Becoming Professor Moriarty's Probability-Chapter 243: The Adventure of the Empty House (2)

“Ugh...?”

My head hurt. The kind of pain that spread throughout my entire body, sharp and searing as if my skull was about to crack open any minute now.

... Why?

Even after opening my eyes, I found myself staring dully into nothingness for quite some time, the fog in my mind refusing to clear anytime soon. Eventually, though, confusion took hold, and I started taking in my surroundings.

“Huh.”

It wasn’t long before I noticed Celestia Moran, rummaging through something beside me with an utterly vacant expression.

“Uh... Moran?”

“Quicklyquicklyquicklyquickly...”

“Hey...”

Cautiously, I tried to call out to her, wondering what on earth she was doing. Though it seemed like she couldn’t – or rather refused to – hear me.

... Where exactly am I right now?

Scratching my head in frustration, I decided to take a proper look around. That’s when I realised I was in a dimly lit, desolate alleyway.

I’m sure I was just on Baker Street...

Judging by the dull throb at the back of my head, Moran must’ve knocked me out and dragged me here while I was unconscious.

It wasn’t like I wouldn’t have followed her willingly— why had she suddenly resorted to such violence?

“... Found it.”

Just as I was reflecting on this with a growing sense of unease, Moran finally pulled something out of a disproportionately large bag she’d been rummaging through.

“If only I had chains made of silver...”

“.......!?”

What she had retrieved was a sturdy-looking rope.

Holding it in her hands, Moran fixed her gaze on me and began her approach, an unreadable expression on her youthful face.

“W-What are you planning to do?”

Sweat started to bead on my forehead, and I wiped it away nervously as I tried to keep my voice steady.

- Grip...

“Eh?”

She ignored my question completely. Taking hold of my arms instead, she began tying my wrists tightly with the rope, and whatever composure I’d clung to quickly crumbled.

“Uh, Moran, listen. I admit it’s entirely my fault for disappearing for two whole years without a trace, but...”

“......”

“That doesn’t mean... you have to treat me this harshly, right...?”

Despite the chilling situation, I whispered desperately into her ear, putting on the most pitiful face I could muster. But—

- Tug...

“Ack!”

Moran didn’t even acknowledge my words, focusing solely on binding me as tightly as possible.

“... I-I’m just an ordinary person now, you know.”

“.......?”

“I can’t even use magic anymore... I can’t run away...”

With my circulation already cut off, my limbs had started to go numb. Left with no other choice to stop her rampage, I reluctantly revealed the truth.

“........”

Finally, Moran paused. She stopped tying me up and, blinking as though coming out of a trance, stared at me with a blank expression.

- Wham...!

“... Ack.”

Suddenly, with tears brimming in her eyes, Moran threw herself at me, wrapping me in an unexpectedly fierce embrace.

“Hic... Sniff... Ugh...”

“Uh, um...”

“Where... where have you been all this time...?”

As she buried her tear-streaked face into my chest, sobbing uncontrollably, I glanced down at her with a slight sense of suffocation.

... Thank goodness, she’s still just a kid at heart.

Despite her body having grown so much that she was almost unrecognisable, Moran’s mental age was still that of a child. I patted her back gently, letting out a relieved sigh inwardly.

I thought she’d become like the other women...

“... Master.”

But then, she suddenly lifted her head and, in a low voice, asked me a question.

“Is it true? Have you really lost your powers?”

“Huh? Oh... I just told you, didn’t I?”

“... Really?”

Carelessly answering her question, I flashed her a soft smile and wiped away the streaks of tears trailing down her cheeks.

“I can’t even run away anymore, even if I wanted to.”

Seeing the look of unease and fear in her, I couldn’t help but lean in, whispering to give her a sense of reassurance at least.

“........”

And then, a lengthy silence stretched between us.

“... I see.”

Amid that silence, Moran, who had now completely stopped crying, simply stared at me quietly.

“That’s good.”

“... What?”

“I was debating whether to knock you out again and find some silver chains to tie you up properly.”

“Moran? Like I said, there’s really no nee—“

Before I could finish, she suddenly began tying me up with the rope again, more thoroughly this time. Panicking, I tried to stop her with a flustered voice.

- Thud...!

“... Hik?”

But before I could do anything, without warning, her fist slammed into my stomach with astonishing force.

“Urgh... Guh...”

- Tighten...

Collapsing onto the ground, clutching my midsection, I could barely even protest as Moran began binding me even more firmly with the rope, her actions precise and resolute.

“M-Moran... What are you doing...?”

“... Haa.”

Dumbfounded, I feebly asked her, my voice shaky.

“... Just rest.”

“Ughk.”

With those words, Moran struck my neck sharply with a karate chop, and my vision blurred as I slumped forward, completely limp.

“There are too many eyes here.”

“Ugh...”

“I’ll protect you.”

With ridiculous ease, Moran hoisted me up onto her shoulder. Then, opening the large bag she had nearby, she shoved me inside without hesitation.

“... Forever.”

As she delivered that final word and zipped the bag shut, I lost consciousness completely.

Moran... Not you too...

Betrayal burned in my chest as my mind went dark.

“Of course, it can only be me, right, Master?”

... Still better than you, though.

Even as I tried to ignore the figure of Poppy, who had appeared beside me out of nowhere, her image lingered in my fading awareness until it eventually disappeared entirely.

.

.

.

.

.

A few hours later, in a small, secluded mansion nestled deep within an unfrequented forest just outside of London.

- Creak...

Moran opened the door, casting a quick glance around before stepping into the mansion. For a moment, a heavy silence lingered in the air.

“... It’s you, I see.”

“At least knock before you come in.”

A few moments later, the chilly voices of a pair of women cut through the stillness.

- Tap, tap...

Moran walked past Princess Clay, who had an expression like she had lost interest in everything in the world, and Silver Blaze, who sat curled up by the fireplace, her expression haggard and drained. Without sparing them a glance, Moran seated herself on the sofa and placed the bag she had been carrying onto the table.

“What’s that?”

“Did you bring back yet another body you couldn’t dispose of properly?”

The two women eyed the bag with disinterest.

“I’ve brought a slightly belated Christmas gift.”

“A gift? From you?”

“......?”

Moran’s calm reply immediately caught their attention, their bewildered gazes shifting to the bag as she began to unzip it.

- Click...

The bag opened with a resounding click.

“”.........!?””

In the brief silence that followed, the two women tilted their heads in bemusement. But soon, their eyes widened in disbelief.

- Rustle...

From the bag, a few golden strands of hair peeked out and began to sway slightly, as if surveying the surroundings.

“What the hell is...”

“... That hair... It looks familiar, doesn’t it?”

Princess Clay and Silver Blaze stared at the sight, momentarily stunned.

“... Stop hiding and come out.”

The next moment, their expressions froze completely.

“... Peekaboo.”

Gripping the edges of the bag with both hands, a face emerged— a face that looked bashfully awkward yet undeniably familiar.

“Ta-da...!”

It was the face of the very person who had plunged them into two years of guilt-ridden nightmares.

“... Just kidding.”

Adler, attempting to diffuse the atmosphere with forced cheerfulness, faltered as he noticed their ghostly expressions. His voice trailed off, his confidence evaporating.

“”........””

And then, a suffocating silence enveloped the mansion.

“Ah, ahaha...”

- Scoot...

“Haha... ha.....”

In the oppressive silence, Adler let out an awkward laugh. But as the two women rose from their seats and began approaching him, his body flinched involuntarily, as if his trauma had been triggered.

“”..........””

Standing directly in front of him now, both women loomed over him with expressions that resembled those of people possessed by spirits.

- Swoosh...

The first to reach out was none other than Princess Clay.

“Ugh.”

As Princess Clay reached out and gently caressed Adler’s cheek, he let out a quiet groan, perhaps due to the cold, signature chill of a vampire’s touch.

- Sssss...

“... Ah, um.”

At the same time, Silver Blaze silently leaned in, burying her face into the crook of his neck.

“No, it’s just that... well, you see...”

With Princess Clay stroking his cheek wordlessly and Blaze inhaling his scent deeply without a word, Adler, visibly flustered, attempted to stammer out some kind of explanation.

“I’ve just been... busy with a few things lately...”

- Drip...

“... Huh?”

Right then, a droplet of water fell right before his eyes.

“Wait...”

Looking up cautiously to find the source, Adler froze stiff.

“You... idiot.”

The ever-proud Princess Clay wasn’t just on the verge of tears— she was crying openly, her gaze locked on him as tears streamed freely down her face.

“No matter how hard... how hard we searched...”

“.......”

“We thought... we thought you were dead...”

As she lowered her head, tears dripping from her chin, cold sweat began to bead once again on Adler’s forehead.

“... Master’s scent.”

“What?”

And now, there was something wet against his shoulder.

“Master’sscentMaster’sscentMaster’sscentMaster’sscentMaster’s scentMaster’sscent.......”

Still pressed against his neck, Silver Blaze, like Princess Clay, had begun to cry, her tears dampening his skin as she muttered those words over and over.

“Day by day... it kept fading from my memory...”

“........”

“... I was terrified I wouldn’t recognise you if we ever met again.”

Hearing this, Adler softened, a tender smile forming on his lips as he reached out his arms to embrace the two women.

“I’m so sor—“

- Tug...

“... Ah.”

It was only then that he remembered his arms were still tightly bound with rope, and his expression turned sheepish.

“Everyone, this is no time to be basking in the joy of reunion.”

At that moment, Moran, who had been silently observing the scene, finally spoke.

“... Then what?”

“Let’s not forget that the Professor and the Detective are only a few hours away from here.”

At her words, the tear-streaked faces of the two women instantly hardened, their expressions turning cold and resolute.

“... Pack up. And, of course, bring Master too.”

“”.........””

“He’s ours now.”

Their gazes, fixed on Adler, had grown strangely dark and clouded.

“... Now that I think about it, you seem much weaker than before.”

“... There’s an air of fragility about Master now.”

“Someone, please save me.”

Adler was already beginning to regret returning here for the third time this day alone, but, of course, regretting it wouldn’t change a thing.

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Meanwhile,

“..... As I thought.”

Charlotte, who had been meticulously investigating the building Moran had hurriedly fled from with Adler for hours, narrowed her eyes and murmured in a low voice.

“There was someone else... besides Moran.”

It was the moment when her primal instincts, dormant for so long, stirred back to life once more.