Chapter 283: Side Story: Isaac Adler's Final Farewell (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 283: Side Story: Isaac Adler's Final Farewell (3)
"No, fucking hell, Team Leader!"
"......"
"Say something, will you?"
I glared at the person sitting in the dean's chair, my face filled with rage, and started to raise my voice as I walked toward her.
"First, calm down."
"Calm down? Did you just tell me to calm down?"
But seeing her already trying to dodge the issue, it seemed this wasn't going to be resolved nicely.
"Because of that shitty development company, do you have any idea the shit I've been through...?"
"...Let's be clear about this."
I slammed my hand on the desk she was sitting at and raised my voice again, but the Team Leader's expression suddenly turned serious as she opened her mouth.
"Are you sure this is entirely our fault?"
"What?"
"If you look at everything you've done up until now, you wouldn't be able to say that..."
For a moment, the choices I'd made and the scenes I'd lived through over the past years flashed through my mind like a panorama.
"...Hmm, was it that bad?"
"It was. You want a scolding?"
"No, but still..."
I calmed down a little and scratched my head. That's when the 21st-century artifact came back into my view.
"Well, well, what's that computer?"
"......"
"Shouldn't this thing not exist in the 19th century?"
At my pointing finger, the Team Leader quietly shifted her gaze to it, then let out a smirk and spoke.
"Ah, this."
And in the next moment.
"This is for times like these. Can't be helped."
I had taken the red pill regarding the system messages that had been helping me all this time.
[If you get it, let's just move on, okay?]
I stared blankly at the message, then turned my head just in case. The Team Leader had turned her monitor to show me the exact same message, a weary smile on her face, her eyes ringed with dark circles.
"What the fuck."
Wait, so the one sending me messages all this time was the dean... I mean, the Team Leader?
"The system said it was Irene Adler."
"Yeah, that's right."
"It's not a 'yeah, that's right' situation... Ugh."
As I clutched my throbbing head, the Team Leader turned her monitor back around and began to speak with a faint smile.
"I am this world's administrator and its system. And I'm the one who brought you here."
"......"
"My true identity is Auguste Dupin. But since you also gave me the identity of Irene Adler..."
But she frowned for a moment, as if she found it difficult to define herself, before finally letting out a smirk and finishing her sentence.
"...Well, call me whatever you're comfortable with."
Fine, I'll just keep calling you Team Leader. In my head, of course.
"Now, then. Why has our cute little Saebyeok risked so much to come all this way?"
"......"
"You didn't show your face for years. Only now that your ass is on fire..."
As I kept my guard up, the Team Leader suddenly crossed her arms and spoke to me with a cold expression.
"...Please resolve James Moriarty's final curse."
When I told her the reason I'd fought so hard to get here, her expression grew even colder.
"I mean, please do something about the current situation where all the heroines have become abnormally obsessed with me."
As I finished, she tilted her head to the side and asked in a whisper.
"For free?"
I mean, I honestly expected this, but to come out and say it like that?
Still, I feel like I've run myself ragged for this world. For you to act like this is a little disappointing.
"James Moriarty's final curse was certainly a fatal one. It's not easy to resolve."
"......"
"I might have to use up all of my divinity. Haaa..."
But looking at the Team Leader's expression, which for some reason looked like she was about to hand in her resignation, it was hard to say anything.
"What do you want?"
"...It's simple."
My resolve weakened slightly, and as soon as I asked for her terms, her eyes lit up and she began to explain.
"Won't you join our side?"
"And what side is that?"
"What do you think? The Dimensional Alliance. It's a place for protagonist-level beings like you and other higher-dimensional beings."
"What's a higher-dimensional being?"
"'Hi, I'm a god~!' You don't know that one? I'm something similar."
Her explanation made me understand immediately, but did she really have to put it in such a tacky way?
"It's just that, recently, our side has run into a lot of trouble. Because of beings from the outer world..."
But whether she knew of my dissatisfaction or not, the Team Leader's eyes seemed to sparkle for some reason as she continued her explanation.
"The riddles that are devised by human wits..."
"...can be solved by human wits."
"Right, you know it well. But beings from the outer dimensions are a different story."
I found myself unconsciously finishing the famous quote from Auguste Dupin. When I heard the rather important information that followed, I narrowed my eyes and listened intently.
"James Moriarty. He's also a being derived from an outer dimension. To be precise, he's one of four fragments that must never be brought together."
"......"
"Now do you see why your professor is so strong? It's because she inherited the power of a being from an outer dimension."
So, the Moriarty family, for whatever reason, are beings from an outer dimension?
No wonder the professor and James Moriarty felt unnaturally strong, even for this crazy world. There was a reason for it.
"Was sending me here some kind of test?"
"......"
"Was it a trial to see if you could scout me for your side?"
If so, was the reason I was sent here to be used in a test to select people to fight those beings?
"...No, there was no one else suited for the job."
"What?"
"You were the only one who could save this world."
But from the Team Leader's earnest explanation, it seemed that wasn't the case.
"Isn't this a world I created?"
"...It already existed. To be precise, you helped us create the world."
"This is giving me a headache."
I still don't quite get it, but anyway, I was the only one suited to save this world. Is that it?
Well, for someone like me who had always been a little worried that this world was just an illusion or a bunch of data, this was quite a relief.
So, this world really did exist.
"Soon, the world will be in danger."
"...?"
"No, not just this world. Perhaps all dimensions will be in crisis."
But before I could even feel relieved, something I absolutely could not ignore came out of the Team Leader's mouth.
"The four fragments that must never be brought together are gradually revealing themselves. We managed to seal James Moriarty for now, but he'll show up again soon enough..."
"......"
"The torso is doing some kind of avatar broadcast? Or something, brazenly running wild on Earth. The heart's location is just about to be pinpointed. The only one that's relatively safe is the eye, which is stuck in the abyss..."
But as I tried to focus, a stream of incomprehensible nonsense started pouring from her mouth.
"What are you muttering about by yourself?"
"Ah, my apologies. I've been overworked lately because of this."
I cut her off with a rebuke, and she finally came to her senses and began to explain again, this time clearly and concisely.
"To summarize... there are four fragments from an outer dimension that must never be brought together."
"Right."
"But those four fragments, which hadn't shown themselves for a long time, have recently started appearing one by one, and that's become a problem."
Hearing that, I could roughly grasp why the organization the Team Leader belonged to was trying to scout me.
In short, these guys are suffering from a massive manpower shortage in their quest to stop the world from ending, aren't they?
Honestly, it's not really my problem, but I'd rather my own dimension not be in danger...
"Anyway, here's the offer. If you become an agent on our side, I'll lift the curse on this world."
"...Does that mean I have to say goodbye to this world again?"
"No, it's a commuting job. There's a salary, too. Work-life balance guaranteed. Paid leave and bonuses included."
As I was mulling it over, the Team Leader threw out an incredibly tempting offer.
Ah, shit. But why do I feel so uneasy?
I seem to recall that the reason I joined this shitty company in the first place was because of some ridiculously tempting job requirements like these...
"Well, the choice is yours, Saebyeok."
"......"
"That is, if you can handle the women gathering down there."
But it wasn't like I had a choice anyway.
I could already feel the familiar auras of 'them' wafting up from below Auguste Academy.
"You have a deal."
"...Good. You've made the right choice."
As I accepted the offer, the Team Leader's body slowly began to glow.
"Then..."
"......"
"...Good luck, Isaac Adler."
What, is she disappearing for good?
"I won't be appearing before you as the system anymore."
"...Ah, right."
"Well then, see you at the association later."
"What, you weren't dying?"
"Of course not. I haven't even dated anyone yet..."
I cautiously watched her, but it seemed this woman possessed a rather tenacious life force.
"Ah, let me ask one thing."
As I quietly watched her fade away, I remembered one last riddle that popped into my head and opened my mouth.
"The game we were making, was it released?"
"Yeah. In fact, it's the driving force that maintains this world."
"...Then, by any chance, what title was it released under?"
At that, the Team Leader suddenly looked nervous and started glancing at me furtively.
"...Ah, shit. Can I even say this?"
"......?"
"Promise you won't get mad?"
She spoke in a hesitant voice, and I leaned in, wondering what it could be.
"Black Tail London Saga."
"...You son of a bitch!!!"
Hearing that fucking title, which had somehow won out over all the cool and stylish working titles I had suggested, I had a fit and lunged at the Team Leader.
"Why? It's cool."
But before I could grab her by the collar, she left those words behind and vanished from the dean's office.