Ch.234Chapter 234 – The Professor’s Sorrow

[Charlotte Holmes and Raising Professor Moriarty’s Murderous Intent to Maximum: 100%]

[All quests have been cleared.]

[Congratulations.]

The moment I threw myself into the waterfall, these messages appeared before my eyes.

‘Finally…’

About a year ago, whenever I looked at the endless list of quests, I would sigh involuntarily, but I managed to complete them all just in time.

Now only one thing remains.

[Would you like to use the Return Ticket?]

[Y/N]

If I press this button, I’ll return to my original world while keeping the memories of this one.

How I longed for this moment whenever I suffered—half due to my own karma, half due to external forces.

“……..”

But now that I’m actually in this situation, my hand freezes and won’t move properly.

It wasn’t simply due to guilt or hesitation, nor was it because of the women staring at me with empty gazes from a distance.

‘…I didn’t expect this.’

Could it be because I pushed my already weakened body too hard climbing that snow-covered hill?

My arms won’t move properly. It seems my body, pushed to the brink of death, has reached its limit.

[Hello? Aren’t you going to use the Return Ticket?]

[Mr. Adler?]

As I failed to extend my hand forward, the system urgently began questioning me, but now I couldn’t even move my lips.

[In exactly 7 seconds, your body will be shattered!]

[Use the Return Ticket quickly!]

– Trembling…

Despite the system’s panicked red-font warnings, I summoned my last bit of strength to reach forward again.

– Whoooosh…!

“Mmph…”

At that moment, the waterfall’s fierce current swallowed me whole.

[Hey!!]

As the impact flipped my body, my consciousness began to fade.

“……….”

In that situation, I stared blankly at my fingertips stretched toward the system window.

– Shaaaaa…

As a bright light began to envelop my entire body, I closed my eyes with a slightly relieved expression.

‘…Now I find myself wanting to see them.’

Ironically, the final scene that flashed through my mind was the image of Professor Moriarty, Sharlotte, and all the connections I’d made over the past year gathered together.

‘But…’

But that lasted only a moment before my consciousness was cut off, and a long silence enveloped me.

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– Rustle…

After sitting at the cliff’s edge staring down for a long time, Professor Moriarty stood up, and the blank gazes of the other women all turned toward her at once.

– Step, step…

Leaving them behind, Moriarty began descending toward the waterfall, staggering as if possessed.

“It couldn’t… have ended like this.”

Cold sweat, uncharacteristic of her, quietly trickled down her pale cheeks.

“…He must be putting on another show.”

“”………””

“Or perhaps he overexerted himself thinking he could escape.”

The professor had already nearly finished calculating where Adler’s fragments might have drifted after falling from the waterfall.

Since Adler had an immortal body that couldn’t die, she thought there would be no problem if she quickly found and restored him.

“…Th-this is.”

“……..?”

As the professor was making these cold calculations and moving quickly, she paused momentarily at Watson’s trembling voice from beside her.

“A suicide note…?”

Watson, her eyes narrowed as if still not fully sober, was trembling as she held up Adler’s letter that had been wedged between rocks.

“…N-no!”

And moments later, she threw down the letter with a scream and began descending toward the waterfall.

“Adleeeeer!!!”

Her belated scream echoed across the waterfall, making everyone, including the professor, flinch slightly.

– Rustle…

In this situation, Professor Moriarty, her hands trembling uncharacteristically just like before, picked up Adler’s discarded letter.

[To my dear Professor.]

Among several letters, the one the professor happened to pick up was addressed to her by Adler.

[I believe you can perfectly complete the kingdom of crime, evading the pursuit and checks of the British police, even without my concern.

I’ve put all my assets in your name, and I’ve completed the handover of my loyal subordinates through my will.

When a demon meets death, it literally disappears completely, so there’s no need to search for my corpse.

Instead, I’ve already delivered a final gift to your office, so please be satisfied with that.

I’m sorry, and I loved you, Professor.

– Your sincere assistant, Issac Adler]

After carefully reading the letter that felt neither short nor long, the professor threw it to the ground like Watson had and began moving again.

“Nonsense…”

This absurd letter was surely just Adler’s ploy to sever ties with her.

“…How dare you, who do you think you are.”

But what made her slightly anxious nonetheless was…

“Trying to end things on your own terms…”

The fact that Adler’s presence, which she could feel anywhere in the world, had not been detectable at all since earlier.

Of course, attributing this to poor condition or Adler’s body being too mangled to maintain its form, the professor hurried down to the bottom of the waterfall, but…

“Mr. Adler!! Come out now!! This isn’t funny anymore!!!”

“…Please! It’s getting dark!”

Despite not only the professor but all the women there searching the entire waterfall until their hands were raw…

“Master….. no… it can’t be…”

“……….”

All they found were a few pieces of Adler’s clothing.

Of course, at first, none of them believed in Adler’s death, but…

“Issac…”

From the day when the “strange phenomena” that had been rampant worldwide suddenly ended, as days, months, and even a year passed until the publication of Watson’s memoirs…

“Where on earth… did you go…..”

Adler never reappeared in the world.

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And so, a few weeks after the publication of Watson’s memoirs.

“………”

Sitting in her study with an expression devoid of her usual composure—completely emotionless—the professor quietly turned her gaze to the side.

– Rustle…

Eventually, she quietly raised her hand, then let it drop weakly.

Her gaze was fixed on the gift box that Adler had delivered to her office about a year ago as a farewell present.

At first, she hadn’t opened it, planning to tease Adler when he returned.

But now, after taking a year’s leave and traveling the country without finding him, not opening the box had taken on a slightly different meaning for the professor.

That meaning was the illogical fear that if she opened the box, Adler might truly die—a thought that seemed problematic coming from the logical and cold-headed professor.

But for the professor, already devastated by a year of wandering, it didn’t matter anymore.

– Thump…

In any case, her wandering hand picked up a sugar cube box placed on the desk.

Eventually, she took one angular sugar cube and put it in her mouth.

“…Ugh.”

But the sugar, which had been one of the few pleasures in her life until just a few years ago, was somehow so bitter that she could barely swallow it.

“Urgh…”

So she gagged and spat it out.

“……..”

Wondering if perhaps that sugar had gone bad, she tried others, but they all tasted the same.

“…Are you watching?”

Realizing this, Professor Moriarty bowed her head deeply, took something out from her bosom, and buried her face in it.

“Even sugar that was so sweet is too bitter without you.”

What the pitiful and lonely woman was holding, like a chick looking for its mother, was…

“I’ve even grown tired of killing people. Consulting on crimes is the same.”

One of the few relics Adler had left in the world—a piece of clothing.

“Without you… I can no longer find interest in anything.”

Although Adler’s scent had completely disappeared, once at the waterfall and then over the long year…

“So…..”

As Professor Moriarty muttered with a trembling voice, preciously holding it to her chest…

– Creeeeak…

“……..!”

The only exit to her study opened behind her at that very moment.

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“Ah…”

Professor Moriarty weakly turned her head and distorted her expression upon discovering the intruder who had entered her study with a gun.

“……..”

Sharlotte Holmes, looking as broken as Professor Moriarty, was pointing a gun at the back of her head with a haggard expression.

“Holmes…”

Professor Moriarty’s vision caught the numerous injection marks on her neck and arms, and her even darker under-eye circles.

Judging by that, it seemed she had failed to conceive Adler’s child, unlike the police officer or Watson.

Well, it was to be expected.

The chances of successful fertilization with the seed of Adler, a demon rather than a human, were extremely low.

“……..”

Though Professor Moriarty realized this, there was none of her usual provocation or composed retorts.

Only barren killing intent that had lost its purpose and a sense of powerlessness—showing no will to resist—filled the study.

– Rattle…

When the professor suddenly opened a desk drawer, Sharlotte’s finger rested on the gun’s trigger, but…

“”………””

As the professor silently took out something long from it, Sharlotte’s eyes, which had been staring at the professor with an emotionless expression, wavered for a moment.

“That’s…”

What was reflected in her eyes, which remained golden despite being slightly darkened, was…

“No way……”

A recently commercialized, safe pregnancy test device with refined magical stone technology for women.

“I originally planned to try it in front of that child after finding Adler again… but I couldn’t wait any longer.”

Sharlotte stared blankly at the two clear lines on the device for a while.

“…I succeeded recently, using Adler’s sample that I kept in my womb.”

Her finger on the trigger began to convulse severely, but…

“I’m two weeks pregnant.”

With the professor’s confirmation shot, that movement soon subsided.

– Rustle…

After some time had passed, Sharlotte’s gun, which had been pointed at the back of the professor’s head, weakly lowered.

“……..”

Eventually, after standing silently for a long time with her head bowed and dead eyes…

– Creeeeak…

She grabbed Adler’s clothing from the desk, clutched it to her chest, and trudged out of the study.

“…See you in ten months.”

“………”

With those final words from her, a long silence once again enveloped the professor’s study.