“Excuse me!”

Despite it being late at night, Monica entered the room with a loud voice.

We’re currently in Seriana’s room, located in the south wing.

Inside are me, Seriana, Teresa, Elena, and Fiora.

None of us are wearing armor, but we’re all dressed and ready to jump into combat at any moment.

It seems like some kind of emergency is happening outside, and since Liesel is currently absent, Seriana is taking command.

Normally, we’d move to her office, but protecting Seriana is also important.

She needs to remain in this room, which has the highest defensive capabilities.

Therefore, we’ve stationed messengers to relay her orders indirectly.

Direct command is being handled by Carlos and Luick, so there’s really no issue there.

Seriana took Monica’s report, jotted something down, and handed it to her.

Then Monica left the room with the same energy she had when she entered.

Thanks to my snake eyes, I can vaguely keep track of her even from inside the room… yep, she’s definitely running.

Actually, just as she reached the staircase, she suddenly disappeared from view—she probably jumped off using the railing.

Should I assume she’s mastered using Blessed Items?

Hopefully she doesn’t get scolded for it later…

“So, was there any new information?”

“Yes. They managed to safely capture the men trying to flee the city. They weren’t heading to the gate but tried to climb over the wall on the east side, so it took a bit of effort… but it’s done. Sera.”

While answering Fiora’s question, Seriana removed the 【Fairy’s Eye】 she was wearing on her ear and handed it to me.

“Alrighty.”

I took it and put it on, activating it.

Now, combined with my snakes, my surveillance abilities are even stronger!

Still… is this really okay?

“But, is it alright for you to take this off, Lady Seria?”

Since entering alert mode, Seriana has been using her divine protection in tandem with this item to track suspicious individuals and have them detained.

There were over a dozen of them. At first, it seemed like they were just trying to get out of the city, but once they realized we were onto them, they started scattering.

Apparently, she had predicted this and they’ve been steadily captured one by one.

If Seriana got serious, she could supposedly identify every person in the city with hostile intent—but not all of those people are necessarily enemies.

That’s why she’s using the 【Fairy’s Eye】 as well, to track only those who made suspicious moves this time… but some of them should still be out there.

“For now… I’ll borrow it again in a little while.”

Saying that, she let out a deep breath and leaned back into her chair.

Hmm… I’ve heard that wide-range scanning takes a lot out of her, so I guess this pace is fine.

◇

Monica returned a few more times to deliver messages, but about an hour after we had woken up and started moving, someone else came—this time it wasn’t Monica, but Rose, Liesel’s handmaid.

Of course, she wasn’t just acting as a maid—she was here as a messenger from Carlos.

“My lady, here you are.”

With those words, she handed Seriana a formal report—unlike the brief notes we’d received up to now.

Rose isn’t a member of the Knight Order, but she is one of Liesel’s closest aides.

She might be better suited for this than Monica.

“Fiora.”

After reading the report, Seriana called out to Fiora and handed it to her.

…Not Teresa, but Fiora?

Elena and Teresa didn’t seem to find it strange, but… is it something magic-related?

Regardless of what I was thinking, Fiora quickly read through the report and gave a small nod.

“No problem. Everything’s within the scope of our preparations.”

“Good. Let Carlos know that.”

“Yes. Well then, excuse me.”

After bowing to us, Rose quietly left the room.

“Hey, did something happen?”

Judging from the reactions of the other two, I feel like there’s something I don’t know.

I’m not saying I want to be told everything, but being the only one left in the dark in a situation like this… it makes me uneasy.

That’s what prompted me to ask—but…

“…Yeah.”

Seriana murmured, then looked straight into my eyes.

Everyone else was silent… and the atmosphere feels more serious than I expected.

I had figured maybe it was just some complicated relationship stuff that they didn’t feel like explaining to me… but maybe not?

“It’s fine, isn’t it? Sera’s going to have to go out later anyway, so we might as well explain now.”

After a brief silence, Fiora said this to Seriana.

From the sound of it, I might be going outside in this situation… but what’s going on?

“…Alright. Sera, before that, there’s something I need to apologize for. I’ve already told Fiora about your origins. I’m sorry—for doing it without asking.”

Seriana sighed softly before telling me.

“Huh? I don’t mind.”

My official place of origin is the capital of Zelkis territory, but in reality, it’s that orphanage.

It’s not like I’m secretly the heir of some noble house or anything, and it’s not something I bother hiding anymore.

Come to think of it, the only ones in Seriana’s group I didn’t tell were Zighart and Fiora, right?

But that was just because there hadn’t been an opportunity and there was no reason to go out of my way to tell them…

So does that mean it’s somehow relevant now?

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

Sera ・ Blessing ・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind’s Garment】 Blessed Items ・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】+1【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】 ・8 cards

Seriana ・【Wide-Range Detection】・【】・0 cards
Elena ・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards
Alec ・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・10 cards