Chapter 25: Piling Karma

A few hours after the breathtaking events that occurred at the Diogenes Club—

"…Miss Holmes."

"...….."

An odd tension flowed between Adler and Holmes, who were currently seated inside a coffee house.

"Why have you been acting like that since earlier?"

"…What do you mean?"

"Your expression looks rather glum."

Adler, who had been uneasily gauging Charlotte's mood amidst the tense atmosphere, quietly asked that question.

"...…."

Then, Charlotte began to silently stare at Adler with an intense gaze.

– Slide…

"Huh?"

Suddenly, she leaned forward and inserted her finger into Adler's mouth.

"...???"

Startled by her abrupt move, Adler couldn't help but blink his eyes as he bit onto her finger. Charlotte then whispers with a cold gaze, exerting force on her hand.

"From now on, drink only my blood."

From the wound on her finger, the sharp scent of blood dispersed into Adler's mouth.

""...…""

Charlotte tilted her head and rested her chin on her hand, her dark gaze fixed on Adler, making him instinctively avert his gaze to the side.

"That's how it should be, right?"

"…Miss Holmes."

"Keep biting, Mr. Adler."

Adler, who had slowly been trying to pull his head back, heedlessly sucked on her finger upon hearing Charlotte's icy voice.

""...…..""

And then, an ominous silence enveloped the coffee house.

"Your drink has been served…"

The server, who came to serve drinks at their table – upon witnessing the eerie and bizarre scene – trailed off his words and took a few steps back.

"…Pfft."

It was several minutes later that Charlotte's blood donation event came to an end.

"Just a moment."

"...?"

As she was about to gently pull her finger away, she looked at Adler with a puzzled gaze when he suddenly grabbed her hand.

"It's bleeding; the wound, I mean."

Adler took out a handkerchief from his pocket and began to bandage her finger.

"By the way, it seems that you've quit smoking, judging by the soft scent coming from your fingers."

"...…"

"You've done really well. And the symptoms of Mana Poisoning have also greatly reduced. At this rate, in a few months time, you'll be no different from an ordinary person."

Adler started to speak in a gentle voice to Charlotte, who was staring blankly at him.

"…But, what is this scent?"

Suddenly, he tilted his head slightly, murmuring to himself.

"It somehow has a sweet scent…"

"Saying something like that to a woman… it's bad, Mr. Adler."

As he slowly leaned closer, Charlotte hastily pushed him away.

"If we're going by that logic… Miss Holmes, who suddenly put her finger in someone's mouth, is even more…"

"Stop being noisy."

Of course, Adler had a point but there was nothing she could do about it.

She didn't want him to find out that the source of the sweet scent was a perfume she had randomly tried on from Watson's dressing table before leaving the boarding house.

"…Don't stare at me like that."

"...?"

And so, an awkward tension began to flow between the two once again.

"Miss Holmes."

"…What is it?"

"I have a question for you."

Adler, who had been continually watching Charlotte's reactions in that awkward atmosphere, softly posed that question to her.

"What exactly is a curse?"

Charlotte then began to gaze intently at Adler.

"What's your intention, Mr. Adler?"

"I don't have any ulterior motives. I'm genuinely asking because I don't know."

She, who had been looking at Adler with a suspicious glare, soon sighed and replied.

"Discussing information classified as confidential in various countries in a café like this doesn't seem appropriate."

"…Is that so?"

"From the beginning, you've also been afflicted with a curse, so you should be knowledgeable about it already."

As Charlotte said this at that moment, laughing softly while looking at Adler…

– Shaaa…

Suddenly, a golden message began to manifest on his hand.

｢The 21st has passed already, why haven't you come to meet me?｣

｢I waited there for several days.｣

｢Is something wrong with you?｣

Adler, who was blankly staring at the message, began to leak out a steady stream of cold sweat as he felt an unusual atmosphere in front of him and raised his head.

"…Look at that."

Charlotte Holmes was murmuring in a soft voice, with a slight smile on her face.

"You too are tormented by a curse."

"No, Miss Holmes. I don't know about this…"

"Do you know how many crimes I prevented while walking the streets today?"

"Just one…"

With a composed expression, Adler tried to explain himself, but seeing her increasingly dark smile, his words trailed off.

"If it weren't for me, Mr. Adler, you would have been chopped up and rolling in London's sewers by now."

"...…"

"Or perhaps tied up from head to toe, trampled under the feet of your enemies."

The faint smoke rising from Charlotte's body, only now did Adler able to notice that eerie phenomenon.

"…Am I dreaming?"

"Um, I'm thinking of taking a brief rest in the countryside for a few weeks."

"Excuse me?"

Rubbing his eyes for a moment and looking again at Charlotte for good measure, Adler couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief while hearing her whisper.

"Why don't you come along, Mr. Adler?"

"…Me?"

"While I'm recuperating, I can't bear the thought of my nemesis being killed by amateurs who lack even the basics of the basics."

And with that, she grabbed Adler's sleeve and began to stand up from her seat.

"After all, I'm the only one who can dispel the curse that's been so annoyingly following you around, aren't I?"

"That's…"

"Pack your things. I've made train reservations for tomorrow."

"Wait, just a moment, Miss Holmes."

Looking like he was about to be pseudo-kidnapped on the spot by Holmes, Adler hastily stood up from his seat and spoke out,

"I urgently need to use the restroom right now. Let's talk in a bit."

"…Alright, then."

Charlotte nodded, gazing at Adler.

"After all, London itself is no different from a vast prison for you."

"...…"

"Don't foolishly disappear and be found as a corpse; come back to me soon."

Staring blankly at Charlotte, Adler quietly responded with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"You're awfully persistent, Miss Holmes."

"This isn't a joke."

"You don't need to threaten me so. I'll provide you with the next riddle soon enough."

With that whispered exchange, Adler headed out to the restroom outside the cafe.

"…I'm truly not joking."

As she watched his retreating figure, Charlotte unknowingly murmured with a slight tinge of worry in her voice.

"Oh dear, Miss Holmes."

From behind her, a voice tinged with laughter reached her ears.

"Who…"

Frowning, Charlotte started to shift her head while posing that question, only to stop mid-sentence as her eyes widened in surprise at the sight that registered in them.

"You really look out of sorts."

From the seat behind her, Professor Moriarty, who was spooning her sherbet, waved at her with a sly smile on her face.

.

.

.

.

.

"Since when were you sitting there?"

"You're truly failing as a detective. Asking a question to the very person you should have deduced like that."

As Charlotte took her seat with an uncharacteristic tension in her expression, Moriarty, previously toying with her drink, rose gracefully from her spot.

"But considering your skill level, I'll personally give an answer to that question. I've been here from the very beginning."

"That can't be…"

"London doesn't have just you as its brilliant mind, Miss Holmes."

With that, a cold glint began to shine in Moriarty's eyes.

"I too have just recently come to realize that fact for certain."

"....?"

"A telegram arrived at my office a few hours ago."

Saying that, Moriarty, who was seated opposite Charlotte, began to probe with a soft voice.

"Do you happen to have someone close to you who is, in essence, the British government itself Miss Holmes?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Otherwise, there's no reason for the government to send an audit for a professor who's only been appointed at August Academy for a year."

Upon hearing that, Charlotte clenched her fist and murmured to herself.

'…I told you not to interfere, sis.'

"Even so, you won't be able to touch my claim over Isaac Adler."

Meanwhile, with her eyes still shining, Moriarty whispered those words.

"If you don't want to worsen Adler's curse, you might want to hand him over as my assistant sooner rather than later."

"You seem to be under a rather arrogant misconception. You're not the only one who can neutralize his curse."

Two greyish gazes began to fiercely intersect.

"While he's asleep, there are others besides you who can silently drip blood into his mouth."

"...….."

"And you're not the only one who can discreetly deal with those pests who were after my dear assistant."

"You seem to be quite annoyed by me, Professor."

As Charlotte posed the question with a sardonic smile on her face, Moriarty parried it with a relaxed expression.

"I'm not bothered by a young lady who doesn't even know how to properly apply perfume."

"...…."

"Is today, perhaps, the first time you've tried makeup? It looks rather comical and excessive."

Feeling a sting of humiliation from her words, Charlotte's face slightly contorted as she responded with an annoyed voice.

"Regardless, you're nothing but a tool."

To which Moriarty looked down at her with an expression that seemed to say, how cute.

"No matter how much you smile like that, the riddles he will come up with in the future are solely for me."

"Have you never considered that perhaps… you are just a device for my amusement?"

"Sorry, but there's absolutely no chance of that."

"I believe I mentioned before that absolutes do exist, Miss Holmes."

Having said her piece, Moriarty began to whisper in a soft voice to Charlotte.

"This conversation seems to be going in circles."

"I think so too, Professor."

With that, Charlotte began to rise from her seat.

"It seems we have no choice but to end our conversation for today."

"We probably won't have any more conversations in the future."

"It seems that way."

Moriarty, rising from her seat following Charlotte, whispered with a sly smile on her face.

"We'll never have anything to do with each other again."

"Don't say such dreadful things."

"If you had come under my wing, I might have shown some special consideration."

"That's rather presumptuous of you."

Just as it seemed the two women's positions were being completely clarified…

"Be prepared. I'll be giving my all from now on."

"That's what I've been hoping for."

At that exact moment…

"Aaaahhhhhhhh!!"

A piercing scream echoed from outside the coffee house.

"..."

Both Holmes and Moriarty, startled by the sudden event, turned their heads, their expressions quickly turning cold at the sight.

"…..Ugh."

Isaac Adler, who had been the topic of their conversation just moments before, was now staggering, having been stabbed by a knife held by a young girl.

.

.

.

.

.

"Mr. Adler…"

'I knew it would be this person.'

While returning to the café from the restroom, I was ambushed by the girl who had been following me with a knife since earlier. Silently, I smirked to myself and murmured…

"The Speckled Band."

'Now Holmes and the Professor won't have to worry about being bored.'

"It was the Speckled Band… that thing."

At that very moment, a message flashed before my eyes.

[Probability Error!

– Case: The canon event— The Secret of the Speckled Band has a critically low probability of transpiring!

– Key: Ensure the case's probability to prevent the erosion of the world!]

Reading that message, I smiled triumphantly, then turned my head to face the two approaching women, spreading my arms wide with a bright expression on my face.

"It's a new mystery, everyone!"

""...…""

Detective Holmes and Professor Moriarty coldly stared at me in response.

[Warning!

– Probability of Being Imprisoned — 60% → 70%]

'Wait, why?'