Gather Divine Coins and Gacha! - Chapter 161

 The Magistrate's Residence in Lef's Town.

Inside the guest room.

It's interesting how they're almost identical in every town.

While there are various differences in the lord's mansion or in the royal capital's vicinity, perhaps there's not enough room around here to express individuality.

There's no air conditioning either; in fact, the carriage might be preferable.

Night has already fallen, and Seriana and the magistrate of this town are discussing something, while I stay behind in the room.

But it's not just idle waiting; I'm thoroughly checking the ceiling and walls, tapping on each board.

Seriana may be solid as a rock against living beings, accidents are another matter.

That's why, rather than focusing on security arrangements at the lodging, they prioritize disaster prevention.

...Or do they?

I'm not cutting corners, but I wonder how wise it is to leave it to me, someone who's not an expert?

Well, it might appear to others that they're prioritizing it.

After dining together, Riesel and the others set off for the capital.

They seemed satisfied with the treatment, though they said it wasn't necessary, they mentioned preparing souvenirs.

A gift for the prince... I'm kind of looking forward to it.

Hehe... as I let my imagination wander, the door to the room opened without a knock.

"Oh, welcome back."

Whether they finished their discussion or not, Seriana and Elena returned to the room.

"Ah, welcome back. How's the room?"

Handing over a long-sleeved garment to Elena, who approached while Seriana was speaking.

It's not good to show too much skin, but it's already nearing summer, it's tough.

"There isn't even a single rat. And there's no damage either, so I guess the management is pretty solid, huh?"

"Yeah, it is. Bring out the hideout."

"Okay."

Inside the hideout.

We didn't use it while traveling by carriage, but we're still using it at the lodging.

Although it's supposedly a higher-grade room among the guest rooms, well... yeah.

The hideout is much more comfortable and safer.

It's technically a single-person room, but there's enough space for a servant to stay back, so it's not too suspicious even if Elena and I are together.

Seriana said she'd wake up by herself, so there's no need to call her, and surely no one rude enough to barge into the room, so it won't be discovered.

As with the other knights, Alec is staying in the barracks adjacent to this mansion.

He can endure inconvenience for a little while longer.

"Seriously..."

Seriana plopped down heavily onto the sofa designated as hers, sighing.

She seems quite tired.

"What's wrong?"

Elena is in the kitchen, so I guess I have to ask.

"I've been offered to sell the sons of this place."

"Um... you mean as subordinates?"

Surely it's not about male prostitutes, right?

Riesel was here today, and they're going to get married, right?

"Yeah, that's right. This town will be incorporated into the new territory from the city of Saul ahead. So this town will become a border town from the relay point within the territory. The role of the town itself will change. Since the magistrate here is a civilian, he's not well connected to the knights."

I see...

Even though they're related, there's still a need for strict checkpoints once it becomes another territory.

Especially since they're also advancing colonization, so there will be a lot of coming and going, including rough individuals.

And suspicious ones too.

However, the current magistrate might not have enough power for that.

That's tough.

"Replacing him?"

"Yes. I brought a decree from my father. It's not a bad thing since he can return to the capital, but... he's reached his limit. I suppose he realized that."

Despite saying he's reached his limit, his gesture of slashing his throat with his finger is a bit scary.

"As for the sons... well, Rutur still doesn't have enough people. If he had acted promptly instead of dilly-dallying, Riesel might have used him..."

"Haha..."

Though it's only been about a year, Seriana is (relatively) the type to make quick decisions, but whether it's Elena, Alec, or anyone else, they prefer to have cautious types around.

Of course, it's not good to rush without thinking, but while the decree was sudden, they apparently didn't anticipate this situation at all, and if things got chaotic, they wouldn't have liked it.

So, his promotion race ends here.

I think it's tough, but if he doesn't govern this place properly, I'll be in trouble too!