The reception area of Liesel’s office.

Most guests who have business with him are usually directed to the adjacent lounge or a separate room, so this area has effectively become my personal space.

There’s Liesel’s workspace, Seriana’s space next to it, and then mine.
You could say this office is basically made up of these three zones!

Anyway, today I’m lying around reading a book in my designated area.

I usually try to keep myself together a bit more, but… maybe because it’s the rainy season and there’s not much urgent work, almost no one comes in or out of this room, and I’ve let myself get a little too relaxed.

It’s already afternoon, and the only visitor has been a servant who came by just now to deliver something.

“Hey, Sera.”

“Yeees?”

It’s Liesel’s voice calling my name.

I sit up and look in his direction. He’s gesturing for me to come over.

He’s probably calling me because he needs something… Maybe it’s about the thing that was just delivered?

Well, I was called, so I guess I’ll go. I put on my slippers and walked over.

I passed by Seriana on the way, but it seemed like she didn’t know what it was about either—she just shrugged her shoulders.

Hmmmm…?

“Sorry for calling you over. I wanted to hear your opinion on something.”

When I got to Liesel, he said that and handed me a few documents.

My opinion?
What’s this about…? I thought as I took the papers and started looking through them… Ah, I see.

Yeah, I guess it does make sense to ask my opinion on this.

“…This is no good.”

“Ah, I thought you’d say that.”

Liesel gave a wry smile at my response.

So, what is this about?
It’s a petition from the Adventurers’ Guild about expanding the duties of apprentice adventurers.

If that was all, we could just let them do whatever they wanted… but it includes accompanying the Knight Order on missions.

Specifically, the mission is a farm patrol with the Wolves.

Yeah… that’s not gonna work.

I’ve tagged along once before, and even after that, Monica and the others continued patrolling the farms outside the city right up until the rainy season.

From what I’ve heard, they managed to finish patrolling all the farms around the capital.

They didn’t manage to earn any Holy Coins, but still, they reduced crop damage—it was a solid outcome.

Sure, the monsters targeted on that mission are just rabbits—not particularly strong.

Honestly, they’re barely a threat.

Monica could take them out easily, and the apprentices have been trained in anti-monster combat, so they probably wouldn’t have a problem…
But the issue here is mobility.

The main challenge—scouting the surroundings and finding rabbit nests—is handled by the Wolves, which is why only the knights and Monica go out there.

Monica, equipped with 【Green Shoeskeep】, can move swiftly between farms. Even if the knights miss a rabbit and it gets away while they’re dismounted, she can catch up to it.

Well, I suppose if they increased the number of people and everyone helped, fewer would escape…
But parading around outside the city with a big group is dangerous.

At the very least, it’s not something that should be part of an official Knight Order mission.

…Yep, rejected. No way.

“Seria, what do you think?”

Seriana had come over at some point and took the documents. She gave a small “Ahh” when she saw them.

“The Commercial Guild also approached me about mobilizing apprentice adventurers. Of course, I turned them down…”

“So they submitted it again to Liesel even after being rejected?”

The actual clients are probably the farm owners, but it seems the Commercial Guild or the Adventurers’ Guild might be acting on their behalf.

Still, going to both Seriana and Liesel like this…

“Well, coordinating proposals is part of their job. Judging from the delay during the rainy season, they probably rejected it internally at first, but now that more requests have come in, they’ve left the final decision to us. Happens all the time.”

“I see, I see… Oh! So this means we’re turning it down, right?”

“Of course. The Guilds will handle the response, but your opinion helps smooth the discussion on their end.”

“…Really?”

I mean, I do get around and I think I’m fairly well-known, but… I don’t think I’ve got that much pull.

Well, if I can help, then sure.

As I nodded along, Liesel quickly scribbled something on the desk and handed me another document.

“Well then… Sera. I’m counting on you to take this.”

“Ugh…!?”

The destination is the Adventurers’ Guild… I couldn’t help but let out a weird noise.

I glanced at Seriana, and she gave a soft laugh as she looked at me.

“This time, make sure you come back on your own two feet.”

“Grnnnn…!”

Ugh, the Adventurers’ Guild… that place is far.

And not just far—there’s a lot of elevation change.

Going there’s still manageable, but the uphill trip back… Last time I went, I collapsed partway, and Monica, who happened to be helping out at the research lab, had to carry me all the way back on her back.

But that got banned afterward…

“Come on now, don’t just sit there groaning. Go on, off you go.”

“…Fiiine.”

Guess I’ve got no choice… Maybe I’ll take a break and have some tea at the lab or even the lobby in front of the dungeon…

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

Sera ・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Blessing of Mira】【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】【Red Sword】【Monkey’s Arm】・4 cards

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

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

Alec ・【Power Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・10 cards