“Good morning!”

I came to the kitchen to have breakfast for now. Since there are still customers arriving, I’m wearing my maid outfit instead of the usual jinbei I wear in this season. Hmm. Recently, I’ve been wearing dresses often, so this comfortable feeling isn’t too bad.

“Ah, Sera? Came to eat?”

“Yeah, yeah. Something light would be good.”

“I’ll make it right away, so wait in the lounge for a bit.”

After a brief exchange of words with the head chef, he quickly got to work.

Inside the kitchen, cooking was underway, but the usual hustle and bustle from yesterday wasn’t there. Lunch and dinner were busy, but I suppose from today, things have returned to normal?

Leaving the kitchen, I headed straight to the nearby lounge, but there was no one there.

“Hmm… I wonder if everyone’s busy?”

I’m not sure what time it is, but it’s probably still before noon. Usually, this mansion doesn’t get many visitors, so I’d start work early in the morning, then return here when Liesel and the others begin their public duties. Then, in the afternoon, I’d start working again. But recently, with the increase in visitors, that rhythm has been disrupted. The kitchen’s back to normal, but this place still seems off.

While thinking about that, the head chef brought in my breakfast.

“Ah, thank you!”

“Yeah.”

He said just that and was about to return to the kitchen. But then I stopped him to ask how everyone else was doing.

“Huh? Ah… the guests staying at the mansion are mostly leaving today. In fact, they’ve already left. The servants are cleaning up the rooms.”

“Ah… I see… Thanks.”

“Yeah.”

With that, he finally left the room. Oh, right… I forgot there were guests staying here, not just outside. Since Seriana is probably here, I was thinking of going to see Liesel, but… maybe I should wait until the afternoon?

“…Well, I’ll eat for now.”

The breakfast menu consisted of bread, bacon and eggs, soup, and fruit. Simple and very nice. Well then, time to eat.

◇

“Oh, Sera-dono.”

I was about to show my face at Liesel’s office, but the guards at the door immediately noticed me. They always pick up on my footsteps despite how silent I am… They’re probably skilled since they’re guarding the lord’s office?

“Good morning. Is Seriana-sama inside?”

“Yes, she is… Sera-dono has arrived.”

When I called out to them, the door immediately opened. It’s certain that Seriana is in there, but… is it okay to enter?

“Excuse me…”

I greeted quietly as I entered. Inside, in addition to the usual officials working here, there were some unfamiliar people discussing something. Are they from other territories?

“Hm.”

Further away, Seriana was sitting with Elena, Teresa, and some other unfamiliar women. And Seriana was waving her hand at me… I guess that means I should come over.

“Good morning, Seriana-sama.”

“Yes, good morning. You woke up unusually early, didn’t you?”

“Huh? Now that I think about it, it’s… just past 10… I woke up early.”

Looking at the clock in the room, it was a little past 10. I finished my meal already, so I must have woken up around 9:30.

“I thought you wouldn’t wake up until noon since I couldn’t get you out of bed…”

She smiled lightly while pointing to her lap. So it was Seriana’s doing… Well, I had guessed that…!

I sat on her lap and activated 【Mira’s Blessing】. I gave her a pretty serious massage last night, but it looks like she’s fine and there’s no muscle soreness.

“Oh, good morning…”

I bowed my head to the unfamiliar women. For Elena and Teresa, this might be a familiar sight, but for the others, it was probably rare. They seemed a little stiff. Who are these people, anyway? What exactly are they doing here…?

“They work as officials in the various towns of the territory. There are more men, but there are some women too. They’re usually in charge of communication with the wife of the local magistrate. Elena and Teresa fill that role here.”

“Oh…”

Now that I think about it, whenever I meet a magistrate’s wife in other towns, women are often the ones who act as intermediaries. It makes sense that women should handle these matters.

◇

Once the morning duties were done, it was time for lunch. The location was the first dining hall. It’s the largest one.

Instead of a round table, there were two long tables, with men and women seated separately. The head of the table was the lord’s wife, and I sat just in front of Seriana… Elena was across from me, and Teresa sat next to me. The other women sat one seat further away from them. Looking at the men’s seats, it seemed like they did the same thing.

It’s quite obvious how they’re showing the difference…

By the way, the lunch menu was something like ravioli, soup, salad, and fruit. No matter the country or world, there’s always a dish where something’s wrapped in kneaded flour… Anyway, I had them make mine light, but it was quite tasty.

After the meal, we chatted for a while, and as expected, the topic was the dungeon. Apparently, all the guests in the mansion are from the territory, and they stayed behind to discuss the dungeon.

It’s not just for resources—other territories will likely visit for that purpose too, and of course, they’ll stay in the towns along the way to the capital. There must be a lot to decide.

However, to be talking about such things during a break… they’re quite dedicated. I remember Seriana from last night… If they do this every day, I can understand how tiring it must be.

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

Sera ・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mirra’s Blessing】【Wind’s Garb】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Snake’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】・7 cards

Seriana ・【Range Identification】・【】・28 cards
Elena ・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・3 cards
Alec ・【Power Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・7 cards