At the unexpected remark from the blond-haired male student before her, Moriarty, who had been tilting her head in contemplation, stopped and fixed a steady gaze upon him.
“Interesting.”
Indeed, it had been a considerable time. In this monotonous world where even the act of committing crimes had become a wearisome task, his presence offered a spark of amusement.
‘What could his motive be?’
For the first time in her life, a being had slipped through her fingers. To gauge his reaction, she, an unintended variable, had committed a murder. It was a rather impulsive decision, but given that the victim was the perpetually irritating dean, it turned out to be a murder she quite enjoyed.
‘It doesn’t appear that he’s entirely immune to fear.’
The look in his eyes upon first seeing the prepared corpse clearly betrayed traces of fear. From that reaction, she sensed he was certainly not one of her kind.
However, the student now standing before her, idly manipulating the mana accumulator on the table, wore a remarkably composed expression. It was as if a naive exterior and a shrewd demeanor simultaneously resided within this enigmatic boy. For Moriarty, this too was intriguing.
“We’ll need to talk more.”
What purpose he held, what thoughts occupied his mind—even as his professor, she had no way of knowing. Yet, in this very situation, it was clear that she, the professor, held the advantage. To understand this unknown entity before her, it was time to capitalize on that advantage.
“Why should I?”
“Pardon?”
Moriarty, gently tilting her head to the side, her gaze penetrating, posed the question after a brief pause.
“Why should I accept you?”
“Well…”
“I can roughly surmise the benefits you’ll gain by becoming my graduate student. However, what benefits will I derive from taking you in?”
Her statement was remarkably direct. Of course, graduate students were valuable assets to professors. But in Moriarty’s case, she felt no need for subordinates. Due to the inherent criminal nature within her, she had always been solitary until now. She had never even considered having someone by her side.
“If you can’t explain that…”
Thus, Moriarty was about to press further, her eyes fixed intently on the student before her.
“…Hmm.”
But then, she abruptly stopped speaking, her eyes widening as she became lost in thought.
‘What has this student been looking at all this time?’
Ever since he expressed his desire to become her graduate student, his gaze had been fixed not on her, but rather on the empty air in front of him. Initially, she thought he might be deliberately avoiding her eyes. However, his pupils were periodically contracting and dilating, and there was an unmistakable hint of confusion mixed within his expression. It seemed as if he were reading something from the vacant space before him.
“Student, are you reading something in thin air?”
“Ah, no?”
“Then why have you been staring blankly into space?”
“…You must have misseen it, Professor.”
Hearing the student’s flustered response to her probing question, she quietly furrowed her brow.
‘I shouldn’t reveal my hand so soon.’
She had found an oasis in a desolate desert. At least until her thirst was quenched, she wanted to immerse herself in this feeling.
“To be honest, it’s difficult for me to accept your proposal right now.”
“…Is that so?”
“However, if you were to solve my dilemma, I might consider accepting it.”
Before diving in, however, she needed to determine whether the entity before her was indeed an oasis or merely a mirage.
“What would that be?”
“Simple. What should I do from now on?”
To address the issue, Professor Moriarty began to voice her long-standing concerns to the student before her.
“Thanks to this cursed talent of mine, every crime I commit becomes a perfect crime.”
A deep darkness began to settle in her grey eyes.
“At first, it was quite enjoyable. It felt like everything was within my grasp.”
“……..”
“But over time, the enjoyment began to wane, didn’t it? It felt like I was cheating to win a game.”
“Have you ever considered breaking that curse?”
“Of course, I’ve tried. I’ve taken various measures to break the curse and met countless people. However, none of them could shatter my curse.”
In her eyes, filled with that profound darkness, the blond-haired student before her was reflected.
“Except for you alone.”
Upon hearing her words, the hand of the student holding the mana accumulator twitched ever so slightly.
“To be honest, I had hoped you would oppose me.”
“………”
“Yet, for some reason, instead of standing against me as a detective, you are saying you want to serve under me.”
A peculiar tension that had existed between the two began to violently surge at this instant.
“Because of that, I’ve lost my will to live again.”
“That’s truly unfortunate.”
“So, I’ll ask you once more.”
The professor posed a question in a soft voice to the blonde boy, who was discreetly wiping away beads of sweat.
“How can I quench this burning thirst?”
Depending on the boy’s response, it could be the final question of the day.
“”……….””
After Moriarty finished speaking and stared intently at the student, a chilling silence filled the room.
“So… if I understand correctly, Professor, you wish to engage in a breathtaking battle of wits with a detective.”
“That’s right.”
“But because of the curse that makes every crime you commit a ‘perfect crime’, so to speak, such a scenario can’t come to fruition, which is your dilemma, correct?”
“Precisely.”
As the student, breaking the silence, began to speak, Moriarty started to tilt her head slightly, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.
“Um…..”
‘Perhaps he’s not up to the task after all.’
However, as his words momentarily faltered, the hope that had filled Moriarty’s eyes slowly began to fade away…
‘…I became uncharacteristically excited.’
Due to encountering such an unusual presence for the first time, she had been unusually agitated. But once she calmed her excitement and looked again, all she found before her was a student who had just entered the academy. Considering that he wanted to be her assistant rather than a detective, it seemed improbable that he could solve her long-standing problem.
“It’s quite simple, actually.”
Yet, he clearly thought otherwise.
“Start offering crime consultations.”
“…Crime consultations?”
After a moment of contemplation, a resolute expression forming on his face, the words sprang from his lips.
“If the problem arises when you personally commit the crime, Professor, what if the perpetrator isn’t you, but someone else?”
It was, even by her standards, a highly appealing and persuasive suggestion.
“Provide crime advice using your knowledge to those who need to commit the ‘perfect crime’.”
“………”
“The only way to quench your thirst, Professor, lies therein.”
Having finished speaking, he offered her a gentle smile, then added as if he’d just recalled something.
“And that is why you need to take me under your wing.”
Hearing those words, Moriarty burst into a roaring laughter—something she hadn’t done in a long, long time.
“Just as detectives need assistants, crime consultants also require their own aides.”
“Ha, hahaha.”
“Isn’t that right, Professor?”
“Ahahahaha!!”
Seemingly, she hadn’t just discovered an oasis, but rather, she had stumbled upon a vast ocean.
“Regrettably, I can’t immediately make a freshman like you a graduate student. It would go against procedure.”
“Yes.”
After laughing heartily for a while, Professor Moriarty began speaking once more, wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
“But remember this one thing.”
There was a visible fondness in her face, a face still marked by the dean’s blood.
“From this moment on, you are the assistant to the crime consultant Moriarty.”
As Moriarty finished her sentence and leisurely leaned back in her chair.
?Villain Maker?
– Description: Fulfilling the probability of Professor Moriarty’s appearance.
– Progress: 10%
Another unidentified message appeared before my eyes.
“Ha…”
Looking at the top of the message, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
You are the probability of this world.
Fill the lacking probability at the risk of your life and prevent the world from collapsing.
‘These damned bastards.’
Was it because I had so stubbornly insisted on risking my life to prevent the confirmation of the plot?
I had become the very probability of this world…
? Quest List
– Villain Maker: Fulfilling the probability of Professor Moriarty’s appearance.
– Love-Hate Relationship: Become ‘that man’ for Holmes.
– Lady of London: Complete one sham marriage with Watson.
– Phantom Thief’s Treasure: Get kidnapped by the Phantom Thief Lupin.
– Freeze: Receive a confession from Inspector Lestrade.
(… truncated …)
The considerably long list of quests at the bottom attested to that fact. I had no idea when I’d be able to complete all of these.
Thus, as I blankly skimmed through the daunting and challenging list of quests…
“…Hmm?”
A particular question popped into my head, and I began to scratch the back of my head in contemplation…
‘Why is Irene Adler missing?’
One of the few individuals who made Holmes, the detective, taste defeat in the original stories. Moreover, the only woman Holmes had ever acknowledged. Consequently, in derivative works, she was a character popularly linked with him. While all sorts of notable people were present as quests, for some reason, her name was conspicuously absent from the quest window.
‘Could it be?’
“Ah, you.”
Just as I was about to rise from my seat with a slightly uneasy feeling, Professor Moriarty’s voice suddenly rang out.
‘Right, I was in front of this person.’
Although she had just become an ally mere moments ago, she was undeniably someone to be wary of.
“If you’re going to carry such an important photograph with you, be more cautious in the future.”
Feeling tense as I straightened up, she pulled a photograph from her possession and handed it to me.
“…..!?!?”
Inadvertently taking the image from her hands, I was immediately struck with horror and found myself frozen in place.
“This, this is…”
A stunningly beautiful woman, wearing a tiara, was lying down as if she were a leashed dog. And standing beside her, trampling on her hair, was the blond-haired boy whose body was now mine.
“The man who can leash the queen of the Kingdom of Bohemia and take her for a walk is probably only you.”
“…Pardon?”
While I stared in shock, Professor Moriarty said in a voice tinged with amusement,
“Isn’t that right, Adler?”
Wait a minute, what did she just call me?
“Ah.”
With a sinking feeling and cold sweat forming between my brows, I then read the last line of the message that appeared before my eyes and couldn’t help but close them shut… tightly…
Best of luck, Isaac Adler.
I was playing the role of Irene Adler.
“But remember this.”
“………..”
“Even a dog, when cornered, might bite its master.”
In my dazed state of mind, Professor Moriarty’s warning echoed in my ears.
.
.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, at that very moment, in the streets of London… as the sunset bathed the city in its waning light.
– Tap, tap…
A woman, her figure concealed by a black robe and mask yet unable to completely hide the air of elegance about her, hurried along.
221B Baker Street
The old boarding house on Baker Street was coming into view.
