C249: Each person's choice (2)
Casey Selmore fell asleep. To be precise, it would be accurate to say that she threw herself into the muddy stream of memories.
She saw the huge stream she saw the other day and thought calmly even though she was suddenly thrown into a raging river.
It was a dangerous place where she could be swept away by an unwanted flow of memories if she tripped even a little, but this was a place she's already been to.
'It's not what it used to be. I can find it right away.'
Casey went back to Rudger memory stream. It wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be at first, but it was much easier and faster the second time.
Casey finally reached the point where she stopped the last time.
"Let's go."
And threw herself into the memory.
As before, her vision was dark before she regained her light. The scene that followed was the continuation of the memory she saw that day.
It was after James Moriarty became a full professor at Ordo University.
Casey watched James Moriarty's track record with a calmer mind unlike before.
Even though he became a full professor, his life did not change. He studies, studies, and goes home to teach Arte.
The only change is that he gives lectures to students who attend Ordo University periodically after becoming a full professor.
'I wondered why he was working well as a teacher at Theon, so this was the reason.'
He repeated his schedule every day. Nevertheless, James Moriarty was building his reputation step by step.
"Professor! Hello!"
Even though I was walking on the site of Ordo University right away, female students would come up and talk to him.
It was to ask something they didn't know, but it was an excuse for anyone to see, and their real purpose was to somehow talk to this handsome professor.
'If you're a student, you should just study.'
Casey, who watched the scene in a translucent state, folded her arms disapprovingly.
'Kids these days don't know anything. Why are they attracted to such a dangerous man?'
"Take care of yourself and go home."
"Yes, yes!"
"Yay! The professor worried about us!"
And the surprising aspect was that Rudger was secretly kind to students who approached him.
Of course, after the girls left he immediately returned to his usual expressionless and cold face.
Casey immediately caught that sense of alienation.
'More than that… is it still not happening?'
After looking at every move Rudger made, she saw nothing suspicious. He just studied or gave lectures.
Rudger neither tries to establish a network with others nor hangs himself on them.
No matter how she looked at it, wasn't this the typical life of an innocent professor?
Having sent his students away, Rudger returned to his office.
After becoming a full professor, he received a fairly spacious office, consisting of a bookcase full of books on one wall, and a large blackboard on the other.
The white chalk on the blackboard is related to topological mathematics that he is studying.
James Moriarty didn't have an assistant. Therefore, when drinking coffee or black tea, he made it himself.
Rudger slowly savored the taste of coffee while reading the newspaper.
After reading the newspaper, Rudger folded it to one side and began to read other materials.
'Oh? Come to think of it, this sight. I think I've seen it somewhere…….'
It was around the time when Casey was puzzled by the strange feeling of déjà vu, that Rudger's office door flashed open, and the crackling sound of shoes rang clear in the room.
Rudger, who was reading a book, raised his head only slightly and glanced at the intruder who suddenly entered.
That figure staring sharply at him in the sunlight coming through the window behind her back.
Casey recalled her memory the moment she saw the scene.
'Yes, it was then!'
Immediately after Casey's inner cry, a blazing voice like hers rang through the space.
"I heard there's a man named James Moriarty here."
Casey Selmore came into his office three years ago.
She looked younger than she was now and was only wandering around the world, enhancing her reputation as a genius detective at that time.
Casey, three years ago, was very confident and challenging, and it was fully revealed in her expression.
'Uh… Was I supposed to look that bad?'
Casey stared at her past self with a bitter gaze.
'What should I say about myself three years ago……I seem to be filled with pride.'
Of course, it was not without excuses.
That was inevitable at that time, when she was in the midst of a series of unsolved cases and her nose was high.
Then, she heard rumors about a genius professor who made his name known while studying topological mathematics.
Even though she visited out of curiosity, it was natural that the idea "this body will personally accompany me" was secretly mixed within.
'Oh, it's like….'
The present-day Casey was embarrassed.
"Yes, I am James Moriarty. Who are you? You don't look like our students."
Rather than getting angry at an uninvited guest who came in without the owner's permission, Rudger asked in a quiet voice.
"Who am I? You really don't know who I am?"
"I don't know if I should know anyone who comes into another's office without the owner's permission."
"You're an interesting person. I don't know if you've heard of the name Casey Selmore."
'Oh…'
The current Casey held her head as she saw herself talking with her hand on her chest.
'What are you doing?'
No matter how much she regretted what she did when she was younger, the current situation has never changed.
"Casey Selmore…….That's a name I've heard before. She's a genius detective and has solved several cases."
"Oh, you recognize me."
"It's been in the papers a lot."
Rudger, who reads the newspaper every day, couldn't forget Casey's name, which was often written there.
"So why did a famous detective come to such a trivial professor?"
"It's purely out of curiosity. Recently, a new professor was inaugurated at Ordo University, and he is said to be very famous."
"That's too much to say."
"I thought it was like that at first, but seeing you I agree. You can be proud. It's my compliment."
"……."
Rudger stared at Casey with a look of 'Who the hell is this person?'
"Stop it!!!"
The current Casey, who was watching the scene, wanted to kill herself from the past.
As she seriously thought about cutting off the memory stream and running outside again Casey in the past held out a book to Rudger.
"Can you sign it?"
"It's a book I wrote."
"Yes, I read your book on topology and geometry. It's full of really interesting stories. I can't believe you came up with such a theory at a young age. As expected of a genius professor."
"It's not enough to be called a genius but since you like it this much, I'll sign it for you."
Rudger said so and wrote the name James Moriarty on the first page of the book Casey handed over.
Written with an ink-soaked quill pen, it was so neat that anyone could see it.
Casey looked at it and said interestingly.
"Professor James Moriarty. Do you happen to know anything about graphology?"
Rudger glanced at Casey's question and answered it.
"I've heard of it. It is a so-called similar science that recognizes the person's inner and psychological, personality, and peculiarity through a person's handwriting."
"It's quasi-science. Of course I think so, too. Phrenology, physiognomy, physiognomy, blood type. It's kind of like this."
"Why do you ask that all of a sudden?"
"It's called quasi-science, but I think there's something to pay attention to. Professor James Moriarty has a really neat handwriting. It's like a typewriter."
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"Usually, people who are so neat are paranoid. It's because of the perfectionist tendency not to want the stroke endings of each letter to be ruined at all."
Casey looked around the office saying so.
There were books and papers littered everywhere and the blackboard was filled with white chalk powder, perhaps because it was not cleaned.
"When was the last time you cleaned this place?"
"Well, it shouldn't have been that long."
"Really? Oh, to continue with what I was saying a while ago. There are usually two types of people. One is, as I just said, a perfectionist, who never misses the slightest thing. Aren't you curious about the other one?"
When asked explicitly meaningful questions, Rudger asked without losing his composure.
"I'm curious to hear that. So what is the other one?"
"He's a person who desperately hides it so that he doesn't show his true self in the world."
"……."
Rudger stared at her silently and soon smirked then returned the signed book to Casey.
"Interesting analysis."
"Really?"
"Yes. And although I lack knowledge I think it's better to read the book you bought until the end."
"…why do you think so?"
"Since this book is the first edition, it uses paper from Filepisos, which is not yet of very good quality. Turning the pages is good, but if you handle it even a little rough, your hands will burn and the paper will easily press down."
Casey stared at Rudger with provocative eyes as she received the book he handed over.
"From the position of holding the book in your hand as you entered the room to handing it over to me, I can see at a glance that you don't really care about books. Nevertheless, the pages of the book were surprisingly clean after the middle. I don't see any pressed marks, or signs of burning hands. That means you read only half of the content of the book."
"Have you seen it in the meantime?"
"I didn't see it, I just saw it."
"You are very observant."
"It wouldn't even be something to brag about in front of a genius detective."
Their eyes clashed in the air.
"That's interesting, Professor James Moriarty. I feel like we'll see each other often in the future."
"I see. I think I'll see you often, too, Detective Casey Selmore."
It was their first meeting.
"I was like this at that time."
Present Casey gave up halfway and stared at herself, who was full of conceit three years ago.
The young Casey didn't solve cases to gain fame and be praised as a genius but the satisfaction was short.
Casey felt a strange emptiness as people praised her.
She felt frustrated when she saw people who made a fuss about nothing and didn't even understand what they should know.
Even though she met many people, she felt isolated on a deserted island alone. That was the loneliness of a genius.
She didn't know at the time that it was an arrogant attitude that only a genius could have so when she heard the rumor about a young genius professor, Casey Selmore became curious even though they were not related at all.
Professor James Moriarty, whom she actually met, was at least distinctly different from the other stupid people she knew.
She realized it instinctively that he was like her and Rudger may have felt it, too.
'Yes, he did.'
Casey Selmore has since stayed in the Ordo University and visited Rudger's office naturally.
Rudger was bothered by Casey at first, who was constantly visiting, but he would immediately become a companion to her, perhaps interested in her unusual personality.
Even if it was a conversation that they met and shared, it was more like they were standing up against each other.
It was a goodwill gesture that Casey could show at the time, and Rudger didn't bother to point that out.
However, this routine, which seemed to continue, did not last that long.
Strange things began to happen in the Delica Kingdom and people began to disappear.
What was not known at the time was that it was mainly children who disappeared. This is because most of them were poor children who could not eat or sleep properly.
No one cares if the bottom of society dies or not.
There were no newspapers dealing with serial disappearances, and sometimes newspapers only had a slight "looking for missing persons" article in a back corner.
But Rudger had a strange feeling from that little part.
"Because mainly young children are missing……."
He was troubled. It was not something that he had to pay attention to but for some reason it didn't feel good so he wanted to tell Arte and Sally to be careful when he went back today.
There was no harm in advising them.
"Teacher!"
Rudger, who returned home from class at Ordo University as usual, had no choice but to face Arte, who was calling him anxiously.
"My, my sister! She's gone!"