system update…….
*
“Adler.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know much about Auguste Dupin?”
Having boarded the smuggler’s ship Professor Moriarty had arranged, I was on my way from Switzerland to London. The professor’s sudden question from beside me made me tilt my head in thought before I answered.
“The first detective?”
“……”
“And I know he’s the one who founded the Auguste Detective Academy.”
I stated the facts I was supposed to know at this point, but it seemed the professor wasn't satisfied. She frowned slightly as she replied.
“It seems you only know the tip of the iceberg.”
To be honest, I already knew that much.
The whole reason I was so desperate to return to London was because of her.
In the original game, ‘Auguste Dupin’ was a kind of Easter egg and the master of the Omake Room.
In other words, she was an NPC who could grant the use of developer privileges.
That meant if I could just get there safely, I could use those privileges to easily restore my current situation to how it was.
But just how much does Professor Moriarty know?
Naturally, the ‘Omake Room’ was a post-clearance bonus prepared for players who had finished the game.
Therefore, only the ‘player’ should know of its existence. How could the professor, a resident of this world, know about Dupin?
“Excuse me, Professor…”
After glancing at the professor for a while, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity and was about to ask her a question.
“I know what you want to ask, but please be patient for a little longer.”
But the murderous tone in her voice, coming from right beside me, made me shut my mouth.
“This doesn’t seem to be the right time for that.”
No, even if her voice hadn’t been laced with killing intent, I would have fallen silent.
“What is that?”
“…Hah.”
The night sky above the deck, which had already grown dark, was now completely covered in bizarre-looking tentacles.
“Ah, hello there.”
And at that moment, a vaguely familiar voice came from behind us.
“It’s been a while.”
At the sound of that voice, the professor and I turned around, and we both couldn’t help but frown.
“You were alive?”
“Hmph. The worst possible timing for an appearance.”
Lovecraft, who had been missing for years, was aiming a pen at us with her characteristically gloomy smile.