Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

After our exchange with the headmistress, we first returned to Munyeckha’s place to give our thanks.
We’ll likely need her help again in the future, and her cooperation is absolutely necessary for the creation of Ciel’s doll, so it should be fine to show a level of consideration.

『So the headmistress is good, right?』
『If I had to say, she’s unrelated. Her not having interest in creating sorceric tools is probably true, and I couldn’t feel much ambition for greatness from her. Even with a talent like Cielmer before her, there wasn’t any major change in her expression.』

For people with the ambition to reach S-rank or achieve other great deeds, Cielmer’s existence should be extremely eye-catching. An A-rank hunter at 13 years old, with the greatest patron by the name of Fiiyanamia behind her. Objectively speaking, she is an unmistakable genius, a target of envy for those aiming for greater heights. Even for individuals in different fields of expertise, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had something to say about her background.
Despite this, I didn’t feel anything of that sort from the headmistress. Perhaps I just couldn’t read through her, but if that’s the case, only my inexperience is to blame, so I’ll just apologize to Mother.

Mother personally seems fine with us failing this task, though. Even if someone does manage to commit a taboo, they’ll just receive divine punishment in the end. Mother said that the greatest problem with this would be the loss of a gifted individual, but she probably doesn’t mind if humanity goes extinct anyway.
Personally, I don’t find humanity’s extinction to be a good thing.

『Fufu, Ain calling me by Cielmer feels somewhat interesting.』
『If you want, I can always call you Cielmer, you know?』
『That’s not fair.』

Hearing Ciel’s seemingly pouty tone, I apologized with a smile, 『I’m sorry about that.』
While it sounds that way, I’m sure she’s not actually sulking. Rather, there might even be a chance that she’s acting that way to trouble me a bit, I believe?
I was able to notice it this time, so I could respond with composure, but I’d probably be flustered otherwise.

『Today’s Ain is such a tease,』 Ciel’s voice echoing in my mind was so hopelessly cute, I couldn’t hide a smile.

◇◇◇

Today’s course is Field Training. We’ll be holding our class outdoors, so Ciel will be mainly in charge. Depending on the situation, I might have to participate as well, but since this is our first class, Ciel is out. We are to assemble in front of the entrance of the forest within the academy premises.
After changing and arriving at the assembly area, Palra quickly saw Ail and drew near. Come to think of it, we did chat earlier this morning, discussing our predictions of how Field Training will be, I think? Palra also asked for hints about how to keep vigilant, but my method isn’t really mimickable, so please learn it through our lessons. I was the one who spoke with her earlier, but this time it’s Ciel, so there’s no telling whether Ail will remember this morning’s conversation properly.

「Ailneige!」
「You came quite early.」
「I had nothing to do for my free time…」
「Is that so?」

Ciel casually brushes off Palra’s self-pitying remark. What did I do during my free periods in the past again? I’m sure I also talk to my friends, but I think I generally find being alone comfortable, so I spend my free time by myself. Also, I just felt a presence silently approaching. How do I say this? While not as good as a professional assassin, this is quite the impressive stealth action.
The weaving between the crowds is done well, and even after going somewhere without any people at all, the focus on us is not lost.

I’ve thought about this before, but Belltina seems to be quite skillful in using her Magic Eyes. Her way of using it might be considerably misguided, though. Maybe I should master more of the Song Princess’ abilities as well? Though I don’t really think it will change much for me in the end.
Unlike Ciel, who regularly uses her Dance Princess abilities in battle, I only use Song Princess for support against monsters of A-rank and above. It’s more of a trump card, not something we can really flaunt.

Because of that, my side as a magic user is stronger than my side as a Song Princess, to the point where barriers are what I consider to be my specialty. I do love singing, so I sing frequently, but I don’t use the Song Princess’ powers that much. And I don’t plan on using it in the academy unless Ciel is required to display a certain level of strength.

That aside, I kept Belltina’s approach a secret from Ciel and simply observed.

「U-um…」
「Belltina, so you also enrolled for Field Training.」
「Y-Yes! Bell didn’t really want to, but it might be necessary if the worst comes to pass…」
「That’s true.」

I’m not sure whether Ciel noticed her in advance, but given her complete lack of surprise at Belltina’s sudden appearance, she must have.
As of present, Belltina excels at avoiding people and is skilled in sensing presences, but she doesn’t actually have much in the way of stealth capability. In other words, she’s similar to us. Against people who can use detection, her presence is easy to discern. To put it differently, she’s currently only performing on pure talent without actual polished skill.

In our case, the very nature of our Jobs makes us stand out, so we’re just fundamentally unsuited for stealth and spy work.

「Ah, Belltina, are you doing good?」
「Bell isn’t doing that good. Now that Bell has come here, Bell feels terrible.」
「I guess you’re only here to be a hunter?」
「Bell isn’t particularly aspiring to be one, you know? But if Bell had been a bit more capable, Bell might not have ended up in this course.」

『What does she mean by that?』
『Perhaps she tried various courses but couldn’t find any she could comfortably keep up with?』
『But Belltina’s Magic Eyes are excellent, aren’t they?』
『Maybe no one simply knows how truly capable Belltina’s Magic Eyes are? Perhaps Belltina even actively lives in a way to prevent other people from noticing it.』
『It sounds bothersome if it gets revealed. But then wouldn’t that limit Belltina’s capabilities?』
『Which is likely why she was told that they’ll only care for her up until her graduation.』