Cop Craft – Dragnet Mirage Reloaded

"Translator: ClefRunner"

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They arrived late at night, sometime past one in the morning, in San Teresa City from the Golanbitha swamp.

Matoba’s current car was an old Volkswagen, so they put all the confiscated items in the cabin, and transported them that way. They could have carried them like that all the way to the Police Department’s HQ, but that was a long drive, and they were getting tired, so they took them home with them all the way to New Compton.

「By the way, is this not a procedural problem?」

Said Tilarna as she was yawning. She had been sleeping on the passenger seat all the way from Golanbitha, and she still looked sleep deprived.

「What?」 「The confiscated goods. Wouldn’t it be considered theft to take them home with you?」 「Everything at the crime scene is on tape. And it was sent over to both HQ and the CBP. Also, the CBP will check it later, so there should be no problem.」

Said Matoba bluntly as he took a wooden crate between his arms. They headed to the living room on the second floor from the garage on the first floor.

「Alright then, but taking stuff from your work environment into your private life— and someone else’s property at that, doesn’t feel right to me…」 「Hey hey, give me a break.」

Said Matoba looking fed up.

「Do you want to drive all the way to HQ just to carry this stuff? I don’t have the energy nor will to do that. If you want to do it, then do it yourself.」 「If I could drive, then I would do it. However, unfortunately, I can’t make those automobiles or whatever move. At least not those manual cars, anyways.」

Tilarna arched her chest slightly looking proud for some reason.

「What are you looking so proud of? There’s no way you could handle an automatic car either.」 「That’s…」 「I get it already, just help me carry this stuff.」

He was incredibly sleepy. After carrying the confiscated items into the living room, and patting Kuroi who had come to greet them, he hogged the bathroom. It was always like that on nights like these. The faster person would win the bathroom. And right after locking the door, Tilarna started knocking on it violently.

「That’s not fair, Kei?! I’m sure I was supposed to go first today!」 「It’s a brand new day. I’m first. Sorry.」

He hastily got completely naked and opened the shower. Tilarna kept squawking noisily for a while but he could not make out what she was saying because of the shower.

Her showers were always excessively long. It was true that she wasn’t rude enough to leave her underwear or other clothes lying around common living spaces, and she would always bring her shower set all the way from her room. On top of that, she was always brushing that long hair of hers and taking care of it and— in any case, it seemed like being a girl was annoying. If he tried being chivalrous and let her go first, then he would be stuck waiting to take a shower until dawn.

After taking a shower and feeling refreshed, Matoba put on some loosely fit sweat pants and went out of the bathroom topless. He saw Tilarna giving him a mean look while holding onto her basket of personal belongings. She had no reaction after seeing him dressed like that. At first she would act disgusted but it seemed like she had gotten used to it.

「It’s yours.」 「Rakebye.」

Tilarna entered the bathroom, not without first rudely bumping her shoulder onto Matoba on purpose.

「Ah, wait. Wait.」

Matoba stopped her from closing the door

「What? You refreshed yourself already, so you should just go to sleep already.」 「No, I’m obviously going to bed. But I’m leaving the sorting of the confiscated items to you.」 「What?! What did you just say?」

That was an usual gesture coming from Tilarna. She opened her mouth wide in disbelief.

「Well it’s obvious. You’re the only one who can sense that “smell” or whatever. Besides, who was it that slept all the way here snoring while the other was driving?」 「S… Snoring?! There’s no way that I snore…」 「According to Hernandez’s notice, we have until eleven in the morning to return the goods. Got it? It’s up to you.」 「Wha—」

Matoba shut the bathroom door. They had fought plenty of times in the past. And although he had lied about the snoring, it was a good word to use so she could lower her guard.

Yeah. I’ve got to use it again sometime.

A sound as loud as someone kicking and sending a washing machine flying came from within the bathroom, but he didn’t know what it was. He didn’t even have enough strength to drink a beer, and only felt like sleeping. He walked past the living room, and headed straight for his bedroom. Matoba dropped himself on top of the bed, and immediately started snoring loudly.

~o~

The happy snoring coming from the next room could even be heard in the bathroom. Tilarna, who was already inside the bathtub, felt the urge to kick the door down out of anger, but she swallowed it.

There was some truth to Kei Matoba’s words. She had been sleeping on the passenger seat both going and returning from that Golanbitha air strip. And in all honesty she didn’t even feel very tired. Besides, leaving the inspection of the confiscated items to a Dorini would be futile.

But even then, she still didn’t like his attitude. Wasn’t there a better way to ask her to do that?

For instance… that’s right

“I hereby make a request to thee, o eldest daughter of the Exedilika family, member of the Great Farbani Valsh! Willst thou kindly inspect these items for us useless Dorinis, instead?”

Or something like that

「There’s no way…」

There’s no way Kei would ask me a favor like that, and if he did, then there’s no way I’d accept.

In any case, this only means that I am the only one capable of doing this job!

She smashed her fist on the table, and Kuroi who had been sleeping peacefully right there jumped startled and looked at her with her round pupils.

「Ah… I’m sorry, Kuroi.」

She leaned over, dressed only in a camisole, and pet the small black cat.

「Kéya Kuroi Shi. I didn’t mean to startle you. However… you get it, don’t you? I was just mad at the man sleeping over there. Everything about that man is… boorish, uncouth, in any case I’d say at least unpleasant. What do you think?」

Kuroi simply let out a single “meow”. It could have been interpreted as both consent and dissent, so Tilarna took it as a sign of agreement.

「I know, right? That man has no idea how to treat a lady in the first place. No, regardless of whether Kei even sees me as one to begin with, he pisses me off… And you’re a lady as well. I’m sure you also get my indignation…」

After saying all that, Tilarna felt a void she could not describe.

What am I even saying to a cat? No, Kuroi is a good cat and everything, but asking her to comprehend all of these complex feelings inside of my chest would be impossible.

「Ugh, that’s enough. Is it water? Do you just want to drink some water?」

Kuroi replied with another “Meow”. This time, she probably was confirming her question.

「Okay, wait right here.」

Tilarna went to get Kuroi’s plate and served some fresh water on it. Then she unwillingly started working on the task of separating the confiscated goods. She had to sort out the items from within the wooden crates they had brought into the living room depending on their Rahtena scent. It was an annoying job, but she could probably get it done in under an hour.

Most of the items within the wooden crates were Semanian junk: Pottery, copperware, and steel cooking utensils, and large amounts of farming and construction tools.

The tools that looked worn out had a special Branii to them. However, that was just the same as Kei’s beloved handgun, and it didn’t mean that they possessed any particular power. However, Tilarna still separated them on the right side of the table because of their peculiar smell.

There was a weapon as well. A crossbow. It was a design that she had never seen in her own homeland of Farbani. It had some old Gravani letters engraved on its side, and they were almost impossible to read because of the wear.

It was about as small as Kei’s handgun, and it looked almost like a child’s toy. To think that people would use it to actually shoot arrows and people and on top of that to kill them… well, perhaps if they hit the right spot, there was a possibility. However, under normal circumstances, it would at most annoy the people shot with it, and have them head in the shooter’s direction right away. That’s how small the weapon looked.

However—

「… Hm?」

Tilarna could sense the strongest Branii coming out of that specific weapon. And it wasn’t just the smell of an item that had been used extensively, but the smell of something that had been built with a purpose… that’s right, with the purpose of being used by a “Mildita”.

She couldn’t know the exact circumstances of the weapon’s construction. However, that single item was worth separating from the rest of the confiscated goods. Tilarna loaded an arrow on the crossbow and shot at a pile of magazines that were lying next to her. Nothing usual happened.

However, the Branii she sensed was the strongest so far. All other items seemed to be devoid of any particularly strong Rahtena.

In that case, what kind of power does this crossbow…?

「Huh…」

There was no point thinking about it. She left the crossbow loaded on a corner of the table, and went back to her inspection of the confiscated items.

There was an old but well built cup as well. It seemed comfortable for drinking Cola or something.

Maybe I should wash it in the kitchen and use it later or…? No, no, I absolutely can’t do that. This is not mine.

She thought and then put the cup back on top of the table.

Kuroi meowed once and then jumped on top of it as well.

「Hey, Kuroi, what’s with those manners? This is where we put our food. It’s not a place for Khe’s paws.」

Tilarna reached out her arms to her, but Kuroi ran away. Maybe she was just messing around. It was true that because of work she hadn’t been able to pay as much attention to her lately, but still that was no reason to allow her to get on the table.

「Kuroi! Bad girl! Get down of the table right—」

Tilarna bent her body and tried to hold Kuroi in her arms, but she dodged again, and placed her front legs on top of the pile of junk, slightly losing her balance.

The black cat stepped on the trigger of the crossbow with its legs.

「Ah…」

The crossbow was pointing Tilarna’s way. And along with a quiet shooting sound came an arrow that struck Tilarna’s left arm instantly.

「Ow…!」

No, it wasn’t enough to open any severe wounds or anything. The arrow was slightly thicker than a toothpick, and it didn’t penetrate her skin considerably either. Putting a bandaid on it and leaving it alone for a couple of weeks would be more than enough to treat it.

However, more importantly than the slight pain, Tilarna started feeling a distant drowsiness. Her sight became narrower, and it immediately stretched.

「…?!」

She felt herself floating, almost as if her brain had flown straight out of her skull, feeling mesmerized by a feeling similar to letting go of all her physical ties. She immediately could tell, as a Mildite herself, that she had fallen victim of the effects of a magic spell straight out of her own homeworld. The problem was that she had not intended to use any magic of her own.

Her power was running out of her control. Or perhaps it was being controlled by something else. Something completely unrelated to her own consciousness.

Her own thoughts were being stripped out of her body and taken somewhere else. Someplace she didn’t know.

From her brain to her left arm. From her left arm to that small arrow. And from that small arrow to the crossbow.

They went through the magical circuit surrounding the crossbow, and then through its trigger, straight into the small front paws on top of it.

Kuroi squealed and Tilarna collapsed on the living room floor, her body devoid of strength.