༺ Gia Lestrade ༻
“Mr. Adler, it’s morning already.”
“………”
“Time to get up.”
Even if it was only due to the probability of my life ending went from 99 percent to 1 percent, I had been quite excited about by the professor’s vow to protect me. I had even become expectant due to her words.
“… I know, Professor.”
“Is that so?”
But after a few days had passed, I began to realize that something was terribly wrong with that promise of hers.
“… You should get up first, Professor.”
“I’ll get up when you get up.”
“But I’m still feeling sleepy…”
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the professor was really protecting me.
Ever since that day, the professor had moved my residence to her office, practically spending every moment with me.
The problem here was that… the contents and methods of her protection were getting seriously excessive.
“It’s almost time for you to go to the restroom, right? You always conduct your morning routine at this time.”
“………”
Studying, eating, using the restroom, and even sleeping and waking up. I did all of that while being practically glued to the professor for the past few days.
“Adler, why are you making that face?”
“… Isn’t it a bit much to use the restroom together and also to share the same bed?”
Getting the feeling that if I didn’t point it out now, I’d never be able to do so again, I asked the question while scratching my head awkwardly.
“Adler, if we sleep separately and you suddenly get attacked, my response would be delayed.”
Then, Professor Moriarty, who was hugging me from behind while lying on the bed, began to answer with a slight smile on her face after hearing my words.
“That may be true…”
“Our enemy can appear anywhere, and at anytime, hiding in the depths of the treacherous shadows. We must never let our guard down.”
Finishing her words, the professor held me a bit tighter than before and rested her small head on my shoulder.
“I said I’d protect you, and I’ll do it by any means necessary.”
“………”
“You brought this upon yourself, so I won’t accept any objections.”
Wasn’t this practically confinement in the name of protection then?
“I want to go for a walk today, Professor.”
“It’s dangerous outside, Mr. Adler.”
“… Would it be alright if I’m with you then, Professor?”
“… I’ll permit a walk around the academy grounds.”
Hmm, it seemed that this approach was correct. This was a clever way to exploit a loophole in the system of confinement.
‘It’s a bit dangerous…’
Excluding a few characters, being confined was a factor that directly lead to a bad ending.
So, I felt I needed to do something before the system recognized this situation as confinement.
“Professor.”
“……?”
“You’ll be in trouble if we continue.”
With that thought in mind, I turned around and started whispering to the professor with a slightly serious look in my face.
“I’m a man, after all.”
At that, the professor characteristically tilted her head to the side in her unique cutesy manner.
“If you keep touching me like this, I might end up making a move on you again.”
“Hmm.”
“I guess you haven’t thought about that, have you?”
As she stopped tilting her head and gazed deeply at me, I tried to look as masculine as possible and hugged her in my arms.
“… From what I see, you seem to have a tendency to put yourself in trouble.”
After showing a confident look for a while, the professor quietly leaned closer to me.
“Is it because you’re not normal, just like me?”
“Me? I’m just average…”
“Average people don’t say that they have found a new riddle with a cheerful expression on their face when they have quite literally been stabbed and are losing consciousness.”
Her unsettling smile, eerily similar to that of a sly lizard, was so chilling that it inadvertently chipped away at my confident demeanor…
“Even when dying from a stomach wound, you only seem saddened by the fact that there is an error in the riddle you have conjured.”
“……….”
“You unconsciously make remarks and actions that drive women crazy while maintaining an innocent look…”
At the same time, the professor began caressing my cheek.
“Actually, I’ve acted that way intentionally during cases a few times, but doing so unknowingly is not…”
“Mr. Adler, if you do that with others aside from me, you might get into serious trouble.”
“………”
“People’s patience can be surprisingly limited.”
The professor’s gaze was somewhat different than usual, so I quietly nodded and reverted back to my usual demeanor as her faithful assistant.
“To be honest, I’m still very curious about you.”
However, the professor’s demeanor remained the same even now…
“What are you exactly, a good person or a bad one?”
“Well…”
“What had you done before becoming a student that you’re so unfazed by such incidents?”
While being pressed continuously by her in that manner, I broke into a cold sweat when,
– Knock, knock, knock…
Someone began knocking on the door of the office.
“I’d like to delve deeper, but we have a visitor. We’ll continue this discussion later…”
With that, Professor Moriarty gently released me from her embrace and seated me beside her.
“Come in.”
– Creak…
Sitting on a makeshift bed, as I blushed and lowered my head to the ground, I saw the door being quietly opened.
“….. Huh?”
Upon seeing the people who entered, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.
“It’s been a while~”
“Hmm.”
A figure I had never expected to see here— Mycrony Holmes, stood before us, accompanying her younger sister, Charlotte Holmes.
“… Who are you?”
“Oh my, pretending not to know?”
As I blankly stared at them, Professor Moriarty and Mycrony Holmes began their conversation in earnest, eyeing each other with chilling glares.
“Even a professor of the renowned August Academy can’t really recognize someone they’ve never met in their lives now, can they?”
“If you insist on playing the foolish idiot then… let’s just say that I’m the person who has been tormenting you for the past month.”
“So you were the one behind Miss Charlotte Holmes?”
At the prospect of the two of the most powerful beings in the world clashing against each other, a situation akin to a catastrophe that should never occur, I couldn’t help but feel a chill running down my spine.
“… Huh?”
However, at that moment— from behind the sibling duo, a new face began to emerge.
“You seem to have come fully prepared?”
Recognizing the face, Professor Moriarty chuckled and murmured.
“Seeing that you brought that child, it seems to be the case.”
“… I truly apologize.”
Every single day for the past month, she had followed closely behind me— the most powerful individual at the August Detective Academy.
“You’ll have to cooperate, Professor.”
Gia Lestrade had finally made her appearance.
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“So, what’s the reason you’ve come barging into my office with such hefty preparations?”
“It’s simple, really…”
Professor Moriarty, after a long pause, tilted her head to the side and posed the question. Mycrony Holmes, perhaps tired from all the standing and walking, took a seat on the office sofa and replied in a languid voice.
“You need to assist us in the investigation of the most notorious case in England right now.”
“… Are you talking about the case of Jill the Reaper?”
“Her Majesty the Queen has decreed that she must be captured, no matter the circumstances.”
“But, what does that have to do with me?”
The professor asked, her gaze darkening as she spoke.
“Well, because Jill the Ripper’s primary interest is your assistant.”
“… Are you saying you intend to use my assistant as bait?”
A cold atmosphere settled in the office at the mention of those words.
“Bait? That’s a harsh term. Mr. Isaac Adler will simply be our partner in this investigation.”
“I fail to see how that’s any different from using him as bait.”
In that foreboding atmosphere, the two continued their conversation, each emanating a sharp aura from their very existence.
“Bait is used once and thrown away once it has fulfilled its purpose. A partner is protected to the very end. That’s the difference between them, Professor.”
“If you are talking about protection, then I don’t see the difference that you speak of.”
Professor Moriarty responded with a chilling smile on her expressionless face.
“Is there anyone else in all of England capable of dealing with that shadowy being other than me?”
“Coincidentally, Miss Lestrade, who is adept at managing such situations, was looking for a high-paying part-time job. So I considered bringing her on as Isaac Adler’s bodyguard.”
“… That’s true.”
Lestrade, who had been quietly bowing her head between the sibling duo till now, finally spoke up.
“I was posting a notice to hire me for a part-time job on a nearby board and was brought here without understanding why.”
“… Posting unauthorized notices is against school regulations, Miss Lestrade.”
“I apologize for that conduct. However, I understand the situation now…”
As Lestrade replied with a neutral expression and looked at Mycrony, she lazily smiled and gazed at Professor Moriarty in turn.
“I hope you will understand as well, Professor.”
“And if I refuse?”
When Professor Moriarty asked her with a hint of amusement in her voice, Mycrony Holmes’ eyes grew serious for the very first time.
“There are more than hundreds of ways to destroy a mere professor like you.”
“Is this how you should treat an ordinary, righteous citizen?”
“A righteous citizen who has Isaac Adler on her palms, that’s an interesting concept.”
She stared piercingly at Professor Moriarty.
“Please don’t make me take an interest in you, Professor.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
“I don’t particularly want to turn England, which I’ve carefully managed till now, into a battlefield.”
“It’s best to avoid battles where there are no clear winners.”
Just like that, their verbal duel continued for quite a while.
“… I will cooperate with the investigation, Professor.”
“Mr. Adler.”
The one who ended their silent confrontation was none other than Isaac Adler, who stood up with a determined look on his face.
“Our goal is the same, isn’t it?”
“………”
“I don’t want to ruin it because of some psychopathic killer.”
Professor Moriarty, who had been watching Isaac Adler intently, suddenly had a cold look in her eyes.
“… I also don’t want to continue to be a burden for you, professor.”
As Adler blinked rapidly at the faint hint of resentment in her gaze, he quickly realized his misjudgment and left the office with large strides.
“Whew, that’s over~”
Then, Mycrony Holmes stood up, clapping her hands.
“I’m bored now, so I’ll be leaving.”
“… Already?”
“Our little sister sure was in a hurry. She even asked me for help.”
She told Charlotte with a hint of amusement in her languid voice.
“It’s quite surprising sister… You’ve never agreed to such a request before.
“Well then, enjoy your time with the rescued prince, Charlotte.”
“… Shut up, you piece of flesh.”
“Hehe…”
Mycrony passed by Charlotte, covering her mouth with laughter at the inevitable curse hurled her way.
“I haven’t seen him for just a short while, and I’m already showing withdrawal symptoms.”
Stopping next to Adler who stood outside the office, she whispered in a deathly quiet voice.
“….. Please come to my house this weekend.”
At those words, Isaac Adler flinched momentarily, then blushed and nodded.
“Let’s go, Mr. Adler.”
“… Miss Holmes.”
“You should thank me for saving you, shouldn’t you?”
As Mycrony Holmes walked down the corridor with a satisfied expression, her face was tinged with guilt and mischief upon hearing the innocent voice coming from behind.
“… I can never let go of this now… I can never let go of him…”
Hidden under her slightly lifted clothing, were the clearly preserved bite marks from Isaac Adler that had accumulated over the past month.
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‘… Perfect.’
Though there were some hitches, Charlotte Holmes had successfully rescued the nearly imprisoned Isaac Adler from Professor Moriarty’s grasp.
‘It’s really a flawless plan, no matter how I think of it.’
Sitting in the coffee shop that Adler often visited, with her reliable assistant Lestrade, she wore a triumphant smile while being lost in her string of thoughts.
‘With Gia Lestrade, I know that Adler is in good hands.’
Gia Lestrade, who was she?
She was universally recognized as the most physically skilled student in the entirety of August Detective Academy. Despite being a student, she had been given the rank of Chief Inspector by the command of the Queen herself— a talent said to only be seen once in a millennium.
Furthermore, due to her cold and knight-like appearance, countless men had confessed their feelings to her, but she never accepted anyone’s heart, becoming an impenetrable wall of sorrow and heartbreak.
Moreover, she never tolerated injustice and had an innate sense of justice that despised anything wrong or evil.
Even if it was Isaac Adler, seducing her, known by the nickname of The Holy Knight that Descended upon England, was impossible.
In other words, she was more or less the perfect choice to protect and simultaneously watch over Isaac Adler.
“Mr. Adler.”
‘… But what if she refuses because she dislikes him too much?’
While Charlotte Holmes wore a satisfied smile, she began to listen intently, worried if she would undertake this duty, as the cold-faced Lestrade sitting across her opened her mouth.
“I like you.”
“……..?”
Soon after, she began to doubt her own ears.
“Let’s date.”
“… Excuse me?”
And Isaac Adler, who had been sitting beside Charlotte in a daze, felt the same way.
– Progress: 0% → 100%
“Why?”
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