Ch.165Chapter 165 – The Devil’s Foot (3)

“….Adler. Are you alright?”

“……..”

Adler, who had shaken off the maid and officer rushing toward him, hastily left the mansion with Professor Moriarty.

“Adler…”

“I’m fine, Professor.”

“Well, that’s a relief…”

After walking silently through the quiet streets of Cornwall, he muttered in a low voice, and the professor, who had been watching him carefully, quietly spoke.

“Your hands are very clammy.”

“…….”

“Is something troubling you?”

And then came the silence.

“I guess I was tense because of what happened earlier, haha…”

“You’ve experienced all sorts of bizarre incidents, and you’re nervous about a few women rushing at you?”

“Professor. A person’s feelings aren’t absolute, they’re relative.”

“Well, if inferior creatures… I mean, insignificant beings were rushing at me, I might have felt the same.”

“Pardon?”

Adler, who had been responding calmly, quietly raised a question mark at the professor’s suddenly changed statement.

“…Aren’t you a Demon living an immortal life?”

“Y-yes?”

“Unless the Vatican takes action, you won’t die.”

Then, gently caressing his cheek, Professor Moriarty began to mutter.

“So, from your perspective, humans with their finite lives are an inferior species, aren’t they?”

“…Does it work that way?”

“Of course, from my perspective too, humans are an inferior species. In fact, you and I aren’t so different.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The professor, who had been seeking Adler’s agreement with a knowing look, fell silent for a moment upon seeing his puzzled expression.

“You know, you’re surprisingly slow on the uptake.”

“….?”

“Sometimes you show omniscience as if predicting the future, and other times you act like a fool lacking even basic common sense…”

And then, she quietly began to tilt her head from side to side.

“…it’s quite adorable.”

“Professor.”

As she finished speaking and rested her head on Adler’s shoulder, he quietly opened his mouth while continuing to walk.

“Why are you climbing on me again?”

Blinking at those words, Professor Moriarty made a momentarily regretful expression.

“I’m sorry…”

“Do you want to be punished?”

“…Let it slide just this once.”

As she said this and nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder, Adler sighed quietly and stopped in place.

“Professor.”

“……?”

“What if, hypothetically speaking, I were a much more insignificant inferior species than you think?”

Hearing this, Professor Moriarty quietly tilted her head.

“You are not inferior. Whether by species, intelligence, or planning ability…”

“…So, what if I didn’t have much time left to live?”

“Don’t say such things. Why make such an assumption?”

Her expression immediately began to darken.

“The fact that you, with the powers of a Demon and a pureblood Vampire, cannot die is something I know better than anyone.”

“……..”

“Death is something only inferior species experience. Transcendent beings like us… like you don’t need to worry about that.”

“Is that so…”

At her matter-of-fact statement, Adler quietly gave a bitter smile.

“Then let me change the question. What if I suddenly disappeared someday…”

– Rumble…

“…Oh.”

As he persistently asked the question, thunder suddenly began to roll across the sky.

“……..”

The sky over Cornwall, which had been clear until just moments ago, was now covered with dark clouds.

“Could it be because of that entity you encountered before…?”

“……..”

“If it’s that, don’t worry. I can handle it.”

In the now-darkened street, Professor Moriarty spoke in a low voice.

“They are quite troublesome, but I can subdue them sufficiently, so you needn’t worry…”

“…If my guess is correct, you might be in danger too, Professor.”

“What did you just say?”

“If the identity of the entity I saw then is what I suspect it is…..”

As his words lengthened, the professor’s expression grew increasingly dark.

“Then, I’ll protect you.”

“……?”

“I have a way.”

After cheerfully whispering this to her, Adler quietly began to walk.

“…Ahem.”

“So cheer up and follow me.”

Professor Moriarty, who had been quietly watching him from behind, moved forward as he pulled her necklace.

“…You’ll protect me?”

“Well, who else would protect the cute professor?”

“…….”

“Isn’t that what it takes to protect you, Professor?”

At his words, Jane Moriarty wore a momentarily blank expression.

“…It’s the first time someone has said they would protect me.”

“Haha, is that so?”

“It’s true. I’ve never received help from anyone before.”

She began to mutter in a low voice.

“I’ve always been alone.”

“…….”

“I’ve had very few people I knew, let alone people I was on familiar terms with.”

After quietly listening to her words, Adler rose on his tiptoes and gently began to caress her cheek.

“A sulky professor is quite cute too.”

“……”

“But I prefer the professor who is the queen of crime.”

He began to look at the professor with a bright smile.

“…I love how the professor, who is in such an unapproachable position, is affectionate only when alone with me.”

“……..”

“Professor.”

Suddenly, still on his tiptoes, Adler brought his face close to hers.

“…Stick out your tongue.”

“Suddenly… why?”

“Quickly.”

At his urging, the professor hesitated for a moment before her eyes widened.

“Adler. There are people walking over there…”

“…That’s why I’m asking.”

Adler began to whisper in her ear in a low voice.

“I just realized that training you only when we’re alone seems meaningless.”

“What are you saying…”

“Shouldn’t you become my possession even in front of others for true training?”

At his bold statement, the professor, who had been watching cautiously, began to whisper in a shrinking voice.

“B-but… didn’t you just say yourself? That you prefer when I’m affectionate only when we’re alone…”

“…Quiet, stick out your tongue. Jane.”

Then, staring at her with cold eyes, Adler issued a command, completely dropping honorifics.

“…Understood.”

“No, that’s not it.”

As the professor, red-faced and fidgeting, answered in a tiny voice, Adler quietly shook his head and spoke.

“…Yes, sir.”

Although the professor corrected herself while lowering her gaze, Adler maintained his cold expression.

“…Woof.”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Only after she made a cute dog sound and awkwardly lay down on the ground did he nod with a satisfied expression and quietly crouch in front of the professor.

“…Mmph.”

Then, while stroking her chin, he quietly bit the tongue she had stuck out.

– Shudder…

As passersby began to glance at them, Adler, with a slight smile, began to pretend to remove the trembling Professor Moriarty’s underwear.

“…Eek.”

“Stay still.”

Startled and about to jump up from her position, she froze when Adler bit her tongue slightly harder and scolded her.

– Stroke, stroke…

As Adler began to stroke her head, the professor, with a resigned expression, surrendered to his touch.

“…Phew.”

How much time had passed like that?

“You know what, Professor?”

“……..”

“Even if the passersby can’t see your naked body, they can clearly see what we were just doing.”

Adler, who had quietly stood up, began to whisper in the ear of the professor, who was still lying on the ground.

“…Get up now.”

– Rustle…

“We need to get away from here. Besides the request, I’m feeling strangely uneasy. So let’s regroup first and…”

Then, pulling the professor’s leash, Adler began to hurry his steps again.

“…Huh?”

However, his momentum didn’t last long.

“Something’s strange…..”

For some reason, no matter how much they walked, the surrounding scenery remained similar.

“…No way.”

Only then did Adler realize that they should have left Cornwall long ago given the time they had been walking, and he began to break out in a cold sweat.

“Professor, I think I need your help for a moment…”

“S-suddenly feeling anemic…”

“……?”

When he turned around, Professor Moriarty, who had been quietly following him, suddenly staggered and began to mutter with a pale face.

“This seems like my mana has become unstable again…”

“……..”

“Thanks to that, I won’t be able to use magic for a while…”

Then, for a split second, she gave a cold signal to the passersby who had been fidgeting behind Adler.

“D-damn. No matter how much we walk, there’s no end in sight.”

“Th-this is a strange phenomenon that often happens in Cornwall. Why don’t we rest for a while?”

“Th-there’s an inn nearby.”

Then the passersby watching the professor’s signals—no, her minions disguised as passersby—began to recite their pre-prepared lines as if reading from a textbook.

“…Hmm.”

Hearing their words, Adler turned his gaze to the inn that had somehow appeared beside them.

“I guess we have no choice.”

– Thump, thump…

“Let’s rest there for a while.”

The professor’s face, which had been bowed while erasing her pounding heartbeat with magic she supposedly couldn’t use, began to blush like a young girl at those words.

“W-well, I dislike such unclean places… but I suppose we have no choice.”

“It’s probably just a minor strange phenomenon, so it will end soon.”

“I suppose so. Probably…”

.

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That evening. 221B Baker Street.

“…What?”

Sharlotte Holmes, who had been grinding magical stone powder with a haggard expression after quite a long time, was questioning in disbelief at the urgent news that had just arrived.

“Cornwall has been separated from England?”

“Y-yes. We need your help, detective…”

“…It’s quite surprising, but I’m a bit busy right now.”

“J-just a moment…”

However, as she was about to end the call with an indifferent voice.

– Sizzle…

“…Ugh!?”

It was at that moment that the back of her hand began to burn hotly.

“……..”

Frowning slightly at the sudden occurrence, Sharlotte’s expression began to harden as she looked at the back of her hand.

[Oh my, Miss Holmes. How pitiful.]

Although the sender, content, and purpose were unclear, the unpleasant gray message was enough to make her quick-witted mind understand roughly what was happening.

“That damn old hag…”

Just three minutes later, a carriage departed from Baker Street, heading toward Cornwall at full speed.