"Hmm hmm..."
Following the monster showdown that shook all of London and the abduction of Isaac Adler which occurred shortly thereafter,
In the morning after the series of events had finally concluded, a young girl was sitting at the dining table in the living room, peering out of the window with an anxious expression.
- Ding dong...!
"........!"
An unknown amount of ti went by as she sat there, waiting. Just then, the sound of the doorbell echoed from the entrance, causing her to open her eyes wide and stand up from her seat.
"Ah..."
As she walked, she paused for a mont and began to tidy her appearance in front of a mirror on the wall.
"... Pl-Please, co in."
After ensuring everything was impeccable, to the extent that even the most critical and vain person in existence wouldn’t be able to find any faults in her, she spoke in a ek voice while opening the front door.
- Swoosh...
".......?"
A blond-haired boy peeked inside through the gap. Squinting his eyes, he made a cursory survey of the inside of the house.
"What are you doing, Adler...?"
"Making sure there aren’t any assassins, monsters, or Hols lying in ambush."
"... Do you think that’s possible in my, Gia Lestrade’s, house of all people?"
"Well, if you say it like that."
Only then did the tension in his eyes relax ever so slightly, and the boy, Isaac Adler, stepped inside.
"Why are you overreacting so much?"
"......."
"The witness investigation has already concluded. I heard that there’s another witness who provided a detailed account of the incident, aside from you, of course. Thanks to that, you were deed a one-sided victim."
"... Is that so."
"Of course, there are dozens of lawsuits still pending in the court in your na, for several years now too, but you are not yet in a position to be arrested."
Gia Lestrade quietly observed him as she processed the situation and then silently stared at Adler with a subtle glint in her eyes.
""........""
A strange current soon began flowing between the two.
"I couldn’t ask properly yesterday due to the strange incident and Lupin's involvent, but now I'll ask again at this mont."
"... Go on."
"Are we really... that... in that kind of relationship?"
Caught in the mont, Inspector Lestrade's face montarily flushed as she avoided Adler’s gaze and posed her question.
"By that kind of relationship, you an…?"
"What, what do you think I am referring to."
"......."
"... A marital relationship."
At the sight of her dishevelled look, a far cry from her usual robotic and frigid deanour, Adler, unknowingly, averted his gaze just like her.
"If this is just a lie to tease , or rely a play staged to achieve so sort of purpose, then I suggest that you confess to right now."
".........."
"If you do so, I'll leave your head intact so you can co back to life. Though, I might accidentally crush half of it if I can't control my strength due to anger..."
Lestrade glanced at him and suddenly began to interrogate Adler with a terrifying intensity in her voice and gaze.
"Isaac Adler, are you really married to ?"
"........."
"Am I really, really your wife?"
Blushing, Adler fidgeted with his fingers before pulling a docunt from his coat.
"What's this?"
"I picked up our marriage certificate from the town hall on my way here."
"Ah..."
"What does it say there?"
Lestrade, staring blankly at the docunt Adler handed her, let out a voice that mirrored her stare.
"Spouse, Gia Lestrade..."
"... I brought the family register too, in case you wouldn't believe it. If you still don't believe it, you're welco to check it in other parts of England."
"........"
"Even I can't manipulate an entire national institution now, can I?"
Finishing his words, Adler only stared at her in silence. Quietly, Lestrade lifted her head to et his gaze with a vacant expression.
"... We are now legally married."
"Ah."
"Even officially recognized by the state as a newly married couple."
"Ne-Newlyweds."
"Does it feel real now...?"
Her already flushed face deepened to the hue of a ripe, red apple.
"Ooh..."
"... In that regard, I have a proposal for you."
Adler, who had been staring intently at her, suddenly slid a blank contract that had been under the newspaper towards her.
"A proposal?"
"We draft a detailed contract about our sham marriage."
His head quietly tilted to the side.
"You weren't seriously planning to live a married life with now, were you?"
"That, that is..."
"I am a vile devil intent on taking over London, and Miss Lestrade, you are forced into this marriage to stop ."
"........"
"Knowing the decision you’ve made, I am making this proposal for your convenience."
As Lestrade silently closed her mouth, Adler pulled out a pen from his pocket and began scribbling on the contract, laying out his proposal.
"You must protect above all else, regardless of the circumstances. Moreover, you cannot betray under any circumstances, and you must fully cooperate with in driving out the supernatural beings in London."
"........."
"And this contract will end in one year from now, by mutual divorce."
He had written all that content on one side of the contract and then lifted his head to look at Lestrade and then spoke,
"This is what I ask of you in our contractual marriage, Inspector. Now, it’s your turn to propose any demands you might have."
"... Is that so?"
Suddenly, a complexity of emotions swirled in Lestrade’s eyes, but soon… she started murmuring in a subdued voice,
"I didn't know..."
"Inspector?"
"Never mind. I understand what you are saying."
But soon, her usual cool expression reappeared on her face, and she began speaking with a rigid tone, straightening her back,
"Then, I will now propose my demands."
"Yes."
"From now on, Isaac Adler must look only at and alone."
"......?"
"He shall not flirt with any other woman, nor let his mind wander toward other won."
As Adler was comfortably scribbling the contents with his pen, his eyes widened upon hearing her proposal.
"From now on, all expressions of love and acts of affection must be directed solely to Gia Lestrade, Inspector of the London tropolitan Police. This applies to everything, from casual conversation to physical affection."
"Um..."
"Gia Lestrade promises to accept all these acts obediently without any objections. In return, if Isaac Adler breaches this clause, Gia Lestrade is permitted to inflict physical harm on him."
"Mi, Miss Lestrade..."
Adler had stopped writing by then, but Gia Lestrade had already snatched the pen from his hand and was inserting her demands into the contract.
"Lastly, the ending date of the contract can be extended by mutual agreent, emphasizing the mutual agreent point.”
“... The emphasis on that word makes sowhat uneasy.”
“And the specific clauses can also be modified by mutual agreent. These are all my demands."
After filling the contract thoroughly with her demands, Gia Lestrade finally put down the pen.
"I have decided on this marriage to protect the won of London from you, so if you wish to borrow my strength, you must comply."
"... But, can you handle it?"
Adler began to question her with his eyes narrowed.
"I wonder if Miss Lestrade, no different from an apostle of justice, can endure the sticky affection of a human trash like myself."
"........"
"To , it seems like you wouldn't last a few days before begging to modify the details..."
"... Do as you please."
At his tacky tone, she crossed her arms with a slightly displeased expression.
"For the peace of London, I have no intention of compromising on this clause."
"... Hmm."
Quietly watching her, Adler then picked up the pen and elegantly finished signing himself.
"So, does it start now?"
"It seems so... Hmm?"
And as Lestrade took the pen and engraved her na beneath his, Adler suddenly leaned close to her neck.
- Smack...
"....... !?!?"
As his lips and tongue touched the smooth centre of her pristine neck, Lestrade began to twitch all over, sporting a dazed expression.
"A-Are we starting this already?"
"... If you dislike it, we could just agree to modify the clause."
"Uggh..."
However, following Adler's words, she gritted her teeth, unable to protest.
"Inspector."
"What, what is it?"
"You haven’t even touched a man, let alone have your first kiss, right?"
Adler, holding her chin with his hand, slowly leaned towards Lestrade's lips, which she had unknowingly started to squirm in anxiousness.
"That's..."
"... I’ll take your first kiss, okay?"
At that mont, with a voice sweet enough to paralyze her senses, she felt a heat rising from within as she tightly closed her eyes.
"... You animal."
"... Sister!!"
""........ !?!?""
Suddenly, a familiar yet cheerful voice was heard from behind them.
"Did we have guests?"
""........""
"Hey! It’s Brother Adler!"
As Lestrade's younger sister appeared, grinning and walking towards them with her hands behind her back, the two contractually bound couple quickly separated and started to cough.
.
.
.
.
.
"Brother, what brings you here?"
"Ah, well..."
At that suspiciously perfect timing, Gia Lestrade's younger sister appeared with a beaming smile, heading towards us.
"Sister, please get a grip already."
"Eh?"
"You've been following Adler around for days and even got taken in by the police as a witness in a kidnapping case... Ugh?"
"... Shut your mouth before I sew it shut for you."
Fortunately, it seed she was distracted by the approach of her younger brother, so I leaked out a sighed and turned my attention back to Lestrade.
"... So, you're not here just to unload the desires of half the won in London, on now, are you?"
"......."
"What can I do to help you?"
Then, sighing in the sa manner, Gia Lestrade asked in a stiffer tone.
"That's the thing..."
Seeing her cheeks still slightly flushed, a stark contrast to her usual deanour, which I found quite cute, I pondered what to do next.
Probability Warning!
At that mont, a bright red warning ssage appeared before my eyes, and I imdiately decided what needed to be done.
The following case has the potential to cause a serious probability collapse of the world, in turn leading to its destruction.
CASE: The Creeping Man
"Ah, damn it."
The darkest stain in the Sherlock Hols series. A taboo among Sherlockians. Despite being an official short story from the Sherlock Hols series, it was nothing short of a cheap sci-fi that could be hardly called a mystery.
"... Monsters aren't the problem right now."
"Adler?"
That was my rough assessnt of the episode I now had to overhaul, risking my life.
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