Wei awkwardly looked away from Zelaide. “…Mia shot me down hard in the past. Like the kind of rejection you can’t get back up from.”
“Hmph… What ’bout it?”
“It’s old history from when we attended university together. So don’t give me the evil eye. I’m just jealous of you for getting that Mia so enthralled with you.” Wei returned his gaze to Zelaide as he scratched the back of his head. “I just can’t stop thinking about it. It’ll distract me forever if I don’t come out and ask you!”
“…Ask me what?” The Beast Blood lounged on the bed, keeping only his eyes turned toward him. He was clearly put off by Wei’s behavior.
“What I’ve been trying to ask since earlier! What I’m trying to figure out is if what you said is true then…uhh…basically, you spent the night with Mia, but masturbated…which means that you didn’t…er…do it with Mia?”
“I didn’t.”
“I don’t believe you! C’mon, why didn’t you? Mia is a babe and a wonderful woman with a personality that’s like a breath of fresh air. Sure, she’s willful and has a hard time reading the room, but she lured you into a dark room and basically begged you to take her. And yet a guy like you who looks like he’s had over a hundred women didn’t touch her… How could I believe that?” Wei ranted.
“I’m a Beast Blood.”
“I know that much. And that makes it…even more surprising… Did you reject Mia?”
“No. A scoundrel like me shouldn’t touch a lady like Yumi. You said it yourself—I don’t even have citizenship. We’re from different worlds. A good human man like you is better for her.”
Zelaide repeated what he told Manuela to Wei. He thought he had kept his voice flat, but it didn’t work on Wei. The cop uncomfortably scratched the side of his head.
“…Sorry. I was wrong. Don’t look so hurt. I feel like the bad guy here… Dang it. Fine! I’ll do what I can to look into things. I’ll go for broke!”
“Thanks.”
“It’s fine. Your intel sounds worth investigating. There’s a chance a terrorist is roaming Biotechnology’s inner ranks, right?”
They’ve definitely gone through a lot of trouble just to take down one Beast Blood. Wei’s cop instincts told him something was up.
If the case just stopped at them killing the Beast Blood prostitute and framing Zelaide for the murder, Wei could chalk it up to a hate crime committed by Infernum. From a public safety standpoint, it was a vicious and violent crime, but not one that shakes the foundation of the municipal government. But peel back the layers and it was a different story—Zelaide was intimately connected to the mayor’s sister. Wei was already aware of the countless incidents they had been dragged into.
What if those weren’t just a bunch of bad coincidences, but situations designed to kill them? Not to mention there were always risks when killing Beast Bloods. You never knew what connections they had, or if one of their kin was some big shot Hunter that would hunt you down until the day they killed you.
Last but not least was the irrefutable evidence in the most recent murder case. If Zelaide’s testimony was true, then the sperm was collected deep inside Biotechnology’s breeding lab. Municipal Biotechnology Research Institute was a critical facility to Gothic City’s existence. It was home to indispensable information and history about this world, influencing everything from the academics, medicine, energy, technology, to ultimately the food supply. Life on a frontier world would be much harder without it. A terrorist lurking inside the institute was a dire threat to every planetary citizen.
“They’ve gone to too much trouble just to get you,” Wei concluded.
“I can protect her if I can get out of here.” The Beast Blood quietly closed his eyes.
“……”
Wei finally figured out why this man didn’t lay a finger on Euphemia. More than class differences, more than being carried away by the moment, Zelaide cared about Euphemia. He treasured her to the point he hesitated to touch her.
Good grief. How could he say she’s just a client with a straight face? Aren’t they in love with each other? For that matter, what’s with him calling her “Yumi”? Don’t go giving her a name only you can use! Wei kept his grievances to himself.
“Don’t get any bright ideas, big guy. Don’t jump the gun. The men who make all the decisions are dying to turn you into a criminal. They’re so desperate it’s suspicious. That’s what got me interested in seeing why.”
“I could get out right now if I wanted to.” Zelaide finally lifted his head, eyes glowing.
“Cool. How?”
“By taking you hostage.”
“Huh? Me? How?” Blinking, Wei pointed to himself.
“The wall is weak right here, where these holes are.” Zelaide pointed to the panel where thin pinholes were opened to hear him speak. “There were always several goons during the usual interrogations, but if you look the other way for the second it’ll take me to rip through the wall, then it’s possible.”
“Eek! Seriously? Beast Bloods are hecka powerful. But I don’t think that’s a good plan.”
“I know. They’ll put me on the wanted list and send guys after me right away. I won’t be able to approach Yumi again if I’m a wanted man on the run.”
“Mayor Saionji’s ratings will tank too. The citizens have been bashing her lately because of the rise in incidents. Her achievements have carried her this far, but if something worse happens, she’ll stand no chance during reelection. If worse comes to worst, they’ll even banish her from Gothic City.”
“Yeah…but I…”
I’m goin’ crazy with worry for Yumi… Zelaide hadn’t seen Euphemia for five whole days now. Her sister likely won’t let her take a step outside her private floors, but that stubborn seductress won’t sit still for long. She’s definitely trying to make something crazy happen as we speak. No, maybe she’s already done it.
Zelaide squeezed his knees so tight he heard bone pop.
I want to see you, Yumi. Why does it hurt so much…?
“Just wait,” Wei consoled the miserable-looking Beast Blood. “They’ll definitely make their move if we wait a little longer. If what you said is true, then confining you here is just phase one of their plans. They’re going to have to move into phase two soon.”
“……”
“You’re worried about Mia, right? Dang. You say one thing, but your actions tell me you’re smitten with her! Dang it! I’m so jealous!”
“Smitten?”
“Yeah! You didn’t have sex with that amazing woman even after she seduced you! And your reasoning is for her sake? Just how much do you treasure Mia?! If that’s not having the hots and being in love, then I don’t know what is! Dang it! You’re killing me! It’s like torture watching you… Are you even listening?”
“Smitten…the hots…in love… Humans have a lot of ways to express things.”
Mate—that single word held more meaning to a Beast Blood than the hundreds of ways humans tried to describe their feelings.
“…I knew it…you…”
Wei couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. The Beast Blood who looked like a living sculpture just turned his head to the side, pink in the cheeks. The dark color of his skin made it hard to tell, but he was definitely blushing.
“Shut up… Anyway, take care of Yumi. If anything happens to her, I’ll smash through this wall, grab you by the neck, and charge outta here.”
“Ugh! It’s scary because I know you’ll do it!”
✦ ✦ ✦
†††
TWO days later.
Mayor Saionji received an emergency call from Gothic City’s chief of police.
“Saionji! We’ve got trouble! We just received word from Biotechnology’s president—there was a Level D accident!”
“Explain.”
“Bijours… He said that Bijours escaped from their cages!”
The emergency call was about several highly dangerous Bijours having escaped from their cages in the Dangerous Organisms Breeding Pavilion. Mayor Saionji’s aides went blue in the face at the news, even though there were no reports of them escaping outside yet. Bijours attacked anything that moved. Anyone who crossed paths with them wouldn’t live to tell the tale.
Erica remained calm. “This is a biohazard. Call President Murakami at once.”