Becoming Professor Moriarty's Probability

0% - Tut, step...

“.......?”

As I stood there, dazed, watching the children I had only ever glimpsed in dreams gaze up at me with curious expressions, I belatedly sensed someone’s presence behind me.

“... Ah.”

Instinctively, I turned my head to see who it was, and immediately tensed up, cautiously watching the person approaching me.

“... Professor.”

There she was – Professor Moriarty – looking down at me with the same expression of disbelief she had since I reunited with her.

“Uh, um... well...”

What was I supposed to say?

This was the face I had missed so much that it had kept me awake at night, and yet, now that she was standing before me, I couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

“... Adler.”

She spoke first, her voice trembling slightly, as I hesitated and fumbled for words.

“Is it really... you, Adler?”

“........”

“Truly?”

Her golden eyes quivered as she asked, as if on the verge of spilling tears at any moment.

“Well, you see...”

Honestly, I couldn’t quite grasp this situation.

I’d seen her cry a few times in the nightmares of the real world, but standing here now, seeing her like this in person, left me stunned.

Professor Moriarty... crying? Making an expression like this?

It almost felt like the version of her I knew had been stripped away.

“Uh... yes.”

Still, I couldn’t just remain silent forever, so I nodded quietly, trying to gauge her reaction.

“... You can tell by looking into my eyes, can’t you?”

I added, pointing to my right eye, still dyed grey even after returning to my real world.

- Thud!

“Keuhk.”

Without warning, the professor dropped to her knees and wrapped me tightly in her arms.

“Kulluk, kullu... um...”

Unlike before, I was now practically an ordinary person, so even a simple hug made it hard for me to breathe.

“Professor...”

I tried to gently push her away while nervously stealing glances at her, but when I finally met her gaze, I froze.

- Drip...

Her tears – tears I never thought I’d see from her – were streaming down her face.

I had assumed she wouldn’t actually cry, even when she had seemed on the verge of it earlier, but here she was, truly shedding tears.

Even though I’d seen this in my dreams, nay nightmares, a few times, I was completely at a loss.

“D-Don’t cry, Professor...”

Perhaps that’s why – despite wanting to console her – that was all I could manage to say, sounding like an utter fool.

I had never been good at comforting others, to begin with.

And comforting the professor who, until just a few years ago, I couldn’t even imagine feeling emotions? That was an even more daunting task.

- Slide...

For reasons I couldn’t quite understand, I found myself pulling her into an embrace.

“... Professor Moriarty.”

“Hic, sniff...”

“Have I kept you waiting too long?”

I didn’t know why, but it felt like the only thing I could do.

“I’m so sorry for leaving you behind and disappearing.”

As I whispered those words and gently patted her back, she slowly lifted her head from where it had been buried against my chest, her tear-streaked face looking up at me.

“Ah...”

Only then did I realise, just as in a certain dream I once had, that her eyes had turned a brilliant golden hue.

They were the same eyes that had, for so long, maintained their dignified grey even when she obsessed and yearned over possessing me for herself.

But now, as I gazed at those eyes, now overlaid with my colour, my heart ached inexplicably.

... So, you’ve finally realised, haven’t you?

I had thought she might never realise it in her entire life.

The fearsome dragon, unmatched in her ferocity, had finally come to understand the meaning of love.

And the ultimate reason for that is...

“Kyaaung...”

“Uunng...”

As I wiped away the endless stream of tears flowing from her eyes, that thought lingered in my mind— until disgruntled babbling sounds came from near my feet.

“Ah...”

Lowering my gaze to follow the noise, I was suddenly jolted back to reality.

“”........?””

There they were, two tiny children, already so unbearably adorable and beautiful it was almost unfair, squinting up at me from the floor with curious frowns.

“Professor, these children... they’re...”

My voice trembled slightly as I looked at them, then turned to the professor with a questioning glance.

“Yes... that’s right.”

Before I could even finish my sentence, her reply came, thick with emotion and tears.

“They’re your children...”

Of course. Even just looking at the colour of their hair and the gleam of their eyes, it was obvious.

I had only asked because the reality of it still felt so far away.

“Yours and mine, our children...”

But as the professor lifted them up, tears mingling with a soft smile on her face, that reality slowly began to sink into me, seeping into every corner of my being.

“... Do you want to hold them?”

These weren’t just any children— they were my children.

The ones who carried both my blood and hers, our genes flowing equally through them.

The most precious beings in the world to me, so priceless that even the thought of them being hurt felt unbearable.

With that dawning realisation, I reached out and carefully took the children from her, cradling them gingerly in my arms.

“Da!”

“Dada!”

They giggled brightly, tugging at my cheeks with their tiny hands, as if this was the happiest moment of their lives.

“So, I’m... their dad.”

“........”

“... And the professor is their mum.”

As that fact settled in, an almost paralysing fear suddenly gripped me. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Would London be a good place for the children? Should we move somewhere else, maybe even emigrate?

What about their education? Should I steer them away from the same path the professor walked?

Could I ever truly be a good father to them?

“... Adler.”

As I stared blankly down at the children, lost in my thoughts, the professor’s voice – now calm and steady – snapped me back to my senses.

“Ah.”

At some point, she had composed herself and was now gazing at me with that familiar, impassive expression of hers.

“S-Sorry...”

It struck me then. In the urgency of the situation, I had completely overlooked something crucial.

Sure, I was the victim in some ways, but that didn’t change the fact that I was the scumbag that had abandoned the professor – pregnant, no less – for two years and several months.

I wasn’t there for her during childbirth, nor did I even properly say goodbye when I left.

In short, she had every right to snap my neck in half right now, and it would still be considered justifiable.

“I’m sorry... truly.”

With a slightly pale face, I offered her a feeble apology, my voice barely above a whisper as I glanced nervously at her.

“I mean... I shouldn’t have tried to resolve things the way I did, but...”

“... Isaac.”

But the words that came from the professor’s lips, after two long years of separation, weren’t scolding me for where I’d been. Nor were they questioning the choices I’d made, or expressing resentment for the loneliness she must have felt without me. I couldn’t even begin to understand the depth of her loneliness, to be honest. She didn’t say anything about that.

“I love you.”

What she said was simply those words.

“I love you— so, so much.”

Even in during our brief yet intense relationship, it was something the professor had never been able to say with such honesty.

“So much that if you weren’t here before my eyes, I’d be consumed by agony so unbearable, I’d burn the entire world to ashes before ending it all and myself.”

It was a confession brimming with absolute sincerity.

“I love you, Isaac Adler.”

Our reunion reached its crescendo as she whispered those words, sealing them with her lips pressed against mine.

.

.

.

.

.

And who knows how much time had passed after that, I certainly didn’.

“... Excuse me. Are you two done now?”

“”.........””

As I finally gasped for air, my breath sticky-sweet from being tangled with the professor’s tongue, a curt voice broke through from behind us.

“Then it’s about time we start coming up with a plan.”

“... Holmes?”

Charlotte stood there, arms crossed, looking down at us with an icy glare as she spoke.

“That monster we barely managed to seal away for just 20 to 30 years, even with all of us working together.”

For a moment, seeing her like this reminded me of how she was years ago, which oddly put me at ease. But that comfort quickly dissipated as her following words sank in.

“He said it himself— once he breaks free from the seal, Adler, he’ll be coming straight for you.”

“That’s... true, isn’t it?”

“Which means we need to prepare. But the problem is...”

“... That my father’s abilities surpass anything we can imagine.”

Cutting into Charlotte’s words, the professor muttered with a similarly grim expression.

“Honestly, if not for the children, I could’ve fought him on even footing this time. But... if he emerges again after amassing his strength for another 20 years...”

“... Then a monster we can barely stand against, even together, will reappear in London.”

And then, all at once, everyone’s gaze turned toward me.

“And that monster will target Adler first.”

“So, the solution is...”

Just as their gazes began to darken once more,

Would you like to know the solution?

“......!”

It’s actually quite simple.

Suddenly, a message from the system appeared before my eyes.

What... what is it?

What else could it be?

Who is the only person capable of defeating James Moriarty?

As I asked with renewed hope in my eyes, the system, uncharacteristically kind, began to respond.

... Sherlock?

Exactly.

But Sherlock doesn’t exist in this world!

I had made sure of it— once, out of desperation, I had ordered my subordinates to scour all of London, but there wasn’t a single detective or investigator by the name of Sherlock.

In this world, after all, the role of Sherlock Holmes belonged to none other than Charlotte Holmes, standing right behind me.

So how the hell was I supposed to summon Sherlock?

This is your final task as this world’s probability.

Fix the bug that prevents Sherlock Holmes from appearing in a game based on the Sherlock Holmes series.

Wait, what? How?

Fix it.

No, but how am I supposed to fix that?

I asked again, my confusion growing, only for the system to deliver its reply with unwavering firmness.

Oh, I misspoke. Get it fixed.

“......?”

If Sherlock doesn’t exist, then create him.

My face grew steadily paler as Charlotte, the professor, and the other women gathered in the office observed me with sharp, scrutinising eyes.

... So, does that mean I just need to do it with Charlotte? Since she’s technically Sherlock Holmes?

Warning! – Probability of being Gangbanged — 100%

You must face your karma.

“... Fucking hell.”