Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

The blue flames were incapable of burning through my barrier. However, I can clearly feel that Friere has gotten stronger, so I don’t know if Ciel can win against her alone.
Ciel is trying to not rely on my barrier as much as possible, so when the blue flames were shot towards her, she used the Dance Princess’ power to make her own barrier—something she isn’t used to doing—on top of evading the attack.

Ciel’s barrier was easily melted, and despite her evasive maneuver; if it was only Ciel’s barrier, she likely would have been burned. And while that wouldn’t be enough to end the fight, it’ll still damage Ciel.
I’d never allow that, though. Ever.

Seeing Ciel’s condition, Friere seemed somewhat displeased.

As the flames began to burn the ground, the rain finally started falling, resulting in the remaining blue flames being extinguished. This once again displeased Friere, and she finally spoke her mind.

「Could you take this more seriously?」
「What do you mean?」
「Stop playing coy… Are you perhaps implying that I’m not worth serious effort as I am now? I’ll make you regret that thought.」

Even as this exchange happened, the rain continued falling harder. While not enough to weigh down a wyvern, a great volume of rain befell the area.
As expected, being a sorcerer of fire, it’s a hindrance to Friere, as she uncharacteristically clicks her tongue before procuring a spear.

She had previously thrown a spear at us, but this time she took a fighting stance. And in this muddy battlefield, she began rushing towards us.
Upon closer inspection, it looks like smoke rises after every step she takes on the muddy ground. Her spear also produces steam when the raindrops touch it, making her seem as if she’s enveloped in mist.

Her charging speed is not good, but not bad either. Not slow, but not particularly fast. A middle-ranked hunter would have faster and sharper steps. Still, considering how she’s a sorcerer, it’s plenty fast for her occupation.
Keeping her momentum, she thrust the spear towards us, and Ciel evaded it without any particular difficulty.

Second, third… She repeatedly thrusts her spear, but Ciel dodges them without any trouble, while Friere, who is on the initiative, is starting to look more haggard.
And when her movements have grown obviously dull, Ciel circles to her back and points her hand to Friere’s neck.

「I win.」
「Yes, and I lost.」

As Friere acknowledged her defeat, the rain stopped and the sky cleared up.
While Ciel avoided getting wet with my protection, Viviana apparently avoided the rain as well, so only Friere was soaked like a wet rat. Despite this, she was already half-dry in just a few minutes, as expected of a high-rank hunter, I suppose.

「Not being able to push you to use full strength, how pathetic…」
「You’ve gotten stronger than before.」
「… What should I do to become stronger?」
「Challenging me to a close-quarters fight as a sorcerer was a mistake.」

Friere spoke with a self-depreciating tone, and Ciel immediately answered her question.
While there was heavy rain, with Friere’s firepower, sticking to a long-range battle would have still put a lot of pressure on Ciel. Ciel may be well-versed in sorcery, but a Dance Princess with no music is at a disadvantage against someone whose Job matches their skill set like Friere.

It would have been different if Friere were a professional frontliner, but she’s a sorcerer first and foremost. Even if she reinforces her physical strength to boost her physicality, she is still no match against an experienced frontline fighter.
Had Ciel been a normal sorcerer, things might have been different. Friere probably would win against Carol in close-quarters combat, for example.

However, Ciel still has top-class athleticism for a sorcerer. And considering her Job, there was no chance she would lose against Friere in close combat.

『Ain, is there anything else?』
『Let’s see.』

Now what should Friere do to become stronger? Improving her spearmanship and her close-quarters capabilities is certainly an option. In fact, if she diligently trains with it, she could probably become a B-rank-level spear fighter, and she could probably improve her sorcery to reach A-rank level while doing so.

However, if she has a sorcerer-type Job, then it’s undoubtedly best to improve her sorcery mastery above all else. The reason Carol was able to reach A-rank was because she focused on sorcery, after all.
Besides, if she wants to do close-quarters combat, she should just develop a spell specifically for that purpose.

With that, I told Ciel to talk about magic power control and Job proficiency. The former aside, it doesn’t really sound convincing if I were the one explaining the latter.

「I do believe I’m skillful enough with magic power, though.」
「You being only half-dry proves that there’s still room for improvement. Reach the point where you can perceive magic power.」
「Frankly, I don’t like practicing that… But I don’t have the luxury to whine, do I? I’ll do so.」

Hearing my advice, Friere had an empty stare. Among the sorcerers we’ve seen until now, Friere is certainly one of the best in terms of magic power control, but she still has a long way to go if she can’t feel the magic power of others yet.

「That was a learning experience. Will you be fine with the same reward as our previous match?」
『Since this is a good opportunity, there’s something I want to ask her; will that be fine?』
『As the reward, you mean? You won the battle on your own this time, so feel free to do as you wish.』

Even if I were the one who fought and won, I’d hear out Ciel’s wishes first, though.