The meeting concluded smoothly, and everyone dispersed.

The men moved to the main building, probably to drink in the dining room or the lounge there.

Meanwhile, the women, including myself, moved to Seriana’s room.

At the moment, Elena and Teresa are preparing tea for everyone.

Now that I think about it, this group hardly ever drinks alcohol.

They occasionally have wine with dinner, but otherwise, it’s always tea.

As I observed the table and everyone around it, Seriana seemed to notice and spoke up.

“Is something the matter?”

“Well… I was just thinking that no one here seems to drink alcohol.”

“We have a little with meals sometimes, but we don’t go out of our way to drink. I leave most of it to the nanny, but Elena and I also nurse, so drinking too much isn’t a good idea, you know?”

“Huh, I see…”

Not just during pregnancy but even after giving birth?

Well, it makes sense to limit it since it affects the body’s processes.

“I don’t drink either… I’m not weak to alcohol, but I don’t really like the taste,” Fiora chimed in as I nodded.

“Oh, really?”

Not liking the taste, huh… I wonder what alcohol in this world tastes like?

I’ve come close to feeling tipsy just from the smell before, but I’ve never actually tried it.

There’s alcohol stocked in 【Hideout】, but if I were to get drunk alone there, it’d be a problem. So, I haven’t dared to try it.

I feel like just tasting it wouldn’t hurt, but I haven’t had the chance.

As I pondered where an opportunity might arise, I felt someone’s gaze. When I looked up, my eyes met Seriana’s.

She had an exasperated expression.

“…You know, sneaking drinks is a no-go,” she said.

Busted.

◇

The rainy season has arrived.

The sound of rain pounding on the roof is especially loud when you’re in the attic.

With the city’s expansion, the waterways and infrastructure that were reinforced earlier are holding up well, with no major issues.

Since Liesel became the magistrate of this city, there have been fewer waterway-related accidents.

He doesn’t do flashy things like building extravagant structures, but he handles the foundational work with care.

Well, he is a duke.

He doesn’t need to bother with appearances anymore, so he probably focuses on practical results.

As a resident of this town, I’m grateful for it.

“How about it, Sera? Have you noticed anything unusual?”

Leaving the city matters to Liesel, I focused on my own work.

“Hmm… Nope, nothing so far.”

I answered while staring at the ceiling illuminated by the light.

“Got it. Come on down.”

“Alright!”

With 【Fairy’s Eye】 activated alongside my other abilities, I had been exploring the attic thoroughly, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

The “abnormalities” I was searching for weren’t things like leaks or termites.

It was something more mysterious, possibly magical.

Ever since the dungeon appeared, a faint barrier has enveloped the city.

It’s so weak that only those aware of its existence and looking for it would notice, but there’s definitely some form of power at work.

Since its discovery, Zighart, Fiora, and the others have been investigating it between their dungeon explorations.

Their main focus is to ensure it won’t interfere with the larger, permanent barrier planned for later.

Honestly, everyone works incredibly hard, even on things I’m unaware of.

Fortunately, they found no issues with the barriers or any of the city’s facilities during their investigation.

However, there’s no magical connection yet between the dungeon and the adventurer’s guild basement.

The only connected places are the Knights’ headquarters and the lord’s mansion.

As a result, I was tasked with investigating both.

Keeping the dungeon’s existence a secret is challenging.

The Knights’ headquarters isn’t as difficult since the soldiers’ movements wouldn’t raise suspicion, but the mansion is trickier.

While guards are stationed there, they mostly stay in fixed positions, and few are privy to the dungeon’s existence.

It’s the most critical place to examine for abnormalities, yet the hardest to investigate.

That’s where I come in!

Lately, I’ve spent a lot of time in the dungeon, so my absence from the mansion wouldn’t seem unusual.

If I roamed the mansion with guards in tow, people would just assume Seriana had given me an errand.

In fact, Seriana specifically asked me to do this.

I didn’t realize it myself, but apparently, I’ve been enjoying dungeon exploration quite a bit.

This wasn’t an order; it was an earnest request from her, which is rare.

The investigation involves the entire mansion except for the northern wing, and it’ll take a while.

That means I’ll have to take a break from the dungeon.

Though it’s a bit disappointing, I’ve already finished surveying the upper layers, and my enthusiasm for the dungeon has cooled down somewhat.

Once Luban arrives and we venture into the middle layers, I’m sure my excitement will reignite.

Balance is important, after all.

“For now, we’ve confirmed no abnormalities in the main building. We’ll handle the northern wing, while you and Fiora take care of the southern wing. Alright?”

“Got it. The northern wing… is it safe? I’ve never been there, so I don’t really know.”

The investigation of the main building took about three days, even with me helping.

The northern wing is smaller, but will it be okay?

“Yes. Unlike the southern wing, there’s less furniture to deal with, so it won’t take as much effort.”

“I see…”

These are elite soldiers directly under the captain, skilled in investigations.

If they say it’s fine, it probably is.

Looks like I won’t be setting foot in the northern wing this time either.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Sera: 【Hideout】 +1, 【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Floating Orb】【Shadow Blade】【Crimson Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】・60 cards

Seriana: 【Area Identification】【】・28 cards

Elena: 【】【Green Fang】・1 card

Alec: 【Power Strike】【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・2 cards