Chapter 143: A Case of Identity (6)<em>Why is the professor here, why is the professor here, whyistheprofessorhere…!!?</em>


    "Mr Groom."


    Struck by an overwhelming sense of panic, Adler began to tremble and mutter incoherently under his breath. Just then, a subtle, gentle voice registered in his mind,ing from his side.


    "Is there something troubling you?"


    "Ah... well..."


    "To wear such a lost expression on a day when you are to partake in the act of marriage, deemed to be an unparalleled event in the life of a person… how utterly sad."


    Her voice was so soothing that it would have calmed anyone who didn''t know the truth of the situation and her identity.


    "Smile, Mr Groom."


    "... Ha-ha, ha."


    "As I mentioned earlier, without the key in my possession, you won’t be able to get the suit so please follow me."For Adler, however, it was not the voice that caught his attention but rather the nun’s habit which seemed eerily familiar.


    "... Understood."


    After a moment of intense deliberation, Adler decided to follow the strangely familiar nun upstairs.


    "Untie me before you go, Adler..."


    "......."


    Shuddering, he tried his best to ignore the soulless voiceing from behind. However, he couldn’t ignore the nun in front of him. Unable to stay close to the nun due to his apprehension, yet left with no choice but to follow her, Adler ascended the stairs behind the religious woman with a pale look on his face.


    You look splendid right now.


    "... Save me, Miss System."


    Hmph.


    Trying to invoke the system as hisst hope, Adler found that the system window had vanished into thin air; it seemed to have developed a consciousness of its own and was now avoiding him.


    "... Pleasee this way."


    "A, Alright..."


    With a resigned look and slumped shoulders, Adler followed the nun into a shabby room on the second floor.


    "Thank you for... Wait a moment."


    Suddenly feeling an inexplicable sense of unease, Adler asked the nun in a low, trembling voice.


    "Didn’t you say you were taking me to a dressing room? There’s only a chair here though…?”


    "Ah, that''s true."


    The nun paused for a moment at his inquiry, but then, she nodded her head and snapped her fingers in the following moment.


    <em>- Swish...</em>


    In an instant, rows of clothing racks, all containing high-quality vintage suits, manifested out of thin air, filling up the previously empty room.


    "Wow..."


    Adler, momentarily forgetting the predicament he was in, couldn’t help but mutter in amazement at the sudden, astonishing disy. However, a contemting look soon appeared on his face, as though he had suddenly recalled something after witnessing the disy.


    "... But, you''re using magic."


    "Yes."


    "Bu-But, ording to the setting... no, from what I remember... the Vatican and the Church are supposed to strongly denounce magic..."


    And with those words, total silence engulfed the room.


    "... Now that I think about it. Didn''t you say you needed a key?"


    As the nun standing by the entrance gazed at him without saying a word, Adler, feeling a sudden chill run down his spine, stuttered… trying to change the subject as fast as he could.


    "This one?"


    "Yes, yes. But it seemed like you didn’t use it when you came in thoug..."


    <em>- Click...</em>


    However, before he could finish his sentence, the sound of the door locking echoed in the room.


    "Aha. You were nning to use it to lock the door..."


    "......."


    "... But why lock the door, haha."


    Despite trying his best to keep his voice as bright and lively as possible, Adler’s voice started quivering eventually.


    "... I''m sorry."


    "What are you sorry for?"


    The reason? Well, the nun was slowly approaching him while emitting a familiar ck smoke.


    "Does saying sorry make up for abandoning someone?"


    "... Sa-Save me!"


    Quietly backing away from the ominous nun, Adler hastily opened the window behind him and started shouting at the top of his lungs, seemingly grasping at straws to get out of this dangerous predicament.


    "The detective’s here!!!"


    .


    .


    .


    .


    .


    A few minutester,


    "Shouting <strong>The detective’s here!</strong> as a cry for help… don''t you find that incredibly amusing yourself?"


    "......"


    "... Isn’t escape magic your speciality or something, why don’t you try using it?”


    Adler, having failed to escape, wore a sullen expression as he muttered next to the nun who was closely watching his every move.


    "Suddenly, my magic isn’t working at all..."


    "Of course, it won’t. A devil can''t exert power inside a church, after all."


    "Aha..."


    At her words, Adler realized the truth of the situation and nodded his head.


    "Then, I shall be taking my leave now…”


    "Why did you abandon me?"


    "Uh, ugh..."


    As Adler quickly tried to head towards the exit, the nun grabbed his arm and started to unbutton his shirt without his consent. Simultaneously, she started interrogating him for some answers.


    "... H, how strong!”


    "I was lonely. All this time."


    Adler was momentarily startled by her sudden action, making him restless. However, when he saw tears welling up in her eyes, he stopped resisting soon enough.


    "We promised to be together forever..."


    "......."


    "Then why did you disappear?"


    "... There were... circumstances."


    Unable to tell her that he had been kidnapped by the phantom thief, Adler stammered out those words.


    "Circumstances? What circumstances?"


    <em>- Click, click...</em>


    Pushing her sombre face, shaded by gloom, closer to Adler, the nun slowly stripped off his coat, finally finished unbuttoning it.


    "... Or was it just for the sake of pursuing pleasure?"


    "Those are some strange words you said at the end there..."


    "Correct me then. After abandoning a capable woman like me, you took in some fresh-faced novices as your close aides, and now you even n to marry and start a new life. How are the words I speak strange then...?"


    As the nun began to unbutton her shirt, Adler opened his mouth with a look of despair— a look that seemed to say that he had already resigned himself to his inevitable fate.


    "As I said before, it was unavoidable."


    "You never exined..."


    "I love you."


    Holding his gaze with a chilling look, the half-unbuttoned nun paused as she heard Adler''s whisper.


    "What… did you just say..."


    "I said I love you."


    "........"


    "As you can already see in my eyes, it''s a fact that can no longer be denied."


    Finally noticing the colour of Adler''s eyes, the nun''s hands began to tremble as she unbuttoned her shirt and soon paused.


    "I wanted to hear that for so, so very long..."


    "......?"


    "Just that one sentence would have been enough….."


    Muttering to herself, the nun continued her monologue, lost in her own world. Adler, on the other hand, looked on at her visage with a puzzled look, before eventually continuing with his exnation.


    "... That''s exactly why I''m doing this now."


    "What?"


    "If you are to continue existing in this world, this is the only way."


    ".......!"


    Hearing his earnest words, the nun''s expression turned to one of utter shock and bewilderment, It was as if she had finally realised something profound— an aspect, a truth of this world and its existence.


    "Have you ever thought about the reason for your existence? Long story short, I’m here to fulfil that very reason, for your continued existence and survival.”


    "Ah...."


    "I can''t get into the details due to… circumstances, but please try to understand. I''m doing my utmost for you. You, whom I''vee to love..."


    As he finished his exnation, the nun, staring at him with a nk gaze, silently lowered her head. In the next moment, with trembling hands, she began undressing Adler’s shirt.


    "You once told me..."


    "......?"


    "<strong>Love</strong> is the deadliest poison for a devil.”


    Adler, noticing the change in her demeanour – a far cry from her earlier aggression and lunacy – quietly observed her actions.


    "Did I ever say that?"


    "You, who could control all manner of beings with a mere gesture, have be so weakened, could it be... could it be....."


    As tears began to stream down her face, a sense of unease once again started to creep into Adler''s mind.


    "So everything you’ve done, all the actions up till now, had been just to avoid ending our contract..."


    "Pardon?"


    "... And I was oblivious, unaware of everything."


    However, the nun soon began muttering to herself, her head buried in Adler’s shirt as her body intermittently trembled.


    "My, my clothes..."


    As she held the damp shirt and moved towards a coat rack with formal attire, Adler stretched out his hand with a bewildered look on his face.


    <em>- Shshsh...</em>


    ".....?"


    However, leaving him behind, the nun made a subtle gesture with her hands and summoned the most antique set of clothes and shirts from the collection of formal attires.


    "If that''s your will, then I mustply..."


    "Um, hey..."


    "Since has been our contract all along..."


    Walking up to Adler, she whispered those words with a soothing tone. Quietly, she got on her tiptoes and started dressing him with her own hands.


    "......."


    Every time her slender hand touched his bare skin, Adler flinched involuntarily… an overwhelming sense of awkwardness and an inexplicable dissonance washing over his whole being.


    "Uh?"


    As he was processing this feeling, wondering why he felt something amiss… the nun rose slightly higher on her tiptoes and gently pulled Adler''s tie towards her with her hand. Soon, a soft, dextrous tongue slipped inside his mouth all of a sudden.


    "Please forgive my impudence."


    "......"


    "Have a good wedding."


    After what felt like an eternity, veiled as a transient moment, the nun quietly stepped away from him. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and murmured to herself, lost in her musings.


    "... Second or third, it doesn''t matter to me anymore."


    "........"


    "As long as I am with you, as per our contract, I am satisfied..."


    As she handed him a key, signalling their parting, Adler began moving towards the exit with uncertainty in his steps.


    "So, I should go now?"


    "Yes, take care."


    Only after receiving the nun’s confirmation was Adler able to reach for the doorknob withplete assurance.


    "... My beloved master."


    "......?"


    Opening the door, the nun’s words reached him and he couldn’t help but react, muttering to himself.


    <em>Was Charlotte ever the type to say such things...?</em>


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    .


    .


    <em>But if I’m not wrong it was definitely the scent of Charlotte''s clumsy makeup and perfume that lingered from her...</em>


    Adler''s doubts and the sense of dissonance he had been feeling were fully rified—


    <em>- Creak...</em>


    <em>And that dark aura that had been present all around her felt exactly like Charlotte''s...</em>


    At the very next moment, as he opened the door surrounded by an unsettling feeling.


    "........"


    "......!?"


    The reason for the rification was quite simple. Charlotte Holmes, still dressed in her usual detective attire, was standing silently outside the door.


    "Now you''ve stooped to cheating with even a fucking dog, huh…"


    "... <em>Woof</em>."


    Hearing that, Adler hastily turned around only to witness the scene of the nun, glowing with a fierce gleam in her eyes, stepping back into the shadows while giving off ast, cheerful bark.


    <em>- Swish...</em>


    Soon, leaving behind only a stolen nun''s habit, the Hound of the Baskervilles quietly disappeared.


    "... Miss Holmes, this is a misunderstanding."


    "I’m about to mistakenly pounce on you too, so don''t misunderstand."


    "What?"


    A few minutester, terrified groans began to seep out from the floor directly above Watson— the bride of this wedding who had been choosing the perfect dress for herself with a flushed face.


    <em>- Arghhhuhghhhoghhhhh...</em>


    "What, what''s that?"