"....... You lost him. There are still some signs of him. ......

　By the time Aria landed in the castle town, the man had already finished hiding.
　There are still signs of him, but they are quite thin, as he is an assassin.

　Also, it was the time of the day when people were active, and the crowd was almost swallowed up.
　It would be nearly impossible to find a single man in this situation.

　However, Aria's pride would not allow her to let go of the tail she had finally grasped.

　Fixing her disheveled clothes, she walked proudly into the crowd.

"Hey, little girl. Are you alone?　Did you get separated?

(What's with this woman ......?　No, it's more like a good thing.)

　A woman comes up to Aria, who is following the assassin's trail.
　Judging by what she's wearing, she seems to be a fairly common citizen.

　The fact that she is crouching down to meet Aria's eyes suggests that she is not a bad person.
　He must have simply been curious about Aria walking alone.

　I thought about ignoring her, but since Aria would not be able to talk to me if I missed this opportunity, I decided to continue the conversation.

"Didn't a suspicious man pass by here earlier?

Didn't a suspicious man pass by here earlier?　Hmm, I don't know if I saw him or not.

That's enough.

What?　What?

　Realizing that there was no point in talking any more, Aria cut him off without a second thought.
　If you take too much time, the sign might disappear.
　A sign is a rather vague piece of information, but this woman is less than that.

　To the stunned woman, Aria continued walking without looking back.


(Hmm?　Did it stop moving?)

　The presence stops moving.
　If I'm not mistaken, it means the assassin has stopped moving.
　Is there a dwelling nearby, or is it for some other reason?

　The truth was unknown, but either way, Aria was grateful for the situation.
　Since there was no one like Dorothy, she would have to search one by one, but the goal was definitely in sight.

　Relying on the signs, she went into the dark and airy alleyway.

(It's a typical place. Stray dogs and vagrants seem to like it.)

　The back alley was a completely uncultured and outlaw scene.
　Furniture that could no longer be used, dead animals, and shards of glass were scattered everywhere.

　Needless to say, it was not a place one would want to be near.

"Hey, sweetie. Running away from home?

"......

　As I walked deeper into the alleyway, a man spotted Aria.
　There was something unusual about his expression.
　From the way he was dressed, it was clear that he had been living in this alleyway for a long time.

　If he lived a normal life, any number of women would come up to him.
　If it weren't for your beard and dirty clothes, you'd be hooked right now.

Don't ignore me. Why are you here all alone?　I think you're old enough to know when you're not supposed to be here.

I'm looking for someone. Have you seen a suspicious man pass by here?

Of course I know.

　The man smiled wryly.
　Aria's instincts told her instantly that this man was one of the assassins.
　At the very least, he must have been involved with the assassin.

　Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to answer so quickly without even pretending to think.

"Do you want to know?　Wouldn't you like to know?

"...... I guess so.

　The man stood up and slowly approached Aria.

What if I said I'd show you around?

I'd love to.

"Yes, sir.

　The man smiles wryly and immediately chokes Aria.
　The man's movements were quite familiar, indicating that he was originally a soldier of some sort.

　But...
　Naturally, this would not work on the Demon Lord, and Aria did not even feel pain.
　She only accepts it because it saves her the trouble of searching for herself.

　In order to show that she is suffering, she taps the man's arm, while putting up with the discomfort of the dirty clothes hitting her body.

...... Huh, that was pretty easy. My brother was freaked out by all this?

(...... patience patience)

　Carrying Aria on his shoulders, the man made his way to the entrance to the basement a short distance away.
　All the while, Aria pretended to faint with what little patience she had.