It’s been nearly ten days since Liesel and the others left the city.

Not only him, but also August, Alec, and many other senior officials and key personnel from the territory have gone with him. Fortunately, no problems have arisen in the city so far.

Though the faces in Liesel’s office are a little different than usual, the progress of work remains unchanged.

I’ve been able to substitute for Liesel to some extent, and while it might not be ideal to confirm such things under these circumstances, it can be said that Riana’s organizational efforts have been a success.

While checking on everyone’s work in the room, I signed another document myself.

After placing that document into the completed case and preparing to move on to the next, I noticed someone walking briskly down the hallway toward this room and paused for a moment.

Since it was coming from the main Knight Order headquarters below, it must be some kind of report.

Soon after, a notification of entry arrived from outside.

When I granted permission, a messenger soldier entered and immediately reported in a loud voice:

“Excuse me. A report has just come in — the lord and all soldiers have safely entered Zelkis territory.”

The room erupted in a small cheer of “Ohh!”

There have been larger expeditions than this one for monster subjugations, but still, this was a long-term campaign accompanied by the lord.

Those left waiting here might have felt uneasy.

Even though they’d only crossed from our own territory into a neighboring one, they must have felt relieved.

The atmosphere in the room seemed to relax slightly.

The messenger stepped up to me and handed over a letter that presumably contained the full details.

“Good work. I’ve certainly received the report.”

“Yes, ma’am. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

With that, he exited the room and left quickly, just as he had arrived.

I unsealed the letter and read it — its content was just as expected.

It was dated five days ago.

It appeared to have been written after they crossed the border with the troops from Sol, the westernmost city of Riana adjacent to Zelkis.

Both the soldiers and the horses were fine, and they were expected to arrive at Zelkis’s capital as planned.

If they could get that far, then the rest would be under Father’s command.

What made this deployment particularly concerning was that Riana’s Knight Order lacked older, experienced senior officers.

Zighart was the eldest. Alec and August were both highly capable, but they had no experience commanding troops in actual combat against other humans — let alone war.

Although they had plentiful combat experience against monsters, the decision to build the force mainly from the 2nd Unit was made to avoid morale loss as much as possible… but it seems those fears were unnecessary.

◇

“Good work~”

About an hour had passed since we began the afternoon’s work, and several matters had already been taken care of when Sera, who had gone to Knight Order headquarters, returned.

Recently, Sera had been casting 【Prayer】 on the soldiers assigned to guard the area around the capital in the mornings, to ease their fatigue.

It’s not the kind of deployment where results would change drastically over ten days, but thanks to her, they’ve been able to remain in peak condition and have greatly contributed to maintaining public order in the capital.

In running an organization, relying too much on individual power — especially divine blessings — is not something I’d normally advocate. But given the current situation, it might just be that Riana is still immature.

Even if the organizational structure is in place, we simply lack enough personnel.

Well, it can’t be helped.

“Sera, I’m sorry to ask right after you got back, but I need you to run an errand.”

“Hmm? Sure, but where to? The Adventurer’s Guild?”

She tilted her head as she walked over.

Since her outings were being restricted, she must have guessed the Adventurer’s Guild as a likely destination.

It wasn’t a random guess — she clearly put some thought into it. Lately, this girl seems quite motivated.

“Not quite. The Commercial Guild.”

I pulled two documents from the case of approved paperwork, sealed the first one after rolling it up, and handed it to her.

I could’ve waited for a scribe to collect it, but considering the other document as well, it would be quicker this way.

“And this one. It’s for Fiora, who’s downstairs. Go to the Commercial Guild first, then deliver this on your way back.”

“…Alright. I’ll go, then.”

“Thanks. I’m counting on you.”

Sera took both documents and quickly turned on her heel, disappearing down the corridor.

“It’s really helpful that Lady Sera is handling these small tasks for us…”

One of the scribes, who had been watching her go, spoke up, and the others followed in agreement.

That girl does do her work when she decides to — but her usual behavior is another matter.

Even if Liesel were here in this room, she’d have no issue taking a nap. Everyone knows she’s capable when she wants to be, but her recent productivity is still surprising.

However, I wouldn’t want such diligence to be expected from her all the time.

She’s too competent — if people start relying on her for every task, this office would fall apart.

“Hehe… well, she’s moody, so you shouldn’t depend on her too much.”

“That’s true. Maybe she’s just keeping herself busy because she can’t go out.”

Elena seemed to understand as well.

She aligned her words with mine.

“Hahaha, that’s a good point. If Lady Sera gets too fired up, we’ll be out of work.”

The others seemed to catch on from our exchange.

They smoothly shifted the conversation and got back to work.

As expected of those chosen by Liesel — perhaps a little lacking in humor, but earnest and reliable in their duties.

Carlos and Rose are still here as well, so there’s no worry of them slacking off.

———————————————————————————————————————————————-

Sera ・Blessing・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Blessing of Mira】【Wind’s Garment】
Blessed Items ・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】+1【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s 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 Identification】・【】・0 cards

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

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