Chapter 93: The Battle Intensifies (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 93: The Battle Intensifies (3)
The setting sun painted the sky in the bruised hues of dusk. Beneath that twilight canopy, deep within the labyrinthine back alleys, lay the hideout.
“Mr. Adler.”
“…Yes?”
Professor Moriarty entered the safehouse with Adler in tow. She turned to her dear assistant, a thin smile stretching across her lips.
“This place remains as cozy as ever.”
“…Is that so?”
“I particularly enjoy the faint fragrance of tea. It seems to be a rather fine blend; do you perhaps have a hobby of collecting tea, Mr. Adler?”
“I usually have a cup a day, but I wouldn’t call it a hobby.”
Adler deflected the inquiry, doing his best to hide the fact that the tea was a gift from a group of noblewomen he had recently reconnected with.
“Well, I prefer tea myself.”
“…I thought you preferred coffee, Professor?”
“To be precise, I prefer sweetened milk tea. Keep that in mind the next time you serve me a beverage.”
Moriarty whispered the command, her gaze never leaving him. She surveyed their surroundings for a brief moment before continuing.
“By the way, do you intend to keep using this place as your hideout?”
“Is there something about it you dislike?”
“No, quite the opposite. I’m rather fond of it. So much so, in fact, that I’m considering turning it into my office.”
“This humble place is hardly fitting for someone of your stature to call home, Professor.”
“Mr. Adler, have you become so prickly that even a light jest elicits such a sharp response?”
Professor Moriarty tilted her head as she spoke, prompting Isaac Adler to shut his mouth and avert his eyes.
“So, what is the problem?”
“My concern is that the location of this hideout has been exposed to that deranged murderer.”
Professor Moriarty murmured, her eyes drifting to the sofa where Jill the Ripper had sat during her previous visit. Her expression darkened instantly at the thought of the psychotic killer.
“If we continue to use this place as our base, won’t we be constantly exposed to danger?”
“…That won’t be a problem.”
Adler’s voice was calm, his expression matching his tone as he explained his reasoning.
“After all, this entire district is always exposed to danger.”
“Isn’t there a stark difference between the common riffraff of the backstreets and a psychotic serial killer who is hunting you twenty-four-seven?”
“When she visited, I had deliberately dismissed my henchmen to make room for her.”
“And why would you do that?”
Professor Moriarty’s gaze turned frigid.
“Because even if I’m hacked to pieces, I won’t stay dead. Besides, I wanted to meet her at least once for a little private chat.”
“……..”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Seeing the sheer intensity in her eyes as she turned toward him, Adler awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
“Did it never occur to you that after failing to kill you, she might, in a fit of rage, dismember you and kidnap the remains?”
“That… honestly, I hadn’t considered such a scenario.”
A sly smile played on his lips for the first time in a while.
“…But in the end, wouldn’t you have come to save me, Professor?”
“Now, that is more like the Isaac Adler I know.”
Professor Moriarty stared at him in silence for a long moment before looking away, murmuring under her breath.
“But I won’t always be there to rescue you.”
“I know. But it’s fine. I’ve already taken several new precautions…”
“In that case, why don’t you take this opportunity to come live with me?”
“…Pardon?”
The sly smile on Adler’s face wavered at her casual suggestion.
“I’m thinking of buying a house in the suburbs. It’s not practical for me to sleep at the office all the time. Now that I no longer need to travel every year to satisfy this needy curse of mine, I believe it’s time to settle down.”
“Ah…”
“So, you might as well just live at my house.”
Closing the distance in an instant, the Professor leaned in and whispered into his ear, her voice gentle and persuasive.
“I won’t even charge you for lodging.”
“………”
“I’ll provide the meals, the clothes, and a place to sleep. You just need to bring your body.”
“…And I assume the reason for your proposition isn’t actually the 'body' you’re speaking of, right?”
Adler’s sharp question only deepened the smile on the Professor’s lips.
“Are you still overthinking the proposal I made earlier?”
“………”
“Personally, I don’t see what there is to ponder.”
Leaning forward slightly, she whispered in a soft, lustrous tone.
“No matter how much you rack your brain, the only outcomes awaiting you are either seduction or rape.”
Adler’s face went pale at her ominous words.
“Ah ha, ahahaha… I’m joking, I’m joking.”
“………”
“So, cheer up, Mr. Adler.”
Amidst her cheerful laughter, Professor Moriarty patted his shoulder in a consoling gesture.
“…You wouldn’t want to be raped instead of having a mutually agreed-upon relationship, now would you? All you have to do is choose.”
“Well…”
“Let’s set this discussion aside for now.”
Leaving Adler behind to wipe the cold sweat from his brow with a trembling hand, Professor Moriarty headed for the plush armchair in the center of the room.
“We need to wrap up this case quickly. That way, I’ll have the time to finally stain your eyes with my color.”
Resting her chin on her hand as she sat, she began bobbing her head from side to side.
“…So, where is the client?”
“They should be arriving shortly.”
As if on cue, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed from outside the hideout.
“Wait a moment. You’re going to meet them like this?”
“And what of it?”
“Do you intend to reveal your face to the client?”
“Of course not.”
At Adler’s flustered tone, she shook her head silently.
“I have always enjoyed concealing my identity, whether in the past or the present.”
“Then…”
“Do you know the hour the criminals of London prefer most?”
As Adler tilted his head in confusion, the Professor raised her hand. Her eyes began to shimmer with power.
“…Dawn.”
Simultaneously, dense gray mana gushed from her palm, spreading everywhere the eye could see.
“Just like that hour of the day, the streets should be shrouded in a blinding fog by now.”
—Tzzzzzz…
“The only difference is that this mist is not made of condensed water vapor, but unidentifiable energies.”
Within the thick fog that now filled the hideout, obscuring all vision, the Professor’s voice resonated with authority.
“The client is at a nearby pub. Bring her here.”
“Pardon? Weren’t they just about to walk in?”
“That was merely the sound of my subordinates encircling the back alleys. You must have misunderstood, Mr. Adler.”
At her words, a vacant look took over Adler’s eyes.
“It’s the first time a client has sought us out on their own; you never know what might happen.”
“………”
“Well, I’m counting on you, Mr. Adler.”
Silently biting his lip, Adler rose from his seat.
“No, it is I who should be thanking you for your trust. I am always at your service, Professor.”
With his head lowered, Adler quietly headed toward the exit.
“…This can’t go on.”
Just before stepping out, he muttered those meaningful words into the silent room. Professor Moriarty simply smiled and looked ahead, remaining silent.
.
.
.
Several minutes later…
“…Cough, cough!”
A young woman in a black suit entered through the shabby door of the hideout, which Adler had left open for her. No sooner had she stepped inside than she began coughing from the pungent smoke drifting through the air.
“What the—this place…”
“Come in.”
An eerie female voice drifted through the thick, biting fog.
“Are you playing me for a fool?”
“It is no game. Merely a precaution to protect our identities.”
With a wary look, the woman peered into the depths of the hideout and took a cautious step forward.
“For the sake of protecting your identity, this smoke seems a bit too noxious.”
“Is that so? I’m accustomed to it. My apologies for the lack of consideration.”
“Well, never mind that. I didn’t come to this godforsaken place looking for kindness.”
At her dissatisfied grumble, an eerie chuckle resonated from the mist.
“You design crimes for the right price, correct?”
As a frigid chill spread through the room, the woman flinched. However, she quickly recovered and asked in a confident tone.
“Indeed.”
The voice that answered was shadowy, laced with a misty splendor. Illusory, yet real—a complex paradox.
“As long as you do not attempt to uncover our identities, betray us, or fail to pay our due wages, we guarantee a perfect crime.”
“So, as long as I strictly adhere to our business arrangement, I assume there will be no loss on my end?”
“Lastly, if you wish to conclude the matter with your own hands, we are not responsible for any mistakes that may arise. Keep that in mind before you commission us.”
Hearing the voice, which clearly signaled an intent to remain anonymous, the client nodded.
“I understand perfectly.”
“Good. I appreciate straightforwardness.”
Having grown accustomed to the stuffy gray mist, the client’s eyes were finally able to make out a blurry figure seated in the armchair.
“Then, explain your request to me and my assistant in detail.”
“…What?”
“We need to know the nature of the job before we can begin, don’t we?”
“Well, yes, but…”
The woman looked at the figure with a mix of tension and confusion.
“There’s no one here but you and me…”
“Hmm?”
“Where is this assistant you mentioned?”
Silence hung in the fog for a moment.
“The person who brought you here from the pub—did you not see them?”
“That person gave me the address and took my seat at the bar…”
As a slightly frosty tone emerged from the silence, the client responded with a puzzled tilt of her head.
“When I left, I saw him ordering every type of liquor at the bar…”
“………”
A bead of cold sweat trickled down the forehead of the blurred figure in the chair.
“Busy day at work, I suppose?”
“…Oh dear… Haa…”
.
.
.
Hey, look…
Having sent the client from the pub to the hideout in a huff, I now faced an array of colorful bottles lined up on the table.
[Excessive drinking is harmful to your health.]
“…I’m already a mess, what’s it to you?”
Ignoring the system message popping up before my eyes, I began uncapping the bottles one by one.
[It is bad for your body.]
“I feel like I’ll be worse off if I don’t drink.”
Let me be, fucking damn it…!