CHAPTER 319: CHAPTER 27 - RUSH HOUR IN MORNING, WITH SUDDEN REQUEST?

When I was about to start my morning activities after sleeping soundly, I was surprised by several military officials who were prostrating themselves in front of my bedroom door, along with my father and Sebastian.

Seeing something strange like this, I glanced at my father and Sebastian, who looked awkward about this.

"Um, what happened?" I asked in a calm tone and let Mio push aside some of the military officers blocking my way out of the room.

"Lily, I know this will be a hassle for you in the morning. But I have to do this before you go on your military expedition," my father said, patting Sebastian on the shoulder.

With a light pat, Sebastian stepped forward and showed a can of emergency food that had been emptied.

"Lily-sama, several female adventurers came to Marquess Rommel’s office last night and begged Lily-sama to give them some emergency food cans as payment for looking and taking care the refugees. They were also going to do something that violates the code of ethics of a neutral adventurer in secret," Sebastian said in a weak voice.

"Uuuhhnn..." Hearing something troublesome like this, it seems that the emergency food supply that I gave at the Adventurer’s Guild will have to be divided into two, one for the refugees and another for the adventurers who are in charge of guarding the refugee camp.

"Then... some of our military officials who have tasted these emergency food cans seem to be a little bit addicted to them. Does Lily-sama still have any emergency food cans left?" Sebastian asked in an awkward tone.

I understand that this question was posed by my father, who was represented by Sebastian, on his behalf.

"For that one thing, I have left it for the soldiers who joined the military expedition, sorry..." I replied while bowing my head to Sebastian.

"I-It’s okay, Lily-sama. This is a sudden request that came from—"

Duug...

Before Sebastian could finish his words, I could hear the sound of my father’s elbow suddenly poking Sebastian’s body.

"I-I mean... this is sounds like a ridiculous, sudden request. Isn’t that right, Lily-sama?" Sebastian continued, sounding like he was avoiding a question he almost asked.

"Cough! Speaking of emergency food cans. We’ve got a complicated problem with this, Lily," said my father, who suddenly cut off the conversation as if he wanted to end what Sebastian had said earlier.

"Please look at this, Lily," my father continued as he took the opened can of emergency food and handed it to me.

I accepted the emergency food can and noticed something different on the side. An illustration of how to cook the emergency food can was perfectly illustrated, making me understand what my father was trying to say.

"Oh, my, That’s good, it’ll make things easier for people who are seeing these emergency food cans for the first time. The Adventurers’ Guild has a creative way of doing this, huh?" I commented on this.

"Are you okay with this, Lily?"

"I don’t mind this, Father. Besides, I’ve added a Quest request to the Adventurer’s Guild to teach them how to cook these emergency food cans when the war season between the nobles takes place and the remaining residents in our territory are evacuated," I replied, returning the empty emergency food cans to Sebastian.

"Is that so? I’m glad you’ve thought about this a little more," my father replied, reaching out to caress my hair.

"With this, at least I can be much more at ease after giving the position of Matriarch to you, Lily," my father continued while gently caressing my hair.

Caress...

Caress...

"Is that all, Father? You can’t possibly be in front of your own daughter’s room for something as insignificant as this, right?" As I felt my father’s hand caress my hair, I threw this important question at him.

"Ah! That’s right, I almost forgot this important thing. All preparations for the military expedition have been completed, Lily," said my father, stopping his caress of my hair.

"Those madmen... Cough! I mean the soldiers who will be joining your military expedition group are ready for duty. The command baton I have given you will make you their Supreme Commander, just like you did to the stealth slime herd you have trained."

Hearing such words, I glanced at Mio, who had cleaned up several military officers who were still prostrating themselves in front of my room door.

Nod...

With the nod of my head, I understood the meaning of my father’s words that he would send me to go on a military expedition and deep-dive the forest to ally with the Elf race.

"I understand, Father."

"I’ll make sure my preparations, Alice’s, and Alyssa’s are finished today," I replied with a smile at my father.

Caress...

Caress...

My father caressing my hair again with his wide hand while saying, "There’s no need to rush, just enjoy your preparations so that you don’t leave anything behind."

"Don’t worry, Father. My important things already in my magic storage," I replied with a warm smile.

"Urk! W-What about Alice and Alyssa? They probably haven’t finished preparing for the military expedition yet, right?" my father asked, his hand stopping caressing my hair, but remaining on top of my head.

"They’ve finished their preparations, and we’re just waiting for news from Mom for the final preparations. However, it seems like it will happen soon after something like this happened," I said while glancing at my Father and Sebastian.

My father suddenly covered his face with his palms as if he was holding back something coming out of his eyes.

"S-Sebastian... can’t we still—"

"No way, Marquess Rommel. We have already postponed the departure schedule for Lily-sama’s military expedition. If this continues, we will be in a difficult position to defend."

"Damn, that’s true..."

I didn’t know that my father and Sebastian seemed to share military secrets, and Sebastian knew the right move in this current chaotic situation.

"Lily, make sure you, Alice, and Alyssa don’t do anything crazy in the forests," my father said suddenly with a warning.

"Huh?" I was surprised by this warning and tilted my head in response.

"What I mean is... we’re looking for a long-term ally for the noble war season. Make sure not to make an enemy who will keep us busy during the noble war season."

"Unn... I-I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen," I replied after hearing my father’s statement about this.

It seems like I’ve just been doubted by my father.

I don’t know what my father was thinking. I felt like I was doing something that he thought would create new enemies rather than new alliances.

Unbeknownst to my father, I had made a new alliance with Duchess Kaori and several former members of the heretical sect who had now formed a new sect led directly by Jeanne.

I wanted to talk about this, but Alice and Alyssa already knew about it too.

For now, I will hold this information for a while longer and ensure that this military expedition goes smoothly without creating any new enemies that we are currently facing.

The opposing faction of the nobles and the heretical sects working together have caused us such trouble, and I also don’t want to add new enemies that will make my family even busier every day to deal with these problems.

When my father wanted to talk about something, Alice and Alyssa, who had just woken up, greeted me.

"Good morning, Onee-sama!! Eh? Why is Father here... and Sebastian too?" Alice asked as she looked at Father and Sebastian.

"Are there any problems that Lily-nee needs to solve immediately?" asked Alyssa, who was following Alice from behind.

The sudden arrival of Alice and Alyssa made my father, Sebastian, and several military officers who were prostrating on the floor feel awkward.

"There are just a few minor issues with Lily, Alyssa," my father replied, glancing at Sebastian, who was holding a can of emergency food.

"There have been several requests from the Adventurer’s Guild and our military officers who want to try Lily’s emergency food cans. Several other parties also want to try Lily’s emergency food cans. So we’re taking care of this before Lily goes on a military expedition," my father explained in quite detail. Although there were some parts he deliberately concealed.

Alice and Alyssa, who heard this, smiled, and then they pulled my arm to immediately go to the bathroom to take a shower together.

"Then, we will take a shower together first, Father," said Alyssa with a gentle smile in the morning.

"Excuse us, Father," said Alice while pulling my arm to hurry to follow her footsteps.

I reluctantly accepted Alice and Alyssa’s invitation.

My dragging footsteps towards the bathroom made my twin sisters happy about this.

"Fufu... Lily-nee, I can’t wait to go on an intimate military expedition with Lily-nee," Alyssa said with a happy hum.

"I-I’m looking forward to this too, Onee-sama. I can’t wait to show you how I can wake up this early after all the hard work!" Alice exclaimed, seemingly having made some progress, which made me happy to hear.

Seeing my twin sisters so excited in the morning like this, I could only smile and accept their tug on the hand, leading me to the bathroom.

Mio followed me from behind, along with Alice and Alyssa Exclusive Maid, who came from the Black Maid unit.

Tap...

Tap...

While walking towards the bathroom, I felt their bodies sweating after waking up in the morning.

Unlike before, I could see changes in Alice and Alyssa, who were able to wake up earlier than usual.

"Yes, I’m glad you two can wake up early in the morning like this. Which means I won’t leave you two while the military expedition is going on," I said as I stepped into the bathroom.

"It would be painful if Onee-sama suddenly left me and I don’t want to feel such pain, Onee-sama," while expressing her fear of this, I could feel Alice’s anxiety and fear of not wanting to be left by me during the military expedition.

"Don’t worry, I won’t leave any of you, my sweet little sister. As long as you two can wake up early and join breakfast together with me," I replied to reduce Alice’s fear and anxiety.

"Just so you know, Lily-nee. Waking up in the morning before sunrise and being abandoned by Lily-nee is something that would terrify me. I don’t want to feel that way!" said Alyssa, who suddenly expressed her anxiety and fear by hugging my arm tightly.

It seems, I have made my twin sisters feel anxious and scared about things like this.