Chapter 22: Mycrony Holmes

Becoming Professor Moriarty's Probability

Mycroft Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes admitted that his older brother by seven years was smarter than himself.

Naturally, in this world based on the Sherlock Holmes series, Mycroft existed too.

Of course, she had undergone a gender change and was renamed Mycrony but that's just how it turned out due to the premise of the game.

"I didn't expect to meet her so soon."

However, that didn't mean that her stature and significance changed in the least.

To me now, she was no different than a final boss… even more so than Professor Moriarty herself.

Being the British government itself and the hidden power behind the throne of England, there's no way she would treat me kindly while I was diligently building a kingdom of crime in London.

"Miss Holmes, what is your sister like?"

"My sister?"

So, before entering the club, I quietly asked Charlotte that question.

Of course, I had reviewed the story and had some information about her, but it was just fragments at best.

To ensure that I was not delivered to Professor Moriarty's office in a state similar to a canned sardine by tomorrow morning, verifying the information was essential.

"She's quite remarkable."

Thus, as I looked at Charlotte while demanding an answer, she spoke with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Her observational and deductive skills are honestly better than mine. If it weren't for her excessive and insubstantial weight, she might have been a better detective than me."

"Your sister has a bit of weight on her then?"

"She's had a weak constitution since birth. She doesn't exercise throughout the year and apart from her work and the Diogenes Club, she doesn't go anywhere else."

"Aha…"

"She also has severe anhedonia and apathy. Even if she took a lethal dose of cocaine, she probably wouldn't feel a thing."

Saying so, she brought her finger to her lips and whispered to me in a soft tone.

"Now we must be quiet from here on. Otherwise, we'll be kicked out."

"This is quite an unusual club."

"My sister made this club for people like her who dislike socializing with others. Shh, from now on, not a single word can be uttered."

I wanted to get a bit more information but due to Charlotte Holmes' haste, I wasn't able to gather much.

Perhaps, just the bit about her being somewhat heavy?

I felt that the image I reviewed in the initial draft seemed a bit different from the description that Charlotte gave me. Could the setting have changed midway?

– Swooosh…

As I pondered about this, following Charlotte's lead to the guest reception room where we could converse, people reading newspapers sneaked glances at me.

Some seemed quite surprised to see me here but fortunately due to the club's rules, no unpleasant situations arose.

– Eeeeek…

As I entered the guest reception room without any issues, the entity I most feared at this moment finally came into my view.

"Hello~"

Mycrony Holmes, who was waving at me with bright eyes and a cheerful smile on her face indeed had the substantial weight Charlotte had mentioned to me before.

'The setting hasn't changed.'

The considerable presence of her ample bosom, resting atop the table, was emitting an overwhelming aura.

'…So, there's only one way to approach this, huh…'

It's do or die now.

The only way to break someone suffering from severe anhedonia and apathy was quite clear to me.

One way or another, since it was a matter of life or death, I had no choice but to take a shot in the dark.

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"That massive and insubstantial flesh of yours seems to be growing day by day, sister."

As Adler stared blankly at Mycrony Holmes, Charlotte Holmes, sneaking glances at him from the side, suddenly spat out a sharp comment about her sister.

"Yes, you must feel good being so sleek, Charlotte."

Mycrony Holmes replied in a leisurely tone.

"It's strange. Isn't this the time for you to say something along the lines of you wouldn't accept such a useless part even if offered?"

"Be quiet."

Charlotte, who momentarily gazed down at her own chest, frowned deeply at her sister's teasing voice filled with laughter.

"I never imagined our younger sibling could become this adorable… cough—."

Mycrony, who was looking at Charlotte with a fond smile, suddenly started coughing with a slight grimace on her face.

"Has your health worsened?"

"What's the secret to making my sister this cute, Mr. Adler?"

"…Stop spouting nonsense."

Holmes, who had asked with a slightly concerned expression while looking at Mycrony, colored up in a cold light with Mycrony's subsequent remark.

"Holmes. When you regularly observe people here, there's something you can see without necessarily looking into their hearts."

However, Mycrony just pointed beyond the window, unfazed by her words.

"For instance, look at that person crossing the street over there."

"…A woman from a brothel."

"But recently, she's been seeing someone while hiding her true identity."

"She's already married."

"No, it would be more accurate to say she's engaged. You still have a way to go, Charlotte."

In just a few seconds, various deductions spilled out of their mouths like bullets from a machine gun.

"…She's quite far away, how can you know all that?"

"The accessories she's wearing are all obviously gifts. But they're merely lavish without any consistency or harmony."

"If such a woman, at this early hour, is touching up her makeup while moving from a commercial area to a residential one, her profession is quite obvious for anyone to see."

As Adler posed a question to them, Mycrony and Charlotte began to explain alternately.

"If she was just heading home, she could've removed her makeup entirely. But she's altering her flashy makeup to a more regular look, implying she's meeting someone she doesn't want to reveal her true identity to."

"Also, on the fourth finger of her left hand where she's touching up her makeup, a jewel catches the light and shines. So that person is either engaged or married."

"Charlotte, it seems to me we can safely deduce that she's engaged."

"…Why?"

Charlotte, upon hearing her sister's words wore a puzzled expression on her face.

"Why don't you tell us the reason, Mr. Adler?"

"I'm not quite sure."

"Really?"

Meanwhile, when Adler responded with a seemingly unsure expression to Mycrony's question, the corner of her lips slightly curved up.

"It's a bit strange for Adler, the UK's top romance expert, to not know the reason, isn't it?"

"...….."

"Unless the person inside has suddenly changed, that is."

"…Ah, I think I understand now."

Feeling a sudden chill creeping up his spine at those words, Adler averted his gaze and began speaking.

"Typically, a ring with a prominent jewel in the center like that is an engagement ring. Most wedding rings tend to have a simpler band design."

"That's right."

"And if she had been married, she would wear a wedding ring. For someone working in a dangerous back alley, she'd likely prefer wearing the relatively less expensive wedding ring over the pricey engagement ring."

Upon finishing his explanation, Adler scratched his head and added,

"Well, it's odd in the first place for a woman from a brothel to even wear such a thing."

"That's true. But then again, love sometimes paralyzes even one's reasoning."

Then Mycrony, with a voice tinged with amusement, looked at Charlotte who stood quietly beside her and spoke up.

"Charlotte, who has always claimed to be asexual and a misandrist, could it be that your eyes are betraying you now?"

"I still stand by that claim. And let me just add one more thing."

"Hehehe…"

However, when Charlotte whispered that in a soft voice, Mycrony leaned back in her chair, wearing a pleased smile.

"You know, I'm quite envious of Charlotte… getting cheered up by such simple logical thoughts. I can't seem to feel the emotion of 'fun' no matter what I do."

"So, why did you call me here…"

Adler, sensing the atmosphere lighten a bit, was about to ask that when his eyes caught the sight of her heaving breasts, causing him to quickly avert his gaze to the side.

"Well, I just wanted to see you."

"Pardon?"

"I wanted to see the face of the man for whom Charlotte sent a letter to me, claiming he was her destiny."

"Sister, I really don't understand why you're twisting that one word from the request for cooperation so much…"

Just as Charlotte was about to burst with frustration…

"Excuse me… could it be."

"....?"

"Are you Miss Charlotte Holmes?"

From behind came someone's hesitant voice.

"Yes, that's me."

"Excuse me… I'd like to have a word with you…"

"A case consultation?"

Upon hearing that, the uninvited guest who peeped into the reception room nodded silently. Holmes who had momentarily furrowed her brow soon rose from her seat.

"I'll be right back."

With that, she left a quick message for Adler and stepped outside.

"...…"

Silence then pervaded the room for some time.

"Our Charlotte, who typically can't resist a case, made such an annoyed face when she saw that client."

A moment later, Mycrony began to mutter, breaking the silence, with her chin resting on her hand.

"It really is quite surprising."

In a voice that was heavier than the soft tone from moments ago, Adler who had been looking away until then, shifted his gaze to her.

"Don't you think so, Mr. Adler?"

The usually sharp-eyed woman had her eyes slightly widened.

"I am…"

"You are an anomaly."

Before Adler could say anything – he felt a chill run down his spine at the sudden shift in her demeanor – Mycrony continued in her silky-smooth voice.

"A variable far more unpredictable than the August Detective Academy and the unsolved cases that have taken place on London's dark streets over the past year."

"...…."

"And if left unchecked, a variable that could potentially disrupt the seamless system of England under my command."

Of course, the gleaming sharp yet faintly grey eyes that looked at him through those slightly widened lids were anything but soft.

"Crucially, my precious sister— the only one who can feel the emotion called joy, has become far too infatuated with you."

Mycrony, who momentarily had a cold expression on her face murmured those words and then gave Adler a sweet smile with her eyes getting sharp once again.

"So, can you please convince me in the next 5 minutes?"

"Convince you of what?"

"Why I shouldn't kill you right here and now."

As she finished speaking, there was a palpable tension in the air beyond the door.

"I wasn't aware that the Diogenes Club was a club of assassins."

"I've rented it out for the entire day. They're the elite agents of the British Secret Service, so even a magician like you will find it hard to escape from this place."

The gazes of London's puppeteer in the light and the shadow silently met.

"Aren't you rushing things a bit?"

"I don't have a choice. I don't have much time left."

Mycrony answered Adler's question with a slightly pale face, then began to cough up once again.

"Already one minute has passed."

"...…."

"Use any means necessary to convince me in the time that remains."

Mycrony, lifting her head once more and donning a languid smile uttered those chilling words, prompting Adler to quietly rise from his seat.

"You were the first to suggest such a thing."

"Heh."

As Adler began to approach her, Mycrony raised a hand, signaling the assassins waiting on the other side of the door to hold back.

"I'm sorry, but I'm already married to Britain."

"...…."

"I also suffer from an extreme case of apathy and anhedonia1Anhedonia is the lack of enjoyment or pleasure. Apathy is a lack of energy or motivation to do things.. Therefore, regretful as that may be, the tactics you've always employed will never work on…"

"Mycrony."

Suddenly leaning close to her neck, Adler whispered to her in a soft voice.

"You should become my blood bag."

"What?"

His eyes were now donning a shade of red.

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A few minutes later.

'…Another one of these pointless pranks.'

Believing that the strange case mentioned by the client who had called her and thus made her wait outside the club for a long time only for the said client to not show up was just a prank of her sister, Charlotte Holmes returned to the club, clearly irritated.

".....?"

Within her line of sight, a bizarre scene was captured.

""...""

The agents, who were reading newspapers just a moment ago and were clearly prepared by her sister, were blocking the entrance to the reception room, sweat dripping profusely from their brows.

"What the…."

Seeing the odd situation, Charlotte tilted her head and approached them in haste.

However as she reached the door, the agents urgently shook their heads and pushed her away.

– Heuhh…

Then, a voice, both familiar and awkward reached her ears.

– Hnghh…

Wondering if she'd heard incorrectly, the sweet, cooing voice rang out once again— far more clearly now in Charlotte's ears.

"...…."

It was unmistakably the voice of Mycrony Holmes.

– Go oonn…

As Charlotte gazed intently at the reception room with her head slightly tilted, black smoke began to rise from her trusty cane.

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KarmaN: As I thought, Mycrony is super SPICY 🥵.