-122- Is she really here?

In the outskirts, not far from the mansion, on an open piece of land.

At this moment, Rozen, Irori, and Komurasaki appeared here.

"Alright," Rozen said after bringing the two dolls here, "let's take this place as our starting point and focus on finding Yaya first."

Hearing this, Irori and Komurasaki exchanged puzzled glances.

Then, Komurasaki couldn't resist asking, "But how do you plan to find Yaya, Nuragami-sama? The 'Heaven's Eye' ability probably won't help you locate her so quickly, will it?"

Naturally, that was the case. Even though Rozen's "Heaven's Eye" had improved considerably compared to five years ago, both in range and accuracy, it still only covered a radius of a few hundred meters centered around him. How could he find Yaya in the vast world?

Irori wanted Rozen's help, but it seemed like a last-ditch effort. Still, it was better than nothing.

However, it had to be said that this time, Irori had actually chosen the right person.

"Of course, I have my own methods," Rozen replied without explaining and turned to Irori, asking, "Have you brought the item you were supposed to?"

"I did bring it," Irori responded with confusion, walking closer and unfolding what she was holding in her hand.

It was a hair tie used to bind hair.

And, it was something Irori had taken from Yaya's room.

"This is the hair tie Yaya has been using. I'm responsible for washing it, and this one hasn't been washed yet."

Irori held the hair tie in her hand, looking at Rozen with a doubtful expression.

She looked like she was...

"Nuragami-sama, you're not secretly collecting Yaya's personal items, are you?" Irori expressed her suspicion without reservation.

"...That look just now was definitely the kind of look someone gives to a pervert." Rozen twitched at the corner of his mouth, making even Komurasaki laugh on the side.

In response, Rozen spoke in a slightly annoyed tone, "I don't have such secretive inclinations. Hand over the hair tie."

Rozen extended his hand towards Irori.

Looking at Rozen's hand, Irori's eyes still held a hint of suspicion. However, she didn't insist further. She hesitated for a moment before passing the hair tie to Rozen.

Rozen rolled his eyes and turned around. He whistled loudly towards the nearby woods.

The next second...

"Woof!"

With a series of barking sounds, a pack of wild dogs seemed to have been summoned. They appeared, popping their heads out from the trees, and then rushed towards them.

"Dogs?" Irori was surprised.

"Wow!" Komurasaki's eyes glittered like stars.

In the midst of this, the pack of wild dogs ran over and arrived in front of Rozen.

"Good boy."

Rozen squatted down, petting each of the dogs' heads one by one while enjoying the feeling of being surrounded by them.

"So adorable!"

Komurasaki's expression immediately turned longing, unable to resist, she approached and hugged one of the dogs from the pack.

"Nuragami-sama, what is this...?" Although Irori's expression had relaxed, she still asked the question.

As such, Rozen answered.

"I stumbled upon them during one of my outings and became acquainted. Since then, we've gotten along."

Rozen responded to Irori's query in this way.

Of course, this was a made-up reason to appease them.

In reality, these dogs were summoned by Rozen using the "Summon Canine" magic within the mansion beforehand, and he had them hidden in the woods until now, only now letting them out as his familiars.

Not knowing this, Komurasaki held a dog and expressed her discontent.

"So much fun stuff, and you didn't tell me? How mean!" After all, Rozen usually went out with Komurasaki, so she thought he had secretly kept this from her.

"Well, I just play with them when I have free time. Now, they should be able to help us a bit," Rozen reassured Komurasaki and took the hair tie from Irori.

Seeing this, both Irori and Komurasaki understood.

"I know!" Komurasaki's eyes lit up. "You want the dogs to smell Yaya's hair tie and find her scent, right?"

That's exactly it. Even if the "Heaven's Eye" range wasn't enough, he could make up for it using familiars.

In the past, during simulated battles at Chaldea, Rozen had split his consciousness into hundreds of parts, used a flock of birds as familiars to map out the battlefield's shape and enemy distribution, and even lured enemies into traps.

Now, Rozen intended to have the pack of dogs follow Yaya's scent and locate her.

"Is that okay?" Irori voiced her concerns. "These are stray dogs from who knows where. Does Nuragami-sama have a way to make them obedient?"

If they were just ordinary dogs, it would indeed be difficult.

Unfortunately, all of these dogs were Rozen's familiars, so there was no issue.

"Just watch."

Rozen gave Irori a reassuring look, then placed the hair tie in front of himself.

"Woof!"

The dogs immediately gathered around, sniffing the scent of the hair tie.

"Do you all got it?"

Rozen began giving commands.

"Okay, you can spread out."

Following Rozen's command, the pack of dogs dispersed in all directions, starting their work.

"Ah..." Komurasaki sighed with a bit of regret. "The dogs are leaving."

"I hope this works out," Irori said, worried. "I hope we can find Yaya smoothly."

Observing the contrasting behavior of these two doll girls, Rozen shrugged, mentally connecting with his familiars, and followed the dispersing pack of dogs to trace Yaya's scent.

And so, they searched for a whole half hour.

Until thirty minutes later...

"Woof!"

A dog suddenly dashed over from a distance and barked at Rozen.

In front of Irori and Komurasaki, Rozen delivered the news that surprised them.

"Alright, we've found Yaya."

And not just found her, but in an unexpected place.

...

This was the closest city to the outskirts.

Unlike the desolate outskirts, this city was bustling with crowds moving to and fro.

"Nuragami, Irori nee-sama, hurry up!"

Komurasaki ran on one of the city's streets, laughing joyfully as she waved towards Rozen and Irori.

"Komurasaki! Don't run around, it's dangerous!" Irori quickly followed.

Rozen walked over at a leisurely pace.

The group was familiar with this city. Rozen and Komurasaki had often sneaked out here, and Irori had also visited numerous times to buy supplies and groceries for the mansion. Naturally, they were familiar with the place.

However...

"Is Yaya really here?"

Irori, who had caught up with Komurasaki, returned to Rozen's side and asked this question.

Rozen replied with great confidence.

"Yes, Yaya is here."