"He's living in a trailer outside the city."
"He's what?"
Shadowclaw shrugged. "Don't ask me. Cops are weird."
We sat on a bench in the park, eating ice cream. She had a cone of her own but still leaned over now and then to lick mine. I didn't stop her.
It seemed weird for a cop to live in a trailer. I wouldn't expect it.
But maybe he'd had a string of bad luck. Maybe he'd divorced and his wife got the house.
Could be a lot of reasons, I thought.
She took another lick of my icecream. "What do you want to do with him?"
"Have you seen him around again?"
"He was outside the store last night as it was closing. He wasn't wearing a uniform, though."
"Huh." I watched some kids run past with a dog. "So, it's personal."
"Looks like." She followed my gaze and frowned at the dog. "I don't get why, though. I asked the others, and no one remembers knowing any cops."
"You said he looked familiar, though."
"Did I?"
"Maybe we've seen him before."
"If I hit his house while he's sleeping, we can ask him."
I smiled at that, reaching out to boop her nose. "Planning your first raid already? My little kitten's all growed up and wants to test her claws."
She took more of my icecream, holding hers out of my reach.
"I don't know why, but I really want to kill him," she said. "Whenever I catch a glimpse of him, I just feel really angry."
On Neyteria, my Nekos had gone through similar stages. If they viewed someone as a threat, they instinctively turned to violence. Occasionally, I'd wake up in an inn to find someone dead in the hall and a Neko hovering over the corpse with a proud look on her face like she'd just caught a mouse and was presenting it to me.
The reason they killed could be as strong as eliminating an assassin who'd crept into our territory, or as tenuous as they just suspected someone of harbouring negative opinions of me.
The last one was always the worst to deal with.
Like the time my Nekos went berserk and killed everyone in a village we were staying at. That'd been a bit of a surprise, and none of them could say why they did it.
I sighed, trying to get my icecream back.
Necromancers didn't have this kind of trouble.
"If you need to kill him, you can," I told her. "But make sure to use your Corpse Disposal spell to get rid of his body."
"Don't worry about that," she said, her lips curling into a devious smile. "I'll make everything disappear."
I gave her head a pat and turned to watch a jogger slip by. She had a nice ass, I thought. She'd make a great Neko. I could almost picture her jogging along with her tail bouncing behind her.
The thought made me smile.
Soon. Soon, I could start freeing them all. Every one of them. The whole city would be full of Nekos.
And then?
The country.
The world.
This time, I wouldn't stop.
After leaving Shadowpaw, I went home for a shower and to spend some time with Hunny. It was her turn, and she was enthusiastic about it.
I found her waiting for me in our room, naked. Legs and arms wide.
"I want it," she moaned. "I need it. I've been waiting like a good girl. Please, Master…"
After spending a few hours with her, I left her in a thick puddle on the bed. I don't think we'd ever get the stains out of the mattress. It was going to cost a fortune when we left.
Which reminded me to ask Licorice to start looking for somewhere bigger. We needed some more rooms fast.
I headed to the store to wait for the cosplayer to arrive. She was the next cog I needed. I hadn't been able to get her out of my mind even while I'd taken Hunny in so many ways.
With the cosplayer, I could be sure the government wouldn't take much notice of me until it was too late to do anything.
Licorice grabbed me as I came in. Tippy was beside her, looking amped up.
She thrust out her phone to me. "Bexley, I think you should see this."
I looked at the screen to see another article on the murders. Where someone had cut a bunch of cops in half and burned another.
This time, there was a picture of someone the police wanted to talk to.
The Intelligence stat seemed to buzz as my memory sparked.
"That's the cop," I said. "The one who stopped us."
Tippy nodded. "I recognised him straight away. I mean, he'd been right in my face."
He'd looked real tired at the time, I thought.
Had he just gone crazy?
Why had he killed all his colleagues. And then why come looking for us?
"If he's got the System," I said at last. "Then it's a quest. It has to be. He's got a quest to kill me."
Licorice looked horrified, while Tippy's face contorted with rage. If Tippy saw this cop in the street, there could be trouble. She'd melt his head right off with a Firebolt and there'd be no going back. Someone would get it on camera.
But, more importantly, if he had a bounty quest, he might have quest markers.
Wincing, I pulled out my phone and tapped out a message to Shadowpaw, telling her to come back immediately.
Before I could get a reply, Caramel sauntered out of the office and smiled. "Ah! Bexley! Dasha is already waiting for you. Licorice, could you be a darling and get us some coffee, please?"
"Master?" Licorice gave me a strained look. "What do you want us to do?"
"I could hunt him down," Tippy offered.
"No," I told her. "When Shadowpaw gets back, we'll all go. I don't know if he really has the System or not. But we need to be cautious if he does. He'll be dangerous, no matter his level. We'll go together. We'll kill him together."
Tippy nodded, accepting my words.
"Get the coffee, Licorice," I said to the other Neko. "Everything will be fine. When Shadowpaw gets back, can you send her to me?"
"Yes, Master."
"Good girls." I patted them both on the head and followed Caramel's anxious swaying curves to her office.
Inside, an athletic-looking blonde woman waited. She was doing her best not to appear nervous. Mostly succeeding, too.
"Hi there," I said, offering a hand, which she took. I gave her a light shake and let her go. I didn't play dominance games. "I'm Bexley."
"Dasha." She let her lips lift into a smile. "Online, I'm called MechaDasha."
"Because of your engineering skills? I saw the wings you made for your cyber angel cosplay. Those were amazing."
"Thank you!" Her eyes lit up, pleased by the praise. I'm sure she'd heard it a thousand times before, but she liked hearing it. I guessed she'd love getting lots of headpats and belly rubs. "I made them all myself."
The last part made me smile. I remembered how, on Earth, it was always difficult for women to show any kind of scientific or engineering skill and be taken seriously. For her, it would be even harder given how gorgeous she was.
I wasn't even sure if there was anything about her body that I'd change. Maybe just make her skin softer. And her nose was a smidgen too big. I could fix that.
I nodded, pushing those thoughts away for now. "My assistant is just getting coffee. Is there anything else you'd like?"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you."
"She won't be long." I took a chair opposite her and put my hands on the table. "Did Caramel go over what we were looking for?"
"I was just about to," Caramel said. "Do you want me to start?"
"Sure."
Turning to the cosplayer, Caramel's voice moved into a sales mode. I could feel her skill tuning her voice and modulating it to the exact pitch Dasha would find irresistible.
The mood in the room also seemed to change, with a feeling of serenity and calm.
This was a merchant's power. To lull a customer into a sense of security and trust. After which, she'd build more tension which would encourage the customer to feel a ribbon-thin panic in their heart as they felt a fear of missing out on whatever it was Caramel was selling.
She began telling Dasha all about Mina's fashion brand. And how, in a few months, we were going to launch something new. Something fabulous.
Something completely unique.
A line of clothing and accessories which followed a single shared theme.
The goal, she explained, was to trigger a new trend. Perhaps, if we were lucky, an entirely new subculture of young kids eager to buy our products. And, most likely, thousands of imitations from China.
"Soon," Caramel said, with no hint of doubt. "Everyone will want to wear our brand."
"You want me to model it on my channel?"
"No," I said, drawing her attention. "Well. Maybe later. First, we want you to help us to design and build the most important part."
"Oh?" Now she looked intrigued.
"Yes. Mina is already designing the clothes. And, as soon as her crafting station is complete, she'll be able to produce them by the thousands fairly quickly. Caramel here has already got her crafting station made and is churning out most of the accessories."
"I'm being worked to the bone," Caramel said lightly.
"I'd like you to design the final two parts," I told Dasha. "The most important parts. It might take a couple of days to expand your engineering skills so they align with your fashion ones, but the System will provide. Then, I'll get you a crafting station. And you'll be able to make them, too."
Dasha blinked, confused by that. "Sorry, I don't understand. You want me to learn new things? And then design your product and mass produce it?"
"Yes."
"That's… a lot."
"Not really," I told her. "You'll level quick, I think. And crafting stations are…"
"Magic," Caramel finished for me. "I made over a thousand collars last night."
"Collars?" Dasha frowned. "What is it you hoped I could make for you?"
"Ears," I told her.
"That… Doesn't sound too hard. What kind of ears, though?"
"Catgirl ears. And tails."
"Catgirl?" She blinked, amusement causing her eyes to sparkle. "Oh, I tried those, years ago. I don't think the tail worked too well, but I know a few ways to improve it. It might be fun. I mean, I love catgirls so much!"
"I know. It was your old outfit which made Shadowpaw pick you out."
"Shadowpaw?"
"She's our talent scout." I tapped the table thoughtfully. "Among other things. I really should get to level ten so I can open up her Shadow skills and let her focus on one thing. Sorry, I'm confusing you. You don't understand what I'm on about."
"A little," she admitted. "But I'd be happy to make some designs for you."
I smiled, relieved that she was so open to the idea. She was my lynchpin. Everything depended on her. "I was hoping you would. I can't tell you how happy I am to have found you."
That made her smile widely. "Alright, then. When do I start?"
"Right now," I said, lifting a hand. "Transform to Neko."