173 – Preparing to hunt (1)
“Afghanistan or Mesopotamia?”
“… What?”
“Afghanistan or Mesopotamia, Watson?”
“That… So what do you say now?”
Jane Watson was perplexed by ‘her friend’ Sherlock Holmes, who suddenly asked her a question whose meaning she did not know while she was reading her newspaper, and she had no choice but to ask back.
It’s been about a month since she started living together, but she still can’t get used to the eccentricities of her own close friend, of whom she has no memory. Above all else, she was herself, and even more so when she looked at that smug figure who sighed as if her own actions were the actions of a fool.
“Ha, Watson, Watson. You’re a good friend, but sometimes you’re too dull. So, you gain another 0.7 Pounds.”
“… Buy… I didn’t gain weight! That… “Anyway, what do you want to say, Holmes?”
“Wasn’t it something you thought about for a while after receiving the offer to become a military surgeon? So which direction is the military doctor being dispatched to? Afghanistan? Or Mesopotamia?”
“That… What on earth should I do with that…? …. Ha, yes, you want to say that you figured it out with that ridiculous observation again, right?”
Watson was embarrassed, but she had the ability to learn. She had long since been weary of her own friend’s eccentricities and her magical tricks, which she could only read in records, during their one month of living together.
“Watson, Watson, it seems like you’ve gotten worse since you lost your memory. At least in the past you had a talent for admiration, but these days it’s a little… Yes, I think I’ve become picky.”
“So how did you know?”
“It’s simple. “I can see the letter on your desk clearly from here.”
Then Watson looked behind her, and she remembered that she had left her letter down on her desk in the corner. Only a very small part of her could be recognized in Holmes’ presence, but she must have been clearly visible to her own friend, who must have been physically unique.
In fact, Watson herself was quite far away, but she could see clearly, so she was the same.
“… It’s Afghanistan. A new army is being dispatched there…… “The professor suggested that I go there after I graduated.”
“So what is your answer?”
Watson studied her friend’s complexion for a moment. She looked no different than usual. However, a month had passed since she lost her memory, and now she could read the invisible expressions beyond her expressionless face.
She laughed inside without realizing it. Her proud friend was clearly worried that Watson might leave her.
Of course, this was similar to Watson himself.
“Even so, we… “You have work to do.”
“Thank goodness.”
“Yeah, but honestly…… “I still can’t get used to it.”
Jane Watson, who graduated from medical school and is now an officially licensed doctor, muttered as if she was lamenting her situation without realizing it.
Jane Watson was a witch, and she was also a woman who had just become a doctor. She said that every wizard and witch needed a master to do their magic, and in Watson’s case, she was her memory.
And a month ago, Jane Watson used her normally reluctant magic to save her friend, and in return she had to accept her gratitude for the friendship she had shared with him. I lost my memory.
Of course, if it were her Holmes, she would answer that strictly speaking, about a year of time had disappeared, and that only included her friendship with herself.
In fact, if that was all she said, Watson wouldn’t still be confused. Even though she lost her memory, she was still scared that she was gone during that time, but at least she didn’t regret saving ‘her friend’.
How important her friend Sherlock Holmes was to her before she lost her memory, was clearly visible in the diary and record book she wrote every day.
It was enough to recreate the lost friendship. Watson himself was a rather positive person, so he regarded it that way.
But among the memories she lost, there was also a terrible truth. It wasn’t her memory of her friend, but such a terrible memory that her friend was also involved with.
Jane Watson was in love with a man. Coincidentally, she saw a man in front of her who was probably her own friend and harbored similar feelings.
In the past, Holmes might have denied Watson’s rational reasoning and criticized her opponent’s foolishness, but now she was able to accept her truth in her own way.
But the opponent was a rare villain. Professor James Moriarty was a villain who had a significant influence on crime in London, and indeed Europe, and her friend Holmes was in a lonely struggle to catch him.
Watson herself was with her in this struggle before she lost her memory, and was in a similar situation afterwards.
But Watson still couldn’t help but be confused as she suddenly lost her memory of her opponent being a villain. So much so that without even realizing it, she half-seriously considered an offer to go to Afghanistan as a military surgeon.
But that wasn’t to be the case. That couldn’t be possible.
It wasn’t just because of her friend’s silent plea that she didn’t want her to leave. Perhaps it was Watson’s own desire for revenge.
The sense of betrayal he felt toward his partner could be keenly felt through his diary, but Watson himself was also similar today.
As a result, Watson was living with Holmes at 221B Baker Street and spending time pointlessly for a month.
Is this okay?
Watson couldn’t help but feel self-doubt as he was living an unemployed life with nothing to do and, above all, only a driver’s license.
Once again, as Watson was following in the footsteps of many unemployed people who were unable to accept their suddenly unemployed lives and despaired, Holmes spoke to her secretly.
“By the way, when it comes to Afghanistan, it would be better for you, Watson, if you refused. It seems like the newspapers are already talking about how unusual things are in that area these days. “There may be another war in Afghanistan.”
“…… I’m afraid I’ll do the same, so I’m going to refuse… I did……. But isn’t it strange?”
“What?”
“Ah… no… …. Like… Holmes, you have absolutely no knowledge in that area……. Hmm, that… class… “You’re not interested, are you?”
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“…… Well, I read the newspaper sometimes.”
Holmes had to keep a blank expression as he watched Watson belatedly change his words to be considerate of himself.
But he had no choice.
It was so much fun making fun of Watson who lost his memory.
Of course, the fact that her Watson lost her memories for her own still gave her a sense of guilt, and also made her realize how much this friend was one of her most precious beings to herself. It allowed me to feel it.
But that was one thing, making fun of Watson was something else.
Above all, Jane Watson was a great opponent for Holmes to make fun of, whether she lost her memories or not.
Although she was a gambling fanatic, she was like a fanatic who always bet everything and lost money.
Even though she knew in her head that she and a person named Holmes had a deep friendship for nearly a year through her diaries, etc., Watson still had no choice but to be unfamiliar with her friend.
It wasn’t a strange reaction. From Watson’s point of view, it was like someone she didn’t know at all suddenly came to her and introduced herself as someone she was close to from her childhood, whom she didn’t even remember.
Nevertheless, Watson was good, and she had a mission to do with Holmes, so she stayed with her friend.
Even though she had nothing to do for a month, she naturally had no choice but to make efforts to get to know her friends again, and that included frequent Q&A with her friends.
In order to secretly find out what kind of person his friend was, Holmes played a little ‘prank’ to pick on Watson, who brought up various topics for daily conversation.
As a result, Watson still knew his friend as a weirdo like no other in the world, who did not even know the obvious facts that the Earth was round or that it revolved around the sun, and who did not even have basic common sense unless it was literally for detective work.
At first, it started out simply as a joke, but because the opportunity to reveal the truth was missed, this ridiculous play did not end even after a month.
Holmes put down the newspaper he was skimming, happily imagining his friend who would be horrified when he found out the truth and cry that he had deceived him.
“I became unemployed-“
“Ship… I’m not unemployed! Me… “Even though I’m like this, I’m still a doctor!”
“… There’s no need to beat yourself up about wasting your time as a doctor on temporary leave, Watson. Still…… “It looks like we’ve finally broken our rest and an incident has come upon us.”
Watson tilted his head for a moment at those meaningful words, but soon understood the meaning of what his friend said.
From downstairs, Mrs. Hudson could be heard freaking out, followed by the hurried steps of someone, probably a child, not an adult, and finally knocked on the door they were in.
It was a visit from the Baker Street special forces hired by Holmes, whom Watson was familiar with.
