Cop Craft – Dragnet Mirage Reloaded

「OK, brother!」

With his dazzlingly fluorescent cellphone in hand, Reverend O’Neill brightly declared.

He was currently inside the club offices. Much like the rest of the club, its interior was exceedingly gaudy. The place was lit up with blue and pink neon lights. Dubiously-designed crosses and idols lined each desk.

O’Neill delivered an impassioned speech to his business partner on the other side of the call.

「……Luckily for us, the lovely lady Miranda has taken our suggestions to heart. That’s right. We’ve got a 20% guarantee from that woman. As soon as we get it on tape, we’ll be able to expand the ministry once again! Get it? Though I’d like to avoid using any direct expressions, we’ve basically tacked on an ‘A’ to her initials. ……Yep, an ‘A’, an ‘ayy’. Oh, hallelujah!」

「Father.」

His secretary-cum-bodyguard giant, Kenny, entered the office.

「Father. Can I have a moment of your time?」

「The ‘A’ in ABC¹. …….Hey now, brother. It’s still a bit too early to be getting excited. And it’s not your ordinary ‘A’ either. Apparently, she used up three Cuban cigars at the same time⸺」

「Father O’Neill!」

Kenny raised his voice. O’Neill stopped his business talks for just a moment, wrinkling the brow above his sunglasses.

「Can’t you put this off later, Brother Kenny? Right now, I’m busy with a brother from the film industry. He’s going through a deeply spiritual experience, and I’m here providing him with religious support.」

「And that’s fine and all, Father. But you’ve got a guest outside. Says it's urgent.」

「Tell them to wait a bit.」

「My apologies, I’ve brought them along with me. This alien just wouldn’t take no for an answer.」

「Excuse me.」

Pushing aside Kenny’s massive body, the Semanian girl entered the office. From the looks of it, she had been quite reluctant to come to this place.

With a 『We’ll talk about this another time』, O’Neill ended his call, opening his arms wide to welcome his guest.

「Oh. Bona² Tilarna! ……Correct? For the second time, welcome to the Secret Sanctuary!」

「‘Tis Bona Exedilika. Do not address me so casually.」

「My apologies. But where is Detective Matoba? It doesn’t seem he’s here.」

Tilarna slammed her hand on the desk, glaring menacingly at O’Neill.

「I could care less about that rakebye³. Scoundrel, I have come to ask a favor of you.」

Tilarna’s whereabouts were as yet unknown.

He had no time to put up with the selfishness of an alien ignorant in the ways of the world. Returning to office headquarters, Matoba promptly continued his investigation into the man named Dennis Elbajhi. With his explanation, his colleagues immediately got to work, looking up relevant information on the case at hand. Matoba also took the liberty of informing the Chief regarding his progress, requesting that he make the necessary arrangements for the investigation.

He conveniently left out the fact that he had lost track of Tilarna. Telling him that she was simply taking a short break in the nap room, Matoba played dumb about her whereabouts. Lost in an unfamiliar world, an unfamiliar city. She probably had no idea how she was going to go about her search for the fairy. Sooner or later, she would realize the error of her ways and give him a call. Probably.

At first, that was what he thought. And yet, as the hours went by, the call never came.

In the first place, her leaving her sword behind was strange no matter how you think about it. Is it possible she had just forgotten about it in her head? Perhaps it was intended as some sort of message.

Taking a break from paperwork, Matoba looked up The Free Encyclopedia⁴ on the internet.

《Milvoa Knights ⸻A group of warriors hailing from the Farbanian Kingdom, a large country located in the Semanian world, tasked with the protection of the royal family and national security. The organization consists of full-fledged 『Knights (Salash)』 and less experienced 『Junior Knights (Valsh)』. Furthermore, apprentice warriors who have yet to reach adulthood are known as 『Squires (Valaura)』. The establishment of the Milvoa Knights traces its roots to the 405th year of the Second Era⸻》

He did not care for their origins.

He tried adding more words to the search bar.

Milvoa Knights. Krége⁵. Customs.

There it was.

《Renunciation of the Milvoa Knights (Nahmu Krégeni) ⸻ A custom handed down among generations of Milvoa Knights. To the Milvoa Knights, the longsword (Krége) granted upon their investiture into the organization holds value equal to their own life. The act of entrusting their longsword to a trustworthy party indicates partial abandonment of their knightly duties. Specifically, ignoring orders from their lord, slavery, or betraying their beliefs come under this purview.

Given the relatively primitive systems of communication found in the Semanian world, there were many recorded instances of soldiers taking actions independent of their superiors during times of war. The tradition of 『renunication』 was developed as a means of achieving limited acknowledgment from their commanders for their actions. Virtuous as it was, it did not allow for knights to leave the battlefield without consequence.

Rather, the practice often occurred among the survivors of lost battles. Despite being fortunate enough to keep their lives, committing suicide to protect their honor was often the more preferable option.》

As he read through the text, the expression on Matoba’s face grew ever more cloudy.

「Suicide……?」

In other words, this Nahmu Krégeni was similar to the practice of seppuku here on Earth.

By dying, they take responsibility for their actions in life.

As proof of that, she had entrusted her sword to him.

That was why she had gone off on her own.

The Krége she had left behind on the table in that coffee shop told that very message.

「That idiot……」

Cursing his stupidity for not realizing the situation, Matoba grabbed his coat, making to leave the office.

He came across Chief Roth at the entrance. As Matoba passed him by, he called out to him.

「Matoba.」

「What is it, sir?」

「Where’s Exedilika?」

「Uh….. didn’t I tell you earlier? She’s sleeping in the nap room.」

「And that sword?」

The Chief pointed to the longsword Matoba held.

「She forgot about it. That idiot, leaving her sword in the car⸺」

Subject to the Chief’s steely gaze, Matoba gave up trying to make excuses. The responsibility lay with him. Any more than this, pulling the wool over his boss’s eyes, and he would just be the same as your common swindler.

「My apologies. I lost sight of her. I’m on the way to look for her now.」

Though he fully expected to be scolded severely for his negligence, surprisingly the Chief did not give him a dressing down.

「You have any ideas where she is?」

「A couple. She knows who Dennis Elbajhi is so she’s probably gonna try something stupid. That brat. For some reason, she’s particularly fixated on that fairy.」

「Is she headed for Elbajhi’s club?」

「Possibly.」

If she was truly prepared to die, doing something so reckless would not be out of the ordinary.

「Go take her back. I don’t want to make a mess of the investigation.」

「Of course, sir.」

Striding towards the exit, Matoba left the office.

Translator’s Notes:

1. In Japanese slang, there’s this term called ‘ABC’ that refers to the stages of a romantic relationship. It’s roughly equivalent to the baseball metaphor (first base, second base, etc) in English. ‘A’ stands for a kiss. ‘B’ stands for touching. ‘C’ stands for intercourse. As simple as that.
2. The Farbanian word for ‘Miss/Ms.'
3. The Farbanian word for ‘idiot.'
4. Wikipedia.
5. The Farbanian word for ‘longsword.'

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