Iris chased after Alia on her own.

Alta too tried to chase after the thief but decided to give priority to saving someone along the way.

As Alta went to the left to do so, Iris went over to Alia instead.

It was quite a distance away, but Iris managed to chase Alia through all the crowds of people.

This didn’t go as smoothly for her as it would have been for Alia and Alta, but still…

As she finally reached the end of the alleyway she saw Alia standing there.

“Alia?”

“…”

Even though she called out to her, Alia didn’t react.

It was quite a strange feeling, so Iris called out to her again once she got closer.

“Alia!”

“Iris…”

Startled, Alia turned around to face Iris.

Her face was as boorish as always, nothing different was really to be seen in her expression.

Alia tilted her head and said

“What’s up?”

“What’s up? Really? I just called out twice, and you gave no reaction whatsoever”

“Sorry, I was thinking about something.”

“Thinking about something? That’s new. What about the thief you were chasing? Did he get away?”

“No. I caught him, and handed him over to the knights”

“That fast? And what about the stolen goods?”

“I gave them back”

“Wha- How? The guy that he stole from was just-“

“My magic can do that” – Alia said, as she interrupted Iris.

Alia’s magic – It uses [Shadow] to effectively throw weapons and actually hit people with it.

I suppose she could indeed use it to transport items to people far away.

Yet, the man who had his goods stolen was truly far away.

Still, something must’ve happened to her.

“Alia, did something happen?”

“No, nothing. Why?”

“Well.. You seem different than usual”

“No, I am myself. Like always”

It’s true, Alia’s seemed to be her usual self somehow.

As I wondered whether I was mistaken, Alta showed up from behind too.

“Sorry, I’m a tad bit late. So the thief-“

“Already dealt with. Thank you for just now, teach”

“I figured you’d be able to give chase best. Still, he was quite quick, huh? I was also surprised that there were so few knights around, too”

These words gave Iris quite a discomforting feeling.

“Yeah, they just left. They’re quick, huh?”

“I will confirm about that later – But, first, Alia. Did something happen?”

“!Why do you keep asking that!?”

“Nothing, you just don’t seem to be your usual self”

Alta had the same feeling as Iris.

Still, Alia did not change her attitude

“It’s nothing… I’m just a bit tired. I am going home.”

“Wha- So suddenly?”

“Just enjoy the date with Mr. Schweiss, ok Iris?”

“Hey!”

Alia left the scene with a laugh, and dashed out quickly.

I don’t know whether she holds herself back usually, but this time she left with a speed I had never seen before.

And before I knew it she disappeared out of sight.

At a glance, it just seemed like something only Alia would do.

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh.. Nothing. I don’t really know what to say. It’s hard to express with words, but Alia’s demeanor seemed stranger than usual…”

“I suppose it did. I was wondering about that too.”

“You thought so too?”

“Well, I am mostly concerned about the thief though. No matter how quick a knight works, it is strange for them to just leave the crime scene without leaving any information to either the person in question or to other knights. That just doesn’t happen. You and I also didn’t take that long to actually get here either”

“So, Alia let the thief go?”

“If that’s the case, then we would also have to explain that to the person who’s case got stolen. And we have to lie, and make sure that Alia says the same later.”

“That’s right. Still, Alia would never just let a thief go like that.”

That was exactly the thought Alta too had. That’s why he let Alia chase after the thief in the first place.

They both had many unanswered questions, which really didn’t seem to get them anywhere.

“For now, try and see whether you can get something out of Alia. I will also try when the timing is right. For now, I will investigate with the knights first.”

“Thank you. Also, who was the person that you saved?”

“Hahaha, she got angry at me saying, [You didn’t need to save me]”

Alta said, as he was smiling reluctantly.

It really felt as if he was some sort of warrior.

“So you save her, and that is how she expresses gratitude?”

“She did seem familiar though.”

“Do you have any clue as to who she was?”

“Absolutely. It’s someone you know very well too, Iris.”

“Really? Who is it?”

As Iris asked, you could see that Alta was going to answer in a very, [Yes, who could that be, huh] kind of manner.

“Are you really not going to say it?!”

“Consider this part of your training. After all, a sharp eye is all the more important, right?”

“I don’t care about noticing this stuff or not, stop being so dodgy!”

“No no, I am not being dodgy at all”

As Alta smiled at Iris, she got all the more confused.

The person Alta’s talking about is from a story of sometime back.