Now that I had finished telling my story, I decided to ask Seriana about what happened earlier today.

“Earlier today?”

“Yeah, yeah. I was wondering why you were meeting with someone from the Merchant Guild. I mean, it’s rare for someone to have an audience with Lady Seria herself, right? Is it something to do with the mansion that’s being built?”

I had a rough idea of what they might’ve been discussing.

The Müller family mansion that’s going to be built eventually—while the topic of magical tools had been somewhat settled, the interior and furnishings hadn’t progressed much yet.

If they were going out of their way to meet with someone they rarely saw at the mansion, then I figured it had to be about that.

The construction costs are apparently being covered by the Müller family, Zelkis’ side of it, but Seriana was also contributing a portion.

Although Seriana is currently a member of the Lyseria family, she has the right to speak up both as an investor and a relative.

So, which is it?

I looked at Seriana with that kind of expression, but she gave a small chuckle and shook her head.

It wasn’t in a mocking way—it was just… different.

“I had them arrange things I’ll wear and use in the royal capital this spring.”

“In the capital? …Ah!”

This spring, I’m scheduled to go to the royal capital for some business.

If it were just a regular trip, my usual outfit would be fine, but the nature of the visit is different.

I need to go to the royal castle for the formal adoption process into the Müller family.

I’ve gone to the royal castle a few times in the past.

Back then, I already held the title of Vice-Captain of the 2nd Unit, but my official status was still that of a commoner.

So I had a bit of leeway with my attire.

…Well, not like I picked my outfits myself anyway?

Anyway, it turns out that Seriana and the others were preparing those clothes for me.

I had already received my everyday wear—meant for the capital—on my birthday last year, but the formalwear still hadn’t been finished.

If it had just arrived, then… I didn’t notice anything in the room when I woke up.

Maybe it’s in my own room?

As I glanced toward the door to my room, Seriana seemed to catch on.

She spoke again.

“Your formalwear is being sent directly to the royal capital. It’ll be finished over there.”

“Nunu? Isn’t that a bit much? I’m right here, aren’t I?”

If it’s just a fitting, I think it’d turn out better if I wore it myself and they adjusted it from there.

If it were already done and just being shipped, I’d get it, but going out of their way to finish it there? What’s that about?

“They had arranged for the materials used in the embellishments to come from another country, but due to various issues, there’s been a delay. Not just from the war, but apparently the church’s activities had an effect too. They do exist domestically, but when—or even if—they’d reliably arrive in Riana… that’s uncertain. So they decided to send it to the capital first and finish it there. There’s still time, but if it ends up being late… it couldn’t be helped. I approved it.”

Even though the war’s been over for almost two months, the domestic logistics situation probably hasn’t fully recovered yet.

Soldiers returning are likely still moving across the country to get back to their own lands. Public safety might be decent, but roads might be closed, or guards might be unavailable, and so on.

“I see… makes sense.”

“And besides, sending it over there will take some time as well, right?”

“Ahh… they don’t know about 【Hideout】 either. I guess I can’t exactly offer to carry it myself…”

Seriana nodded at those words.

If I brought it with me via 【Hideout】, it’d only take a few days to reach the capital, and that’d give plenty of leeway for tailoring.

In that case, they could wait until the last moment before departure—but I can’t go and do that.

They don’t even know 【Hideout】 exists, after all.

“It’ll be sent out to the capital in the next few days, so it should arrive in about two weeks? There will still be nearly a month of leeway after that, so it should be more than enough time to finish it. Oh, and I’ll be sending your luggage along too, so keep that in mind.”

“Nu?”

The capital has a wider variety of goods, and I can just buy what I need there.

I’m not planning on bringing everything, but the clothes for the capital were made here, and the Merchant Guild should be aware of that.

It would be a little odd if I showed up empty-handed… right?

“Got it. I’ll make sure to have everything ready in time.”

Everything’s in my room’s wardrobe, so I’ll just pull it out tomorrow when I get back.

“Oh, do we already know when I’m supposed to leave? We probably can’t cut it too close, right?”

Even taking it easy, it’d take less than a week to arrive.

I don’t need to rush, but this time, I’ll probably have to coordinate with other people’s schedules too, huh?

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

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・【Area Identification】・【】・0 cards

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

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