Chapter 14
“UGH…”
Losing her mark depressed Kagura. Without the Isuzu Alliance’s power behind her, her investigative abilities were lacking at best.
Tyriel kept looking through the binoculars, revolving like a lighthouse light, but it wouldn’t be easy to find the man again that way.
“Oh, good grief. There, there.” Smiling in exasperation, Mira patted her sad friend’s back. “Very well. I’ll just have to help you.”
Supposedly, the man Kagura was looking for was a former employee of a company defeated by Fuzzy Dice. Thus, there was a chance that he’d seen the thief in the flesh. If all went well, Mira might even be able to interrogate him about Fuzzy Dice’s strengths and abilities. Since it was possible she might have to confront Fuzzy Dice eventually, such information would be extremely welcome.
“Fantastic! Thanks, Gramps!” Kagura’s depression turned into joy in no time flat. Hope and expectation were clear in her eyes.
“Don’t mention it. Knowing the situation, I can hardly abandon you.”
Fuzzy Dice was one thing, but Mira was worried about the missing children too. Thus, she proudly and promptly summoned Woofson and First Pupil Cat Sith. Despite their issues, they were reliable specialists in searches and investigations.
On top of that, even discounting her summoning magic, Mira’s investigative abilities equaled Kagura’s.
“We’ll get this case good and solved in meow time!” Mira’s First Pupil wore a well-fitted suit and coat; he was perfectly dressed for a stakeout. He stood proudly, showing off his little black notebook.
“Woof! No matter how intricate the mystery, leave it to me to unravel.” Woofson, the Cu Sith, appeared in classic detective clothes. He made a dashing entrance, holding a pipe like Holmes himself—which, incidentally, was empty.
As the investigative dynamic duo appeared, a sudden gust of wind blew.
“Aww! First Pupil, it’s you!”
That gust was Kagura, charging at an unthinkable speed. She snatched up First Pupil in her arms.
It happened so fast that he couldn’t even comprehend what had happened. “Mreow?!”
To Kagura, who loved cats more than anyone else in the world, the cat fairy was top-class cute.
“Gosh, you never change,” Mira chuckled at Kagura’s incorrigibility. Her love for kitties hadn’t abated one bit.
Strangled by Kagura’s vice grip, First Pupil tapped out. “Uncle… You win…” However, once Kagura got like this, she was impossible to stop.
Well aware of that fact, Mira ignored the others, summoning additional search personnel. The seven Valkyrie Sisters, Wise Popot, the Korpokkur sisters, Undine, Sylphid, and finally Wasranvel appeared one after another.
Once everyone had gathered, Kagura squealed in delight. “Wooow! It’s been so long, everyone!” Over a decade had passed from her perspective, and over thirty years from theirs.
“A pleasure to see you again, Lady Kagura.” Alfina spoke for everyone, happy to reunite with her.
Kagura was stunned by how the younger Korpokkur sister, Etenoa, had changed. And, while this was the Wise Man’s first meeting with Wasranvel, she’d heard much about him from Scorpion.
“If she asks you for anything weird, you can always tell her no,” Kagura informed Wasranvel. His concealment abilities were ripe for abuse, especially when it came to things like peeping.
“I’d never do such a thing!” Mira glared at Kagura, offended.
After they’d enjoyed their reunion, Mira changed the subject. “Well, uh, anyway…can you tell us everything you found out during your investigation?”
She wanted Isuzu’s info on the missing children.
“Will do.” Kagura shifted from friendliness and joy to a serious mood. Still squeezing First Pupil in her arms, she disclosed tons of findings.
Using that information, Mira narrowed down their search area and specifics about their target. It was now time to search in earnest.
***
“Alfina and Elezina, you head south. And…”
Ligret was a large city; a blind, brute-force search wouldn’t be efficient. Thus, Mira split the city into districts, assigning her friends to each. She sent the Valkyrie Sisters, Korpokkurs, Wasranvel, Undine, and Sylphid into different areas of the city. Wise Popot would get an owl’s-eye view of Ligret from above.
“Woofson, can you search downtown? And First Pupil—”
Just as Mira was in the middle of sending her two “professionals” to the busiest parts of town, Kagura took matters into her own hands: “—Will search the area nearby with me!”
Mira tried to continue. “First Pupil…you’ll focus on searching the shopping district’s back alleys—”
“My investigation’s now underway!” Kagura insisted. “Let’s go, little buddy. Later, Gramps!” She leapt from the roof without pause and began walking off.
Mira knew that nobody could stop Kagura when she had a cat in her arms. Still, she sighed at the abduction. At least Cat Sith could compensate for Kagura’s poor investigative abilities. The real problem was that Kagura might be so overly affectionate that she got in the way of Cat Sith’s work.
While Mira worried, Tyriel nervously volunteered, “Um…shall I take the back alleys, then?”
“No, no. I will. It’s more important for you to watch over those two and make sure Kagura doesn’t disturb my pupil’s work.” Kagura was likelier to notice her own problematic behavior if Tyriel was there to point it out. Or so Mira hoped.
“Yes, ma’am!” Tyriel replied energetically, then chased after Kagura.
Now Mira had been pigeonholed into investigating the back alleys herself. She looked to Eizenfald. “Well…I suppose we’ll start. Sorry, son. I promised to spend the day with you…” Despite her commitment to the poor dragon she was raising, she couldn’t overlook danger to children.
“It’s okay. I’m worried about those missing kids too. Let’s save them together, Mother!” Eizenfald replied sincerely. He’d clearly grown up empathetic enough to care more about the children’s safety than his own needs.
Misty-eyed at the knowledge that she’d raised a good son, the young mother stiffened and turned to him. “Of course. Let’s go rescue them, Eizenfald!”
“Yes, Mother!”
The duo departed to investigate the shopping district’s back alleys.
***
An hour had passed since the start of the investigation.
Mira still hadn’t found anyone matching the description Kagura provided. “It doesn’t seem clues will come easily after all.”
“No…” Even Eizenfald, who’d been eager to help before, was depressed now.
The former Creek Company employees Kagura had mentioned were a very select group. Mira and Eizenfald had sought out some people who’d once been employed there and asked them a few questions, but those people were normal, hardworking members of society.
Where were the evildoers connected with the company? Would it be worth just shouting the question aloud and seeing if they answered? Mira entertained that delusion for a few moments.
Then Etenoa contacted her. “Chief, Chief, get over here!” she cried, both panicked and excited. “We found a guy who’s really sus!”
“Someone suspicious?! Understood. I’ll be right there!”
What made him suspicious? And where had Etenoa learned “sus” from? What had caused that poor girl to turn out so strange to begin with? With those rather invasive questions in mind, Mira headed to the scene.
En route, she informed Kagura of the situation via First Pupil. Kagura and Cat Sith replied that they’d meet Mira soon.
***
A few minutes after Etenoa’s message, Mira reached a park just outside a residential area. It was well maintained, with perfectly manicured trees lining the paths. It would surely make a refreshing setting for a lunch. It was late now, however.
One particular tree in the park looked quite different from the others. When they approached, it became clear why: A man was buried in the tree. Some might scream if they came across such a sight at night, but Mira approached without hesitation.
Uneko ran over with a proud look on her face, welcoming Mira and Eizenfald. “We captured someone suspicious, Madam Chief.”
“Look! Uneko found that guy, like, easy as pie!” Etenoa exclaimed, adding that his capture was all thanks to her sister.
The Korpokkur sisters explained the details. While investigating the district Mira had assigned them, they’d found this park. They’d split up and begun questioning the trees. When they did, Uneko was suddenly attacked. However, the older of the reliable sisters wouldn’t be defeated. She fought back and beat the assailant, leading to his current state.
The man in the tree was indeed the one who’d attacked her. She’d buried him in the tree using the Korpokkur ability Wooden Prison.
“That’s incredible, Uneko!” Eizenfald exclaimed. His envy was clear—no doubt because she’d saved the day instead of him.
“Indeed,” Mira added. “Well done!” It was unclear whether this man was the one they were after, but he was clearly suspicious enough to warrant investigation.
Uneko smiled broadly at Mira’s praise, despite the traumatic events earlier.
While the Korpokkur sisters continued telling them about that encounter, Kagura joined them. That made things easier. She quickly used her confession-extraction spell to get the man to speak, which rapidly confirmed that he was involved in the children’s disappearances.
That didn’t resolve the problem, though. This man was just a procurer; he’d merely kidnapped children who fit requests he was given. In other words, they’d only apprehended an underling.
Still, one thing was clear now—these disappearances were true abductions. The requests the man had received matched the missing children’s descriptions perfectly.
And he even targeted Uneko. Who in the world is making these requests?
Proud of her most recent success, Uneko broke into a smile whenever Mira made eye contact. While the summoner adored the Korpokkur’s cuteness, she realized that whoever was using this procurer was a serious pervert.
The interrogation continued. Done asking about the man himself, Kagura questioned him about the higher-ups overseeing procurement staff like him. “Whoever’s giving you these orders, where are they?”
The man replied readily to her questions. First, she and Mira were correct that former Creek Company employees had masterminded this. Their company had trafficked people before; this man had helped quite a few times. To him, the similarities in how his new higher-ups conducted their dirty work had stuck out like a sore thumb. Someone closely involved in the Creek Company’s former wrongdoing was involved in this, if nothing else.
As a mere underling, however, the man hadn’t seen any of the higher-ups’ faces. On top of that, he knew nothing about the places where they’d sold the missing children. With no information on the people pulling the strings, nor any way to figure out their location, Kagura’s interrogation ended inconclusively.
Still, she and Mira came away with a promising lead: the location and procedures for handing over kidnapped children.
Mira suggested an easy solution. “Okay, it’s decided. Let’s storm the place and arrest them all. If my dark knights surround it, they’ll have no way to escape. Problem solved!”
“You can leave the dirty work to me!” Eizenfald added eagerly. The two were ready for a rampage.
Kagura put the brakes on their plan, however. “No way. These are the kind of villains who keep their own lackeys in the dark. How do we know the people at the handoff point will be the real masterminds?”
Even if they charged in and apprehended people, they might not capture their ultimate targets. What if the receivers were hired middlemen as well?
“Couldn’t we just interrogate them too? If we repeat the process, we’re sure to reach our marks eventually.”
The next target might not be the leader, but they’d definitely be linked to the next level up. Follow that chain, Mira argued, and it’d lead them to the top.
“We would if things were that easy,” Kagura replied, then related her experiences with the Isuzu Alliance.
According to Kagura, the bosses of these kinds of organizations were extremely cautious. They used numerous precautions to avoid being found. If she and Mira moved up the organization one level at a time, they’d surely be discovered along the way. If so, that would be it. Their targets would hide, severing the information chain. That had happened several times during Isuzu’s investigation of Chimera Clausen, after all.
“I see… That would really be troublesome,” Mira admitted.
It seemed like a lizard detaching its own tail. Still, since they now had these clues, she felt it was time to close in on the masterminds.
“At any rate,” Kagura grinned, “I have the perfect plan.”
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