Ch.82Chapter 82 – Trophy

“Really?”

“Is it true, Master?”

Moran and Silver Blaze, who had been clinging to the collapsed Adler, open their mouths simultaneously with wide eyes.

“Is it really not life-threatening?”

“…That’s right.”

“I don’t understand.”

As Adler gives up his act of being in pain and shows them a pale smile, he quietly tilts his head at Moran’s confused reaction.

“People die when they get shot.”

“…Usually, yes.”

“Children, the elderly, everyone. Everyone I’ve shot has died.”

Adler’s eyes quietly waver at her slightly chilling statement.

“So why are you saying Adler won’t die?”

“…Miss Moran.”

Despite her ominous words just now, Adler stares at Moran’s innocent eyes for a moment before quietly reaching out his hand.

“Look at that person over there.”

“Ugh, uugh…”

“She was shot by Miss Moran, but she didn’t die.”

Adler points to Caroline, who is still sitting on the floor groaning, and whispers gently.

“I deliberately avoided vital spots with her because you told me not to kill her. But you shot a hole through Adler’s heart.”

“And you thought that would kill me?”

“Yes, I know the heart is the essence of a person. It’s where mana accumulates, and it’s what moves people…”

“Really?”

“…Hik!”

Moran, who had been muttering with an uncertain expression, suddenly inhales with a frightened look.

“Am I wrong?”

Eventually, she asks in a shrinking voice while nervously watching his reaction.

“The essence of a person is in the head. While the heart is indeed a vital spot, in this strange era where all laws are being twisted, it’s not as certain a weakness as targeting the head.”

“T-then, could the people I’ve shot before come back to life and find me?”

“No, that’s not the case. The people you’ve sniped so far are definitely dead.”

“…Phew.”

Moran, who had been quietly trembling with a surprisingly childlike concern, sighs with slight relief at Adler’s definitive answer.

“But I’m different. I won’t die unless my head is blown off. And as a bonus, I can’t feel pain.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a terrifying Vampire.”

“Eek!”

When Adler makes a “gyao” sound and shows his fangs, Moran becomes frightened again and clings to Silver Blaze who was standing beside her.

“…And I’ve already been killed once by the professor I love.”

“………..?”

“Anyway, except for the head, I don’t take damage from physical attacks, so don’t worry.”

At Adler’s explanation, tears well up in her eyes.

“Th-thank goodness…”

“Haha.”

“…But Master.”

Adler reaches out a little more to gently stroke Moran’s head.

“Why did you act like that at first?”

“…Ha.”

But at Silver Blaze’s question as she tilts her head curiously, his expression quietly hardens.

“It seemed like you were trying to leave last words to someone other than us when you were about to die…”

“…That can’t be.”

“Come to think of it, Master, something’s strange.”

Silver Blaze puts her head near Adler’s neck, perks up her ears, and starts sniffing.

“Your physical condition is several times worse than before.”

“…What kind of principle is that?”

“Master.”

As Adler tries to laugh off her words, Silver Blaze, with her head buried in his neck, asks with round eyes in a whisper.

“Is it really true that injuries cause ‘no’ harm to your body?”

“………..”

“Are you perhaps pushing your body to the limit, resigned to a predetermined outcome?”

Cold sweat begins to quietly trickle down Adler’s forehead.

“…Of course not.”

“That’s a relief.”

But with a surprisingly brazen expression, Adler denies her words, and Silver Blaze finally smiles with relief.

“I almost lost hope in life and died.”

“If the leader of the Werebeasts and London’s icon died with golden eyes, I’d be cursed for centuries.”

“…Heehee, exactly.”

At Adler’s calm response, she narrows her eyes with her characteristic interjection.

“If you die, you’ll just die.”

Adler nods with a transcendent expression at this novel threat.

“Now it’s my turn.”

As Silver Blaze shows complete relief and Celestia Moran tilts her head, a suddenly cold voice begins to flow from Adler’s mouth.

“I don’t believe I ever gave you such orders.”

At his serious demeanor, which they had rarely seen before, cold sweat begins to trickle down the foreheads of the two girls.

“Whose orders have you been following?”

Adler begins to interrogate them in a thoroughly cold voice.

“I have no need for hunting dogs that wag their tails for others.”

Just as he slowly rises from his seat, that moment came.

– Meow.

“……..?”

A small cat sound came from beside them.

“What…”

“Ah, no!”

The moment Adler, looking around, spots a familiar cat holding something in its mouth, a piercing scream comes from behind.

“That letter…!”

Caroline, who had been stunned until then, begins to rise with a pale face.

– Click…

“Stay still.”

But when Miss Moran, who had been sobbing pitifully just moments ago, whispers in a cold voice and aims her air gun, Caroline stops moving.

– Thud…

“Aah…”

The next moment, as the cat places a letter on Adler’s knee, Caroline’s eyes fill with despair.

“Hmph.”

“……..?”

“I never wagged my tail, you fool.”

The cat, looking at her with contempt, surprisingly begins to speak human language.

“…Lady?”

“I’m smart too, you know?”

The fourth smartest cat in London muttered in a low voice, turning her head away from Adler.

“So don’t get your hands on me and then pretend I don’t exist…”

Adler’s hand, which had been staring blankly at her, quietly begins to move forward.

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“…Eek!”

“Well done, Lady.”

“Eeeeek… let go…”

A few minutes later.

“You’re so adorable, I’ll pet you just a little more.”

Lady Clay, who was squirming vigorously in the hands of Adler, who was looking satisfied while holding a letter stamped with a quite luxurious seal.

– Crunch…

“…Hmm.”

When she finally bites Adler’s finger with all her might, Adler, who had been stroking the Lady’s soft belly, finally stops and asks her with a smirk.

“Does it taste that good?”

“Mmm… shut up.”

The Lady, savoring Adler’s blood on her mouth, mutters in a cold voice.

“So, how did all this happen?”

“…It’s simple.”

When Adler asks her with a curious expression, the Lady, wiping her mouth with her cat paw, begins to explain with a prim expression.

“That mysterious professor tried to manipulate us at will, so I turned the tables on him.”

“What do you mean by turning the tables on the professor?”

“Pretending to follow his words, I’ve been moving alone all this time.”

Adler looks at the Lady with renewed surprise and asks.

“…Were your appearances in Lestrade’s yard also solo actions?”

“Thanks to that, I could eavesdrop on what kind of bet you all were making.”

The Lady nods quietly and whispers in a low voice, glancing at Caroline who is trembling while tied up behind Adler.

“I even found out that Sharlotte Holmes was planning to infiltrate by entering the new safe the owner of this house bought.”

“…What?”

“When I secretly tipped off the professor about it, he was delighted.”

Despite her cute cat appearance, a faint sinister smile appears on the Lady’s lips.

“He even planned to ambush Holmes by hiding inside first and knocking her out the moment she entered.”

“Wait, then the safe I was just cracking…”

“Those two women were probably having a fierce fight inside.”

Adler’s eyes become dazed.

“Anyway, everything was as good as over from that point. All I had to do was infiltrate the mansion as a cat and put sleeping pills in the dinner.”

“…………”

“After bringing those guys back into the mansion at night, I put multiple locking spells on the safe that was delivered this morning. That completely sealed those crazy women.”

The Lady, continuing her explanation to him with a confident expression, begins to scold Adler with raised eyes.

“You almost broke that seal.”

“Ah, that…”

“What exactly are you, to so easily break through the security system I spent weeks devising? It’s fortunate that gunshots rang out at the right time, or you might have completely ruined the plan.”

Adler scratches his head with a dumbfounded expression.

“…Anyway, after sealing those monster-like women, we split up and moved.”

“………”

“Those guys tortured and threatened the mansion’s owner in case of any unexpected situations, while I searched for the letter hidden somewhere in the mansion.”

The Lady, still looking primly at Adler, jumps onto his knee and continues her explanation.

“And finally, I just found it. This letter.”

“Aah…”

“There was a secret door that looked like a bookshelf in the middle of the library. When I touched it, a room that wasn’t on the mansion’s blueprint appeared, and a letter was placed prominently on the desk in that room.”

A smug smile appeared on her face.

“Well, what do you think of the results of the plan I devised?”

“………”

“Will you still call me the ‘fourth’ in London?”

As the Lady unknowingly wags her tail while asking, Adler stares at her blankly.

– Stroke…

“…Stop it. I did this to avoid being treated like livestock, yet here we are.”

“Lady is the best.”

The Lady, who had been growling fiercely at the hand that started gently stroking her head again, quietly turns her gaze and mutters after hearing those words.

“…Took you long enough to realize.”

At the same time, her tail quietly wraps around Adler’s arm.

“Well then, shall we get up now?”

“Eek!”

But when Adler stands up abruptly with a smiling expression, the Lady, who had been sitting on his knee, loses balance and falls on her bottom.

“Let’s wrap this up and get out of here.”

Leaving her behind, Adler begins to approach Caroline, who is tied to a chair, with a dark smile.

“Even for the notorious Miss Caroline, without this letter as evidence…”

But as he opens the letter in his hand to check its contents in front of the terrified woman, his expression suddenly hardens and he trails off.

“…………..”

“Master?”

“What’s wrong?”

Adler’s subordinates begin to look puzzled at his behavior.

“…Shit.”

But before he could answer them, a familiar curse escapes from Adler’s mouth as he stares blankly at the letter.

[Can I join the bet too?]

Instead of the target letter, there was a note inside the envelope with a drawing of a woman wearing a silk hat and monocle, sticking out her tongue.

[I’ll use the letter that was in that envelope as collateral.]

“Damn self-insert character.”

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Meanwhile, at that time.

“So Adler’s side is definitely out.”

“This is as agreed beforehand.”

Sharlotte Holmes and Professor Moriarty, walking down the darkened corridor of the mansion with a possessed-looking Watson behind them, were having a calm conversation.

“I don’t think that’s the case.”

“Pardon?”

“You know it, so why pretend?”

Suddenly, the two women stop walking and begin to look at each other.

“The thief cat has interfered in this bet.”

“…Does our professor find that a threatening variable?”

A chilling smile appears on their faces.

“You’re becoming as interesting as Adler with each passing day.”

“Not as much as you, Professor.”

It was the beginning of a full-fledged battle for the one and only trophy.