The baton had passed to Alec, but since we’d been talking nonstop anyway, we decided to take a break and have some tea.

Well, even though we called it a break, we ended up talking the whole time anyway. But it wasn’t like there was a main speaker or anything—just everyone chatting freely as they pleased.

While I’d already given a brief explanation of what had happened while they were away from the territory, they clearly had a much more detailed understanding of the situation here. The amount of information they had far exceeded mine.

…Actually, come to think of it, when it comes to this capital and even the territory as a whole, there’s a lot I don’t know.

There was one particular piece of information that really surprised me.

A few years ago, a frontier base was established just east of the capital, and now there’s a plan in place to fully develop it into a village—with the goal of eventually turning it into a town.

Now that the biggest issue facing the Riana Territory—the church-related problem in the capital—has been resolved, the region is poised to grow even further, and Seriana and the others will no doubt continue to actively promote that development.

And at the heart of that growth is this very capital.

I mean, of course—it’s located right next to the Mystic Region, which is being steadily reclaimed. This city naturally becomes more and more important because of that.

That said, it’s not like things can just stay as they are.

After the expansion work, the city has nearly doubled in size compared to the old Lortle days, creating quite a bit of open space within the city walls.

Or at least, it had created space… but with the population boom and the construction of a noble district, that breathing room is rapidly vanishing.

Still, it’s not like we can just keep expanding the city endlessly.

Due to the placement of the lord’s manor, the noble district, and other major facilities, any expansion would logically have to go eastward.

However, on the east side of the city lies the Knight Order’s training grounds, and just beyond that is the First Forest.

To expand the city, we’d first have to find a way to clear and develop that area.

There’s also the matter of the barrier.

Whether we lay down a new one or redo the current one, either option isn’t going to be easy… it’s clear that such a move won’t be simple.

So, the plan is to put an end to physical expansion and, like Zelkis’s capital, instead focus on enhancing the city’s internal facilities.

But that doesn’t mean they’re just going to sit back and stop developing the territory.

Apparently, there’s a plan to build several towns around the capital to share some of its functions.

One of them is that frontier base to the east.

It may be located within the First Forest, but it’s only a few kilometers from the capital—close enough that help can arrive quickly in an emergency.

Moreover, the base’s main draw for now is likely to be materials from the Mystic Region’s monsters. The adventurers currently based in the capital, whose main activity is hunting in the Mystic Region rather than dungeons, will probably relocate there.

If we coordinate with the adventurers who’ve already shifted their base of operations to that outpost, it should be sustainable—and manageable in emergencies as well.

Of course, the materials from slain monsters will be distributed, but since it’s just an outpost and not the capital, the reward money probably won’t be much.

However, since the goal is to develop it into a full settlement, anyone who helps defend the base will likely secure a solid position for themselves in the future.

Fighting monsters from the Mystic Region will obviously be dangerous, but the benefits still outweigh the risks.

I’m sure the adventurers will gladly help with defense and upkeep.

It’s not just the eastern outpost—there’s also Luban’s village to the south. And although it’ll happen a bit later, there are also plans to create a similar outpost in the north, which will eventually be developed into a town too.

These three towns will serve as satellite cities to the capital, and the idea is to create a metropolitan area by linking them all together.

It’s quite a grand plan… but judging by the attitudes of the adventurers in the city, they’re pretty focused on stability, so I think this plan has a good shot at succeeding.

I nodded along while listening to the conversation, but the more I thought about it, the more I wondered—should we really be brushing this off as just casual chatter…?

This is clearly a discussion about the future of the entire territory.

No one’s drinking alcohol or anything, but everyone seems really relaxed…

“Sera, is something bothering you?”

It seemed Elena, who was sitting across from me, had noticed how my eyes were wandering around the room uneasily—unsettled by the contrast between the weight of the conversation and the relaxed atmosphere.

“Well… I mean, is this really the kind of topic we should be talking about so casually?”

“The idea’s been around for a while now, but we only started seriously considering it this past fall. That said, it’s not something we’re planning to publicly announce just yet. Still, we’ve already informed the city’s various guilds, so it’s not like it’s super confidential.”

“…Huh.”

I gave a half-hearted response to Seriana’s explanation and, while the others carried on chatting, I started thinking about another question that had popped into my head.

She mentioned that not just the mansion but the city’s various guilds had been informed. Now that I think about it, didn’t the Adventurer Guild and the Merchant Guild both want to use the land where the orphanage in the church district used to be?

This plan seems like it might be connected to that whole issue too…

Hmm.

As I glanced around, I saw that Alec had resumed talking again, signaling the end of our casual chat.

It would feel wrong to interrupt his flow…

Maybe I’ll just add this to the list of things to ask Seriana about later?

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

Sera ・Blessing・【Hideout】 +1 【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【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 ・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・10 cards