“Ahem.”

Kiriel cleared his throat, feeling a bit embarrassed. Liriel pretended not to notice and changed the subject.

“For now, we’ll have to keep watching this situation. It’s not causing you problems, but sometimes the cause is revealed or resolved in specific situations or much later.”

“Yes.”

When the discussion ended, Liriel left. Kiriel, now alone, finished up the remaining work.

* * *

In Kana’s room in the Round mansion. After returning from the training grounds, she handed out spirit stones to the spirits huddled together on the sofa and turned her attention to the desk. Letters and newspapers neatly organized by Lena caught her eye.

She opened the newspapers first. Seemingly mindful of the imperial family, the major newspapers were only criticizing the mages who were revealed as culprits.

Smaller newspapers that published even minor gossip subtly dropped evidence-based hints, indirectly discussing the First Prince’s involvement.

‘Hmm, that’s information leaked by defectors from the First Prince’s faction and people from the Second Prince’s faction.’

She read the remaining parts. At the bottom of that newspaper, suspicions about Cordelia were also briefly mentioned.

With a negative tone about the cause of her collapse, her reduced social activities, and her relationship with the First Prince.

‘She got dragged in because of her association with the First Prince. The young ladies from the female protagonist’s faction must have also slipped in some information.’

It exactly followed the content mentioned in ‘Fake Saint’. Feeling no need to read further, Kana pushed aside the newspapers and examined the letters. The senders were all from spirit summoner guilds.

‘Invitations from spirit summoner guilds. No, more precisely, recruitment offers.’

They all mentioned her performance at the monster slaying demonstration incident. Being with Kiriel, a key figure with significant influence, must have left quite an impression.

Celia, who was eating spirit stones with Gnome, floated over to peek at the contents of the letters.

[Wow, the spirit summoner guilds are trying hard to recruit our contractor.]

‘Well, the firepower of spirit summoners is practically all concentrated in the Hail family in the west. They’d want to bring in someone decent like me when they see one.’

[Are you thinking of joining?]

‘Well, I still don’t feel the need.’

Kana replied indifferently, twirling a pen in her hand. Celia observed her contractor’s mood and probed.

[Hmm, don’t you think it’s worth it even as a pretext for training spirit magic?]

‘It wouldn’t be bad, but it’s a bit ambiguous. Instead of spending time there, it might be better to focus on my relationship with Seria and occasionally get advice from her.’

[……Hmm.]

Celia mumbled. Kana immediately noticed her trusted partner’s state of mind and gently probed.

‘Why, would you like me to join a spirit summoner guild?’

[If it doesn’t interfere with your work, I’d recommend it. We’ve worked together in other novels and interacted with many other characters, but Gnome hasn’t.]

Celia’s gaze turned to the lower-grade earth spirit sitting modestly. She was looking after it as a precious junior colleague. Kana’s eyes gleamed with interest.

‘You mean we should gain experience for Gnome by meeting other spirit summoners, and we should also maintain our beginner’s mindset and work hard, right?’

[Yes, since it’s a world where we can be with spirits, I thought it would be good if we all honed our skills together. Of course, if you don’t want to, you can ignore it.]

‘No, Celia. Thank you for your honest opinion. I’ll consider it positively.’

While she wasn’t particularly interested in spirit summoner guilds, she was willing to allocate time if the spirits wanted it. Kana looked at the earth spirit that had somehow settled next to Celia.

‘What do you think, Gnome?’

[I agree with Celia’s words. I want to work hard and be helpful to you, Contractor.]

‘I see, that’s admirable.’

She smiled warmly and gently stroked Gnome. As the spirits returned to the sofa, Kana selected three guilds that seemed decent from the spirit summoner guild invitations.

‘I’ll judge the details when I visit next time. For now, let’s look at the remaining letters.’

After skimming through letters about social gatherings, the most elegant letter remained. It was an invitation to a tea party held at the Second Prince’s palace. Her eyes sharpened.

‘Ah, I must attend this one no matter what. This is where the female and male leads announce their engagement.’

Kana replied to the letters in order of importance. As she put down her pen, the communication device lit up. It was Kiriel’s code. As soon as she answered, his voice flowed from the device.

— Miss Kana, I called because I have something to ask, is that okay?

“Yes, please speak freely.”

— Are you planning to attend His Highness the Second Prince’s tea party?

“Of course.”

Hearing her answer without a moment’s hesitation, Kiriel asked hesitantly.

— What if His Highness the First Prince holds a tea party on the same day?

“My decision would remain unchanged.”

— Have you decided to support that side completely?

From the beginning, she was firmly aligned with the protagonist’s faction. She paused for a moment before admitting frankly.

“Yes. Did His Highness the First Prince unofficially inform you that he would schedule it to overlap?”

— Yes.

“It’s understandable that you’d be concerned. Considering your family and position, Lord Kiriel, you would have to be cautious to immediately lend support to one side.”

— That’s right, you’ve assessed it accurately.

Kiriel responded enthusiastically. In ‘Fake Saint,’ he attended the Second Prince’s tea party to confirm the relationship between the protagonists and left after the engagement announcement, but at this completely twisted current point, it was uncertain how things would unfold.

Kana hesitated a bit before advising him in a comfortable direction.

“Hmm, it might be cleaner to say you’re swamped with work and not attend either.”

— I was originally planning to do that, but after hearing Miss Kana’s words, I’ve changed my mind. I’ll go there too.

“Well, it’s Lord Kiriel’s freedom to attend, but… is it okay to make such impulsive decisions about work?”

Kana tilted her head. Of course, it was welcome news to her. Even if the situation was a mess, it was safer to follow the flow of ‘Fake Saint’.

Kiriel answered with a voice tinged with laughter.

— It’s fine. We only live once, so I’ll live as I please. And when I think about being with you, Miss Kana, I’m inclined to go that way.

“……Haha.”

Kana let out an awkward laugh. She thought he was already living that way. Kiriel continued the conversation, undeterred by her lukewarm response.

— Since we’re talking, is there anything you’re is curious about?

“There’s nothing I’m really curious about… Oh right, I’m thinking of joining a spirit summoner guild.”

— Suddenly? I thought you said being alone was more comfortable.

He remembered her being indifferent when watching spirit summoner guilds promote themselves on the last day of the Founding Festival. Kana shrugged and calmly replied.

“I still think that, but my spirits wanted it. They want to meet various spirit summoners and spirits.”

— Oh, is that so? Have you decided on a guild?

“No. I still need to narrow it down.”

— You haven’t decided yet? Then how about I connect you with the Hail family instead? We’ve done quite a bit of business, and I’m friendly with the young Marquis Hail, so it wouldn’t be difficult.

Kiriel confidently made a counter-proposal. In his opinion, this was more efficient and better. Kana was tempted for a moment but politely declined.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll pass.”

— Why?

“It’s burdensome to be indebted, and… I mainly operate in the capital.”

She couldn’t tell him, but there was also the issue of spirit magic training efficiency.

If she trained frequently with Seria for a long time, the efficiency might drop significantly after the initial stages.

This was because the character’s role as a background supporting character, who’s meant to lay the groundwork as a genius spirit summoner, took precedence due to being intertwined with the overall setting.

It was already difficult to improve abilities with just a speck of talent, and now there would be additional constraints.

‘Then there’s no point in me creating auxiliary settings to avoid setting conflicts. If Seria were a business contact, it might have been better… but she’s not.’

Kana shook her head, swallowing a sigh. Unaware of her inner thoughts, Kiriel clicked his tongue in disappointment.

— Oh right, that’s true. How about coming to the magic tower then?

“I appreciate the offer, but the magic tower’s main focus is clearly magic. It would be unfair if I, who doesn’t have even a speck of mana, entered due to Lord Kiriel’s favor.”

Kana reflexively waved her hands. Basically, mages had strong pride and confidence in their magic. This was especially true for those affiliated with the magic tower.

But Kiriel persisted.

— There are a few registered spirit summoners, albeit very few, and if I bring you in, no one would complain.

“Maybe not to your face. Of course, I know you don’t care about gossip. But I don’t like the situation itself where someone who normally works hard gets bad-mouthed for accommodating me.”

Kana flatly declined. Having experienced a lot of workplace politics, she could tolerate that to some extent, but she felt uncomfortable causing trouble for someone who showed her kindness.

Kiriel unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth.

— Right, who could stop you, Miss Kana. You’re so consistent.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

— Yes, it is a compliment. I’m a bit touched, actually.

“……Ah.”

Kana blinked slowly. Kiriel cleared his throat politely and changed the subject.

— Ahem, anyway, if you must join a spirit summoner guild, take me with you when you choose where to join.

“Pardon?”

— I think I’d feel more at ease if I could check with my own eyes. I might be able to help with the selection too.

“That’s true. I’ll let you know when I schedule it.”

Kana accepted, thinking his words made sense. Kiriel openly cheered.

— Great!

“Ah, I’m sure you wouldn’t, but… don’t force yourself to clear your schedule.”

— Don’t worry, I won’t.

Of course, Kiriel was planning to boldly clear his schedule if there were conflicts, as long as it didn’t interfere with his work.

Kana brushed it off as insignificant, unaware of what ripples that day’s events would create.