“This is…!? Madam!”

“Good work. Are you up to speed on the situation?”

After climbing the stairs, passing through the basement level, and coming up into the first-floor lobby, an employee who noticed them came rushing over in a hurry.

Looking around the lobby, several parties of adventurers were gathered, fully armed and ready to enter combat at a moment’s notice.

I recognized their faces… they’re members of the Warrior Corps.

They’re likely stationed here in preparation for emergencies.

“What should we do? The branch manager isn’t here, but they’re ready to deploy at any time.”

The staff member, having received a brief explanation from Teresa, said that, but Teresa shook her head.

It seems it’s not their turn yet.

So Karn, the branch manager, isn’t around… Well, it is the middle of the night.

“Not yet. More importantly, when morning comes, they’ll be in charge of patrolling the outskirts of the town alongside the Knight Order, so let them know to be prepared for that.”

“Yes, ma’am! …And what will you ladies be doing?”

“We’ll head directly to the site. That’s the fastest way.”

“…Please, be careful.”

“Of course.”

Drawing the attention of the waiting adventurers, they passed through the lobby and reached for the front door of the Adventurers’ Guild.

◇

In the downpour, everyone stayed close to Seriana—well, more accurately, to me—as we moved quickly.

We had umbrellas, sure, but with 【Wind’s Garment】 activated, this kind of rain wasn’t an issue at all.

Teresa, being on foot, would get her shoes soaked… but she’d have to deal with that.

Now then, our destination was the church district, which lay past a few narrow alleys after leaving the Adventurers’ Guild and then heading north along the central street.

Maybe it was because of the rain, but unlike during the day, there was no one walking along the roads.

We didn’t particularly need to hide our presence, but if the townspeople saw us, it might stir up unease.

Thanks to that, we made it all the way to a spot across the street where we could see the church without running into anyone.

“There it is. Madam, Princess. Do you sense anything? I can’t make anything out because the rain is interfering with my senses…”

Before we stepped in, Teresa, who was in the lead, cautiously asked while keeping an eye on our surroundings.

Prompted by her words, I focused and tried to sense what was ahead.

Though I’d flown over this area before, I had deliberately avoided approaching it from the ground… Even so, I had spent about eight years here.

Even in the dark, I knew where everything was.

The place with the most people gathered was the square in front of the orphanage.

I could sense someone who felt like Rick, so that was probably their command post.

As for the rest…

“There’s a good number of people gathered inside the church. Looks like there are soldiers too, so maybe they’ve rounded up the remaining people in the area there. What do you think, Seria-sama?”

There were dozens of people inside the church, but aside from a few, they didn’t seem to possess any more power than the average civilian.

As for those few, they were probably adventurers, but judging from their strength, they were likely among the weaker ones in town.

The soldiers monitoring them were far stronger… I wonder if it’s okay?

“Yes… I agree with you. Some of them have a hostile aura, but it’s not a problem. Let’s go to Rick.”

“Understood. I’ll lead the way. Princess, may I continue borrowing the umbrella?”

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

I had given Teresa my umbrella.

Not to shield from the rain, but because I had enchanted the tip with a light spell.

It was useful as a light source, but also so we wouldn’t be mistaken for enemies by the soldiers patrolling the streets—even though we hadn’t run into any.

With my permission, Teresa once again activated the light spell at the tip of the umbrella and said, “Let’s go,” as she started walking.

◇

“…!?”

Rick noticed us and nearly called out, but quickly swallowed his voice.

Well, we were in a place where enemies might be lurking.

A wise move.

Rick was gathered near the carriage stop with the squad leaders of the search team.

There was a roof here, so they could stay dry, and it was a good spot to serve as a temporary headquarters.

Still… this place, huh?

It’s where I hid just days before I ran away back in the day.

…Standing here again sure brings back memories.

“Everyone, please come this way. You’ll get wet if you stay there.”

While I was quietly lost in thought, Rick ushered Seriana and the others inside.

Inside, a crude desk had been made by stacking wooden crates, and a simplified map of the city was spread over it.

They were probably using it to manage the entire operation.

“But… why are you here? Is there still something more?”

Once we were all inside, Rick finally spoke.

His voice and expression were laced with frustration.

I glanced at the map and could tell that they had been combing through this vast capital meticulously.

But… yeah, it’s not easy to find a mysterious underground space.

It’s not their failure.

Seriana seemed to understand that too.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said plainly, and continued.

“First, I heard the Undead were defeated, but I’d like to hear the details again from the beginning.”

Even though it was already decided that we would search for the mysterious underground space, the first step was grasping the situation.

All we knew came from the reports of the messengers. We needed to hear it directly from someone who had commanded the operation on-site.

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

Sera・Blessing・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Blessing of Mira】【Wind’s Garment】 Blessed Items・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Blade】+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・【Area Identification】・【】・0 cards

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

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