Have you received any reports?
No, there's no mention of any thieves being caught today. ......

　I asked the knight at the Kuro Wolf Knights' camp, which is located a short distance from the market.
　I asked the knight there, and he replied.
　In the end, Iris was worried about Aria and decided to go back to the school, so she sent her off and came here alone.
　If he had caught the thief that Aria had just handed over to the knight, he should have been brought here.
　But when I asked her about it, she said there was no such story.

When did this happen?
A certain amount of time has passed, so I think it should have been reported by now.
There are still some knights who haven't returned, would you like to wait here?
No, if they've caught him, they'll be here soon. I'll just go back to the scene.
Yes, sir. I'll send a knight to the scene if there's a problem.
Yes, thank you very much.

　And with that, I leave the office.
　As I thought, Aria is lying - Iris also said she had a strange feeling at that time, but it seems she is right.

(Why Aria is lying: ......)

　I have no idea, as expected.
　There is a possibility that the culprit is a man who was seen on the way - perhaps he and Aria knew each other.
　If that is the reason why she missed the scene, it could be explained.
　However, this is something you can only find out by asking the man himself.

(Even if you say "......", since he said he handed it over, you will probably get the same answer even if you question him.

　If the case was still stolen, the Order would probably have been contacted by the person who stole it.
　If the case was still stolen, the Order would have been contacted by the thief, but no such report has been received.
　No one was aware that there was a thief and that the case had been stolen.
　I headed towards the market first.
　I decided to go to a stall near the place where I thought the case had been stolen and ask for help.

Excuse me, sir.
Come in. Are you running an errand?
No, I just wanted to ask you a few questions.
......, I'm working. I'm sorry, but you'll have to find someone else to pass the time.

　The shopkeeper's attitude changes completely. The shopkeeper's attitude changed drastically. He must have thought I was a child playing.
　...... I'm used to this kind of thing.
　I'm also a knight, but unfortunately, due to my appearance and age, I'm rarely seen as such.
　It's easier to just listen to the story than to bother explaining it.

"Well, don't be like that. I'll buy you one of these.
I'll buy you one." "Every time. ...... I can't help it, what do you want to know?
I think there's been a robbery in the area.
I think there was a robbery in the neighborhood. Oh, you mean the one where the guy was shouting, "Thief! A girl was chasing him. That was a hell of a move.

　Apparently, the shopkeeper was watching the thief and Aria's movements very closely.
　But that's not the point.

What happened to the person who had his luggage stolen?
"What?　What do you mean? ...... Well, he was gone when I found him. I thought he might have gone to get his knight or something, but he was playing detective.　I don't know what you're talking about.
That's about it. Thank you very much.
You can play, but that's something you should leave to the knights.
Yes, I'll be careful.

　I am exactly that knight, but I'll keep that part to myself.
　...... The owner of the store told me that it was true that there was a thief, and people around here know that.
　He probably thinks that the case has been solved.
　The fact is that both the thief and the victim of the theft have disappeared.

(I guess I'll have to ask Aria one more time.)

　It was no use thinking about it.
　I decided to go back to the school.
　I'm going to go back to the school. If Aria still says she gave him up, I'll go back to the office and check again.
　As strange as it sounds, since no damage has been reported, the knight will not do any more work. No, that's right, they can't.
　It's a story that ...... Remy Lemire would find interesting.
　I went back towards the school and headed directly to the girls' dormitory, where I saw Iris looking around.
　When she noticed me, she immediately ran over to me.

"Teacher!　Aria, have you seen me anywhere?
"No!　You're not here?
I wasn't in my room, and I've looked all over the ...... school grounds, but I can't find her.

　I'm not sure what to make of that.
　It is possible that he has not yet returned to the school.

He might be resting somewhere.
I'm going to go look around outside the school again.
Yeah, I'll...
That won't be necessary.



　It was Aria's voice that interrupted my words.
　Aria came to me as if she were softly falling from the sky.
　I guess that's what it means to be mysterious.
　Iris ran up to Aria.

"Aria!　Where have you been?
On the roof. I was tired, so I took a rest.
Rooftop? I thought I looked there too. ......
I'm not so naive as to let Iris find me.
You should be worried. ......

　When Aria answers with a two-fingered piece of paper, Iris looks relieved.
　It seems that he has not disappeared for the time being.

I'm not sure what to make of this.
"Yes!　Yes, just now.
Did he tell you that I wasn't there?

　Aria asked, as if she could see right through my thoughts.
　I nodded and answered.
　I nodded and answered.

I nodded and said, "Yes. Maybe it's just that it hasn't been reported yet.
"No. Maybe not.
What do you mean?
What do you mean? - "Maybe the person I handed over wasn't a knight.

　Aria said this with a slightly sullen expression.
　It is possible that the person you handed over was not a knight - in other words, a collaborator of the thief Aria caught.

(That certainly makes sense, though.)
But we haven't received any reports of stolen goods yet.
"Well, Aria said she returned it. She said she got the package back and used magic to return it.

　Iris replied as if to follow up.
　If she got the package back and returned it to the victim - if she did that much, then the case is certainly solved.
　The question is the whereabouts of the thief and the knight who handed him over.
　There are still some questions, but I think Aria did what she had to do.
　And I'm the one who entrusted her with the chase.

...... So it's possible that the knight trickster and the thief got away.
I'm sorry. I might not have noticed.
No, that would have been our responsibility. You did a good job, Aria. Do you know what the knight looks like?
Yes, I'll write it down for you later.

　Aria nodded her head and answered.
　If she's so cooperative, it's unlikely that Aria is protecting the thief.

Suspicion of a student... (As a teacher, I don't want to be suspicious of my students if I can help it.

　I'm not only a knight, but I'm also a teacher at this school.
　I'll investigate the matter myself first.

"Oh, yes. Aria, are you feeling okay?
I'm fine. You said you were just tired. You called off your date all the way here?
It's not a date in the first place. ....... Anyway, I'm glad nothing happened.
It's my job to worry about Iris, so you don't have to worry about anything.

　You two are as close as ever.
　I'm sure they'll have more fun together on their days off than with me.
　In the end, the day ended with an incident that was a bit of a mystery.
　Neither Iris nor I had any idea that a few days later, Aria would disappear.