Ch.143Chapter 143 – The Groom’s Identity (6)

“Why is the professor over there why is the professor over there why is the professor over there…..”

“Groom.”

As Adler, who had frozen in a state of panic, began to tremble and mutter those words to himself, a slightly gentle voice came from beside him.

“Is something wrong?”

“Ah… well…”

“To wear such a despairing expression on the day of marriage, a once-in-a-lifetime event—isn’t that too sad?”

Her voice was so soothing that anyone who didn’t know better would have found it calming.

“Smile, groom.”

“…Ha ha, ha.”

“As I mentioned earlier, you won’t be able to get your suit without my key, so please follow me.”

However, for Adler, all he could see was the nun’s habit that looked strangely familiar, rather than focusing on her voice.

“…Understood.”

After countless considerations in that brief moment, Adler finally decided to follow the somehow familiar nun up to the second floor.

“Untie me before you go, Adler…”

“……”

Deliberately ignoring the soulless voice coming from behind while trembling, he climbed the stairs with a pale face, unable to stay close to the young nun.

[Serves you right.]

“…Save me, Miss System.”

[Hmph.]

He tried calling out to the system as his last hope, but the system window disappeared on its own, as if it had completely developed its own consciousness.

“…You can come in this way.”

“Y-yes, of course…”

With a now detached expression and slumped shoulders, Adler continued walking and followed the nun’s guidance into a shabby room on the second floor.

“Then I’ll leave you to… wait a moment.”

And in the next moment, feeling something odd, Adler asked the nun in a low voice.

“For a dressing room, there’s only one chair in here…?”

“Ah, you’re right.”

The nun tilted her head for a moment, then nodded and quietly snapped her fingers.

– Swoosh…

Suddenly, racks of elegant, high-quality suits appeared all around.

“Wow…”

Momentarily forgetting his current predicament, Adler couldn’t hide his amazement, then suddenly muttered as if something had just occurred to him.

“…But, you’re using magic.”

“Yes.”

“A-according to the setting… I mean, as far as I remember… the Vatican and the church strongly reject magic…”

And then came silence.

“…W-wait, come to think of it. Didn’t you say you needed a key?”

When the nun standing by the entrance silently stared at him, Adler felt chills run down his spine and tried to change the subject, stumbling over his words.

“This?”

“Y-yes. But you didn’t seem to use it when we entered the room…”

– Click…

But before he could finish speaking, the sound of the door locking echoed throughout the room.

“Ah. So you were going to use it to lock the room…”

“……”

“…But why would you lock the room, haha.”

Despite this, Adler’s voice, which had been cheerfully muttering, began to tremble.

“…I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

The nun, who had started walking slowly toward him, was emanating that familiar black smoke.

“Do you think saying sorry for abandoning me is enough?”

“…H-help! Someone help!”

Adler, who had been quietly backing away, opened the window behind him and began to shout desperately, as if clutching at straws.

“Detective!!!”

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A few minutes later.

“Isn’t it funny even to you that your cry for help was ‘Detective!!!’?”

“……”

“…Why don’t you try using your specialty escape magic?”

Adler, who had failed to escape and was now being closely monitored by the nun sitting right next to him, muttered with a dejected expression.

“I suddenly can’t use magic…”

“Of course. How could a Demon exert power inside a church?”

“Ah…”

Hearing this, Adler nodded as if he had just realized something.

“Then I’ll be on my way…”

“Why did you abandon me?”

“Ugh, uhhh…”

The nun, who had quickly grabbed Adler’s arm as he tried to head for the exit, began to roughly unbutton his coat while questioning him.

“…W-what strength.”

“I was lonely. All this time.”

Seeing her tearful eyes, Adler quietly stopped resisting, momentarily surprised by her sudden action.

“You promised to be with me forever…”

“……”

“So why did you disappear?”

“…I-I had my reasons.”

Unable to tell someone who liked him that he did it to be kidnapped by a phantom thief, Adler evaded the question.

“Reasons? What reasons.”

– Click, click…

“Were they important enough to break your vow to stay by my side forever?”

The nun, pressing her dark face close to Adler’s, finally removed his coat.

“…Or was it just for pleasure?”

“That sounds a bit strange…”

“Tell me. Why did you abandon capable me to make those green rookies your minions, and now you’re even getting married to start a new life…?”

As the nun began to unbutton his shirt, Adler spoke with a resigned heart.

“As I said before, it was unavoidable.”

“You didn’t tell me anything…”

“I love you.”

The nun, who had been staring at him with an eerie gaze while half-unbuttoning his shirt, paused momentarily upon hearing his whisper.

“What did you… just say…”

“…I said I love you.”

“……..”

“As you can see in my eyes, I can no longer deny that fact.”

Only then did she check the color of Adler’s eyes, and her hands that had been unbuttoning began to tremble.

“That’s what I wanted to hear…”

“……?”

“That one phrase was all I needed…..”

Adler tilted his head slightly as he watched the nun start muttering to herself, then quietly continued.

“…That’s precisely why I’m doing what I’m doing now.”

“What?”

“To ensure your continued existence in this world, this is the only way.”

“…!!!”

Hearing this, the nun’s expression became shocked, as if she had realized something.

“Have you thought about why you exist? I’m fulfilling that reason for your sake.”

“Ah….”

“I can’t explain in detail due to circumstances. But please understand. I’m doing everything I can for you, whom I’ve come to love…”

When he finished speaking, the nun, who had been staring blankly at him for a while, quietly bowed her head and continued to unbutton Adler’s shirt with trembling hands.

“You once told me.”

“……?”

“…That ‘love’ is the most fatal thing to a Demon.”

As her demeanor had changed significantly from the aggressive atmosphere earlier, Adler quietly observed her actions.

“Did I say that?”

“The reason why you, who could control all monsters including me with a single gesture, have become so weak… could it be… could it be…..”

As tears began to flow from her eyes, Adler once again felt a sense of incongruity in his mind.

“Then all the actions until now were to not end the contract with me…”

“Excuse me?”

“…Without knowing that, I…”

But the nun buried her face in Adler’s shirt and began to mutter to herself, trembling.

“My, my clothes…”

As she took the damp shirt and headed toward the suit rack, Adler extended his hand forward with a bewildered look.

– Rustle…

But ignoring him, the nun quietly gestured to summon the most elegant suit and shirt.

“If that is your wish, I have no choice but to follow…”

“Excuse me…”

“Because that was the contract between you and me…”

She whispered as she approached right in front of Adler, then quietly rose on her tiptoes and began to dress him herself.

“…….”

Every time her delicate hands touched his bare skin, Adler flinched from the awkward feeling and inexplicable sense of incongruity.

“Mmph?”

Then, as she rose a little higher on her tiptoes and gently pulled his tie toward her, her soft tongue entered his mouth.

“Please forgive my rudeness.”

“……”

“…Have a nice wedding.”

After what felt like an eternity in that brief moment, she quietly pulled her head back and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

“…Whether it’s the second or third, I don’t care anymore.”

“……..”

“As long as I’m with you as per our contract, I’m satisfied…”

As she handed him the key and created an atmosphere of farewell, Adler began to move toward the exit with a dubious expression.

“W-well then… I’ll be going?”

“Yes, goodbye.”

Only after receiving the nun’s confirmation did Adler grasp the doorknob with a relieved expression.

“…My beloved master.”

“……?”

As he opened the door, he began to mutter to himself in response to the nun’s words from behind.

‘Was Sharlotte the type to say such things…?’

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‘But clearly, the scent of makeup and perfume from Sharlotte’s clumsy makeup application was still there…’

Adler’s question and the sense of incongruity he had been feeling were completely clarified.

– Creak…

‘And that dark energy emanating until just now was exactly the same as what Sharlotte possessed…’

It was the very next moment after he opened the door, surrounded by an inexplicable uneasiness.

“……..”

“……!?”

The reason was simple. Sharlotte Holmes, wearing her usual detective outfit, was standing quietly in front of the door.

“Now you’re even cheating on me with a dog.”

“…Woof.”

When Adler urgently turned his gaze behind him after hearing those words, the nun entered the shadows with gleaming blue eyes and happily made a dog sound toward him.

– Swoosh…

Finally, leaving behind only Sharlotte’s nun habit that it had stolen from somewhere, the Baskerville family hound quietly disappeared.

“…Miss Holmes, this is a misunderstanding.”

“I’m about to accidentally pounce on you too, so don’t misunderstand.”

“What?”

A few minutes later, agonized groans began to leak from the floor directly above where Watson had been choosing a dress with a flushed expression.

– Uhhhhhhh…

“…W-what’s that?”