After enjoying some tea and snacks and chatting a bit, the break came to an end.
It must have been about 20 minutes.
It wrapped up sooner than expected.

This group was a little different from typical female nobles in this world.

For example, with people like Minea or Oriana, the tea parties during these breaks were often the main event.
That’s because their tea party companions might be from different towns or territories.
In contrast, this group lived in the same town and frequently saw one another, so the circumstances might differ slightly.
Even so, they seemed to enjoy chatting.

It wasn’t that Seriana and the others disliked chatting, but it felt like their priority was to get things done first.
Even the topics of their conversations weren’t about family or theater but focused on work… purely businesslike.

Well, I wanted to quickly move on to the gacha too, so I was grateful for the brevity.

“Alright…! Let’s do this!”

It was a refreshing change of pace, and I was determined to win in the second half!

◇

Looking back, I wasn’t prepared enough in the first half.
I let my guard down, thinking I had ten chances.
One holy coin equals 20 gold coins.
And one gold coin is about 100,000 yen in Japanese currency.

…That’s 100 million yen for five attempts!
Sure, even if I missed, I still got something tangible, and I did pull a hit with the 【Amber Shield】.
But still, 100 million yen!?

I’d gotten carried away earning quickly, and now I was numb to the sheer amount I was spending.

This time, I needed focus.
Maybe, just maybe, if I put enough spirit into it, my prayers might reach something…!

“…What is he doing?”

“It’s the usual.”

“…He’s even activating 【Prayer】 now.”

“That glow might mean 【Blessing of Mira】 is active as well. Perhaps he’s just trying his luck?”

…I could hear the onlookers commenting on my enthusiasm, and they seemed much closer than usual. Were they standing right behind me?

Whatever.
I’d put all the spirit I could muster into it.

Let’s go!

“Hah!”

I knelt, holding up the holy coin with both hands.
Following the proper method, I adhered to the formal ritual.

Drururururu…

I made sure to listen to the drum roll.
Does this sound ever change, I wondered?
I hadn’t paid attention to it before, but… no, no change this time.

“Ha!”

When the drum roll abruptly stopped, a nostalgic vision surfaced in my mind.
…What is this!?

“Whoa!?”

Panicking, I leapt backward and bumped into someone, eliciting a small scream.

“Kyah!?”

Someone really was right behind me… Wait, was that Seriana?
That was a surprisingly cute scream.

“…That was dangerous. What happened? Was it a blessing?”

She asked as if nothing had happened, holding onto me.
Well, with such an exaggerated reaction but no visible results, it was natural for her to wonder.

“Ah… sorry about that. It wasn’t a blessing but a reinforcement. For the 【Floating Orb】.”

What I had just pulled was a 【Reinforcement】 for the 【Floating Orb】.

【Reinforcement】—this was rare, something I hadn’t seen since I hit one back when this place was still 【Hideout】.
And for the 【Floating Orb】, no less!
This was a big win!

Looking up, I met Seriana’s widened eyes.
She seemed just as surprised.

“That’s amazing! …But I wonder how it’ll change?”

“…Good question.”

Now that she mentioned it, she was right.

If it were something obvious, like adding a new room to the 【Hideout】, it’d be clear, but this was the 【Floating Orb】.
Its limits weren’t even known yet.
Could I figure out what had changed?
After all, 【Reinforcement】 itself was a mysterious thing… What exactly got reinforced?

When using the gacha, I stepped off the 【Floating Orb】 and stood on my own two feet.
Glancing at the sofa, I saw the 【Floating Orb】 perched in its usual spot where I always sat.

“Mind if I try sitting on it for a bit?”

I tapped Seriana’s arm, still holding me, as I made my request.

There were four gacha attempts left, but I couldn’t focus until I figured this out.
I didn’t expect to grasp all the reinforced features, but I at least wanted to get a sense of what had changed.

“…Alright. It doesn’t seem dangerous, so do as you like.”

“Thanks! …Uh, can you let me down?”

Why was she still holding me?
I tapped her arm again, puzzled.

“Oh… I forgot. You’re so light. Are you eating properly? Should we start having dinner together with the rest of us?”

“I’m eating…”

While I often had breakfast or lunch in this room, I didn’t frequently join her for meals.
Still, she had seen me eating enough to know I wasn’t starving.

But dinner was different.

It was usually with the lord, his wife, guests, or high-ranking officials of the territory.
In those cases, Elena or Teresa would often join.
A formal banquet for the nobility.
I typically dined with other servants or alone in my room or the 【Hideout】.

…I was eating, though perhaps the portions were small.
The food was delicious, but the seasoning wasn’t something I could eat a lot of.

“…Very well, then.”

When I maintained eye contact with Seriana, she seemed to come to some conclusion.
She carried me over to the 【Floating Orb】.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Seria ・【Hideout】+1 【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】・【Floating Orb】+1 【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee’s Stinger】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Snake’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】・41 cards

Seriana ・【Range Identification】・【】・28 cards
Elena ・【】・【Green Fang】・3 cards
Alec ・【Heavy Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・5 cards