As usual, it’s time for the nightly briefing.

Today, since Alec is also here, we’re in the lounge on the first floor.

During lunch and dinner, since there were others around, we were in the larger dining hall, so we couldn’t talk about the dungeon.

The members haven’t gathered yet, and it’s time for everyone to chat.

Alec hasn’t joined in, but being the only man in the group, he’s accustomed to it and is leisurely drinking his tea.

By the way, I’m just lying down, not joining either group since I’m a man.

“Sorry I’m late.”

The first thing to greet us was Auguste, followed by his deputy, Mio.

Liesel had some other business to attend to, so I had heard that he would be coming in her place… but Mio too?

She shouldn’t know anything about the dungeon, but well, it would be troublesome to keep her away from dungeon-related tasks, even though she’s Auguste’s support, and it must be difficult for Auguste to operate freely too.

Seeing the others, no one said anything, so I guess it’s fine.

“…Has Miss Sera not been told about it?”

August, noticing my confused look, gave me a puzzled look.

As he said, I haven’t heard anything about it…

“She returned to her room after lunch and slept all the way until dinner. Even when we tried waking her up, she wouldn’t budge…”

“I worked hard today after all.”

Seriana says this with an exasperated look, but honestly, I think I did work hard today.

It was only one floor of the lower level, but I remained in control without losing my temper even against higher-ranked opponents… I must have been exhausted.

I remember returning to my room after lunch and lying down on the bed… and the next thing I knew, Teresa was waking me up for dinner.

“I see… I’ve received a brief report from Captain Alexio, but I’d like to hear the details later. …Mio? What’s wrong?”

August, who had been nodding, suddenly turned around when he noticed Mio hadn’t spoken a word.

I followed his gaze and found Mio standing right by the door, with a face as if seeing something strange. Our eyes locked.

We’ve never really chatted, but we’ve worked together before, and even traveled to a nearby town. It’s not like it’s our first time meeting…

Hmm? While I tilted my head, August seemed to have figured it out right away, and he started explaining something.

Although there was a hint of confusion, Mio seemed to understand after his explanation, and the two of them came over to sit on the sofa.

Though they sat down, Mio still looked tense.

Even though Alec is a colleague, with Seriana, Elena, Teresa, Fiora… the women around here do have a certain intensity.

Seriana and the others won’t go out of their way to be considerate, so I guess Mio will have to get used to it on her own.

“Mio.”

“Yes!”

Alec, perhaps trying to help, called out to her.

How gentlemanly…

“That’s the usual thing. If you’re going to join us here, you’ll have to get used to it.”

He said something that sounded a bit like a hint, mentioning “that” and “this side.”

Well, to be honest, this gathering is like a back-end leadership meeting for the territory, right?

If she keeps being intimidated by Seriana and the others, it would be troublesome, I guess.

Since I couldn’t move my head because Seriana was doing my ear cleaning, I silently nodded along with that thought.

◇

After a while, Zighart showed up.

Now that the group is complete, I guess we can get to the main topic, but… before that, August brought up a new topic.

“Teresa, is that a new color?”

“Yes, I had it brought from the royal capital for the princess the other day.”

Teresa was busy painting my toenails, so she answered without turning her face toward August’s question.

“…You can tell easily, can’t you, Captain?”

I thought I might as well take over the conversation.

“I won’t be using it, though. Instead, Mio will look into it and summarize it in a report. Mio, what do you think?”

Since Mio had barely spoken since entering the room, aside from her earlier interaction with Alec, it might be a good opportunity to get her involved in the conversation.

Before diving into the main topic, I thought it would be nice to provide a little breather, so I decided to give her a little assist.

With that in mind, I lifted my foot slightly and moved my fingers to catch her attention.

Teresa was using a light pink color, unlike the usual black that she normally applies. My toes were almost done, and she was about to start on my fingernails.

“Ah… yes. Well, I think it looks very good with the red hair and white skin.”

I’ve been complimented… I’m a bit embarrassed.

“Um… why does Sera always paint her nails black? It’s a color that doesn’t seem to suit a delicate girl, unlike what one would expect from a knight or soldier…”

“Delicate girl” is a bit of a mismatch for me, I think… but indeed, it’s not a color most children would use.

That black nail polish is actually a medicinal product used for repairing broken nails, and as she said, it’s mainly used by female soldiers who’ve broken their nails during training.

I never break my nails, and my own divine protection heals them, so I don’t really need it.

Well, given that, it’s only natural to wonder.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Sera ・【Hideout】 +1【Prayer】 【Mira’s Blessing】 【Wind Garb】 ・【Floating Orb】 +1【Shadow Sword】 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 【Fairy’s Eye】 【Dragon’s Lung】 【Amber Sword】 【Danrem’s Thread】 【Snake’s Tail】 【Ankle Bracelet】 【Amber Shield】 【Purple Wings】 ・10 cards

Seriana ・【Range Identification】 ・【】 ・28 cards

Elena ・【】 ・【Green Fang】 【Amber Sword】 ・3 cards

Alec ・【Heavy Strike】 ・【Red Shield】 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】 ・7 cards