After finishing today’s work in the office, the Seriana group gathered in her room.

Of course, Fiora was there too.

This has become something of a routine lately.

For us, it’s normal, but until now Fiora didn’t have much opportunity to do work in the mansion, so she didn’t come here often. But lately, that’s changed.

While Liesel and the others are away from the city, Fiora is living here with Elena to help guard Seriana. Even now, with Zighart away from home, Fiora continues to stay here.

Since she normally isn’t at the mansion, she needs to get used to living here.

Well, actually, maybe it’s the mansion staff who need to get used to her?

In a way, Fiora is probably the only person in this domain who could be considered Seriana’s equal.

Regardless of their social standings, her title and her abilities as a mage are such that to the average person, she’s someone incredible—like a being from another world.

If she were treated completely as a guest, that would be one thing, but since she’s living in the mansion, the staff need a bit of time to adjust.

Well, putting that aside…

“Upsy-daisy.”

I transferred from the 【Floating Orb】 to Fiora’s lap as she sat on the sofa.

Then, I activated 【Mira’s Blessing】 just like that.

Not too strong, but not too weak either—trying to find just the right balance so that the effect lasts just under an hour, which is the most common duration of Seriana’s meetings.

It’s a pretty tough mission.

“…Hmm? Something wrong?”

After activating the blessing and adjusting its strength, I noticed Seriana was furrowing her brows and looking at me.

“You… that thing you sometimes say—don’t say it during an actual event, alright?”

“…Say what? Did I say something?”

I didn’t say anything, did I?

As I tilted my head, Fiora spoke over my head.

“You said ‘upsy-daisy’ just now. You sometimes say it when you stand up or move around, you know?”

“!? “

“…You didn’t realize?”

“…Yeah. I just found out now.”

I answered weakly to Seriana, who looked exasperated.

I hadn’t noticed at all. Not good… I’m still in my prime, after all.

Better watch myself!

◇

After treatment and dinner were finished, all that was left was to laze around until bedtime…

“Wouldn’t it be better if Leo and the others were doing this instead of me?”

I said this to Seriana, who was floating gently around the room carrying me.

By the way, what she was riding wasn’t the 【Floating Orb】, but a 【Small Orb】 in an activated 【Prayer】 state.

In case of emergency, Seriana and Elena would be responsible for carrying the children and me to safety.

While such a situation is unlikely given her blessing and the structure of the mansion, it’s still necessary to practice just in case.

“They’re already supposed to be asleep, right? If I drag them into this and they can’t sleep, that would be a problem.”

It might be rude to say so, but that was quite a motherly thing to say, wasn’t it?

“Hmm… well, I guess that’s true. Normally I float on my own, but being carried by someone else is kind of fun.”

If a toddler experienced this, it’d be a big deal.

There’s no way they’d be able to sleep.

In fact, they might start begging me for it every time they see me.

Yeah.

It’s still too early for the kids.

“Is it fun?”

“It is fun!”

Seriana asked with a puzzled look, and I answered immediately.

When I float on my own, I can move exactly as I want, but being carried by someone else is a little different.

Is this what it feels like to be a prize in a crane game?

I’d prefer not to fly at high speed, but if it’s this gentle, I’ve got no complaints.

“I see… well, that’s fine then.”

Saying that, she focused on flying again.

I’ve never operated a 【Small Orb】 while carrying something heavy, but maybe it really is different.

She’s flying more cautiously than she does with a 【Floating Orb】.

“In an emergency, would Madam be the one to carry Sera?”

“No, Madam would carry the children. The Princess would be carried on Elena’s back.”

Fiora, who was sipping tea on the sofa and watching us drift through the room, seemed curious and asked Teresa about the emergency formation.

In case we need to retreat, the destination would probably be the nearby city of Arios. The speed would drop a little to match the pace of the 【Small Orb】, but this is still the best approach.

If even Arios becomes dangerous, we’d have to evacuate to Zelkis’s capital, and if it came to such a long-distance move, we’d probably just switch to a safer approach using the 【Hideout】.

Well, from what we’ve heard, the enemy doesn’t have large numbers, so it probably won’t come to that.

By the way, those evacuating would be me, Seriana, Elena, and the children. Teresa and the others would remain behind to support the retreat and fight off any enemy forces.

They’re usually quite reserved, but if things reach that point, they’ll get serious, and it’s unlikely we’d be overwhelmed.

Preparations for such a scenario have already begun.

“…Phew. That’s enough for today. Let’s land.”

After confirming the movements sufficiently, Seriana announced the end of today’s training.

“Alrighty.”

Still… war, or even acts of terrorism right in our backyard—if something really does happen, it’ll be serious.

But if we can take countermeasures this thoroughly, we might be okay?

Of course, the best case is if nothing happens at all…

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

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind Cloak】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】【Monkey’s Arm】・8 cards

Seriana・【Area Recognition】・【】・40 cards

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

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