After leaving the Adventurer’s Guild, I headed straight to the mansion, entered through Liesel’s office, and then went to take a bath in Seriana’s room.

Then, after changing clothes, I returned once again to Liesel’s office.

My hair was still wet, but I had a towel wrapped around it and planned to have someone dry it for me over there.

Well… that’s pretty much how it always goes, including the hair.

Now then, I arrived at the office and stepped inside, ready to get my hair dried… or so I thought.

“Huh? Alec is here.”

At the desk on Seriana’s side of the room, our captain Alec was sitting among the clerks, working on some paperwork.

When I came in through the window earlier, he wasn’t there…

“Ah, just a moment ago.”

“Hoooh… What’re you doing?”

As I floated closer, several files and documents were spread out on the desk.

From a quick glance, it looked like they included names and what seemed to be places of origin.

Knowing Alec, I thought for sure he was writing about something like monster habitats or some interesting tidbit again… but maybe not this time?

“I’m putting together a list of unaffiliated adventurers… Come on, go over there and get your hair dried already. It’s almost lunchtime, you know?”

Maybe my face showed how boring that sounded, because Alec said that with a wry smile, gesturing toward Seriana and the others.

I had a towel on, so it wasn’t like I was dripping water or anything, but now that he mentioned it, he had a point.

When I looked toward Seriana and the others, Teresa had already stood up and was beginning the preparations.

Yeah… I should go get it dried quickly.

◇

After lunch, before the afternoon duties began, we gathered for tea in the lounge next to Liesel’s office.

The group consisted of us from Seriana’s squad, along with Liesel, Carlos, and Rose.

Also present were August and Mio, and from the 1st Squad, the vice-captain—and incidentally Carlos’s son—Ashley was participating as well.

It was a bit more people than usual.

Rick hadn’t returned from the investigation yet, but he usually didn’t show up to these kinds of gatherings anyway, so that was a bit rare.

Still, considering he wasn’t joining the conversation and was focused on serving August alongside Mio, he clearly knew how to draw the line.

Well… his position is that of an adjutant after all, very much a behind-the-scenes type.

So, as a proud vice-captain, I leaned back and enjoyed chatting while sipping tea.

“Hey, on the way back from the dungeon today, someone on the first floor of the Adventurer’s Guild asked me if it was true that Zighart had left the city.”

I’d been talking about how there were no anomalies in the dungeon today and that both my hunt and the other adventurers’ hunts went smoothly, when I suddenly remembered what happened on the way back.

The fact that he left the city wasn’t really a problem, but the reason—concerning a dragon-type—had to be kept secret, so I just played it off… I wonder if that was okay?

“The way you answered is fine… But was that adventurer someone you didn’t know?”

“Yeah. I’d never seen them before. But they seemed pretty familiar with the Adventurer’s Guild, so I don’t think they were weird or anything.”

Seriana looked a bit puzzled after hearing that, even though there wasn’t anything wrong with my answer. I wonder if something was bothering her?

“If Sera-kun doesn’t recognize them, then they must be adventurers who haven’t been in this city very long. Probably arrived just before the rainy season?”

“Maybe?”

I tilted my head as I responded to Liesel.

I hadn’t been near the Adventurer’s Guild just before the rainy season, so it was probably around that time.

Adventurers may be all over the place in their private lives, but when it comes to hunting, they can be surprisingly consistent.

Especially in places like the Wastelands.

The adventurer who spoke to me probably came from somewhere else, which would make them even more likely to follow a routine.

So they were likely adventurers who regularly gathered at the Adventurer’s Guild at that time of day.

It overlapped with the time I wrap up hunting in the dungeon, but I’d never seen them before… yeah, Liesel was probably right.

But what was Seriana so concerned about?

As I tilted my head again, Elena gave a small laugh and spoke to me.

“You’re quite popular, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

Popular… oh, I see.

I am the vice-captain of the Knight Order, after all.

Normally there should be a bit more distance between me and strangers.

Especially if they’re newcomers to this city—they’d usually keep their distance.

I don’t even fully understand myself sometimes.

Unless it’s some kind of emergency, going out of your way to talk to someone just to confirm a rumor is a bit reckless.

Popular… that’s a good way to put it.

“Or maybe they just don’t take you seriously?”

But then Seriana chimed in with a somewhat exasperated look.

“Nu-nu?”

Not taken seriously… I mean, that could be the case… right?

Just as I was starting to feel a little uneasy, Alec joined the conversation.

“I wouldn’t worry. At the very least, no adventurer active in this city underestimates Sera. Most adventurers from other places tend to follow the lead of the local ones. Those people probably weren’t familiar with Riana yet, and that’s exactly why they got concerned about Zighart leaving and chose to speak with Sera.”

“Ahh… yeah, that might be it.”

When I said that, Alec gave me a “See?” kind of smile.

Seriana still looked a bit dissatisfied, but I agreed with Alec.

I had recently drawn attention by wearing the lord’s mantle, and word of that had probably gotten around.

In that case, doing something like showing contempt for me in a visible place like the first floor of the Adventurer’s Guild would be unthinkable.

Yeah.

Seriana’s just overthinking it.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sera ・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Clothing of Wind】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】【Monkey’s Arm】・6 cards

Seriana ・【Area Identification】・【】・39 cards

Elena ・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec ・【Power Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・10 cards