Early morning.
The weather was lovely today. The forest in Hastur's domain basked in the same peaceful, tranquil morning light as always.
But...
There was one small difference from usual. Today, in the courtyard in front of the mansion, a group of maids, big and small, were busy tending to a dragon-drawn carriage and loading luggage and other items into it.
It looked as if one of them was about to set off on a long journey.
That was right!
The reason they were doing all this was that the mansion's owner, Her Excellency the Archmage Annie Hastur, was going to the Sanctuary in person today to rescue Emilia, who was trapped there. So Ram, Rem, Petra, and Frederica, the dutiful maids, had to make preparations in advance.
After all, Emilia was one of the five candidates for the throne of the Dragonic Kingdom of Lugunica. It simply wouldn't do if she disappeared without a trace!
Besides, she and the mansion's owner—Annie—had a pretty good relationship. But now she was trapped in some strange place called the "Sanctuary" and had already been gone for several days past her expected return. After hearing about it from the Twin Sisters, Ram and Rem, little Annie had spent a full two days lazing around the mansion. When Emilia still hadn't returned, Annie—who embodied all the vices of sloth, greed, pride, gluttony, and more—finally had no choice but to prepare to leave.
To be honest, Annie hadn't wanted to go.
After all, that dummy Emilia was merely trapped in some strange place; her life wasn't in danger. In Annie's opinion, it wasn't a big deal and certainly wasn't worth sending the greatest, most amazing Arcane Archmage in the world all the way over there in person.
But...
In the end, she couldn't withstand the