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Replacing the magic contraction muscle in Altered’s right leg and swapping out the elbow joint in Arkecius’ right arm had taken a lot of time—but just like Isaac and Romeo promised, we managed to finish everything before the final match of Round Two.

“Everything feels great, Master. Sir Isaac, Sir Romeo—thank you.”

Hom climbed down from Altered after a test run, flashing a rare smile of gratitude at the two of them. Maybe it was the subtle shift in her expression, or maybe they were just gaining confidence in their own work, but Isaac and Romeo both beamed in response.

“Next up is Alfe’s Lemures, huh?”
“Isaac already looked it over earlier. He said it was good to go.”

Apparently, while Romeo had been helping me reattach Arkecius’ armor using the crane, Isaac had gone ahead and checked over Lemures as well.

“I just happened to have a free moment, I did… I hope you do not mind I took the initiative, I do.”
“No, I really appreciate it.”

The fact that they could act on their own judgment without me having to spell out every little thing was a huge help.

“Besides, I wanted Hom to be able to watch Estea’s match.”
“Forsooth!”

Alfe, who clearly understood Isaac’s intent, chimed in with a smile. Isaac’s tail wagged side to side with barely-contained delight.

“I’m sure you two don’t want to miss that match either.”
“Glad we made it in time. Of course, we didn’t cut any corners to do it.”

Romeo added that last part, sounding genuinely relieved when I nodded in agreement.

“With the kind of love and care you two put into these units, I never doubted that for a second.”
“Well said, Lady Leafa~!”

I laughed, and the two of them laughed right along with me.

In the end, by the time we’d finished prepping the units for tomorrow’s third match—the semifinals—and made it to the designated spectator seats for competitors in the colosseum, both teams had already entered the field.

“…We made it before the match started. Barely.”
“Seems like it.”

The stadium, echoing with chants of Estea, was already pulsing with intense energy.

“Estea! Estea!”
“Estea! Estea!”
“Ignis! Ignis!”

Though Ignis’ supporters were doing their best to keep up, the crowd was overwhelmingly in Estea’s favor. The roar of the general audience left no doubt about who held their hearts.

Meanwhile, their opponents—Team Iceman from Class 3-B—had a few matching flags being waved in the stands, but their cheers were completely drowned out by the overwhelming tide of support for Estea.

“This… isn’t going to be an easy fight for them.”
“Well, they’re up against last year’s champion duo. I’m sure they expected this.”

Alfe murmured, her brows drawn together, and I took a moment to look over the opposing team more carefully.

Their units were painted in a uniform blue, but their composition was identical to Noble Arts, the team we fought in Round Two: three Dukes, heavy Mecha Soldiers.

“With those specs, they’re clearly at a disadvantage from the get-go…”

Hom’s observation was spot-on. The student council team from Canalford had fielded a trio of high-end units: Estea’s Selem Salkh, Melua’s Fraternity Frame—heavily modified through alchemy into a Magic Soldier called Alchemia—and Ignis’ Duos, a cutting-edge model straight from the Arcadia Empire.

Even at the unit appraisal stage, the gap between the two teams had been obvious.

“There’s hardly any need to even mention their piloting skills at this point. I’d say it’s going to be near impossible for the other team to snatch a win here.”

According to Melua, Ignis had somehow boosted his Mecha Aptitude Score through unknown means. But whether that enhancement came from the performance of his unit or was just an artificial bump in the stats would significantly affect how he fights.

“They’ll probably go for Ignis first, if they’re playing it by the book.”

I nodded in agreement with Hom’s analysis. It was something of an open secret among the current students that Ignis had a low Mecha Aptitude Score back in his first year. No doubt the opposing team would try to exploit that.

“Aaaand nowwwwwwww—! It’s tiiiiiiiiiiime for the final maaaatch of Round Twooooooooooooooo!! Let’s get this show ooooooooooon the roooooooooooad!!”

Trying not to be drowned out by the roaring crowd, Johnny the announcer shouted at the top of his lungs. The instant he did, the colosseum erupted with another deafening roar, so loud it felt like the entire stadium was shaking.