Ch.153Chapter 153 – The Crawling Man (4)

“Meow…”

“…Sigh.”

A few hours after the missing Issac Adler was found in a shabby warehouse.

– Lick…

“””………”””

Three girls gathered in the living room of the client’s mansion, staring coldly at Adler who was sitting on the desk, wagging his tail and grooming himself like a cat.

“…Where are the client and the professor?”

“At the university teaching. Apparently he can still teach classes after wandering around like that all night.”

“Hmm. I understand that…”

In this situation, Zia Lestrade, who spoke first, glances at Sharlotte who answered calmly, and asks another question.

“…But what exactly happened here?”

“Purr?”

At that voice, Adler tilts his head to the side, staring at the three girls who were looking at him.

“Why has Issac Adler lost his mind to this extent?”

“…I’m not entirely sure, but the situation is quite serious.

Rachel Watson, who had been trying repeatedly to return him to his normal state, mutters tiredly while sprawled on the sofa.

“I’m a surgeon, not a psychiatrist. There’s nothing I can do about this kind of problem.”

“…True, I’ve heard that the status and prestige of psychiatric fields have increased compared to before, with the advancement of magic.”

“That’s because people are losing their minds left and right due to magic, mysteries, and strange phenomena. At least visible wounds can be treated, but these mental issues can’t be fixed even with magic…”

And then silence fell.

– Sneaking…

Adler, who had been watching them cautiously during the silence, noticed the atmosphere wasn’t very good and quickly got down to the floor, heading toward the sofa.

“…Meow.”

Then he jumped up next to Watson, who had the most displeased expression, and started gently rubbing his head against her side.

– Purr purr purr…

“…Sigh.”

Watson, who had been staring at him with cold eyes, finally sighs and starts stroking his chin as his affectionate behavior continues.

“Um, excuse me…”

“…..?”

Zia Lestrade, who had been glancing at them from the side, quietly approaches the sofa and nestles into the spot next to Adler.

“Would you… like to play with this?”

“…..Meow!”

When she hesitantly pulls out a mouse toy from somewhere and waves it, Adler’s eyes sparkle and he quickly snatches it.

– Tap tap, tap…

“”……..””

And then, Adler starts batting at the innocent mouse toy with cat punches right in front of the girls.

“…Chomp.”

“N-no, don’t eat it!”

“Bleh…”

After putting the toy in his mouth with a bright expression, he receives a warning from Lestrade and dejectedly spits out the toy, hanging his head.

– Slide…

Afterward, he curls up between the two women and immediately closes his eyes, falling asleep.

“Miss Watson.”

“…Yes?”

“I apologize in advance, but Issac Adler is currently my husband.”

“And?”

Watson, who had been keeping her head down quietly, looks at Lestrade who addressed her with an expression that seemed to ask what she was trying to say.

“…I would like to pet my husband alone.”

“But this isn’t Adler, it’s a cat-person.”

The next moment, a strange tension began to flow between them.

“If a cat is cute, can’t I pet it?”

“…Why are you being like this?”

Despite Lestrade’s stiff objection, Watson continues stroking the head of Adler who was curled up, and mutters in a dark tone.

“…He’s disgustingly handsome. Damn it.”

“Miss Watson…”

“I wonder if it’s because I was recently rejected? I hate myself for finding a younger man curled up on my lap like a cat so incredibly cute.”

“Are you still insisting that Issac Adler and Neville St. Clair are completely different people…?”

“Since things have come to this, why don’t we just take turns keeping him instead of trying to cure him?”

At her calm statement, Lestrade rises from her seat with a blank expression and speaks urgently.

“Miss Holmes. I believe this place is dangerous. Both Mr. Adler and Miss Watson seem to be losing their minds.”

“……..”

“There must be some strange phenomenon causing mental breakdown or hallucinations. We should leave this place quickly…”

“Honestly, wouldn’t that be better for you as a police officer?”

She flinches at Watson’s still calm voice and trails off.

“Think about it. London’s social evil, who lives off his face alone, has become a being who doesn’t even look at other women and occasionally acts cute.”

“Th-that’s not the point. He’s literally turned into a cat…”

“That’s what’s good about it. This uncontrollable demon has become harmless, and he’s even being affectionate. Don’t you think this is a fitting end for someone like him?”

At her continued words, not only Lestrade but even Sharlotte, who had been quietly looking at the fireplace, had wavering eyes at that moment.

– Slide…

Suddenly Adler opens his eyes and gets up, jumping off the sofa.

– Chomp…

“…..Ouch.”

As he quickly approaches Sharlotte’s side, embraces her from behind and bites her nape, Watson’s expression instantly turns cold.

“W-why is he suddenly doing that? Has he become a vampire cat?”

“…That’s just normal cat behavior.”

“Behavior? What do you mean…”

As Lestrade asks with a perplexed expression, Watson answers in a low voice, taking in the scene before her with dark eyes.

“Male cats tend to bite the nape of female cats they want to mate with.”

A chilly atmosphere begins to flow through the mansion’s living room.

“…Everyone please stop talking nonsense and focus. I’m going to explain the plan now…”

– Crunch…

“…Ah.”

In that strange atmosphere, as Sharlotte tries to maintain a calm expression and organize the situation, she inadvertently lets out a moan when Adler’s teeth sink a bit deeper into her nape.

“…I’ll explain the plan.”

“In that state?”

After hurriedly putting her finger in her mouth and momentarily trembling, she glances slightly at Adler who is embracing her from behind and nibbling on her nape, then continues.

“At first, I thought the cause of this incident was related to the immortality potion that’s been popular recently.”

“…Immortality?”

“When Dr. Frankenstein was arrested previously, documents from his laboratory were leaked and apparently became very popular in the back alleys.”

“Hmm…”

Lestrade and Watson nod, deliberately ignoring Adler who is rubbing against Sharlotte’s back.

“The method is simple. You inject a certain amount of serum made primarily from animal blood, like dogs, cats, or monkeys.”

“D-does that actually work…?”

“I only heard it as gossip, so I’m not sure. I found some records of it being used since ancient times for virility or to restore skin elasticity…”

“…That actually makes some sense.”

Watson, hearing this, interjects with an interested expression.

“I read some papers about it in college. There were speculations that injecting small amounts of animal serum could actually have such medical effects…”

“…Then you must know about the side effects too?”

“Ah, well… yes? It was quite an interesting paper…”

At Sharlotte’s question, Watson quietly begins to recall.

“Side effects included behaving like the animal whose serum was used for a few hours… wait…..”

Her eyes suddenly widen.

“Could it be?”

“Yes, even just a few hours ago I thought so. Seeing the professor’s behavior toward the dog, I suspected he might have injected himself with monkey or dog serum.”

Sharlotte quietly strokes her chin and mutters.

“There was plenty of evidence. The professor who furiously scolded his son for touching experimental tools, who headed to Bohemia where drug transactions have recently increased dramatically. And decisively, that abnormal behavior yesterday that was on a different level from sleepwalking or drug hallucinations…”

“Y-yes. The professor said he was getting remarried. That explains why he would use a rejuvenation drug.”

“S-so… all questions are answered, and Adler will return to normal in a few hours, case closed?”

“…No.”

But to Lestrade’s hopeful question, she firmly shakes her head.

“W-why not?”

“Because there were no injection marks anywhere on Issac Adler’s body.”

Then, narrowing her eyes, Sharlotte begins to mutter.

“And does it make sense that someone known as the king of Vampires would suffer side effects from mere animal serum?”

“How do you know there are no needle marks anywhere on Adler’s body…”

“D-did you strip him naked?”

“That’s not the important part.”

She continues, brushing off Watson and Lestrade’s sharp questions.

“Finally, even if Adler somehow injected the serum, experiencing side effects immediately after the first dose seems strange.”

“………”

“In this case, we need to change our perspective, right?”

Suddenly picking up her detective coat that she had set aside, she begins giving instructions.

“Watson. Get me those papers about the serum right away. I need to thoroughly examine their credibility.”

“Huh? Okay…”

“And Officer, please come with me.”

“W-where are we going?”

To the officer’s confused voice, Sharlotte answered, pointing to a building faintly visible through the window.

“Cambridge.”

“Ah…..”

“I need to see the professor’s marriage partner with my own eyes.”

It was at that moment that Adler’s eyes, still nibbling on Sharlotte’s nape, quietly gleamed.

“…….?”

“What’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing.”

.

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.

.

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“…Hey, Mr. Adler. Please let go now.”

Sharlotte, who had finished speaking and was preparing to leave for investigation, sighs and reaches back to remove Adler who was biting her neck.

– Growl…

“Ah…”

But at that moment, as Adler applies force with his arms, Sharlotte loses balance and falls to the floor in a prone position.

“Hiss…!”

“……..”

Adler naturally overlaps his body on her back and hisses in her ear as if telling her to stay still.

– Chomp…

“…Ugh.”

After that, when he bites her nape again, she freezes in place, having been trying to push herself up with both hands on the floor.

“I can’t even argue about contracts with a cat…”

“…I really should just kill him.”

“Meow!”

Meanwhile, after quietly burying his head in Sharlotte’s hair for a while, Adler is soon restrained by Watson and Lestrade who grab his arms and legs.

“Stay right here.”

“Meow?”

“J-just in case, I’ll leave a bowl of milk right in front. And toys too…”

Lestrade, watching Sharlotte and Watson cautiously, approaches Adler who is now tied to the sofa with a leash, and begins to whisper.

– Lick…

“D-don’t eat it right now…”

Adler stares down at the milk bowl in her hands, then buries his face in it and starts licking.

“…Purr.”

“Ah.”

When he raises his head and licks the milk off his lips with his tongue, narrowing his eyes with a satisfied purr, Lestrade’s gaze wavers slightly.

“…He really is cute.”

“Meow?”

“A-anyway! Don’t go anywhere and stay right here!”

But she immediately shakes her head and gets up from her seat with a reddened face.

“You should be like this normally too…”

“Meow~”

“Not just looking at other women whenever you feel like it.”

After stroking Adler’s chin with a momentarily downcast gaze, she sighs as Adler rubs his face against her hand with a bright expression, and turns to walk toward the exit.

“…If you just stopped doing bad things, I’d be willing to really marry you, even if I have to put up with a lot.”

With those words, the mansion door closed, and a long silence began to flow through the living room.

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“…Hmm.”

Surprisingly, it was Adler, sitting quietly on the sofa with a leash around his neck, who broke the suffocating silence.

“So this is what it means to be a ‘man’ who crawls.”

He had managed to temporarily prevent the collapse of plausibility with his all-out cat performance, but now he needed to create a plausible conclusion before they returned to the mansion.

[Meow~]

“…Makes me want to kill myself, damn it.”