1st Floor Lounge of the South Wing.

The 2nd floor of the South Wing is off-limits to men, but the 1st floor is a different story.

That said, the South Wing is still Seriana’s territory, so it’s not like anyone can just come and go freely—it doesn’t get much use.

Usually, the only ones who regularly come and go are Alec and Zighart, but recently even they had been away from town, so the place had mostly turned into an unused room.

But with Alec and the others having returned, the lounge was once again in use for the first time in a while.

The official reason for gathering was to report on the recent war… though it was a fairly casual affair—more like a tea party, honestly.

Still, a proper report was being given, at least in form.

First, from when they left this town to when they arrived at Zelkis’s domain capital.

The members of the 2nd Unit who had accompanied them this time had experience marching in groups, like for patrolling within their domain, but this was their first time joining forces with true nobles like Liesel and August. Understandably, the first few days were tense, and they ended up moving a bit slower than planned.

We had already heard the report that they arrived safely in Zelkis’s domain capital and thought things were going smoothly, but it seems that wasn’t the full picture.

After arriving in the domain capital, they waited for other members of the Eastern Faction to gather, then used ships to make a southern route journey toward the royal capital region.

Liesel and the others headed to the royal capital to attend ceremonies and such, but since Alec and the others were staying in a nearby town, they didn’t really know much about those events.

We could always ask Liesel and the others when they return… but it probably wouldn’t be anything interesting. Better to leave that to Seriana and the rest. Meanwhile, Alec and the others were talking with soldiers from other territories who were staying in the same town.

While we’re technically part of the Eastern Faction, we still don’t have much actual interaction with other domains. So even though they were just waiting to rendezvous with the higher-ups who had gone to the royal capital, they didn’t waste the downtime.

Riana is, well… it’s really out in the sticks.

Even territories that aren’t particularly active in building relationships with others can at least gather information if they’re part of a faction, but…

We’re in an environment where we can’t even manage that.

And of all the people in Riana, I’m the one who deals the most with other domains…

For Alec and the others, it was a very productive time where they could gather up-to-date domestic information.

Then, with the royal capital ceremonies concluded, they set out toward the Kingdom of Luzel—the leading nation of the Great Forest Alliance and the one that borders the western region—where the battlefield was located.

Of course, moving thousands of troops all at once along the same route would put a heavy burden on the towns and villages along the way, so they split into several groups and moved along different paths.

The Kingdom of Luzel is actually our neighbor; it shares a border with our country too.

Normally, a straightforward trip from the royal capital would take about two to just under three weeks, but due to the large number of people, it ended up taking over three weeks this time.

From there, they continued further west, traveling within the Kingdom of Luzel. Unlike the Mesaria Kingdom, Luzel doesn’t have a large territory.

From what I’ve read, Luzel is an old kingdom that existed before the eastern part of the continent was developed like it is now.

I saw something about that in a book too—probably back then, they didn’t have the resources to maintain a vast territory.

That said, while its land may be small, it has a large population and active internal trade, so its culture and scholarship are on par with the West. Definitely not a country to underestimate.

Well, that doesn’t really have anything to do with this situation, so let’s put that aside…

The point is, it’s a small country, and the distance from the eastern to western borders of Luzel is actually shorter than from the Mesaria Kingdom’s royal capital to its western border.

On top of that, the terrain is flat and the roads are well-maintained, so the journey was easy. They were able to reach one of the villages near the frontlines in less than two weeks.

Of course, we weren’t the only ones fighting in this war. It wasn’t just the Great Forest Alliance either—there were other eastern countries outside the alliance involved too, so it took a bit more time for everyone to gather. Even so, they finished gathering by the first week of Fall’s Second Month.

They managed to complete the mobilization just before the rainy season hit.

Apparently, the total number of soldiers gathered was just under 8,000.

That might not be considered a massive army in the Western standard, but for the East, that’s a major force.

However, that also meant that once the Eastern soldiers had gathered, they couldn’t easily leave until the rainy season ended.

The larger the scale, the harder it is to act independently.

Even if something happened back home, all they could do was trust the people who stayed behind.

And, well, that’s exactly the situation here in Riana.

Honestly… hearing the story from the perspective of the ones who went to deal with external threats, I can’t help but feel that the plan was incredibly well thought out.

It ultimately fell apart, but if they’d really committed to making it work, it might have actually succeeded.

We were pretty lucky, weren’t we…

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Sera ・Blessing・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind’s Garment】

Blessed Item ・【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・【Area Identification】・【】・0 cards

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

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