Page 59 of Catching the Kot'oll Driver

“Yeah, that’s the plan. We tried to make it earlier, but we can’t jump the queue just because you aren’t a civilian on this planet.”

“I... I hope they won’t press charges.”

“No, the court won’t. The gangsters won’t either. They aren’t showing up to do that, for sure.”

“And... You’re going to be back at chasing them and trying to catch them again.”

I nod, even though he may not see that. There’s a light frown on his face. His mouth opens and closes, probably deciding that he’s not the one to tell me what to do.

It doesn’t take long before he seemingly has fallen asleep.

His arms are still around me, which... I’ve never thought that I’d want to be with someone, let alone... need to be with someone. But Grihul feels like that someone to me.

What will happen if I quit my job to be with him? I’d have to figure out what to do on the spaceship travels if he can bring me along on his driving trips. There’s plenty of room on a spaceship after all. I can pay for my own supplies and fuel.

No... That will mean I have to figure out what to do to earn my keep first.

And before that... Do I want to be with this kot’oll that’s sleeping by my side that much?

Maybe I’ve been wanting to prove to everyone that I can do amazing things too, just like bigger beings, and no one gets to bully me or look down on me. I suppose getting and staying in my job for this whole time is enough to prove the point to everyone.

I’ve outdone the captain’s expectations for me, too. Albeit that may just be an expectation for beings of my size. At least he recognizes that when they try to crack cases, they should also get me to join. I was the one making the plan for catching the robbers and we managed to catch most of them.

That’s... One of the reasons I got the luxury to board Grihul’s spaceship and annoy him. I predicted and arranged the “strongest” members of the team, as decided by the captain, to be exactly where most of the robbers fled. The ones my breakout group chases weren’t the ones with the most loot. Not to mention I was... the backup of the backup, and no one cared whether I was even there.

So... It meant I could mess with Grihul without interrupting anything important.

This may be the reason I was pissed from the start and bothered Grihul, which was wrong no matter how I put it.

Grihul... Maybe he is the one I should stay with. He makes me happy. With his faint sleepy smile, he makes me comfortable around him.

Chapter twenty-one

Chapter 21

Grihul

Ilook around at the quiet corridor in the courthouse. I’ve never thought I’d be somewhere like this my whole life. Even though Kendra told me that she was certain that I wouldn’t be sued and get into trouble, it still feels like I’m going to be locked up or something.

A big male is leading me down the corridor. He is a strong one with horns. I stare at my hands. I’m in a suit and formal black shoes that hurt my feet. Kendra’s friend helped put together these things so I could be presentable in front of the judges.

They said I’d just have to be there to be presented in front of the judge and that’s all about it. but it still feels like... Maybe because I’ve been in casual wear all the time it feels like I’m in jail just by being in a suit.

Somehow, I don’t even know where I should put my arms. The one leading me clears his throat as we arrive at the door to the court. “Look, relax some. It’s going to be fine.”

“Okay... I hope there’ll be good news.”

He chuckles. “It’s not like we’d kill you there, just relax.”

Maybe he has a point, but that’s not too helpful. I just want to be home already.

Kendra isn’t here. She is waiting for me in the lobby of the courthouse. This corridor is restricted to allowed beings, and I wish they didn’t allow me to be here, I don’t need this at all.

The staff gets through the door, so I follow him.

There are three beings inside the court, behind the tall stand for the judges. The staff puts me in a small place that’s enclosed by fences. I don’t even get a chair to sit on.

The court is a big hall with two sides separated by a wide corridor in the middle, which goes through the center of the room. There are benches for beings to sit on. There’s no one there. My case isn’t that important, which is good for me.

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