Becoming Professor Moriarty’s Probability

Chapter 135: Kidnap

"Adler."

"... Hmm?"

Inside the carriage, Adler, who had been nodding off, opened his eyes groggily at the soft voice that resounded beside him.

"I'm in pain..."

"........"

Then his eyes met those of Professor Jane Moriarty, her face marred with handprints and bruises with tears welling up in her distinct grey eyes.

"Why would you do such a thing..."

"Ha."

Adler couldn’t help but sigh as he looked at her. Soon, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Adler..."

"This image doesn’t suit my adorable professor, in the least.”

Hearing his cold response, the corners of her mouth lifted into a playful smirk.

"Seems like the professor is stiffer than I expected, huh?”

"........"

"According to my investigations, I really thought that the two of you would at least be on a first-name basis by now.”

"... I just can't get used to this, so please revert to your original self quickly."

Struggling to get used to her playful expression in the body of the ever-rigid professor, Adler murmured in a low voice. In response, she smirked and slowly snapped her fingers.

- Swish...

In an instant, her guise shifted from the mature professor to a young girl with an air of mystery surrounding her.

"Hihi."

"What's so funny that's making you giggle, huh?"

Lupin, still wearing a leash with a face full of bruises and scars, flashed him a bright smile, prompting Adler to sigh and murmur.

"And those injuries, they weren't even caused by me."

"... That crazy princess was a bit too powerful."

Lupin scratched her head and muttered in a sullen voice.

"In my head, princesses were merely good sources of treasures, but now, I might have just gotten traumatized."

"It'll be good if the trauma stops you from stealing."

"But hey… Aren’t you trying to avoid taking responsibility a bit too easily?”

Tilting her head, she gazed at Adler with gleaming eyes.

"After causing all this chaos, you even cleverly used me to escape this mess, right?”

"........."

"You even made me fight with that crazy murderhobo princess and I ended up getting scars on my cool and pretty face.”

"That's..."

As Adler stammered, Lupin leaned her head closer until her face was nearly touching his and whispered.

"And honestly, I think some of the handprints and bruises were definitely your doing."

"........."

"A slap here, a punch there, and a few kicks too, so it only makes sense for you to be responsible."

"You forced me to..."

"Haha, you’re so cute when you take my jokes so seriously.”

Ignoring Adler's aggrieved voice, Lupin cheerfully started patting his shoulder.

"... I really, really want you now."

Just then, a voice with an ominous undertone unconsciously slipped out of her lips.

"Well, anyway... Does this mean we're even?"

However, as if her change was a lie, she quickly returned to her usual cheerful mood, clapping her hands as she asked.

"So, where are you planning to get off?"

"What?"

"Weren't you planning to use my reputation to stage a kidnapping and disappear from London?"

At that, Adler started scratching his head with a confused look.

"I suppose so, but..."

"So where will you get off, and what are you going to do next? I helped you in accomplishing your plan, so I can ask that much, right?"

"Uh, well..."

He looked at Lupin, who was curiously grinning while still being bound by the leash, with a slightly troubled expression and then asked in a faint voice,

"Are you not going to kidnap me?"

"What are you talking about?"

Her expression immediately shifted to a more sombre one.

"I can’t kidnap you right now."

"What?"

"I can’t, that’s just impossible."

Hearing her serious tone, Adler blinked and began to lower his voice, his forehead sweating.

"That's disappointing."

"... Huh?"

"The greatest thief in France, backing out because you're scared of some monsters."

Lupin couldn’t help but look at Adler with an incredulous expression.

"Why are you leaving out the fact that the number of those monsters is on a national scale?"

"... It might have decreased a bit by now, right?"

"Not to mention the fact that there are at least eight other countries and organisations involved in this incident.”

"So, the female thief Lupin operates while calculating profits and losses, huh..."

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she heard Adler's voice mixed with a sigh.

"There's nothing in this world that I can't handle..."

"But it's true, though."

"That’s not why I can’t kidnap you.”

Hearing that, Adler tilted his head to the side, confused.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you can’t get bound for long, right?"

Lupin started to mutter with a tone dripping with regret.

"I've secretly observed you getting tied up in handcuffs or ropes several times, but the moment I look away, you escape in the blink of an eye."

"........"

"Now that’s a talent perfect for a thief. Just what kind of curse do you have?"

Her explanation made Adler briefly ponder about the instances when he got handcuffed by Charlotte more than a few times.

"Come to think of it, that's true?"

"Huh?"

"Perhaps it’s because devils, unless bound by a contract, are always free beings."

At his profound words, Lupin quietly licked her lips.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, but it seems there's no way to restrain you after all."

"Um..."

"And, I'm in far worse shape than I thought."

From her lips, a trickle of blood escaped as she spoke.

"The princess was stronger than I could have ever anticipated."

"......."

"In this condition, there’s more than a fifty percent chance of losing even if I were to fight you seriously… kidnapping you is nothing but a pipe dream.”

Quietly wiping her bloodstained mouth with her sleeve, she turned towards Adler, eyes filled with regret.

"So, unfortunately, I'll have to wait for another opportunity."

"Another opportunity?"

"I'm not sure what your purpose was, but I'm going back to France to gather my strength until the dreadful chaos you've caused in London calms down. I’ll probably stay there for a year, yeah…"

Hearing this, Adler's eyes began to quiver violently.

"Kidnapping will have to wait. There's too much risk right now."

"Er, uh..."

"So, don't die and just wait for me."

Gently caressing his cheek, Lupin quietly rose from her seat.

"I'll be leaving now."

At that moment, as she swung her cloak and was about to escape through the carriage window,

- Squeeze...

"... Cough."

The collar around her neck began to tighten all of a sudden.

"What are you doing?”

Due to that, she was dragged back into the carriage, her face slightly flushed as she gazed at Adler.

"... Bleh."¹

Staring at her intently, Adler suddenly stuck out his tongue with clear mischief in his eyes.

"What's this again? A signal to pounce?"

"... Hehe."

"I don't know what your special ability is, but relying solely on that could get you into big trouble..."

As he tugged at the collar binding her neck, Lupin muttered with a cold smile.

"... Ah, suddenly I feel so weaaak~"

In the next moment, Adler suddenly clutched his forehead and theatrically collapsed to the ground.

"Hee, I'm losing… strength..."

"......."

"D-Did Jill the Ripper secretly cast some strange magic on me...?"

Avoiding Lupin's puzzled gaze, he began enticing her with his actions.

"I'm so drained that even a passing thief could kidnap me without any resistance..."

"........."

"What should I do..."

As he sneakily glanced at her, Lupin opened her mouth with a look of disbelief.

"You're joking, right?"

"........."

But Adler, having closed his eyes already, slowly turned and revealed the back of his hand.

"... A wedding ring?"

Noticing the ring on his finger, Lupin murmured in a quivering voice.

"Are you married?"

Her expression slowly began to morph with a hint of betrayal.

"... So you already belong to someone else, huh?"

".........."

"If I don’t steal you, I’d be disqualified as a thief..."

Some time after the whole charade,

"... Hey."

Quietly approaching Adler who was lying unconscious on the floor of the carriage, Lupin started whispering in a subdued voice as she unfolded her cape.

"... Did you plan all of this?”

Simultaneously, she began to spread her cape wide.

"Just stay inside for now."

"... Huh?"

Upon hearing the ominous statement, Adler slightly opened his eyes and tilted his head with a naive expression.

"Why, did you think I had no means to kidnap a person?"

"Uh, umm..."

Wrapped in Lupin’s cape, Adler’s voice trailed off as his body began to shrink and get sucked into its interior.

"Uh, ahh..."

Feeling that staying still would make things irreversible, Adler unwittingly began to struggle.

n

『Phantom Thief's Treasure』n

– Description: Get kidnapped by Phantom Thief Lupinn– Progress:0% → 74%nnn

"... Ah."

But upon seeing the system message that appeared before his eyes, he muttered in an enlightened voice.

"I’m drained... can’t resist..."

"........"

"Being kidnapped..."

As he was completely sucked into her cape, Lupin maintained silence for a moment.

"Ah..."

Then, she suddenly sat down, bowed her head and began to mutter in a trembling voice.

"It’s the first time I've absorbed a living being..."

- Squirm...!!

"Ah, the feeling of it wriggling inside is so intense~...."

Thus began Lupin and Adler’s bizarre kidnapping play.

.

.

.

.

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Meanwhile, at that moment,

"........"

A pair of eyes quietly watched a carriage speeding through the streets of London, escaping the city in the early hours of dawn.

"... Ha."

The owner of those eyes, hidden within ominous black smoke and observing the entire situation, was none other than Charlotte Holmes. Her dark circles had elongated significantly over the past few days, making her look like a ghost.

"Trying to escape now, are we?"

As she quietly extended her hand forward, the black smoke began to slowly wrap around the wheels of the carriage.

"... Too late for /genesisforsaken