noveldrama
Chapter 212: The Sign of Four
Chapter 212: The Sign of Four
“Adler.”“………”
Amidst the hazy state of his mind, the professor’s kind voice echoed in my ears.
“Adler. Wake up.”
“Ugh…”
“I know you’re pretending to sleep, so you’d better get up before I rape you like the horny mutt you are.”
“… Eek.”
I didn’t want to open my eyes, but the words that followed made me instantly snap them open and rise from my spot.
“……?”
Then, a somewhat unfamiliar room entered my vision.
It wasn’t dusty or rusty, so to speak, but I didn’t feel welcomed either as it was dimly lit and gave off a feeling of claustrophobia.“Where are we, Professor?”
“Oh, you are talking about this place?”
As I looked around cautiously, the professor spoke with an utterly nonchalant expression.
“This is the basement of my house.”
“What?”
“All the walls are made of silver, and outside the only entrance, there’s a cross hanging by the wall.”
Hearing her continued words, I couldn’t help but doubt my ears.
“A demon like you would be better subdued with such a magical confinement than by chains.”
“Wait a moment, Professor…”
“No, I will not give you even a moment more, so shut your mouth.”
I tried to cautiously speak, but the professor was completely resolute this time.
“… You have tested my patience far too much.”
“What did I…”
“After I laid down both my pride and purity that I’ve maintained all my life just to bed you, you went on to meddle with that thieving detective and now even the mutt of the London Police.”
“……..”
“Adler. Who will you meddle with next? The ungrateful animal filled with only thoughts of fucking with you like an animal in heat? Or the fox-like vampire who acts demure while secretly expanding her personal power behind your back? Or perhaps, your young bodyguard whose hands haven’t still dried from the blood she has spilt her whole life?”
While I was beginning to feel slightly upset, hearing the professor’s words made those thoughts vanish.
“Just calm down…”
- Pow…
“… Argh.”
Perhaps my expression betrayed me, because the professor, with a frigid, irritated glare, punched me in the gut once more.
“From now on, your home shall be the basement of my house.”
“…….”
“Do you understand?”
“Ye-Yes…”
With a cold voice, she murmured and gripped her fist tightly again, ready to punch me. Seeing that, I could only nod hastily, overeager to assuage her.
“I appreciate that you understand your situation.”
Then, with a satisfied expression, the professor headed outside the room.
I knew I would end up confined.
Just to remind you but, this doesn't even count as confinement.
… What?
As I watched her retreating figure, I couldn’t help but mutter gloomily to myself. However, my expression went blank when Miss System’s words appeared before me.
The 100% confinement rate I mentioned means a state of detention where both body and mind are completely incapacitated, with zero possibility of escape forever.
……..
Compared to that, this could only be called protection.
What the hell was she yapping this time?
Perhaps, because it was a system that was tasked with managing this insane world, her thoughts seemed to have become just as twisted as the world itself. That could be the only explanation here.
“Oh, I almost forgot to mention something.”
As I pondered my escape from this anti-demon chamber, the professor’s amused voice suddenly broke the silence.
“… A different species, I mean, no. Hmm.”
“……?”
“I should tell you, I’m actually infertile. But recently, I discovered a magic that could solve that problem.”
Why did chills immediately start creeping all over my body as soon as I heard that?
“To complete the magic, I need your genetic material. You’ll need to cooperate daily with me from now on.”
“…….”
“Why are you making that face, dear? Don’t we need an heir to continue the kingdom we are going to build?”
The change in my expression was not only because a strong attachment that would keep me from leaving this world was on the verge of being formed.
Warning!
Erosion Rate — 80% ? 90%
The world is in grave danger.
Just at that moment, a significant warning about the erosion rate reaching 90% also appeared before my eyes which also contributed to my face paling in fright.
It seems like the true adversary of this world is starting to make their move.
“…….”
The grace period is at most 3 months. It might even be less.
That meant, what was originally a 6-month plan now had to be completed within 3 months.
Will you be able to finish all the quests in time?
If not, you can just return home and leave poor me and this world behind. I'll just quietly resent you from afar.
“What do you take me for?”
Of course, there was nothing I couldn’t do.
Really? I thought you would whine again...
“There’s one condition, though.”
Something was troubling me, however.
“If you could just go on a date with me in your human form later…”
Go rot and die, you manwhore!
How could Lovecraft, still a young girl and so naïve that simple leading questions could reveal her real identity, possibly have orchestrated such a vast scheme all on her own?
.
.
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.
.
“Hmm?”
As Isaac Adler was pondering over yet another one of the countless suicidal suggestions offered by the system,
“Oh, I didn’t realize we had guests.”
Professor Jane Moriarty had just ascended from her basement to the living room, a sly smile playing on her lips as she murmured to herself with a toothy grin.
“………”
Meanwhile, Charlotte Holmes and Gia Lestrade, who had taken over the living room table, were silently glaring at her.
“You lot, despite appearances, aren’t you a detective and an inspector? You should be aware that this constitutes breaking and entering unless you have a warrant.”
“… We are.”
“Then you must also understand that if I were to kill you right now, it could be considered self-defence, right?”
Unflinchingly, they responded to Professor Moriarty’s menacing words.
“Try it if you think you can.”
“I share Holmes’ sentiment.”
“It’s quite displeasing to see inferior beings act so arrogant.”
Thus, the atmosphere, as usual, began to heat up in their presence.
- Rumble, rumble…!!!
Suddenly, what had been relatively clear weather turned into a storm complete with thunder and lightning, and the brief stalemate they had reached seemed to have finally come to an end.
“… Wait. Time!”
Just before the situation could explode into a full blown bloodbath, a young man’s shout caused the air in the living room to freeze instantly.
“Time!”
Despite the elaborate confinement room prepared by Professor Moriarty, Adler, bursting out from it, blocked the three women with a playful smirk on his lips.
“………”
A chilling silence ensued at his arrival.
“… Any last words before you die?”
In that silence, Professor Moriarty, noticing out of the corner of her eye that the cross she had set up had somehow turned upside down, asked in an eerily calm voice.
“I have a proposal for all of you.”
“Shut up.”
“Quiet.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but shut the hell up.”
Attempting to answer, Adler’s expression fell slightly at the murderous voices that simultaneously erupted from the three women.
“… But I was going to choose my favourite among you.”
At his next words, the expressions of the three women, who hadn’t even deigned to look at Adler, momentarily blanked.
“What did he just say?”
“What the hell did you say?”
“What did you say?”
Turning their gaze towards Adler in unison, they threw the question back at him.
“I said I’m going to choose my favourite among you.”
“””………..”””
“So, how about we stop fighting for a moment, sit down, and listen to what I have to say?”
At his words, the three women slowly began to take their seats, quietly observing each other.
.
.
.
.
.
“Now, would you mind signing here first?”
Professor Moriarty, Charlotte, and Lestrade silently too their seats around the table, looking far too demure for women who had been radiating terrifying killing intent until just moments ago.
“Well, it’s nothing much. To summarise the key points…”
“One of us, whom you will choose, must be designated as your unique lifelong partner.”
“Yes, the deadline is in three months. I need time to think as well.”
“Those not chosen must accept and acknowledge the outcome without question.”
“For someone who enjoys playing tricks with contracts, this is surprisingly clean and simple.”
As they shifted their gaze to the document Isaac Adler had just placed on the dining table, they each started to speak up.
“Putting us aside… What are the penalties you’ll incur if this contract is breached?”
During this, Lestrade, in an unusual display of sharpness, threw in her question.
“… It’s simple. If I break it, I die.”
“””……..”””
“And the same goes for you too.”
Following Adler’s reply, the Professor and Lestrade seemed convinced, but Charlotte looked at him with a slightly sour expression.
“But you are…”
“Don’t say that death means nothing to a demon. I am talking about a permanent eradication from this world, including the soul.”
“……..”
As she was about to speak her mind, Adler’s immediate response left Charlotte momentarily speechless, and she murmured in a low voice.
“What, so… I’ve been worried over nothing…”
“… According to ancient texts, a demon can reincarnate even after death. Though, it might come with the side effect of losing their memories.”
Seeing her, Professor Moriarty began to murmur with a hint of laughter in her voice.
“Well, it’s understandable if one lacks knowledge. No need to apologize.”
“Would you mind shutting up? Your reaction just now suggests you didn’t know about it until recently either.”
“Ignorance is not a sin, Miss Holmes. One should always strive to augment their knowledge like I do…”
- Swoosh…
Just when it seemed their verbal sparring might reignite.
- Click, clack…
“”……..!””
Lestrade, who had been listening to their conversation with an impassive face, suddenly picked up a pen that was lying in front of her and signed her name first.
“Excuse me. Are you aware of what that document signifies, Inspector Lestrade?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Yet you seem fearless.”
Charlotte Holmes and Professor Jane Moriarty each threw in a remark at Lestrade’s bold action, who, placing the document in front of her, shrugged her shoulders noncommitally.
“Well, Adler wouldn’t choose anyone but me, would he?”
“……..”
As soon as she finished speaking, Charlotte and Professor Moriarty began staring at her with frigid expressions.
- Rustle, rustle…
Following that, they began a silent battle of wills as they sequentially signed the contract.
“It’s your turn now.”
Time passed uneventfully.
“Don’t even think about tampering with the documents again. Even you cannot deceive the eyes of the three of us…”
“Wait, but that’s odd.”
Charlotte, having finished signing, handed the document to Adler while murmuring, and suddenly Professor Moriarty tilted her head and spoke.
“As far as I know, that document is written with your unique mana, so your signature isn’t exactly necessary.”
“Is that so?”
“But then, why are there four signature lines?”
Hearing this, Charlotte and Lestrade simultaneously made puzzled faces.
“Ah, over there…..!!!”
Adler, his eyes wide, pointed behind them and shouted.
“……….”
But having been through thick and thin with Adler, no one turned around.
- Swoosh!
“Oh.”
Thanks to that, the contract in Adler’s hand swiftly transformed into a card with a Joker drawn on it, vividly broadcasted to everyone.
“… Ehehe.”
Then, observing their reactions for a moment, Adler soon began scratching his head with an innocent expression.
- Swoosh…
“… Um, everyone.”
As he saw the three women stand up with expressionless faces, he started muttering in a cowering voice.
“You’re not going to hit me, are you?”
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.
.
“Haa…”
Meanwhile, above the clouds in London.
“… This is it.”
There, the French phantom thief, her cloak billowing, began to smile by herself as she looked at the document in her hand.
- Flick…!
“…….!”
However, that moment was brief.
“Argh…”
Barely dodging a bullet that came flying at a ferocious speed from below, she began to lose her balance and fall.
“You pilfering, baguette choking, frog-guzzling wretch, how dare you challenge the master’s authority!”
“… Where did you learn such language?”
As she plummeted down, she could see the silhouettes of Celestia Moran and Princess Clay, glaring fiercely at her from the ground, out of the corner of her eye.
- Gooooooooooooo…
The next moment, Lupin couldl feel the gazes of all the women in London target the docment in her hand.
“… Is spyting legal in Britain, by any chance?”
The right to the final Fourth Signature, which was practically a bidding ticket for the lifetime ownership right of Adler, marked the beginning of a bloody struggle.