Emily Hunts Monsters - Chapter 28
Inside the drawing room of a villa owned by the Moriarty family.
The colorful, luxurious furniture, popular during the Georgian era, was eye-catching. The sun shone down on the beautiful man sitting by the window.
He opened his mouth, and a mellow voice came out.
“…Mr. Tillman was doomed to have a short life.”
He was talking about one of his acquaintances, but that wasn’t the point. What was the real intention of bringing that up?
“How awful.” I gazed at the handsome man sitting across from me. Blond hair as lovely as the furniture in this room. A face that was very good-looking for a man.
“I agree, ma’am… How beautiful and ephemeral a man’s life is when he knows his time is short.”
The archenemy of Sherlock Holmes and Back-alley King, Baron James Moriarty.
His smile was very sweet, and his eyes seemed to tempt anyone who looked at them. Most girls would blush if they saw such an expression.
For me, it wasn’t any different from appreciating good decorations.
“To be honest, it’s not as beautiful as you think.”
“Oh?”
“A person should live in the moment, desperately I mean. That time should be spent living life to the fullest.”
James Moriarty stared at me silently before saying softly, “Emily, you seem well-acquainted with the subject, no?”
“That’s…” Recalling the King in Yellow’s reminder that there were 72 days left before the end of the world, I continued, “Maybe it’s because I also have limited time.”
“You? Surely you jest.”
“I know when the end will come.”
“I’m intrigued. When is it?”
I was wondering for a long time why he sent me an invitation. That sharp gaze I experienced at McMerrin’s shop, which seemed to pierce my back…
There was only one reason.
“Right now. At this very moment,” I answered, looking him in the eye.
James sighed as if he heard something ridiculous. Then, his expression suddenly changed.
With a much more mischievous smile, he said, “…When, I wonder, did you figure that out?”
Moriarty took out a pistol from his inner coat pocket and aimed it at me. He had a satisfied smile on his face.
I wouldn’t show the response he wanted. “Oh, now you’re finally cutting to the chase, Moriarty?”
He seemed a little surprised by my nonchalance in front of a gun. “I didn’t expect this reaction.”
Seeing him chuckle helplessly, I immediately said, “I never imagined you’d invite someone and point a pistol at them.”
“…Heh.”
“What do you want?”
James Moriarty stared at me like he was weighing his options. He bit his lip before saying, “…What is your relationship with Enoch Bowen?”
I couldn’t believe that name appeared again. I furrowed my brow. Enoch Bowen, the founder of the Church of Starry Wisdom. To me, he was an enemy, and based on my memory and Helena’s testimony, I had met him more than a decade ago.
There was the sound of a pistol being cocked.
“Did my words sound like gibberish? …Even if you wanted to speak, you won’t be able to when there’s a hole in your head.”
Looking at him, James’s beautiful face had contorted. It was easy to see the hatred and hostility in his expression. I was well aware Baron Moriarty wasn’t a man swayed so easily by emotions.
“It’s a long story, but let me just say one thing first.”
“…”
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” I reached out to the man who wouldn’t pull the trigger. “James Moriarty, shall we become allies?”
His eyes widened. The muzzle, which was pointed at me, shook slightly. Only for a moment.
But it was enough. He won’t kill me now.
James Moriarty. Similar to what I experienced when dying the twelfth and thirteenth time, he was the type of person who couldn’t die or live while being curious.
I wasn’t sure if he was similar to me in a way.
A particular trait when it came to those kinds of people. They were unable to tolerate things left unanswered. At the very least, he wouldn’t kill me until he found the answers to the questions I created.
“By the way.” Thanks to this, I was able to speak calmly while a gun was pointed at me. “Did I become a target because of Enoch Bowen?”
“…Yes.” James Moriarty looked amused. “Your name often appears when it comes to tracking him down.”
My name appeared often. It was a little surprising, but it didn’t make sense. I myself had been pursuing the Church of Starry Wisdom and captured some of the cultists.
“Isn’t it because I’m also after them?”
“…Do you take me as gullible? What is your true goal?”
I answered his question with another. “Why are you chasing after Enoch Bowen?”
He looked me in the eye and gave a small smile. “I’m curious.”
“I’m also curious.”
“Well, since you’re going to die soon, speaking about it isn’t a problem. However…” One corner of his mouth was raised. “I’d rather not when someone here is so nonchalant.”
Those words made me laugh. Moriarty, before I died for the twelfth time, said something similar.
“Won’t you beg for mercy? Perhaps then I’ll tell you what you want… Alas, I won’t care what happens after that.”
He looked quite different at the time, smiling with his burnt face. He was always an eccentric human.
“It’s a cliché motive, don’t you think? Trying to avenge your parents.”
“…!”
The gun, which never shook, went down for the first time.
“How do you know that?”
“How do I know?”
Moriarty smiled, as if to say he wasn’t a person who jumped at a mild provocation.
“Armoryit to Moriarty, it’s not a bad rearrangement… You love anagrams, right?”
The moment his gaze focused on me, I laughed. “I like them too. Don’t they show the possibility that everything can be different even though the letters are in a different order?”
“…!”
Let’s use his lines from the previous regressions against him.
James Moriarty’s eyes trembled. “How do you—”
“You must think I’m a witch who does sorcery like those cultists.”
“…Are you denying it?”
“Well, rather than deny…” I waved my hand, and Moriarty’s gun was lowered even further. Before I knew it, I was relieved to see the muzzle pointed at the floor, but I didn’t show it on my face. “Let’s take a different approach to the idea of a sorcerer, which is associated with cultists… Like we’re rearranging some letters.”
“…”
Now James gave me a more serious look. I didn’t shy away from that gaze and put forward a notion to persuade him.
“Did you know that the ancient Celts called them druids?”
Druids. The name for the Celtic priests who once lived on this English soil. Those who understood the mysteries of nature.
“Don’t tell me even druidic powers are like a cultist’s black magic.”
“…Not at all.”
Somehow, James agreed with me. Based on the expression on his face, it was obvious he was interested. I was somewhat confident he’d be persuaded, so I gave him a little push.
“The blood of a druid flows through my veins.”
“…”
“Does this suffice as an explanation?”
Moriarty’s parents met their unfortunate demise at the hands of the Church of Starry Wisdom. His love for anagrams. It was all thanks to my regressions, but…
Claiming it was due to the powers of a druid was a gamble. It was because I thought Moriarty was vaguely aware of their spells that could break curses.
“…A descendent of a druid with mysterious powers. Is that right?”
James, who had hesitated until the end, only took half of the bait.
“Yes, so the smart thing to do is make me your ally.”
“…”
“To give you another hint… You know Greyfriars Kirkyard, the cemetery in Edinburgh?”
It was time to reel in my catch.
“…The sexton who works there is part of the Church of Starry Wisdom. If I’m wrong, you’re free to go ahead and kill me then.”
It didn’t matter if he killed me now, of course. There was a reason why I tried so hard to convince Moriarty. It was to carry out the orders of the King in Yellow.
James Moriarty stared at me.
“…Ha.” He exhaled as if dumbfounded. Soon enough, he burst into a fit of laughter. “Hahahaha!”
It was like he heard a really good joke, his whole body shaking. Meanwhile, I felt anything but relieved.
He looked at me. “It’s been quite a long time since I laughed so much.”
His eyes narrowed. His pupils were exceptionally slit-like, reminiscent of a snake’s.
“All right, I believe you.” He put the pistol back into his inner coat pocket and walked up to me.
My heart was pounding because of fear, but I pretended to be calm.
Moriarty held his hand out.
Looking at him smiling brightly as if he had never pointed a gun at me, I shook his hand which was cold and strangely soft. It was different from Henry’s and reminded me of a reptile.
“I look forward to working with you, my friend.”
The moment James Moriarty licked his lips with a sinister smile, I felt a chill down my spine.
I had to maintain an amicable relationship with him. It was to get as much information as possible from him about the Church of Starry Wisdom.
To do that, I had to suppress my fear of him.
