“Master of the Alliance, thank you for taking the trouble to come today,”

In the main branch of the Sauzar Merchant Company, located in the capital city, Miroslav bowed her head.

Since my meeting with the princess ended earlier than expected, I left the palace and headed straight to the Sauzar Merchant Company. As planned in Ishka, I told the president of the company, Miroslav’s father, that I wanted to have formal attire made.

In addition, I had already told Claudia at the palace, so we decided to make two sets of attire: one for the dragon slayer and one for the daughter of the Dragnaut Duke.

Upon hearing this, the president was ecstatic as if he was in a dream, and he treated me with the utmost respect. Specifically, he lined up high-quality liquor in front of me and beautiful ladies sat to my left and right.

I chuckled at the blunt hospitality and made small talk with the president.

What I learned from our conversation was that Miroslav’s father was pretty much the person I had imagined him to be. His persona could be summed up as a “greedy merchant”. Indeed, most of the topics he spoke about were related to money, power, or women – in a sense, he was an easy man to understand.

However, he is a merchant who has built one of the top three trading companies in the capital from nothing. There’s also the possibility that he’s just pretending to be that way.

That being said, considering what I’ve already heard from Miroslav, I don’t think my impression of him will differ much from the actual image.

The banquet went on for a long time, and in the end, I decided to stay at the main residence of the Sauzar family. The president strongly suggested it, saying he’d love for me to stay. I was curious about what the president, who had me under his wing, would do, so I accepted his invitation.

Miroslav spoke the opening line right after showing me to my room.

In response, I waved my hand nonchalantly.

“I came on my own accord. There’s no need to worry about it.”

“Even so, the fact remains that I troubled you with matters concerning my family.”

With that, Miroslav bowed deeply. Her distinctive red hair swayed with the movement.

Seeing Miroslav like this, I narrowed my eyes slightly. I’ve grown accustomed to this overly polite demeanor of hers, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten how she used to treat me.

As I pictured the past Miroslav, who always glared at me with disdain, I told her to sit next to me.

As I patted the sofa with my right hand, Miroslav followed the instruction, her cheeks slightly reddened. The reason she blushed was probably because she thought I was either going to devour her soul or make sexual advances on her.

In reality, if it were a normal situation, I would have undoubtedly drawn her in roughly and proceeded to act on my impulses.

However, the reason I came to Sauzar Trading Company this time was to reward Miroslav for her work so far. I must be as prudent as possible with any forceful actions.

Thinking about that, I opened my mouth.

“Did your father ask you anything while I was at the palace?”

“Yes, yes, he did. Quite persistently about my relationship with Master…”

“Specifically?”

“That… without a doubt, the Master will be granted a title and be enlisted among the nobility in the future. As such, besides Claudia-sama, he will be taking another wife. My father was greatly concerned about whether I could assume the position of the second wife. He said he would provide any necessary support, regardless of the amount.”

“I see.”

If his daughter becomes the legitimate wife of the dragon slayer, the name of Sauzar alone would be greatly advertised. At the same time, it means that a connection with the Duke of Dragnaut can be made, and as a company president, he must be eager to push Miroslav into the position of the lady.

I asked, with a sarcastic smile,

“So, how did you respond?”

“I will endeavor as much as possible to make it so… Of course, it’s an excuse to draw support from my father!”

She hastily added, probably thinking that I was upset.

Looking at such a Miroslav, I maliciously twisted my mouth.

“An excuse, huh? I remember hearing before that you have no intention of becoming a concubine or mistress, no matter who the other party is. Is it really just an excuse?”

I asked, recalling the time shortly after I had acquired Soul equipment and I had dragged her into the nest of the King of Flies.

Then, Miroslav became flustered and looked down.

–Seeing her reaction, it seems she doesn’t completely reject the idea.

It’s not surprising. It would be too naive to think that Miroslav’s seemingly stubborn devotion to me so far has been solely made up of fear and feelings of atonement.

However, that’s not to say that it’s pure goodwill or affection. It’s just a twisted feeling that emerged from our interactions so far, taking on the form of goodwill and affection.

That’s why I neither responded to nor rejected her feelings. Even if it’s an illusion, the fact that Miroslav was showing her commitment to me was something to be welcomed, so I made use of it as much as possible. It’s a villainous thought, but I didn’t feel guilty when it comes to Miroslav–at least, that’s what I initially thought.

Whether or not Miroslav had noticed my intentions, she continued to work tirelessly on my behalf. From her selfless efforts to improve the antidote, to her use of self-destructive magic to protect Ciel and Suzume, her dedication now far surpassed what was necessary to atone for the incident with the King of Flies.

Lately, I’ve been refraining from intimate nights and soul-consuming activities with Miroslav. This is why. More specifically, it’s why I decided to reward Miroslav’s efforts this time.

When someone serves you with such earnestness, even a shred of conscience begins to stir.

Having consumed a Hydra, Demon Gods, and a Behemoth, one after another, the importance of nocturnal soul consumption has lessened. The same is true for Lunamaria. It may be time to settle the relations that have continued since the King of Flies.

While thinking such things, I opened my mouth to Miroslav.

“Changing the subject, is there anything you want?”

Hearing this, Miroslav, who had been looking down, raised her face and blinked in confusion.

“You mean, something I want?”

“You’ve been doing a great job lately. I was thinking about giving you a new staff or robe, but I thought it would be better if it was something you want.”

“That is, um… thank you. I’m honored that you recognize my work, Master.”

While responding without removing the confusion from her face, Miroslav shrunk her shoulders modestly.

“But even if you say something I want… I’ve already received more than enough pay. To desire more would be seen as greed. Above all, I’m completely satisfied just being able to work for you, Master.”

Seeing Miroslav’s clearly reluctant state, I thought to myself that I might as well settle on a staff or robe as originally planned.

Then, suddenly, Miroslav lifted her face sharply and stared at me, continuing with an air of desperation.

“Even so, if you will allow me to be selfish, could I have some of your time tonight, Master? I haven’t had the chance to serve by your side since you returned from Berka…!”

Seeing Miroslav blush from head to toe, I wordlessly pulled her into my arms.

Without any resistance, the magician nestled into my arms and let out a voice filled with emotion.

It seemed that she had been quite troubled by not being invited to my sleeping quarters. As mentioned earlier, the reason I didn’t call Miroslav was out of consideration, but it had backfired splendidly.

Realizing this, I let out a small, bitter smile out of Miroslav’s sight. In the relationship between Miroslav and me, it’s better to behave as I please without overthinking it. That was my understanding.

　――There’s no need to mention why the “gift” from the Chairman of the Commerce Guild didn’t arrive in my room that night.

◆◆◆

When Sora and Miroslav were exchanging words at the Sauzar residence, Ciel was at the Ishka mansion, her ears pricked like a wildcat, cautiously observing the outside.

Suzume, who had been Ciel’s conversation partner until then, tilted her head in curiosity.

“Um, Miss Ciel, is something wrong?”

“…Suzume-chan. Didn’t you hear the sound of the doorbell from the gate just now?”

“I-I didn’t notice… did you?”

Suzume echoed Ciel, her ears straining. But she didn’t hear anything.

The day had already turned into a deep dusk. At such a time, it would be considered impolite to ring the doorbell. However, if one was to ring it, it would have to be for an urgent matter. In that case, the person wouldn’t just ring once or twice, but continue until someone from the mansion responded.

Considering Ciel’s sharp hearing, the possibility that it was just her imagination was low. At the same time, it was unlikely to be a malicious prank. It was widely known that this was the house of a dragon-slayer, and it was hard to imagine anyone daring to pull a prank at this hour.

Sora and Miroslav were at the royal capital, Iria was in Berka, Lunamaria and Wisteria were in Titis Forest, each attending to their duties. Now, the only ones in this house, apart from Ciel and Suzume, were Priestess Sarah and three children.

Ciel, who was entrusted with looking after the house by Sora, decided to check on the gate, just to be sure. Though she was still inexperienced compared to Sora and the others, she wasn’t trained to be caught off guard by ordinary thieves.

With that thought in mind, she prepared herself, with Suzume’s figure behind her. Suzume too, since the previous attack from the Demon Island forces, had been training diligently in magic and martial arts. She had no intention of being a burden to Ciel.

“It would be anticlimactic if it turns out that a cat was just messing around.”

“We’ll be laughed at by Sora and the others later. But, I think it would be better if nothing was wrong.”

While having such a conversation, the two left the mansion and headed towards the outer gate through the spacious courtyard.

At first, the two cautiously walked slowly, but upon finding a fallen figure at the gate, they quickened their pace.

The person was covered in mud, both their hair and clothes making them look like a vagrant. But even seeing that, the two didn’t stop.

No matter how covered in mud, there was no mistaking the distinctive white hair. The arrow-patterned kimono, the scarlet hakama too.

It was undoubtedly Claira Berch.