Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

As I quietly burned with competitive spirit and clenched my fist—

“…excuse me, My Little Princess. This sorcery—no, I’d say it’s already in the realm of magic—it’s probably not something wrought by human hands. I believe a demon lord-class fiend or a divine being from the Super Empire must be involved.”

Regulus timidly voiced his opinion, supplementing my speculation.

“Indeed. It’s truly something else, isn’t it? Now then, how shall we open it, I wonder? Forcing it with mana might technically work, but if we did that, I doubt we’d be able to restore it afterward… Could we perhaps do something with your talisman craft, Cestlavie?”

Cestlavie is more knowledgeable when it comes to tricks and practical techniques like this, and above all, he’s an experienced adventurer with a solid career. That’s why I thought it was worth asking—but he quickly shook his head.

“No good. I can’t even sense whatever concealment’s at work here. Without any leads, if I tamper with it, there’s a high chance it’ll either go berserk or become impossible to deactivate.”

That does make perfect sense, I thought, nodding in agreement. But just as I started to feel at a loss, Regulus stepped forward with polite confidence.

“If that’s the case, would you permit me to handle it? I may not be able to fully break the seal, but creating a temporary gap should be within my power.”

“You can do that? Then I’m counting on you.”

“Leave it to me. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a trivial task… but if it is your command, My Princess, then no matter how difficult, I shall overcome it and prove myself.”

As he spoke, Regulus cast a sidelong glance—one that practically radiated triumph—at Cestlavie.

For a moment, Cestlavie’s expression turned sour, but Regulus promptly broke eye contact and turned toward the sealed South Gate.

“「O beautiful Goddess, between heaven and earth—touched not by the land, seen not by the sun」 — 「Unlock.」”

Forming a complex sequence of hand signs with both hands, he finally drew a large hexagram in the air. The wall in front of him warped and rippled, like watching a drop of paint in water flow backward into a fixed point. Then, as the patterns intertwined, a double-door gate made of metal—about four mertes tall and wide—materialized right there in the wall.

I stepped closer and gave the gate a light push, but—as expected—it wouldn’t budge.

“If it were a magical lock, it should’ve opened with the earlier spell. Most likely, there’s a mechanical lock that isn’t affected by magic.”

Regulus had tried a number of things, but even he seemed stumped by this, shaking his head with open frustration and no attempt to hide his vexation.

“Grrr, grrr, grrrrgh! Lady Clara, no matter how many times I kick this door, it won’t budge at all!”
“Why is it that every time you see a door or a wall, your first instinct is to kick it!?”
“Hold on, hold on. I’ll slip a talisman through the gap and summon a simple shikigami inside to try opening it. If we approach it from the other side, it might work.”

I had hoped Coppelia would be useful against mechanical contraptions, but alas, she was not. Stepping up in her place, Cestlavie carefully inserted a talisman through the gap in the gate. Using talismanic arts, he summoned a small goblin-like creature (more like an imp, really), and after a bit of fumbling about inside, he finally managed to unlock the door.

“Hah…” The instant the lock clicked open, Cestlavie turned to us with a smug, triumphant grin, while Regulus turned away with a bitter scowl.

“—Pardon me.”

Calling out softly, I slipped through the narrow opening—just wide enough for one person to squeeze through—and found myself standing before a surprisingly spacious, cavern-like tunnel resembling a limestone grotto.

There was no trace of artificial lighting, yet the sunlight that had crept in through the now-open gate struck the glistening stalactites, scattering into shimmering reflections that danced like a kaleidoscope.

I was so taken by the ethereal beauty of it that I gasped—and then—

“Waaah, how beautiful!”

The words left my lips in awe. But the rest of the group didn’t seem nearly as moved.

“Eeeek! A whole swarm of bats is flying over our heads—it’s a poop bombing run!”
“If there are bats, that means this place must be connected to the outside somehow.”

**FWOOSH!!**

“……….”

While I was marveling at the scenery, the others carried on at their usual pace—one maid firing off rocket punches at the bats, one adventurer scanning the area with cautious eyes, one cat bristling his fur in a show of alertness, and one demon boy absentmindedly stroking the loosened Stigma collar around his neck.

“Oh dear… Well then, 「Let Light illuminate this hand of mine」 — 「Light」”

Raising the staff in my hand, I cast a string of light spells at regular intervals—each about a hundred mertes apart—stretching deep into the cavern, ensuring we had clear visibility.

Immediately, the bats went into a panic, swarming toward the entrance in a frenzy and fleeing outside.

I instinctively jumped back to avoid the chaos, then squinted at the retreating creatures and tilted my head in confusion as I asked the others,

“—Were bats always pink, with compound eyes and tails?”
“ “ “No, bats like that don’t exist.” ” ”
“I thought so… Then maybe those were another result of the church’s secret experiments gone wrong?”

“—Most likely,” Cestlavie replied bitterly. “The ‘Artificial Saint Project’… what a foolish endeavor. They dreamed of creating a being with power beyond humans, beauty that could enthrall all men, a gentle, devoted, saintly creature who would serve all who believed in her… A fantasy born of deranged priests and alchemists. What remains are the scraps of that delusion, rotting in this dumping ground. Don’t expect to find any sane creatures or proper monsters beyond this point.”

His grim warning was met with a vigorous nod from Coppelia.

“Exactly… Toying with life is utterly inexcusable. Living beings should be left to nature. Mad alchemy and science only ever bring misery.”
“ “ “……….” ” ”

At that, Coppelia was immediately met with a wave of cold, skeptical stares that clearly said: *‘You’re one to talk.’*

“Here you go—take it.”
“What is it, Lady Clara? …A hand mirror?”

Coppelia tilted her head as she took the hand mirror I offered and looked at her reflection, clearly puzzled. I left her to it and turned my gaze forward, deeper into the endlessly stretching dungeon, nodding deeply in agreement with Cestlavie.

“You are right, such a being only exists in fairy tales. Humans are selfish and willful creatures… There’s no way such a perfect, angelic woman could truly exist.”
“ “ “……….” ” ”

With a sigh, I noticed—somehow—that same frosty gaze once directed at Coppelia was now being turned toward *me*. I wonder why?

“Here you go, Lady Clara.”
“—A boomerang?”¹　

And then, for some reason, Coppelia handed me an absurdly oversized boomerang.

***

#Author’s Note:#

According to Regulus’s personal value judgment:

Jill (strong, beautiful, he wants her to bear his children in the future) ＞＞＞＞＞ Coppelia (unfathomable; possesses powerful mana, so must be approached with caution) ＞ Sechs (not a current threat, but still requires attention) ＞＞｜An unscalable wall｜ ＞＞ Cestlavie (a weakling)

Also, there’s actually a lot more going on—like the relationship with the editor-in-chief who’s the adoptive father of both Dan and Maria Lou, his tragic past, the rift with the church caused by the death of his daughter, how he got hold of underground information, and so on—but I’ve omitted it all here to keep things from getting too long.

Next time, Jill will, for the first time in a long while (or maybe even for the first time ever?), take up a sword without relying on magic and face off in a one-on-one duel.