When I entered the village with my students, I went to the village chief's house first.

　I knocked on the door of the chief's house and told him that I was from the Hero's Guild.

　When the old chief opened the door and saw us, he tilted his head and said, "What?

"...... Excuse me, but aren't you the Demon Lord Hunter?

　He seemed to be wondering.

　Well, he looked like a young man with three beautiful young girls, so it was understandable that he would be wondering.
　It's the usual pattern.

　I managed to gain the trust of the village chief by showing him the letter of introduction from the heroes guild and the heroes card.

Excuse me for this. Please come in.

　The chief then led us into the house and listened to us in the reception room.

　I asked the chief a straightforward question.

"Chief. I think a hero named Cecilia came to this village, do you know where she is now?

　Then the chief answered, leaning forward a little.

Oh, so that's what this is about. It is true that Cecilia came to the village about a week ago to investigate the disappearance of the village. Just .......

Just?

Yes. Cecilia came to the village in the early afternoon and it was the middle of the night that day. She came to this house and said. I may not be around for a while, but don't worry, the case will be solved. Please don't contact the heroes' guild either. I haven't seen Cecilia since then, and when I asked the people in the village, they said they hadn't seen her after that day.

　...... Hmm?
　What the hell is that?

　Cecilia hinted at her own disappearance?
　And don't even contact the heroes guild?

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

"No, ........ In the event that you have any kind of questions regarding where and how to use the internet, you can call us at the web site. In the event that you're looking for the best way to get the most out of your business, you'll be able to get the most out of your business.

"I see. ......

　In the event you're not sure what you're looking for, you'll be able to find out more about it on the web.

　In the event that you have any questions concerning where and how to use the internet, you can contact us at ........

　In the event that you're not sure what to do, you'll be able to find out how to do it.

　Well, that's beside the point.
　I was immediately troubled.

　I don't know what Cecilia's intentions were when she said that, but now my lead to Cecilia has been destroyed.

　That being the case...

"Then, may I know more about the disappearance in the first place, village chief?

　The only thing left to do was to follow the same investigative path that Cecilia would have followed.
　It may be a roundabout way, but the sooner we do it, the better.

　The mayor replied, "I understand," and pondered a bit before continuing.

The first person to go missing was the only daughter of a family living in this village. When her parents woke up one morning, they found that her daughter had disappeared from the house. ....... But if that was the only thing that happened, it still seemed like she might have run away from home or something. Over the next few days, there was a string of disappearances of young girls and children in the village.

I see. ....... So I asked the heroes' guild for help. And Cecilia was sent to help.

Yes, sir.

　It is true that if it is only the first case, but if there have been several similar disappearances, it is logical to suspect that it is a case.

　On top of that, the disappearance of Cecilia herself, who had come to investigate.

　What is curious, however, are the words Cecilia left behind when she visited the village chief's house before her disappearance.

"Don't worry if you disappear," she said, "and don't contact the heroes' guild.
　I have no idea why Cecilia left such words.

　Based on the information I have obtained so far, it seems natural to think that Cecilia herself is helping to cover up the incident.

　However, that doesn't match the image I have of Cecilia.
　Even such a bad hero would not be the kind of person who would be involved in such a criminal act.

　Did someone who should be called the true culprit have her in some kind of weakness?
　Or...

　No.
　There's too little information to narrow down the truth at this point.

　And as I was thinking this, the hem of my dress was tugged at.

　I turned around and saw Maifa staring at me with shaking eyes.

"...... brother. The ...... Cecilia sister is different. I'm not sure what to make of this. ...... sister is a pervert, but she's not the kind of person who would be involved in the evil of kidnapping children for selfishness. The ...... sister is a bad person, but a good person at heart.

　It's a good thing that I'm not the only one who has a problem with this.

　However, Maifa had bunked with Cecilia many times and knew her personality well.

　And Rio and Iris, who had cuddled with Cecilia as well as Meifa, were also staring at me.

"Brother, I don't think Cecilia would do something like that either.

"Me too, sir. Cecilia may be a bad person, but she's not a bad person.

　Seeing the sincere eyes of the three of them, I chuckled.

　Cecilia, it's funny how you always preface your questions with "you're a bad person, but you're not a bad person," but we all agreed that you're not a bad person at heart.

　I patted the heads of Maifa, Rio, and Iris one by one.

　Each one of them squealed "squishy", "wafu", "kyan", etc., and cuddled comfortably.


　Cute.

I know. I don't think Cecilia's involved in anything bad either. That's not who she is.

　When I told them that, their faces lit up with happiness.
　Very cute.

I'm not sure what to make of that. ...... Do you know what that is?

　Maifa asks the same question I've been asking myself.

　I'm sure you do.
　I keep coming back to it.

　I don't have enough information yet.
　I don't know how I'm going to get that information, though. .......

"By the way, Mr. Mayor, how many daughters and boys in the village are known to have disappeared?

　When I asked him that, he nodded and answered.

I asked him, and he nodded and replied, "There are four who have disappeared, not including Cecilia. When the fourth person disappeared, I gave strict orders to everyone in the village not to go out at night. Since then, there have been no more disappearances.

"Really? ......?

　...... Hmm?
　I felt something in the village chief's words that stuck with me.

"...... Well, Mr. Mayor. I'm not sure what to make of that.　Is it absolutely safe to go out in the morning, daytime or evening?

"...... Oh, yes. I don't know if it is absolutely safe, but all four of them disappeared in the middle of the night. And all of them seemed to have gone out of the house by themselves.

"I see. ......

　All the disappearances took place in the middle of the night.
　If you forbid people to go out at night, they don't get hurt anymore.

　This seems to be useful information as a clue to follow the case.

By the way, is Cecilia at ......?

"Oh, it seems that Cecilia has been going out at night to investigate. It was also in the middle of the night when she visited my house and told me what she had done.

　...... Hmm.

　I look out the open wooden window from the parlor of the village chief's house.

　The sky was covered with dense clouds, and the faintest glimpse of the setting sun was about to sink into the mountains to the west.

If you don't go into the tiger's hole, you won't get the tiger.

　I muttered to myself.