Gather Divine Coins and Gacha! - Chapter 274

 "Hiiiii..."

My voice faintly echoes through the night sky.

Teresa is riding on a 【Floating Sphere】, and I’m being carried by her as we speed towards the capital of the Zelkis territory.

It’s the night of late autumn in March, and it’s even colder up in the sky than it is during the day. Thankfully, I’m dressed for the cold in a thick leather coat, hat, scarf, gloves, and although I’m not sure what Teresa is wearing under her clothes, she’s prepared with a woolen belly warmer and pants for insulation.

Of course, we’re also wearing goggles to protect against the wind.

Seriana was more of a speed junkie, always pushing both speed and route to the limit. In contrast, Teresa is more cautious. Though the royal capital at night and the plains at night are different, she maintains a steady altitude and speed, flying straight ahead.

Our equipment is perfect, and the driver is reliable.

Yet, even though there’s no reason to be afraid, why do I feel like this? Is it simply because someone else is in control? Even though Teresa is going slightly slower than Seriana did, the fear level isn’t much different. I’m still terrified.

“Princess! Are you okay?”

“I’m fiiine! You’ll get used to it soon enough!”

Though I’m scared, there’s no point in complaining. In fact, if the fear isn’t going to go away, I’d rather she speed up.

“This area had monsters last time! Let’s pick up the pace and get through it quickly!”

“…Understood. I’ll increase the speed, so hold on tight.”

As she said this, Teresa started to accelerate.

I can’t see exactly how fast we’re going since I’m clinging to her, but the growing sound of the wind and the increasing G-force on my body make it clear that we’re moving at quite a pace. Maybe we can cut down even more time than before.

◇

Is it because of her superior stamina? Without taking a single break, Teresa continued the journey and soon we reached a point where we could see the Zelkis capital. The entire trip must have taken less than four hours... It’s just before 3 AM now.

That’s impressive.

I always thought Teresa was a cautious person, but she flew straight over the forests and mountains that I usually detour around to avoid monster encounters. Well, she must have had her own plan to ensure we’d make it through safely, but passing over areas teeming with monsters made my heart race. Still, thanks to that, we arrived much earlier than last time.

With that said, we found a small grove about a kilometer from the capital and activated the 【Hideout】 to rest while we wait for morning.

I have permission to move freely within the territory, and Teresa holds a noble title herself. If we wanted to enter the city, we could do so at any time, even at this hour.

However, unlike last time when we just delivered a letter and left, this time we’re staying at the lord’s mansion for about a week. It wouldn’t be appropriate to sneak in during the middle of the night, even though we’re acquaintances.

If that’s the case, there’s nothing to do if we enter the city at this hour. It’s better to relax in the 【Hideout】 until morning.

“By the way, Teresa, what are you planning to do in the capital? I’ve heard a bit, but I don’t know the details.”

As for me, on the first day—meaning today—I plan to greet the lord and then perform 【Mira’s Blessing】 for Minea and the others. After that, I’ll be wandering around the mansion, and from the next day, I’ll dive into the dungeon.

Though my personal goal is dungeon exploration, the official reason for this visit is to foster relations between the territories. For something as basic as making connections, this should suffice. But since Teresa came all the way here despite having work to do in the Riana territory, there must be another reason as well.

“I’m here to assist the princess.”

Teresa answered immediately, with a straight face.

“…Huh?”

Assist, huh? But I’ll be busy in the dungeon, and outside of that, I’ll only be strolling through the city or lounging in the mansion... Oh, could this be a sort of vacation for her?

“I’m just kidding.”

Teresa said, satisfied after seeing my confused reaction, and then began to explain her plans.

To sum it up, she’s staying as a representative, not of Seriana, but of Riesel. Until now, Zelkis was the territory bordering the demonic wilderness, but from now on, that role will fall to Riana, and the responsibilities of the territory will change. She’s here to discuss those matters. Though this isn’t something that will be decided in a single visit, there will likely be times when the Zelkis representatives will come to Riana as well.

It’s not just about work; she’s also here to familiarize herself with the atmosphere of Zelkis and the eastern regions. So, I wasn’t too far off with the vacation guess... right?

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Seria・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】・【Floating Sphere】【Shadow Sword】【Crimson Bee’s Sting】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Dunlem’s Thread】・1 card

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【 】・35 cards

Elena・【 】・【Green Fang】・5 cards