Fortunately, Siel’s idea was not adopted.

Rien, who was easily swayed, and Miss Rubia, who couldn’t refuse when pushed hard enough, nearly fell under Siel’s persistent persuasion.

But before that could happen, a reasonable solution was proposed.

– “We can just bring a few beds and push them together.”

A perfectly sensible plan.

So, like a happy family, we ended up lying together, ready to catch some Zs.

We had just been in the middle of a wild battle. Maybe because we had thrown ourselves into it headfirst, but even amidst this ridiculous situation, sleep came faster than expected.

And just like that, the eventful day came to a close…

Before I knew it, the warm rays of sunlight were pouring over my body.

With most of the ceiling gone, there was nothing blocking the sunshine coming right at me.

That light naturally woke me up.

Honestly, as cramped and chaotic as things were, spending a night in a place like this felt like a questionable choice.

But surprisingly, the environment here wasn’t half bad.

Sure, there was a giant hole in the wall, but the breeze was nice, and the sunlight felt pretty good.

Stretching out, I was greeted with a refreshment that made the fatigue vanish in an instant…

“……?”

Or so I thought.

What the heck?

No matter how tired I was, I usually woke up feeling relaxed. Why was my body so sluggish this morning?

Surely the healthy physique wouldn’t go on strike.

…No, setting that aside for now.

‘Did I really sleep here?’

A huge bed made from five makeshift cots.

I distinctly remembered being in the second position from the left.

Yet, here I was, sprawled out in the fourth spot.

Even if I wriggled around a bit in my sleep, I shouldn’t have flipped spots like this.

My face contorted into a puzzled expression.

At that moment, I caught sight of Lucy.

She was staring at me, despite insisting on keeping watch all night.

Was she there to greet me with a “Did you sleep well?”

Perhaps she might have seen what happened last night. I was about to question her when… I suddenly stopped.

A reflexive instinct surged through me, the kind that told me something was off. After all I’d been through, I recognized this as a signal from the whispering earring.

I couldn’t grasp its meaning, but still…

‘Ignorance is bliss for my mental health.’

What happened last night wasn’t really that important, was it? There’s a limit to how meaningless something could be.

However, just brushing off this earring’s advice felt uneasy.

Since I got that back in the Black Market, I’d had my share of ups and downs with it, but it was also responsible for some fortunate breaks.

For example, if it hadn’t nudged me to return to the mansion quickly, Miss Rubia would have been tortured for days.

If the worst had happened, she could’ve been dragged to some secret facility of the Empire and we’d never see her again.

After all, it wasn’t like this advice was hard to follow. No need to stir up trouble.

I decided just to go along with it.

Just as I made that decision, I heard murmuring.

With a “Hmm,” the red-haired lady rubbed her eyes. She stretched with a cute little groan and looked at me…

“……Huh?”

She blurted that out and suddenly fell into a panic, her face turning as red as a tomato.

Which was a pretty expected reaction. Waking up to find a dude in the same bed would certainly shock anyone.

She seemed a bit dazed, barely remembering yesterday.

To prevent Ruby from stacking up more embarrassing stories, I reached out to calm her.

But it had the opposite effect.

She muttered something about not being ready or needing permission from her parents, or how she didn’t really know how to handle this.

All sorts of nonsensical phrases spilling out while she backed away from me. But those makeshift beds weren’t exactly spacious.

Before I could react, Miss Rubia tumbled off the bed.

A scream echoed.

My face went pale.

If she hit the floor, I should have seen it from this angle, but I couldn’t spot her at all.

Thinking about it, this place was almost like a ruin.

It was technically Miss Rubia’s mansion, built with a fortune, but even still, it barely held its form in that fierce battle.

It was in such disrepair that it could collapse at any moment.

And here we were on the third floor.

With the shock she just suffered, the floorboards might very well give way beneath her.

This was dangerous.

Miss Rubia couldn’t handle even a single drop of mana. She could easily get hurt or even lose her life over something like this.

And no matter how powerful a stamp of a seal might be, it couldn’t bring back the dead.

I had no time to spare standing up, getting in position, or enhancing my body with mana!

I opened my wings and flew out before I could think.

I could do it freely now.

Faster.

Even faster.

That was all I focused on as I sped up.

The scenery blurred by in a flash.

I zipped in to catch Miss Rubia as she fell, but… something was off.

When I reached the second floor, my face turned to confusion.

Sure enough, Miss Rubia was there, but…

…Only her lower half was visible.

I went back to where I originally was.

There she was, screaming with her eyes closed. The upper half of Miss Rubia was all visible.

What do I even call this?

There was a hole, but it wasn’t that big after all.

Her lower half could slip through, but the upper half couldn’t fit because of certain parts sticking out.

Miss Rubia was stuck there in a comically ridiculous pose.

“Help me!”

It seemed freshly awake and dazed, she still thought she was falling.

I was frantically tapping her shoulder, trying to get her to open her eyes and realize her situation.

As soon as she did, her face turned bright red.

Siel, Rien, and Lucy all stirred awake to see what the commotion was about. All eyes fell on her.

While Miss Rubia was whimpering, pleading with me not to look at her.

…Well, ultimately, she wasn’t able to get herself unstuck and had to ask for my help.

*

Dressed in a graceful gown.

Gone were her previously messy hair and drool stains, replaced by the impeccably dressed Miss Rubia standing before me.

“So, what’s the story you wanted to discuss?”

Though she still couldn’t meet my gaze directly, the fact that she stood in front of me, given the many awkward stories built up over the past days, confirmed that she was putting in quite the effort.

She was doing her absolute best to keep business and personal life separate.

Honestly…

To be completely honest, I kind of wanted to poke fun at her.

But I fought back against that wicked whispering urge and talked to her.

“Well, it’s about the mansion. We can’t really keep living here, can we?”

After yesterday’s incident, it became painfully clear this place was in pretty poor shape. We couldn’t afford to keep ignoring it.

“I can use my contacts to fix it somehow… Wait a moment.”

As Miss Rubia was talking, her face suddenly fell into a look of confusion. Typically, even if she fumbled around, when it came to work, she was extremely reliable.

“This… could be a more serious issue than I thought.”

She realized it.

That if they left this mansion as it is, everything would turn to nothing.

Siel heard that Balzac had set a barrier here that would last less than two days. There were limits to extending it with her magic.

But what if the barrier weakened and the mansion wasn’t repaired? The invisibility and access restrictions would lose their effectiveness, and everyone would see the state of the mansion.

What would people conclude upon seeing a house that had just been destroyed overnight? If that reached the Empire’s ears, what kind of judgment would they make?

“I could accidentally reveal everything!”

Miss Rubia said that seriously.

Her expression turned grave in an instant.

“But repairing the mansion overnight is impossible. I could just blow it up and disguise it as a potion-making accident… No, that’d be suspicious too. Surely there has to be a better way…”

Lost in deep thought, Miss Rubia was clearly troubled after everything that had recently happened. Though I appreciated her serious contemplation, there wasn’t any need—

“Don’t worry about that. I was thinking of a very simple solution.”

I said as such confidently.

“First off, since this is Miss Rubia’s mansion, we ought to get her permission before proceeding with anything.”

Her face changed to one of confusion.

She didn’t understand what I meant or what I planned to do with the mansion.

But there was no need to explain.

After all, seeing is believing, right?

I signaled to my crew.

At the same time, footsteps echoed from the still-open shadow passage of Siel.

Dozens… no, hundreds of dwarves.

The race known for their remarkable craftsmanship. The most invaluable skilled workers.

All gathered right here.

A smile spread across my face.

Of course, it was expected. What man wouldn’t dream of this?

A dream team composed of the best in the field.

With money flowing in from the potion business like water.

This was truly an opportunity from heaven.

It was time to start renovations.

The moment to make our dreams come true had finally come.

…It was time to build a secret base.