210 – The Red Hair Club (1)
Jane Watson came to her senses and looked at the scenery outside the window and realized that fall had arrived. She had a day to celebrate, so she checked the calendar day by day, not that each day passed by, so it was literally fall at some point.
In London, a city that is difficult to live in, it was a season that seemed like a place where people could live, along with summer. I could feel the cool autumn breeze, but it didn’t feel cold. She didn’t feel the need to close the window.
No, it was an unavoidable choice for ventilation because the room was filled with so much cigarette smoke that one could believe its purpose was to suffocate someone. Watson, like some of her advisors, did not believe that smoking was good for your health, so she couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable.
However, living with her friend and housemate also meant getting used to such thick cigarette smoke. Above all, she said, Watson could not bear to ask Holmes to put out his cigarette.
Jane Watson was clearly too kind a person for that to happen. Holmes, who was even now looking out the window, similar to Watson himself, was just puffing away at his burning pipe and puffing out smoke, like a man whose mind had been lost somewhere else.
Since she had been like that for a few days now, I thought that maybe, as a doctor, I should start worrying about my patients. It was even cute to see Holmes, who often compared himself to a goldfish and make fun of him, actually puffing on his cigarette pipe more like a goldfish.
But Watson remained silent, as if he was caring for her friend, and just stayed by her side. Because she is not Holmes, he does not know what it is like to live as Holmes. But even he could tell that his friend had been deeply hurt by recent events and was still suffering from those scars.
Holmes was a delicate and observant person who was sensitive to the opinions of those around him. Therefore, Watson could only pretend to focus on the newspaper and occasionally glance sideways, as if checking Holmes’s condition. Of course, even if he did that, there was no way Holmes wouldn’t notice his gaze.
But as expected, even Watson couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable in front of his friend’s uncomfortable silence.
– ‘A new kind of investment?’
– ‘Invited lecture by renowned medical researcher Professor Abraham Van Helsing! Open to Londoners!’
Even though he tried to concentrate by naturally fixing his eyes on the newspaper again, only a few words caught his eye and he was unable to concentrate to the extent that the exact interpretation of them did not appear in his mind.
As expected, seeing Holmes weakened in this atmosphere was heartbreaking and worried because he was a friend.
Of course, since Holmes is a strong person, he might laugh at Watson, who pretends not to be sick and actually worries about him. But Watson, being his friend, knew very well that even that was a bluff.
However, it was true that I hoped that my friend, who was silent like a patient who had given up everything before his death, would slowly return to his original state. Because that kind of appearance was definitely not like Holmes.
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Did he read those thoughts using mind reading? Finally, Holmes broke the silence and spoke quietly. Of course, Watson couldn’t help but be shocked, but ignoring Watson’s reaction, Holmes lifted up the invitation that he had been examining on his lap for several days and showed it to Watson.
“Watson, it’s okay if you don’t pay attention to me like that. Because I’m really okay. Maybe Watson, as you said, it’s because I’m addicted to drugs. “Thanks to Watson taking care of me, I haven’t even touched a syringe for the past few days.”
“… Even if this doesn’t happen, it’s better to quit taking drugs, Holmes. “This is advice I can give as a doctor.”
“But patients don’t listen to doctors’ advice and advice. “This is an unavoidable problem.”
Holmes smiled and shrugged his shoulders at Watson’s words. Doctor Watson sighed, but at the same time, Holmes’ friend Watson was a little happy to see his friend come back.
Of course, even Watson could tell that it was an act, but the two pretended not to know each other.
Instead, the topic of conversation focused on an invitation placed in Holmes’ hand.
“So what is that letter about? “You didn’t say anything to me.”
I don’t know the content, but even Watson was able to guess who it belonged to.
Professor James Moriarty.
A person who confuses Watson’s mind and has been linked to his friend Holmes since childhood by an evil relationship, a major British criminal, and a villain that the two must chase.
He couldn’t help but be surprised when he found out that his friend had visited Professor Moriarty a few days ago without even telling him properly.
He had been silent like a depressed person ever since he came back, so it was all the more inevitable. Watson couldn’t even figure out how to approach the complicated relationship between his friend and Professor Moriarty.
Holmes pretended not to notice Watson’s worries and continued speaking calmly.
“… It’s an invitation, Watson. Of course, as for where the invitation is coming from… No matter how much I do, I haven’t been playing around without thinking. You often see me out for a walk, right, Watson? He asked Mycroft to investigate. “Most of my thoughts were about the outcome, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
Normally, Watson would have focused more on the invitation sent by Professor Moriarty. But was it because of my friend’s weakness?
Even though he knew it was useless, he had no choice but to carefully bring up another story.
“Holmes, that… Because Mr. Mycroft can move many people…… “How about leaving this job to Mr. Mycroft?”
“… That’s an un-Watson-like statement. Has Watson turned into a different person without my knowledge? Watson avoids risk and gambling. There is a miracle before my eyes.”
“You know that’s not what I meant. Radish… Of course, if I said this, Holmes, you wouldn’t listen, but—”
“If you know that, you also know there’s no need to say it, Watson.”
Holmes coldly interrupted Watson for an instant. For a moment the two women looked at each other. But this time Watson did not give in or avoid his friend.
“But there are times when you have to say something even when you know it’s useless. I am… I’m not sure anymore. Holmes, if you get involved with Professor Moriarty…… Is that really a good thing for you, Holmes? …. Radish… Of course, the professor is a villain, and someone has to be stopped, but it doesn’t have to be you or Holmes—”
“Watson.”
However, Watson, who had barely mustered up courage, had no choice but to tremble and keep his mouth shut when he heard Holmes’ cold voice for the first time.
He slowly raised his head and saw Holmes glaring at him, but he had no choice but to immediately lower his gaze back to the floor. Strangely, the friend in front of him did not seem like a detective fighting villains on the side of justice, but rather a cold criminal on the opposite side.
“My… It’s work. Even you, Watson, can’t say something like that. Okay?”
“… But if things continue like this, Holmes, you-“
But Watson tried to gain courage once again. If he hadn’t heard Holmes’ taunts, he might have had a little more courage.
“Watson, no matter how much you do, you can’t intervene here. Or not? Do you think you have any qualifications? Rather, Watson, I think you’re doing this because you want to get away, right?”
“What?”
“Ha, before you worry about me, Watson, I recommend you take a look at yourself first. Even now, I’m still wondering how I should treat my teacher. You think I don’t know? Well, I can understand. Before I find out the truth about you, I might be able to have feelings for you because you are a wonderful guy to everyone. But-“
“Ho… Holmes, you!”
As if he had hit the nail on the head, Watson unconsciously raised his voice and got up from his chair. No matter how friendly he was, his comment just now clearly crossed the line. Of course, Watson may have already crossed Holmes’ line.
In fact, Holmes and Watson may have had more in common with their complex emotions. That’s why we maintained an uncomfortable silence again, probably because we both felt sorry for each other.
Watson quietly sat back down in his seat, and Holmes also cleared his throat as if he had made a mistake.
“Sorry, Watson. The truth is… No.”
“Ah… I know, I… I’m sorry too. “It was presumptuous.”
“What… what…… Hmm, okay. Let’s talk about invitations again. Have you heard of the Redheads Club, Watson?”
Watson thought for a moment. He considered himself a more sociable person than Holmes, so he thought about the famous clubs he knew. But no such name was written there.
“Ah… you?”
“Actually, it’s natural that I don’t know, because I didn’t know either. It’s not like a historic club to begin with. Because it was a suspicious place when the teacher gave the invitation. I asked Mycroft to investigate and was able to find out quite a lot of information. It’s a recently established club, so it might be a bit difficult to investigate. “It seems like quite a few famous politicians are also members.”
