Becoming Professor Moriarty's Probability

- Craaaaaaaash...!

“KAAAAAAAAAH!!”

“P-People... falling from the sky...”

Early in the morning, the people strolling through the streets of London screamed out loud upon seeing a girl suddenly crash into the sidewalk from the sky.

“Oww...”

Yet, despite having fallen from a great height, due to a malfunction in her thrusters, she appeared surprisingly unharmed.

- Whoosh...

“... Heh, won’t get fooled again.”

Having already been intercepted by Inspector Lestrade from the sky and sustaining severe injuries before, Lupin had equipped an air cushion as a precaution for the fall.

- Flick...!

“Ah, waiiiit...”

But before she could fully relish the success of her precaution, compressed air bullets penetrated through the billowing dust at terrifying speeds.

“Isn’t it a bit much to do this in broad daylight on the main street...”

Lupin had thought that her pursuers would retreat momentarily due to the bystanders surrounding them. But she was only left baffled by the killing intent directed at her still and deployed card after card at her attackers.

- Crackle... Fizzzz...

Their attacks collided in mid-air, creating sounds akin to detonating bombs.

“Hey... kid. What’s all this about? Are you one of Adler’s minions? Or is there something you want?”

“........”

“Should I give you some candy? Or maybe some gold and jewellery? Just say the word, and I’ll give you anything, so why don’t you just stop this nonsense, hmm?”

Amidst the exploding shards of her cards, Lupin could spot sparkling azure eyes staring at her with an indifferent gaze. Cold sweat dripped down her face at the sight as she opened her mouth and spoke.

“The thing you’re holding in your hand.”

“... What?”

She was given a simple response from the distance.

“Hand it over to me, and I’ll spare your life.”

“The kid’s good at jokes, huh?”

Frowning, Lupin spoke with a smirk.

“You should go back and suckle at your mother’s breast for another ten years.”

“Is that so?”

Then, a young voice tinged with slight mockery came again from the front.

“But by that time, how old will you be?”

“..........”

At that straightforward hit right at her insecurities, Lupin showed a flustered expression, quite unusual for her.

- Fizzing...!

The dust cloud surrounding her slightly reddened, and soon sparks began arcing around her.

“Gruh...”

In the next moment, a wave of red flames engulfed her.

“... Are you seriously about to cause such havoc in broad daylight just for a piece of paper?”

Narrowly, Lupin escaped the deadly spell somehow. However, now she was surrounded by flames with no way to retreat.

“Everyone’s lost their minds.”

“Good, you’ve bought us some time.”

Then, from beyond the flames, Princess Clay spoke with a relaxed smile on her lips.

“Well done. I’ll give you a candy when we get back.”

“... I’m not a kid.”

As she patted Moran’s head standing next to her, expressing admiration in a low voice, Moran sternly slapped away the Princess’s hand with a snarl.

“Tsk, no manners at all.”

“......”

“Anyway, you there. Hand the paper over.”

With a look of annoyance, the Princess quickly turned her head and coldly ordered Lupin.

“I won’t say it twice. Give it to me before the other bitches arrive. If you don’t hand it over before I count to three, I’ll just burn that piece of paper...”

- Swish...

“... Eh?”

But she was soon dumbfounded momentarily when Lupin readily presented the paper to her, a bit too readily in fact.

- Whoosh...!

“... Even though you have a bad habit of stealing the possession of others, you at least know the value of life.”

Yet, that moment was fleeting, as the Princess swiftly snatched the contract Lupin was holding out.

“Hmph... None of them can compare to me. I have royal blood flowing through my veins, after all...”

As she briefly gazed down at the contract, red mana circled at the tip of her fingers, a smirk lingering on her face.

“Well, it’s rather obvious who will be chosen...”

- Click...

But just before her fingers could reach the fourth signature line.

“... What?”

A cold muzzle was pointed at the Princess’ temple.

“Even if you’re a vampire, having your head blown up would surely pose a significant problem for you, I’d wager.”

“You...”

“Put it down.”

Moran, her eyes colder than arctic ice, pointed her signature gun at the Princess’ head; her voice a whisper of death and chaos.

“I tried to be lenient because you’re young, but it seems you’re still blind...”

“I told that thief earlier, but when I turn 20, how old will you be?”

“Such a brazen little bitch. I’m a vampire. I don’t grow old.” 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“But you still age, don’t you?”

Thus began a tense standoff between the princess and Moran.

“... Will you pull the trigger faster? Or will I burn you with the blood flames surrounding us faster, hmm?”

“I’m not sure. Shall we test it out?”

As the standoff was rapidly accelerating toward a surefire catastrophe,

- Swish...

Quietly observing the situation, Lupin suddenly started pulling a card from her pocket.

“... What’s this?”

“Hey, don’t move.”

However, Princess Clay and Moran were no ordinary talents, and Lupin’s suspicious actions were discovered in less than a fraction of a second.

“Hey, you see...”

Amid the tense situation, Lupin suddenly started speaking with a brazen look on her face.

“Do you guys really think the contract you have is the real deal?”

“”.........””

“Who knows? Maybe what I gave was fake, and perhaps the real one is still with me?”

Her words made Adler’s two henchwomen scowl at her immediately.

“Don’t talk nonsense. You didn’t even have time to make a counterfeit.”

“Well, if you don’t trust my words then, why not sign it and find out?”

Lupin looked at them with a fairly relaxed expression, murmuring in a soft voice.

“Whether the contract is real...”

A gleam shimmered in Lupin’s eyes as she continued speaking.

- Swoosh...!

“... or fake!”

Abruptly, Lupin spread her cloak and blocked herself from view before shouting at the top of her lungs.

“T-The contract was really fake...?”

Immediately, the contract in the princess’s hand turned into the ace of spades with a puff of smoke, making Moran mutter in a hollow voice.

“... No, it’s a switcheroo!”

“Ah...”

“What are you staring blankly for!? Shoot!!”

Being the fourth smartest in London might not have been an exaggeration, as the Princess immediately understood what had happened and shouted urgently.

- Bang...!

“... Argh!”

Shooting immediately, Moran’s compressed air bullet penetrated Lupin’s defensive cloak and precisely hit her hand.

- Thud...

Due to this, Lupin, who had just managed to imprint the letter A on the contract, dropped it and slumped to the ground, clutching her hand.

“Next time it’ll be your left hand.”

“There’s no way out anyway. Hand over the contract, and I’ll extinguish the flames, so you better hand it over properly this time.”

The deck of cards on her waist also spilt into the ground in the aftermath. Promptly, Moran and the Princess began threatening her as she sat there.

“Ha, haha...”

“”.........?””

“Ahahahahaha...”

Yet for some reason, despite being in such dire straits, Lupin cackled in a manic fit.

“What’s so funny...”

“... Do you like treasure hunts?”

Flicking her fingers lightly, she muttered in a low voice.

- Flutter, flutter...

Immediately after, the numerous cards scattered on the ground, all copying the appearance of Adler’s contract, fluttered away with the wind.

“Ughhh...!”

In the following moment,

“No!!”

- Whirr...!

The contracts burst through the flames and soared high into the sky, dispersing across London.

“One of those is real.”

As that bizarre event began to stir murmurs among the citizens, Lupin, now free from the flames and facing the citizens, started muttering with a cold smile on her lips.

“Try to find it if you can...”

The moment she finished speaking, a brief silence fell over the area.

And just seconds later,

- Rumble...

Exactly half of the women gathered there, eyes aflame, started scattering in all directions like the wind.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you going to search for it?”

“That damn baguette bastard...”

“... Damn it!”

In less than a few hours, London had transformed into the venue for the largest treasure hunt competition in all of history.

.

.

.

.

.

“Ha ha...”

Meanwhile,

“... Is Britain really going to be alright like this?”

After being beaten black and blue by three women due to his heinous crimes, Isaac Adler, bound all over with silver chains, was imprisoned in the professor’s basement.

Will it be okay? Are you seriously asking that? Britain is already ruined!

“Uh...”

Having become the prize of the greatest treasure hunt in the history of the British Empire, he grimaced with a bitter smile and shifted his gaze to the side.

“... Then, it’s time to proceed with the next plan.”

His lips curling, Adler took a deep breath...

“Poppy!!”

Before shouting at the top of his lungs.

“... Woof!”

In the blink of an eye, his faithful Hound of the Baskervilles, eyes glowing eerie blue, sprang from Adler’s shadow.

“Do me one favour, ok?”

“Haaah, haaaaah...”

Then, the creature bared its belly to Adler, sticking out its tongue and wagging its tail wildly.

“If you do as told, I’ll play with you every day for a month just the way you want.”

The creature’s innocent expression slowly gleamed intelligently upon hearing Adler’s words.

“Can you do it?”

Adler was unable to see the shift in the creature’s expression, as he could only see it as his faithful hound. So, he crinkled his eyes and asked again with a grin.

“... Haaaah♥︎”

“Right, good boy...”