“The captain found traces of where that group gathered!”

Not long after Asuka set off with the column, she spotted a wide stretch of trampled grassland far ahead.

“All right, Asuka, take the lead. Everyone, follow her!”

“““Yeahhh!!”””

The other members of the Woodpecker instantly perked up. Asuka surged ahead at the front of the column, with the rest of the team close behind.

“Huh?”

Itefeil stared in bafflement as the Woodpecker Cavalry Regiment suddenly picked up speed, leaving her and her squad far behind. Everyone in her unit exchanged bewildered looks.

But Itefeil quickly caught on.

“What are you standing around for? Go after them!”

Itefeil pressed both feet tightly against her mount’s flanks and channeled her magic into it. The others did the same, pouring their strength into their mounts. Their unit gradually closed in on the Woodpecker Regiment, but the gap between them only seemed to grow.

“Captain! Their mounts are a better breed than ours. We can’t catch up!”

Itefeil watched helplessly as the group raced farther and farther away. She was completely baffled by this turn of events. From the way they were acting, it seemed they had no intention of bringing her unit along. So why had they called out such a large force in the first place?

After riding a little farther, Itefeil gauged her mount’s endurance. If they kept going like this, the mounts might suffer permanent injuries—or even die.

“Everyone! Slow down!”

Itefeil gradually eased off the magic she was channeling, and her mount slowed down with it.

“Damn it. If we were on the Divine Road, we’d definitely catch those guys.”

Police stations across the country usually issued bipedal running dragons as mounts. They were easy to tame and incredibly fast on flat ground. If they were running on the Divine Road, with the boost from their badges, Itefeil was sure she could keep up with those noble steeds ridden by the aristocrats.

But unfortunately, they were out in the wild. Never mind the uneven ground and countless obstacles; those bipedal running dragons had slender legs, and if they ran over gravel-strewn ground for long, they’d inevitably get hurt. Itefeil had no good options. They couldn’t turn back now—the others hadn’t ordered them to leave. The original order was to follow, so all she could do was keep going without wearing out their mounts.

Once Itefeil pulled back her magic, the bipedal running dragon slowed to a pace that felt more like a leisurely stroll. Itefeil’s face darkened. Those high-and-mighty types probably had no idea whether ordinary-issue mounts could handle terrain like this.

……

“Hey, Captain… I don’t think that unit can keep up with us.”

Gadier was galloping along at full speed when he heard one of his men say that. He looked back and saw that, sure enough, the unit wasn’t behind them. He frowned.

“What’s wrong with those guys? Are local authorities all this useless? They always drop the ball at the crucial moment.”

“……”

The man gave an awkward smile and said nothing. Some things were better left unsaid. No need to get himself dragged into it.

“I think their mounts just can’t keep up.”

A slightly low male voice sounded beside him.

“Oh, Brother Pons!”

Gadier stared in surprise at the blond man galloping along on a unicorn. As far as he knew, Pons wasn’t the sort to meddle in other people’s business. So why had he suddenly decided to step in this time?

“Keep searching for the thieves. I’ll go back and guide them so they don’t lose their way.”

Pons told Gadier in a flat tone. Then he turned his mount around and left the group.

“Huh? Wait!”

Gadier watched Pons leave, then slowed his mount. The entire unit came to a stop, staring blankly after him.

“C-Captain, what do we do now…?”

Gadier watched Pons ride away, his expression conflicted, and fell into thought.

“Keep chasing the thieves!”

He made his decision soon after. But when the men heard it, they began whispering among themselves. It was obvious that this order conflicted somewhat with their original mission.

“Enough. We haven’t run into any danger on the way here, and Brother Pons is only going to meet up with that unit. All we need to do is handle our own duties!”

Gadier explained it to the team, then urged his mount on after Asuka. The others hesitated for a moment before continuing the pursuit of the thieves, but unease lingered in their hearts.

“Captaaaain, how much longer do we have to chase them…?”

Itefeil and her subordinates followed the tracks of those precious mounts in a daze, plodding along as leisurely as if they were riding donkeys… They could use magic to give their mounts another burst of speed, but catching up with the Woodpecker group was still incredibly difficult.

“How should I know?!”

Itefeil was getting fed up, too. She already felt like the group racing ahead had played them for fools, and now her subordinates were all grumbling and chattering in her ear. That was enough to set off her temper.

The subordinate who’d asked the question was instantly too scared to speak. When their captain got angry, she was like a human tyrannosaur. Rumor had it that once, while Itefeil was questioning a male suspect, he’d gotten a little rowdy—and she’d beaten him senseless on the spot, leaving him to confess all his crimes.

There were suspicions of coercion in that case, but overall it was treated as a personal matter involving Police Inspector Itefeil, so the department made no statement. That incident was exactly why the men across the whole city saw Itefeil as a force of nature and avoided her at all costs.

Remembering that, the subordinates who’d been grumbling all fell silent and urged their bipedal running dragons onward.

“Captain, there’s someone up ahead!”

“Hm?”

Just as Itefeil and her unit were riding along in silence, the “eyes” at the front of the team—the ones responsible for watching the road ahead—suddenly reported a sighting.

Itefeil narrowed her eyes, and a palpable aura of pressure spread outward from her in every direction.

“Wait, Captain! They’re with the Woodpecker!”

Itefeil had just roused her fighting spirit and was about to shout, “Who dares stand in my way?” when those words instantly extinguished the thought.

“Oh. Never mind, then.”

(Oh, screw you.)