Chapter 282: Side Story: Isaac Adler's Final Farewell (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 282: Side Story: Isaac Adler's Final Farewell (2)
“Haha, it’s been a while since I was last here.”
Returning to Auguste Academy after so long, the familiar space stirred up a strange mix of emotions.
“…I worked my ass off programming this place.”
Of course, a large part of me was happy to be back, but it was also a place that dredged up some latent PTSD.
I remembered just how much I’d struggled, trying to cram all the models and objects into the game while sticking to a tight budget.
Come to think of it, the company that hired me was strange. They paid me a salary worthy of a major corporation, yet the project budget was severely limited. What a bizarre contradiction.
‘Then again, it was the only company I'd ever worked for, so I had no idea if that was normal or not.’
I mean, I worked for the National Intelligence Service before that, but that's not exactly a company, is it?
‘Thankfully, there's no one around.’
With that thought, I moved stealthily through the halls. Seeing none of the students who would normally be swarming the place, I let out a sigh of relief and adjusted my wig.
It would be a huge problem if any student happened to recognize me.
I was disguised as a woman and had even brought a school uniform just in case, but you can never be too careful.
Besides, an unfamiliar woman wandering the school grounds would likely be seen as suspicious.
‘Wait, something feels off.’
As I continued down the school corridors, a sudden sense of unease made me shudder.
‘…How can it be this empty?’
I knew from my preliminary research that Auguste Academy was on break.
And I had deliberately chosen the time when the campus would be most deserted.
But even so, for it to be completely devoid of people... wasn't that a little too strange?
Shouldn't there at least be a janitor or some delinquent student with nothing better to do wandering about? That would be normal, right?
- Creeak...
Troubled by this question, I carefully approached the faculty office. Holding my breath, I gently pushed the door open.
“…Hm.”
And I could tell that something was definitely wrong.
Because there wasn't a single professor or teaching assistant in the office.
Even for a school break, this made no sense. Had something happened? An attack? But why now?
“Ah.”
Breaking out in a cold sweat, I scanned my surroundings, and soon, I understood the reason for this bizarre situation.
[Auguste Academy will be closed from August 2nd to 3rd. All students and faculty members are not required to be on campus.]
The reason was written, plain and simple, on a chalkboard at the far end of the office.
“Hmm….”
That answered my initial question, but it didn't clear up all my doubts.
Does a school closure normally mean that not just the students, but the entire faculty and staff stay away?
Not only that, but for even the resident security guards and janitors to be gone... something was definitely wrong.
‘…And the clincher is the date.’
The most suspicious part was the date of this sudden closure: August 2nd to 3rd.
It was almost as if the academy knew exactly when I planned to infiltrate it.
“…No, it wasn't 'almost as if.' They knew.”
I quietly left the faculty office, my thoughts falling into place.
“The dean is certainly capable of it….”
It was entirely possible for her. After all, she was a rule-breaking character I, the developer, had created myself.
However, her role was limited to being the administrator of the Omake Room. It should be impossible for her to directly influence this world.
Unless, of course, I—who am essentially a player—were to go to that room myself.
That was the very reason I'd come to Auguste Academy: to borrow her power and directly influence this world.
“……”
However, I had only established her basic role. I had no idea what kind of personality or appearance Dean Dupin, the administrator of the Omake Room, actually had.
Which meant there was a chance she might be hostile or try to shut me out. Of course, the administrator of the Omake Room was supposed to help the player, so that possibility was slim, but I couldn't be sure.
“……”
But standing around worrying wouldn't solve anything.
Nothing would change if I just stood here.
Time to head to the top floor.
*
“…Hah.”
After climbing the long flight of stairs to the top floor, I ripped off the wig I'd kept on just in case and tossed it aside.
The strands of hair that had been tickling my eyes were gone, and my vision cleared to reveal a hallway I had never set foot in before.
And at the end of that hall, I could finally see it: the door I had struggled for months to reach.
“Finally…” My expression grew serious as I approached, but then I stopped, frowning and tilting my head. “Huh?”
“…What's this?”
The dean's office door was fitted with a complex lock that looked utterly impenetrable.
And yet, the face of the lock itself was surprisingly simple.
[ENTER PASSWORD]
“…So I have to unlock it with a combination of letters.”
I honestly hadn't expected to run into this kind of obstacle now. If I at least knew how many letters the password was, I could try to guess, but this was just cruel.
“Ah.”
As I stood there frowning anxiously, I belatedly noticed a drawing next to the lock. My eyes widened.
“……Aha.”
A slow, triumphant smile spread across my face.
“Well, that changes everything.”
The drawing looked like a random scribble a child might make.
But I knew exactly what it meant.
It was the 'Dancing Men' cipher from The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
It was one of my all-time favorite stories. I'd even studied cryptography just because of that single episode, which says it all.
In any case, the scribbles in this drawing were a perfect match for the stick-figure cipher from 'The Adventure of the Dancing Men'.
And luckily for me, I wasn't just a casual fan of Sherlock Holmes; I was a true Sherlockian.
And it's common knowledge that anyone who calls themselves a Sherlockian has memorized which letters the dancing figures correspond to.
“…Haha.”
As I deciphered the figures one by one, I let out a dry chuckle and began to input the password into the lock.
- Click!
And just as I expected, the lock disengaged with a satisfyingly crisp sound.
[IRENE ADLER]
The name of the character who was the beginning of all this, my very own persona.
‘…Isaac Adler, right to the very end.’
If I'd known it would come to this, I might as well have gender-bent the protagonist into Isaac Adler too.
At least then I wouldn't be the target of every woman in this world….
‘…No, wait. Then I might have been targeted by men instead.’
The horrifying realization sent a shiver down my spine. Shaking off the absurd thought, I stepped into the dean's office.
It was time to bring this long, long story to an end.
*
- Clomp, clomp...
The dean's office I finally stepped into was, frankly, nothing like I had expected.
“……?”
I had never imagined it would have a 21st-century design instead of the 19th-century English style I'd anticipated.
Of course, I was the one who came up with the concept for the Omake Room, but I thought the design team handled the specifics. Well, it's a bonus room, so I guess a little historical inaccuracy is fine….
“So you've finally arrived.”
Lost in thought, I slowly lifted my head at the voice from across the room.
“…Took you longer than I expected.”
I squinted, studying the woman sitting at the dean's desk. She rested her chin on her hand, a faint smile playing on her lips as she watched me.
“Well then, let me introduce myself.”
“……”
“My name is Auguste Dupin. As you know, I am the dean of this academy, and…”
As she began her shameless self-introduction, I finally couldn't take it anymore and had to speak up.
“…No, hold on a second.”
To my utter astonishment, I already knew the person before me.
“Team Leader.”
Because the woman I knew…
“What the hell are you doing here?”
…was the development team leader who had interviewed me at the company where I'd made this game. The same one who had been sitting at the far end of the room, nodding quietly, on the day I stormed their office.
“…Have we met before?”
“Don't give me that crap.”
“Heh.”
I've finally got you, I thought. The source of all my troubles.