Cop Craft – Dragnet Mirage Reloaded

Need for speed: The hundred thousand dollar lovers

Kei Matoba opened his eyes in his own bed, and saw her sleeping peacefully next to him.

Sunlight was coming in through his south facing blinders. The busy sound of a forklift doing some construction work on a nearby warehouse was resonating through the neighborhood, and the windows’ glass panes kept trembling slightly.

It was almost nine in the morning. Somewhere in the outskirts of town there was a paper manufacturing warehouse, and several trucks would always drive back and forth at around the same time, loudly carrying large barrels that somehow kept the high quality paper safe. One of the drivers, George, would come around the neighborhood about once a week, and he would sometimes coach Matoba on his fishing technique. George was probably leaning against some wall at the moment, taking a smoke, squinting at the intense sunlight with an annoyed expression, and muttering something like “Fuck I want to drink some beer!” like always.

Matoba buried his face in his tobacco-scented pillow, groaned slightly and then noticed her next to him doing the same, almost as if imitating him with a short groan.

「?」

He finally realized that something was weird. Why was the bed right now— even though he was sure he must be all by himself in the room, why was there somebody else in bed?

He stretched his arms and opened his eyes. He felt a soft and furry texture with his hands. And noticed a completely black body.

Kuroi was curled up right next to him, sleeping and breathing peacefully.

「Woah?!」

Matoba’s expression changed immediately, as he jumped away from Kuroi. He tripped and fell from the bed, and then promptly lost his sight momentarily, as his temple smashed against the floor. The pain started growing progressively, as tears clouded his eyes. He counted to five until he could somehow get the pain under control, and then stood up, and made sure there were no witnesses.

Kuroi was on top of his bed. Kuroi the cat was curling up on top of his bed. She then cast a quick glance at Matoba, and carefreely yawned. Matoba shuddered at that very important fact, and then could feel his own life in danger, as he quickly covered his mouth with his left hand.

What in the world was going on? Kuroi was almost like a poisonous animal to someone with a cat allergy like his. She was exactly like a biological weapon to him, which was precisely why he could absolutely never allow her to enter his own bedroom! Who did it? Was it the doing of a shadow gang that is trying to take my life? Was it the dealer he had caught four years early and just got released the previous day, in an attempt to get revenge? Or perhaps it was— no.

That’s right, it must have been her.

He ran out of the bedroom, and shouted out the name of the one that could only be described as the other stray cat he picked up.

「TILARNA?!」

His voice was so loud it actually made the table and the mug on top of it tremble ever so slightly.

However, there was no answer. Tilarna Exedilika, the Semanian knight that had crossed the Mirage Gate and stayed with him as a freeloader, was nowhere to be found. She was not in the kitchen, the dining room or even the bathroom.

「Tilarna! Where are you?! I told you over and over not to let Kuroi into my room… Tilarna!」

Matoba kept looking into every room in a very bad mood, and then as he went downstairs to the first floor, Tilarna poked out her face. The remodeled warehouse he lived in had adapted the second floor into the main living spaces. She was currently in the first floor —the garage—, doing some sort of construction work.

「What happened, Kei? Did you have a bad dream or something?」

She had the same carefree expression Kuroi did. She was wearing a Camisole and some shorts made on Earth, her thighs uncovered. For some reason she was holding a worn down hammer and saw in her hands.

「I’m having a bad dream right now! … Come here. Come here right now!」

He glared at her and called her over with his hand. Tilarna followed him with a puzzled expression on her face.

「What is this supposed to be?!」

Matoba stood still in the wide open bedroom door frame and pointed at the undisturbed figure of a small black cat lying on the bed.

「? Did something happen to Kuroi?」 「Did you let her in? Did you let her into my bedroom?!」 「Yeah. She was crying all sad in the morning, clinging right to your door. She looked like she wanted to come in, so I let her in」

Tilarna said in a completely nonchalant tone.

「I’m sure I explained thoroughly that I have a cat allergy. If I’m close to her without wearing a mask, then I stop being able to breathe, and I may actually die. So basically, what I’m trying to say is that— Are you trying to kill me?!」

「Don’t get so mad this early in the morning. If I wanted to kill you I would have done so already」

She said with an annoyed expression

「In that case why did you do it? Can’t you remember something that I’ve told you already? So basically you’re a helpless idiot? Shit, I can’t believe this. That room was my sanctuary. Just how hard do you think it’ll be for me to clean it up and make it safe again?! Okay, I’m going to say this one more time, got it? I’m allergic to cats! If I’m not wearing a mask when I’m with a cat, I can’t breathe and start feeling…」

And that was the moment he realized.

He was breathing just fine.

Despite not wearing a mask at the moment, he was breathing just fine while sharing the same space with Kuroi. That horrible feeling… the sensation of having phlegm stuck in his throat, and the coarse wheezing coming from his chest were all gone.

「Huh…….?」 「You become unable to breathe and then what?」

Tilarna looked at his face with a theatrical docile expression. Her round pupils were curiously and incessantly gazing at him.

He took a deep breath several times. But nothing changed. He was breathing normally.

「What’s going on?」 「So you really hadn’t noticed at all, huh…?」 「Noticed what?」 「That you no longer have a cat allergy. Your physical constitution changed」 「My… physical constitution?」 「You were murdered by Zelada on that building’s rooftop, right? I then used that girl’s… the fairy’s remains to cast a healing spell on you. At that moment, I found several unpleasant colors on your body. There still was plenty of Rahtena left, so after saving your life, I used it to correct some of those colors.」 「Colors?」 「I tried to explain it in easy to understand English, but… I don’t think there’s any equivalent that you Dorinis could comprehend. Colors are known in Farbanian as “Gahra”. They’re a different concept from Branii. Explaining in more detail would be too annoying, so I’ll just leave it at that」

She slightly puffed her chest and crossed her arms in an arrogant fashion.

「So basically… wait what? Did you cure my allergies?」

Tilarna simply nodded in agreement while maintaining her annoyed expression, in a very earthly expression.

It was not an idea that Matoba could simply accept all of a sudden. However, if it were true, it would explain why he was able to sleep right next to Kuroi earlier, or even breathe freely in the same room as her. That was a fact no matter what. Besides, now that he thought about it, it was true that his asthma had completely disappeared for a while now.

「You should be thankful, Khe Imatuba」 「No, wait. I remember what happened that one time but… that was almost a month ago already. Which would mean that you… you knew about my allergies being cured, yet kept quiet about it? For a month already you’ve been watching me sacrifice my own comfort in my own home by wearing a mask, and simply watched without saying a single thing?」

Matoba asked carefully, while trying to make any sense of what he was hearing. Tilarna nodded calmly.

「Yep. That’s basically it」 「So… I’m just asking here, but… why did you do that?」 「For revenge. You had no words of gratitude for the person who saved your life, instead directing insults and mockery towards me. So I decided to enact a slow revenge on you as a consequence of my rage. Basically… what was the word you people from Earth had for this…? That’s right! “Because you pissed me off”」 「……」 「I had no need to do that, but I have to admit that watching you desperately wear that hideous mask was quite fun」 「Hey…」

Matoba simply stood there without showing any ill will or saying any sarcastic comments to Tilarna, as she turned her back towards him. She played with the hammer in her hand, and then started walking merrily towards the first floor.

「Got it already? I’ve got important work to do now, Khe Imatuba. So don’t start bothering me for no reason again」 「Work?」 「I’m building my own room on the first floor. I don’t want to sleep on that chair forever. I’ll be making a bedding from some nebart wool, a tinbrahn chair, and some cozy mehdra cow leather. Maybe I’ll be able to live a somewhat civilized life with that」

What in the world is wrong with this alien? Instead of feeling the need to leave because of her position as a freeloader, she is actually planning to get comfortable and build a place to live?

「Wait! How long do you intend to—」 「Call me when breakfast is done」

Tilarna slammed the door and left before he could even finish his sentence. Kuroi jumped out of the bed behind him, and pleasantly stretched herself.

「Okay… so, Kei Matoba, right? The results from the owner company inspection of the documents you sent in last week just came in but…」

Said the real estate agent over the phone.

「It was decided that your current situation is insufficient to accommodate Ms. Tilarna Exedilika in the building at the moment. I’m terribly sorry」 「What? Weren’t you telling me that it would be fine just last week?」 「I never confirmed that it would certainly be that way. I’m sorry for the trouble, but that building has a no-Semanian policy. Other residents of the area may feel threatened, and the parent company has already received reports from residents who have had trouble with a Semanian living in your neighborhood」

There was no such explanation when he first signed the contract. He never expected that they would stab him from the back like that. And he mentioned some trouble, but in reality they were just small details like taking out the trash on the wrong day, or hanging some strange clothes on the terrace or the windows. That kind of stuff was obvious.

「Hey you. Did you know that’s racial discrimination?」 「It’s a legal grey area. We have to study these issues to some extent, and right now legal opinion is split on whether the fourteenth article of the constitution covers non-Earthly races. It has been concluded that this is a fair cause to make an exception for city ordinances, and according to current law, this is a legally justifiable measure」 「Tilarna Exedilika is a member of the Police Department, and a Farbanian knight. If it’s about money, then we have no problem paying for her part as well. Did you tell them that as well?」 「Yes, of course. However, both the owner and the insurance company still rejected the request. I’m merely relaying that information to you」 「Please wait a minute, there’s nothing wrong with her. Just try to negotiate with them one more time」 「I’m very sorry. I will be sending back the documents in the following days. Now if you’ll excuse me」 「Hey. Wai…」

The real estate agent hung up without hesitation.

「What’s with him…」

Matoba angrily grabbed the steering wheel of his car.