༺ The Man with the Twisted Lip ༻
A few weeks after the conclusion of the The Secret of the Speckled Band case.
“Mr. Adler…”
“Professor?”
Upon rushing to the office due to a surprising urgent summons, I was greeted with the sight of Professor Jane Moriarty sprawled out on the sofa.
“Help me…”
“What on earth happened? Were you attacked?”
“That’s not it…”
As I approached her with shock evident in my eyes, Professor Moriarty murmured in a weak voice.
“Then?”
“… I feel like I’m dying of boredom.”
Hearing those words, I stood there with a dumbfounded expression. Meanwhile, the professor, lying on the sofa, began to speak in a defeated tone.
“There’s no case… No case to consult on…”
“……..”
“I never imagined I would come to understand how detectives feel when they have no clients…”
The sight of the professor rolling about on the sofa, mumbling to herself so, reminded me of Holmes and Watson who would become sullen due to the lack of cases…
I never imagined I would see such a sight in a place like this; it was truly unexpected.
“Professor, please be patient for just a bit longer. Haven’t we just started this whole crime consultation gig?”
“Hmm…”
“If we successfully advise on just a few more cases, our names will surely spread in the underworld. By then, there’ll be no time to be bored with all the incoming requests, right?”
“I’m well aware of that…”
Regardless, the professor’s boredom was a serious matter, so I tried my best to comfort her.
“But we can’t resolve the boredom immediately, can we?”
The professor slightly lifted her head, looked at me with drowsy eyes, and spoke.
“All this is because of you.”
Her eyes, which gleamed darkly, were directed toward me.
“… Because of me?”
“Didn’t you lead me to three consecutive stimulating experiences from the get-go?”
For some reason, I shivered as I remembered the day I first met her; thinking of the dean here, dead with a hole in her head made me feel goosebumps all over.
“Now my body doesn’t react unless it’s that level of stimulation.”
“………….”
“Take responsibility.”
“What would you like me to do?”
She slightly leaned in, patting the seat next to her, and whispered in a soft voice.
“How about playing a kissing game?”
“That’s sexual harassment, Professor.”
“But it’s a good idea.”
A smile spread across her lips as she spoke those words.
“To completely seduce you and make you mine, I must persistently engage in this act of kissing.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Looking at the change in your facial color and heartbeat, it’s clear that the act greatly affects you.”
“………”
“But kisses aren’t as sweet as they seem in books. That’s why it’s a bit of a problem.”
After speaking to herself for a while, she took out a sugar cube from her pocket.
“… Wouldn’t this make it sweeter?”
Then, she placed it on her tongue.
“………”
I stared intently at the professor, who had tilted her head and spread her arms toward me by then.
“… Uh.”
“You must be truly bored.”
While pushing the sugar cube into the professor’s mouth with my finger, I spoke those words.
“However, regrettably, I don’t have time to entertain you today.”
“……….”
“There’s a matter I must attend to.”
Professor Moriarty, who had been quietly chewing on the sugar, began to gaze expressionlessly into my eyes. However, I didn’t have the time to indulge her whims.
“Why are you in such a hurry?”
“It’s related to the organization.”
“Explain to me in more detail.”
But upon reflection, hiding information from the professor, who was the head of the organization, seemed ludicrous in itself.
“I need to retrieve a new body for Princess Joan Clay.”
“Princess Joan Clay?”
So after clearing my throat briefly, I started explaining and showed her the ring I wore on my finger.
“It’s about our client who I subdued and sealed in this ring during the Red Mana League case.”
“Ah, right. I remember now.”
Jane Moriarty blinked and nodded thoughtfully for a moment.
“Though I would personally prefer to keep her sealed in the ring a bit longer due to her slight rebellious streak, the Princess seems to have a particular fondness for my blood.”
– Ziiing…
“Since I wear it on my finger, she frequently takes my blood all the time.”
The ring on my finger, where Princess Clay was sealed, began to glow and started drawing my blood as soon as I finished speaking.
“Such a naughty mosquito.”
“Well, it’s fine for now. I do experience symptoms of anemia occasionally, however…”
“If you lend her to me for a bit, I can train her perfectly.”
“I’ll pass on that. Whether by accident or intention, you’ll surely ruin her, Professor.”
Staring intently at the ring, Professor Moriarty extended her hand and spoke those words. In response, I quietly lowered my head and uttered a retort.
“… You got me.”
She chuckled and began tapping her desk with her finger.
– Ziiing…
The ring, which had been fervently sucking my blood, suddenly started to tremble as if it were frightened. Surely, it must have been my imagination.
“In any case, because of these reasons, I intend to place her in a new body and continue her training.”
“What do you mean by a new body? A sickly slave? A hunting dog? Or perhaps, a stray cat?”
“I did consider placing her in a living body, but then, I realized that would shorten her lifespan considerably.”
Scratching my head as I continued explaining, I pulled out a blueprint from my bag and handed it to the professor.
“So, I specially ordered a doll powered by a mana stone, virtually indistinguishable from a living being.”
“There are craftsmen who can make such things?”
“Typically, no. But there are a few in the underworld.”
The design of the doll I conceived was, as previously promised to the Princess, shaped like a cat.
“They wouldn’t accept requests for humanoid shapes, so I ordered a cat-shaped doll.”
“Pffft.”
The thought of the fourth smartest and most powerful woman in London being reduced to a cat made Professor Moriarty burst into laughter.
“That would certainly be a sight for sore eyes.”
Her eyes shone full of anticipation as she murmured to herself.
For someone who often seemed emotionless, she surprisingly had a rich range of emotions, didn’t she?
“So, are you departing now?”
“Yes, probably…”
“Perfect timing. I don’t have any lectures this morning, so I’ll join you.”
Pondering for some time, I responded to her question, which was quickly followed by Professor Moriarty’s proposal.
“That’s not possible I am afraid.”
I had no choice but to refuse her offer.
“Why so?”
“Because given your impeccable and pristine status as a professor of the August Academy, you absolutely cannot be seen in the place I’m going to.”
“… Where exactly is this meeting place that you speak of?”
Because the place I was about to head to was…
“The Opium Den.”
One of the most dangerous places in London.
“… So, you’re saying you want to be completely deprived of your free will and be imprisoned forever, huh?”
“Please calm down, Professor.”
Expectedly, once I finished speaking, Professor Moriarty whispered in a dark tone, binding me with mana in an instant.
“Of course, I’ll be prepared. Very thoroughly at that.”
“If you’re thrown into the river adjacent to that place, your body will disappear without a trace. No matter how well you prepare.”
“………”
“Especially someone like you, who has the most enemies in London. They’d likely throw your dismembered body in the rivers. And if that happens, even I would question if it was possible to find a single finger of yours.”
Professor Moriarty might have been a bit aggressive with her words, but she was right in the end.
At the moment, I was a prime target due to numerous past transgressions, for scorning women, and there was even an unidentified person who brazenly interfered with the world’s erosion rate.
In such circumstances, willingly entering an opium den would be akin to publicly advertising my desire to be endangered to the entire neighborhood.
“… There’s always a way around everything.”
However, that only applied when I assumed the appearance of Isaac Adler.
– Zzzzzz…
“Uhm?”
When I used the original body owner’s signature disguise magic to change my appearance, the situation took a turn.
“Ta-da~!”
What if it was a perfect full-body disguise, stored in the mana slot of Isaac Adler, who was hailed as a great actor? A disguise that clearly took years to perfect?
Even in that notorious Opium Den, there would be no one who could see through my true appearance.
“Are you still worried now?”
“………..”
When I displayed the transformation to Professor Moriarty, where the sharp aura of Isaac Adler was completely gone, replaced by an appearance that seemed honest and naive, she quietly tilted her head.
“Certainly, you don’t look like Isaac Adler.”
“Do I not?”
“Did you deliberately make your lips that way to hide your true appearance as much as possible? But your inherent appearance remains unchanged; it’s quite a high-level disguise.”
Then, she finally released the restraint and nodded her head.
“But remember, even if you aren’t Isaac Adler, the Opium Den is still a dangerous place.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
“… It’s not just empty words. I’ve killed a few people there myself.”
As I turned away, giving her a smile in response to such a statement, I shuddered at the chilling words that followed.
“Just kidding.”
Professor Jane Moriarty then grinned and spoke.
“Take care of yourself.”
“… Yes.”
“… If you get hurt again, I’ll kill you.”
“It would be an honor of mine.”
After hearing her stern farewell, I made my way out of the office.
‘… There won’t be any problems, right?’
To the setting of that bizarre incident from the original novels, the opium den…
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Several hours later—
“Well then, enjoy your time.”
“… Thank you.”
Upon arriving at the Opium Den, I was able to safely enter by handing a purse of money to the Indian Manager of the place who had been leaning near the entrance, waiting for me.
‘… Ugh, the smell.’
As I cautiously moved forward, a pungent smoke stung my nostrils.
“”…………””
As I continued walking through the smoke, the eyes of the addicts sprawled on the floor began to focus on me all at once.
‘As expected, this isn’t just any ordinary opium den.’
While the majority of them were mere addicts, scattered among them were individuals who showed no signs of addiction.
“Heh… heh…”
For instance, a handsome young boy who pretended to be intoxicated by the drug, sloppily moving his body, but still sneaking glances at me with a disturbing smile on his face.
“… Look at that lad. Seems like he might fetch a good price.”
“Forget it, I can sense mana flowing in him. It’ll be troublesome.”
“Tsk, what’s a mage doing here…”
Or the thugs who were openly evaluating my worth with glinting eyes.
“……….”
Or the individuals who merely stared intently at me without uttering a word from a while ago.
‘… This is intimidating.’
Given the fact that I could sense mana and sword energy within them, I came to the conclusion that most of them were skilled assassins or criminals.
I’m glad I utilized the disguise stored in Isaac Adler’s mana slot.
Had I come in the true form of Isaac Adler, by now, wouldn’t I be dismembered?
– Creak…
Shivering at that thought, I could only breathe a sigh of relief after unlocking the door with the key given by the manager and stepping into the assigned room.
“… Phew.”
Once inside the room, I could finally feel at ease.
All I had to do was quietly wait here until the doll-maker arrived.
“Hmm…”
As I looked around the room, two windows caught my attention.
‘They’ve recreated this from the original novels as well.’
One window faced a rapidly flowing river, and the other offered a view of the street outside.
No matter how I looked at it, the room resembled the one from the incident in the original novel titled The Man with the Twisted Lip.
‘While they’ve omitted the actual event, they’ve replicated these unnecessary details so accurately.’
It was truly puzzling why they meticulously designed the opium den but left out The Man with the Twisted Lip episode in its entirety.
Well, I was relieved not to get entangled in a pointless incident, but still…
– Creak…
“Huh?”
As I was opening the window, lost in thought, I suddenly had to pause, my expression turning into a frown.
“… Why is my mouth like this?”
My reflection in the window showed my lips being twisted.
Did I make a mistake when casting the disguise magic?
‘If it’s not that…’
– Shiver…
“……!”
As a chilling thought raced through my mind, I was suddenly startled by the sound of the door opening behind me.
“W, what!?”
“Hehe.”
Panicking, I hurriedly closed the window and turned around to face an astonishing sight.
“What brings you here?”
The young boy, who had earlier glanced at me with that unsettling smile of his, was now tearing the skin off his face.
“Mr. Isaac Adler?”
Lost in the boy’s familiar voice, I wore a stunned expression, wondering how my impeccable disguise had been seen through.
“… Miss Holmes?”
Before I knew it, I was speaking to Charlotte Holmes who had suddenly appeared before me.
“Stalking is a crime, don’t you know?”
She responded, her eyes shining darkly, as she stepped forward.
“… I know.”
“Surprising someone is a crime too.”
If she surprised me again, I would definitely report her to the police.
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Meanwhile, at that very moment—
“What have I…”
Upon hearing the news that her friend’s younger sibling hadn’t left the opium den, Rachel Watson, armed with a pistol, braved the dangers and went to the location.
“What have I witnessed?”
She mumbled, staring blankly at the window that had been hastily shut a moment ago.
“…Why are you here?”
That man, who had been missing for over a month, was, for some bloody reason, spotted in the top room of the opium den.
– Click.
The pistol in Watson’s hand, which she hadn’t used since retiring from the military, was loaded once again after a long hiatus.
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