༺ The Three Garridebs (6) ༻
‘… I’m so screwed.’
The moment I realized the crux of this whole case, my mind was filled with that thought.
‘I should have noticed sooner.’
There had been more than just a few chances to reach this conclusion.
- The abnormally low body temperature of Neria Garrideb that I could feel the moment she pounced on me.
- The terrifying strength that her frail body should have never possessed.
- And, more than anything else, the strange wound on Nathan Garrideb’s arm.
There were quite a few similar clues scattered all over, suggesting that Neria Garrideb was an artificially created being.
Only, they were obscured by the keyword of a rabies patient, rather than a 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 surely spiral out of control…’
Considering the cases of Jill the Ripper and the phantom thief Lupin, I was able to grasp the conditions that led to an increase in the erosion rate.
Every time characters from other popular 19th-century works, or real people with no ties to the Sherlock Holmes series got entangled in a case, the erosion rate would jump dramatically.
Even in this case, the moment Frankenstein was mentioned, the erosion rate shot up by a whopping 7 percent.
What if Charlotte Holmes or Professor Moriarty got more deeply involved in the case?
The erosion rate might skyrocket uncontrollably. Rather, at the rate things were going, that was bound to happen.
‘… I have to stop it.’
Then, there was only one way to overcome this predicament.
As the probability of this world, the one designated with the duty to uphold this world’s balance, I must fight against those alien beings in place of Charlotte Holmes.
‘I must twist the conclusion of the case before Charlotte Holmes arrives at the truth.’
Therefore, I have no time to waste.
Before Charlotte discovered the identity of Neria Garrideb and the existence of Dr. Frankenstein behind her, I had to carve out and discard the inconsistencies present in the case. The points which deviated the case from its natural course.
And then, I needed to manipulate the truth and reconstruct the case from the ground up.
To accomplish that, it was a must to eliminate Dr. Frankenstein, who should be hiding somewhere in this mansion, as soon as possible.
Honestly, I doubted that I would be able to accomplish that with this body, akin to a glass cannon, I possess. However, this wasn’t the time to debate whether it was feasible or not.
If I didn’t succeed, the end of the world was imminent. I had no choice but to accomplish the task at any and all costs, whether I like it or not.
“… Hmm.”
Then, what was the first agenda that I needed to tackle?
“Time is ticking, Miss Holmes. At this rate, the truth will be buried in darkness.”
“… Shut up.”
“Ohhh. So, even the most genius girl in the world is capable of getting nervous, huh? Quite an unusual sight, I must say.”
It was simple.
I had to shake off Professor Moriarty and Charlotte Holmes, who were currently exchanging icy looks as they argued with each other.
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 due to these two women.
The mana chains conjured by the strongest being of this world and the mana chains of the only person who can rival this being were binding me tight.
This superimposed binding would be unbreakable by anyone except Gia Lestrade, who could nullify any and all magic.
‘Well, then there’s no other choice left.’
There was only one option left for me.
‘… I really wanted to keep this as a last resort.’
It was quite possibly an action unworthy of the probability of this world, but it was the only method left for me at the moment.
“Excuse me for interrupting your delightful deductions for a moment.”
“……..?”
As I resolved myself quietly and began to speak, the eyes of the quarreling women simultaneously focused on me.
“There has been a slight error in the case.”
“What?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m afraid I will need to make a minor correction. It won’t take long, I promise.”
Nigh instantaneously, the expressions on their puzzled faces turned icy at my words.
“Are you planning to disappear again, only to be found half-butchered to death?”
“Perhaps you secretly harbor a penchant for bloodshed? If not, it would be wise to cease this foolishness while you still can.”
The remarks leaving their mouth soon after were not different from what I had anticipated from them.
“… I knew both of you would respond that way.”
As I gazed at them with a smirk, knowing how well they complemented each other only in moments like these, I quietly raised my hand and allowed my eyes to shine.
– Snap…!
A crisp snapping sound echoed in the room.
– Bzzzzzz…
“”………!?””
And soon after, the anomaly occurred.
.
.
.
.
.
“… Hnng.”
“Hmm?”
The chains that had been tightly coiling around my body began to loosen, and simultaneously, both Charlotte Holmes and Professor Moriarty groaned out loud, their bodies beginning to twitch.
– Zzzing…
At the same time, the golden seal I had engraved in their lower abdomen began to shine with a golden hue.
“What are you doing right now?”
“Mr. Adler. Since when do 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 seemed to be saying that she could kill me if she could. On the other hand, Professor Moriarty merely posed a question with eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“It was engraved when I first made the slave… I mean, graduate student contract with you, Professor, and in the case of Miss Holmes, 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…”
With those words, spoken in a somewhat menacing tone, I smiled and revealed my lower abdomen.
“….. Ah.”
I found two seals overlapping each other, alternating between shades of grey and black, battling 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 speak in a cheerful tone, only to be met with the cold voices of Charlotte and the Professor.
“The reason you can’t use your mana is because… I’m using the mana of all the women I’ve engraved with seals on their lower belly to suppress both of your mana.”
“Does that even make sense?”
“Well, it seems to be working though, doesn’t it?”
As I shrugged my shoulders and retorted, Holmes and Professor looked at me with an incredulous gaze. Their reactions told me that they too were unaware of this phenomenon.
In this world, mana was in reality a shared resource.
The phenomenon of mana discoloration, where one’s eye color changes due to the influence of another’s mana, was commonplace precisely due to reason. Since the mana a person held was far more fluid than one might think, it could easily flow between individuals.
Therefore, if one was lacking in mana, it was inherently possible to receive it from another person or, conversely, to transfer it.
And it seemed that the original Isaac Adler, even before my possession, was the only one who had realized such a fact.
He had been carving mana conduits under the guise of slave contracts onto the lower abdomens of women all across London.
His research was slightly flawed, so it never manifested in practice. But if the theory had worked as it was intended, all of London could have been his potential mana reserve; just waiting for him to tap into a near-infinite supply.
‘… And I, I finally completed it.’
Perfecting the incomplete mana conduction magic was simpler than I thought it would be.
After weeks of revising the poorly written syntax, written with incorrect and clunky logic with the know-how of an active developer, I successfully reproduced Isaac Adler’s unfinished magic in my own original form.
In other words, I had successfully turned half of London’s women into my mana channels.
Of course, the vessel itself was still painfully small, so I wasn’t even able to unleash intermediate spells without employing some sort of trickery. Let’s not even mention the top-tier magic that Charlotte or Professor Moriarty are able to cast.
But if the mana reserve was infinite, and there were enough channels to direct it in their lower abdomens, there was a very simple method of suppression that I was able to employ.
“So, how does it feel to be unable to use magic?”
That was… a DDoS attack.
It involved pouring the mana of half of London’s women population into their seals over a prolonged period of time.
“… Really, just what on earth is your true identity…”
“You always exceed my expectations, Adler.”
Naturally, their bodies, overloaded by the continuous onslaught of infinite mana, became incapable of manipulating any mana for a while.
And unless their capacity to hold mana was as vast as the entirety of London itself, it was unlikely for them to have any means 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 after ensuring multiple times that the chains were securely fastened, an even-toned voice came from behind me.
“Heh…”
Viewing the professor, utterly restrained by my mana, I felt the urge to tease her arise within me, unexpectedly.
“No, you look, Miss Moriarty.”
“… Mr. Adler?”
“It seems you might be under a misconception here.”
How could I not harbor dark desires when such a being, who always helplessly subdued me under her might and control, was now subdued so helplessly?
“Now I am your master.”
“…..”
“So call me master instead of Adler.”
Instantly, the professor’s eyes grew cold as frigid ice as I whispered to her in a husky voice.
“Oh. Your eyes seem rather defiant, hmm? Not quite grasping the situation now, are you?”
“………….”
“Do you wish for me to pet you and train you as I did that one time?”
But 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 after someone who doesn’t even consent to your advances.
“You even have a whole ten-year age gap with Charlotte…”
That moment, as her response amusingly fueled me, I found myself engrossed in continuing the provocation.
– Gooooo…
However, abruptly, a chilling coldness emanated from her very being at my continuous provocation.
“… Does it feel good, to sexually harass a student who hasn’t even graduated yet?”
A shiver ran down my spine momentarily, but I had already said my piece.
Having successfully executed the theoretical and highly prone to failure distributed mana rejection attack, I was now able to 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’s heads once more and headed out of the room with a small smile on my face.
“… 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 the time she’s eating… she spends nearly all day there.”
As Isaac Adler exited into the hallway with Neria Garrideb, he asked her in a friendly voice, prompting her to respond. Her expression was unusually tense as she spoke to Adler.
“Relax.”
“But… it’s been so long since I’ve been out of the room…”
“How long has it been?”
Adler tilted his head and asked, and Neria Garrideb 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 slightly dark gaze, then 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 eloquence, as usual…
“I feel the same way, Adler.”
Right next to Adler, who was walking leisurely, came that even-toned voice he often heard.
“A professor feeling lonely, that’s quite unexpected…”
He chuckled and responded by nature, however, he soon trailed off…
“Huh.”
Then, Adler glanced slightly to the side, and Moriarty, with her hands clasped behind her back and bobbing her head from side to side, came into his view.
“Is this a dream?”
“………….”
“It is a dream, hehe.”
He grabbed her cheek and stretched it, then pinched his own cheek and let out a relieved laugh as he didn’t feel any pain from that action.
“… But I usually can’t feel pain.”
Coming to that realization, his complexion grew paler by the moment.
“Oh, didn’t know about that…”
Professor Moriarty, whose mana vessel was revealed to be larger than at least half the women of London combined, was smiling broadly with her arm on Adler’s shoulder.
“… Eeek.”
