Who or what is the protagonist in "The Red-Headed League"? What is the occupation of the protagonist?

At first glance, it might appear that the protagonist of "The Red-Headed League" is Jabez Wilson because this red-haired man is the victim of a strange conspiracy. But, on closer inspection, the protagonist of this story is, in fact, Sherlock Holmes. This is because the story acts as a "vehicle" to display Sherlock's "remarkable reasoning ability" (See Reference Link 2).

This ability makes him the ideal candidate for his unique occupation as the world's only consulting detective. As we see from the story, Holmes uses his remarkable powers of observation and deduction to unravel the mystery of the Red-Headed League. He soon realizes, for example, that the copying of the Encyclopedia is nothing more than a ruse to get Wilson, a pawnbroker, out of his shop for several hours each day. He also considers the geographical location of Wilsons' shop, which enables him to work out that his assistant is using it a base from which he can rob the vault of the City and Suburban Bank. Sherlock is the only person in the story who understands these clues and uses them to identify the culprit: John Clay, a notorious criminal operating under the guise of Vincent Spaulding.