Ch.52Chapter 52 – The Mystery of Lygate

Hours after Issac Adler found himself surrounded by Sharlotte Holmes and Jane Moriarty, inside a fast-moving train.

“…You seem quite tired.”

As Jane Moriarty, seated to Adler’s right, nodded off and rested her head on his shoulder with her eyes gently closing, Adler, sitting still, began to murmur in a low voice.

“The professor is quite an intelligent person, but at times like this, she seems to have a somewhat oblivious side.”

“………..”

“Especially when her sugar was confiscated from her, she occasionally makes an expression as if she’s lost everything in the world.”

Sharlotte Holmes, seated on Adler’s left side, was quietly listening to his calm voice.

“In that way, she somewhat resembles you, Miss Holmes.”

Her gaze was fixed on Issac Adler, who was gently stroking Professor Moriarty’s soft hair.

“You are…”

“…still young, Miss Holmes.”

Just as Sharlotte, who had been quietly observing for quite some time, was about to speak, Adler cut in first.

“I’m sure I told you that you were the most precious to me.”

As Sharlotte Holmes tilted her head quietly upon hearing those words, Adler continued.

“Miss Lestrade was the one who confessed to me first. Since you saw it with your own eyes, you shouldn’t have any objections.”

“…….”

“How could I miss an opportunity to play with someone like that?”

His eyes were quietly gleaming.

“And I clearly told you before. That I would devour the people around you one by one.”

“…You did.”

“And if you disappoint me, I’ll eventually devour you too.”

His hand, which had been stroking Moriarty’s hair, now moved toward Sharlotte.

“What should I do?”

“……….”

“I’m a bit disappointed in you right now.”

Eventually, as he caressed her cheek, Adler opened his mouth and pretended to swallow, making a gulping sound.

“May I devour you?”

However, Sharlotte, who would normally have shown at least some sign of displeasure, was strangely unmoved.

“I also clearly told you back then.”

This led to a rather peculiar statement from her that began to fly at Adler, who had been tilting his head in confusion.

“Whatever your purpose may be, seeing you like this somehow makes my heart flutter.”

That Sharlotte Holmes was muttering in a small voice with her eyes downcast.

“I believe I was being honest.”

“Perhaps you’ve come to like me?”

As Adler pressed with a slight smile at her behavior, Sharlotte Holmes maintained her silence in that state.

“……….”

“Miss Holmes?”

When Adler called her name in a slightly confused voice at her unusual response, Sharlotte turned her head to look out the window, resting her chin on her hand and murmuring in a small voice.

“…That can’t be.”

Immediately after, a message appeared before Adler’s eyes.

[Hidden Route: ???]

[Progress: 0%->10%]

As Adler stared blankly at the message, Sharlotte’s quiet voice reached him.

“After all, you’re the one who silently followed me all the way here, even though you could have easily escaped.”

“Miss Holmes.”

Adler sighed in response to her pointed remark.

“I’ve realized something recently—if I don’t accompany you and an incident occurs, this world might end.”

“Put aside the jokes.”

“I’m serious…”

“What I want to say is.”

Ignoring Adler, who was muttering with a sullen expression while checking the corruption rate, Sharlotte Holmes continued.

“You followed me of your own accord.”

“What?”

“I never forced you to accompany me, nor did I exert any coercive power. Joining this retreat is entirely Mr. Adler’s free will.”

“The scope of coercion is a bit ambiguous…”

“Isn’t that right?”

Her eyes were gleaming darkly.

“So, no complaining when we arrive, okay?”

“…What are you planning to do?”

“It will surely be an interesting experience.”

Just as Adler was trying to smile while looking at that dark gaze he had now grown accustomed to.

“…Well, shall we get up now?”

Suddenly, Sharlotte grabbed his sleeve and stood up.

“But, according to the ticket, our final destination is…”

“Shh.”

As Adler opened his mouth with a puzzled expression, since there was still plenty of time until the final destination, Sharlotte immediately silenced him by pushing her finger into his mouth and leaned in quietly.

“…It’s only natural that such things are deceptions.”

“Deceptions…?”

“Many people are targeting you and me.”

Then, glancing at the sleeping Professor Moriarty beside them, she whispered in a small voice.

“We’ll get off at this station and take a carriage I’ve prepared in advance. Of course, we’ll regularly check for any tails by changing routes through transit points.”

“When did you prepare all this…”

“I’ve brought disguise props too. Someone like you, who could transform into a female nurse, should be able to become a completely different person, right?”

When on earth had she prepared all this? As Adler wondered what methods Sharlotte would have used if he hadn’t willingly accompanied her, he eventually asked with a resigned look.

“…Where is our real destination?”

To which Sharlotte replied, raising the corners of her mouth.

“Lygate in Surrey.”

“……..”

“Someone connected to Watson has offered us their nest. It’s an optimized place for a quiet retreat.”

Adler’s expression began to turn slightly serious.

“…I’m glad I came along after all.”

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing at all.”

But he quickly changed his expression and moved forward, holding hands with Sharlotte.

“Let’s go.”

“You seem to change your mood sometimes.”

“…It’s just my imagination.”

Silence began to fill the seat where only the sleeping Professor Moriarty remained.

“………”

No, to be precise.

“…How interesting.”

Since the professor had been in a state of feigned sleep, controlling even her body temperature and heartbeat in real-time, she wasn’t actually asleep.

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A day later.

“This is surprising.”

“……..!?”

Sharlotte Holmes, who had been leisurely sipping her tea at a quiet mansion on the outskirts of Lygate, widened her eyes at the unexpected visitor.

“I never expected you to be here as well.”

“How did you get here…”

It was because Professor Moriarty, dressed in civilian clothes, was smiling coldly at the entrance while removing her hat.

“Miss Holmes, are you also acquainted with Colonel Hayter?”

“………..”

“No, you don’t have friends. I apologize. It must be through your connection with Rachel Watson, the former army doctor?”

Sharlotte Holmes’s expression hardened as black smoke began to emanate from her body, but Moriarty merely smiled condescendingly as she entered the mansion.

“But, quite coincidentally, among my few human connections, I happen to know one former colonel.”

“Such a convenient story…”

“This world is much smaller than you think, Miss Holmes.”

The two pairs of gray eyes began to glare coldly at each other.

“I simply came to this mansion of Colonel Hayter, who was a colleague of that person, for a retreat. But I never expected you to be here first.”

“…Get out. I rented this place first.”

“That’s something to discuss with the owner of the house, not with you, I believe.”

In that situation, Moriarty was the first to avert her gaze and casually took a seat on the mansion’s sofa.

“But choosing a place like this for a retreat—both you and I have a bit of bad luck.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Take a look at today’s newspaper.”

Sharlotte’s gaze turned to the newspaper that Moriarty took out from her bosom.

“This is…”

“It seems a thief broke into the home of an elderly man named Acton, a local magnate and an old friend of Colonel Hayter. The damage isn’t severe, but the culprit hasn’t been caught yet.”

Meanwhile, Moriarty, who was leisurely continuing her explanation with her legs crossed.

“…Isn’t it a remarkable coincidence that our arrival date aligns so perfectly with the occurrence of such an unsettling incident?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“…Well, let’s end the introduction here.”

Gray mana began to shimmer around her body.

“I’ve been talking too much, but after all, there’s only one thing I’m curious about.”

And in the next moment, a numbing killing intent began to circulate through the mansion.

“Where is Issac Adler right now?”

“I don’t think I have any obligation to tell you.”

In a situation where the mana of both women had intensified to the point where it was as if they had drawn guns and were pointing them at each other, Professor Moriarty spoke with a voice tinged with laughter.

“Isn’t it too amusing that London’s greatest detective would kidnap someone?”

“My, do you have any evidence?”

“I intend to find it now.”

“Go ahead and try.”

To which Sharlotte Holmes replied, also with a voice tinged with laughter.

“…If you can find it, that is.”

The standoff between the two women continued for dozens more minutes until Colonel Hayter, the owner of the house who had been out briefly, returned.

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That dawn. In an old warehouse located near the mansion.

“Haa, haa…”

“Ugh…”

At a time clearly too late for children to be wandering around, two girls staggered into the warehouse and simultaneously collapsed onto the floor, their legs giving out.

“Sister…”

“……….”

“What are we going to do now…?”

After some time had passed, the younger-looking girl began to question the girl beside her.

“That person… is really dead, right…?”

“No, that’s…”

The child called sister, hearing those words, closed her eyes tightly and opened her mouth.

“We… we killed him…”

But at her sister’s continued words, she couldn’t finish speaking and embraced her blood relative with a pale face.

“It’s over for us…”

“Ugh…”

“Just when I thought we might finally be happy…”

And so, the sorrowful crying of the two girls began to echo in the middle of the night.

“The Cunningham sisters, correct?”

“”…..Eek!?””

It was at that very moment.

“New mysteries, I see.”

A man’s voice was heard from behind them.

“W-who…”

“S-sister… it’s a demon…!”

The sisters, who had turned around in fear, began to tremble in terror.

“A demon has come to catch us…!”

“Well, I don’t mind if you think of me that way…”

The blonde boy with red eyes who was staring at them, Issac Adler.

“…First, could you untie this for me?”

He pointed with his tail at the chair he was tightly bound to and whispered in a low voice.

“I’ll advise you on your crime.”

“”…………””

And then came the silence.

“Why not trust a demon with nothing better to do?”

The two sisters, who had simultaneously gulped, began to cautiously approach him, drawn by that sweet voice.

“…I’m saved.”

“Pardon?”

“I said, that’s an excellent choice.”

It was the beginning of a mystery that would stir up the quiet Lygate.