Becoming Professor Moriarty’s Probability

The long-overdue reunion with my best friend naturally led to a night of drinking.

As someone who had always been weak to alcohol, I wasn’t too thrilled about it. But, seeing the state I was in, my friend pushed so insistently that I simply couldn’t refuse.

“So, I’m telling you… I’m not lying, it’s true!”

Thanks to my laughably low tolerance for alcohol, it only took a single shot of soju for me to get completely drunk and start spilling my guts.

“I actually spent a year… in the world of the game I was working on…”

My memory was hazy due to how out of it I was, but I vaguely recalled that, surprisingly, my friend’s reaction to my words was calmer than I had anticipated.

Normally, if someone said something like that, you’d expect them to either worry about your mental state or look at you as if you’d completely lost your mind.

Then again, we were close enough that perhaps he was being considerate and not showing his feelings.

“I even… started dating there… had a child too… he he he…”

“And then… I ended up coming back here anyway…”

Perhaps that’s why? Why, even amid drunken rambling, I ended up bringing up such a heavy topic?

“The truth is… I wanted to stay there…”

I couldn’t recall much clearly in my drunken haze, but I was pretty sure the expression on my face at that moment must have been an absolute mess.

“… Every single night, I see them, all of them, falling apart in my dreams…”

“…….”

“Now, I don’t even know if it’s a dream anymore… What if that’s the reality, and this life is the dream…”

I might have been sobbing as I rambled on incoherently, pouring out my thoughts while tears flowed unceasingly from my eyes.

“I want to go back…”

I had no idea how much time had passed like that.

“Eh? You’re leaving already?”

My friend, who had been silently listening to me while downing bottle after bottle of alcohol, suddenly stood up. With unfocused eyes, I asked the question.

“… Just need to make a call.”

“Ah, I see…”

And just like that, the tenuous thread of consciousness I had been holding onto snapped completely.

“Hello? Hey, I need you to do me a favour…”

“… I see.”

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After that brief reunion with my old friend, time once again flowed like water slipping through my fingers.

In my bleak and desolate state, I had considered the idea of relying on him, perhaps even moving in with him. But to my surprise, the friend who had once gone missing was now married to a foreign woman.

In such circumstances, I couldn’t selfishly intrude and risk causing trouble. Naturally, our contact grew sporadic until it eventually faded.

“Hah…”

And so, I found myself alone once more, lying listlessly on my bed, as lifeless as any other day.

- Flap, flap…!

“…?”

Out of nowhere, the sound of wings flapping came from the direction of my balcony.

“What’s that…”

Assuming maybe a pigeon had flown in, I tilted my head curiously and reluctantly dragged myself upright for the first time in ages. Slowly, I made my way towards the balcony.

“… Huh.”

What greeted me once I reached there left me tilting my head in confusion.

- Chirp…♪

“… What the hell is this?”

A silver-feathered bird – not a pigeon but something smaller, perhaps a warbler or a titmouse – was fluttering its wings on the floor of my balcony.

“Is it injured?”

I cautiously stretched out my foot to shoo it away, but it only hopped to the side slightly, showing no intention of flying off. It seemed clear that the bird wasn’t in a normal state.

“Hmm…”

- Chirp…♪

“… Oh, come on.”

As I stood there deliberating on what to do, the bird suddenly hopped onto my foot and began tilting its head side to side, as if studying me.

“……”

For some inexplicable reason, the sight reminded me of the professor, who used to always tilt and bob her head in the exact same manner.

“… Well, I was feeling lonely anyway.”

Perhaps it was that resemblance – or maybe just my own desperate need for some sort of companionship – that led me to make the decision— I resolved to take the bird in and care for it.

If it had been an ugly bird, I might have hesitated. But this little creature, with its small, gentle appearance, was undeniably adorable.

- Chirp, chirp…!

“… Hmm?”

As I cradled the bird in my hands to bring it inside, I happened to glance out the window. My brows furrowed as I tilted my head in bewilderment.

What the…?

For a moment, I could have sworn there had been someone outside my window. But surely, it was just my imagination.

After all, we were on the very top floor of the building!

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And so, another six months slipped by without notice.

“… Aaah!!”

As usual, I awoke screaming, tormented by another nightmare. Drenched in cold sweat, I quietly lowered my head, feeling the dampness of my clammy skin.

“Even the pills don’t keep me asleep anymore…”

I had built up such a tolerance to the sleeping pills that, despite my doctor’s warnings, I had been taking several at once just to drift off. Yet now, even that seemed to have reached its limit.

So, what option was left now? Living in a drunken haze, perhaps?

At this rate, I might just die…

The thought crossed my mind briefly, but I let out a faint chuckle and dismissed it.

Honestly, even if it did come to that, I didn’t care anymore.

In fact, there was a small, faint hope that if I died, I might somehow return to that other world. If that were the case, wouldn’t it be better to just let go of this hellish life?

- Ssshhk…

With that in mind, I reached out towards a liquor bottle lying on the floor. But as I picked it up, I realised it was completely drained.

For someone like me, who could barely handle a single drink without getting drunk, I couldn’t even imagine how much I must have consumed to finish it all.

“Maybe… there’s some left in the fridge…”

Deciding to calm my frayed nerves after the nightmare, I began shuffling towards the refrigerator.

“… I was wondering how you were living, considering how much you wanted to return.”

“…….!?”

A mocking voice, distinctly female, suddenly rang out beside me.

“Seems like you’ve become a complete trainwreck, huh?”

Startled, I whipped my head towards the source of the voice, only to see—

“Why so shocked? Never seen a talking bird before?”

“W-What…!?”

“Oh, right. This world doesn’t have magic, does it? Silly me.”

There, perched on the floor, was the silver-feathered bird I had picked up roughly six months ago and started nurturing as a pet of sorts.

“Uh…”

I blinked, staring blankly at the absurd sight for what felt like an eternity, unable to process what was happening.

“… Aha.”

Eventually, I let out a strained laugh and walked past the bird towards the fridge.

“Great. I’ve officially lost it.”

I had already been worried about my crumbling mental state, but to think I’d start hallucinating on top of everything else.

A bird I had been raising for six months was now talking to me? At this point, perhaps it was far too late for me to ever return to a normal life.

“Hey!”

“……..”

As I continued walking, the bird hopped onto my shoulder and kept speaking. Refusing to entertain my own delusions, I ignored it completely.

“Mr Adler. Are you going to keep ignoring me?”

“… What?”

“This is rather rude, don’t you think?”

The bird tilted its head slightly, its tone carrying a hint of hurt. Against my better judgment, I widened my eyes and responded.

“You… What are you?”

“What else would I be? I’m Irene.”

“…!?”

“In this world, I have no choice but to take this form. This dimension prohibits anything unrealistic, you see.”

Leaving aside the sheer irony of a talking bird talking about unrealistic things, did this bird just call itself Irene? I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

Was this bird the Miss System who had been by my side all throughout that other world?

“That aside, you’re incredibly lucky, you know.”

Still reeling from this unexpected reunion, I stared, speechless, as the bird – no, Irene – fluttered onto my other shoulder, chattering away as if none of this was out of the ordinary.

“Originally, no interference of any kind was allowed in this world— it’s a rule universally agreed upon across dimensions. But this time, a special exception was made. Do you even realise how rare this is?”

“….. ???”

“Do you happen to have connections with the higher-ups? No, no, that’s impossible, isn’t it?”

I stared blankly at her, utterly lost as she rambled on about things I couldn’t begin to understand.

“Well, enough chit-chat. Let’s get to the main point, shall we?”

And with her next words, for the first time in what felt like forever, I felt my chest burn with a flicker of hope. Unable to contain myself, I shouted loudly.

“I’ve finally gathered enough power to transfer you. So, if you could return to that world…”

“I’ll go back!!!”

“… I figured as much.”

This time, she perched on top of my head, leaning down to whisper softly.

“But I can’t send you back for free, you know. Do you have any idea how difficult interdimensional transfers are for a rookie system like me?”

“W-What do I need to do!?”

Desperation coloured my voice as I asked her. Her answer, however, was anything but what I expected.

“… Play a word chain game with me at least twice a day.”

“What?”

“Once is too little, okay?”

Blinking in confusion at what sounded more like a joke, I watched as she hopped back onto my shoulder, preening her feathers nonchalantly.

“….. Alright, I can’t open a screen here, so I’ll have to ask you directly.”

“A-Ask me directly? What do you mean?”

“Do you want to use your return ticket?”

Her sudden, business-like tone caught me off guard, and I gave her a puzzled look as I responded with a question of my own.

“Wait… why are you suddenly bringing up the return ticket? Didn’t I already use that?”

“… You never used it. You passed out when you fell from the waterfall, remember? You didn’t get the chance to use it.”

“T-Then…?”

“I used what little power I had left to send you back. Do you have any idea how close I came to disappearing because of that?”

Her voice carried a note of irritation as she answered, tilting her head slightly as she posed another question.

“Anyway, no time to waste, so I’ll ask again. Do you want to use your return ticket?”

“But… if I use that, won’t I end up back here again?”

“Huh? Ahaha…”

Seeing my worried expression, she burst into a small, mocking laugh.

“Do you really think of this place as your home?”

“………”

“Or do you consider 19th-century London, where you’ve left behind so many connections, as your true refuge?”

The answer to her question was painfully obvious.

“… I’ll use the return ticket.”

“A wise choice.”

And just like that, my return to the place where those I longed for waited – something I had dreamt of countless times – was clumsily granted, with the system staying oddly faithful to the original setting.

“Oh, right! As a welcome-back gift, let me remind you of the situation you’ll be walking into.”

Warning! – Probability of being Raped — 100%– Probability of being Sexually Assaulted — 100%– Probability of being Violated — 100%– Probability of being Gang-Raped — 100%(Omitted)

Had she not shown me a list of the grim probabilities awaiting me as her welcome-back gift, I might have been moved to tears at that point.

“… I think I’ll just live here after all.”

“Sorry, but there are no take-backs.”

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“And if you just think about it, you might actually be better off being captured over there.”

“What the hell are you…”

“Take a look at your balcony.”

The meaning behind the system’s whispered words became painfully clear only after I directed my trembling, pale face toward the balcony as she suggested.

“Wh-What…?”

“You didn’t notice? They’ve been at it for months now.”

There, right in front of my eyes, were the familiar figures of old acquaintances. Their eyes were unhinged, their expressions hollow, as they pounded on the glass door of the balcony. Ropes that had been tied around their bodies now lay discarded at their feet.

“Rihan? Hiii! Could you open the door for me?”

“Open the door, open the door, open the door…”

“… Today, it’s my turn first.”

Judging by the scene, they must have tied ropes to the rooftop and descended all the way down to my apartment window.

“Th-Those weren’t dreams!?”

“… You are nothing if not consistent.”

It seemed that, of the nightmares I had been plagued by over the past few months, some weren’t nightmares at all— they were horrifying reality.

***

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