The sunset was like fire.

Looking down from high above, clusters of dense buildings spread across the ground, occasionally interspersed with skyscrapers.

Aside from Roppongi, the Port District's biggest attraction would be the foreign embassies there.

Morimoto Chiyoda stood on the head of the Bone Dragon, gazing at the scenery below, then turned and said, "Emily, you don't need to worry about that.

He's dead, and as long as we follow the clues, we can still find leads." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Only when I'm well,"

Emily shook her head, having lost hope in others.

The murderer was extremely cunning and ruthless, eliminating their target and taking everything before they could even gather information.

There was no evidence at the scene, nor were there any witnesses.

"Pause the investigation for now, I don't want to form any preconceived notions."

She added.

Once preconceived notions form in the mind, subsequent judgments are likely to be biased towards them.

No matter how smart someone is, they're not immune to this.

In fact, the smarter someone is, the more they might fall into this trap.

Because smart people tend to be quite confident in their judgments.

Thinking of this, suspicion towards Aozawa emerged in Emily's heart again.

The guy with the pink hair hadn't shown up again.

Previously, when Emily learned that Dio had boarded the Paradise plan, she categorized that person as one of Dio's subordinates.

Now there's a chance that person might actually be Dio.

If it is Dio, Aozawa has the possibility of being Dio as well.

Of course, there's no rush to find answers to these things for now.

Let her find the person responsible for turning her into this state first.

Emily contemplated in her heart how to take revenge on that person.

Morimoto Chiyoda suddenly turned her head to look left.

Her abrupt action puzzled Emily, who asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Just felt a gaze just now, probably someone accidentally saw us through a telescope."

Morimoto Chiyoda replied casually, unsure since she felt watched but saw nothing when she turned her head, making this explanation plausible.

She didn't know, and Hojo Shouko didn't know either.

In an emergency, Aozawa used Will-o'-the-wisp to disguise the scenery, ensuring that the two wouldn't meet.

Even though him being with Hojo Shouko was something Morimoto Chiyoda had agreed to and acknowledged.

There was no need to rush a meeting now.

With Emily and Katerina's presence, Aozawa had to consider Morimoto Chiyoda's feelings.

And Hojo Shouko's feelings too.

It wasn't to deliberately bring him up in the air to collide with Morimoto Chiyoda.

If Aozawa didn't use Will-o'-the-wisp to disguise, letting the two meet directly.

No matter what conversations took place, Hojo Shouko would surely feel a twinge of guilt, thinking she shouldn't have been so forceful in bringing Aozawa flying.

Considering all this, Aozawa opted to use Will-o'-the-wisp.

Pursuing multiple people is not an easy task.

He had to manage every aspect, ensuring no mistakes while preventing negative feelings from arising among them.

To make them feel that.

Even if Aozawa was involved with several others simultaneously, it wouldn't affect their interpersonal experience.

If Aozawa didn't have any talent, he wouldn't dare engage in multi-timing affairs.

...

The journey home was uneventful.

The Heavenly Lock released upon landing, with Hojo Shouko standing on the ground, waving, "Aozawa-senpai, I'll drop you off here."

"Mm, see you tomorrow."

Before Aozawa left, he purposefully patted her head and gave her a farewell kiss.

Hojo Shouko instinctively closed her eyes.

She was awkward in this area but compliant.

Allowing Aozawa to take the lead in each subsequent move willingly.

The lengthy three-minute French kiss ended with Aozawa lifting his head, his eyes full of Hojo Shouko, sincerely said, "Shouko, today was my best day."

"Me too,"

Hojo Shouko replied with a flushed face, feeling sweet inside.

Even when thinking rationally, she didn't think her beginner self could surpass Morimoto Chiyoda or Ayatsuki Ayaka.

But she was happy Aozawa said so.

"Goodbye, Aozawa-senpai."

Hojo Shouko softly murmured, the Heavenly Lock coiling half her body, taking the form of a seat zipping skyward, disappearing from Aozawa's view.

He no longer looked up but turned toward the Morimoto residence.

...

The Heavenly Lock hung down from above.

The trees in the home garden had shed their leaves, leaving bare branches, the fallen leaves already swept away by mother.

Hojo Shouko released the Noble Phantasm state.

The golden disc vanished, transforming into a short Heavenly Lock tossed into her backpack as she stepped forward to open the door, "I'm back."

She habitually shouted this phrase.

Father Hojo Masaki sat on the sofa, always with a stern expression, glanced up and returned to reading his newspaper.

He enjoyed staying informed through paper reading.

In the kitchen, her mother, carrying fragrant chicken soup, beamed, "Welcome back, Shouko, call Tetsuji over, it's time to eat."

"Okay,"

Hojo Shouko nodded, forgoing the Heavenly Lock approach, and made her way to her elder brother's room.

Hojo Masaki, who had been sitting upright, suddenly put down his newspaper, stood up, and hurried to his wife, whispering, "Yuki, did you notice Shouko's face seemed a bit off?"

Yuki blinked, recalling her daughter's appearance, "It did seem a little so."

"A little? She looked like post-activity, the expression on your face!"

As he said this, Hojo Masaki's complexion suddenly turned deathly pale.