Ch.103Chapter 103 – Allied Front

– Ah, hello.

“……..!?”

Rewinding a bit, around the time when Issac Adler had just subdued Sharlotte Holmes and Professor Moriarty and stepped outside the room.

“W-what is it?”

– Why are you so surprised, Ms. Lestrade?

Zia Lestrade, who had been crouching in the bushes near the Garrideb mansion holding her breath, startled and began to stammer at the familiar voice suddenly coming through her ear.

“H-Holmes. I’m in the middle of important police work and can’t really take calls right now.”

– So you consider skipping your police duties to creepily stalk your boyfriend to be police work?

Charlotte Holmes’s cold voice came softly through her earpiece.

“This is just part of an investigation to save London. Wait, how did you know that I was…”

– If you’re going to be a police officer, couldn’t you at least improve your tailing skills? Crouching in bushes doesn’t make you invisible.

“………”

– There’s even a joke among London’s criminals that if you want to check whether Lestrade is around, just look in the bushes.

“…I’ll keep that in mind for the future.”

Lestrade rose from the bushes with an embarrassed expression after the scolding.

– Well, it’s fortunate anyway. I happen to be in quite a difficult situation inside the mansion right in front of you.

“…You mean you, Sharlotte Holmes?”

Lestrade tilted her head in confusion as she brushed off the grass stuck to her hair.

– I was taken down by Issac Adler.

“Ah, I understand.”

– You don’t understand anything. Listen to me completely. This was all because of an unexpected variable…

“Let’s get to the point. If you’re asking me for help, it must be an urgent situation, right?”

After grumbling with a slightly wounded pride, Sharlotte fell silent for a moment before sighing and beginning her explanation.

– Right now, I’m tied up in a room with my mana sealed.

“Oh my.”

– But I’m not asking you to rescue me. Stop Issac Adler, who did this to me and then left the room saying something cryptic about an error in the case.

“…Will that be okay?”

When Lestrade asked with a slightly worried voice, Sharlotte answered with a sigh.

– With my mana sealed, I’m of no help anyway. Instead of wasting time rescuing me, it would be more efficient to stop whatever suspicious scheme Issac Adler is planning.

“…Hmm.”

Lestrade’s expression twisted slightly at the sincerity dripping from Sharlotte’s voice.

“I don’t know how many times I have to say this, but I am Issac Adler’s official girlfriend. So please show some restraint…”

– You mean the fake girlfriend relationship built on lies and forced circumstances?

“…Listen here.”

– If you want to continue this role-play for London’s peace, perhaps you should be the one to maintain boundaries.

“……”

– That role isn’t exclusively yours anymore.

With that retort, Sharlotte Holmes ended the call.

“…No.”

After standing still for a while, contemplating her words, Zia Lestrade spoke in a dark voice.

“I’m the only one in London who can handle Issac Adler.”

She muttered with a determined expression, thinking about her complicated relationship with Adler as she quietly moved forward.

“Even if it’s you, Holmes…”

But after just a few steps, something strange caught her eye.

– Rustle, rustle…

“….?”

A bush not far from her was continuously making small rustling movements.

“…Who’s there?”

As Lestrade approached the strange phenomenon with a puzzled expression, it happened.

– Pik…!

Something shot toward Lestrade from the bush with a sound of air being released.

– Crack!

“…That’s quite an aggressive greeting.”

Lestrade, who had thrown herself sideways with superhuman reflexes just before it hit her face, noticed the rock behind her had been shattered. She pulled out her baton with a cold expression.

“”………..””

From the quietly rustling bush came a faint killing intent that an ordinary person wouldn’t even notice.

“A tiny gunshot sound, a bullet that leaves no trace, and killing intent so well-concealed that it can only be detected with complete concentration.”

“………”

“Apart from your terribly poor concealment skills, you seem to be quite an impressive professional.”

Lestrade tensed every muscle in her body as she muttered words that also applied to herself.

“You’ve picked the wrong person to mess with.”

As she finished speaking, someone peeked their head out from the quietly rustling bush.

“…A kid?”

Lestrade momentarily wore a blank expression at the appearance of a young girl with messy sky-blue straight hair covered in grass and dirt, and youthful purple eyes.

– Swoosh…

Suddenly, a dangerous-looking sniper rifle emerged from the bush.

“…….!”

– Pik…!

As Lestrade’s eyes widened at the sight, the girl pulled the trigger and muttered in a dark voice.

“…Don’t call me a kid.”

Celestia Moran and Zia Lestrade.

This was the first meeting between two future powerhouses who would soon compete for the second and third positions in London’s power hierarchy.

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Several dozen minutes later.

“Haa, haa…”

“Ugh…”

After an intense battle that left their muscles trembling, the two girls ended up rolling around in the bushes, gritting their teeth and pressing their weapons against each other.

“You’re pretty good for a kid.”

“…I told you not to call me a kid.”

Moran gripped her air gun, now neutralized by Lestrade’s ability-nullifying curse, while struggling to push back against her baton.

“How old are you anyway?”

“Twelve… years old.”

“…Then you are a kid.”

“Eeeeek…..”

As Moran pushed harder with an indignant expression, Lestrade spoke with an impressed look.

“Your strength and combat skills are quite impressive for such a young body. Have you trained specifically?”

“…None of your business.”

“But you’re essentially a sniper. From the moment you allowed close combat, you had already lost.”

At those words, Moran gritted her teeth for a moment before muttering defiantly.

“…No, I win if I can just push you away.”

“Why is that?”

“Because the emergency pistol I have will put a hole through your head in less than a second.”

She spoke with cold eyes looking at Lestrade, but her arms began to tremble as she faced even greater pressure from her opponent.

“…Sorry, but do you think I’d allow that?”

“We’ll have to see who’s better.”

“Hmm.”

However, after taking a deep breath, Moran regained her strength and began to withstand the pressure again.

“This is troublesome.”

Realizing that the fight wouldn’t end easily, Lestrade looked at the mansion visible nearby and quietly sighed.

“Hey.”

“…What?”

“How about a temporary truce?”

She made the suggestion to Moran, who was pinned beneath her.

“A truce…?”

“Judging by your skills, you seem to be one of his subordinates… and I have business at that mansion because of him.”

Moran, who had been staring at her quietly, tilted her head slightly.

“Actually, I don’t have time to be doing this with you. It’s an urgent situation.”

“…What happened inside?”

“Yes, something very dangerous is happening.”

At this, Moran’s eyes began to waver slightly.

“I’d like to arrest you, but if we waste any more time, it might be too late.”

“………”

“So let’s postpone that until after I resolve the situation at the mansion.”

As Lestrade backed away first, releasing the pressure, Moran instinctively reached for her pocket but then paused, staring at her.

“…Good choice.”

“………”

“It would be truly foolish to challenge me again in your exhausted state, especially outside of ranged combat.”

After watching her for a moment, Lestrade quietly began walking toward the mansion.

– Pitter-patter…

“……?”

She looked back with a puzzled expression at the girl who was following her at a distance.

“Why are you following me?”

“…I have business inside too.”

“Weren’t you waiting here under orders?”

At her question, the girl’s expression, which had remained cool throughout their battle, suddenly crumbled.

“…He promised he wouldn’t abandon me, but there’s been no contact for days, so I followed him here myself.”

“Ah.”

Lestrade wore a blank expression as she grabbed the mansion’s doorknob, listening to the somewhat dejected answer.

“Excuse me, but do you know my master?”

“……..”

“…What’s your relationship with him?”

As Moran watched her with darkening eyes, Lestrade glanced at her and answered in a calm voice.

“Girlfriend.”

“…………..”

“By the way, it seems Adler is now involving kids like you too.”

“Watch your words.”

As the two girls were about to enter through the opened door with increasingly cold gazes, the atmosphere grew tense.

“He’s just raising me.”

“That’s Issac Adler’s typical method…”

Their expressions gradually darkened as they realized something.

“This is…”

“Good heavens.”

Despite the mansion’s considerable size, a bloody scent permeated the entire interior.

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Just a few minutes later.

“”…………””

The two girls swallowed hard as they entered the basement, staring blankly at the scene before them.

“…Cough.”

Issac Adler, in a near-death state, was kneeling in the middle of the basement filled with blood and torn corpses, coughing up blood.

“…You killed all my masterpieces that I’ve been creating for decades.”

“Ugh…”

“They could have taken over London in just a few days if released… and you destroyed them in an instant…”

Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein gently caressed his cheek, speaking in a half-crazed voice.

“There’s no choice now…”

“………”

“Now you’ll have to help me create my masterpiece…”

Tears began to flow from the eyes of Neria Garrideb, who was trembling as she watched from the corner.

“S-stop…”

“Since Gil the Reaper cut off my supply of corpses, I’ve been repeatedly experimenting with those inadequate failures…”

“Please stop, Mother…”

“But with an experimental subject created from your and my superior genes, I won’t need to repeat that process…”

Ignoring the pleas, Dr. Frankenstein embraced Adler and placed the saw she was holding against his arm.

“So, help me give birth to masterpieces here.”

“…….”

“…I’ll modify you just right.”

The eyes of Lestrade and Moran, who had been staring blankly at the scene, simultaneously began to fill with killing intent.