Ch.13Chapter 13 – Red Mana Alliance (2)

“…Holmes?”

Rachel Watson, who had closed the hospital early for the holiday and arrived at the boarding house.

“Were you talking with a client?”

She discovers a girl trembling on the sofa and tilts her head questioningly.

“W-who, who who are you?”

“Miss Wilson. This is my assistant and partner. So please be at ease.”

At that, the girl closes her eyes tightly and begins to mutter in a low voice.

“T-two… there are two people…”

“………”

“Huh, huah. Huaah… calm down…”

Watson, who had been staring blankly at her, speaks to Holmes who was sitting quietly in a chair.

“So who exactly is this child?”

“Well.”

Then, Holmes begins to whisper with penetrating eyes.

“All I know is that she’s an Academy student who mistakenly believes she’s a Freemason member, is obsessed with various conspiracy theories and the occult, and has an interest in Chinese culture.”

As soon as those words ended, Watson, as if accustomed to this, took out a notebook from her pocket and began recording them, while the girl who had become the subject of analysis began to stare at Holmes with wide eyes.

“P-perhaps. Are you a mind reader?”

Diana Wilson eventually asks in a surprised voice.

“No. I simply removed all the intermediate deductions and told you only the starting point and conclusion.”

“What?”

“Well, I suppose it could be considered a somewhat cheap form of mind reading. Let’s just say it is.”

After reaching that conclusion and leaning weakly against the sofa, Watson asks her in a low voice.

“How did you figure it out?”

“The counterfeit decorative pin attached to her chest, made with the Freemason symbol of a triangle and compass. The fish tattoo engraved on her right wrist. The numerous superstitious behaviors she showed before entering this boarding house. Put it all together and it’s simple to know.”

“Ah…”

Watson nods as if understanding, then slightly furrows her brow and asks again.

“But why are you unusually snarky today?”

“Watson. Dealing with a client who is the complete opposite of me, a combination of rational thinking, filled with illogic and fantasy, was more difficult than I expected.”

“Saying that to her face…”

“And this client mentioned ‘that man.'”

Watson, who was about to scold Holmes, stops speaking with a surprised expression upon hearing those words.

“…Issac Adler?”

“Y-you, you know him?”

When she hesitantly mentions Issac’s name, Miss Wilson reacts intensely.

“What exactly happened…?”

“Senior Wilson. I’m sorry, but could you explain again from the beginning?”

As curiosity appears on Watson’s face, Holmes, who was beside her, rests her chin on her hand and makes a suggestion.

“It’s such a strange story that I’d like to hear it again to organize my thoughts. And Watson sometimes points out perspectives I hadn’t considered. It will certainly be helpful.”

“Y-yes. If it helps solve the case, I’ll tell you anything.”

Watson and Holmes’s gazes fix on her as she straightens her back and begins to clear her voice.

“I first met Issac two weeks ago.”

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“So that Issac Adler.”

When Miss Wilson’s explanation ends with her face flushed, Watson, who had been wearing a blank expression, quietly opens her mouth.

“He suddenly confessed to you with a red face when you opened the door to his knock?”

“Y-yes. He said he had been secretly in love with me for a long time…”

“…That can’t be right.”

Watson asks questions instead of Holmes, who has closed her eyes in thought while tilting her head with a puzzled expression.

“What did he say was the reason?”

“A-at the library… he said he fell for me when he saw me reading romance novels…”

“And you accepted him?”

At that, Wilson blushes and lowers her head.

“It was my first time. Someone approaching me first.”

“………”

“S-so I froze and missed the timing to refuse… but after that day, he kept visiting my room…”

Watson, who had been frowning deeply because she knew Issac Adler’s notorious reputation well, eventually asks with a worried expression.

“You weren’t subjected to anything strange, were you?”

“N-no!”

She shakes her head vigorously.

“I-it was actually fun. He brought me books from the library that I hadn’t been able to visit often because I lacked courage… and sometimes we even played b-board games together.”

“……….”

“A-and… he talked with me. At first I was scared and just said anything… but as we continued, it became enjoyable…”

Watson, who had been quietly listening to her rambling words, glances at Holmes.

“………..”

She was already immersed in her own world with her eyes closed.

“He was pure and kind, unlike what people say about him.”

“…I don’t think that’s right.”

“O-on the contrary, he was more shy than me when we were together. A-and that shyness was actually quite cute…”

As she says this, Miss Wilson’s face turns bright red all the way to her ears.

“It’s like a romance novel. ‘London’s Rogue Is Only Awkward In Front of Me.’ That would be the perfect title.”

“T-that… might be a hit if published.”

“…Well, with that face, who wouldn’t fall for his act of pretending to be awkward.”

Watson muttered this, thinking it was truly implausible, but then remembering that Adler’s face itself was plausibility.

“Anyway, we’ve heard enough about the love story. Could you now focus on explaining why you came here?”

“Ah, yes!”

As Watson takes on the role of detective instead of Holmes, who was still lost in thought, Miss Wilson takes something out from her pocket.

“It was about a week ago. As usual, he visited and handed me this.”

Watson sees a club announcement from Auguste Detective Academy.

“Mock Crime Consultation Club?”

“Yes, a newly formed club from a week ago. Issac is the vice president.”

“What did he say when he gave you this?”

“He told me to take a test… for it.”

After saying this, Wilson begins to sweat nervously, still apparently tense.

“O-of course I tried to refuse. I was fine dealing with Issac by then… but I was still afraid of other people…”

“You seem to have severe social anxiety.”

“Yes, but he said that. That he’d be too busy with club activities to see me often.”

After saying this, she clenches her fists and mutters.

“I didn’t want that.”

“Hmm.”

“It wasn’t fun anymore to be cooped up in my room like before. I found myself just waiting for the time he would come.”

Her voice, which had been trembling since arriving here, now becomes calm.

“There was a good reason for that.”

“What was it?”

“I’ll tell you after I explain the whole incident.”

With that, she begins her story in a clearer voice than before.

“Anyway, I entered the third-floor interview room during the quiet evening hours, and everyone was waiting for me.”

“Do you remember who was there?”

“Um… so…”

Miss Wilson, momentarily recalling her memory, stammers as she answers Watson.

“Professor Jane Moriarty, Issac, and… Victoria Spolding.”

“I couldn’t ask earlier because you were so disorganized, but who is Victoria Spolding?”

At this, Holmes opens her mouth to ask a question for the first time.

“She’s a student who works part-time at my mother’s shop. She was also the closest person to me before I became friends with Issac.”

“Hmm… So that student was part of the Mock Crime Consultation Club.”

“That’s right. I was surprised when she greeted me with a friendly expression and offered a handshake.”

“…You shook hands.”

After saying this, Wilson nods and glances at Holmes, who had closed her eyes again, then continues her story.

“After shaking hands with Victoria, the professor asked me to demonstrate my mana.”

“Because of the special regulation written in the announcement?”

“Yes, well… I didn’t expect much since I have orange hair.”

She pauses for a moment.

“…Strangely, it came out. Red mana.”

Eventually, she scratches her head and demonstrates orange mana as she continues speaking.

“I tried several more times afterward, but I couldn’t reproduce that burning color at all.”

“Hmm.”

“But at that time, even to me, it was a perfect red. And I passed at that moment.”

Watson, who had been examining the orange mana from various angles, scratches her head and speaks.

“No matter how I look at it, it’s orange…”

“Exactly. I have no idea what happened. Now I wonder if I was hallucinating…”

“It wasn’t a hallucination.”

Holmes interjects again.

“Ah, please continue. That was just me thinking aloud.”

“Y-yes. Anyway, after that I was assigned a rather strange role in the club room…”

“Copying incomprehensible formulas exactly as they were?”

“T-that’s right! Did I explain that earlier? Or is it really mind reading?”

“…Please continue your story.”

Wilson, who had been looking at Holmes with sparkling eyes, clears her throat and begins her story again.

“I couldn’t understand what it had to do with crime consultation, but I was happy anyway. I received a substantial subsidy, and above all, I could see Adler for longer periods.”

“………”

“But today, two weeks into this small happiness, this happened without any warning.”

She points to a crumpled memo that had been placed on the table earlier.

[The Mock Crime Consultation Club is disbanded as of today due to the president’s personal circumstances.]

“…Oh dear.”

A sigh escapes from Watson’s lips as she finally notices it.

“Of course I went looking for Adler. But he was nowhere to be found.”

“…Wait, but couldn’t it really be just some unavoidable circumstance?”

Watson tilts her head and asks, suddenly curious.

“You’ll think differently when you see this.”

Wilson, looking at her, takes something out of her pocket.

“This is…?”

“Is it an occult decoration?”

What she took out was none other than an hourglass with golden sand emitting smoke as it fell downward.

“It’s not just occult. M-Miss Sharlotte Holmes would know too. That magic and mystery are no longer fiction.”

“Sadly, I have to admit that.”

“This is a clock that shows the remaining lifespan of the subject.”

“…What?”

Holmes, who had been frowning deeply at the appearance of the occult item, opens her eyes wide and asks again upon hearing those words.

“Of course, it requires the person’s blood and various other things… and if there’s external intervention, fate can change…”

“Is that really true?”

“…Yes. I have mine too.”

Wilson then takes out another hourglass from her pocket.

“Um, Miss Wilson’s is also almost worn out…”

“I have an incurable disease of unknown cause.”

“…Oh.”

“I tried everything to cure it, even dabbled in all sorts of occult practices. But nothing worked.”

Now Watson could understand.

The reason why the girl in front of her had fallen for Adler so easily.

“I don’t have much time left.”

“So the reason you accepted Adler was…”

“…Well. Perhaps because he brought laughter to my powerless life that doesn’t have much time left.”

Wilson, forcing a smile, mutters this and then holds out the hourglass, saying:

“This hourglass was quite difficult to obtain. I’m not sure if it’s enough for the commission fee…”

“I’ll take the case.”

But before she could finish speaking, Holmes says this and begins writing a receipt, tearing a page from her notebook.

“So I need to find Issac Adler and change fate, right?”

“Ah…”

“I’ll take those two hourglasses as payment.”

Tears begin to well up in the eyes of Miss Wilson, who had frozen with her mouth open.

“Th-thank… thank you…”

“……….”

“Thank you so much…..”

For a long time after that, her tearful thanks echoed throughout the boarding house.

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“What do you think of this case, Holmes?”

“……….”

After Diana Wilson repeatedly bowed and left, Watson casually asks Holmes a question.

“Is this case too complex for you too?”

Then, a subtle smile begins to appear on Holmes’s lips.

“Cases that appear complex are precisely what I enjoy most, Watson.”

She gets up from her seat, shrugs her shoulders, and begins to walk.

“Finding the clue that leads to the truth is extremely difficult, but once you grasp it, everything unravels instantly.”

“That means…”

“Although there are still unresolved questions, I seem to have definitely found the clue.”

She puts on her coat that was hanging on the wall and places handcuffs in her pocket.

“I’m going to verify that clue now. I’ll visit many places, from Wilson’s pawnshop to the academy.”

“Mm-hmm. I see.”

“It’s still early morning now, so if we move quickly, I should be able to confirm everything before evening.”

As she says this and heads toward the exit, she extends her hand to stop Watson who was about to get up.

“And I’m sorry, but I need to solve this one alone. Because this case…”

“Alright, take care, Sharlotte.”

Holmes frowns as she sees Watson smiling contentedly while she was scratching her head, trying to ask for understanding.

“Why are you making that face again…”

“You shouldn’t be too jealous just because your crush is seeing someone else? She has a sad story, you know.”

“Watson. As I’ve repeatedly said, I…”

“Sharlotte, look at your face right now.”

When Watson, who called her by her name, points to a mirror, Holmes turns her gaze there.

“Hmm…”

On her face, which was always cool and collected, there was a somewhat dissatisfied, pouty expression.

“Our Sharlotte is cute.”

“………”

“The great Holmes feeling jealous. I never thought I’d see the day. I thought you’d never go through puberty.”

“Shut up, Watson.”

After saying this and moving her steps toward the exit again, Sharlotte quietly mutters to herself:

‘…You won’t escape this time, Adler.’

The handcuffs she had just secured rattled in her possession.

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Much later.

The time when darkness had begun to fall.

“Miss Holmes, it’s already gotten this late.”

For some reason, Sharlotte was walking closely beside Issac Adler, whom her client had been so desperately searching for, matching her steps with his on the darkening streets of London.

“How was the cross-examination with the suspect?”

“……….”

They were walking with handcuffs binding their wrists together, drawing people’s attention all day long.

“If you enjoyed it, would you please unlock these handcuffs as promised?”

Incidentally, the key to those handcuffs was held by Sharlotte, not Adler.