Upon arriving at the village of Salem, I quickly noticed that far fewer knights remained stationed there.
The reason was simple.
Because of the recent increase in attacks by Demonic Beasts—one of which had already wiped out an entire village—the threat level of the region had risen dramatically.
Most of the knights had already departed on expeditions, tasked with hunting as many beasts as possible before another tragedy could occur.
Not wanting to attract unnecessary attention, I made sure our arrival was modest.
Instead of a noble carriage, I rode in a simple one.
The knights assigned to guard me also dressed as ordinary soldiers.
Because of that, people simply judged me to be a minor noble passing through the village.
And thankfully, it worked.
We blended in easily, attracting very little attention.
When we stopped at a small inn, I let out a tired yawn.
The long days of travel had clearly taken their toll on me.
I decided that my search for Alicia would begin tomorrow.
For now, rest was more important.
Lying in bed, I quietly contemplated my next move.
If I truly intended to recruit the heroine of this story as an ally, I would need to approach carefully.
Making one wrong move could ruin everything.
As those thoughts filled my mind, my vision slowly began to darken, and before long, sleep claimed me.
When I woke up the next morning, I was greeted by a calm smile.
"Good morning, Young Master."
"Morning…" I replied sleepily.
After getting dressed, I stepped out into the streets of Salem, fully aware that today would likely be a long search.
And it was.
Surprisingly though, it only took until the afternoon for me to find the person I was looking for.
Yuki, however, had been rather annoying throughout the entire search.
He kept asking why we were wandering through narrow alleyways and less populated areas.
Honestly, I couldn't blame him. At one point, a group of men even attempted to rob us.
They were dealt with quickly.
Very quickly.
Eventually, as the day dragged on, I began to consider giving up for now and continuing the search tomorrow.
That was when we passed by a small bakery.
And then—
I stopped walking.
My heart began to race.
There, sitting near the side of the building, was a blue-haired child.
Dirt covered her clothes, and she looked exhausted as she slept quietly beside the wall.
There was no doubt about it.
That child was most likely Alicia, the heroine of this story.
I walked into the bakery and bought some bread.
Then I slowly approached her.
Kneeling slightly, I gently handed the bread to the child while giving her a warm smile.
Her eyes opened.
But instead of gratitude, what greeted me was suspicion.
Wariness.
She looked at me as if I might harm her.
Seeing that reaction, I sighed inwardly.
Only one thought crossed my mind.
Oh boy…
This is not going to be as easy as I thought.