Becoming Professor Moriarty’s Probability

“Kulluk… Kuk…”

The sounds of the culprits of the Silver Blaze attack case desperately wailing filled the basement.

“Stop… stop it…”

“Master, these guys are more tenacious than I thought.”

“Please… Aaaaaaaah!!”

“Honestly, I thought they’d confess something when I dislocated their shoulders, but they all held on for quite some time. They must have received some training.”

Although their screams were quite chilling, what was even more terrifying was Morun, who was heating the culprits’ broken shoulders with a hot crowbar several times over.

Could she really be a girl in her early to mid-teens?

“… They must have been trained. Probably ex-military.”

“No. But I do know that they are veterans of the American Civil War.”

Saying so, I subtly avoided her gaze and muttered while looking at the culprits, and their eyes slightly wavered.

Seeing those looks was enough for me to assume that the history of the KKK is similar in this world too.

“Shall we intensify the torture?”

“Eh?”

While I was scratching my head with that thought, Morun turned her head towards me and asked.

“… I don’t mind, but are you sure?”

“Sure about?”

“I know it’s strange to say this now, but for a girl your age to do this…”

“……?”

The soulless, cold expression of hers slightly worried me, and I preemptively brought it up to her. But upon reflection, it seemed meaningless to say such a thing to someone who had already killed innumerable people in cold blood.

“… If it’s tough, I can take over.”

“Ah…”

“A child can do it, so can I…”

Yet, feeling somewhat concerned, I stroked her hair and suggested to her. Morun, who had been silent for a moment, looked at me after I made the suggestion.

“I’m not a child.”

She began to mutter in a low voice, blushing ever so slightly.

“I’m almost as tall as Master now…”

“… Ugh.”

Just a few months ago, she was as small as a little chick. Now, she seemed to have grown up so much in the blink of an eye.

Maybe I’ve been feeding and taking too good care of her even though she was just a h0und? But that was necessary for her to hunt well.

Actually, she’s not really a hound anymore, right? That position was taken by the Hound of the Baskervilles not long ago. Morun is rather…

“Are you worried about my torture skills? If that’s the case, I can assure you there are no problems.”

As I quietly scratched my head and looked down at Moran, whom I had grown quite fond of, she hurriedly began explaining in a whispery voice.

“I perfectly memorised which part of a human body to inflict pain on for maximum efficiency. I’m as confident in my torture skills as I am in my sniping skills.”

“I, I see.”

“Until just now, I was adjusting the intensity of the torture to suit civilians. But now that I know these guys are retired soldiers…”

With that, she gave the men trembling before her a bone-chilling look.

“Now I can extract the information properly.”

- Bzzzzztsst…

“So, leave it to me.”

At the same time, a faint blue spark began to zap everywhere from the iron rod she was holding.

“She’s right, you know?”

And amid her horrifying words, another bone-chilling voice echoed from behind them.

“Let’s not even talk about torture, a greenhorn who hasn’t even stained his hands with blood won’t be of any help here.”

“… Princess?”

“So, leave it to us.”

Princess of Clay, having entered the basement in light clothes, licked her lips and walked towards us.

“It is enough for only me to be here.”

“Trust the child to do what she’s best at.”

“… I told you not to call me a child.”

Watching her, Moran frowned slightly and muttered in a dark voice, emitting a slight murderous intent at the word child.

Soon, the gazes of the two women quietly collided in mid-air.

“Both of you, let’s postpone the fighting.”

“”……..””

“… There’s an important task right in front of us.”

But as I whispered in a more serious tone than usual, they soon averted their gazes from each other.

“Don’t get me wrong. It’s not because I’m following your orders.”

“……”

“I just felt the need to focus on the prey right in front of us, as you said. I haven’t eaten in quite a while, so I might as well draw some blood for a power boost while torturing…”

“Princess.”

As the Princess started grumbling next to me, apparently with a wounded pride, I watched her quietly and then tilted my head while throwing a question her way.

“… You must have really grown fond of Miss Blaze, seeing you become agitated like that.”

And then there was silence.

“W-Wh-What… What are you talking about.”

In the silence, Lady Clay began to fidget with her hands, her eyes cast downward, as she started muttering to herself.

“I can’t possibly feel any affection for such a foolish furball, can I? If anything, I’ve been annoyed by her incessant attempts to be friendly; I think it’s actually worked out for the best that she isn’t here anymore.”

“Why are you trying to intervene then?”

“Didn’t I tell you? It’s purely to replenish my blood supply…”

“… Even though you’ve already collected more than enough blood.”

“Q-Quiet!”

Her face, flushed red with anger as she shouted, seemed slightly amusing, prompting me to probe her further.

“The more blood, the better! That’s all there is to it!”

“… I see.”

Lately, I noticed that she was a classic tsundere.

Perhaps because I’ve been dealing with maniacs day and night these days, she now seemed relatively kind by comparison.

“… Anyway, is it enough to make these guys scream in pain?”

Of course, in this apocalyptic London, a good guy was a relative term, not an absolute one.

- Fzzzzt…

“If that’s the case, it’s my speciality.”

The previously aloof Princess had vanished, now gathering red mana in her hand as she began to approach.

“By the way, their shoulders are quite the sight to behold. Has the little child already formed such a nasty habit?”

“Master’s orders. The initials of the organization were burned into Miss Blaze’s right shoulder, after all.”

“… I see.”

Thus unfolded a brutal conversation between women specialized in murder and torture.

“How about we finish off the other shoulder too? I’ve learned that you should pay back double what you suffered.”

“I was thinking about finishing off a leg. Wouldn’t it be more unfortunate to be unable to use legs than arms?”

“… Just blow off both, there’s no need to overthink things. Or is it because you’re still a child that you still have sympathy for these lowlifes?”

“Don’t call me a child.”

Listening to their conversation, I couldn’t help but smirk while looking at the criminals who were practically buzzing with fear now.

… Really, why did you have to mess with Miss Blaze?

In fact, these guys weren’t really enduring the torture with superhuman mental strength.

It’s just that I’ve used magic to forcibly seal their mouths.

It’s a rather vicious act, but considering the scars on the inspector’s face and the wounds all over Blaze’s body, I feel no sympathy whatsoever for these bastards.

Well, the time to feel that emotion has long passed anyway…

After all, I’ve done worse things in my previous job.

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How much time had passed like that?

“I-I w-will sa…”

“What? I can’t hear you clearly.”

“I, I said… I’ll tell… every kn… spar….”

Among the people who had been collapsing one by one after enduring horrific torture, the last remaining man began to mutter urgently with a barely audible voice.

“… I’ll tell you everything I know, just please spare my life.”

“You actually understood that?”

“Spending hours torturing every day, you get the basics down, Master.”

Adler gently pated Moran’s head with a sympathetic smile as she translated the man’s gibberish before leaning towards the pale-faced man.

“Who is behind this plot?”

“I, I was only following orders… Ahhhhhh!!”

As he trembled and answered, Princess Clay, unfazed, stabbed a skewer into his side, causing him to twist and scream.

“Do you still not know?”

“I really don’t know… I can’t make things up…”

“… Hmm.”

Despite his tearful persistence, Adler looked at him with slight disappointment and spoke.

“If you don’t know, there’s no need to keep you alive.”

“Wait! Just waiiiit…!”

Frozen by that chilling statement, the man soon began to speak hurriedly in a raspy voice.

“I don’t know who’s behind it… but I know the next target…”

“The next target?”

“It’s… I’m in a slight position of… Ahhhhh!?”

Princess Clay then pulled the skewer out from his side when he stuttered.

“If you’re lying… you know, right?”

“I won’t lie! I swear!”

“… So who’s the next target?”

As he started to go into shock from the excessive blood loss, he answered Adler’s question with trembling hands.

“Ch-Charlotte… Holmes…”

Despite his garbled, uncertain articulation, the name that burst from the man’s lips was enough to instantly turn Adler serious.

“I, I heard she was a detective who helped save the Silver Blaze…”

“… These bastards really crossed the line.”

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That night, in an ordinary-looking house situated somewhere on the continent not far from Britain.

“Hehehe… Hehe…”

In that place, a girl, hiding under the covers, was letting out a sinister smile as she looked down at the manuscript placed on the bed, and started murmuring in a low voice.

“Alright, this is the end for Holmes…”

Late at night, Charlotte Holmes, under disguise, was wandering the back alleys on the outskirts of London, investigating something.

“… This time, even you won’t survive.”

Quietly following her, a figure began to creep up behind her.

Surprisingly, the manuscript she was looking down at was being updated in real-time with black ink.

However, Holmes, too engrossed in her investigation, failed to notice this fact.

As she moved, the unidentified figure also began to draw closer to her.

“Yes, that’s it… That’s it…!”

As the story approached its climax, the girl began to murmur excitedly.

An unknown amount of time passed just like that.

The shadow quietly reached up to Holmes' shoulder.

For some reason, Holmes still hadn't noticed anything.

“……!”

She was about to let out a cheer with her mouth covered, but.

A few seconds later, as the hand of a stranger touched her shoulder, Charlotte turned her head with a startled look.

Her eyes immediately widened.

Regrettably, once again, what she wanted did not happen.

For some reason, in front of her, Isaac Adler was seen smirking.

"Miss Holmes, shall we go on a dawn date?"

“… Ah, really.”Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Lovecraft, with an icy look, immediately crumpled the unknown number of manuscript pages, teeth clenched as she mumbled with acid in her voice.

“This fucking half-breed Oriental motherfu…”