“…Huh?”

I woke up.

I don’t remember going to sleep, but… I must have fallen asleep at some point.

That’s fine, but… where exactly am I?

On the sofa…?

I have a blanket draped over me, but when I look outside the window, the sun is already up, and it’s bright.

It’s morning, right?

“…Ah! This is the adjacent lounge!”

I remembered!

Last night, after having dinner, I went to join everyone… and must have dozed off with them?

Though I sometimes fall asleep like that, I usually wake up in Seriana’s bedroom, but here it’s the lounge attached to Liesel’s office.

That means… I wasn’t carried here today.

I can’t have been forgotten, right?

“Woah!? The 【Floating Orb】 is gone.”

I don’t know what time it is, but I decided to get up to head next door… but I can’t find the 【Floating Orb】.

I’m still wearing my other Blessed Items, though… Maybe Seriana has it?

What should I do now?

I can’t exactly go barefoot…

“【Small Orb】 is here… Well, this will do.”

I activated the 【Small Orb】, which is a bit smaller than the 【Floating Orb】, and hopped onto it.

I checked my bedhead in the mirror; it’s a complete mess… but fixing it sounds like too much work, so I’ll leave it as it is.

I’m all set, so let’s go!

◇

“…Good morning… ugh.”

As I opened the door and stepped out from the lounge into the office, everyone was already hard at work.

I checked the clock on the wall—it’s just past 8 AM.

Seems like they start early here.

Everyone in the room turned to face me when they heard my voice.

They looked at my head in shock, but I’m ignoring that for now.

“Hey, good morning. Sera-kun. Did you sleep well?”

Liesel, as always, greeted me with a bright, fresh voice… but for some reason, she sounds a little tired?

Her voice lacks some of the usual energy, and her outfit hasn’t changed since yesterday.

…Hmm?

“Sera.”

“Oh, Seriana, you’re here too. Good morning. Everyone’s up early, huh?”

Turning at the sound of her voice, I saw Seriana floating on the 【Floating Orb】.

She was working at a reception table, spreading out documents, not sitting at her and Elena’s usual seats.

Seems like everyone’s up early today?

I started walking toward them, thinking that… but then…

“…Are you all tired?”

It wasn’t just Liesel—everyone was wearing the same clothes as yesterday.

And they all looked pretty exhausted.

Now that I look closely, their hair is a little disheveled…

They’re not directly fighting, but they’re overseeing the operations behind the attacks. They’ve got a lot on their plate, but it’s still unusual for them to look this worn out.

“Yes.”

It’s rare for Seriana to admit things so honestly without trying to act tough. Could this mean…

“Hey, wait, did you all not sleep?”

That would explain their exhausted looks.

It also explains why I was left here, still sleeping, as they stayed up working.

If Seriana and the others had spent the night here without returning to their rooms, I would’ve probably stayed like this too.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Oh…”

Normally, they would add some sharp remark or tease me, but now there’s nothing.

They must really be exhausted.

◇

“Hey… don’t you guys need sleep?”

After blessing everyone working in the room, I asked as I rubbed Seriana’s shoulders, still a bit puzzled.

Looking over their shoulders, I saw that what they were working on involved organizing supplies and coordinating the 1st division’s patrols across the cities within the territory. They were trying to adjust schedules that had been disrupted due to the attack.

While it’s certainly important, does it really need to be done without sleep?

Looking around the room again, it was clear they were all showing signs of exhaustion.

These people are usually fine after staying up for a day or two… but maybe this situation is different?

“Soon, Liesel and I will need to sign off on some documents. Once that’s done, we’ll rest.”

“…Oh?”

Well… since Seriana and Liesel are awake, I guess the others are too. They probably want to finish up their work now so they can take a break later.

But what do they need to sign?

“Oh, speaking of which, how’s the situation outside? There wasn’t any new information last time I checked before going to sleep.”

The last thing I remember is that we successfully pushed the remnants of the monsters to the forest base.

Once they reached that point, I figured there wouldn’t be any major updates…

I stopped rubbing Seriana’s shoulders and asked about it.

“There’s been no major change. A few messengers came, and we’ve been cross-checking details, but nothing significant.”

She sighed, then continued.

“But it’s better to finish things sooner rather than later. If we settle the big issues now, we can deal with the smaller ones while we rest.”

“Ah, right…”

I don’t know exactly how things are handled on-site, but I guess they wanted to settle the major points now, so they can take a break after.

That makes sense, I thought, and began moving my hands again.

Then, about ten minutes later…

“Excuse me!”

A soldier rushed into the room.

“I’ve been waiting.”

While I was surprised, everyone in the room seemed to have been waiting for this.

“Ah! I’m sorry for the delay. This is a report from Captain Alexio.”

The messenger was from the 1st division, who had gone to Arios city.

Considering the time, he probably didn’t rest much before returning.

He looked pretty tired.

And then, it turned out that Seriana and the others had been waiting for the report from Arios city.

Even though it’s within our territory, it’s still the kind of report only a lord can handle.

Seriana and Liesel moved to read the report together, and once they finished, they signed it quickly.

Looks like their work is done for now.

Good work, everyone.

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

Sera: 【Hideout】 +1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind’s Garb】・【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】【Red Sword】・15 cards

Seriana: 【Area Detection】・【】・33 cards

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

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