Becoming Professor Moriarty’s Probability

“… Haa.”

Having left Charlotte’s side, I returned to the back alley hideout and sat quietly in an empty chair before letting out a deep sigh.

“This is utter madness…”

My head was throbbing with pain. What had I just witnessed? What exactly was lurking behind Charlotte Holmes?

… I almost lost another person dear to me.

To be honest, I had a trauma about losing people around me— quite a severe one at that.

Even if I came off as too sensitive, I couldn’t just help it.

Not everyone experiences their closest friends, all the way back from high school, abruptly disappearing one by one overnight now, after all.

The only one that remained had an accident while working with me at my previous job.

Because of that, I immediately quit my previous job or more like fled from that place. From that moment on, I lived like a recluse for a while, until financial difficulties led me to take a job as a programmer at a game development company.

I never imagined I would be hurled into the world of the very game I was developing.

This time… I absolutely cannot lose anyone…

I tried not to get attached, to keep my head steady and my mind focused.

But now that things had already spiralled out of my control, there was no helping it.

It was truly time to get serious before I lost even the connections I had made in this other world.

“Where have you been, Master…?”

“… Moran.”

Finishing my thoughts, I lifted my head to see Moran tilting her head with an innocent look in her eyes.

“Ugh… uh…”

“Kill… me…”

If her face and hands weren’t splattered with dark red blood,

“These filthy inferior lowlifes. You laughed gleefully when you branded Blaze’s shoulder, right? Why the long faces now, huh?”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…”

“Why, from your perspective, am I not a minority species that should be eradicated too? Then why not burn my shoulder too? This filthy and lowly…”

And, if the dying screams of the culprits, who were having their blood sucked out live by Princess Clay – she was behaving completely different from how she did a few hours ago – weren’t resounding behind Moran,

“… W-What? When did you come back?”

“………”

“F-Forget the words you just heard! They were merely fabricated sentences I’ve come up with to intimidate those guys. So don’t misunderstand…”

She probably would have looked quite adorable right about now.

“Did you find out anything else?”

“Yes, I found out that the members of their organisation regularly gather at a temporary residence.”

“… A temporary residence?”

As Moran had been diligently working, I just silently patted her on the head for some time before asking. Unexpectedly, an answer popped out of her mouth to the question I had casually thrown.

“It’s like a regular meeting of the members who have infiltrated inside Britain where they report on the progress of their operations in the country.”

“Hmm…”

“I haven’t found the location yet. But it’s the most useful information that came out of these guys’ mouths over the past few hours…”

“I see.”

As I nodded quietly, Moran, noticing my expression, began speaking hastily with a visibly darkened complexion.

“… I-I-I’m sorry for not obtaining more useful information. Should I increase the intensity of the torture?”

“…….”

“Until now, I’ve been using methods that maximise pain without endangering their lives, but if I disregard their lives, there are many methods that can increase the pain several times over. That will surely…”

“There’s no need for that.”

I patted her head some more as I shook my head, soon leaving her behind and moving towards the guys tied to the chairs.

- Zzzttttt…

“Ugh… Huh…”

As I inflicted the guy who had informed me that Charlotte Holmes was the next target with a light electric spark, he trembled and started to moan.

“Why didn’t you tell us where the gathering place is yet?”

“That, that’s…”

“Let’s assume you’re just a pawn, so you might not know who’s behind everything. But you must know where the gathering place is, right?”

“I can’t help you with that…!”

His face paled as he started making excuses under my blunt questioning.

“I… I don’t know the exact location… Actually, I usually find the direction of the meeting with the magic mark engraved on me. We’re only notified of the general location of the meeting grounds right before every gathering…”

“… Is that so?”

“S-So… if you spare me… I can take you there myself…”

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but burst into a peal of loud laughter.

“Are you trying to negotiate now?”

“If you kill me, you won’t get what you want. I’m just letting you know about the clear facts here.”

“You’re mistaken. There are plenty of people who can replace you.”

“… U-U-Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

In such a situation, the guy started to slowly worm his way up, trying his best to capitalize on this chance.

“I’m the only one among us here who has the mark. I-I’m the leader…”

“……..”

“Those guys can’t even attend the regular meetings without me. But I can provide you with what you want.”

“… Huh, I did think you had a stronger scent of mana than the others. It turns out you are the leader.”

Observing him, Princess Clay silently wiped the blood off Moran’s face with a handkerchief while murmuring in a chilling tone.

“From when did you start following Blaze?”

“That…”

“Forget it. Seeing that you targeted the vulnerable Blaze when I roamed the black alleys almost daily and should exude a powerful aura, I can guess the level of your organisation.”

“…….”

Stunned by her sharp words, the man quietly shut his mouth.

- Swish…n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“Why, does her words upset you?”

As I peered into his eyes, with a narrowed gaze, I leaned in close to his face and whispered.

“But that’s the nature of your kind, isn’t it?”

I didn’t know if I was right or not as he again chose to remain silent.

“… So, where is this mark?”

“……..”

“Even if you’re a lowly leader who doesn’t know the backer or the meeting place… Surely you must know where the mark on your own body is, right?”

“H-Here, it’s here…!”

Thus, I smiled and provoked him harder. Even though he felt humiliated, he still extended his hand forward, avoiding my gaze.

“I-It’s like a compass, engraved on my hand. With this, we can get to the meeting place.”

“… Is that so.”

“F-For your information… if you cut off my hand, the magic will be immediately disabled. So don’t do anything rash…”

- Swish…

“…… Ah?”

Ignoring his words, I placed my finger on his hand and then lifted my own hand up with a cold smile.

“T-T-That…”

“An organisation that claims to have an archmage seems to be too sloppy with its magic.”

“Ah…”

“… The magic isn’t even secured.”

On my hand, there was now a mark identical to the one engraved on the man’s skin.

“Yo-You can’t do anything with just a copied mark…”

“The gathering place is to the west.”

“……!”

Of course, its function was also identical to the original counterpart.

This whole world’s magical system was implemented by me in the first place. Why would I not even be able to copy such a simple spell, then?

“Now, I don’t need you anymore.”

“Pl-Please spare me…”

“… When you capture and kill demihumans with your own hands, have you ever stopped upon hearing those exact same words from them?”

Realising that his usefulness had expired, the man, with a dirt-coloured face, begged for mercy. However, the men fell silent for the third time upon hearing my question.

- Fzzzt…

“Princess, I’ve heard that the vampires are running low on blood…”

As I sent a jolt of electricity through his neck, knocking him out again, I turned to call Princess Clay, intending to reward some of the most loyal vampires among her subordinates.

“Excuse me, uh… please stop now.”

“… Just stay still. Why is this blood not coming off already?”

While chiding the wriggling Moran, Princes Clay continued to wipe her face with a handkerchief until I noticed her, a slight smile hovering on my lips unbeknownst to me.

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I’m wiping it off because of the sweet scent of blood on you which is quite distracting to me. There’s no other reason…”

“I mean, there’s no need…”

Ever since she became my slave, she had always acted haughtily; had she, in fact, become attached to her colleagues as I had?

“Princess, I need your help.”

“… Eek?”

With that thought, I smirked bitterly and then approached close enough to whisper in the ear of Princess Clay, who was deeply focused on wiping off blood from Moran’s face and body.

“Is it me you are talking about?”

Then, she wore a dazed expression for a moment before looking at me with a doubtful gaze.

“… You want my help? Did the sun rise from the west today perchance?”

“What are you saying.”

“To take me in such a mean and despicable way, and then, as time passed, you barely pay any attention… and now you have the gall to ask for my help…!?”

She then started to raise her voice slightly in a sorrowful tone.

“I, I am of royal blood…! Yet for the past few months, I was only allowed to dress in maid’s clothes, and even did nothing but clean the house alone while my hands grew rough! While you merrily embraced other women!”

“… I’m sorry.”

“Hmph, enough! You’re only trying to take advantage of me now! How detestable! Do you think I would offer help…”

It seemed I had been a bit too harsh on her, but now there was nothing I could do.

- Swoosh…

“Huh? Why are you pulling out a knife now…”

I had no choice but to use a signature technique on her.

- Slice…

“……..!?”

As I carved my own neck with the knife, the face of the princess, who had been trembling, suddenly turned into one of dismay.

“You didn’t need to apologise to that extent…”

Then, she muttered timidly, and suddenly bit her lip hard and stopped speaking.

- Thump, thump…

Soon, she staggered towards me with a vacant look in her eyes, her gaze heating up as she looked at my bleeding neck.

“… Hah~”

And shortly after, she bit fiercely into my neck.

“Ooougooh…”

Closing her eyes tight, she shivered in ecstasy.

- Click…

“… No, it’s alright.”

I carefully embraced her by the waist as she began to feed on me, surrendering my body to her. Then, I whispered slightly to Moran as I saw her abruptly aim a pistol at the princess’ head.

“”………””

About a minute later,

“That’s plenty, Princess.”

“… H-Huh?”

Pushing her slightly forward as I whispered, Princess Clay finally regained her senses and looked at me with a dazed expression.

“J-Just a little more…”

“…….”

“… Can’t I have just a little more?”

For her, the blood that runs through my veins, infused with the power of a pure-blooded vampire, must be like a drug, perhaps even more potent than the most mind-numbing drug.

It’s only natural, then, that she would abandon even her outwardly haughty demeanour to make such a desperate plea.

“If you help me with this matter…”

What I was about to say,

“… You can feed on me.”

“……!”

For her, it was probably an offer she just couldn’t refuse.

“What exactly… do you mean?”

“Just as I said. I’ll grant you the right to consume my blood whenever you wish.”

“……”

“You may suck all the blood out of me, completely at once, or if you prefer, you can feed on me whenever you desire. I will not refuse or resist.”

Seeing the princess’s eyes had slowly begun spinning,

It seemed that the bait was well taken.

“So please, just help me this one time.”

“… What do I need to do?”

Admittedly, it might seem a bit excessive to me too.

“Well, it’s nothing much…”

But considering the importance and the risks of the role she must play in my plan, this kind of reward seemed totally justified.

“You’ll be a sacrifice for the KKK.”

“… Eh?”

This role required, at the very minimum, the intelligence of the fourth smartest woman in London to be performed perfectly.

.

.

.

.

.

A few days later, it was the day of the regular meeting of the KKK,

“Stop right there!”

“”……..””

“What’s with the person you brought with you?”

One of the members guarding the entrance, with a face full of annoyance, stopped a man dressed like one of their own who emerged from the shadows with a tightly bound woman.

“She’s a vampire.”

“… Wh-What did you say?”

Looking at his reaction, Adler responded with a voice mixed with laughter.

“I’ve brought a vampire, everyone!”

“… Once this is over, I’ll really suck you dry.”

“So, may we enter?”