“Were the masters troubled by the same thing?”

“Liesel? Ah… that’s a different issue.”

Seriana paused for a moment, seemingly unsure what I was referring to, but quickly realized and answered.

“The scope has expanded, but handling it itself isn’t a problem. No matter how interconnected things are, it’s not like monsters from the Demonic Wasteland have slipped through, right?”

“Yeah.”

Monsters in swarms are scary, but the truly dangerous ones are from the Demonic Wasteland, and those have been properly kept in check.

However, Seriana added a “But” and resumed the conversation.

“When the area we need to monitor increases, it means we have to divert more forces from the city’s soldiers. It’s the same in the capital, so of course, other cities would be affected as well. However, under Riana’s policy, priority is given to supporting dungeon exploration. The second division has been recruiting many local adventurers, but from this year onward, recruitment was supposed to be scaled down, and other cities were expected to follow suit….”

A faint sigh could be heard.

I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell what kind of expression she was making.

“When monster-related problems happen close by, people want to increase the number of soldiers.”

Even just slightly off the main roads, monsters could attack.

Even if countermeasures were in place, when the threat is felt even within the city, it’s natural to want to strengthen defenses.

“Yes. We can’t ignore those voices. But at the same time, we can’t just keep this information to ourselves, can we?”

Seriana let out another sigh.

So, their plans got messed up.

Adjusting everything is going to be a pain…

Good luck, important people.

◇

Now then, I finished my bath and took care of my hair.

It was too late for a nap, but taking a short rest before dinner wouldn’t be bad.

The servant who had been in the room earlier had gone to the mansion’s kitchen to prepare tea, so I was alone.

This was my chance.

“Hey, Seria-sama.”

I placed my hands on Seriana’s lap as she sat on the sofa and began my plea.

“What is it?”

“Can I use a Holy Coin?”

Hearing my request, Seriana raised an eyebrow.

“…Didn’t you say you were saving up a hundred?”

I did say that.

But once you experience the luxury of a ten-pull, it’s hard to go back to doing things one by one.

Now that I’ve started hunting in the dungeon, I can save up again—it’ll take some time, but I can do it.

“Just once!”

Besides, I already knew that something troublesome was likely to happen soon.

My current equipment was more than enough, and I wasn’t even sure if I’d have a role to play… but still, a bit of good luck wouldn’t hurt.

Might as well do a quick draw and test my fortune.

“Well… alright.”

Seriana sighed in exasperation but still got up from the sofa and went to her bedroom to fetch the sacred statue.

“Thanks.”

I thanked her and activated 【Hideout】 to take out my Holy Coins.

Gotta finish before the servant comes back!

◇

When Seriana returned from the bedroom, she placed the sacred statue on the reception table and sat back on the sofa.

Elena and Teresa also took their seats, and now all three of them were watching me.

“So? You’re really just doing one draw?”

“Yeah.”

Even though I had declared I’d only do one, Seriana was keeping close track of how many Holy Coins I had.

She must have noticed that I only withdrew ten coins from 【Hideout】.

The servant had returned and finished preparing the tea, now waiting quietly in the corner of the room.

To get more, I’d have to enter 【Hideout】 again, which meant going back to the bedroom.

That would seem a little suspicious, and I didn’t want to take the coins out in front of everyone either.

Their presence made for a perfect stopper.

…What if something really crazy came out?

I glanced at them.

They were waiting silently but clearly interested in the gacha.

“You must keep everything that happens here a secret, no matter who asks. Just say that I ordered it.”

“…!? Yes!”

Noticing where I was looking, Seriana ordered the servants to keep quiet.

Well… if Seriana herself commanded them, they wouldn’t spill anything.

Still, for their sake, maybe I should keep things low-key today.

If they accidentally leaked something and had to face Seriana’s wrath, I’d feel bad for them.

Let’s do this… discreetly.

“Hurry up, Sera. Before the tea gets cold.”

Looks like Seriana cared more about the tea than the gacha.

It was still steaming, but… well, no need to drag this out.

It had been a while, but it was just one pull.

And with the servants watching, I had to keep it simple.

I stepped down from 【Floating Orb】 and stood in front of the sacred statue.

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

Sera ・【Hideout】+1 【Prayer】 【Mira’s Blessing】 【Wind Cloak】 ・【Floating Orb】+1 【Shadow Sword】 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 【Fairy’s Eye】 【Dragon’s Lungs】 【Amber Sword】 【Danrem’s Thread】 【Serpent’s Tail】 【Ankle Bracelet】 【Amber Shield】 【Purple Wings】 ・25 cards

Seriana ・【Area Identification】・【】・33 cards

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

Alec ・【Power Strike】・【Red Shield】 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・9 cards