……Ugh.

As I wriggled around and poked my head out from under the covers, I saw that the room was still pitch black.

There were no large windows in this room, but it did have a small ventilation window. From the faint light leaking through it, I could roughly tell the time.

It was probably still the middle of the night.

It’s rare for me to wake up in the middle of the night.

Could this be some kind of premonition!?

I carefully tried to sit up so I wouldn’t wake Seriana beside me, squirming around gently…

“Did I wake you?”

“Uwah!?”

Seriana’s voice came from above my head.

When I turned toward her, I could just barely make out her form sitting up on the bed even in the dark.

…Maybe I only woke up because Seriana had gotten up?

“…Is something wrong?”

When I turned fully toward Seriana, she seemed to be paying attention to something outside.

I thought about checking with the snakes too…

But before I could, she placed her hand on my head and stopped me.

“There was a bit of movement outside. Someone came and went, it seems.”

“…Should I go take a look?”

I didn’t know what time it was, but unlike my previous life, people walking around outside at night now would usually only be soldiers or adventurers returning from a dungeon.

Still, Seriana’s words felt a little vague for her… It felt like something else.

If it were me, I could go check right away.

Or so I thought, but…

“No, it’s fine. I’m going back to sleep, so you should stop staying up and get back to sleep too.”

Saying that, Seriana pulled up the covers and lay back down on the bed.

“…Yaaawn.”

I was a little curious, but… well, if Seriana’s acting like this, then it’s probably nothing dangerous.

I let out a big yawn too—maybe I’ll go back to sleep for a bit.

◇

Maybe because I woke up awkwardly in the middle of the night, my head’s been in a bit of a fog all morning.

Normally, I wake up pretty easily and feel refreshed…

But today I just couldn’t get motivated, so I was lounging around on the sofa.

As for Seriana, who also woke up in the middle of the night…

When I lifted my head over the backrest of the sofa to look at her, I saw that she was moving briskly through her work as usual.

She hadn’t said anything strange when she got up or during breakfast either, so I still had no idea what that was all about… but the atmosphere in Liesel’s office hadn’t changed, and it didn’t seem like anything had happened.

Anyway—more importantly…

“…What?”

Even lounging around didn’t help, so I sat up and rested my chin on the backrest, watching Seriana. She must’ve noticed my stare because she looked up at me.

What a lively lady.

“It’s nothing—oh?”

Just as I responded with a nod and a lazy answer to Seriana, I heard cheers coming from outside the manor.

Loud enough that the voices reached the room.

That location… is probably the west gate?

Which means…

“They’ve returned.”

“Yes. Looks like they’re all back.”

At Liesel’s words, Seriana nodded as well.

The cheers outside were for the return of the 2nd unit, which had been out surveying the territory.

The 1st unit had also gone out for the survey, but since they were also handling maintenance and repairs, it sounded like they’d take a bit longer to return. As for the 2nd unit, their investigation of hunting grounds and such over the past two weeks had apparently wrapped up.

Still, just like when Alec led them out last time, they were as popular as ever.

We’d received word of their return last night, but boy do rumors spread fast.

“I’m gonna go greet them real quick.”

Rather than staying here dazed, I figured getting some fresh air wouldn’t hurt.

I pulled 【Floating Orb】 toward me with my foot and hopped on, lifting off the ground.

The weather was nice today—maybe I didn’t even need the wind to carry me.

“Sera, wait.”

“Hmm?”

I was just heading toward the window when Seriana called out to me.

“Call, bring Liesel’s cloak.”

Seriana instructed Call to retrieve the cloak belonging to his master, Liesel.

Call glanced briefly at Liesel, but upon seeing him nod, he immediately went to retrieve the cloak hanging on the wall.

“Sera, since you’re going anyway, go greet them as my representative.”

“Got it!”

You might think, “It’s just a cloak,” but Liesel’s cloak is embroidered with the family crest—it’s the cloak of the lord.

Anyone who sees it will immediately understand that I’ve come to greet them on his behalf.

And even if they didn’t catch that, the townsfolk know me well and are familiar with how I normally dress.

If they see me wearing such an obviously important cloak, they’ll realize it must be under Liesel or Seriana’s orders.

Presentation matters.

“Lady Teresa.”

As I was getting ready to head out and Teresa was tidying up my slightly disheveled hair and clothes from lounging around, Call handed her the cloak.

“Yes. Excuse me, Princess.”

“Yep yep.”

Teresa then draped the cloak over me.

The lord’s cloak… While it might not be quite like a king’s crown, it was still a symbol of significant authority.

…Yeah, this is heavy.

Physically.

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

Sera ・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind Cloak】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】【Monkey’s Arm】・5 cards

Seriana ・【Range Detection】・【】・39 cards

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

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