Chapter 159: The Crawling ■■■■■

Chapter 159: The Crawling ■■■■■"I knew you'd do something like this."

After surveying the Professor's mansion for some time Charlotte returned to the lobby, only to witness Adler and Lestrade standing near the doorway. A scornful look flashed in her eyes as she gazed at the duo before she said,

"Well, at least you didn’t kill him. The inspector must have held back quite a bit."

Lestrade's police uniform was torn and tattered, loosely hanging off her body. Meanwhile, her face was redder than a ripe tomato, highlighting her shame and embarrassment.

As if that wasn’t enough already, the red handprint on Adler’s face was a dead giveaway of what had transpired between the two.

"It was my first time..."

"..."

"It was my first time, dammit..."

Charlotte smirked, almost mockingly, bowing her head to hide her expression. Lestade, on the other hand, continued her mumbling in a whispery note, barely audible.

"I agreed to accept your affection, but... not like this... I never wanted it like this."

"Look, it wasn't on purpose that I..."

"Don't talk to me right now... I just might kill you..."

Lifting her scorching hot face, Lestrade whispered with such ferocity that Adler was forced to shut his mouth immediately.

"When I think about my first kiss from now on, I'll always remember today..."

"..."

"I wanted to set the mood... be ladylike for my first kiss..."

"... What?"

"Didn't I tell you to shut the fuck up, you bastard!?"

Charlotte gave them a sidelong glance, a gleam in her eyes.

"Now that I think about it, it's quite strange."

"... What?"

"Inspector Lestrade’s curse... why didn't it affect Isaac Adler's transformation magic?"

Curious, she tilted her head and murmured in a whispery voice.

"Um, Miss Holmes, I didn't cast that spell..."

"No, what I mean is... if the inspector’s curse nullifies all anomalies and oddities without exception, then it should have undone the magic cast on Adler too. It's odd that it only broke after a generic fairy-tail-like kiss."

"... Does that really matter anymore?”

"It definitely does, Inspector. It gives me a decent opportunity to review one of my oldest theories."

Face flushed and head bowed, a puzzled look soon washed over Lestrade as she heard Charlotte’s words.

"My curse, which prevents me from loving anything or anyone, didn't have any effect on you, Mr. Adler."

"That is..."

"It was the same in my sister’s case. She, who was cursed never to feel any stimulation, was able to feel it because of you."

Meanwhile, Charlotte slowly walked towards Adler and whispered, her voice dangerously low,

"And now, you’re even openly resisting Inspector Lestrade’s ability. An ability so absolute that even Professor Moriarty can't completely resist.”

"Th-That’s true, I guess..."

"Shall I make a guess then?"

"Su-Su-Sure?"

Having reached right in front of Adler, she narrowed her eyes and whispered right into his ear with a tone laced with arctic chill.

"... Professor Moriarty's initial interest in you was due to her curse being nullified solely by you, right?"

Cold sweat started beading on Adler’s forehead, soon dripping down like a waterfall.

"Looks like my speculation was correct."

"......."

"Honestly, I thought you were just an incubus who had luckily survived the Crusades. Seems that isn’t the case, however."

Charlotte Holmes, wiping the cold sweat dripping down his face with her sleeve, began prodding Adler with her summoned black mana.

"You are still hiding a lot more from me, aren’t you?”

"........"

"I'll forgive you if you confess here and now. Okay?"

At that moment, a red warning window appeared in front of Adler.

I’m sure you understand the extent of what you can reveal to her.

"........"

Especially, keep everything about me a secret.As he read the content of the warning window, Adler made up his mind to speak, a resigned expression on his face, but,

"Miss Holmes, as I mentioned before..."

- Swoosh...

"... What are you doing?"

Charlotte Holmes, quietly observing Adler, suddenly grabbed his arm with a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

- Swish, swish...

"Hey, my arm isn't a toy..."

Adler, looking at her with a troubled expression, soon froze on his spot.

"Uh..."

Voice trailing off, he realised that the system window that had appeared before his eyes had disappeared, dissipated with his flailing hand under Charlotte’s control.

"... So, you were there after all."

"Is that a challenge I hear...?"

.

.

.

.

.

... I'm still not used to this form.

Watching Charlotte Holmes and Gia Lestrade leave the mansion to catch a carriage I, transformed into a cat, turned around and slowly started treading down the mansion's corridor.

How the hell does the professor know such magic?

Analyzing the Magic Circle that the professor had shown made me realise that... it was not just a simple transformation but a polymorph-level advanced magic.

How she could wield such systematized magic in a world where mana stones were discovered only recently and magic research had just barely begun was honestly beyond me, but it was certainly to my advantage.

Just simply drawing the Magic Circle that the professor had sketched on the desk allowed me to transform into a full-fledged cat. It was perfect for scouting and even escaping at a moment’s notice when necessary.

I must get to the bottom of this anomaly...

Normally, I would never poke around a case that was already closed, but things were a bit different this time around.

Warning!

Erosion Rate — 55% → 60%

Warning!

Erosion Rate — 60% → 65%

Warning!

Erosion Rate — 65% → 70%

Despite my direct intervention in the case and crafting a plausible ending, the erosion rate had increased by 30 percent in just a few hours.

This was just like the speckled band case that we had previously solved. I must figure out why this was occurring.

- Lick.

- ... Yesshh♡

Judging from the moans leaking from above, it seemed Professor Presbury and Mr Freud would be spending a heated night in the laboratory.

Even if it meant staying up all night I had to uncover the reason behind the rising erosion rate today no matter what...

".....?"

With a serious expression, I continued strolling down the corridor when I subtly tilted my head in curiosity.

"Meow?"

When I was still in my human form, I had certainly not noticed...

However, through the eyes of a cat, I noticed that the study at the end of the corridor shimmered ominously in a sickening black smoke.

"........."

Black smoke that was unlike the chilling, emotionless extension of Charlotte’s mana. It was a black smoke that was viscous, eerie, and filled with negative emotions that would make you shudder in horror. Just like the shadowy Jill the Reaper.

- Thud, thud...

Before I knew it, I started gingerly approaching the study filled with that distinctly ominous smoke.

"... Eh?"

Although I had transformed into a cat, my vision remained sharp, and it didn't take long to realise that what initially appeared as smoke was actually undulating, outstretched tentacles of nothingness itself.

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.

.

.

.

"... No."

"What?"

Meanwhile, at that time,

Jane Moriarty sipped her overly sugared coffee at a nearby coffee house, convinced that Adler, who had left her side without a word, would soon return to her embrace.

"You should never touch that, Adler..."

"What are you suddenly talking about...?"

"Not all beings from the ancient times are like me..."

Mycrony Holmes, who had been observing her with interest, displayed a bewildered look when the professor turned pale and abruptly rose from her seat.

"... Isaac is in danger."

Leaving those words behind, Moriarty vanished, dissolving into a puff of smoke.

"Haa, this happens every, single, time."

Mycrony Holmes, who had been staring at the spot where Moriarty disappeared with a flabbergasted look, finally whispered after a while.

"... Why are you all still sitting there looking so stunned?"

"""..........."""

"She said Adler is in danger, dammit."

A few seconds later, the coffee house patrons rose from their seats, returning to their roles as national agents.

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