Ch.119Chapter 119 – The Hound of the Baskervilles (7)

From the moment I realized my doppelganger attached to Sharlotte Holmes had been discovered, I hurried to escape the wilderness and hide myself.

“Issac Adler.”

“…Hmm.”

However, it seems escaping from Zia Lestrade, known as the master of arrests, wasn’t going to be easy.

“What’s the matter, Miss Zia?”

“Raise your hands and walk toward me slowly. If you surrender quietly, I won’t use force.”

“Are you trying to kidnap me?”

“If you won’t come to me, I’ll come to you.”

“That’s quite a romantic statement.”

“…I’m sorry, but I’m not in the mood for jokes right now.”

I tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but Lestrade cut me off with a determined expression and began walking slowly toward me.

‘…No choice, I guess.’

Of course, there is a last resort to escape this situation. Using it would only earn Lestrade’s hatred, though.

But if I don’t use my last resort in this critical moment just for such a reason, there would be nothing more foolish.

“Stop where you are.”

“…?”

When I whispered in a low voice after making my decision, Zia Lestrade flinched momentarily and suddenly stopped walking.

“What are you trying to do?”

“…Heheh.”

Looking her up and down with an amused expression as she stood frozen like a statue, I carefully approached Lestrade’s side and began poking her waist.

“Ugh.”

“…Detective, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about the golden seal engraved on your stomach the day we first made our contract?”

As I stroked her lower abdomen while speaking, Lestrade, who had been glaring at me with slightly contemptuous eyes, murmured in a cold voice.

“I thought it was just a mark of victory containing your nasty tastes.”

“That’s partly true. However, it also contains powerful contract magic that makes you an obedient slave who must follow my commands unconditionally.”

“…Is that what it was?”

Her gaze as she asked this had grown several times colder than when we first met.

“So whenever you gave me orders with that strange confidence, it was because of that?”

“Of course. Without it, how could I ever win against you?”

“…Hmm.”

“Well then, let’s head back now. Tell Miss Holmes that I have some business to attend to and will see her again shortly…”

Though her appearance was frightening, I had matters to finish, so while gently caressing her seal, I began giving orders.

*Swish…*

“…Huh?”

After staring at me for a long time, she took handcuffs from her pocket and began binding my wrists, which I watched with a slightly bewildered expression.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m placing you under emergency arrest on suspicion of murdering Julia Stapleton.”

What’s going on here?

“Detective? I told you to go back?”

I even touched the seal while giving the order just to be sure, but why isn’t it working?

“…Mr. Adler, I am under a curse that neutralizes any anomalies or weirdness I encounter.”

“Ah…”

“Thanks to that, I can’t handle mana, let alone substitutes like magic stone weapons or various convenient magical items. After training for over ten years, I’ve become able to handle a small amount of aura, but that’s it.”

I had been momentarily confused, but upon hearing this, I finally understood the situation.

“But because of that, no weirdness or anomaly can affect me. Including, of course, that vile method you used to get half of London’s women under your control.”

“…Then, when you signed my hidden contract without any suspicion…?”

“That was… well…”

When I asked with a disbelieving expression after her unexpectedly calm statement, Lestrade began to stammer.

“…I planned it.”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“I don’t need to pay attention to such things in the first place.”

Then, she admitted the truth quite quickly.

“Then why did you hate it so much when the seal was engraved, and why did you obey my orders so readily?”

“…I interpreted it as you engraving an indelible slave tattoo on my stomach and threatening to show it to others if I disobeyed your orders.”

“Ah…”

Cold sweat began to run down my forehead as I quietly nodded at her explanation.

After all, at this rate, I was going to be imprisoned with no way out, wasn’t I?

“Anyway, the conclusion is that you can’t stop me as a police officer now, Issac Adler.”

“……..”

“If that rude brat or the red cat were by your side, it might be different.”

Actually, the red cat is squirming in my arms.

The problem is that because I’ve been using my power elsewhere, I’ve also drawn on the princess’s power, reducing her to the level of an actual pet cat.

And besides, without full power, it would be meaningless to face Detective Lestrade at her best.

“…Will you marry me?”

“I am currently performing my duties as a police officer.”

So I tried to smile and make one last desperate attempt, but her firm answer came immediately.

“So don’t try to seduce me.”

“…When I get out, I’ll have to marry Sharlotte.”

Despite not giving up hope and muttering with a sigh, a momentary look of concern flashed across the officer’s face.

Could there be a possibility here?

[Do you not understand what ‘100%’ means?]

But my vain hope was shattered by the system’s rebuke that appeared before my eyes.

*Whack!*

And by Detective Zia Lestrade’s baton, which struck my head through the system screen.

“…Ugh.”

With the epitaph ‘Issac Adler, crushed to death by karma’ briefly flashing before my eyes, I lost consciousness.

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“…Mmm.”

“You’re awake.”

“Gasp.”

Issac Adler, feeling a throbbing pain in his head as he opened his eyes again, held his breath in shock at the voice coming from in front of him.

It was because the person he encountered less than a second after opening his eyes was none other than Sharlotte Holmes, sitting expressionlessly on his lap.

“Ah…”

After staring at her with a dazed look, Adler soon realized that he was tied tightly to a chair somewhere unknown.

“Miss Holmes.”

“……..”

“Let’s get married.”

As he smiled awkwardly and proposed, Sharlotte, who had been looking down at Adler, began to smile coldly.

“…I’ll take care of all the housework, so can’t you let me off just this once?”

“You know what?”

Then, bringing her head close to Adler’s ear, she whispered in a low voice.

“I have the power to change your punishment to indefinite house arrest.”

“…Hiccup.”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I can do it even without the help of my stupid sister who’s staying in your hideout’s basement wearing a maid outfit.”

After hiccupping momentarily at that terrifying statement, Adler hurriedly began to object.

“Come to think of it, Detective Lestrade didn’t read me my Miranda rights.”

“Miranda rights? What’s that?”

“Well, you know… I wasn’t properly informed of my legal rights at the time of arrest. This is a violation of British criminal law.”

“…Your cunning mind is always working well.”

As Adler, who had already brought up an argument that would only happen decades later on another continent, looked at Sharlotte with sparkling eyes as she seemed to admit the fact, he said:

“Then release me. I want to hire a lawyer…”

“But that doesn’t matter.”

However, Sharlotte quietly shook her head.

“I know you’re not the culprit.”

“What?”

“I just wanted to prevent you from interfering any further with solving this case.”

After staring at her for a moment, the corners of Adler’s mouth quietly turned upward.

“Interference? What are you talking about…”

“Stay here quietly until I finish the case.”

“What, you’re just going to leave like this?”

As Sharlotte began to prepare to leave, Adler put on a seemingly disappointed expression.

“…I need to file a missing person report for Issac Adler.”

“Pardon?”

But the answer that came a moment later was enough to send a chill down his spine.

“I’m joking.”

“By the way… where is this? It’s Baskerville Manor, right?”

“…….”

“…Miss Holmes?”

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“Miss Holmes… this isn’t funny anymore…”

How much time had passed since Sharlotte Holmes quietly left the room?

“Please untie me now~”

*Tssssss…*

“I’ll marry you~”

Still tied to the chair and calling out in a slightly pitiful voice loud enough to fill the room, Adler suddenly turned his gaze to the side as a strange sound began to be heard.

“…Grrrr.”

What entered his sight was a strange creature crouched low on the floor, making an eerie growling sound.

“G-good boy.”

“………”

“…Come here.”

As Adler, sweating slightly, looked at the creature and whispered with a trembling smile, it slowly began to move forward.

*Hop…*

Eventually, the creature jumped from the floor onto his lap and began to stare intently at Adler.

*Lick, lick…*

“I’ve been thinking about this the whole time I’ve been looking at you…”

As the creature quietly began to lick his face, Adler, who had been wearing a blank expression for a moment, spoke with a look of realization.

“Could it be that my true identity is…”

*Creeeeak…*

It was at that moment that the tightly closed door of the room suddenly opened.

“….The detective and the police officer asked me to cooperate in restraining you and keeping you imprisoned in the basement of the manor.”

And soon after, a monotone voice echoed through the room.

“What on earth is going on?”

“I wonder.”

Adler, who had made an “I knew it” expression after confirming the face hidden in the shadows, quietly stood up and spoke.

“…Could it be because I’ve taken the blame for the crime you committed?”

The restraints that had been binding him tightly were already helplessly undone, and the strange creature that had been licking his cheek while sitting on his knee had disappeared without a trace.

“What exactly are you…”

“My identity?”

A moment later, as the trembling voice of the true culprit was heard from the front, Adler whispered in a low voice with a finger on his lips.

“…I’m a cute crime consultant.”

“What?”

“It seems like your crime is about to be exposed. Do you perhaps need my help?”

It was at that moment that an unexpected storm began to sweep through the Baskerville estate.