After spreading misinformation on both the human and demon realms' social media platforms, Alice temporarily split up with Zauna.
Zauna went back to the Gryffin Church under Alice's behest to notify Father Kasandora that Alice had slipped out of the church. After all, even though Father Kasandora had somewhat forced the position of Hero onto Alice, he had provided ample care toward Alice the "Hero." Meanwhile, he would most likely fall into a panic if he suddenly discovered that Alice and Zauna had suddenly vanished from the second floor. Hence, Alice decided to have Zauna head back to notify Father Kasandora to avoid worrying the old priest.
There was also no need to worry about the possibility of the reporters crowding the church suspecting that Zauna might be related to the Hero. Nobody had noticed Alice and Zauna leaving the church. So, even if Zauna returned to the church now without concealing herself, nobody would think that she had been staying together with the Hero on the church's second floor around an hour ago.
As for Alice, she intended on familiarizing herself with Mana City and then seek out the thief-turned-paparazzi girl. It wouldn't be difficult to find the girl, either, since Alice had the girl's phone in her possession. There were some clues inside that could help her locate the other party.
After Zauna left, Alice found a remote corner in the Gryffin Forest and put down the Milu Rabbit hanging from her waist. Afterward, she visited a nearby stream, filled the cup she got from Zauna with water, and stood some distance away from the rabbit. Then, she aimed and splashed the cup of water onto the rabbit.
Alice's actions were a necessity. Whenever the Milu Rabbit regained consciousness, so long as Alice was anywhere near it, it would immediately find a suitable object to ram itself into unconsciousness. Hence, to prevent the little fellow from repeating this action, Alice had no choice but to wake it up from a distance.
Meanwhile, the Milu Rabbit's eyes snapped open and stood up when the cold river fell on its body. Then, it raised its furry paws and scratched its neck, seemingly surprised by the fact that there was no rope tied to itself. Afterward, it noticed Alice looking at itself from a distance.
Fortunately, probably because Alice was sufficiently far away, the Milu Rabbit did not ram itself against the nearest tree. Instead, it stared at Alice in confusion, wondering why the girl was staying so far away from itself.
According to the information Alice found on the internet, Milu Rabbits weren't intelligent magical beasts. Instead, it was only an animal species unique to this world. Hence, after seeing that the Milu Rabbit in front of her had regained consciousness, she didn't try to communicate with it verbally. Instead, she waved goodbye at it, physically expressing to the Milu Rabbit that it was already free.
However, the Milu Rabbit's reaction was the exact opposite of Alice's expectations. After seeing Alice waving at it, the rabbit didn't leave. Instead, it tentatively took a few steps toward Alice before stopping.
Did this rabbit knock itself silly?
Alice wondered in surprise. Then, she took several steps back, only to see the Milu Rabbit taking a few steps toward herself again.
Does it not want to leave?
The Milu Rabbit remained stationary even after Alice repeatedly gestured that it was free. At this point, Alice was certain that the Milu Rabbit didn't wish to leave. This was probably because it had already gotten used to staying by her side, even if 23 out of the 24 hours of its days were spent unconscious.
What the heck…
Alice sighed. Then, she crouched down and beckoned at the Milu Rabbit with her hand. And even though she felt that it was silly to speak to an animal without intelligence, she still subconsciously opened her mouth and said, "Come here if you don't want to leave."
When the Milu Rabbit heard Alice's words, it shook its head and decisively...rammed its head against the nearest tree, knocking itself unconscious in a clean and tidy fashion.
...Does it want to go with me? Or does it not want me to get close to it?
Alice let out a frustrated sigh as she wondered what was going through the Milu Rabbit's mind. However, since the little fellow had already knocked itself unconscious, if she left it alone, the Boria Wolves of this forest would probably turn it into a snack in no time. So, Alice had no choice but to retrieve the Milu Rabbit and hang it around her waist like a pendant. When necessary, it could also serve as a convenient weapon for Alice.
It was fortunate that the Milu Rabbit would only gain the Penetration ability when Alice used it as a weapon. At most, its head was slightly sturdier than the average Milu Rabbit. Otherwise, the objects around Alice would probably be in danger of destruction since the Milu Rabbit repeated its cycle of waking up and fainting more than a dozen times a day.
Now that Alice had achieved her goal of diverting the public's attention, she guessed that many people, both humans and demons, would be flooding the Gryffin Forest. However, none of this was Alice's concern anymore. What she needed to do next was pretend to be an ordinary civilian and leave the Gryffin Forest.
After tying the Milu Rabbit around her waist, Alice straightened her wrinkled dress. The dress she currently wore was something a nun had bought for her this morning. Its design resembled the blue-white dress she wore when she transmigrated to this world, though its quality was slightly inferior. So, it could be considered the civilian version of her old dress. Alice naturally wouldn't be picky about such a trivial matter. The dress made her look less likely to be the Hero in every respect at the very least, which perfectly suited her intentions.
Now, what Alice needed to do next was familiarize herself with Mana City's layout and look for the thief girl. Since the thief girl could bypass the realm barrier, she must have other information on the demon realm that others did not know. Now that the demons have already set their sights on the "Hero," Alice urgently needed more information on the demon race. Hence, even though she had previously agreed to let the thief girl go, she had no choice but to recapture the girl now.
"Let's see... This fellow's identity is..."
While walking out of the Gryffin Forest, Alice unlocked the phone she seized from the thief girl. This phone was the girl's personal phone as it stored many of her personal information. It was also for this reason why Alice and Zauna had agreed to let the thief girl go. After all, how could an amateur journalist who used her personal phone to take pictures and voice recordings possibly have any other evidence pertaining to Alice's identity?
In no time at all, Alice found some useful information inside the phone. For example, the phone similarly had the LINK application installed. Moreover, when Alice opened the app, she was immediately greeted by the thief girl's profile homepage and account ID. And to Alice's surprise, she even found the identity verification checkmark conspicuously located beside the thief girl's ID. Meanwhile, the thief girl's verified identity was...
"A Level 2 Certified Mercenary in the Mercenary Union and a Special Reporter from Twilight Daily..."
Alice nodded in realization. She now had a rough idea of how she should locate this wanted person.