Ch.69Chapter 69 – The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

“…Hey, you know.”

“Yes?”

A few days after the abnormal weather that covered all of London in snow began.

“Don’t think this is weird, but listen.”

“……?”

Zia Lestrade, who was patrolling the snow-covered streets of London with her junior police candidate Baines, opens her mouth with a troubled expression.

“First, let’s assume there’s a really, really bad man.”

“What kind of bad? Robbery? Murder? Thug?”

Baines asks with a curious expression.

“…The kind who plays with women and then discards them as he pleases.”

“Wow, isn’t that the type you hate the most, senior?”

Baines opens her eyes wide and agrees with Lestrade’s answer.

“That’s not all. He’s also the type of man who somehow makes women who don’t fall for him his own through contract fraud or threats.”

“My goodness, it’s scary just thinking about it.”

“What’s even scarier is that there are widespread rumors about his close connections to underground organizations, but no matter how much you investigate, not even the slightest evidence comes up.”

Baines tilts her head slightly at this detailed explanation.

“…Somehow this profile sounds very familiar.”

“R-Really? That’s a coincidence.”

Lestrade mumbles with a slightly awkward expression, then clears her throat and continues in a cold manner.

“But listen. The important part starts now.”

“Is that so?”

“Imagine that such a terrible, despicable man… suddenly starts being nice to you one day.”

“That’s…”

Baines starts to answer but then closes her mouth and quietly stares at her senior.

“H-He didn’t have a change of heart overnight. Of course, his personality changed a bit… but he still treats women as his possessions and does whatever he wants with them.”

“……….”

“But only when he faces you, his attitude changes.”

Surprisingly, there was a slight crack in Lestrade’s cold, expressionless face that had charmed countless men.

“He threatens people who were demanding debt payments, and quietly takes care of people who were trying to harm your family…”

“…Hmm.”

“His actions are still evil, but if those actions were for me… I mean, for you.”

But without realizing it, Lestrade concludes while looking down and fidgeting with her fingers.

“How would you feel?”

“Hmm…”

As Lestrade, whose cheeks were slightly flushed either from the cold or something else, glances at Baines and asks the question, her junior opens her eyes lazily and makes a mischievous expression.

“…That sounds just like a romance novel.”

“Uh, huh?”

And then, with a mischievous voice mixed with laughter, she begins to answer.

“It’s trending these days – the worst scoundrel who’s despised by everyone falls in love at first sight with the righteous and kind female lead and becomes obsessed with her.”

“…..What.”

Lestrade’s already red face begins to turn even redder.

“The garbage-like, annoying male lead becomes as gentle as a puppy only in front of the female lead, and the female lead who initially disliked and was annoyed by him gradually begins to fall for him as time passes…”

“……..”

“And after going through several crises and misunderstandings, the two who finally come to love each other completely, in the end, press their hands and bellies together for a hot night…”

“W-Wait! What are you saying?”

As Baines’ story becomes increasingly explicit while watching her with a grin, Lestrade hastily covers her mouth and raises her voice.

“…What’s wrong? I was just saying that’s what’s popular these days.”

“Ahem.”

“Perhaps something hit a nerve?”

After clearing her throat briefly, she mutters quietly while tightly clenching both hands.

“…That’s not possible.”

“Hmm…”

“Even if I were to find myself in such a position, I would never meet such an ending.”

A determined expression appears on her face.

“I’ve sworn to devote my life to England and uphold justice.”

“You’re not Queen Elizabeth, what kind of nonsense is that?”

“Absolutely not. Meeting an ending with such an evil person…”

“Oh? Look over there.”

Baines, who had been secretly smiling at the sight, suddenly opens her eyes wide and speaks.

“Huh?”

“There, doesn’t that look suspicious?”

At the end of the alley she pointed to, two figures were staggering while entangled with each other.

“A fight in broad daylight?”

“Hey, what are you doing there?”

Seeing what appeared to be a fight, the two stopped their chat and began to hurry their steps, their eyes quietly gleaming.

“Stop right there, both of you!”

“Let’s go, senior…”

Just as the two figures turned their heads simultaneously at Lestrade’s shout echoing through the street, it happened.

– Crackle…!

“…Ugh?”

“U-Uwaah.”

A blinding flash suddenly filled the street, engulfing Lestrade and Baines.

“…A magician?”

“D-Dangerous!”

After briefly frowning and hesitating, Lestrade makes a cold expression and instantly dashes to where the figures were.

“Put your hands up and surrender. I don’t know what you were doing, but to dare confront the police…”

“…Huh?”

Urgently following behind her and pulling out a gun from her chest, Baines makes a puzzled expression.

– Quack quack…!

“What… is going on?”

Where the two figures had been entangled, for some reason, only a goose and a hat were left behind.

“The presence is gone. I can’t sense any trace anywhere around here.”

“Th-Then… who were the people we saw just now?”

After quietly looking down at the scene, Lestrade frowns and speaks.

“…It’s a strange case.”

“Oh, my.”

Baines, who had just witnessed the type of case London police hate the most, looks at Lestrade with a slightly bewildered expression.

“So what do we do now?”

“…Contact the police station and preserve the crime scene until the police arrive.”

– Quack?

Then, Lestrade mutters while quietly picking up the goose and hat in front of her.

“I’ll go home for a bit.”

“Why home all of a sudden?”

Her eyes begin to quietly shine.

“…Because I have two experts staying at my home.”

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Several tens of minutes later.

“What are you two doing?”

“Pfft.”

“Cough, cough…”

Zia Lestrade arrives at her home with a goose struggling for breath tucked under her left arm and a hat she picked up from the ground under her right arm.

“Excuse me?”

“”………..””

She asks in a cold voice to Sharlotte and Adler, who had been tangled together on the living room sofa but quickly separated from each other as soon as the front door opened.

“Well, you see…”

“We were making a bet.”

While Adler bows his head with a flushed face and trails off, Sharlotte Holmes calmly wipes her lips with her sleeve and speaks.

“What kind of bet?”

“Look at this article from the newspaper five days ago.”

Ignoring Lestrade’s still cold voice, she unfolds a newspaper that was on the desk.

“…You mean the Blue Carbuncle theft case?”

“It’s the most interesting case recently. Of course, what’s even more interesting is the core element of the case, the ‘Blue Carbuncle’ itself.”

Then, pointing at the words ‘Blue Carbuncle,’ Sharlotte smiles.

“Well, according to Mr. Adler, a Blue Carbuncle cannot exist.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

At those words, Adler, who had been bowing his head, quietly brightens his eyes and speaks.

“What is a carbuncle in the first place? Isn’t it a red gemstone like ruby or garnet that’s been processed into a round, bulging shape?”

“That’s right?”

“But a ‘blue’ carbuncle? A blue red gemstone – does that even make sense?”

Adler’s expression was more serious than ever.

“Probably some foolish journalist who doesn’t even know what a sapphire is made up a word and published an article. This is clearly an error.”

“No. It’s not an error.”

“Do you have evidence, Miss Holmes?”

As Sharlotte, who had been watching with a slight smile, speaks calmly, Adler raises an eyebrow and asks.

“Well, it must be true that a blue red gemstone was actually stolen.”

“…You know very well that’s absolutely impossible, don’t you?”

“As I said before, there are no absolutes in this world, Mr. Adler.”

Thus began their cute battle of wits.

“Is this really so important?”

Lestrade, who had already forgotten what happened earlier, looks at them incredulously and asks.

“Of course it’s important. We bet that the wrong person would grant a wish to the one who was right.”

“Aren’t you two in a pretty dangerous situation right now? Is it okay to be leisurely making bets like this?”

“…Of course not.”

Then, glancing at Adler, Sharlotte mutters.

“I’m fine with it and have suggested fleeing abroad several times, but our Mr. Adler refuses.”

“…The Reichenbach Falls keep flashing before my eyes, that’s why.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

Adler, who smiled bitterly and muttered that, looks at Lestrade, who still had the goose and hat tucked under her arms, and asks a question.

“So, why did you suddenly come home?”

“Ah, that…”

Just as Lestrade, who had finally remembered why she came home, was about to place the pale and limp goose and hat on the desk.

– Quaaack!!

“…Eek.”

Just before suffocating, the goose used its last strength to flap its wings vigorously and struggle, causing feathers to scatter everywhere.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I forgot to loosen my grip…”

As she finally loosens her arm with an apologetic expression, Adler and Sharlotte look at her with slightly astonished eyes.

– Clatter…!

“””……?”””

Something small that popped out of the exhausted goose’s mouth.

“This is…”

“…Ahem.”

While Adler stared blankly at it, a smile of satisfaction appeared on Sharlotte’s face as she quietly tilted her head.

“What did I tell you, Mr. Adler?”

“………”

“I told you it existed, the Blue Carbuncle.”

A ruby with a blue star pattern was shining in the sunlight on the desk in front of them.

“Well, to classify it accurately, it would be a ‘Star Ruby.'”

“Ah…”

“Normally, white lines appear in six strands as the standard, but if it’s been exposed to magical stones for a long time, by a miraculous chance, impurities can be infused with magical power and take on a blue color.”

“…Where did you learn such things?”

As Sharlotte continued her explanation with a confident expression while looking at the lustrous gem, she brightens her eyes and whispers in Adler’s ear.

“…It’s knowledge I studied hard on my own to find a ring to gift to someone I love.”

“……….”

“Somehow all the books related to ‘baby-making’ in the library were completely checked out by someone, so I read about such things diligently instead.”

“I know nothing about that.”

“It’s okay. Actually, I have a pretty good idea now.”

Her golden eyes shine softly like the Blue Carbuncle.

“Remember, one wish.”

At those words, as Adler quietly flinches, Lestrade speaks with a somehow cold expression.

“It’s rude to cling to someone else’s lover, Miss Holmes.”

“…Says the one who cut in line.”

“Pardon?”

“You’ve brought a very interesting case.”

Sharlotte smoothly changed the subject, picking up the Blue Carbuncle and speaking.

“It’s a new puzzle, Mr. Adler.”

“………..”

“You’ll join me, of course?”

Then, after quietly looking at her for a moment, Adler speaks.

“…Of course.”

“Hmm.”

“Right now, I am only Miss Holmes’s assistant.”

At that answer, Sharlotte, who was smiling with her eyes, reaches under the desk where Lestrade couldn’t see and interlocks her fingers with Adler’s.

“As I asked earlier, will this be okay?”

“…Well, it’s a simple case.”

Adler, who responded with a small smile, quietly turns his gaze to the side at Lestrade’s somewhat displeased voice and falls into thought.

[Under maintenance.]

‘It’s slightly concerning that the system is unresponsive and can’t react to variables…’

After trying to communicate all day, the tone had changed slightly, but the system window that remained unresponsive was still in his view.

‘…I’ve already encountered the worst situation, how much worse could it get?’

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Meanwhile, at that time.

> I’m sorry, boss.

> I managed to escape from the scene, but I lost the target gem.

In a back alley of a slum located in the outskirts of London.

> I think it will be a bit difficult to secure it again.

> Of all people, the famous Sharlotte Holmes and Issac Adler were the ones who found the gem.

A woman with her hat pulled down low, leaning against a wall, was sending a telegram somewhere with a frown.

– Crackle… Crackle…

> No, not Hallot Shomz, but Sharlotte Holmes!

Perhaps the recipient of the telegram was in a country other than England, as the signal was breaking up considerably.