Looks like everything's good now. You HOPE it's all good, at least. The guard-- err, Kotori, that's what she said her name was, right?? Anyway, Kotori doesn't seem on the verge of ending your entire bloodline, as opposed to how she was before. You gain +3 Diplomacy points.

Seems like you've got no choice now. Nino: What are you waiting for? Shake it like your life depended on it, because it does! You can only hope this will go well. Nino: N-nice to meet you too.

Oh. ????: ... ????: My bad, Aria. ????: I somehow thought your friend was a human. ????: Heh! Amateur mistake. I haven't had this job for that long. Aria: E-easy mistake, haha. Aria: It's alright. Nino: (I can't believe that worked.) ????: Anyway, you haven't introduced me to this person yet. Aria: Ah, yeah, um- Aria: Nino, this is Kotori, a guard who works in this area. Aria: She and I are acquaintances. Aria: And Kotori, this is Nino, um, a friend of mine. Kotori: Drop the formalities and just call me Tori. Kotori: It's what everyone calls me, for short. Kotori: Nice to meet you.

Nino: Ha ha, what, human? Who said anything about them? Nino: I'm not a hum- ????: Cut the act. Nino: B-but hey, like I said before, we can just give you back the spears, and... Nino: And pretend nothing here happened! ????: Does it look like that's an option in this situation? Nino: You sure being diplomatic is going to help in this situation at all? ????: Get away from Aria. Nino: You know Aria? ????: That's besides the point. ????: You're dangerous, and you ought to be disposed of. Nino: S-stop waving that spear in my face Nino: Just let me explain myself! ????: You mean, make more excuses for yourself? Nino: E-excuses? No, I just-- ????: Yeah, no. You're coming with me. ????: Right now. Aria: Intervene! Aria:…

Aria: ...This was not part of the plan. Everyone: Put your hands up Quickly, yes! Look, nothing suspicious at all. Just a group of Monster Friends, doing Monster Things, no humans here, nope! ...Seems like you're the only one willing to do this stupid gesture here. Maybe you should stop. Five clings to you for safety. Nino: Grab the spear to ensure that your foe does not retrieve it. Okay of course, sure why not. This is probably a very good idea. Five: Intervene. Unfortunately, Five is too scared to do anything but hide behind Nino for safety. Not that she would be able to do much to help in the first place. This is gonna be one tricky situation. Red Girl: Nobody breaks the law on your watch. Confiscate…

Nino: Play along? That sounds really fishy! Nino: Are you going to set me up as bait or something?? Aria: W-what, no! This plan is safe for both of us! Aria: You won't be in danger, I'm sure it'll work, so- Nino: Oh of course, YOUR plan will work. Nino: But MINE wouldn't! Aria: ... Aria: ... Are... you... Aria: ... Are you ... mad? Nino: NO! Aria: You're... You're acting kind of childish right now. Aria: You didn't have to get so angry! It's just that your plans weren't- Nino: Whatever! Just- Nino: Just tell me what you've planned. Nino: Not like I have much of a choice here or anything. Aria: A-alright! Aria: Please just get up now. Nino: You don't have a lot of options, do you?…

Nino: We need to do something about whoever's after us. Aria: Well, that person's a local guard around the village. Aria: If we can get past her, we'll reach the village safely. Nino: Hmm... Nino: Inventory check on everyone. You don't seem to have anything that might help, and neither does Aria. In fact, you seem to have a lot of useless stuff in your inventory right now. You don't even remember picking up half of it! You guess you're gonna have to make do with what you have. Nino: Make a Wile E. Coyote-esque trap, like digging a hole and covering it with leaves. Nino: Oh! I know! Aria: Ah, you have a plan? Nino: Yeah! Aria: Well, what is it? Plans: Make 'em happen. Nino: Ok, what if…

Nino: I'm sorry about earlier... Aria: What do you mean? Nino: I kinda freaked out because I thought you were a monster, Nino: And um... I said some bad things. Nino: Yeah. Sorry. Aria: Oh. Aria: Don't worry, I understand. Aria: Most humans would probably have the same reaction. Nino: So, that monster appearance... Nino: Was that your ability? Aria: Yes! Aria: It's kinda lame, but I can disguise myself like that. Nino: Nah, can't be any lamer than my ability! Aria: Hehe. Nino & Five: Introduce yourselves Aria: I think we had a bad start back there. Aria: So, let's start over from the beginning! Aria: I'm Aria, Aria Elwyn. Nino: I'm Nino! And this little one's Five. Aria: Hehe, she seems to be fond of Ludwig. Aria: It's…

You would love to do that, but there's one small problem. You only have one spear in your hand right now. What do you think this is, like, a spear flea market or something similarly ridiculous? Well, actually, it is kind of like that, but you just can't be assed to retrieve more spears right now. So the real problem is just your LAZINESS, not that you care anyway. And now that your targets have escaped, you'll have to search for them. Great. More work, as if you didn't already have enough of that and then some more. Girl: Decide stealing IS totally illegal and incarcerate those thieves. And by incarcerate, I mean fillet them with your spear. You guess stealing sounds like a pretty illegal thing to do. But…

That's beyond your capabilities! You can't disguise yourself as an entirely different thing with very different physical proportions than yours. That's more like transforming, which is a completely different ability altogether. Besides... You know who the person after the other human is, and she knows you. You won't have a problem if you just put your monster disguise back on. The real problem is with the other human. But maybe if he just runs and hides somewhere... Five: Recognize that spear! You are now Five. Five has no concept of anything called a "spear" in Five's life. All that Five wants to do is to play with the doggy. It seems like you have no business being Five anymore. Nino: Well, monster or not, she is actively protecting you from…

You manage to hit the mark perfectly. The person who threw this must be coming here soon! You have to think of a plan, and you have to do it fast!

You manage to stop just before the thing hits you. That was really, really close! Whoever threw this thing must have very good aim. It looks like a spear. You wonder who could be targeting you? Nino: Realize that the monster chasing after you is HOT. Before you could dismiss attempting to follow such a silly command, Five brings your attention to something. Something red, pointy, and also above you. Again. Nino: Look up. Again. Is that... Nino: Take a closer look. Yeah, that's another spear. A REALLY fast spear. Oh dear god. Aria: As a show of trustworthiness, shoot whatever it is in the sky with your bow so that Nino won't get hurt. Aria: Take Ludwig and the little kid and go hide! Nino: Wait, what? Nino: What…

Aria: Wait, look! I-I'm a human too! Nino: CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF US GETTING AWAY SAFELY Aria: No, wait! Aria: Ludwig, come on! It's me!! Ludwig: BARK Aria: Aaaaa stop running please! Aria: Run after them! Nino: STOP FOLLOWING US! Aria: Stop shouting! Nino: WHAT DO YOU WANT? Aria: Give me Ludwig back! And also stop RUNNING! Ludwig: BARK Nino: HOW DO YOU KNOW HIS NAME? Nino: YOU CLEARLY HAVE AN ULTERIOR MOTIVE HERE I AM ONTO YOU Aria: What? NO! HE'S MY DOG I NAMED HIM THAT! Nino: NO, WE FOUND HIM! Nino: Isn't that right, Five? Five: :U :U :U Nino: SEE? Aria: See what? I SEE NOTHING! Aria: GIVE ME BACK MY DOG Nino: FUCK OFF Aria: DON'T SWEAR IN FRONT OF THE LITTLE…

You suddenly notice that somebody is behind you. That's... that's a human boy!! You haven't seen another human in a very, very, VERY long time! You wonder who he is, and what he's doing here? How did he enter through the barrier? Why does he have Ludwig? He must've saved him from some sort of danger. He is probably a very friendly individual if Ludwig trusts him! There's only one logical thing to do here: Befriend him! That's... that's a freaking monster. Are you kidding, a monster already found you? And right after you said you will be careful and not let them find you, too! What is this, some sort of ironic sitcom thing? Oh, but you will not have any of that shit. You will certainly NOT let…

Patience, patience! You will definitely follow the prints, but as you said it'd be crazy to march into the village headfirst with your human appearance! A proper disguise must be applied first. Nino: Enjoying the ride? Five: yes!!!! Nino: Good to know! Nino: Ludwig seems happy too. Five: nino... where is nino going to now? Nino: I think this path leads into Red Tulip Town? Nino: Weird name. But we're going there! Nino: Hopefully they'll be welcoming. I really need to eat something! Nino: Can't even remember the last time I ate, hehe. Five: five is... hungry!! too!! Nino: I'm sure there will be something there. Nino: Maybe some shops! I think there's an Inn, too! Nino: This road is really long, though. Nino: Bear with it a little more,…

Oh, of course! Your MIRAGE ability!!! The ability which has helped you hide your identity for so long! Without it, you would've been dead long ago. But by using it, you were able to change your appearance to anything just by thinking it! This allowed you to live safely between monsters for a long time. Monsters hate humans, but because you didn't appear as one, they've accepted you. This ability is the most useful thing in your life. Except that right now, your ability couldn't be more useless. How is disguising your appearance going to help you find Ludwig??? Sure, MIRAGE is good for blending in, plus it lacks a physical form which makes it easy to use and hide... But it's still not going to be useful anytime soon…

You do not own such a thing because Ludwig doesn't need food! Ghostdogs do not have a need for sustenance of any kind. That aside, your inventory is quite barren. All that you currently have with you is your BOW and your humble supply of ARROWS. You never planned on staying out for too long, so you didn't take much with you. Ludwig: Hear the girl, run after the voice. Then Five: Run after Ludwig. AND THEN Nino: Run after five. ...But they were already gone. How could you be so careless? How could you lose your precious companion? Oh, sweet precious Ludwig Grimm von Phantomhound is probably wandering all alone right now! You can't even begin to imagine how scared and lonely he must be!!! Just how did this…

You cannot check its stats, but just by observing it, you can tell that the GHOST DOG is in peak condition! It's not wounded at all, and is not in any need of healing. Nino: Is ghost dog a member of your party now? You try to add the GHOST DOG as a new party member, but the PARTY MEMBER HANDLING SCREEN rudely scoffs at you. Are you stupid??? The GHOST DOG doesn't match any of the three mysterious silhouettes! It's not even humanoid, for starters! This party thing is confusing as hell. Nino: Be careful about putting the sword away. The ghostdog might get scared again. It'll probably be fine if you just pick it straight to your inventory. The GHOST DOG is distracted with Five right now anyway.…

It could be afraid of being harmed. Perhaps if you show that there's nothing to fear, it'll calm down? It's definitely worth a shot. Nino: Put away your sword, but get ready to draw it in case of attack. You drop your sword close by on the ground. In the worst case scenario, you can just grab it quickly and defend yourself! The beast stops howling. Nino: Put your arms up. Show the ghost dog it has nothing to fear from you. You give it the most friendliest silly-looking waving gesture and step away from your sword. See, you're completely harmless and trustworthy! It's got nothing to fear now! The beast stops cowering. Nino: Pet it. Good dog. Best friend. Now that the beast seems no longer scared, you attempt…

You choose DIPLOMACY > TALK. You're not sure if a WILD BEAST is able to understand what you say, but you will still attempt talking to it. You go up to the beast and give it a friendly greeting. It responds with a friendly howl greeting. ...Ok, maybe friendly is not a good way to describe it. Hostile would be more fitting. The beast gnashes its claws at and strikes at you! You manage to dodge just in the nick of time! FRIENDLY DEFINITELY ISN'T THE APPROPRIATE WORD HERE. The beast doesn't trust you enough to listen to your "greetings". Not that it can understand you in the first place. It looks somewhat scared. Nino: Kindness is key. Pet the doggy. You'd try, but it won't let you get close…