Chapter 285: Side Story: The Retired Agent (Side Story Finale)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 285: Side Story: The Retired Agent (Side Story Finale)
“Hnngh.”
Stretching as I always did, I rose from my bed. Bathed in the sunlight pouring through the window, I murmured in a low voice.
“The weather’s so bright today.”
Thanks to the grand pact made a few months ago, I had finally reclaimed a peaceful life.
“And…”
Of course, due to the karma I’d accumulated, I was still forced to live in a safe house, but that couldn’t be helped.
“Daddy.”
“Ah.”
“What are you doing?”
Still, there was one good thing. Unlike the past few years, when I woke up, my children were there to greet me on either side.
“Heehee, you smell white.”
“White smell! White smell!”
They were a bit ill-mannered, but it wasn't a major problem.
“Ugh.”
“Gah.”
Because my mother—that is, the Professor—who had just grabbed the kids by the scruff of their necks, was their perfect leash.
“Hurry up, brush your teeth and get ready for school.”
“Don’t wanna!”
“School is boring!”
As I thought this and slipped out of bed, I heard their whining voices from behind me.
Still, they’re my kids, so I should be the one to scold them properly…
Hearing them, I resolved to show some fatherly authority for the first time in a while and cleared my throat.
“If you don’t go to kindergarten, you’ll grow up to be like your daddy.”
“Gasp.”
“Hic!”
But when the Professor said that with a sudden smile, the children’s faces paled and they changed their tune before I even had a chance to scold them.
“Okay, we’ll go to school!”
“Me too! Me too!”
Seriously, what in the world do these kids think of me?
- Pitter-patter…
But before I could ask, they had already scampered off with hurried, toddling steps toward the bathroom and disappeared.
“What are you doing, Adler?”
“Ah.”
“Isn’t it about time you left?”
As I stared blankly after them, Professor Moriarty suddenly turned her gaze to me and spoke in a low voice.
Right, I have to get to work…
Come to think of it, today was my first day at the place called the Dimensional Association, an arrangement I’d made with my old team leader.
“Is it your first day?”
“Yes, haha…”
“Then allow me to give you some special advice.”
As I wore a slightly nervous expression, the Professor quietly leaned in and whispered in my ear.
“If anyone gives you trouble, just kill them.”
“Isn’t that place filled with incredibly strong people?”
“Haha, what does that matter?”
Unsurprisingly, it was advice befitting the Professor. I tried to point out the flaw in her logic, but it was hard to dissuade her.
“Use your head, Adler. Your head.”
“Haaah…”
“Please, keep this in mind. I’ll say it again, if anyone fucks with you…”
I smiled faintly and nodded, then waved my hand with a bright expression.
“Well, I’m off!”
“Ahaha…”
Just as I was about to flee from the Professor’s equally chilling smile and run for the mansion’s entrance, she spoke.
“Oh, right. There’s something I forgot to say.”
“Yes?”
“Well, you have a proper job now, don’t you?”
The Professor suddenly brought it up.
“Yes, surprisingly, they said I’ll even get a salary.”
“I see. In that case…”
Wondering what this was all about, I tilted my head.
“As of today, I’ve decided to retire from my professorship.”
“Ah, I see… wait, what did you say?”
“Why the surprise? It’s not that shocking, is it?”
For a moment, I couldn’t believe my ears.
“The academy is about to start its new semester, and I received this letter.”
The Professor held out a letter to me.
“A letter asking me to take the now-vacant position of dean.”
“Uh…”
“Honestly, it’s a pain. I only became a professor at Auguste Academy out of interest in the first place…”
Holding out the appointment letter, which bore the seal of Auguste Academy, the Professor tilted her head, then smiled as she looked toward the bathroom where the children were frantically brushing their teeth.
“I’m busy with childcare now.”
“……”
“I’m already doing all the parenting alone. You’re not going to make me work on top of that, are you?”
As she said this, the Professor’s eyes, still tinged with the same gold as my hair, held a smile so gentle it would have been unimaginable in the past.
“Um, maybe you should reconsider…”
“Haha, I love how you’re still the same piece of trash.”
“…No, that’s not what I meant.”
Of course, the moment I misspoke, her expression returned to its usual chilling self.
“Well, if you grant me a favor, I might consider it…”
“What is it?”
“…How about we start working on a third child?”
Naturally, I had no intention of having a third child, so I snapped to attention and raised my voice.
“I will work hard!”
“Good. Have a safe trip.”
Thankfully, that seemed to be enough to put a stop to the Professor’s wish.
“Not that it will stop me from having a third child, though.”
Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part.
“Ah, ah. Can you hear me?”
As I wiped away a cold sweat and headed for the entrance again, I suddenly heard the Professor’s voice, as if through a radio.
“This is a message for all organization members in the region.”
“……?”
“As of today, the organization is disbanded.”
My curiosity piqued, I listened quietly, my eyes widening at the Professor’s completely unexpected decision.
“Those who object will not see tomorrow’s sunrise, so I suggest you comply without a fuss.”
No way. The Professor, who was on the verge of seizing not just London but all of Europe, was giving it all up this easily?
“The title ‘Queen of Crime’ was nice, but…”
As I cautiously watched her, I heard her mutter from behind me and quickly realized one thing before quietly stepping out of the mansion.
“…I think I prefer being an ordinary mother.”
The fact was, now that her probability had been resolved in my own bizarre way, the Professor could no longer remain an enemy of the world.
*
“Oh my, fancy meeting you here.”
“Ah.”
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
Realizing I was running late, I had put on a disguise and was walking as fast as I could when someone grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop in one of London’s crowded alleys.
“Ah, well…”
“You’re not late on your first day of work, are you?”
“Haha…”
“You’re as pathetic as ever.”
Of course, in a secluded place like this, the only person besides the Professor who could see through my disguise in an instant was Charlotte.
“Right, Sherlock?”
“……”
“You mustn’t become a pathetic adult like him.”
She began to whisper in a gentle voice to our son, whose hand she was holding.
- Nod…
But our dear Sherlock, destined to become James Moriarty’s nemesis, merely gave a quiet nod.
“Haaah, he’s so quiet, I have no idea what he’s thinking.”
“……”
“Perhaps if his father had been around more, things might have been a little different.”
No, my karma might be heavy, but I had to say something.
Due to the grand pact between Charlotte and the Professor, the residents of the safe house rotated on a monthly basis.
One month with the Professor and our children, the next with Charlotte and Sherlock.
And I was trying my best to be fair to both families.
Wait, thinking about it like this just makes me sound like more of a scumbag.
Even I had to admit that, but what’s done is done. I resolved to do my best and was about to start walking again.
“Oh, right.”
Charlotte spoke up as if she’d just remembered something.
“I’ve decided to quit being a detective.”
“Huh?”
“Ha, what’s with that stupid reaction?”
Wait, not just the Professor, but Charlotte is quitting too?
Didn’t she just reopen her detective agency at 221B Baker Street?
“I made an agreement with the Professor a while ago. With no more supernatural cases and no fated enemy, there’s no reason to sit around in a detective office.”
“……”
“So, I’ll leave the remaining idiot criminals of London to my son, retire, and take up beekeeping.”
But thinking about it, she had a point.
Still, beekeeping of all things? It reminded me of what the original Holmes did after he retired.
“Look at this. It’s the most recent case that came in. It’s obviously just a common affair, isn’t it?”
“Ah.”
“A man in a yellow hat appears next door to the remarried husband’s house. The wife suddenly demands a hundred pounds. And she’s been visiting the neighbor’s house frequently…”
As I was lost in thought, Charlotte pulled a request form from her coat and began reading it with a bored expression.
“Honestly, he’s just like a certain yellow-haired man…”
Just as she was about to launch into her now-familiar nagging, a voice cut in.
“…You can’t conclude it’s an affair.”
It was Sherlock, who even I thought was remarkably quiet, suddenly looking up and speaking.
“What did you say?”
“Making deductions about a case after hearing only one side of the story is an action that can lead to serious errors.”
He then snatched the papers from Charlotte’s hand and, with an expression remarkably similar to his mother’s, began to read.
“The hat is wider than a typical one. Also, the man with the yellow face sometimes glances out the window, watching the children playing in the street.”
“……”
“…It’s just a guess for now, of course, but I believe it’s more likely that the child is a demi-human left behind by her former husband.”
My god. Is this really a kid who hasn’t even started elementary school?
And this case seems to be based on the original ‘The Adventure of the Yellow Face.’ Didn’t the original Sherlock completely misread that case, only to be teased about it for years to come?
The feeling that the son born of Charlotte and me was even more of a prodigy than the original gave me, a Sherlockian, a strange sense of pride, and I couldn't help but puff out my chest a little.
“Mother, you’re so brilliant, yet I don’t understand why you always jump to the wrong conclusions when a case involves affairs and love.”
Ah, but he’s also become even more impertinent than the original. That’s a definite drawback.
“That’s because…”
As I scratched my head, Charlotte looked at me with eyes that, despite everything, were still a brilliant gold.
“It’s because, when I was young, before my personality had even fully formed, a certain bad man violated my body and mind.”
“……”
“So, you must be careful around women too, Sherlock.”
Hey, if you put it like that, I sound like a total piece of…
…trash. Yes, I am. I’ve decided to acknowledge my faults, so I should just accept it humbly.
“That won’t be a problem.”
“……?”
“After all, women are…”
Still, I wanted to be a better father to this Sherlock, who seemed to be tinged with even more darkness than the original.
- Swoosh…
Quietly glancing at Charlotte, I carefully bent down, stroked Sherlock’s hair, and whispered in a gentle voice.
“You’ve grown up so smart.”
A silence followed.
“……”
In that silence, my son ducked his head, avoiding my gaze, his cheeks flushing ever so slightly. Charlotte, who had been glaring at me, scoffed and started walking away with Sherlock.
“…Hmph.”
Of course, her eyes were still the color of gold.
*
“Welcome, Isaac Adler…”
After walking for what felt like an eternity through London’s long, winding back alleys, I finally reached the designated location. A woman greeted me from inside a shabby warehouse.
“…No, Kim Saebyeok.”
She tilted her head, observing me quietly, before extending a hand and introducing herself.
“I am Kang Mirae, head of the Korean branch of the Dimensional Association.”
Alright, so this person is my new team leader. My boss, then?
“You recommended Mycrony Holmes as the new system administrator for this world, correct?”
“……”
“And as for subordinate agents… Lestrade, Moran, Silver Blaze, Princess Clay… and many others. The number is a bit high, but there don’t seem to be any procedural issues.”
As I thought this and scrutinized her in return, my new boss began to evaluate my report, flipping through the documents.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Have we met somewhere before?”
When I asked her that, I swear it wasn’t my usual, clueless flirting.
“I’m well aware of your talents, and I’m already taken, so I’m afraid that won’t work on me.”
“No, that’s not it. I really feel like I’ve seen you somewhere.”
Even my new boss, whom I’d met for the first time today, didn’t seem to believe me, but for once, I was being genuine.
“By any chance, the high school you went to was?”
I was sure I’d seen this person’s face during my school days.
“…Haaah.”
Just as I was looking for an opportunity to prove my case, she spoke.
“You’ve brought it up at a good time.”
Her expression suddenly turned cold as she addressed me with a meaningful tone.
“It’s related to your first mission.”
“It is?”
“Then, I will officially assign you your first mission.”
And before I had a chance to ask anything, she held out a photograph.
“You know the person in this photo well, don’t you?”
“…What the.”
No matter how many trials and tribulations I’d been through since coming to London, it was a face I could never forget.
What is he doing here?
Because in my new boss’s hand was a photo of that poor kid—the first of my friends to disappear one by one, the very reason I’d gotten involved with the National Intelligence Service in the first place.
“I want you to investigate this individual.”
“……”
“He is an interdimensional transferee, same as you. And since there has been no signal of his return, he is a person who should absolutely not exist in the Republic of Korea…”
As I became lost in old memories, a very business-like explanation came from in front of me.
“…I’m talking about the absurd probability of him being perfectly fine and active as a cult leader in Seoul.”
“Haha…”
“If you agree, I will open the portal. The scheduled return is 12:00 AM, Korean Standard Time.”
Listening quietly to her explanation, I slowly raised the corners of my mouth and murmured in a low voice.
“…Interesting.”
It seemed there were still mysteries and probabilities left for me to fulfill.