The old man I hadn’t seen in a while was, perhaps because he was visiting the duke’s estate, more neatly dressed than usual—but his overwhelming presence, or whatever you’d call it, was still as intense as ever.

The outfit he wore resembled the one I had finished making this morning, but even if I wore something like that, there’s no way I could pull off that kind of aura…

After greeting the old man again, I found myself staring at him. Noticing my gaze as he spoke with Seriana, he suddenly turned my way.

“Something the matter?”

“Nah, nothing at all.”

“I see… Still, unlike Seriana, you haven’t changed one bit.”

The old man gave a small snort at my reply, then looked back and forth between Seriana and me, murmuring that.

“Maybe it’s because I cast 【Mira’s Blessing】 on Lady Seria all the time that she hasn’t changed much… But I’ve grown quite a bit, you know?”

The last time the old man had seen Seriana face-to-face was a few years ago, when he came to the royal capital for the wedding.

Considering her age, it wouldn’t be strange for Seriana to have matured since then, but she had always been a mature-looking woman to begin with…

Since I see her every day, I don’t really notice the changes, but I guess the old man did.

Well, she has given birth, after all.

There must’ve been some changes, subtle or not.

But still… what does he mean I haven’t changed?

It’s been two years since we met—I have changed quite a bit!

“Hehe… Grandfather, this girl has grown a little, believe it or not. Just a little, though…”

“Hm? That so? Didn’t notice. Still tiny as ever.”

Saying that, the old man let out a booming “Wahaha!” and laughed heartily for a while.

“Nngh…”

Well, he is a big guy…

And I’m usually floating, so maybe it’s hard to get a sense of my actual size.

Today, I’ll make sure he leaves with a new impression!

As I sulked and psyched myself up, Seriana and the old man’s conversation continued smoothly.

We had occasionally sent letters or I’d flown over myself to report on Riana’s condition, but even so, that kind of information had to be the kind that could safely be shared outside.

Of course, the recipient would read it with that in mind—but still, the most accurate information comes best from someone in a position to directly convey it.

When I came to the royal capital, Teresa was often with me, and with her, I could speak more frankly—but strictly speaking, she’s neither from the Müller family nor the Lyseria family.

Since last winter, Liesel had also been staying in the royal capital, and I’d heard he had met with the old man, but it was still easier to speak freely with a family member like Seriana.

The old man listened with enjoyment as Seriana spoke about the territory and the children.

◇

“Hmm… I’d heard the stories, but… it seems the two of you really have borne quite a burden.”

Moving on from the dungeon, the towns and villages outside of Riana’s capital, and even the affairs of the Mercenal territory—Seriana had shared many things. And that wasn’t all.

She also spoke about the incident that had occurred in the church district last autumn.

That incident had been relayed to Zelkis, and through him likely reached both the old man and my father. I’m sure they had thoroughly discussed it—but still, hearing the firsthand account from Seriana, who had been there, was another matter entirely.

…I remember thinking the same thing when it came to Liesel.

In this world, the real problem is still how information gets passed along…

In any case, the old man asked various questions throughout Seriana’s stories, so it took some time—but we managed to give him a clear picture of what had been going on in Riana these past few years.

Originally, the Riana territory had belonged to the Zelkis domain—its easternmost section, to be exact.

The area where the current capital of the Riana territory is located was developed and cultivated with what could only be described as reckless abandon during the old man’s generation.

From what I’ve heard, it was a “we can do it, so let’s just do it” kind of muscle-headed thinking that drove the expansion. But because that took priority, governance of the newly opened land was put off.

Later, my father had to struggle to bring things into order, and the method he used was to contain the issues within Lortle, while securing control over the rest.

And now, that deferred burden had exploded just as Liesel left the territory and Seriana was serving as acting lord.

We had foreseen and prepared for it, but the events still exceeded expectations.

From the old man’s perspective, maybe a bit of it was due to his own reckless enthusiasm.

Hearing all that again directly from Seriana’s mouth, the old man’s expression turned heavy.

But…

“It’s already been resolved. Please don’t worry yourself over it.”

Seriana said it like it was nothing at all.

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

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】 ・ 3 cards

Seriana ・ 【Area Detection】 ・ 【】 ・ 0 cards

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

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