Today’s the day we visit Elena and the others’ home through the underground passage!

And so…

“Please take care on your way, Madam.”

“Yes.”

Replying to the soldier who came to see us off, Seriana and I proceeded to the corridor at the back of the underground training hall.

“That person earlier seemed surprised when he saw you, Seria.”

“Unlike you, I don’t usually show myself riding this thing. It’s only natural.”

Since there’s a bit of distance to Elena’s home, Seriana is riding a 【Floating Orb】 too.

Neither of them makes any footsteps, so we notified the guards in advance to avoid startling them, but… I guess the visuals were still too much.

Well, we probably won’t be attacked out of the blue… but just in case, maybe I’ll activate 【Wind Cloak】.

“Oh my, thank you.”

Seriana noticed and thanked me, but rather than being worried about what I was, she seemed more interested in the passage itself.

She was floating up near the ceiling, touching the walls, and examining various things.

Seriana does occasionally use this passage too, but it’s mostly for official work.

She’s probably never had much time to inspect it thoroughly—so this is a good opportunity for her.

The mansion is built on a high elevation, and the underground portion—including this passage—is like an ant’s nest dug into the foundation.

You might wonder about its structural integrity since the foundation was dug so extensively, but the entire underground section was constructed using alchemy and monster materials, just like the hall before a dungeon.

Rather, it’s even sturdier now, like it has a core within the base.

It’s apparently rare to have a tunnel network extend all the way to the city like here in the Riana Territory’s capital, but it seems such underground facilities aren’t uncommon for mansions of high-ranking nobles built on high ground.

Incidentally, Zelkis’s mansion does have a basement, but no such facilities.

That’s probably why she’s so curious about it.

And after about ten minutes of checking things out, she seemed satisfied and began moving forward at a steady pace.

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

“Yes. It’s very well made… over there, yes. I thought it would be farther, but it was surprisingly close, wasn’t it?”

“The training grounds above are quite big. Excuse me for a moment.”

As we chatted, I moved in front of Seriana.

Just in case.

We continued onward with me leading the way…

“We’ve been expecting you. This way, please.”

We eventually reached the hall without incident, and continued through the passage to the door connected to Elena and the others’ home, where a house servant had already opened it and was waiting to greet us.

Did we keep them waiting?

We did take our sweet time… I felt a little guilty…

“Thank you for your trouble. Sera, let’s go.”

The cause of the delay, Seriana, didn’t show even the slightest hint of concern and simply passed through the door.

◇

The underground passage connects to an area lined with storage rooms beneath the mansion. Passing through there and ascending to the first floor, you reach the servants’ area, where Elena was waiting for us.

“Welcome. Madam, Sera. Did you enjoy the underground passage?”

As expected of Elena.

She gets it.

“Yes, it was quite fascinating. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Not at all. Now then, let’s go to my room.”

With that, Elena took the lead and headed toward the stairs.

Following her guidance, we arrived at her room and were shown to the guest seating area.

Just as we entered, the servants brought in a tea set—but it was Elena herself who brewed the tea.

Meanwhile, Seriana didn’t sit quietly—she wandered around the room curiously.

I’d been here a few times before. Aside from the cushions being different, everything else was the same as usual.

Come to think of it… is this the first time this lady’s visited a friend’s house for fun?

She seemed oddly excited.

“What a lovely room.”

Realizing this, Elena gave a wry smile as she watched Seriana, then called her over when the tea was ready.

“Thank you. Lady Seria, the tea is ready.”

“Yes.”

◇

“By the way… Sera, didn’t you used to live at the orphanage attached to the church? Had you ever been around this area before?”

“Hmm?”

We had been casually chatting over tea, and once things had settled down, Seriana suddenly asked that.

Now that I think about it, I haven’t really talked much about when I used to live in this city.

But…

“There used to be the magistrate’s mansion around here, but we were told not to go near it. Honestly, I rarely ever left the church area. Even so, it felt pretty big to me back then—but looking at it now, it was really just a tiny part of the city…”

Even the tavern I was forced to work at wasn’t on the main street—it was within the church district.

I pretty much lived entirely within that area. The only time I left was when I was called out to help with monster disassembly or healing at the Adventurer’s Guild.

…What a life.

“The children from the orphanage have already been relocated, but… does that mean you didn’t have any close friends in the city?”

“Not really. I was small, so I got bullied at the orphanage. Didn’t have anyone I was particularly close with.”

Well, I always fought back, though!

Still… I don’t have a single good memory from this city. What the hell?

“I see… Well, never mind.”

Seriana must have picked up on the mood because she quickly changed the subject, and we never brought it up again before we left.

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

Sera – 【Hideout】 +1 【Prayer】 【Blessing of Mira】 【Wind Cloak】 ・【Floating Orb】 +1 【Shadow Blade】 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 【Fairy’s Eye】 【Dragon Lung】 【Amber Sword】 【Danrem’s Thread】 【Serpent Tail】 【Ankle Bracelet】 【Amber Shield】 【Purple Wings】 【Red Sword】 【Monkey’s Arm】 ・8 cards

Seriana – 【Area Identification】・【】・40 cards

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

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