“Mrrrow~”
“You sleepy little cat, you’re finally awake. Come on, get down. My arms are going numb from holding you.”
La Luna blinked awake, still groggy. She must’ve been far too comfortable that afternoon—she’d actually fallen asleep. The sky was already darkening, so she must’ve been out for quite a while. Still, it was a relief to see Itefeil right beside her.
“Meow, meow…”
(Sigh. My body’s young and strong, but my soul’s already old.)
Sitting in the sun all afternoon, then napping until dusk… Wasn’t that exactly how she’d spent her retirement in her previous life? All she needed was a cup of hot tea with red goji berries…
La Luna stumbled along beside Itefeil. Luckily, Itefeil wasn’t walking very fast, so La Luna could keep up at her own leisurely pace.
(What’s she doing?)
After following her for a while, La Luna realized Itefeil was acting strangely. One moment she’d duck into a dimly lit corner; the next, she’d stand beneath a streetlamp and examine it for ages.
“There’s a blind spot here. And that lamp post outside is broken, too. Looks like someone damaged it on purpose. I’ll have to get one of the city police inspectors to look after this area.”
After inspecting the street for a while, Itefeil found that many of its public facilities had been deliberately damaged. Various illegal structures had also been thrown up in some odd little corners.
It was obvious that a gang of criminals was causing trouble here.
Itefeil had now been promoted to chief inspector. From here on, her duties wouldn’t be limited to matters outside the city. Chief inspectors were each assigned an area within the city to oversee, and every newly promoted chief inspector had to take some districts off the hands of their more senior colleagues.
That’s right—they had to take them on. Every chief inspector was assigned an area in the city, but overseeing it brought them almost no practical benefits. They could exercise certain privileges as chief inspector there, and as the area’s primary authority, they were responsible for maintaining law and order.
At the year-end evaluations, the inspectors who kept their districts in the best condition received rewards. But those usually went to the inspectors overseeing the city center or the City Lord’s Estate. The rest could only do their best to avoid making mistakes serious enough to get themselves punished.
But Itefeil had a different goal. She wanted to prove through her own efforts that public safety didn’t depend on how important an area was. Even dark alleys and backstreets could be made safe if they were properly managed.
So Itefeil decided to investigate a particularly rough area in person first. Then, at tomorrow’s meeting, she’d try to claim it as her district.
“Meow…”
After watching for a while, La Luna figured it out. Itefeil was clearly acting like an investigator, searching the streets and gathering evidence.
(Weren’t we just drinking tea in the courtyard? How’d we end up out here on a case?)
Sure enough, being a police officer kept you busy. La Luna sighed, then found a spot to lie down. Itefeil looked like she’d be a while, so La Luna might as well slack off for a bit. Itefeil’s scent was easy to follow, anyway. If she disappeared from sight, La Luna could just track her by scent.
With nothing to do—and nowhere nearby that was particularly comfortable for a cat—La Luna simply began meditating where she was. Lately, magic had been quietly strengthening her body nonstop. She’d started the morning with a full reserve of magic, but by afternoon it had already dropped by half. In return, though, her body had grown much stronger.
It was a good thing, but La Luna still wasn’t used to it. It felt like charging a phone to full in the morning, then watching its battery drain as its functions kept improving. Somehow, unless it was fully charged, it still made her uneasy.
And if this strengthening continued, even her body shape might start to change.
La Luna held up a paw and looked at it. Her claws had once been close to milky white, but now they were pale with black stripes, almost the same color as her fur.
The muscles in her legs were getting thicker, too. La Luna had always thought cats’ legs were supposed to be soft and pleasant to touch, but hers were rock-hard. The muscles were even pushing the skin outward a little. Itefeil just thought she’d put on weight, but if magic kept strengthening her like this, La Luna couldn’t say what kind of monster she might turn into.
La Luna figured there was probably a way to stop magic from strengthening her body in one of the books. But she’d only just finished the first book on the fundamentals of magic structures, and lately she’d been busy testing how practical magic was. She’d have to speed up her reading.
After lying there and meditating for a while, her magic gradually recovered to about seventy percent. Then La Luna suddenly sensed several extremely dangerous presences nearby.
(No good—they’re heading for Itefeil. I have to warn her, fast!)
Meanwhile, Itefeil was still weaving in and out of the alleys, completely unaware of the danger. It was a day off, and it was already late, so there was hardly anyone on the street. That made it much easier for her to investigate and gather evidence.
The dangerous presences behind her were drawing closer, but La Luna had gotten turned around while trying to follow Itefeil’s scent through the alleys. There were far too many entrances, and Itefeil’s scent lingered at almost every one. There was no time to check them one by one!
Just as La Luna was scratching her head over what to do, the dangerous people behind her drew close enough for her to hear them talking.
“Boss, she’s over here!”
“You sure it’s that female inspector who ruined things for us last time?”
“Of course, boss! There aren’t that many female inspectors in our city. I’ve memorized what they look like. How could I mistake her?”
“Damn it, that bitch ruined everything for us last time and cost us a fortune. Today, we’re gonna give her a proper welcome!”
…………
(No good! I have to find Itefeil, fast!)
