Planet Karen's capital.
Turles was already walking down a broad avenue with Daiz and Cacao.
All three wore local casual clothes as disguises.
Turles's tail was wrapped tightly around his waist, completely hidden beneath the hem of his jacket.
Daiz and Cacao had taken similar precautions. Cacao's metal joints were wrapped in a layer of specially made fabric, making them look much like ordinary protective armor from a distance.
Turles looked up.
His first glimpse of the city made him slow his steps.
Overhead, an elevated light-rail train passed between two buildings. Its body was transparent, and inside sat Planet Karen residents of all shapes and sizes.
Vibrant holographic advertisements were projected onto the exterior walls of buildings on both sides of the street.
Some promoted products, some publicized government policies, and others advertised upcoming cultural performances.
The sidewalks were fairly crowded.
Planet Karen's natives were similar in build to the humanoid races of the universe. Most had pale blue or grayish-white skin and soft facial features.
A few alien visitors were mixed into the crowd. Judging by their clothes, they were probably merchants.
The vegetation in the greenbelts was neatly trimmed.
Automated traffic-control systems operated at the intersections.
Turles's gaze swept across a massive holographic screen.
A public service video from the Planet Kalen United Government was playing on it.
The footage showed a group of uniformed Planet Karen soldiers conducting formation drills.
He looked away.
And continued forward.
As he passed a food shop facing the street, he saw delicate local foods displayed in its glass window.
A line had formed outside the shop, and a Planet Karen woman stood in it, holding a child's hand.
The child pressed against the window and peered inside, pointing at the glass and chattering about something.
The woman bent down and picked the child up so he could see more clearly.
Turles walked past the mother and child.
Without realizing it, he lingered on them for a few extra glances.
Cacao followed behind him, his metal joints wrapped in fabric and his footsteps muffled.
His optical units were constantly active, scanning every corner on both sides of the street.
Daiz followed half a step to his right.
His gaze swept across the buildings along the street before settling on the graceful curve of the elevated light rail overhead.
"This place looks so much like my home planet..."
Daiz seemed to remember a few things as well, a hint of sadness in his eyes.
Just then, a faint crackle of static came through Turles's earpiece, followed by Maki's voice.
"Hello, hello, can you hear me, Mr. Turles?"
They had been told it was necessary for the mission, so they weren't wearing their usual Frieza Force scouters.
Instead, they were using covert communicators provided by the Heeters Group.
"Head north from your current position and enter the commercial district. Turn right when you see an office building with gray exterior walls. The entrance to the underground parking garage is around the back."
Turles changed direction according to her instructions.
Daiz and Cacao turned with him.
The three blended into the endless stream of pedestrians in Planet Karen's capital.
The buildings in the commercial district were considerably more densely packed than those along the main avenue.
The space between buildings had been reduced to a minimum, and holographic billboards crisscrossed and overlapped overhead, casting a riot of colorful light.
When Turles reached the gray office building, he went around to the back.
The parking garage entrance was right there.
A ramp sloped downward under dim yellow lights, and notices in the local language were posted on the walls on either side.
Just as Turles was about to head down the ramp,
Something suddenly caught the corner of his eye.
He stopped.
And looked into the crowd.
There was a figure who didn't quite fit in on Planet Karen.
Most of the residents of Planet Karen had bluish-gray skin, wore uniform functional clothing, and tended to be sturdily built.
Against that backdrop, the figure stood out.
She wore a round cloth hat, with a length of dark hair visible beneath it.
She had on a plain, solid-colored dress that hung down to her ankles, completely out of place among the standardized clothes worn throughout Planet Karen's streets.
She looked like a human, as Turles ordinarily understood the term.
More specifically, she was the same type as him and Daiz.
By the standards of Turles's previous life, she had the most typical "human" appearance.
She stood in front of a curved building across the street, holding an old-fashioned camera in both hands as she pressed the shutter, photographing a relief on the building's exterior.
The camera seemed a little outdated.
Never mind a civilization like Planet Karen, which had ventured into the stars-even the imaging equipment on some random third-rate planet in the universe was more advanced than that thing.
But none of that was what caught Turles's attention.
What mattered was the bag the girl carried.
It bore a conspicuous double-C logo.
Others might not recognize it, but it stirred up a storm in Turles's heart.
Because that was the Capsule Corporation's logo!
The Capsule Corporation!
Turles was somewhat excited to see it in a place like this.
Static came through his earpiece again.
Maki's voice followed.
"Hello, Mr. Turles? You've stopped moving. Did something happen?"
"There's no rush, though. It'll probably be a while before the operation begins. The place you're going is just a base we prepared on Planet Karen. The operational plan we've put together is there."
"Then we'll talk later."
Without waiting for Maki's reply, Turles shut off the communicator, took the earpiece out, and slipped it into his pocket.
Daiz turned his head and glanced at him.
Cacao's optical units also turned toward Turles.
Turles told them to wait where they were.
He turned and was already striding away.
He was heading straight for the figure across the street.
The girl had moved to a different spot.
She crouched in front of a roadside plant, holding the old camera just a few centimeters from its leaves.
The lens was pointed at a thumb-sized flower on the plant's stem, and she adjusted the focus over and over.
She tilted her head and looked at the small screen on the back of the camera, seemingly dissatisfied.
Once she was finally satisfied, she prepared to stand.
As soon as she turned around, she saw Turles behind her.
Caught off guard, she jumped.
"W-who are you? When did you...?"
Seeing her reaction, Turles realized he had been abrupt and offered a smile.
"Excuse me, miss."
What he didn't realize, however, was that his smile didn't look friendly. On the contrary, it gave off a faintly cold air.
The girl unconsciously shrank back.
Although she could tell that the strange man before her was not someone to be trifled with, this was the first time she had encountered someone in the universe who looked so much like an Earthling.
A strange sense of familiarity rose in her heart.
She still kept her feelings in check.
"Hello."
She nodded slightly in greeting to Turles.