Ch.148Chapter 148 – The Final Victor

“Stop right there!!”

“They’re quite persistent today…”

Lupin, who was gliding through the air with Adler in his arms, mutters with a troubled expression as he looks down at the uniformed girl who is chasing after him at full speed from the ground.

“She doesn’t seem to tire either. That ridiculous physical ability without being a magic user or having a Curse…”

“Is that person an ordinary human?”

“…Why? You’re still interested despite my warning?”

Narrowing her eyes slightly at Adler’s question, she begins to answer.

“No. It’s just personal curiosity. You two seem to be quite at odds, so I find it interesting that she has no abilities.”

“You and London are the unusual ones. Magic users are extremely rare originally.”

At those words, Adler scratches his head with an embarrassed expression.

“I know that, but since I’m destined to face mysteries at every moment, I sometimes forget that fact.”

“…I’m sure you do.”

“By the way, if she has no abilities, shouldn’t she be no problem for the great thief Arsène Lupin?”

When Adler tilted his head curiously, Lupin quietly snorted.

“To be honest, she’s more incredibly annoying than scary, but if I had to name someone as my arch-nemesis, it would be Inspector Julia Ganimard of the Paris Police Department.”

“…So it was Ganimard after all.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Nothing. But you seem to respect her quite a bit from your tone?”

At those words, Lupin sighs and suddenly begins to slow down.

“She’s probably the most persistent person in the world.”

“…Why are you suddenly slowing down?”

“And you know, there’s one peculiar thing about her.”

Just as she was about to come to a complete stop, she kicked the air and shot upward in an instant.

“I told you to stop!!!”

Inspector Ganimard appeared out of nowhere at the spot where Lupin and Adler had just been, swinging her baton.

“Ah, didn’t you say she had no abilities?”

“…Yes, she has no abilities.”

“Then what was that just now…?”

“That’s what makes her so impressive.”

Lupin, who had narrowly avoided that heavy attack, mutters while looking down with a slightly disgusted expression at Ganimard who had fallen to the ground, raising a large cloud of dust.

“She’s just fucking strong.”

“…Excuse me?”

“She was already stronger than a gorilla, but after traveling around Japan and China learning weird martial arts like judo to catch me, she’s surpassed human levels.”

Adler blinks with a dumbfounded expression upon hearing those words.

“Is that… possible?”

“Look, Adler. Shouldn’t a demon standing at the center of an age of mystery and the unknown not say such things?”

“……”

“Personally, I find it more bizarre that a fairy tale demon is openly swishing his tail around London, seducing women.”

“Alright, that’s enough…”

At Lupin’s piercing remark, he hangs his head with a dejected expression.

“…Eek.”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“Something’s flying toward us.”

“What? Even Ganimard couldn’t recover this quickly.”

As he speaks in a surprised voice, Lupin also narrows his eyes in confusion.

“No, it’s not Ganimard…”

The next moment, before Lupin and Adler could react, a girl in a familiar police uniform appears before them.

“…it’s Lestrade.”

“Ah.”

The next instant, with a flash of light, Lupin loses his balance.

“Ugh…..”

“Did you think you could cause chaos twice in my jurisdiction and get away unharmed?”

Lestrade, who had struck Lupin’s head directly with her baton, changes her posture with a fluid movement and grabs Lupin’s collar as they begin to fall.

“W-why can’t I use magic suddenly…”

“…Anyone who comes into contact with my hand returns to normal state.”

“What…?”

“Even a world-class phantom thief is no exception.”

At those words, Lupin momentarily shows a blank expression.

“First Ganimard, now you… how are ordinary people who don’t use magic so strong…?”

“…It’s an application of medieval European and Chinese martial arts. Natural abilities like sword energy or inner power don’t disappear when they touch me.”

“Ah… learning something new…”

After briefly trying to twist her body, she determines that escaping from Lestrade’s grip is impossible and begins to whisper in a low voice.

“But if you slam me into the ground like this, your boyfriend will die too, you know?”

“…Ah, that’s fine.”

Lestrade glances coldly at Adler and answers in a low voice.

“He’s not my boyfriend anymore.”

“…Oh.”

At those words, Adler, who had been hiding his face in Lupin’s arms and peeking through the gap between buttons, begins to show a blank expression.

“I’m screwed.”

In that situation, the moment Lupin closes his eyes with a resigned look.

– CRASH!!!

She slams into the pavement with tremendous force, combining the falling speed with Lestrade’s strength.

“…Huff.”

From the dust cloud that rose several times larger than when Inspector Ganimard had fallen, Lestrade exhales roughly as she rolls on the ground.

“…Huh?”

Surprisingly, just before Lupin was about to crash into the ground, Lestrade had pulled Issac Adler out from under her cape and embraced him.

“M-Miss Lestrade…?”

“…Cough, cough.”

“W-why?”

Adler, who had expected to be recovering from a completely shattered body over several hours, asks with a surprised expression, and she quietly answers while avoiding his gaze as she spits blood.

“…Because I like you.”

As soon as those words end, she dusts off her clothes and stands up.

“Though we’re no longer in a fresh romantic relationship.”

“……..”

At her cold voice filled with resentment, Adler quietly lowers his gaze.

“Why such a sad expression? Even a passing dog would laugh.”

“Miss Lestrade…”

“Just die.”

After spitting those words at him, Lestrade quietly begins to walk away, leaving Adler behind.

“Hey, are you conscious?”

“Keurgh…”

“Well, at least you’re alive. Fortunately, this can be settled with just a few reports.”

She calmly mutters while looking down at Lupin, who has been reduced to almost a rag.

“An officer… trying to kill someone…”

“That’s why I told you to stop!”

“…Ugh.”

Meanwhile, Ganimard staggers up to Lupin and puts handcuffs on his arms.

“You’ll be extradited to France like this. Don’t even dream of escaping. Dozens of wizards have been hired specifically to prevent your escape…”

“…Half of them are my subordinates.”

“Hmph! Don’t joke around!”

As she drags away Lupin, who looks like he might pass out at any moment, Adler, who had been sitting on the ground watching blankly, begins to mutter in a dismayed voice.

“B-but the kidnapping quest isn’t finished yet…?”

“If you don’t want to end up like that, it would be best not to move a single step.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Adler immediately shuts his mouth at Lestrade’s chilling statement.

“Now, please follow me.”

“…You just told me not to move.”

“You need to be questioned as a witness in this case.”

“I’m kind of busy right now…”

“If you don’t attend, there’s a high possibility you’ll be considered an accomplice, Mr. Adler.”

As she particularly emphasized the words “Mr. Adler” with a coercive attitude, he was about to sigh and follow her when suddenly:

“There they are!”

“Miss Lestrade! Look over here!!”

“Please give us a statement!!”

“…….?”

Suddenly, from across the street, a crowd holding cameras embedded with magic stones began pouring toward where she and Adler were standing.

“What is this… it was you people.”

Lestrade, who had momentarily taken a defensive stance with a wary look, soon realizes that these are the reporters who have been following her since her romance became public, and speaks in an annoyed voice.

“I’m sure I told you not to cross the line. I’m currently on duty. If you interfere, I’ll arrest…”

“Is the statement you published on the front page of Strand Magazine true?”

However, at the question thrown by the reporter who had approached closest, she paused and tilted her head.

“What statement are you talking about?”

“The declaration that you’re going to marry Issac Adler!”

The next moment, both Issac Adler and Zia Lestrade froze in place.

“We’ve already received confirmation from the city hall that your marriage registration has been completed!”

“”………””

“I’m curious about what led you to decide on marriage so quickly with a spouse who has been the subject of considerable gossip, when you’ve been dating for less than two months…!”

But regardless of their reaction, the reporter cheerfully continues asking questions.

“…Adler.”

After blankly staring at the reporters who were waiting expectantly for an answer with sparkling eyes, Lestrade slowly turns her gaze to Adler beside her and begins to whisper in a low voice.

“So that’s… what it was?”

“…..???”

Of course, Adler’s expression showed he had no idea what was going on.

“You had already chosen me among the three, and just wanted to see me surprised in front of people?”

Quietly avoiding his gaze and lowering her head, Lestrade had already finished making all sorts of speculations and delusions in her mind.

“Then what about all the things I just said?”

– Click, click…!!!

“…Well, it’s true that you’re not my boyfriend anymore. I suppose it doesn’t matter…”

That scene of her whispering to Adler with a reddening face in a shrinking voice adorned the front page of every newspaper published in London that day.

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Thanks to that, there was one person who couldn’t adapt to London’s heated atmosphere.

“…Huh?”

That was Professor Jane Moriarty, who had provided Ganimard and Lestrade with Lupin’s escape route and was leisurely following behind, planning to retrieve Adler.

“Even for someone like me, having a dragon as a vault keeper is a bit much.”

“……..”

“So I thought I’d get some revenge for last time and switched the marriage registration form in between.”

The playful whisper of Lupin reaches the professor’s ears as she is dragged past by Inspector Ganimard.

“Don’t resist and come along quietly!”

“…I’m sorry about this, crime consultant.”

As she finishes speaking and disappears into the crowd with Ganimard, the light begins to fade from the professor’s eyes.

“You vermin…”

It was at that moment that dark clouds, which would persist for several months, began to cover London’s sky.