After parting ways with them earlier, I resumed my journey deeper into the forest.

Man… I came out here to hunt, but there’s no prey.

I did take part in that last battle, but I let them have all the kills…

It’s good that the people of the territory aren’t troubled by monsters, but… it’s a problem if there’s nothing left for me.

“Oh?”

As I wandered through the trees, letting out a contemplative hum, I sensed a familiar presence on the roadside where the forest opened up.

Three knights on horseback, accompanied by a beast much smaller than their horses… a wolf.

They were supposed to be in training, but were they patrolling this area today?

As I approached to greet them, the wolf noticed me and let out a low growl, “Woof, woof.”

The knights seemed wary at first, but once they spotted me deep in the forest, they lowered their guard.

Wouldn’t it be nice if they could train the wolves to recognize allies by their barking?

If hunters who use dogs for tracking joined the training, that might improve.

…Maybe I should suggest it.

“Hey there. Wolf training today?”

“Yeah. Just a round trip to the eastern outpost. And you? Out hunting?”

The eastern outpost… that’s the settlement expanding east of the territory’s capital.

It’s located within the First Forest, so encounters with monsters should be more frequent there than around here…

“Yeah, yeah. There are too many adventurers around, so there’s not much space left for me to hunt… How was it over there?”

I gestured down the road as I spoke, and the three of them exchanged knowing smiles.

Wait… did they wipe everything out?

“We either hunted or drove away everything that came close. There are stationed soldiers and adventurers over there too, you know? It was a good training exercise for this guy.”

The wolf let out a short bark as if it understood it was being praised.

“Ugh…”

They had a point, which made it hard to complain.

But at this rate, it feels like there’s nowhere left for me to hunt outside…

Considering the hassle of dealing with corpses, places off the knights’ patrol routes or those without adventurers aren’t really suitable for me.

I need a location with just the right level of activity…

“You probably won’t get any chances outside for a while. Why not just hunt in the dungeon?”

I must have been easy to read since they preemptively answered my thoughts.

“Ugh… I’ll think about it.”

Hearing that, they laughed again.

Damn them…

“We’re heading back to the city now. What about you?”

It seemed their work was done, and they were returning to the capital.

Well, even if there weren’t any monsters nearby, this wasn’t exactly the place for a leisurely chat.

They probably wanted to get moving too.

“I’ll head back too…”

Guess I’ll give up on hunting for today.

I’ll return to the capital as well.

◇

When I got back to the mansion, I decided to head to Seriana’s room.

It was still before noon, so at this time, she’d be working in Liesel’s office and wouldn’t be in her room, meaning I couldn’t sneak in through the window.

But that was fine.

My goal was the bath.

Spring always makes the forest smell stronger.

I sniffed the hem of my clothes—yep, they smelled like grass and leaves.

The scent probably clung to my hair too.

I needed a bath to freshen up.

Or so I thought, but…

“Oh?”

“My, Sera-chan. Welcome back. Are you done already?”

On my way to Seriana’s room, I ran into some of the servants in the hallway.

It seemed they had been cleaning the guest rooms in the south wing.

There weren’t any guests staying now, but it was about that time of year, so they were likely preparing for any arrivals.

How reliable…!

But then…

“Did you go out to the forest? You smell a bit like the outdoors.”

“Indeed. The mistress is still in the master’s office, isn’t she? You can’t stay like this.”

Before I knew it, they had surrounded me, pointing out various issues…

One of them quickly announced they’d prepare a bath and hurried off toward Seriana’s room.

Hmph… I was planning to use the bath in 【Hideout】, but it looks like I’ll be using Seriana’s instead.

Well, if that’s the case, I can leave my laundry and hair drying to them, so it’s not a bad deal!

◇

Now that I was thoroughly scrubbed clean, it was time to change and dry my hair.

Among today’s attendants was someone who could use a hair-drying spell.

She wasn’t as skilled as Teresa or Elena, so the airflow was weaker and took a little longer, but my hair still dried properly.

I wish I could learn that spell too…

“Sera-chan, your hair’s gotten long again. Shall I trim it a little?”

As one of them brushed my hair and helped me change, she suddenly held up a strand and made the suggestion.

“I’d like to cut it too, but… Seriana won’t let me…”

I grumbled, hoping for some sympathy, but she just smiled and took hold of the back of my hair.

Even I had to admit my hair was smooth and voluminous.

“You want to cut this part, don’t you? But I was talking about this part. Let’s talk to the mistress about trimming it next time.”

“Hmph…”

Apparently, she had been referring to my bangs.

They were getting long enough to reach my eyes, sure…

But I feel like the back is way more of a hassle.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind’s Garment】・【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】【Monkey’s Arm】・4 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・39 cards

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

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