Actually Innocent?

With the plan decided, it was time to spring into action!

… Or so I thought, but that didn't happen. We'd been going nonstop since yesterday, after all, nap notwithstanding.

The moment I sat down, the tension snapped, and I couldn't bring myself to do anything, let alone stand up.

Orleans was stifling yawns. She was clearly fighting off sleep.

Alexia, on the other hand, seemed fine. Impressive as always.

Being trained as a knight apparently meant she could endure a single night without rest.

Princess Yupe shifted around occasionally, but showed no signs of waking.

Just restless sleeping, it seemed.

Sleeping in her dress, her clothes had come askew.

When I went to fix her blanket, my own drowsiness finally hit its limit.

"Why don't you get some sleep too, Master? Somebody has to keep an eye on this princess until she wakes up anyway, with how defenseless she is."

"I could take her back to her room, but…"

"I could escort her back, but it might not be great if people see her like that."

True. The last thing we needed was people jumping to conclusions.

The castle wasn't exactly a sealed space, but rumors tended to spread within a day in this environment.

Better to let people think we were having a meeting in here.

"Orleans is at her limit too, so we're taking a break. Feel free to sleep as well if you get tired, Alexia."

"Don't worry about me. If I'd been up all night fighting, that'd be one thing, but this much is nothing. I'll just read a book or something."

"I-I'm fine too."

Orleans was probably trying to show how energetic she was, but her eyes were glazed over.

I stroked her head, then ordered her to sleep.

When given an order, Orleans obeyed without fuss.

But the sofa was already taken.

Nothing for it. I'd line up three chairs to make a makeshift bed.

The comfort wasn't great, but with this level of exhaustion, it didn't matter.

"Wake me up after a reasonable amount of time, or if something comes up."

"Got it. I'll wake you around noon."

The moment I laid down, fatigue hit me like a wave.

Someone was poking my cheek.

Who…?

My somewhat refreshed mind registered what was happening.

Thinking Alexia was messing with me, I grabbed the poking hand without opening my eyes.

It was smooth and soft. And offered no resistance.

I opened my eyes to say something and looked at who it was.

For some reason, Evalin was standing there.

Princess Yupe was beside her too, watching with amusement.

"Do you hold someone's hand when you sleep, Yohane?"

"That's not what this is."

I let go.

That caught me off guard.

An elf's beauty, sprung on you out of nowhere, was rough on the heart.

"A long time ago, I saw a child do something like that."

"I'm a grown adult. I was just startled because someone was poking me in my sleep, so I grabbed the hand."

"Is that so."

She seemed to deflate a little for some reason.

I couldn't tell what emotion that was. Her expression was hard to read.

Alexia was at the desk reading a book.

She apparently had no intention of stepping in to stop the teasing.

With a soft giggle, Princess Yupe looked my way and spoke up.

"But your sleeping face was so unguarded and adorable. You should be like that all the time."

"Please don't say such absurd things. I can't keep my guard up while I'm sleeping. I haven't had that kind of training."

Finn or Alexia might be able to react to presences even in their sleep, but…

"Too bad."

"Speaking of sleeping faces, yours was far more adorable, Princess Yupe. Like a sleeping beauty from a fairy tale."

I'd drawn an analogy to the kind of story you'd find in fairy tales and old folk tales.

She'd probably just take it as praise, something like "well obviously," and it wouldn't have any effect. But I wouldn't feel satisfied if I didn't get at least a little payback.

The reaction, however, was unexpected.

She was visibly embarrassed, fidgeting.

I'd never seen a reaction like this from her before.

"Come to think of it, this might be the first time I've shown my sleeping face to a man."

So she was belatedly embarrassed about having slept so defenselessly.

Given her position, that wasn't unreasonable.

She hadn't even been that intimate with the Secretary of Military Affairs? That was surprising.

I'd honestly thought she was the more… free-spirited type when it came to that.

… Thinking back on it, she would show skin in her dresses, but she'd always been proper in her conduct.

Whenever someone tried to put an arm around her shoulder or touch her hand, she'd deftly avoid it.

"Ahem."

Alexia's cough put a stop to Princess Yupe's embarrassment.

She looked mildly displeased.

"So, why is Evalin-san here?"

"No particular reason. I heard you were here, so I came to see your face."

"I-I see."

Being told that by a beauty made me a little happy.

I sat up and stretched.

The nap had been short, but I felt more refreshed than expected.

I could get moving right away.

"Thanks for waking me. I feel like I can work comfortably now."

"Do humans have some kind of illness where they die if they don't work? Tianis is always doing something too."

"It's not that, but compared to elves, humans might subconsciously feel like we don't have much time."

Hundreds of years of life. From an elf's perspective, a human lifespan would feel like the blink of an eye.

Of course they'd perceive time differently.

From an elf's point of view, the only way to accomplish anything in such a short time was to work constantly.

"If anything comes up, feel free to rely on me. I'm not busy."

"That's kind of you, but I suspect you'll be busy before long. The capital's barrier is going to expand, after all."

"Is that so? About three times its current size? That would keep me a little busy."

"… I don't think it'll be quite that much."

Evalin. She had a big chest, and just as big a sense of scale.

Saying she wanted to wash off her sweat and change into something easier to move in, Princess Yupe headed back to her room for the time being.

… Was she planning to tag along for the whole thing?

Orleans woke up around the time Evalin left, and Princess Yupe returned.

True to her word, she'd changed into something more practical.

In shorts instead of a dress, she looked younger than usual.

"First was the surveyor, right? … Let's try the Bureau of Internal Affairs."

"Understood."

The four of us headed to the Bureau of Internal Affairs office.

"We outsource all our surveying. I can give you our list of contractors, though."

"Then please."

When I went to inquire, it turned out the capital outsourced all surveying work to the private sector.

"The duke in the Empire had a personal surveyor on staff. He said surveying data could be dangerous if misused."

"I see."

The duke, huh… That man had seemed very thorough.

I doubted any of the surveyors on the list would blab about their work, but I'd at least emphasize confidentiality when drawing up the contracts.

The surveyors on the list were found quickly.

They apparently had side jobs, and I got one of them to accept while he was helping at a food stall.

I offered above the market rate, and in exchange, had them agree not to leak the survey results.

Surveyors were few in the capital, and none of them could make a living on surveying alone, so they all had side jobs.

The first surveyor I'd met put the word out, and the rest gathered quickly.

Having connections really paid off at times like these.

"What's the scope?"

"We're expanding the entire capital. As for the width… within visual range from the walls."

"Understood."

Once I conveyed the scope, they set to work immediately.

With that underway, there was nothing for me to do. I'd leave the supervision to someone else for now and go visit the stone merchants while I had the chance.