Inside the office of the Ducal House of Albert in the Kingdom of Sinfonia, Lilia let out a soft sigh as she finally finished her paperwork. Right on cue, Lunamaria placed a cup of black tea on her desk.
"Good work, Milady. That should settle things for now."
"Yes. Thank you for staying so late with me, Luna."
"Hehe, I’m looking forward to the overtime pay. I also told my mother I’d be staying over tonight, so please let me use one of the rooms."
"Oh, in that case, feel free to use the guest room next to Aoi-san and Hina-san."
"Ooh, that’s a nice room. I think I’ll sleep quite well there."
While Lunamaria usually commuted from home, she often stayed at the mansion during particularly busy periods. As Lilia’s exclusive maid, her schedule essentially mirrored her mistress's workload. They had spent the last few days working ahead on several tasks to clear their schedules for the Hydra Kingdom’s Founding Anniversary Festival, which began tomorrow.
"At any rate, that takes care of all the work we needed to finish before the festival."
"Indeed. Fortunately, we can head directly to the capital of the Hydra Kingdom via teleportation magic, so travel won't take much time at all. Since we managed to finish at this hour, we should be able to get a decent night's sleep tonight."
Normally, during a Founding Anniversary Festival, a teleportation interference barrier would be erected over the entire capital to prevent terrorism, making it impossible to warp directly into the city. However, the Hydra Kingdom was the most technologically advanced of the three nations, a fact that was evident in many areas.
For this event, they had implemented the latest model magic formula for city-wide barriers. This new technology allowed teleportation into specific sectors for anyone carrying a magic tool for passage recognition provided by the state. Thanks to this, there was no need for them to arrive a day early to beat the crowds.
"Now, we just have to hope nothing happens on the actual day, right, Milady?"
"Please don't say things that make me anxious. Surely it will be fine this time? I know the First Hero's message being made public will draw a lot of attention, but it doesn't seem like Kaito-san is particularly involved in any of that..."
"You talk as if things never end peacefully whenever Miyama-sama is involved. Though, I suppose I mostly agree..."
"No, well, how should I put it... I feel like whenever Kaito-san is involved, some sort of sudden, unplanned incident tends to occur. In reality, as long as that doesn't happen, everything should be fine. The guest list is known in advance and the ceremony’s proceedings are strictly scheduled, so unforeseen circumstances usually shouldn't occur... or so one would think."
Indeed, a Founding Anniversary Festival was a massive undertaking for a nation, and every country approached it with thorough preparation. Unexpected situations rarely happened, and even if they did, they were usually at a level that could be handled by the staff on the ground.
However, when Kaito was involved, there was a high probability that beings with far too much influence—like the Six Kings or the Supreme Gods—would get involved, often causing even the most meticulous countermeasures to vanish like mist.
"But Kaito-san isn't running a stall this time; he’s just attending the festival normally. Since his companion was decided well in advance, it’s unlikely that more people will suddenly join him. Without the excuse of visiting a shop run by him, I don't think the Six Kings or the Supreme Gods would suddenly drop by unannounced."
"True. In that sense, we might actually be able to relax this time."
"Yes. That’s why I can also feel at ease... Wait?"
Lilia had begun to show a gentle smile, feeling optimistic about the trip, but she suddenly stopped mid-sentence. After a moment, she tilted her head with a look of confusion. Concerned by her sudden silence, Lunamaria spoke up, only for Lilia to respond with an increasingly anxious expression.
"...Um, Luna? Who was it that Kaito-san was supposed to be spending the Founding Anniversary Festival with this time?"
"Eh? What are you saying, Milady? Miyama-sama told us clearly in advance, didn't he? It was... um... Oh? That's strange. I’m usually quite confident in my memory, but it seems to have slipped my mind. Shall I go and ask him?"
"Ah, no, Kaito-san might already be asleep, so there's no need for that. I can't remember either, but I know for a fact he told us, so I'm sure it's fine."
It was inevitable that the two of them could not recall Kaito’s companion. They had indeed received word from Kaito in advance that he "planned to tour the Hydra Kingdom's festival with Alice." However, because the premise of reality had been shifted in this dimension, they were now in a state where they knew Kaito was going with someone, but the specific name had become an unreachable blur.
Yet, Lilia and Luna remained optimistic, believing that since they had heard the name before and judged it to be no problem, there was nothing to worry about. They remained blissfully unaware that Shiro had only proposed the idea of creating a separate dimension for her date with Kaito after Kaito had already made his report to the Albert household.
Serious-senpai: "I see. They have their memories up until the day before the festival, but the specific part about 'touring with Alice' has become vague... But as expected of the strongest stomach pain warrior... If Lilia is feeling optimistic, it means the Law of Stomach Pain is still in full effect..."