As usual, nothing out of the ordinary was happening in town.

Peace is a good thing, but perhaps because we were stuck inside the mansion because of it, time passed in an incredibly dull way.

I can’t exactly say time flew by, but it moved on nonetheless, and at last, the stiff-shouldered January of autumn ended, giving way to February.

By that time, we had all grown accustomed to this lifestyle. Not just me—Seriana too seemed to have learned how to slack off in moderation, occasionally spending time loafing around in the lounge.

Considering how bad Seriana used to be at taking breaks or relaxing, that’s real progress!

It wasn’t just us in the mansion who had adapted to the current way of life.

The townspeople had too.

From the middle of autumn’s January, disputes—nothing serious enough to warrant throwing someone in a cell—had started becoming more common. Not just among the townsfolk but even between adventurers.

It had rarely happened before… I guess everyone was getting a little restless.

But even that had calmed down recently, and everyone had returned to their autumn lifestyle routines, honed since the founding of the Riana Territory.

And then, the rainy season began.

It had started raining in the morning, and instead of letting up, the rain only intensified, continuing past noon and deep into the night without pause.

It came a few days earlier than last year, but the rainy season is a weather phenomenon, not something that starts and ends on fixed dates.

It usually begins around the middle of the month and lasts about ten days to two weeks.

The year I ran away from the orphanage, I think it ended just a few days before my birthday?

The townspeople refrained from going out. Some adventurers dove into dungeons, while others took the opportunity to rest and do maintenance on their weapons.

No one knew what kind of unexpected events might occur, so the guards wouldn’t be slacking off—but for a while, the only sound in the town would be the falling rain.

Thinking about that, I let the sound of rain become my lullaby and drifted off to sleep.

◇

While I was sleeping soundly, a light slapping noise and a soft impact hit my cheek.

“Sera, Wake up!”

I usually sleep with the blanket pulled halfway over my face, but someone had pulled it off me, leaving my head fully exposed.

It was pitch black, and all I could hear was a voice, but it sounded like Seriana was trying to wake me up.

“…Awake… What is it?”

Rubbing my eyes, I sat up, and Seriana snapped out sharply:

“Go wake Teresa. Follow her instructions!”

“…Huh?”

Still dazed, I just blinked, but Seriana was already out of bed, casting a light spell and starting to change.

…No clue what’s going on, but this definitely isn’t normal.

That woke me up in an instant.

I hopped onto the 【Floating Orb】 I kept near my bed and headed for Teresa’s room.

It was right across from Seriana’s. Just a few steps outside!

“Teresa! Teresa!”

As I banged on the door, it opened quickly from the inside.

She must’ve been sleeping too—she was in her nightwear and had her hair down.

But the noise and my voice seemed to wake her immediately.

“Princess, what’s wrong!?”

What’s wrong… Yeah, good question.

Anyway, I had a job to do.

“Seria-sama woke me up and told me to wake Teresa and follow her instructions. Do you know what that means?”

“My instructions…?”

For a moment, she looked surprised, but something must’ve clicked because her expression quickly turned serious.

“Understood. I’ll go alert Elena and the others. Princess, please head to Carlos’s room. Just tell him it’s from Lady Seriana. Do you know where it is?”

“Y-Yeah. I’m good.”

Normally, Carlos would be staying at his home in the noble district, but since Liesel is away, he’s been staying in the room next to the office.

It’s clear this is an emergency… Time to hurry.

◇

After relaying Teresa’s message to Carlos, I returned to Seriana’s room.

By then, whether from Seriana or Teresa’s orders, several maids were already running around busily.

I also noticed that the female soldiers, who had only been stationed in the corridor connecting to the main building when I woke up, were now present throughout the South Wing.

They usually handle security, but at night, they only guard the entrance to the second floor. Unless there’s a festival or a large number of guests, they rest in the first-floor guardroom.

Now, however, they were stationed throughout the second floor, especially near the children’s rooms.

Incidentally, there wasn’t anyone posted at Seriana’s room—but well… I suppose that’s not necessary.

“I’m back… Huh?”

When I entered the room, Seriana—still with her hair down—was already fully dressed, along with Elena, Teresa, and Fiora.

I was the only one still in my pajamas…

“Good work. What about Carlos?”

“Huh? Oh, he said he’d send Roze over once they’re ready on that end.”

“Very well. Go get yourself ready too.”

“Okaaay.”

I didn’t bother asking, “Ready for what?”

At this point, I had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

Something bad had happened outside.

On the very first night of the rainy season… what an absolute nuisance!

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

Sera ・Blessing・【Hideout】+1 【Prayer】 【Mira’s Blessing】 【Wind’s Garment】 Blessed Item ・【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 ・【Range Detection】 ・【】 ・0 cards

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

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