Ch.206Chapter 206 – The Third

Time passed, and it was the morning of the second day since discovering that Lovecraft was the culprit behind the destruction of this world.

“…..Tsk.”

“Hmm hmm.”

While leisurely sipping milk tea with Sharlotte, who had come early to visit Silver Blaze in the hospital room, she suddenly frowned and began muttering coldly to herself.

“So it ends up like this after all…”

“…What’s wrong, Miss Holmes?”

When I tilted my head and asked, Sharlotte slowly turned her gaze toward me.

“Do you have no conscience?”

“Pardon?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know? That you were behind this?”

“What are you talking about? I really don’t know.”

But when I simply shrugged with an expression suggesting I had no idea what she was talking about, she sighed and delivered some rather shocking news.

“The KKK ship that was heading toward our trap disappeared at dawn today.”

“……!”

“The cause is unknown. It literally vanished overnight.”

“But there’s no telegraph or telephone nearby, so how did you receive such information?”

When I asked with a dumbfounded expression, Sharlotte stared at me quietly and answered.

“…I tapped into the shipping company’s communications.”

“Isn’t that… illegal?”

“If you thought I was a model citizen who follows all laws and rules, you’re mistaken.”

After saying this with a rather brazen expression, she lowered her voice and leaned toward me.

“But I don’t handle matters as extremely as you do.”

“……..”

“Be honest. You planned this from the beginning, didn’t you?”

She continued speaking while quietly tapping the desk rhythmically with her index finger.

– Tock, tock, tock…

“From the moment you approached me saying you had a way to arrest the KKK gang all at once, you were anticipating this outcome all along.”

It was truly an honor to witness firsthand the habit of Holmes from the novels.

“Are you not going to answer?”

Of course, it would have been several times more honorable if I wasn’t being interrogated by her.

No, perhaps I should consider this a rare experience to be appreciated?

“…You really think little of people.”

While having such frivolous thoughts, I simply smiled with my eyes without saying anything, which made her frown deeply and stand up.

“Who forged that letter for you in handwriting I’ve never seen before?”

“…Miss Holmes.”

“And who was it that stayed obediently cooped up in the boarding house waiting, trusting your words, when I wanted nothing more than to storm the KKK headquarters right away?”

Judging by her expression, she seemed quite angry about this incident.

“Why do you think I did it? I don’t have the power to sink a steamship?”

“…Ha.”

“This is just my guess, but didn’t they encounter a storm or natural disaster and unfortunately sink into the sea? In other words, they received divine punishment, divine punishment.”

Of course, I couldn’t readily admit to the fact, so I just answered with a nonchalant expression.

Well, to be fair, my words weren’t completely untrue.

After all, isn’t the Professor essentially a quasi-natural disaster?

So treating him as a calamity like a storm should be within acceptable bounds, right?

“I’ve heard unbelievable eyewitness accounts from ships passing through the nearby area.”

“What did they say?”

“They said a giant sea monster appeared.”

But Sharlotte seemed to think a bit differently from me.

“…It’s hallucination, hallucination. A common phenomenon among sailors who have trauma from massive waves.”

“For hallucinations, their testimonies were quite consistent.”

“…They experienced the same disaster. It makes sense.”

“Somehow all their memories were also hazy…”

“You tapped that far into their communications? That’s truly illegal, Miss Holmes.”

As I tried to counter her words with a forced smile, Sharlotte’s eyes narrowed even more.

“…I’m disappointed.”

She muttered quietly as she stood up with a cold expression.

“I don’t know what you’re disappointed about…”

– Step, step…

“…….?”

Of course, I needed to somehow make this case remain unsolved, so I kept denying everything with my head down, but.

– Swoosh…

“Miss Holmes?”

For some reason, Sharlotte didn’t leave the hospital room but approached me instead.

“…Didn’t you just say you were disappointed in me?”

“Yes, I am disappointed.”

Then, quietly drawing dark energy from her body, she began to whisper.

“But that’s all. You’ve always been that kind of man.”

“Um, well… that sounds somewhat offensive…”

“But what can I do? If I just leave because I like you, obviously I’d be the only one losing out, right?”

Somehow her voice was beginning to sound increasingly eerie.

“So instead of leaving like this, I want to try redefining our relationship by going on another date with you.”

“…What do you mean.”

“I’ve booked the same room at the hotel where we stayed the other night.”

Sure enough, Sharlotte grabbed my arm with darkened eyes.

“Did you really think you could turn a case I was working on into an unsolved mystery and not face consequences?”

“…….”

“Relax your hand. If you want to walk out of here on your own two feet.”

Just as I was quietly chuckling at her sweet yet threatening intimidation.

– Swoosh…

“…Huh?”

Suddenly something popped its head out from my chest.

“You are…”

“…Princess?”

It was none other than Princess.

To be precise, Princess, who had been curled up in my chest as a cat as usual, had poked her head out for some reason and was glaring at Sharlotte.

– Poof…!

And a moment later, in the blink of an eye, she jumped out and revealed her true form.

“…It would be best if you removed that hand.”

“Oh really? Why should I listen to a loser who’s already been defeated by me once?”

Sharlotte, immediately recognizing her identity, began to growl in a low voice.

“Is that so…?”

Princess looked at Sharlotte with cold eyes, then quietly glanced at me from the corner of her eye.

“…Haap.”

“……!”

Suddenly, she bared her fangs and bit into my neck.

“What are you doing…?”

– Gulp, gulp…”

“…I said, what are you doing.”

And with her eyes tightly closed, Princess began to drink my blood.

“I’m asking you right now…”

“…Puha.”

Only after Sharlotte shouted loudly did she remove her mouth from my neck, wiping her mouth with her sleeve after stretching a long thread of saliva mixed with blood.

“…Adler and I have a contract.”

“Contract…?”

“Issac Adler must now offer his blood to me whenever I want, as much as I want.”

Eventually, she began pouring oil on Sharlotte, who looked ready to explode.

“Our clever detective lady should understand well.”

“…….”

“…If you don’t let go and leave right now, I’ll drain every drop of Adler’s blood.”

And then, a moment of silence fell.

“You calculated this far… didn’t you?”

After glaring at Princess with murderous eyes for a while, Sharlotte glanced at me and asked in a low voice.

“…I’ll let it slide just this once, since you did help me this time.”

Her voice had lost its earlier composure and had darkened considerably.

“Remember this.”

“……..”

“The fruit is already sprouting inside me.”

After leaving those words, Sharlotte quietly left the hospital room.

“…Haah.”

As soon as the door closed, Princess, who had been standing beside me, quietly exhaled.

“Here, Princess.”

“…….?”

“This is the reward I promised. Take as much as you want.”

After observing her cautiously, I muttered with a slightly resigned expression while extending my arm.

“I’m now Princess’s free vending machine.”

“………”

“…Of course, if you wish, you can drink until I die.”

For some reason, she just stared at me blankly.

“Hmph.”

And after a moment, she turned away with a cold expression and muttered in a low voice.

“…I’m full today.”

After saying that, she transformed into dozens of red bats and scattered in all directions.

“What was that…”

Just as I was quietly scratching my head at Princess’s unexpected behavior.

– Rustle…

“…Ah?”

I began to hear something moving beside me.

“Mas… ter?”

So I turned my head slightly to the side and quietly smiled as I began to stroke the cheek of the biggest victim of this case.

“…You’re awake, Blaze.”

I inwardly resolved to maintain this cool image rather than my usual pathetic self for a while, since I’d already shown a cool side.

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.

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But there was one thing that Adler had overlooked.

“I’m glad you’re alright.”

“Ah…”

It was the fact that, as luck would have it, that day happened to be Silver Blaze’s final heat cycle period that had accumulated while she was continuously unconscious.

– Thump-thump-thump-thump…

‘Master-master-master-master…’

“…Um, Blaze?”

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Meanwhile, at that time.

“Hmm, hmm hmm…”

For some reason, Lestrade, with a bandage on her cheek and a face flushed bright red, was standing right in front of the hospital.

“…This must be the place?”

In the hands of the officer, held behind her back, was a proposal bouquet that she had personally made by staying up all night.