After finishing my conversation with the servant, I decided to head straight to the second-floor office.

I did consider taking a break in Seriana’s room in the south wing… but since I’d technically gone out for work, I figured I should at least give a report.

If Seriana was in the lounge, then either Elena or Teresa would be with her, but one of them should still be in the office.

“Good work out there—”

“Welcome back, Vice-Captain. Madam is currently meeting with a guest and isn’t here at the moment, but…”

When I greeted the soldier guarding the office, it seemed like in his mind I was already paired together with Seriana.

He went out of his way to inform me about Seriana’s whereabouts.

He’s not exactly wrong, but… today is different!

“Yeah, I know. I’m just here to report. Is Teresa or Elena around?”

“Yes, Lady Teresa is inside. Please go ahead.”

With that, he opened the door.

“Alright, thanks a lot.”

So, Teresa’s the one staying in the room, huh?

In that case, I should be able to wrap up not just today’s work report, but also updates about the Knight Order and the Adventurer Guild.

◇

As usual, when I entered, everyone was busy with their tasks.

This season brings more people on the move as we approach spring, and activity increases not just in the domain capital but throughout the entire territory.

With all the petitions and whatnot coming in from various regions, the number of people going in and out of here was greater than usual—so much so that you couldn’t tell at a glance who was where.

Our territory is located on the outer edge, so all the information from across the region tends to get bundled together before it reaches us. I imagine even just organizing it all without creating chaos must be a massive task.

They seem to be dealing with it through brute-force—by adding more personnel.

If we were located a bit closer to the center of the territory, maybe things would be different… but oh well, it can’t be helped.

Now then, where’s Teresa?

Her usual seat was still empty…

“Welcome back, Princess.”

While I was glancing around near the entrance, Teresa appeared from the back near the document shelves and called out to me.

“Yup, thanks. I took down a pretty big number of monsters out in the grasslands past the town of Arios. Cleanup’s already finished. Here, this.”

As I responded, I pulled out a report from my pouch.

It listed the location where we encountered the monsters today, the types and numbers I remembered, and a brief note of my impressions from the battle.

A more detailed report will probably arrive from the town of Arios in a few days, but for now, this should help Seriana update the orders she already issued for work in other towns starting tomorrow.

“Confirmed… Madam and Elena are currently handling the guests. What would you like to do, Princess?”

“Let’s see… I’ll head back to my room and rest. I’ll talk to Seriana and the others again tonight.”

“Understood. I’ll let them know.”

With a small bow, Teresa escorted me to the hallway before returning to her work in the office.

That wraps up my work for today.

Since morning I’ve been traveling outside, fought off a massive swarm of monsters, helped with the cleanup operation… Today’s job ended up being pretty demanding. I’m feeling kind of worn out.

Time for a quick shower and a break.

Stretching out with a big yawn, I made my way toward Seriana’s room.

◇

…It was night.

Apparently, after returning and taking a shower, I had lain down for just a little break… but must have fallen fast asleep.

By the time I noticed, it was already night.

Seriana and the others hadn’t bothered to wake me, likely being considerate of my fatigue—or so I’d like to think.

By the time I came to, they had already eaten, and my portion had been brought to my room, so I ate while delivering today’s report.

Well, it wasn’t a formal debriefing or anything. It’s always like this—talking over a meal.

As for the group, Alec and the others were apparently staying at the eastern base tonight, so it was just the women.

If they’d been around, we would’ve had to move down to the lounge for this… so let’s just say this was more convenient.

After finishing my verbal report, they said I could go ahead with the slight changes I wanted to make—no problem.

They probably read the report I submitted when I got back earlier in the day, but they gave approval surprisingly quickly. Then again, it was a one-off mission designated just for me from the start.

I’m probably allowed to exercise some discretion here and there.

Anyway, with my part done, we naturally shifted into the usual idle chatter.

But today, there was something I wanted to ask Seriana.

It might not be anything serious, but when I got back earlier, I saw her meeting with people from the Merchant Guild. I wonder what that was about?

If I had to guess, I’d say it was something to do with the interior design of the Müller family’s upcoming mansion in the noble district of the domain capital, but…

Let’s see…?

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

Sera ・Blessed Item・【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・【Power Strike】・【Red Shield】 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・10 cards