Chapter 99: The Three Garridebs (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 99: The Three Garridebs (6)
‘…I’m so screwed.’
The moment I realized the crux of this entire case, that was the only thought filling my mind.
‘I should have noticed sooner.’
There had been more than a few chances to reach this conclusion.
There were plenty of clues scattered about suggesting that Neria Garrideb was an artificially created being. However, they had been obscured by the keyword rabies rather than werewolf.
By the time I realized the truth, it was already too late. Professor Jane Moriarty, Charlotte Holmes, and I were already too deeply involved in this bizarre case.
‘If both sides clash, the situation will spiral out of control…’
Reflecting on the cases of Jill the Ripper and the phantom thief Lupin, I had grasped the conditions that caused the erosion rate to increase. Every time characters from other popular 19th-century works—or real historical figures with no ties to the Sherlock Holmes series—became entangled in a case, the erosion rate jumped dramatically.
In this instance, the mere mention of Frankenstein had sent the erosion rate shooting up by a whopping 7 percent.
What if Charlotte Holmes or Professor Moriarty got even more deeply involved? The erosion rate might skyrocket uncontrollably. At the rate things were going, that was an inevitability.
‘…I have to stop it.’
There was only one way to overcome this predicament. As the probability of this world—the one designated with the duty to uphold its balance—I had to fight these alien beings in Charlotte Holmes's stead.
‘I must twist the conclusion of the case before Charlotte Holmes arrives at the truth.’
I had no time to waste. Before Charlotte discovered Neria Garrideb’s true identity and the existence of Dr. Frankenstein lurking behind her, I had to carve out and discard the inconsistencies in the case—the points where the narrative deviated from its natural course.
Then, I needed to manipulate the truth and reconstruct the case from the ground up. To accomplish that, I had to eliminate Dr. Frankenstein, who was undoubtedly hiding somewhere in this mansion, as soon as possible.
Honestly, I doubted I could achieve that with this "glass cannon" body of mine. However, this wasn’t the time to debate feasibility. If I failed, the end of the world was imminent. I had to succeed at any cost, whether I liked it or not.
“…Hmm.”
So, what was the first item on the agenda?
“Time is ticking, Miss Holmes. At this rate, the truth will be buried in darkness.”
“…Shut up.”
“Oh? So even the world’s greatest genius is capable of getting nervous? Quite an unusual sight, I must say.”
The first step was simple: I had to shake off Professor Moriarty and Charlotte Holmes, who were currently exchanging icy glares and barbs. That was the only way to deal with Dr. Frankenstein without anyone noticing.
Click, click…
However, there was a problem. I had already lost my freedom of movement thanks to these two. The mana chains conjured by the strongest being in this world and the mana chains of the only person capable of rivaling her were binding me tight.
This superimposed binding would be unbreakable for anyone—except perhaps Gia Lestrade, who could nullify any and all magic.
‘Well, then there’s no other choice.’
There was only one option left for me.
‘…I really wanted to keep this as a last resort.’
It was an action perhaps unworthy of the probability of this world, but it was the only method I had left.
“Excuse me for interrupting your delightful deductions for a moment.”
“……..?”
As I steeled my resolve and spoke, the eyes of the quarreling women snapped toward me simultaneously.
“There has been a slight error in the case.”
“What?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m afraid I need to make a minor correction. It won’t take long, I promise.”
Almost instantaneously, the puzzled expressions on their faces turned icy.
“Are you planning to disappear again, only to be found half-butchered?”
“Perhaps you secretly harbor a penchant for bloodshed? If not, it would be wise to cease this foolishness while you still can.”
Their remarks were exactly what I had anticipated.
“…I knew both of you would respond that way.”
Gazing at them with a smirk—noting how they only seemed to complement each other when they were ganging up on me—I quietly raised my hand and let my eyes shine.
Snap!
A crisp snapping sound echoed through the room.
Bzzzzzz…
“”………!?””
And then, the anomaly occurred.
.
.
.
.
.
“…Hnng.”
“Hmm?”
The chains tightly coiled around my body began to slacken. Simultaneously, both Charlotte Holmes and Professor Moriarty let out muffled groans, their bodies beginning to twitch.
Zzzing…
The golden seals I had engraved on their lower abdomens began to glow with a brilliant hue.
“What are you doing right now?”
“Mr. Adler… since when did I have such a thing engraved on my stomach?”
Clutching her lower abdomen with a visible tremble, Charlotte glared at me with a look that suggested she’d kill me if she could. Professor Moriarty, on the other hand, merely asked her question with eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“It was engraved when I first made the slave… I mean, the graduate student contract with you, Professor. In Miss Holmes's case, it happened during our contract at Reigate… probably.”
“I don’t recall consenting to such an inscription.”
“Don’t feel too upset, Professor. Unlike the other women’s contracts, your seal is also engraved on my stomach…”
Speaking in a somewhat menacing tone, I smiled and revealed my own lower abdomen.
“…..Ah.”
I stared down at the two seals overlapping each other, alternating between shades of grey and black as they battled for dominance, and briefly trailed off.
“The seals are so strong-willed, just like their owners.”
“Enough. Why is my mana suddenly sealed?”
“Now that you mention it, I can’t seem to use my mana either.”
I tried to maintain a cheerful tone, but I was met with the freezing voices of Charlotte and the Professor.
“The reason you can’t use your mana is… well, I’m using the mana of all the women I’ve engraved with seals to suppress both of yours.”
“Does that even make sense?”
“Well, it seems to be working, doesn’t it?”
As I shrugged, Holmes and the Professor looked at me with utter incredulity. Their reactions confirmed that they were unaware of this phenomenon.
In this world, mana was actually a shared resource. The phenomenon of mana discoloration, where one’s eye color changes due to the influence of another’s mana, was commonplace for exactly that reason. Since mana was far more fluid than one might think, it could easily flow between individuals. Therefore, if one lacked mana, it was possible to receive it from another—or, conversely, to transfer it.
It seemed the original Isaac Adler, even before my possession, was the only one who had realized this. He had been carving mana conduits under the guise of slave contracts onto the lower abdomens of women all across London.
His research had been slightly flawed, so it never manifested in practice. But if the theory had worked as intended, all of London could have been his potential mana reserve, providing a near-infinite supply.
‘…And I finally completed it.’
Perfecting the incomplete mana conduction magic was simpler than I expected. After weeks of revising the clunky, illogical syntax using my expertise as a developer, I had successfully reproduced Isaac Adler’s unfinished magic in my own original form.
In other words, I had successfully turned half the women in London into my mana channels.
Of course, my own "vessel" was still painfully small, so I couldn't unleash intermediate spells without trickery, let alone the top-tier magic Charlotte or Moriarty could cast. But if the mana reserve was infinite and there were enough channels to direct it, there was a very simple method of suppression I could employ.
“So, how does it feel to be unable to use magic?”
It was, essentially… a DDoS attack.
I was pouring the mana of half the women in London into their seals in a continuous, overwhelming stream.
“…Really, just what on earth is your true identity…?”
“You always exceed my expectations, Adler.”
Naturally, their bodies—overloaded by the onslaught of infinite mana—became incapable of manipulating their own power for a time. Unless their capacity to hold mana was as vast as the entirety of London itself, they had no way to escape this attack.
“Let’s see…”
“”…………””
“Hmmm.”
I summoned golden chains with a flick of my hand, binding the dazed Charlotte and the Professor tightly for good measure.
“This should be good enough…”
“Look here, Adler.”
Just as I was about to step away, ensuring the chains were secure, an even-toned voice came from behind me.
“Heh…”
Viewing the Professor, utterly restrained by my mana, an unexpected urge to tease her rose within me.
“No, you look, Miss Moriarty.”
“…Mr. Adler?”
“It seems you might be under a misconception here.”
How could I not harbor a few dark desires when this woman, who always effortlessly subdued me, was now so helpless?
“Right now, I am your master.”
“…..”
“So call me ‘Master’ instead of ‘Adler.’”
The Professor’s eyes grew as cold as ice as I whispered into her ear.
“Oh? Your eyes seem rather defiant. Not quite grasping the situation, are you?”
“………….”
“Do you want me to pet you and train you like I did that one time?”
As I poked her lower abdomen with my finger while whispering, the Professor’s eyes started to waver.
“A professor with a nasty temper, hiding her thesis papers… A pervert who salivates over someone who doesn’t even consent to your advances… You even have a ten-year age gap with Charlotte…”
Amused by her reaction, I found myself engrossed in the provocation.
Gooooo…
Suddenly, a chilling coldness emanated from her very being.
“…Does it feel good to sexually harass a student who hasn’t even graduated yet?”
A shiver ran down my spine for a moment, but I had already said my piece. Having successfully executed the theoretical—and highly prone to failure—Distributed Mana Rejection attack, I could now control the Professor however I wished.
I had no reason to fear her anymore.
“…Anyway, both of you stay still.”
“”……….””
“I’ll be back shortly after fixing this mess.”
I patted the Professor and Charlotte on their heads once more and headed out of the room with a small smile.
“…Miss Garrideb, you come along too.”
“M-me?”
“You’ll be my bodyguard for the day.”
I should have taken a tougher stance from the very start.
.
.
.
.
.
A few minutes later…
“Where does Franken—no, Mrs. Garrideb usually stay?”
“On the first floor, in the master bedroom. Except for when she’s eating… she spends nearly all day there.”
As Isaac Adler exited into the hallway with Neria Garrideb, he questioned her in a friendly voice. Her expression was unusually tense as she responded.
“Relax.”
“But… it’s been so long since I’ve been out of my room…”
“How long has it been?”
Adler tilted his head. Neria quietly bowed her head and muttered in a low voice.
“I’m not sure, but… ever since Father passed away, it’s been…”
“It must have been lonely.”
Adler looked at her with a softened gaze and began to gently stroke her hair.
“I’ve had my own times of loneliness.”
“Really?”
“I was so depressed that I lost interest in life. That’s why…”
Just as he was about to flaunt his usual eloquence…
“I feel the same way, Adler.”
Right next to Adler, who was walking leisurely, came that familiar, even-toned voice.
“A professor feeling lonely? That’s quite unexpected…”
He chuckled and responded instinctively, but he soon trailed off.
“Huh?”
Adler glanced to the side. There was Moriarty, walking with her hands clasped behind her back, bobbing her head from side to side.
“Is this a dream?”
“………….”
“It’s a dream, hehe.”
He reached out, grabbed her cheek, and stretched it. Then he pinched his own cheek and let out a relieved laugh when he didn't feel any pain.
“…But I usually can’t feel pain anyway.”
As that realization hit him, his complexion grew paler by the second.
“Oh, I didn’t know about that…”
Professor Moriarty—whose mana vessel was apparently larger than half the women in London combined—was smiling broadly, her arm draped over Adler’s shoulder.
[GG]
“…Eeek!”