“Give me your hand.”

When I said that to Seriana, who was sitting in front of me, she gave me a puzzled look but stretched out her left hand.

Then, I gently pressed the tip of a stick against her palm…

“Ow!?”

Seriana yanked her hand back to her chest, eyes wide with surprise at the unexpected pain.

“What… is that?”

“It’s a massage tool!”

She seemed curious, so I handed it to her with a casual “Here you go.” Both she and Elena began fiddling with it as if they were inspecting some strange artifact.

The tool was custom-made, crafted by a skilled artisan to fit my hand perfectly. It even had a snake emblem engraved on it. But still… it’s just a stick.

“What’s that for?”

Although Fiora didn’t join the two of them, she seemed curious as well.

Turning to face Fiora, I began explaining why I had it made.

Well… it wasn’t for any grand reason!

Even Seriana and Elena stopped playing with the stick to listen.

“I had it made at a workshop. A while back, Seria-sama looked a little tired, so I gave her a massage before bed. And then…”

I took a deep breath and continued.

“Even though I was pressing her back and waist with all my strength, she told me to press harder!”

I declared it with conviction.

Man… that was heartbreaking.

It really made me realize just how little strength I have and how small my body is.

But apparently, my passionate words didn’t resonate with them.

“…”

Fiora glanced at Seriana without saying a word.

Receiving Fiora’s gaze, Seriana handed the stick to Elena and started pondering. Then, as if recalling something, she muttered, “Ah…”

“…That did happen. I think it was right after the celebration festival ended, wasn’t it?”

She had been half-asleep at the time, but she remembered it well.

Quite the memory she has.

Anyway…

“Exactly! You remember well. But now, with that tool, there won’t be any need for that again. I’ll show you how it works soon!”

I exclaimed with a snort of pride.

◇

A few days later, in mid-autumn, I visited Alec and Elena’s mansion.

Despite it being so close that you could see its roof from Seriana’s room, this was my first time visiting.

There’s an underground passage connecting their place to both this mansion and August’s residence, but since we meet regularly at the lord’s manor, there wasn’t much reason to go out of my way.

Come to think of it… this might be the first time I’ve ever gone to someone’s house alone in this world.

I was starting to feel a bit nervous.

There were guards stationed at the gate. As I approached, they promptly opened it.

No idle chatter… Definitely the First Unit.

Having elite guards known for their discipline man the gates shows how seriously the Riana Territory takes security.

Maybe this is standard practice for prominent houses?

Anyway, I proceeded through the gate.

The mansion, built on leveled ground halfway up a hill, wasn’t particularly spacious, but it was about average for a noble residence in this city.

It was three stories high, with a sizable underground area as well. It might be similar in size to the Müller family’s royal capital residence.

The third floor had a unique structure, serving as an observation post for watching the outskirts of the city.

Incidentally, across the street stood August’s mansion, which was built in a similar style to watch over the city.

Very fitting for the homes of Knight Order executives.

As I approached the front door, a servant opened it from inside to welcome me.

I wasn’t sure how many people worked in the mansion, but six men and women had gathered to greet me.

That felt a bit excessive.

It made me more nervous…

“…Excuse me for intruding.”

“Welcome, Lady Sera. We’ve been expecting you.”

The man who greeted me was someone I hadn’t seen before, but I vaguely remembered hearing that he was one of Elena’s relatives.

“Now, I’ll take you to the mistress’s room.”

After brief introductions, he handed me over to a middle-aged woman, who began leading me to Elena’s room on the second floor.

Just as we reached the top of the stairs…

“Sera.”

“Alec!?”

Alec was descending from upstairs.

His casual attire suggested he wasn’t in the middle of work.

Elena had the day off, but it seemed Alec did too.

I hadn’t checked his schedule, though…

Still, why was he coming from upstairs?

Was something happening outside the city?

“Is something wrong?”

If Alec was handling it, it likely involved magical beasts.

In that case, I could fly over and deal with it faster.

However, seeing my concern, Alec simply laughed.

So, it wasn’t that kind of situation?

“I figured you’d come in from above. Leave the rest to me.”

Apparently, he had been waiting for me.

He dismissed the servants and started walking ahead of me.

“No way… I wouldn’t enter a house for the first time through a window!”

It’s not like I frequently visited other houses. And when I did, I always got the owner’s permission first.

…That sounds like something a vampire would do.

“True. There’s always someone stationed in the observation post on the third floor, so you can use that entrance from now on. Oh, and there’s also the underground passage… Feel free to use that too.”

Alec responded with a chuckle.

He seemed more relaxed than usual.

Maybe he’s like this at home?

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

Seria: 【Hideout】 +1, 【Prayer】, 【Mira’s Blessing】, 【Wind Cloak】, 【Floating Orb】 +1, 【Shadow Sword】, 【Scarlet Bee Needle】, 【Fairy’s Eye】, 【Dragon’s Lung】, 【Amber Sword】, 【Danrem’s Thread】, 【Serpent’s Tail】, 【Ankle Bracelet】, 【Amber Shield】, 【Purple Wings】 ・13 cards

Seriana: 【Area Identification】, 【】 ・28 cards

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

Alec: 【Heavy Strike】, 【Red Shield】, 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】 ・8 cards