Becoming Professor Moriarty’s Probability

Hey…

Are you sure about this?

As I quietly descended the long staircase leading to the basement of the mansion, a message, scribbled in haste, emerged before my eyes. 

Even after offering the best happy ending I possibly could in your current circumstance, you’re really going to reject it?

“.. .Yes.”

It seemed that the system didn’t agree with my actions, but I had already resolved myself. There was no going back now. 

I don’t, can’t understand this.

“I’m not doing this because I want to be understood.”

Ignoring the system window before my eyes, I walked passed it and trudged along towards my destination. Momentarily hesitating mid-air for a while, the translucent system window soon decided to follow me. 

“………?”

Sensing something odd, I turned around, only to be greeted with the sight of the translucent window pausing mid-air as my gaze landed on it. However, once I shifted my gaze to the front once more, the window started following me once more in a floating trail. 

“… What is it?”

What? I haven’t done anything…

A memory of being stalked in the past came to his mind due to its shady actions, prompting Adler to ask in a tone that was a bit frostier than usual. Hearing his rigid voice, the floating entity displayed some words in a… hastily scribbled and sloppy handwriting. 

“Don’t follow me.”

Are you really going to go down there?

“… How many times must I say it?”

However, as I remained adamant on my choice, the system changed the color of its writing to one of blood red. A warning message. 

If you go down, you’ll die…

“………”

Below those words written in bloody red, an array of probabilities that I possibly could not ignore began to be listed one by one. 

Warning!

– Probability of being Killed — 50%

– Probability of being Devoured — 99%

– Probability of being Turned into an Experimental Subject — 10%

– Probability of a Life Restoration Event occurring in the Future — 0.01%

The contents were goosebump-inducing, to say the least. However, from the moment I declined the surefire happy-ending route, I had already made up my mind to not be swayed by these numbers. 

“… The probabilities you showed me were often off the mark, weren’t they?”

It doesn’t really calculate the immediate likelihood of an event. Rather, it bases it on the possibilities you’ll face at the very end of your road.

“You have endless excuses, don’t you?” 

You designed it that way.

As I replied to the system with a calm and cold expression on my face, it replied back in a font that seemed to be showing the resentment it felt due to my statement. 

Are you sure about reviving the final boss of the game?

In a situation where you’re not even forced by the duty of the sole probability of this world, are you really going to consume your one and only unique life restoration event?

“Umm…”

The system, which had disappeared for a moment, suddenly emerged before my eyes with a glaring question. And… I couldn’t help but look down and sigh at the question thrown my way. 

“… That’s the thing.”

My eyes were drawn to the professor, her lifeless body cradled in my arms in a princess carry, and immediately, memories of the past began to surface in my mind one by one. 

Among them, the one I most vividly recalled was the contents of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, a collection of short stories in the Sherlock Homes saga. The moment I first read through The Final Problem included in that anthology,

“There’s a good reason for it.”

Perhaps… the decision I was about to make had already been decided from that very moment. 

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If asked why people were so fascinated by the Sherlock Holmes series, numerous answers would likely emerge.

The mysteries, with a near-endless supply of dramatic twists— still considered intriguing even from a modern perspective. A comprehensive cast of unending characters— vivid and lifelike from all angles. 

Or perhaps, it was the catharsis one would obtain from seeing the obscure and irrational cases being neatly solved through crisp logic and an ability of deduction that was almost on the level of foresight. 

But among everything, the overwhelmingly popular response would be the charm of the protagonist itself— the great Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes, just who was this man? 

The very epitome of what it meant to be a detective, that was what he was. He was the godfather of the detective archetype, influencing nearly all, if not all, detective characters that came after him. 

Moreover, he was considered one of the most adapted characters in the film industry— arguably, the man ranked amongst the most successful creations to have ever been brought to light. 

Recalling the comical incidents that befell Arthur Conan Doyle when Holmes was killed off in the works, one could come to an understanding, and appreciation, of just how much fans loved and were practically enthralled by Sherlock Holmes.

And that was true for me as well. Particularly since I had encountered the eponymous series during a particularly rough patch of my life. 

Although the memories had become rather hazy these days, the bleak emotions I felt at that disheartening time of my life were still enough to send shivers of dread down my very spine. 

After all, how heartbroken must a child actor – who neither wanted to act the role he got, nor did seek the unwanted attention that was perpetually placed on him – have been to have lost his entire family in a traffic accident on the way to the set?

The Sherlock Holmes series that I had chanced upon in the hospital, recommended by one of the few friends who had visited me in those dark times, may not have been enough to change my life in its entirety… but it had certainly been enough to help me survive through those dark and miserable times. 

Thus, it was only natural for me to become deeply engrossed in the novels that had offered me so much solace. Eventually, as one would expect, I turned into an ardent fan of the titular character— Sherlock Holmes.

Excluding my personal history, I probably didn’t have much difference from any other Sherlockian up to that point.

However, on a fateful day… as my discharge approached ever closer, the moment I completed The Final Problem in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes anthology…

That was the moment I had become a bit different from your average Sherlockian. 

It was probably the moment when the Sherlock Holmes series utterly shook my life, turning it upside down in its entirety.

Since… unlike ordinary fans who mourned the death of Sherlock Holmes and vehemently cursed the sudden appearance of Professor Moriarty…

I was completely captivated by the newly introduced character… captivated by the enigmatic Professor Moriarty… captivated to such an extent that, it shook the very foundation on which Sherlock Holmes had taken root in my heart. 

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“… I suppose I am quite the strange man, Professor.”

Standing in a daze, lost in my idle recollection, I eventually began walking forward once more. Looking down, I gently caressed the now cold and lifeless cheeks of Professor Jane Moriarty with my hand.

“Though I favor the role of a consulting detective, it seems that I have taken a liking for the role of a criminal consultant as well.”

When I first read through the scene at Reichenbach Falls… where Holmes and Professor Moriarty met their mutual demise, I was deeply shocked.

The translated editions of the Sherlock Holmes series my friend had brought for me were missing several key stories, including The Adventure of the Empty House— the  historical chapter where Sherlock Holmes shocked everyone with his return. So at the time, I truly believed that the series had come to an end. 

However, the shock did not manifest as sorrow or anger as it did for the typical readers of the series.

The criminal mastermind who had utterly outdone the always impeccable Sherlock Holmes and even forced him to flee to Europe with Watson… 

I found myself completely overwhelmed by the charisma and terrifying atmosphere the villainous character exuded throughout the work, and I began to yearn to see him hunt down the forces of justice. 

“At first, it was clearly awe.”

Even now, I was not quite sure why I felt such emotions… 

Perhaps to me, who had always been a victim of crime since my childhood, the existence of an Invincible Criminal Consultant was both a source of fear and an object of admiration.

Or perhaps because my inherent nature was a shade of gray, a mix of black and white, as I moved between two parallel lines. 

“… Now it’s clear, it’s not awe any longer.”

Nevertheless, in the end, I still preferred the role of the Invincible Consulting Detective. I was so happy to see Holmes returning in The Adventure of the Empty House a few months later that I quite literally cried.

However, a dark corner of my heart, forged from my endless childhood trauma, had always been occupied by the criminal consultant who had overwhelmed and shaken me to my core. 

Perhaps this was why I voluntarily took on the role of consultant— a role shunned by many due to the blurring lines between good and evil in an organization that operated in the darkness but aspired for the light, just a few years back.

Maybe that was also the reason I ended up taking on the role of story consultant at a gaming company I joined after being unemployed from my role as a consultant of that company. 

“Reluctantly, I kept denying it because it reminded me of my past traumas.”

In any case, the conclusion I was able to reach was quite simple. 

“… It seems I like villains as much as heroes.”

I was an entity of half white and half black, half good and half evil— a rather dualistic being if I say so myself. 

Looking at my irises which now had different colors, it seemed that I had an equal fondness for both characters. That explained why I had come to have such a disposition.

“Now that I think about it, this does make me seem like a trashy bastard, right?”

It sounded a bit dubious, like proudly straddling the fence, but wasn’t this still better than just liking villains over heroes as my old friend did? 

Hey…

Scratching my head as I had those fleeting thoughts… I saw that the system window, which had been spinning around me for a while already, had sent me a message with a sense of urgency in the writing. 

Are you really sure you want to die instead of the final boss?

Wait, is that even allowed?

Seeing an archaic door that started coming into my view from beyond the screen, it seemed like the entity running the system had become quite desperate by now. 

But why was this thing making such a fuss?

Until recently, the system had pretended to not have any self-awareness and donned a very monotone and business-like attitude when dealing with me. But why was it suddenly acting like this now? 

Then who will play word chain with me?

“… Didn’t you say that was boring?”

Lost in thought and looking at the screen before me with a befuddled expression, a message soon appeared after a brief silence. 

Never mind.

Do whatever you want, however you want.

With those brief words, the entity along with the system window completely vanished from my sight, drifting into the unknown void. 

“………”

Somehow, I felt uneasy by its last words… but there was nothing I could do about it now.

“… Just wait a little more, Professor.”

It was time to punish the bitch who had the audacity to assassinate the Queen I swore to follow. 

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– Squeak…

A short while later…

– Bang!!!

The old basement door opened with a creak. And… as soon as Adler entered through the door, a silver bullet was fired straight at him, evidently waiting for this very moment to be shot. 

– Fizzle…

However, Adler, with a cold gaze, lightly waved his hand. And with that gesture, the bullet, blocked mid-air, quietly fell to the ground and rolled away from his sight. 

“… Oh my. I thought you were unable to use magic currently.”

– Hiss…

“It looks like you have made some preparations of your own, this time around.”

In front of Adler, who spewed out smoke tinged with a golden aura, stood a rather frail-looking woman. She had disheveled hair, was donned in a coat, and had a sickening smile on her pale lips as she looked at Adler with clear intrigue.

“… Dr. Frankenstein.”

“Welcome to my laboratory.”

As Adler spoke her name, the woman, smiling brightly, spread her arms wide to both sides.

“””………..””””

Behind her, in the darkness that stretched infinitely, the gleaming eyes of countless grotesque creatures began to flicker.

“Why don’t you come and lie down over here first?”

“… I’ll pass.”

And… at that moment, Adler’s radiant golden aura started tinging with shades of gray and black, mixing into his very being.

“I have someone I need to kill right now.”