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Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

I’d never even heard the name before, but for someone like Cestlavie, who had been a priest in our original era and knew quite a bit about the Church’s inner workings, and for the templar knights who operated on the front lines, it must’ve been either common knowledge or a kind of open secret known only to those in the know.

“As shallow as ever, you ignorant masses. Joint research? Don’t make me laugh. The goal of ‘Morning Star of the Dawn’ was basically to steal Master Victor’s research methods, and Master Victor only worked with them for the funding. He created a few test subjects and then skipped town without a care. So really, about 80% of the project’s failure was due to Morning Star’s incompetence… Well, you know what I mean, don’t you, Lady Clara? This is exactly why you don’t hand advanced tech to idiots.”

“Yes, I truly do, from the bottom of my heart.”

Watching Coppelia cross her arms smugly and bask in her own satisfaction, I couldn’t help but agree; Tragedy does tend to follow when you give powerful tools to the indiscriminate.

“Regardless, I’d like to hear the details. Sorry, but I’ll have to place you under restraint.”

As he spoke, Cestlavie pulled out a card inscribed with runes, prompting Kaisa to draw her longsword and Daniella to clench her fists and take a ready stance.

“That—I must refuse.”

Eighette glanced around at everyone, and for a brief moment, her eyes glinted with an eerie light. I felt a sudden wave of dizziness and staggered slightly, just in time to notice that she was trying to make her escape—moving with a speed and grace that made it hard to believe she was still injured.

Just before she vanished, she cast a fleeting, almost gentle glance toward Colin, who was still unconscious, lying on a sheet-covered floor.

(—What an awkward girl.)

Even as I felt a mixture of understanding and sympathy, I tried to move in and restrain Eighette—only for a fierce spinning kick to strike in from the side, forcing me to hastily block it with the shaft of my staff.

“Kh!?”

The impact sent a jolt up both arms, and I couldn’t fully absorb it in my awkward stance. My hands went numb, and my body was lifted slightly off the ground.

When I looked, I saw that the one who had launched the kick was none other than Daniella, the martial artist from the female adventurer group Twinfang of Snowy Peak—who was supposed to be here as part of my escort. She showed no expression as she pivoted on her right leg, preparing to follow up with another kick.

But before she could, a longsword flashed in from the side, forcing Daniella to leap back and put some distance between us.

“—Dani! Tch, that evil eye got to her!”

Though her face had gone slightly pale, Kaisa stepped forward with her longsword drawn, taking a protective stance in front of me and squaring off with the now-expressionless Daniella.

Looking around, I saw chaos erupting in the first-floor hall. Adventurers and guild staff were tangled in a brawl—no, it was practically a bloodbath. Cestlavie, the templar knights, and a few older, more experienced adventurers still seemed to be in their right minds, but the vast majority had clearly fallen victim to the “Evil Eye” and turned into mindless attackers.

“Wait—is this the ‘Evil Eye’ ability mentioned in the records?!”
“—Then that girl’s the phantom thief Red Ram?!”

Eyes wide, Kaisa and I turned to look for Eighette, just in time to see her slip into a corridor leading deeper into the guild headquarters.

“—Tch! She slipped right under our noses!”

Kaisa ground her teeth in frustration—just as another kick from Daniella came flying. This time, I deflected it with my staff.

“I’ll handle things here—Kaisa, please deal with the others and quickly warn everyone upstairs of the danger!”
“But I can’t allow you to be in harm’s way, Lady Clara. And besides, this is a failure on the part of my own team.”
“Don’t overthink it. This is simply a matter of efficiency and compatibility. If you fight Daniella, you might end up seriously injured—or worse, kill her. But I can handle her without taking her life.”

“Even so…” She must have known deep down what would happen if she fought Daniella with everything she had. Kaisa struggled to speak, her voice catching as if the words themselves were too heavy to say.

“Everyone else, too—please try not to kill those who’ve been taken over! If they’re only wounded or have broken bones, I can take care of them afterward!”

In response to my plea, Cestlavie let out a reluctant sigh and shrugged, while the two templar knights sheathed their drawn swords with wry smiles and instead held them with the scabbards still on.

“Called it.”
“Yeah, even if it’s not our fault, killing a comrade would leave a bitter aftertaste.”
“Oh, we’re not allowed to kill the riffraffs? Understood. I’ll switch to non-lethal strikes.”

Several adventurers followed suit, switching to staves or turning their blades flat-side out.

Coppelia, meanwhile, took out a comically oversized halberd from her apron and reversed it—though, no matter how you looked at it, she seemed fully intent on bludgeoning people to death.

“Thank you. —And you, Coppelia, you stay on standby in the rear.”

“Save your thanks for after we make it through, Lady Clara.” Winking, Kaisa charged toward a young adventurer who was approaching, weapon raised.

I gave a silent nod and faced Daniella, who was now watching my movements with a wary eye.

“Kicking-based martial arts, is it? You’ve got good speed, but your technique is still pretty straightforward, and you’re lacking in power.” Well, that monotony in technique might be due to the Evil Eye’s influence making her lose her senses. “For someone your age, it’s impressive, I suppose—but the Zoan Rex I once sparred with was on a completely different level.”

Even before I finished my sentence, Daniella kicked off the ground, instantly closing the distance between us.

Author’s Note:

The incident with the “Zoan Rex (written: Beast King)” is a memory from Jill’s time training as a shrine maiden in Cres Freedom United Nation, which took place between Volume One and Two.

It’s not particularly relevant to the main story, but since there might be readers who’d like to hear about it, I’ll consider writing it up if I get the chance.

→ Update
→ “Ragweed Princess Unplugged”
→ http://ncode.syosetu.com/n2808cr/

Translator’s Note:

Here’s a quick translation of the synopsis for “Unplugged”

This is a side story and bonus episode about the Ragweed Princess of the Livitium Imperial Kingdom.

It will be a mix of short and medium-length stories, focusing on characters who did not appear in the main story and will not appear in the future.

Some of the characters and settings will be based on the book version (light novel), so there may be some slight differences from the web version (web novel).

The title “Unplugged” is originally a musical term that refers to a live performance without electric instruments, but I chose this title because I wanted to go back to the basics of Ragweed and update it without any complicated background.

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