Gather Divine Coins and Gacha! - Chapter 293

 During the winter, I have almost nothing to do.

Last year, I still had to do things like check the freezing of the waterways and other small tasks, but this year, there's already enough manpower.

Of course, the patrols within the city walls and outside are the soldiers' job, and they are handling it.

Hunting in the forest is out of the question.

It wouldn't be good to provoke an attack by mistake. I might be okay if I were an experienced hunter or adventurer, but I’m not that confident.

So, this winter, I’ve been spending my time lazing around and focusing on reading. Of course, in Liesel's office.

At first, I felt a bit guilty about reading while everyone else was working, but... humans are adaptable creatures. Now, I can’t seem to concentrate on reading without the background noise of voices giving instructions or the sound of papers being turned.

Reading here is much more productive than reading at the 【Hideout】 at night.

If I want new books, it takes a little time to arrive, but if I insist, they'll usually get them for me... this is bad... I’m getting lazy.

Teresa has also been busy lately with something and has been out a lot.

"Sera-kun."

"Huh⁉ …What?"

I was lying on a stack of books and lazily flipping through pages when Liesel suddenly called me. I was so lost in thought that a weird sound escaped from me. When I sat up and looked over, there was August, who hadn't been there before, standing in the room.

I had noticed someone come into the room, but it turned out to be him...

"Sera, come over here."

It wasn't just Liesel calling me, but Seriana, who was sitting next to him, also called me over.

I wonder what this is about... I got onto the 【Floating Orb】 that was rolling around at my feet and headed toward them.

"Sera-dono, you know that the soldiers are patrolling not only the inside of the city but also outside the walls as part of their job, right?"

"Yeah."

When I approached them, August spoke up. So he's the one explaining... and calling me Sera-dono, huh.

He's a conscientious man, and when he needs something from me in his role as the head of the knights, he calls me Vice-Captain Sera. But when it's a personal matter, like now, he calls me Sera-dono.

But why is he explaining the soldiers' work to me?

"It's not just during the day. Did you know that the patrols are conducted throughout the night as well?"

"I knew they did night patrols, but... all night long?"

"Yes."

"...I didn’t know that."

Now that he mentioned it, the most dangerous time in this city, where the barrier hasn't been set up yet, is at night. I’ve seen and known about the night and early morning patrols when I moved to Zelkis, but... so they did it all night.

"Well, it's the job of the first squad, so it's not something Sera-dono needs to be concerned with. But there has been a petition from them, and I brought it to you."

"...Huh?"

A petition... Maybe they're asking for a day off after night shifts?

"It gets cold, doesn’t it? Especially at night. Because of that, more and more soldiers are getting sick. Fortunately, none have become seriously ill, but there's been talk from the field about whether something can be done. We can’t just stop the patrols, and even if we want to increase the number of rotations, we don’t have enough manpower for that. We could mobilize the second squad, but that would reduce our defensive capabilities against monsters."

This time, it was Liesel who spoke.

In Riana, it doesn’t snow often, but the temperature is low, and the waterways and ponds can freeze. Even during the day, when the sun is out, it’s still cold, and being outside in that kind of weather would definitely make someone sick.

The city is quite large, and they probably need a fair number of people for the patrols.

"This city is cold... but there’s nothing I can do about it, is there?"

I’m confident in my own ability to withstand the cold, but that doesn’t mean I can do anything about it.

"Sera-kun. Could we ask you to use your 【Prayer】 blessing? I’ve experienced it myself, and while it’s not as effective as potions or healing magic, it does have some healing effects, right? And you can cast it on a large number of people at once. The number of soldiers will increase from spring, so it’s just for this winter."

Hmm...

"Seriana-sama? What do you think?"

It seems like it would only take one or two uses of 【Prayer】, and it’s not something particularly troublesome or dangerous. I glanced at Seriana for her opinion, but if she were opposed to it, she would have said so already.

"No problem. Go ahead and do it."

"Got it!"

Liesel and August both looked relieved upon hearing that.

It’s probably more efficient and effective to have me handle this than to manage the people and resources.

I might as well meet their expectations... and I realize that I’ve been slacking off too much lately!

"Oh, but..."

"Is there a problem?"

Just when I thought the matter was settled, Seriana seemed to have something on her mind.

"That girl doesn’t wake up in the morning, so please plan around that."

"...I’m willing to do it, though?"

I offered a bit of reassurance, but I could tell that their faces were slightly strained...

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Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Blessing of Mira】・【Floating Orb】【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee's Stinger】【Fairy's Eye】【Dragon's Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danlem's Thread】・9 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・38 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】・5 cards

Alec・【】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horn】・12 cards