We made a tentative deal with a few stray dogs and asked them to search the city for Mr. Alpha's scent on Iris' body...

But you won't find it.
Yeah.

　In front of me, the dogs looked troubled and cooed and whimpered.
　They couldn't find their target and came back.

'Alright. Thanks for your hard work. Here's your reward.

　I pat the dogs on the head and give them the meat on the bone that I bought in advance.
　Are you sure?　He looked at me like, "I'm sorry," but when he took a bite of the bone-in meat in his mouth, he ran off happily.

'You're rewarding me for my failure?
You did your job. I'm not gonna be a dick about not getting it right.
What are you going to do now?　Shall I use wild birds next?
'Wild birds have good eyes, but they don't have an excellent nose like dogs do. I think it's a very fine line between what we can expect and what we can expect to achieve.
So you have a better idea?
Well......

　It's not like we're going to find Mr. Alpha with the methods we've been using.
　We'll have to go with some kind of entanglement.
　Then.....

...Okay, let's give it a try.
For coming up with your next plan so easily, Master Lane is out of the norm...

　It's not that I'm substandard, although Iris says it with a dumbfounded and impressed look.
　There is no limit to what one person can do....
　I'm always getting help from someone else.
　That's all.

　So don't be conceited, don't be smug....
　I think we need to continue to be honest with someone.



----------



All right, we're all set. I'm sorry, but we're gonna need your help again.

　I signed another tentative contract with the dogs I mentioned earlier.
　The dogs didn't seem to have any problems.......if anything, they were wagging their tails in a motivated manner, as if they were trying to redeem themselves.

'You're going to use the dogs again?　But you failed once...
Now, I'll change it up a bit. Follow in the footsteps of the Alpha, not the man himself.
Footprints?
'The dream encompasses the entire Kagne. I don't think we can remotely control all of this, as expected, so I think Alpha is somewhere in this city. So far?
Yes, I can't argue with that.
'Of course, I'm hiding out to avoid detection. But we can't stay in hiding all the time. We have to go out there to buy food and other things. I have to get in touch with someone, somewhere. Some people cut ties with the mundane world and live completely self-sufficient... but I don't think we can afford to do that while maintaining our dreams. So.....
'I see. You mean, following in the footsteps of Mr. Alpha, who inevitably leaves behind when he goes out, right?
Correct.

　It's a bit of a detour, but this should help us find Mr. Alpha.
　The dogs do their best once again and we follow the trail.

　The first step is to go downtown, where various shops are lined up.
　The dogs will lead you to a small restaurant at the far end of the street.
　From there, we follow more footprints, but...

　When we came to the outskirts of town, the dogs were lost again.
　They are wandering to the right and left, whimpering in confusion.
　They can't seem to trace the scent any further.

'It's not a river or some other place where the scent is broken. So that means........
Warding...?
Maybe it's the right thing to do.

　No wonder the dogs fail twice.
　I mean, they should have at least considered the possibility of warding...hmmm.
　Maybe it's because everyone else is taken in by the dream, or maybe I was in a hurry and missed some minor possibilities.
　I need to calm down and keep my cool.

　That's what I told myself as I gave the dogs their reward and parted ways.

'I guess we'll have to find our own way down the road.
''Fortunately, I think we're halfway there. Now if we could only manage the wards...
Couldn't Iris disarm them?
"If it's something used in battle, such as defensive wards, you can break them by force, but if it's a hallucinatory ward that deceives the place, it's difficult. If it's okay to bomb the whole area, we can blow them all up together, but.......
No, okay?
'Yes. I was hoping you would say that.

　Like Tania, why does the strongest species have a tendency to lean in the direction of the most dangerous ideas...?
　Are they a fighting race...?

Well, no need to push the boundaries.
What do you mean?
'We've tracked down the store where we think Mr. Alpha might have a foot in the door. Then it's going to be an endurance battle, but all we have to do is ambush him there.
I see. Well, now that you mention it, I suppose.

　Once Iris is convinced, I go back downtown and make a stakeout near a small store.
　Iris and I hide in the shadows and wait for Mr. Alpha to arrive.

'He doesn't show up very often, does he?'
We've only been on the stakeout for a little while now. We'll just have to be patient.
I don't like to do the simple things.
No well apparently we won't be kept waiting.

　A woman appeared.
　A single horn sprouted from her forehead.
　Her hair was parted to the left and right around that corner and flowed over her shoulders.
　She was quite beautiful, although she wore a somewhat reserved air.
　I think ten people out of ten would fawn over her.

　She wears wide, loose clothing.
　Clothes..........is it?
　I've hardly ever seen the type before...well, is this what a kimono is called, passed down to Kagne?

　That woman is heading straight for us.
　Stopping in front of us, she bowed lightly and gave a gentle smile.

''Hello.''
Oh, yes ... hello.

　I can't help but reflexively return the thank you for my too-normal attitude.
　However, Iris next to me has a stern look on her face.

'How do you do, Alpha-san?'

　Iris said with a spine in her voice.
　I knew it, this is Alpha-san........

　At first glance, I understood it intuitively, but....
　However, I can't hide my confusion about showing up so easily like this.

　As if reading my mind, Alpha-san opens her mouth.

''I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to hide my appearance.......I was concentrating on maintaining the wards earlier, so I naturally did something that kept both people and animals away. I apologize.
'Well I mean, do you admit that you are creating this status quo?'
Yes, I know.

　It was easily admitted.
　Normally in these situations, there is a development of denial or bluntness...?
　Besides, I can't sense any kind of malice from Alpha-san.

　He seems to be a different type of person in many ways than the ones I've dealt with in the past.
　This could be dangerous.
　I brace myself and continue the conversation.

'There's a lot of things I need to ask you about, okay?'
'Yes, that's fine. I showed up like this to talk to you guys.
Talk to us?　It was ... for what purpose?
'You are the ones who have awakened from my dream. Why are you doing this?　Why do we walk through the painful reality?　I wanted to ask you about that. Also, if I could, I wanted you to embrace my dream again.

　That's no different than a declaration of hostility...
　But even at times like this, I didn't feel any hostility or malice from her.
　On the contrary, I felt her concern and kindness towards us.

　She considers her own actions to be an absolute good...?
　Otherwise, I can't explain this attitude.

'Well....'

　Alpha-san suddenly looked troubled.
　He looked at me a few times and clammed up... oh, so that's what he meant.

'My bad. Come to think of it, we haven't introduced ourselves.

　Whatever you're dealing with, at least have the decency to show it.

My name is Rain Shroud. I'm an adventurer.
Thank you. I am Alpha. I'm a demon of the dreamer demon species. And I am a happy dream guide.