We left the association after receiving a new request from Mr. Christophe.
　The report of the discovery of the Diabolus in the port city of Sevalia.......this is going to be another trouble.
　If we go to Sevalia, our chances of coming to the King's Capital will be reduced for a while.
　So on my way home, I stopped by Gantz's shop to drop off some colotium.
　Since I don't know when I'll be able to see Dius and the others again, it would be safer to give them to Gantz-san. I'm going to get the money at a later date.
　When Gantz-san saw the two colotiums, he was so surprised that his eyes were peeled off as if they were going to pop out of his head, and he asked me to distribute the colotiums to the store when Dius' portion was finished.
　We were originally going to sell them, and if he was an acquaintance of mine, we could easily come and sell them too.
　We gladly agreed to it and went home as we had nothing else to do today.

''That demon has appeared again..... Is this a harbinger of something strange happening?''

There's a good chance of that. That's why I'm going to head to a town called Sevalia tomorrow.

　I also told Sisha what I was told at the Association.
　Kristoff-san didn't tell us that something strange had happened, but if Diabolus is there, there's a chance that the same thing will happen in Sevalia in the near future as it did in Queres.
　So I'd like to place the beacon alone so that I can get to Sevalia as soon as possible.
　It's possible that we won't get any gacha-related items even if we solve the problem like last time, but if there's any chance of that happening, we'd like to solve it ourselves.
　And I'm genuinely curious about what the Diabolus is.
　I was seriously thinking about that, but Noll, who was humming a no-nonsense laugh, opened his mouth.

''Mmmm, I'm looking forward to going to a port city!

Oh, my God, is that what you're expecting?

"Speaking of the port city, the sea!　When you think of the ocean, you think of fish and shellfish!

The point is, it's food, right?

Yes, sir!

　I thought he was in a strange mood after hearing about it at the association, but this guy didn't want to think about food again.
　I can understand the feeling that you associate seafood with a port town, but.....

Okura-san, this time you were not asked to provide a guardianship request like you were asked to do with Queles, right?

'Yeah, going to investigate this time is a request in itself. Sevalia seems to be pretty far away too, but if we can get there by magic carpet, we should be there in a couple of days.

　Sevalia is more than 20 days' ride from the capital, but it's conveniently located just southeast of Brunne.
　Thanks to this, we should be able to get there in just a few days.
　This time I also borrowed a map to Sevalia from the association, so I know how to get there.
　When Cis-Ha heard my story, she put her hand on her chest and exhaled as if she was relieved.

'I'm glad to hear that. I was worried that you wouldn't see Luna-san again for a while, you know.

'You were worried about that........ Well, I'll set up the beacon as usual and call you later, so just stay home quietly this time.

　You were lamenting the fact that you couldn't see Luna for a long time when you asked for an escort to go to Queres.
　As for me, I don't have to travel by horse or set up a beacon to hide, so it's easy for us to travel long distances by ourselves.
　........Ah, so the minimum number of people needed to go is enough.

''It's enough for me and Nol to go, so should Esther stay behind too?

I don't mind, but I'm sure I'll go without a second thought...

　Yes, it's a decision for Noll to come with me.
　I often think of him as a clunker and all that, but as long as Noll is here, I can get by for the most part.
　He's a clunker superhuman.

'No, I'm coming with you. I wouldn't want you guys to have to worry about what happens if you're alone.

''Well then, I suppose Esther should go with you.

　Hmmm, I don't think it's so much of a "what if" thing, but I knew Esther would say she'd come with me.
　I wanted her to be free to spend time with me since I'm sure she'll be bored just moving around... but I'm glad she's worried about me.
　As we were exchanging such an exchange, one more person joined the conversation.

''Yes yes!　I want to go with you!

What?

　Freesia raises one hand with a glint in her eye and insists on it.
　Wow.........I just have a bad feeling about this.

''No, Freesia is a bit........''

'Well..... It's too small on the magic carpet, so it's not safe to have too many people there.

　Estelle also has the same reaction as me, with her hand on her cheek and her eyebrows knit together as if she's troubled.
　If I put that much normally noisy Freesia on the magic carpet, I'm going to get interrupted on the way and have an accident.......

''Eh, I want to go!　I went out with Nolle too!

Mr. Okura!　If you're going to go, you have two choices: take Miss Freesia with you, or leave Miss Noll behind!

But hey...

　Seeing Freesia, who looked dissatisfied with her mouth agape, Sisha grabbed both my shoulders and appealed to me with a desperate look.
　It's scary to take her along with me, but leaving her at home, that's going to cause something to happen...................I'm sure she'll go ballistic at this point.
　Sisuha knows that she can't seem to handle it by herself either, so she's appealing to me to this extent.
　If we leave Noll behind, he'll listen to us and we'll solve the problem, but if we do, we'll be in trouble this time.
　As I was wondering what to do, Noll cut me off first.

'Okura-dono, I would like you to take Freesia with you. I'll take care of her, please.

　Apparently, Noll has chosen to take her along.
　Nol knows best when it comes to handling Freesia.
　And since he says he's going to take her with him, he must have the confidence to make her mature.

'Huh, okay. Freesia can come with you, if you're going to take care of Noll. Just make sure you keep a close eye on her and don't let her get out of control.

Mm-hmm, you can count on me!

'Wow!　Noll, Heihachi, thank you!

I don't know if he's going to be okay.

　Noor slapped his chest and smiled confidently at his mouth, while Freesia jumped up and down with a twitch and was happy to see him.
　...........I gave you permission, but are you sure you're okay with it?

●

　The next morning we left Brunne.

'Haha, this is awesome!　Why are you floating? !　And it's a lot faster than I can run!

Don't get too excited. Be careful not to fall off.

Yes!

　Even before they left, Freesia was excited to see the magic carpet floating on the ground, fluffy and fluffy.
　She was bouncing around and playing with the carpet when she got on it, but once Noor paid attention to her, she calmed down.
　And now, Freesia is marveling at the scenery as she leans out of the carpet and flows away, moving her head around while Noor holds her by the shoulders.
　
　Noll is already becoming Freesia's guardian, you know.

'It's a good thing you got to go on the magic carpet this time. It's nice to be able to go home at night and not have to make camp.

Yeah. I'm used to it, but I still get tired of camping, you know?

　The first time I ever headed to a town I was going to for the first time, it was while riding in a carriage or requesting an escort.
　When other people are around, you can't use useful items from the mess, which is a bit of an inconvenience.
　And the toughest part was camping.
　I have a soft rug in my tent, but it's a lot harder to sleep on than at home. ...and I have a sleeping bag.
　Not only does it take a lot of work to sleep, but it's also quite painful to keep watch in the middle of the night.
　I've gotten used to it, but even now, that was a painful experience.
　When I was an escort that went to Queles, I even spent all my spare time floating a centavra while watching the fire.

　When I was looking back on the camp so far, Freesia called out to me to see if she was interested in what we had to say.

'Well, it sounds interesting to camp out with Noll and the others. I want to try it too!''

'You didn't have to go to all that trouble to do that.... It's no fun.

That's true. Even though we take shifts, we still have to be careful when we are watching at night.

'It's nice when we're all awake, but it's hard to keep watch by yourself after you've fallen asleep. I'm sorry I always leave you and your brother and Noll to it.

'Yeah, but don't worry about it. I just need Estelle to get some proper rest.

　Basically, me and Noll take turns guarding the camp.
　Noor is more robust than me, but even so, the nighttime watch seems to be tiring.
　Estelle uses magic, so we can't let her lose sleep.
　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for, because you need to be mentally stable to be able to use your magic well.

　We were negative about the camp, but Freesia said with a glint in her eye.

''Leave it to me to keep watch!　I don't mind not sleeping for three days and three nights, so the night watch is a small price to pay!

　
　Oh, by the way, before he was able to go out, he said something about how he prevented Sisha and Luna from sleeping all the time, but I was wondering when on earth Freesia was sleeping.
　If I wanted to sleep, Sisha and the others could have done so while Freesia was sleeping.
　But the fact that they wouldn't let him sleep means that he didn't sleep and kept interfering.
　Even Cis-Ha can be that pissed off. If Freesia follows you around for three days and three nights, I'd go insane too.

I don't know if you can do that.... But when you're on watch, you have to stay up alone. Will you be able to keep your head down?

Oh then as long as Heihachi stays awake with you, it won't be a problem!

It's a big deal!　At any rate, we won't be camping this time!

Nah, it's boring.

　Having said that, Freesia gave up and began to look at the landscape flowing by.
　.........Yeah, I'll definitely avoid camping in the future when we travel long distances, or I won't bring Freesia with me.
　Then I let the magic carpet advance for a while, and this time I began to hear a loose, distracted voice.

'The sun is pokey. The wind is blowing and it feels so good!'

Look at you. You're all grown up.

　Freesia's mouth is half open in the sunshine, and she looks bored and sleepy.
　If only she was always this mature....

'Freesia likes to bask in the sun, doesn't she?

Yes, the sunshine helps me relax. I also like to look at the night sky. The stars are so beautiful and shiny.

'Huh, she's just making such a fuss about wanting to look outside. You're such a contrast to Luna.

　Freesia, who wants to go out, and Luna, who stays indoors.
　
　With that in mind, I advanced the magic carpet towards Sevalia.