Ch.95Chapter 95 – The Adventure of the Three Garydebs (2)

“I-I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt much.”

When the girl in front of him bowed her head with a haggard expression, Adler responded with a smile.

“More importantly, you must have been very hungry. You ended up swallowing my finger whole without even chewing it properly.”

“Ah…”

At his words, she made an expression that seemed slightly shocked.

“It’s okay, making a finger grow back is as easy as eating cold porridge for me.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“I told you it’s fine. As long as your hunger has subsided.”

But as Adler casually wrapped his hand with a bandage, insisting it was okay, the girl’s eyes darkened slightly.

– Tsuuuuuuuuu…

“I was attacked by you as soon as I entered this room and had half my body eaten. But look at me, perfectly fine and alive, aren’t I?”

“Y-yes…?”

“I have a special constitution. As long as I’m not swallowed whole and digested, I’m basically immortal.”

“………”

As he pointed to the numerous teeth marks remaining on his body and began emergency treatment on his severed finger, the girl quietly lowered her head.

“Uu, uuu…”

Tears slowly began to form in her eyes.

“Auuu…”

“…Why are you crying again?”

As she began to cry with a slightly peculiar sobbing sound, Adler scratched his head with an awkward expression.

“I almost… killed someone again…”

“Hmm.”

“I… I’m… a monster.”

As he quietly turned his gaze to examine the structure of the room, he soon smiled brightly and spoke to her.

“You’re quite pretty for a monster.”

“…Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

But the girl immediately denied Adler’s words with a dark expression.

“How can a horrible monster that devours people be considered pretty?”

As she wiped away the tears in her eyes, she murmured with an expression full of guilt at the lingering bloody scent of Adler still on her lips.

“Just tell me why you came here.”

“……..”

“If you don’t want to, then leave. You don’t want to have such a terrible experience again, do you?”

And then, unconsciously baring her fangs, she growled in a threatening voice.

“By the way, if you’re a doctor or a psychological counselor or something like that, I’ll just tear you apart. Even more so if you’re a hunter who’s come to capture me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you think I don’t know?”

The expression on her face grew increasingly sour as she spoke.

“You were called by my brother, weren’t you?”

“………”

“I know you’ll approach with a smile at first, but you won’t last even a few days before running away. So please don’t waste your time and just leave.”

Issac Adler looked at her with a calm expression.

“I’m sorry, but I’m neither a doctor, nor a psychological counselor, nor a hunter pursuing the occult.”

“…Then what are you?”

“Hmm.”

After clearing his throat for a moment, he suddenly spread his arms and opened his mouth with a bright expression.

“…Congratulations!”

At this sudden gesture, the girl tilted her head with wide eyes.

“What’s this all about…?”

“This may be sudden, but you have become the heir to inherit the estate left by a wealthy magnate.”

“…What?”

“To be precise, you’re going to inherit the entire sum of 15 million dollars.”

At those words, she wore a blank expression for a moment.

“…You’re joking, right?”

“No. This is not a joke. It’s something that has actually happened to you.”

Then Adler narrowed his eyes and began to whisper softly.

“Are you familiar with Ellis Hamilton Garydeb, an American tycoon?”

“No, I’ve never heard that name…”

“Well, I suppose that makes sense since you haven’t been outside much.”

With a relaxed smile on his lips, he begins his story.

“That rather eccentric lady was quite proud of her unusual name. So when she passed away as a single woman last year, she left a will stating that she would pass her estate to a woman with the same surname as hers.”

“Ah…..”

“As her representative, I searched throughout the American continent for a year but couldn’t find anyone with that surname. However, thinking there might be someone in England with its deep history, I found your family just a few months after arriving in this country.”

After finishing his words, Adler quietly looked at the girl, whose expression began to tremble.

“N-no…”

“Pardon?”

“I, I’m a monster, not a human. Inheritance? There’s no way I could inherit such a thing.”

Then, Adler gently took both of her hands.

“You look very much like a human to me.”

“S-stop it!”

Looking at Adler who had approached right in front of her with frightened eyes, the girl pushed him away and began to tremble.

“Don’t touch my body…”

“……..”

“Do you want to lose your other fingers too?”

But despite this, Adler didn’t back down at all.

“M-my mother is still here. She has the surname Garydeb and she’s a woman. Let her receive the inheritance instead.”

“Your mother suffers from extreme paranoia and delusional disorder. She wouldn’t look good in the eyes of the strict estate managers who judge the legitimacy of heirs through direct meetings. She might even be rejected.”

“B-but still…”

“Miss Neria Garydeb.”

He began to whisper in a firm voice to the girl in front of him.

“The rightful owner of the 15 million dollars is none other than you.”

“………”

“I’ve been hired with success as my goal, you see. I cannot back down until you receive the compensation in America.”

The girl’s complexion began to grow increasingly pale.

“B-but… I don’t want to go out. Even if I die.”

“Why?”

“It’s been 10 years since I last went outside. I’m afraid of the outside now…”

“Hmm…”

“And I’m a monster. If I go out, I’ll be hunted.”

At her dark voice, Adler scratched his head and fell into thought for a moment.

“…But still.”

Watching him, the girl whispered in a shrinking voice.

“I don’t want to give up like this.”

Tears were welling up and flowing down from her eyes.

“I’ve finally found a way to repay my brother… I don’t want it to end so meaninglessly.”

“You seem to like your brother?”

“…He raised me without abandoning me all this time.”

At those words, Adler quietly gave a bitter smile.

“If I receive the inheritance, I’ll give all the money to my brother.”

“………”

“I really want to repay him for all the time he’s spent on me.”

The faint smile that appeared on the crying girl’s face reflected in his eyes.

“But, but…”

“I understand your situation.”

And the next moment, Issac Adler slowly opened his mouth.

“To go outside, you need to control that madness, right?”

“W-wait…!”

Before the girl could stop him, Adler began to scratch his arm with his nails to draw blood.

“I will help you, Miss Garydeb.”

“Ah, auuu…”

At that, the girl began to drool profusely and tremble all over.

“Feel free to feast on me as many times as you need, and let yourself go wild once.”

As soon as those words ended, the girl, having lost her reason, pounced on Adler’s body once again.

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“Auu, auuu…”

“Well done.”

Several hours later.

“I’ll come again tomorrow, so digest what you’ve eaten.”

“Um…”

Leaving behind the girl who was covered in blood and reaching out with trembling eyes, Adler staggered out of her room.

“…How is it, Professor?”

As he straightened his clothes with an expression showing clear signs of fatigue, he began to mutter in a low voice.

– What do you mean?

“Did you think I didn’t notice you creepily stealing glances at me all this time?”

– Adler. That’s…

As soon as the question ended, Professor Moriarty quickly tried to explain something.

“…Pervert.”

But as Adler condemned her with a cold smile, the professor’s voice echoing in his head soon fell silent.

“So, how did you feel watching me being devoured?”

– What an insolent and wicked wolf.

At her response that came back into his mind, Adler made a slightly disappointed expression for some reason.

– But somehow, it seems a bit different from the werewolves I know.

“…Hmm.”

But when the professor muttered with a slightly questioning voice, a smile returned to Adler’s face.

– And the house is somewhat suspicious too. The structure of the mansion and the appearance of the servants all have something hidden about them.

“As expected of the queen I chose.”

– But Adler. That’s not for us to uncover.

A slightly shy yet dissatisfied voice echoed in his head.

– Uncovering the hidden stories or secrets behind a case is a detective’s job, not a crime consultant’s. We’re rather in a position to hide it, aren’t we?

“You’re right, cute Miss Moriarty.”

– Is your true nature your usual self, or the one when you’re drunk?

“But wouldn’t it be too bland if we just kidnap and kill that poor girl like this?”

Ignoring the professor’s dissatisfied voice, Adler’s eyes quietly shone as he continued.

“So it’s about time for our nemesis to appear.”

– You, don’t tell me…

“I’ve always preferred stimulating love triangles over flat relationships, Professor.”

In his hand was a golden glowing message with quite familiar content.

– When you sober up, let’s have a serious talk.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Despite the cold chill evident in her voice even through telepathy, Adler responded in a glib voice and unilaterally ended the communication.

“…Until then, I guess I’ll go on an investigation date with Miss Holmes.”

[Probability of Splitting: 5% -> 10%]

[Please take care of yourself.]

“Hehe.”

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Meanwhile, at 221B Baker Street.

“Holmes, please come to your senses.”

Sharlotte Holmes’s roommate, Rachel Watson, was having an argument with her while sweating nervously.

“That book you read is a very dangerous text that maximizes sexual fantasies and delusions, inflating them into absurd and provocative content.”

“……….”

“The love shared between men and women in reality isn’t like that. It’s not such an obscene and pleasurable act, but rather a sharing of pure love that’s normal…”

“Just get to the point, Watson.”

But despite her desperate voice, Sharlotte, who didn’t even blink while reading a book without a cover, asked a question.

“…Anyway, if I do exactly as it says here, a baby will be conceived, right?”

“W-well, that’s true… but that’s not the issue here!”

In her palm, a golden message was quietly glowing.

[It’s a new puzzle.]

“That’s a banned erotic novel, Holmes!”

Watson’s pitiful voice echoed vainly throughout the boarding house.