Chapter 151: Home
A quick-tempered man has no day free of Qi Deviation.
- British Proverb -
The moment I stepped out of the office, I drew a deep breath.
The affair Beppo caused had been a most memorable one, even in my previous life.
Back then, immediately after I solved it, an outlay of ten pounds brought me a sum more than a hundredfold in return.
All thanks to ‘a certain item’ the culprit had hidden away.
So long as the details of that case still sat in my mind, it would not be difficult to make the same windfall in this world as well.
There had been an Italian mafioso killed by Beppo at the time, but considering the date of the incident lay far later than now, it seemed unlikely he would be murdered in this world.
Because I would stop it.
‘If you call it the price of a life, it is a cheap sum.’
There was no need for a great deal of money at this very moment, but if I meant to prepare for a war with Moriarty, it was better to have ample funds. For a brief moment I let my mind wander to future provisions, then I collected myself again.
By now Watson would be waiting until her neck grew long, and I had no time to linger here thinking of money.
It troubled me a little that I had failed to properly take my leave of Sir Newton and the Sword Debate Judges in my haste, but if fate allowed it, I should see them again someday.
With that thought, I followed an attendant back to where Watson was waiting.
“You’re here! Holmes!”
Watson, who had been waiting upon the sofa with a face full of anxious worry, sprang up the moment she saw me.
Seeing how her gloomy expression brightened at once, it seemed her fear that I might suffer some harsh treatment at Her Majesty’s hands had weighed heavily indeed.
“Are you all right? Are you injured anywhere!”
“What a commotion. One does not get hurt playing Sword Debate Chess.”
“I have heard that in your Sword Debate Chess club, the number of knights who threw ashtrays or chairs mid-game has reached double digits. It was only because their realm was below yours, but if a master of the Unrestrained Realm threw an ashtray, how painful would that be.”
“Ha ha. Her Majesty does not fly into anger as quickly as you fear, so do not trouble yourself.”
In truth, it had been a concern of mine as well, but perhaps because Her Majesty had surpassed the inner demon and attained a higher state, she did not seem as ill-tempered as I expected.
I had thought she meant to vent upon me the grievance she bore against my master, yet perhaps she summoned me from mere curiosity.
Could she be less vindictive than I had imagined.
‘……If only she truly bears no grudge.’
To be sure, there had been several moments during the match that were perilously close.
For instance, in the fifth game, when I held Black, I did not move a single pawn, and advanced only two knights in turn.
Her Majesty mocked me for a sluggish development of pieces, but I deployed the secret corpse-crafting art passed down among degenerate Modern Clan Jews, offered eight pawns as sacrifices, and produced the supreme Flesh Golem, a Sword Debate Checkmate Demon-God Effigy.
The White Murim Alliance under Her Majesty’s command could not withstand the onslaught of the Flesh Golem, which bore sixteen limbs and possessed eight units’ worth of internal energy.
Even if the Flesh Golem’s circulation faltered because the pawn-materials differed in affiliation and heart methods, eight units of internal energy and the overwhelming difference in physique were not things easily overcome.
Above all, the Sword Debate Checkmate Demon-God Effigy was a composite piece that absorbed each slain opponent and made it part of itself.
Only later did Her Majesty offer two White bishops and a pawn of the same sect as a burnt sacrifice, summoning the primordial spirit of an ancient duelist, but it was already too late.
The Murim Alliance suffered a crushing defeat without killing a single piece of the Heretical League, and the moment the game ended, Her Majesty flung off her glove straight at my face.
‘It is a Duel! Little Heavenly Demon! I shall decide you here and now!’
‘Keep your dignity, Your Majesty!!’
Had the court lady beside Her Majesty not quickly reached out and caught the glove, I might have returned to Watson with only my head remaining.
It was fortunate Her Majesty came to herself at once and put the glove back on her hand.
In any case, my safe escape from the office was thanks to Her Majesty’s deep patience and good luck.
“That said, your bright expression means the match with Her Majesty ended smoothly. Was Her Majesty the Queen satisfied?”
Watson asked me with an innocent face, knowing nothing.
For a brief instant, I hesitated over how to answer.
Watson knew nothing of the wager that had unfolded inside the office.
To ask whether Her Majesty Victoria was satisfied meant she wondered whether, regardless of victory or defeat, Her Majesty had enjoyed her time playing Sword Debate Chess with me.
To her, it would be unbearable to think I might have incurred Her Majesty’s wrath as I had stripped other Sword Debate Chess knights of their composure.
What would happen if I answered honestly about what had occurred?
Before we even reached home, I should likely be subjected to Watson’s sharp interrogation and have no back left unscathed.
“Her Majesty enjoyed herself greatly. Look. So satisfied was she that she ended the match early, though it had been scheduled for twenty games, and sent me back.”
At times, a small lie accomplishes a greater cause than the truth.
“Truly remarkable! Like a gentleman of Great Britain, you must have played in a manner considerate of Her Majesty……!”
“Ha ha. Is it not the duty of a loyal subject to add even a little enjoyment to the supreme one, who has no leisure for anything but concern for the nation’s future rather than personal honor?”
“Just so. Victory and defeat are not important. I was very worried you might return after taking a blow from Her Majesty, but seeing you unharmed, I am relieved. You must have entertained her properly.”
“……”
What’s this?
What is this nameless emotion boiling up from deep in my belly?
“Indeed. No matter how excellent your chess-power is, defeating a master of the Unrestrained Realm would have been difficult.”
“……Watson.”
“But if Her Majesty was satisfied, does it not mean you played sharp moves and roused her spirits?”
“Watson.”
“To be acknowledged at your age already, by playing Sword Debate Chess with the Sword Queen. Even among Great Britain’s Super Junior, none could deny you are the very best……Hm?”
“You still do not understand what sort of Kung-Fuist I am.”
“W-what do you mean, Holmes?”
Watson asked, staring blankly in confusion.
“It was I who won. Seven games, all complete victories, and I took her forfeit.”
My mouth spilled the truth of its own accord.
“……What?”
In the next moment, Watson’s face, which had only lately regained its color, began to turn pale in an instant.
“Holmes. Are you in your right mind? After uncovering the secret of the Indulgence Talisman and winning Her Majesty’s favor, to use underhanded moves and make her forfeit……!”
“What are you saying! I won by fair contest with Her Majesty, to the end—”
“This will not do. If I remain here, even my neck will be in danger……!”
Panicking, Watson staggered toward the exit in a flurry.
“Wait! Watson! I shall explain everything! What you fear will not happen! It was Her Majesty’s side that used cowardly methods first!!”
“And so you repaid it in kind, is that it? How many lives do you have!”
I could understand why Watson reacted so.
By common sense, unless one is a master who has devoted his life to Sword Debate Chess, in matches held among duelists, the higher realm is the side that wins.
No matter how deeply she trusted me, it would be hard to accept that I, having reached the pinnacle, had won a great victory over Her Majesty the Queen of the Unrestrained Realm.
“Be at ease, Watson. Unlike masters whose hearts are shaken by the result of a mere amusement, Her Majesty’s cultivation runs deep. Is not the fact that my head still sits neatly upon my neck proof that Her Majesty is maintaining her composure.”
“Now that you say it, there is reason in it—”
-B O O M !
Before Watson could finish her sentence, a thunderous crash came from the direction of Her Majesty’s office.
-Boom!
-Craaash!
-Rumble!
……And not just once.
In the Forbidden Palace, there was only one person who could smash things without minding anyone’s gaze.
“……Hm. It seems she maintained her composure, and struck her toe upon the corner of a table.”
“……”
Watson, her face full of dread, tried to throw open the door to the corridor and bolt.
But that attempt at escape was cut off by Louise Carroll, who appeared out of nowhere.
“A-amazing! Little Heavenly Demon……! Even if it was a Sword Debate Chess match, to think you would behead Prince Albert……! Louise is quite astonished by your boldness……!”
“Kkhng!”
With a dying cry, Watson fainted where she stood.
Louise, who had run out because she found sorting the match record dull, had come straight to me because she wished to deliver a gift.
“Earlier, seeing you only fetched the Blue-Eyed White Snake’s poison, it seems Little Heavenly Demon knows the antidote method……Right? A-and after detoxifying, you mean to draw out only the Yang-Qi to treat big sister Discharged Medical Maiden’s Severed Meridian Syndrome.”
“Precisely.”
“You took the idea from seeing the Medicamentum Communionem open the minor meridians with its effect……Hehe, Little Heavenly Demon, your comprehension is quite good.”
As expected of a master, she possessed an intuition astonishingly precise.
I restrained my admiration with effort and listened to her.
“But it will be difficult for the big sister’s frail blood paths to endure it.”
“I agree. We will need research on that point.”
At my words, Louise produced a small wooden box.
“And so, ta-da! Using Louise’s authority, I procured one more Medicamentum Communionem……!”
Professor Louise looked up at me, her eyes glittering.
“If it’s the Medicamentum Communionem, it will be far safer than the Blue-Eyed White Snake’s venom. A fine idea.”
The second pill of the Factor VIII was too low in rank to add on top of an Ancient Tomb Clan treasure or Kung-Fu when wagering with Her Majesty, so I had meant to seek it elsewhere. To obtain it freely like this.
“Quickly! Quickly, thank Louise……! You can praise me too! Hurry!”
“……”
It was embarrassing, but there was no reason I could not say what she wished to the one who had helped treat Watson’s Severed Meridian Syndrome.
“Holmes humbly offers his thanks to senior Professor Louise Carroll, the eternal maiden and the greatest beauty within England’s isles.”
“Huaah……Look how stingy your reaction is. I should’t have given it you……”
“My apologies.”
Yet even if helping me open the minor meridians was a mere whim, what reason had she to offer such valuable aid without price.
“Louise awakened after watching your games with the Sword Queen. From now on, even if I play Sword Debate Chess with Scrub Newton, I don’t think I’ll lose……!”
“If it helped you, I can only be glad.”
Inwardly, I prayed Sir Newton would not fall into deviation.
Earlier, in the judges’ seats, he had been struggling to suppress laughter each time he saw Her Majesty suffer at my hands. I wondered what he would think if Professor Louise did something similar to him.
He would not, out of spite, break his promise to deliver the letter my master left behind at a later time, would he.
A moment of worry passed through me, but first I had to take my leave of Professor Louise.
“Thank you in many ways. I shall surely repay this kindness someday. Until we meet again, take good care of yourself.”
I roused the fainted Watson and returned to Baker Street.