Around the time Rei was talking with Malz and starting work... at Marina's house, Ara had finally gotten up.
Having stayed up late with Ilse the previous night, it was inevitable that she would wake later than usual.
Realizing this, Ara quickly got dressed and left the room.
"I-I'm sorry. I overslept!"
"Hm? Ah, good morning. You were up late with Ilse last night, weren't you? There's no need to worry about it."
It was Elena, drinking tea at the table, who responded to Ara's words.
Elena, who previously could not make tea, had learned the basics from Ara out of a single-minded desire to serve Rei a good cup, and was now fully capable of brewing a proper, delicious pot of tea.
Of course, in terms of pure skill, she still could not match Ara.
"Ah..."
The moment she saw that Elena was the only one in the living room, Ara slumped in dismay.
She realized that she had genuinely overslept.
(The fact that this place is so comfortable is frustrating at times like this.)
Staying up until late at night—no, until the early hours of the morning—combined with the environment of Marina's house, kept by Spirit Magic from being too hot or too cold and exceptionally comfortable to live in. These two factors together had sent Ara into a deep, complete sleep.
So deep, in fact, that she had slept until everyone except Elena had left the house.
Ara was Elena's bodyguard—or rather, something closer to a handmaid—but still, as someone being hosted in this house, she had wanted to wake before Marina and the others left so she could at least see them off. That was Ara's honest feeling.
Seeing Ara's state, Elena spoke again to tell her not to worry.
"Staying by Ilse's side was a duty only you could fulfill, wasn't it? Then, having fulfilled that duty, taking a proper rest is nothing strange. Indeed, if you had pushed yourself and fallen ill, that would have been far more troublesome."
"Lady Elena..."
At Elena's words, Ara looked at her with a gaze full of gratitude.
"Come now, Marina has prepared breakfast for you. Why don't you eat and then go check on Ilse?"
"Yes, I'll do that."
With that, Ara took her seat and reached for the food on the table.
Naturally, since it had been prepared some time ago, the food had already gone cold.
But even so, Ara ate without particularly minding it.
Having been on the battlefield frequently, she was a noble's daughter who had no reluctance about eating cold food.
Moreover, she was sitting at the same table as Elena right now. That alone made even cold food taste exceptionally good.
"So, Lady Elena. What shall we do today?"
Ara, who had been eating the cold bread with apparent enjoyment, asked Elena, who had been watching Ielo flying outside the window while sipping her tea.
Incidentally, it was not just Ielo in the garden; the horses that pulled Elena's carriage were also roaming free.
Normally, doing such a thing would cause the horses to bolt from the garden.
However, the horses Elena used had undergone extremely rigorous training, and at the same time, they recognized Elena as their master.
Elena understood this as well, so she had no particular anxiety about letting them roam free in Marina's garden.
Ielo, playing in the garden, was also flying through the air, nuzzling up against the horses as if frolicking with them.
Normally, even though it was a child, no horse could calmly interact with Ielo, a Black Dragon... but then again, these were horses with enough nerve that they had shown virtually no fear even when they first met Gryphon Seto.
Even if it was a dragon, they likely wouldn't be particularly frightened of a child like Ielo.
On the contrary, the horses had become playmates, letting Ielo nuzzle them with its snout and land on their bodies.
In the first place, Elena always traveled by carriage.
In other words, Ielo and the horses were in regular contact with each other.
With that being the case, there was no way they wouldn't be accustomed to each other's presence.
Looking out at the courtyard scene, which seemed like a lie compared to the events of the previous night, Elena answered Ara's question.
"Let me see. I don't have any particular plans today either... ah, but it might be good to go to the Lord's Manor and inform them about last night's matter."
"You're going outside? That would mean the usual troublesome people might come flocking again..."
What Ara was worried about were those who saw this as an opportunity to get close to Elena.
If it were only members of the Noble's Faction, that would be one thing, but people from other factions—not to mention nobles who didn't belong to any of the Three Great Factions, or adventurers who had gotten the wrong idea about something.
Moreover, more than anything else, many Merchants were currently visiting due to the expansion project, and there was no shortage of Merchants who wanted to do business with Duke Kerebel's House.
It was only natural for Ara to find such people bothersome.
"I understand your concern, Ara. But I think it would be best to inform Lord Daskar about last night's events at least once."
"Hmm. Honestly, I would prefer you didn't, if at all possible. For Lady Elena's safety as well."
"Oh? You think I might be done in by the likes of those people?"
"No, no. I don't think that at all. I don't think so, but it would end up causing Lady Elena all sorts of trouble, you know?"
"...Hmph. Well, if Ara says so, I'll refrain. Though honestly, staying at Marina's house like this would just be boring, wouldn't it?"
"That's..."
At Elena's words, Ara was at a loss for words.
In truth, that was an undeniable fact.
Staying at Marina's house meant she wouldn't have to deal with bothersome people, but at the same time, she would have to battle boredom.
Of course, it wasn't as if there was nothing to do.
Preparing dinner went without saying, and while the house was usually cleaned by Spirit Magic, it wasn't as though she couldn't clean. Also, since there was a courtyard of moderate size, she could do combat training, or spend time with Ielo and the horses.
...If Rei could sense Elena's current dilemma, he would have retorted about which bored housewife she was.
Of course, in this town of Elgin, being a housewife wasn't that leisurely.
There were some Magic Items available, but the majority of tasks still had to be done by hand.
Also, if one was running a business or farming, they would need to help with that.
In fact, the kind of housewife Rei would imagine was extremely rare in Elgin.
Only the wives of great Merchants or nobles would fit that description.
Of course, even such people held parties and tea parties with their friends, forming their own connections and factions.
"Good morning."
The one who appeared, interrupting Elena and Ara's conversation as if cutting in, was Ilse—her bloodshot eyes transforming her usually beautiful face.
What those bloodshot eyes meant was something Ara, who had been with her last night, naturally knew, and Elena could also easily imagine.
Because of that, neither of them asked Ilse about it when she came into the living room.
"Ah, good morning."
"Good morning. Breakfast... or rather, it's a bit late for that, but would you like to eat? There's a portion for you too, Ilse."
Elena gave a brief greeting, and Ara greeted Ilse from behind Elena.
True to those words, in addition to what Ara was eating, a full breakfast for Ilse was laid out on the table.
Glancing at the breakfast, Ilse hesitated for a moment but then quickly nodded.
Honestly, she had no appetite at all.
Partly because she had just woken up, and partly because she was sleep-deprived. But more than anything... the honest truth was that having killed Ajas—the enemy she had pursued for years—with her own hands, she felt no motivation to do anything.
If Rei were to see Ilse now, he would probably recall the term burnout syndrome.
It was a state that truly suited such a word.
Even so, she had avenged the three people she had loved most—her father, mother, and brother.
Even if her symptoms were close to burnout, it was not purely negative.
"Yes, I'll have some then."
Ilse replied to Ara's words and brought the food on the table to her mouth.
Just as when Ara had eaten, every dish had already gone cold.
But even so, Ilse brought the food to her mouth... and murmured that it was delicious.
Seeing Ilse form a faint smile, Ara breathed a sigh of relief.
Elena, too, felt reassured watching Ilse's state as she drank her tea.
(Things must be very difficult for her right now. But judging by how she looks, she should recover before long.)
That was something Elena was happy about as well.
It wasn't that Elena had any particular personal feelings toward Ilse.
Of course, she was understanding of Ilse's desire to avenge her murdered family, but truth be told, that was the full extent of their relationship.
But... even so, Elena was glad that Ilse's condition was better than she had expected.
(I suppose it's thanks to Ara's efforts last night.)
Personality compatibility was something you couldn't know until you actually tried talking.
Ara had been entrusted with Ilse's care as the one among Rei's group closest to an ordinary person, but the two of them turned out to have surprisingly good personality compatibility, and had built a friendly relationship.
Of course, the fact that Ilse had been in a near-catatonic state probably also had an influence.
Even so, right now she was exchanging words with Ara, even if only briefly, with a small smile.
Elena, who had been watching their exchange, spoke up once breakfast had settled.
"Now then."
That was all that came from Elena's mouth.
Nevertheless, that single word was enough to draw the attention of both Ara and Ilse.
"Ilse. You have avenged your family, the enemy you pursued for years. And so... have you decided what you will do from here?"
"That's..."
Saying that much, Ilse faltered.
In truth, until now, Ilse had lived solely to avenge her family.
Now that it had been accomplished, if asked what she could do or what she wanted to do, she could not answer anything.
It felt as though a gaping hole had opened in her chest.
When she was talking with Ara, she could spend a reasonably enjoyable time.
But once her conversation with Ara ended and she was alone, it was easy to imagine she would be assailed by a sense of emptiness once more.
To fill that emptiness, she would need to channel the energy she had devoted to her revenge into some other endeavor.
She understood that. But she could not bring herself to do it.
...Though that was precisely why it was called emptiness.
"I don't know. Honestly, what I should do... I don't know."
In the end, that was Ilse's honest feeling.
Elena and Ara said nothing, watching Ilse in that state.
Ara, even though they had only recently met, didn't know what to say seeing her friend in pain. Elena harbored a complicated feeling—understanding Ilse's emotions yet not fully comprehending them.
Both Elena and Ara had experienced losing someone close to them and avenging their deaths.
Their enemies had been subordinates and colleagues—existences of that sort.
Because of that, they inevitably had complicated feelings about the act of revenge.
Perhaps it was because she had experience fighting Vel during the war with the Bestia Empire that she had grown close to Ilse.
For a moment, Ara thought that.
"I see. But... leaving the feelings you hold in your heart as they are is not good for you mentally. If you stay quiet as you are, it will eventually erode your mind. Even if it's just putting on a brave face, it's better to take some kind of action."
"...You're right. Thank you. I'll think about it."
"Yes, do that. If Ara's friend were to meet a tragic end... well, that wouldn't be a very interesting conclusion."
"L-Lady Elena!?"
At Elena's sudden words, Ara instinctively tried to say something.
But in the end, she didn't voice it.
After all, there was no doubt that Ara also felt genuine friendship toward Ilse.
Smiling as she watched Ara's reaction, Elena continued.
"It's not my place to say, but Ilse, you are still young. There will be plenty of enjoyable things ahead. There may also be sad and painful times, but you have a long life ahead of you. Live without regrets."
"...Yes."
Something in Elena's words must have resonated with her. Ilse bowed deeply to Elena.