A cup of tea and a piece of inner core are enchanting.

–Alexander Pushkin1

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“Your performance today was very impressive.”

The lady wiped the blood off my face with a white handkerchief she produced from her bosom and firmly placed it in my right hand.

“This is a handkerchief I cherish, so you must return it next time, alright?”

“……”

Without a chance to respond, she disappeared into the crowd of post-event attendees.

“…Holmes. Who was that lady? Someone you know?”

Watson asked, but I couldn’t answer.

I.A

Even before seeing the initials embroidered on the unfolded handkerchief, I had already guessed the lady’s identity.

“Wait. Just wait here for a moment, Watson.”

I rushed through the crowd at the entrance and ran outside the ballroom.

But the lady I was looking for was nowhere to be seen on the dark streets.

“Am I too late…”

Why is ‘that woman’ here? In the world before I returned, I only met her much later.

I pondered, but no answers came.

I could guess why she didn’t specifically mention when and where to return the handkerchief.

She must have seen me checking the list and was confident I could find her just by the initials.

‘This has become troublesome…’

To be entangled with her in this world too. It’s a tiresome bad fate.

I hope nothing happens this time…

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Back inside the building, I handed out business cards to the chaperones of each clan and family who were guarding the entrance with Watson.

Since I had already unmasked and showcased my deductions, I seized the opportunity for aggressive networking.

I bet this case will attract quite a few potential clients.

I thought it would be best not to gain too much fame until we got a lead on Moriarty, but it’s impossible to remain completely unnoticed anyway.

Given the circumstances, the only option is to gradually secure funds and social status without standing out too much.

After distributing the business cards, we immediately took the carriage back to the boarding house.

“Come here quickly, Holmes.”

Watson, who had been absent-minded the whole way back, suddenly regained her energy as soon as we returned home and started bustling around.

She abruptly took my shirt off, checked my pulse, and put a stethoscope on me. It was embarrassing because, instead of her usual masculine attire, she was dressed up quite finely.

“Hmm. Strange. I was sure you had overexerted your internal energy, leaving your energy center depleted.”

“Didn’t I say there was nothing wrong?”

I was merely startled to encounter ‘that woman’ in such an unexpected place, but Watson’s overreaction made me wonder if there was indeed something wrong with my body.

“I was worried because you’ve been so silent, like someone with a terminal illness.”

I was just lost in thought, recalling memories from before the regression, but such fuss.

“……”

No. Perhaps it’s fortunate to have someone to fuss over me.

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

As I casually put on a robe, Watson finally realized what she had done and turned around, covering her face with both hands.

“I’ve committed a discourtesy. Forgive me.”

“You saw everything on the first day we met, so it’s nothing new.”

“Th-that was an unintended accident…!!”

“Moreover, didn’t you ask me to treat you as if you were the same man? I consider you a competent doctor and soldier.”

Even if it were Jane Watson instead of John Watson, it wouldn’t change the fact that she is the best assistant.

And, the fact that she is my friend.

“Holmes…”

Watson said she would change her clothes and, fanning her flushed face, walked to her bedroom.

-Thud thud thud thud thud!!!!!

“Hiya! Hiyahhhhhh!”

Based on the sounds coming from inside, I deduced that she was practicing martial arts, striking the blanket and pillow with her fists and feet infused with energy.

She must have been stressed from encountering an unexpected incident.

“……”

A moment later, Watson, now dressed comfortably, came out wearing a fake mustache as usual.

She looked very refreshed, although she hadn’t used her face-changing technique, probably due to fatigue.

“Come here, Holmes. I brought Tiger Balm Powder.”

“Thank you.”

Watson carefully cleaned the wounds on my forehead and cheeks with a damp cloth and meticulously applied the medicine.

A meticulous and thorough touch. It was the first time I felt someone’s warmth so closely.

I was once again convinced that she was a comrade I could trust to have my back in a fight.

No matter how nonexistent she was in the world I originally lived in, as long as she is my friend and Watson’s sister, I cannot let her become a victim of the severance syndrome.

“Just in case, I’m asking.”

It was then. Watson spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.

“You’ve been holding on to the handkerchief for a while, does it mean you fancy the lady?”

Using a voice that wasn’t the usual low tone, but the original timbre used throughout conversations at the ball.

“As someone who is part of the martial world, I simply tried not to forget even the smallest debts.”

“A commendable mindset.”

“A lady I didn’t even know wiped my blood, so I thought I should repay her somehow.”

“Is that so? I just asked out of curiosity, wondering if you knew her, so don’t worry about it.”

Watson held my cheeks with her small hands, moving them around to check for any remaining wounds.

Then, as if something suddenly came to mind, she continued.

“Right. You just said you don’t forget even small debts.”

“Indeed.”

“Since I’ve taken care of your wounds like this, you will surely repay me someday, won’t you?”

“Of course.”

When I answered, Watson smiled brightly like a sunflower and said,

“Then, promise me that you’ll be by my side next time I’m in pain.”

“Between friends, do we really need such promises?”

“Yes, friends. Exactly.”

“Come to think of it, didn’t you say you were curious about the identity of those two senior members earlier?”

Watson finally recalled the members of The Royal Combat Society we encountered at the ball and clapped her hands.

“I completely forgot! So, who exactly are those two people?”

Watson’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

After a moment of suspense, I replied.

“Have you heard of the Thunder and Lightning?”

“Are you saying it’s Sir Michael Faraday and Sir James Clerk Maxwell?!”

When I nodded, Watson exclaimed in surprise.

“How is that possible? I thought they had already passed away.”

“There must be circumstances we don’t know about. They might be in seclusion, researching new martial principles.”

Recalling up to this point in the story, I thought of the elderly man who seemed to have a higher standing than Thunder and Lightning.

Judging from the conversation exchanged among the three, his identity must be―

“……”

Having been this surprised by hearing about Thunder and Lightning, if I were to tell Watson about the old man’s identity, she would surely faint.

Let’s just pretend not to know for now.

“Indeed, you had a reason for not carelessly mentioning the two’s nicknames there. If people found out, it would have caused great chaos.”

“I’m glad your curiosity is resolved.”

Watson nodded as if fully convinced.

Now, shall we slowly get to the main point?

“An unexpected incident occurred, but it was entertaining in its own way.”

“…Are murder cases just a pastime for you?”

“It’s not that I like people dying. I merely find great joy in utilizing the special abilities granted to me.”

Watson shook her head as if she couldn’t understand.

“Besides, you should be happy that you achieved a certain goal. Didn’t you obtain the inner core of the Unicorn Salamander and an invitation to the Buckingham Ball?”

Watson looked startled, as if she had forgotten what she had received, and stared at the two glass containers on the table.

“Since Mrs. Hudson is away, why don’t we stop by the Tea Room after waking up? If you bring the inner core, she’ll cut it nicely and make it into a sandwich.”

“A perfect Energy Circulating Afternoon Tea!”

Overcome with emotion, Watson grabbed my hand and shook it repeatedly.

“Since it’s okay to wake up leisurely in the afternoon, how about having a glass of whiskey before bed?”

“It’s a good day, and yet I haven’t had a single sip of alcohol.”

“Now that the Debutante Ball is over, there’s no reason to hold back.”

I picked up the bottle and poured it into the glass.

“To the health of my friend Watson.”

“Cheers!”

Watson, who emptied her glass heartily, shivered as she savored the aroma.

Though we hadn’t known each other long, I could tell she was genuinely enjoying herself.

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Regent’s Park, located past Baker Street.

If you head northwest along its western wall, you’ll find St. John’s Wood.

This area was famous for Serpentine Avenue, home to some of the wealthiest residents of Westminster, and among the grand mansions lining the street, one had recently begun to attract attention.

The source of the rumors was Green Willow Manor, an Eastern-style garden with impressive sprawling branches and leaves of a thick willow tree.

The owner of the mansion was a famous opera singer who had traveled from America to Russia and then to England, and the neighbors welcomed her new presence in the community.

Residing at Green Willow Manor was the mysterious songstress, the Mistress of Green Willow.

This alluring woman had begun to make a name for herself in London’s social scene by hosting monthly balls that rivaled those held by duchesses.

“Did you enjoy the ball, Mrs. Norton?”

In the library on the third floor of the mansion, a woman in a purple dress was leisurely sipping nighttime tea brewed by the butler as she sat in a chair.

It was an elderly butler who cautiously spoke to her.

“When we’re alone, I told you not to call me that name, Wilson. Calling someone who’s not even married a ‘Mrs.’?”

A mellow voice, on the lower end of the female vocal range.

The Mistress of Green Willow Manor squinted lazily at the butler and scolded him.

“My apologies, Miss Adler…”

Wilson grinned mischievously as he offered his apology to his master.

The surname Norton was fake.

Godfrey Norton, known to the public as her husband, was merely one of the identities of the woman skilled in disguises.

To the outside world, she was known only as a former prima donna of the Warsaw Theater and a maverick in London’s social circles.

“No, Grand Master.”

Her true identity was the leader of the secret society, Afternoon Tea Party, which covertly gathered information while operating coffee houses, tea rooms, and opera houses around the world.

She was Irene Adler.

1. TL/N: The original quote is as follows—Ecstasy is a glass full of tea and a piece of sugar in the mouth ️