Chapter 162: The Mask"... Adler."


    After a considerable amount of time, Professor Moriarty, who had abruptly left the office, made her return.


    "Sit down. We need to have a serious talk..."


    "You''re cute, Professor."


    "........."


    As she peeked her head through the door and muttered in her usual t tone, Adler made a flippant remark that threw her in a daze.


    "... Do, do you just want to die?"


    "Never mind that,e inside already."


    Despite her slightly colder tone, Adler simply grinned and gestured with his hand to sit beside him.


    "Well done, Professor.""... Yes?"


    "Now, let''s hear it."


    The professor, initially hesitant, quietly moved to sit beside him. Meanwhile, Adler sat in an elevated position to level himself with her and then spoke,


    "What''s bothering you?"


    "What are you even saying..."


    "If you haveints, say them now. That way, I can fix them."


    As he boldly asked while stroking her grey hair, the professor began to murmur in a low voice.


    "... I already know you have something on your mind."


    "Yes, and?"


    "But still, haven''t we spent too little time together?"


    "Pfft."


    Adler burst into a snicker at her remark.


    "I do not think my words were funny."


    "Ah, my apologies."


    "... Sometimes I miss the time when we first met."


    The professor, giving him a disapproving look, continued to fidget with her fingers and mumble.


    "Didn''t you say it yourself? That the way to quench my thirst was through criminal consulting."


    "... Yes, I did."


    "And just as a detective always needs an assistant, a criminal consultant needs one too, so you said you''d be my assistant."


    She paused, staring dazedly at Adler for a brief moment.


    "Back then, my heart truly raced like an overexcited child''s."


    "........"


    "The possibility of failing to kill someone. And the thrill of using my mind to eliminate that possibility. What a delightful task?"


    Her gaze gradually darkened.


    "These past few months have indeed been some of the most meaningful and enjoyable days of my life."


    "That''s good to hear."


    "However. It seems that sensation is starting to dull."


    Adler could not stop himself from flinching at that sudden remark.


    "In fact, in your absence, I''ve privately consulted on a few cases."


    "... What cases?"


    "Nothing major. Advised some fools who attempted to rob a bank disguised as stock exchange employees, instructed on how to kill an informant disguised as a long-term hospital patient, and so on..."


    "So, you handled such matters alone."


    Despite Adler not intervening in the cases featured in the Sherlock Holmes series, the erosion rate had not decreased.


    As Adler, puzzled by this fact, muttered under his breath, the professor continued in a whisper.


    "Yes. Yet, for some reason, it was neither fun nor enjoyable."


    "... Why so?”


    "What do you think is the reason, Adler?"


    Both Adler and Professor Moriarty knew the answer.


    "Because Charlotte Holmes wasn''t there?"


    "Because you weren''t there, you fool."


    Although there was a slight difference in the answers they concluded upon.


    "........."


    And thus, a surge of silence emanated between the duo.


    "... Adler, I''ll be frank."


    "Go on."


    "I need you."


    Breaking the silence with a sullen voice, Professor Moriarty muttered in a low voice.


    "Advising on a few cases alone had been enough for me to realise. That cases without you are far too easy for me to manipte."


    "........."


    "No variables ur, and clients follow every instruction diligently. It''s like a well-scripted y for me."


    Herplexion had gotten so dark that, Adler was unsure if her mood had ever worsened so.


    "That sense of omnipotence turning into displeasure instead of pleasure, it’s been some time since I felt that.”


    In such a sombre atmosphere, Adler looked at the professor as she kept muttering to herself.


    "Adler, I..."


    <em>- Swoosh...</em>


    ".......?"


    And then, he reached his hand forward and started stroking Professor Moriarty’s smooth grey hair. The action only served to confuse the professor.


    "Why do you keep touching my body?"


    <em>- Swoosh, swoosh...</em>


    "... That''s sexual harassment."


    Eventually, she muttered with her eyes cast down.


    "... Have you only just realized?"


    "That you''ve been sexually harassing me for some time now?"


    "No. You''ve noticed already, Professor. Why even pretend not to know?"


    Whispering softly into her ear, Adler began,


    "Don’t you think our rtionship is slowly turning upside down?"


    "........."


    "Think about it. If I were to disappear overnight, who would be at a loss?"


    Hearing his query, Moriarty immediately responded, an uncharacteristic tremble in her voice.


    "... Me."


    "Right. It''s not me, but you, Professor."


    "But if I don''t let that happen..."


    "Do you still not understand?"


    As Adler leaned in close, his whispery voice echoed in Moriarty’s ears.


    "The Professor is no longer in control, don’t you see?"


    "......."


    "If you try to force anything on me, I will disappear forever. You already know I can do that, right?"


    At his words, Professor Moriarty’s eyes began trembling.


    "And Professor, your life would be several times more miserable than it was ever before."


    "Adler..."


    "If the only one who can neutralise your curse disappears, you''ll never feel aplishment in anything you do ever again."


    Then she, with hands slick with cold sweat, reached out and tightly grabbed Adler’s.


    "Enough of this."


    "You would live yet again in a helpless eternity because of that absurd mistake of trying to force something on someone..."


    "Please, stop..."


    "If that''s what you want, I can disappear anytime..."


    As Adler finished speaking, Moriarty, now desperate, pulled him into her embrace.


    "Don''t go."


    "Hmm... What should I do?"


    "... I will treat you better from now on."


    Hearing that, Adler immediately frowned before speaking.


    "No. It''s not about you taking charge."


    "Then...?"


    "It''s not about you treating me well, it''s about me treating you well."


    At the same time, Adler started exerting his influence.


    "... Adler?"


    "What are you doing, Professor?"


    "Why are you trying to topple me..."


    "Your assistant is trying to do something nice for once, why are you resisting?"


    Hearing his remark, the professor, with a slightly shy expression, rxed her body.


    <em>- Thud...</em>


    "Well done, Professor."


    Thus, she was helplessly pushed down onto the bed by Adler.


    "Just so you know, I will pounce like this whenever I want."


    "........"


    "Answer."


    Unable to meet his gaze, she turned her head to the side, and a defeated voice soon leaked out.


    "Understood..."


    "Excellent."


    Adler’s gaze as he looked down on her was tinged with a faint sense of conquest.


    "... Good."


    "Ugh..."


    "Stay still."


    At the same time, Adler sunk his teeth into the professor’s neck, his eyes stained crimson.


    "I haven''t eaten in a while, so I''m famished."


    "........"


    "I find your blood the most delicious, Professor."


    "Is that so..."


    For a while, the sound of bloodsucking echoed in the office.


    .....


    "H-How does it taste?"


    "Hmm..."


    "Recently, my magic has been a bit unstable, so it might not taste good..."


    After finishing a long-awaited meal, Adler wiped his mouth with a satisfied grin. On the other hand, the professor, still lying on the bed, whispered a question in a hesitant voice,


    "It''s edible."


    "Well, that''s a relief..."


    Upon hearing Adler''s response, the professor blushed heavily before speaking,


    "If you wish, you can be rough with me as you werest time.”


    "......"


    "Want to punch me?"


    At her words, the sense of conquest in Adler''s eyes intensified further.


    "Never mind."


    "... A pity."


    However, as he responded somewhat sensibly, she buried her head in Adler''s chest while murmuring with a flushed face.


    "By the way, Adler, there''s some good news..."


    "... What is it?"


    As she began to whisper softly, Adler, feeling the tingling sensation in his chest, caressed her cheek and asked.


    "A criminal consultancy request hase in..."


    "Hmm…"


    "If you’re free… shall we consult on it together?”


    Then, Jane Moriarty asked with an increasingly heated face.


    "Ah, why are you so cute."


    "........"


    "Are you really the homicidal professor I knew?"


    "So, are we doing this or not?"


    Kissing her cheek, Adler whispered in a low voice, then chuckled and replied,


    "If the Queen of Crime wishes for something, how could I refuse toply?"


    "........"


    "Still, it''s a bit of a pity."


    "What do you mean?"


    And then, Adler added in a low voice,


    "... I''ll save the devouring for the next time, Professor."


    Upon hearing that, the professor covered her face with her hand, turned her head to the side, and whispered in a tiny voice,


    "The, re-request is on my desk..."


    "......."


    "No, it''s there... Uhh."


    Gently biting on her neck once more, Adler finally released her, a long stretch of sticky saliva connecting his lips to her neck.


    "... Well, I’ll be damned!"


    As he was walking to the desk, he paused and muttered in a low voice.


    "Why isn''t this working.......?"


    The fact that the reckless bad boy strategy had worked perfectly was causing cognitive dissonance in his perception.


    … It worked, so does it really matter?


    Therefore, with a dazed expression, he made that judgement as he picked up the request that was ced on the desk.


    ".....!?"


    However, his expression soon grew stiff as a board.


    "The address is... Cornwall?"


    <em>- Swoosh...</em>


    "... The Devil’s Foot, huh?"


    The case he was about to take on was one of the most dangerous in the entire Sherlock Holmes series.


    This case is critical, so I''ll remind you again.


    The probability of being killed is not limited to strangtion or shooting.


    Due to the sudden shock, Adler had missed a small hint thrown by the desperate system entity, viting the amount of information she could relegate to Adler. This would be a critical mistake that he would bitterly regret in the not-too-distant future.


    Death by overexerting yourself during intimate activities can still be seen as being killed, right…?


    … I''m not in the mood for jokes right now.


    .....


    Meanwhile, the professor, who had been lying on the bed with her face covered by her hands until then,


    "Hmm."


    She silently observed Adler''s back through the gaps between her fingers. Her shy demeanour seemed like a lie as she murmured to herself with a bone-chilling smile.


    "... I should have done this from the start."


    Driven to the brink, Professor Moriarty’s final n was on the verge ofmencing.