Becoming Professor Moriarty’s Probability

“Indeed… it’s a language even I’ve heard for the first time.”

“… I-Is that so?”

As the woman screamed in agony under the men’s renewed torture, Professor pondered deeply for some time, while stroking her chin, before speaking.

“Adler, I know a far greater number of languages than you can even imagine.”

“Th-That’s impressive…”

“And that includes Asian languages as well.”

As I silently agreed with the professor while trying my very best to ignore the screams of the woman being tortured, the professor looked at me with intrigue in her eyes as she continued.

“I’m especially fluent in Chinese, even have a certain level of expertise in that language. I once had friends over there in the distant past…”

“… you mean, Imugis?”

“What did you say, Adler?”

“We-We-Weapons, I meant to say that those weapons are really cool. It would be great to have something like this at our base…”

Having misspoken due to extreme nervousness, Adler quickly pointed at the torture devices scattered around the room, trying to divert the professor’s attention as she glared at me with barely concealed suspicion in her eyes.

“So, she’s not Chinese, then? That’s quite unexpected…”

“… Why are you sweating so much?”

“This request seems quite difficult. Ha ha ha…”

While I was trying my utmost to put up the act of my life, one of the men in black suits stopped his pondering before asking us with a doubtful look in his eyes.

“Can you really find an interpreter? This is a very sensitive matter.”

“It all depends on how much time and budget you can allocate.”

“We can provide a generous fee. However, we cannot give you much time.”

Upon the professor’s calm response, the doubtful look in the man’s eyes deepened as he laid out his demands.

“You must bring an interpreter who can communicate with this woman within two days at most. Of course, the interpreter must be someone familiar with dark dealings to ensure that no complications arise.”

“That seems implausible. You know as well that two days is just pushing it.”

“Fine, three days max. I cannot give you more than that. As I mentioned earlier, there are diplomatic matters involved here.”

At his response, a frigid glint sparked in the professor’s eyes.

“Your tone is becoming ever so lightly impolite again.”

“I apologise, but it can’t be helped. This is not a matter we can negotiate on.”

“Hmm…”

“If you think it’s beyond your capabilities, you may leave. I believe that a criminal consult, considerably notorious in the underworld of recent times, wouldn’t blabber about such a matter carelessly.”

With that said, the man threw a provocative remark at the professor before politely bowing his head again.

And with that action of his, a brief silence washed over the room.

“… So, we just need to find a translator within 3 days, correct?”

“Technically, it’s 52 hours, but yes, that’s roughly correct.”

“Quite a peculiar and complex request indeed.”

In the silence that followed, the professor, wrapping an arm around my waist, proceeded toward the exit.

“… This will make for an interesting diversion.”

“I don’t even know how should I even begin to express my gratitude…”

Her soft-spoken words finally drew a smile from the man as he replied.

“So… how should we proceed with the contract?”

“My assistant will stay behind to finalize it. He’s more skilled in contract magic than I am…”

“That sounds good. We prefer a clean transaction as well…”

In such circumstances, prompted by the professor’s gesture to move, I advanced toward the men in suit.

“By the way, what are you planning to do to that woman over the next 3 days?”

“… Well, unless something special comes up, we might as well continue the torture.”

Hearing this, I clenched my teeth and halted my steps.

“Who knows? Maybe if we keep it up, she might blurt out something in English.”

“That would certainly save us some money.”

“So far, we’ve only heard a bunch of bizarre words like ‘shibal,’ ‘saekki,’ ‘jonna’… at first, I thought it was Russian or something! Ha ha…”

At that moment, a man casually murmured while holding a red-hot poker.

- Drip…

A single tear fell from the eyes of the woman tied to the chair, flinching as she observed us with fear and deep-seated despair in her eyes.

“Excuse me.”

“… What is it?”

And that right there, unbeknownst to me, was the reason I had dug my own grave.

“Actually, I know a bit about the language that woman speaks.”

“

Behind me, Professor Moriarty’s lips slowly curled into a frigid smile, but I decided to ignore it.

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“Adler~”

The men prepared a chair for the woman to sit on, eliciting a puzzled expression from the tortured woman. As I also prepared myself to interpret her words, a languid void echoed from beside me.

“… Professor? Haven’t you left yet?”

“Well, it seems we no longer need an interpreter, do we?”

“Ah.”

“And there’s something I’m curious about.”

As she calmly received her whisper, the professor, who had been tilting his head, flashed a smile at me and asked a question.

“How do you know about a language that even I am not aware of?”

“Ah, maybe you know but it’s not clicking in right now…?”

“Adler. Everything in this world has its own probability.”

“Uh…”

“I want an answer that fits the probability accurately.”

I tried to brush off her question, but seeing the professor’s sharp gaze, it seemed that it would be difficult.

“… I am a devil, so I can understand a diverse set of languages? Even ones that may have eluded you, Professor.”

“That’s quite a convenient set-up.”

“Well, what can I do if it’s true? Haha…”

Thus, when I squeezed out a somewhat plausible excuse that fit with the probability of this scenario, the professor, finding it cute somehow, patted my head and whispered.

“… Just out of curiosity, are you planning to charm that lady?”

“Definitely not.”

“I’ll make it clear either way.”

I quickly nodded and straightened myself, myself by the clear note of threat lingering in her voice.

“If you seduce her, I’ll be showing you our child this time next year.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Then, a brief moment of silence ensued.

“If you’re ready, let’s begin.”

In that silence, the man who had been waiting for our conversation to end stepped forward and spoke.

“First, could you ask that lady if she has any intentions of handing over the location of the documents?”

Do you have any intentions of handing over the location of the documents?

As I relayed the message in Korean, a momentary look of confusion flashed across her tired face.

… Who are you?

.........¹

Why is a foreigner speaking in Korean?

As she uttered a longer sentence than usual, the men facing each other began to murmur in low voices.

“Clearly, it seems that he can communicate…”

“Didn’t I tell you already? It’s a very reliable place.”

“… Hey, but what is that lady even saying?”

Then, suddenly turning to me, one of the men asked.

“She’s still too flustered to speak properly…”

“Is that so…?”

As I calmly explained, the man’s gaze turned icy.

- Slap…!

“Ugh…!”

In the next moment,

“Would you please tell her to get her act together and answer properly…?”

With all his might, the man slapped the woman’s cheek, then flashed me a grin as he made his demand.

… I'll ask you once more. Have you no intention of handing over the documents?

You might as well kill me!

Following the brutal slap, I asked her again, only to have a venomous response thrown back at me.

Are you not concerned about your life?

I would rather give up my life than hand over documents that hold the fate of my nation!

They will treat you horrendously, you know.

At the men’s request, I issued another light threat, which prompted her body to start trembling violently.

… It doesn't matter.

Perhaps the torture she had endured so far flashed before her eyes as her complexion swiftly turned pale as a sheet of paper, but her response remained steadfast until the end.

“What does she say?”

“Um…”

The men, having sensed the atmosphere, threw the question at me without much hope.

“… Well, you see.”

I contemplated to myself, observing the woman’s pale, scarred face and the men quietly fondling the tools of torture they held.

“She says she has a condition.”

Finally, I closed my eyes tightly and lied to the men.

“A condition… you say?”

“Yes, that’s what she is saying. I do not know what the condition is though.”

There wasn’t really a particular reason for me to be doing this.

“Hmm…”

“Maybe we should continue the conversation?”

“… Ask what the condition is.”

It was just my capricious heart that had led me to conduct this farce.

What is the condition?

(Listen carefully to what I'm about to say.)

Thus, much like the case in the original episode The Greek Interpreter, I began to add light commentary to the words I was conveying to her.

Warning!

– Probability of being Discovered — 75%

Seeing the system message that appeared before my eyes, I smirked and continued the conversation.

Respond quickly.

(I will help you.)

Ah...?

I had been fired from my previous job because I was unable to choose between good and evil. It seemed to me that something similar was happening right now.

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- Squeak…

Meanwhile, at that moment. As Adler began risking his life, starting his trademark havoc,

“We’ve arrived.”

“Yes, thank you for your efforts.”

In the dangerous back alley where Adler and the rest were located, an incongruously ornate carriage – that did not quite fit the ambience of the location – appeared and began to attract attention.

“Ah, there’s no need for you all to get out.”

“But…!”

“… This is a matter of national importance.”

Soon after, a very familiar face descended from the carriage, supported by her subordinates.

“Furthermore, this is a matter that must be handled by unofficial means.”

“I trust you roughly understand what I mean.”

Mycrony Holmes, with a gentle voice, started moseying along the road with her hands clasped behind her back.

“… By the way, is it just me, or is there a familiar scent of vampires here?”

Her slightly opened eyes, which hadn’t shown signs of alertness for weeks, were now thinly opened, carrying a razor-sharp gling.

1. Silence in Korean, lol

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