The severed ridian brings silver hair without the passage of ti.
–British Proverb
The next mont, Watson quickly stepped back to create distance.
A speed reminiscent of a cockroach.
I understood the surprise, but it was a sha that her innate dignity was rendered pointless by that movent.
“Ugh, ugh…”
Watson was panting heavily, having moved recklessly without considering the condition of her legs.
“Rest assured. The maid has gone out shopping, and Mrs. Hudson is knitting while playing music on the phonograph on the first floor. I’ve also locked the door beforehand.”
“……”
Watson glared at cautiously for a while, but eventually spoke again, seemingly resigned.
“…Since when did you know?”
“From the first day we t. But for now, please have a seat. You seem quite flustered, seeing as even your face-changing technique has unraveled.”
As I spoke, Watson looked at the nearby mirror and made a startled expression.
“Sigh…”
Watson sank back into the sofa, burying that small fra.
Her face, now stripped of the fake mustache, was unmistakably that of a mysterious young woman.
“I’m not sure where to begin explaining…”
It wasn’t my place to reveal a secret as sensitive as a lady’s age, but this ti there was truly no other choice.
We had to live together in this boarding house, and keeping secrets from each other was not ideal.
Most importantly, without discussing this issue together in advance, I couldn’t defuse the bomb Watson was holding.
“There’s no need to explain. I can roughly guess the circumstances.”
Watson looked at with wide eyes.
“Even though it’s a rare symptom, when half of your hair turns silver at that age, there’s only one answer.”
I hesitated to say this but decided to speak again.
“You are suffering from Nine Yin-Qi Nails.”
Nine Yin-Qi Nails is a unique condition where strong Yin energy congeals like thick nails, obstructing the Eight Extraordinary ridians. Those born with this condition often don’t live long and die prematurely.
“You must have studied dicine to sohow fix your short-lived constitution. Joining the army, was it your parents’ wishes too?
Being among n full of Yang energy must have been seen as a way to slow the progression of the condition.”
Watson was dumbfounded for a while, then slowly nodded.
“…There was no other way. To treat Nine Yin-Qi Nails, you need an elixir with strong Yang energy, but our family wasn’t wealthy enough to afford that.”
Indeed, this explains why Watson showed such a deep interest in elixirs.
“But how did you find out so much about ? Did you investigate behind my back?”
“Of course not. I figured it out through observation and deduction, as usual.”
Watson remained steadfast, maintaining the composed deanor of a British gentleman even when her true gender was revealed.
I, too, regarded her as a colleague rather than the opposite sex, maintaining my usual deanor.
“Haha… If anyone other than you had said that, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
“I’m honored. Can I take it as a sign of trust?”
“…For now, you may think so.”
As expected, Watson did not pursue the matter of leaving her on the roof overnight any further.
Of course, that wasn’t the sole purpose of bringing it up, but it was ti to move on to the next topic.
“So, why did you bring it up? If you knew from the start, you could have continued pretending not to know.”
A voice tinged with resentnt and embarrassnt.
I had to make it clear that I had no intention of mocking her.
“There is a reason, of course.”
“…Tell what you plan to do with .”
“Goodness. Didn’t you just say you trust ?”
“I didn’t know you were a man who couldn’t understand jokes.”
Watson replied quite cunningly and continued speaking.
“Treat as a man, as you always have. It’s all to improve this cursed ridian deficiency.”
“Of course, I plan to do that. So, the reason I talked about your secret today is—”
I removed the letter envelope I had kept in my pocket and handed it to Watson.
“It’s because of this invitation.”
“This is…”
Watson picked up a letter opener and carefully opened the envelope.
The mont she took out the invitation and checked it, a question mark appeared on her face.
“A masquerade ball?”
“That’s exactly it.”
Watson tilted her head, seemingly not understanding what I was thinking.
“Why a ball all of a sudden?”
“If you look at the seal, you’ll see that what you’re holding is an invitation to a masquerade ball sponsored by the Wenham Lake Ice Company.”
“I’ve heard of it. Isn’t it the place where the young successors of each sect and prestigious families make their debut in society?”
This ball, sponsored by the Wenham Company and The Royal Combat Society, is a historic gathering where the young successors of each sect and clan et, interact, and find partners.
The gathering was more commonly known as the Debutante Ball.
“What does this have to do with , to cause such a fuss?”
“Read the invitation to the end.”
I snatched the invitation from Watson’s still puzzled hands and held it up to her face.
“…Select the most outstanding man and woman at the ball to receive the inner core of the Unicorn Salamander—”
Watson grabbed the invitation back from my hand and read the last line repeatedly.
“It’s the Ultimate Steroid1 that you need.”
The Unicorn Salamander is a mythical reptile with a horn on its head, and its inner core contains potent Yang energy.
In other words, attending the ball ant Watson could obtain the elixir she so desperately desired.
“Then to get this…”
A face full of hope.
Now that she knows this, she will surely accept any difficult request I make.
“I’m sorry to ask such a favor just after promising to treat you as a gentleman, but there’s no other way, so please understand.”
With the most serious expression I could muster, I gazed into Watson’s eyes and continued.
“Would you be my partner and attend the ball with ?”
Watson sat down with a reluctant expression.
“You want to attend the Debutante Ball? As your partner?”
“Exactly.”
“…Would you give a mont to think, Hols?”
“Take all the ti you need.”
Watson’s expression was as serious as could be.
It seed she was quite shocked by the fact that I had noticed her gender.
“A ball, you say? I’ve never attended one in my life.”
Ah, it wasn’t that; she was nervous at the thought of attending a ball for the first ti.
A relief. I half expected her to storm out of the boarding house the mont her secret was uncovered.
“Everyone has a first ti.”
“…You seem to be enjoying this.”
“It’s just your imagination.”
Just in case, I turned my head for a mont and saw my face in the mirror, showing a calm expression.
“If you obtain the internal core as a gift, you can partially cure your ridian blockage.”
“Is that…really true?”
Watson still seed doubtful.
I understood her feelings. Treating Nine Yin-Qi Nails wasn’t sothing that could be done with just any elixir containing Yang energy.
The treatnt of the ridian blockage requires a completely different thod of breath control, and if the person leading the True energy infusion lacks proper knowledge, it could hasten the patient’s demise.
Watson is a doctor.
Even if I claid to know more about Nine Yin-Qi Nails than she does, it would be hard for her to believe since my specialty is not dicine.
But seeing is believing.
Once she receives the treatnt, she will eventually trust .
“Do I look like soone who would joke with your life?”
“Hmm…”
“My goodness. What have you thought of until now?”
“Rest assured, I’ve never once thought that. I was just marveling at the depth and breadth of your knowledge.”
Watson is an excellent doctor who honed her dical skills in hospitals and on the battlefield, but when it cos to ridian blockage, there’s no one in London who can match .
The sa year I published a paper on 140 types of tobacco ash, I began writing a paper on ridian blockage.
And earlier this year, I uncovered the truth behind a murder case disguised as a ridian blockage seizure.
If the knowledge I obtained through my master’s manuscripts is combined with the actual experience of treating Watson, it will be possible to publish a paper by the ti the ridian disorder is completely cured.
“In that case, would you mind telling what is making you so anxious?”
“…It’s embarrassing, but ever since I joined the military, I’ve not worn a dress or any won’s clothing.”
“Aha. You’re worried that your body asurents might have changed due to repeated training.”
It was a quite normal concern.
As a gentleman, it seems necessary to reassure Watson.
“Don’t worry, your height and build are smaller and slimr than the average London lady, so there’s no need to worry that the clothes won’t fit―”
-Thud!
“That’s not what I ant!”
“Then what are you so worried about?”
“Never mind. I’d rather die than explain to you.”
“Die? Is that sothing a ridian disorder patient should be saying?”
“That is…”
Watson sharply turned her head, seemingly unable to find a counterargunt.
Seeing her extrely white nape blushing, she seed aware of how foolish her words just were.
“Anyway, if we miss this opportunity, there won’t be any way to obtain an elixir of that caliber for a while.”
“I suppose so…”
Although Watson’s ridian disorder treatnt was cited as the reason, if things go smoothly, there will be two inner cores obtainable from the Debutante Ball.
If I consu one of them, it will significantly help in regaining the power slumbering in the Mind Palace.
I’ve already experienced how the cases solved before the regression have evolved in London Murim, threatening both Watson and myself.
As long as the criminals in this world use martial arts, I cannot stop pursuing a higher level in order to capture them.
From my observations so far, in this world, social status and martial arts skills often correlate. Much as how Her Majesty the Queen is a master in the Unrestrained realm.
Of course, this is speculation, and there are exceptions everywhere.
There may be those with strong power despite low status, and conversely, those of high status who cannot handle martial arts.
However, as soone contributing to maintaining order in London and as a ti-traveling returnee, I needed to consider the worst-case scenario.
What if Professor Jas Moriarty, the top figure in the European cri world and my arch-nesis, is a peerless master with power befitting his influence?
Can I defeat him with the half-baked power I currently possess?
“I know it’s a rare opportunity. But no matter how much so, I need to prepare myself. , attending a ball… Good heavens”
“I understand how you feel.”
If I push too hard, it might burden Watson.
In a few days, she will co to the right decision.
If not, it ans I was expecting too much from the Watson in this world.
“And Hols, although it’s unrelated to the ball, there’s sothing I’d like to ask you.”
Watson paused briefly before continuing.
TL/N: Ultimate Steroid refers to the ultimate Yang item ️
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