Cop Craft – Dragnet Mirage Reloaded

Taking a break at a nearby coffee shop, Matoba immediately retrieved his portable terminal, glossing over the numerous documents stored within.

The place was a chain you could find just about anywhere. It resembled a traditional Viennese café; the ceiling was excessively high. Perhaps as dusk had not fallen just yet, the number of customers remained at an all-time high.

As Tilarna had pointed out earlier, machines capable of such precise craftsmanship were certainly few and far in between within the city. Given their hefty price tags, records on these tools were strictly kept. He had asked HQ to look into the matter, and results turned up before thirty minutes passed. Notable locations that came up were the Maxwell Group Workshop, the Caliena Arms Testing Grounds, the San Teresa University of Engineering’s Laboratory, and so on. Mostly large businesses and university premises where such deliveries took place. Whether or not these facilities were the source of the aforementioned 『Goldsmith』, there was no choice but to seek out the information themselves.

However, before Matoba could even decide where to go first, a single name on the list caught his eye. The document listed the company as 『Krawan Electronics』. Every other place he saw he had somewhat heard of, and yet this name eluded him.

When he looked them up, it turned out they had already gone bankrupt.

「‘Kay. A shady one came up.」

He took a sip out of his fifth coffee of the day. Sitting across from him, Tilarna was sniffing her cup in suspicion.

In addition, Matoba searched the records left behind on the government website. The establishment and bankruptcy of the company both occurred in the same year — last year. In other words, Krawan Electronics operated solely over the course of a few months. Address, capital stocks, number of employees, etcetera, etcetera. All were half-assed to some extent.

「Your intuition might have been right on the mark, kiddo.」

「What do you mean?」

「It’s a dummy corp¹. Probably made it to buy the machines they needed. If this pans out, we can finally put a mark on that magician’s back. Plus, they’re rich.」

Their representative’s name was Alan Quaid. Most likely just an outsider lending their name to the group. The problem was the investors. After going through a couple other documents, he was slowly but surely approaching the heart of the matter.

In the past, detectives would go around the place speaking to all those involved, reading paper documents en masse and the like. The entire process took up several days’ worth of time. With regard to this case, computers had doubtless played a tremendous role in their work.

Soon enough, the name of a man floated up to the top of the list.

Dennis Elbajhi.

Semani. Club manager. 26 (in Earth years). No records of arrest. No traffic violations either. And consequently, no mugshots.

「It’s him.」

Flipping the screen of his portable terminal to his name, Matoba said.

「Goes by 『Dennis』, it seems. Bastard, trying to pass off as an Earthling… What use is a ‘club manager’ working in a factory?」

「Let me see.」

Almost as if she was just about to snatch it from him, Tilarna peered into the portable terminal.

「Elbajhi. Was there such a member of the Elbajhi family in this city?」

「Y’know him?」

「No. However, the Elbajhis were a well-known military family back in our world. In the wars of days past, they brought dishonor to themselves through their conduct in battle. The head of the family, Lord Bayard Elbajhi, was summarily executed, their lands forfeited, and the entire household disbanded. That is what I have heard.」

「Trying to reclaim his house, huh? A refugee?」

「Hmm……」

「Many of the Semani who come here were trying to escape that war over on your guys’ end. This disgraced family of theirs might have arrived here in all that confusion.」

By 『that war』, he meant 『The Second Farbanian Conflict』 as it was mostly known to the Semani. The conflict took place about ten years ago, in Earth time. Initially, the war only occurred between fellow Semani nations. However, under the mandate of world peace, a coalition army from Earth was dispatched to end the conflict. The Americans were a given, but the Russians, the English, the Germans, the Australians, and the Japanese — a military alliance of no less than twenty nations crossed the 『Mirage Gate』, setting foot on the Semani battlefield.

Despite their designation as a 『Peacekeeping Force』, in the end, they were simply just pushing their one-sided beliefs onto the Semani. It was a sordid affair. Less than a year after the 『Earthling Army』 was stationed in the region, they became the target of universal condemnation from the warring parties, ultimately being dragged into their fierce guerrilla warfare.

Given their lack of firearms, the Earthlings could not help but underestimate the strength of the Semani. Their experiences in Vietnam and Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq should have provided ample cause for worry, yet still they committed the same mistakes their forefathers had in the past. The cunning, tenacious warriors they faced on the battlefield, they only saw as mere savages.

Matoba had once stood on that battlefield as well.

The cruelties of war were all that he remembered from his time in battle. Soldiers from both sides died in droves. The war continued for another three years, and eventually their poor results forced the Earthlings’ retreat from Semani itself.

Matoba and those of his generation had not called the Semani 『Aliens』 simply out of prejudice. For those who saw combat, the abject cruelty and ruthlessness shown by the Semani warriors were carved into their bodies. Setting aside the matter of human puppetry, the fact is a young girl like Tilarna could watch an assassin put their enemies to the sword without even batting an eye. It truly showed the difference in common sense held in the two worlds.

Most likely this Dennis fellow was much the same.

「…… A fallen noble exile, trying to adapt by working here as a club owner? Fishy as all hell, I’ll give you that. It’s weird that nobody’s been trying to keep tabs on him until now.」

「Let us immediately bring him into custody!」

Leaning forward, Tilarna exclaimed.

「We must interrogate him for the whereabouts of that fairy. Come, we must restrain him at once!」

Matoba shot a sharp glance at her.

「What doubts could you possibly have?」

「That’s……」

「Didn’t I tell you before? Over here, we’ve got something called basic human rights. We can’t just arrest anyone willy-nilly. First, we need proof. Just having ‘suspicion’ doesn’t cut it.」

「You do understand that her life is at stake, correct!? Whilst we are twiddling our thumbs over here, she might well be on the verge of death!」

Slamming both hands on the table, Tilarna shouted in anger. The other customers and the waitresses all turned to stare at her, eyes wide in surprise.

「Awfully insistent, aren’t you?」

「…………」

「If it’s possible, ‘course we’ll try to save her. Thing is, I don’t plan on risking the lives of our men to conduct this investigation on your terms. They’ve already killed three officers. And we don’t know the full story, either. Their modus operandi. Their goals too. We don’t do this carefully, all our work will be for nothing.」

「Then, what do you propose we do now?」

「First, we need to assemble a team. Get permission to set up a wiretap. Find out anything we can about Elbajhi, his men, and the whereabouts of that magician. Naturally, the fairy as well. Once we have enough proof to indict them, we storm their base en masse.」

「How long will all this take?」

「Minimum three days.」

「How dare you take such leisure!?」

「To be honest⸺」

Pondering whether or not to say what was on his mind, Matoba ultimately decided that it was best to lay out the facts.

「⸺the police here think of fairies as nothing more than dogs or cats. Sure, they may look like people, but not only are they small, they don’t even talk.」

By law, it was true that fairies were treated as ordinary citizens. Such a clause had been advocated by members of the Farbanian Kingdom, after all. And yet from a biological standpoint, opinions remain divided over their status as beings equal to humankind. After all, there was never a definitive conclusion that shed light on their intelligence as a species. Unable to reach a mutual understanding with the fairies, many Earthlings point to their lack of brain matter as an excuse to reject their sentience.

There were religious reasons behind this as well. In particular, many Christian fundamentalists held contempt for strange creatures like these from the Semani world. After all, these were the same people who obstinately refused to believe in the theory of evolution. To them, these fairies, who possessed brains no bigger than those of rodents, would never ever be considered ‘people’.

「I see.」

Tilarna responded with a subdued voice. When he had brought up the comparison earlier, she looked to be filled with unimaginable anger.

「What about you, Kei Matoba. Would you be fine with the death of this fairy?」

「Don’t treat me the same as them, will you? Of course, I’ll feel a sense of responsibility.」

「Responsibility……responsibility, huh?」

Looking down, Tilarna mumbled aloud.

「I, I have a responsibility towards that fairy.」

Can’t be helped. After all, Tilarna had come to San Teresa for the express purpose of protecting that fairy.

No⸺.

Was it simply for that reason? She seemed abnormally flustered. This could not be explained with mere words such as ‘duty’ and ‘responsibility’. Perhaps there were more personal feelings involved?

In the end, it was only his intuition talking. He had no basis for his claims, so he chose not to pursue the matter any further.

「……Anyways, don’t worry yourself over it. Once we get our troops in order, I plan on bringing him down. Lose your cool, and you lose y’know. 」

Having said his piece, he stood up from his seat.

「Toilet. Drink some water, and cool your head down.」

Leaving the quiet Tilarna alone with her shoulders drooped, he headed for the shop’s toilet.

After having done his business, he washed his hands, checking himself in the mirror.

Gonna be even busier after this. First of all, he would have to contact the Chief. Then, he would need to dial up his contacts. It would probably be best to strictly limit recruitment to those on the Special Vice Squad, for fear of potential leaks and the like. Tonight, he would gather up his men to knead out a plan. At the same time, it was necessary to request permission for the wiretap, and arrange vehicles for their use. Plenty of other things to do as well. Most likely there would be no time for him to go home; he would also have to ask one of his neighbors to feed Kuroi for the night.

I swear I’ll fucking track you down. I swear.

As he returned to the table, he noticed Tilarna was nowhere to be found.

(She go to the toilet too?)

On top of the table lay her sheathed longsword, with a white handkerchief covering the scabbard. It was almost as if she had layered the face of one of those ‘corpses’ on top, judging by how it looked.

Strange. Tilarna had always carried this longsword with her. That sword was the reason she was turned away from her lodgings just the other day, leaving her stranded in the cold. For her to just leave her sword like this⸺.

「Did you see where my companion went? The Semani girl.」

He asked the waitress passing by.

「She left. Looked to be in a hurry.」

「I see. Keep the change.」

Shoving her a ten-dollar bill, Matoba grabbed his portable monitor and the longsword before running straight out of the shop. He could not spot Tilarna’s figure anywhere on the main street. The car was gone too.

The Semani girl, who equated the value of her sword to her own life, had left it behind, disappearing into the night.

「What the hell are you thinking?」

Standing in the sparsely crowded street, he cursed under his breath.

Translator’s Notes:

1. A dummy corporation is an entity created to serve as a front or cover for one or more companies. It can have the appearance of being real (logo, website, and sometimes employing actual staff), but lacks the capacity to function independently. (Source: Wikipedia)