Book 4: Chapter 1: (1)

Book 4: Chapter 1: (1)

"Translator: ClefRunner"

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The crash site of the smugglers was right in the middle of the wetlands, so they were not able to simply rush in by car, and getting a helicopter would take several hours.

And on top of that, the stupid county officers had not prepared any boats or hovercraft, so their only choice was walking about two kilometers to the spot.

It was a two kilometer walk with water and mud up to their thighs, while pushing through a thick jungle of seaweed that would get tangled in their legs, without ever knowing where they would step next.

Back when Matoba was in the army, they would have them walk through tens of kilometers of wetlands for their training. However, they would be wearing military uniforms and jungle boots. But this time, the clothes getting dirty and drenched in mud were his Versace suit and his Ferragamo shoes. And everytime he took a step, an unpleasant and slippery feeling would strike his ankles.

The entire team of officers started cursing after no more than ten feet since stepping off shore. Even Matoba ended up blurting out insults left and right. And after he ran out of curse words, he started throwing out foul language in Japanese. The others were similarly insulting and speaking ill of each other in their own native languages.

Tilarna remained silent as she stood near the very end of the group. Her beautiful white Farbanian dress was also in a lamentable state, and since her body was not particularly tall, she was covered in mud up to her waist. But she did not feel like she had any right to complain. She could imagine that if she mustered up the courage to do it, then she would undoubtedly be showered by insults.

Just as she was being taught the term by Russian born officer Godonov, they arrived at the crash site after almost forty minutes had passed.

Back us up from there. Tilarna and I will go around it from the right.

It would be better if I shut up.

Matoba pulled out his gun, and got closer to the crashed aircraft.

Unexpectedly, the planes body was much less wrecked than he imagined. Its wing was broken, and the body itself was leaning to its side, but that was the extent of the visible damage, and there was no fire or smoke coming out of it. The engine was already dead, and if anything, there was an ominous silence upon the entire scene.

Are they dead yet?

Tilarna whispered right from his backUpdated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

Dont say it like its none of your business. Youre the one who took it down.

Matoba readied his beloved automatic, and started surrounding the wreck from its right side. He was not able to see clearly with the sun as a backlight. It was unlikely that he would be able to go unnoticed, as he had to make his way through the swamp.

Its the police! Is there anybody inside the aircraft?!

There was no answer. Matoba tried calling out to them, but there was no reaction whatsoever. There was nothing they could do if going all the way there had been a waste. He made up his mind and got closer to the plane. Tilarna was following him closely from his right back side. She positioned herself so that if anything happened, like Matoba being shot by somebody still inside the aircraft, she could cut them up instantly.

It was not something they had discussed at any point in time, but lately they had just been doing it naturally. Sometimes depending on the situation, she would position herself on his left. Talking about even their breaths being in sync wasnt out of the question, but she wouldnt compliment him on it, since it was a bother.

He signaled her to lets go with his gaze. Tilarna nodded subtly.

He peeked inside the plane through the open door. His finger on the trigger ready to shoot at any time.

Shit

There was nobody inside the plane. A headset was hanging from its cable inside the toppled aircraft, probably removed and thrown away by somebody.

Its because it took us so long to get here. They ran away

Said Tilarna almost sighing

Dont lower your guard. We dont know if theyre hiding somewhere around here. And even if they ran away, they cant be too far. We can still catch them if we block all the roads in the area.

Matoba pulled out the radio. He informed his allies waiting back on the runway about the situation, and requested support from the county officers. He instructed Gonodov and Tony, who always worked together as a set, to search for the suspects.

A search? Thats fine, but do we have to keep walking in this swamp? We cant do anything once it gets dark. Hurry. Understood, understood

He didnt waste any time waiting for Godonov to leave, and instead headed straight to investigate the planes cargo hold.

There were three square wooden crates of about a meter in size. They werent particularly heavy, but they were way too bulky to carry around while running away in a swamp. Perhaps the smugglers decided to ditch the boxes and run away instead.

His partner back then strongly supported the idea of moving it back, but ultimately Matoba felt ashamed and reported the body to HQ. Thanks to that he arrived home five hours later, and ended up souring the relationship with his partner to the point of cutting all ties.

Anyways, back to Officer Hernandez.

Hernandez wanted to have this specific case turned over to the CBP. The location of the incident was out of the STPDs jurisdiction, so normally they would do it like that. However, this time, the crew that had walked through an entire swamp and gotten involved in the case were not simply going to quietly accept that.

We cant just hand it over right away. The suspects that fled are still on the run. We will continue with that search. Hand over the confiscated items, and please send over a report by tomorrow. So youre saying were being dismissed? Thats right.

He didnt like Hernandezs attitude. It wasnt particularly overbearing or overly polite, but his matter-of-factly way of speaking implied that he thought it all was obvious. It wasnt as if he was looking to receive words of gratitude, but everything that concerned his requests was extremely annoying to Matoba.

I cant allow that. Only until we catch the fugitive suspects and write a report on it. We still havent even made the list of confiscated items. So youre refusing to carry out the CBPs demands? No. Thats not what I said.

Said Matoba, standing up wearily. With his slow paced gesture, he gazed up and took a peek of Hernandezs eyes.

I never said anything like that.

He repeated, and then saw only the very slightest display of anger show up on Hernandezs face. On the other hand, Matoba displayed a fake, wide smile, and in an overly familiar gesture, placed his hand on Hernandezs shoulder. His hand was drenched in mud.

Well, this kind of thing does take a while. We want to do the hand over properly, so just wait a little, okay? That will officially be considered a refusal. Oh really? Then go ahead.

Hernandez left while wiping the mud off his shoulder.

Even though they still had some spare cars available, they actually got on one of the CBPs helicopters. The roar of the Turboshaft Engine enveloped them and raised a cloud of dust around them. Even when leaving they could not escape the feeling of dirt in that place.

Ahem Kei, do you have a moment?

Said Tilarna, who had just been quietly watching the previous exchange.

Sure. Whats up? That mans CBP is an institution above San Teresas Police Department, right? Turning against them is going to eventually become a problem. Its not like theyre our bosses. We can always refuse as long as we have a valid reason. Oh, I see. Well Normally we would obediently carry out the hand over. But this time, for some reason I dont know

Said Matoba, hesitantly

Did he bother you? Well, yeah, that too, but thats not all. In any case, I held it over.

Of course, he had no intention to mess up the relations between the two institutions just based on that. However, a voice inside his head kept telling him to just wait a little longer. It was his intuition as always. But saying that to other people would be embarrassing, and it didnt suit him in the first place.

In any case, he needed to take a closer look at the situation and find out what exactly made him do it, at least in case he got yelled at by his boss. Saying that he got annoyed after walking through the entire swamp was not a real reason.

Besides, even our trusty K9 noticed it as well.

Tilarna fixed her face up and pouted

Are you talking about the Branii I noticed? Yeah. You

Matoba extended the palm of his hand in front of her and stopped Tilarna from protesting

Anyways, I at least managed to get us one more night, and I want to have the confiscated items inspected. Can you do that?

Tilarna Exedilika nodded reluctantly.

~o~O~o~

Several different nations can be found on the Semani world that lies beyond Mirage Gate, the interdimensional portal. Tilarna herself was a Valsch from the Great Farbani Kingdom. In terms of Dorini police officials, a Valsch would be of equal status to a sergeant, so she was far from a novice. Her rank was of equal legal status as Kei Matobas.

The term Knight in that context leads to misunderstandings regularly. It is a word that demonstrates certain social status within Semani society, so not all knights are necessarily fighting swordsmen. In Tilarnas case, not only was she a sword wielding knight, but also a Mildite.

Mildite are also a part of the Semani world. They were completely inconceivable in Earths native human population, as a group of people whose powers were completely different from that of civilized science. And Tilarna had the ability to sense that magical energy. On top of that she was also capable of using different kinds of magic.

Tilarna also had a particularly useful skill. She excelled at smelling and detecting magical items that came from the Semani world. Tilarna and all other Semanians called that Branii.

It was a feeling incomprehensible to most, if not all, Dorinis. However Tilarna, the only Semanian working with the San Teresa Police Department, knew how it felt. Matoba had started calling her the K9 of the department as small and irrelevant banter.

Pronounced chert vozmi, it means something close to What the fuck or Holy shit in Russian.Branii means to smell; in this context, "It stinks."Vice-Knight.