Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

Early the next morning, Hom returned to the room just as Alfe was leaving.

“Thank you for yesterday, Master.”

It seemed Hom had things to discuss with Farah as well, because she looked unusually cheerful. Since today would be her first time practicing with the guitar that had finally been repaired and customized for her, I had expected her to be nervous. Instead, she seemed far more relaxed than I had anticipated, which put me at ease too.

“No, thank you. Thanks to you, Alfe looks like she’ll be able to sing in her own way.”
“That is reassuring for me as well.”

Hom smiled gently and turned her gaze toward the guitar case resting on her bed.

“I ended up giving it to you a little later than planned, but this is your guitar. I customized it to suit you.”
“Thank you very much, Master.”

The slight flush coloring her softened cheeks was probably not my imagination. Slowly, Hom undid the latches of the guitar case and looked at the instrument inside with a smile that seemed almost affectionate.

“So? Do you like it?”
“Of course. Higher than the Sky… It feels as though I can play my own music as freely as I wish.”

Murmuring those words, Hom carefully lifted the guitar from its case with the tenderness of someone cradling an infant.

“Would you like to try playing it? I’ll join you.”
“Yes, Master.”

As I took out my bass, Hom shifted slightly on the bed to make room for me beside her.

“I built a simplified formula into it so it can produce sounds that only you can create. So first, try playing freely.”

Hom nodded and placed her fingers on the strings.

The moment she plucked them, a gentle tone filled the room.

I joined in with my bass, matching her rhythm. It was amusing even to me that, after completely disassembling and repairing the guitar, I had come to understand its principles well enough to play a decent range of notes myself.

“As expected of you, Master.”

Though still somewhat unsteady, Hom played a melody that traced the outline of Prayer of Gratitude. When she finished, she gently stroked the guitar and let the final note fade away.

“At this point, I can only play it. Nothing more. Even so, that’s impressive, Hom.”

It seemed Hom, who had inherited a great deal of my genetic makeup, also possessed a talent for music.

“Lady Estea has already taught me the fundamentals. All that remains now is practice.”

Hom nodded happily and plucked the strings again, as if confirming the guitar’s response.

“When I play, this one answers me. I must work hard so I can draw out its full potential.”

Despite her words, she looked genuinely delighted.

This was a new challenge for all of us. Unlike the battles of the Zersteller, however, this was not a contest of victory and defeat. Perhaps that was why simply being able to do something ourselves brought such direct joy.

All that remained was to hope that the results of our efforts would help Estea’s election campaign in the best possible way.

　　　＊　＊　＊

Practice after school that day went remarkably well.

“Marvelous! Absolutely marvelous! Especially Alfe’s singing! She’s practically on the verge of surpassing the original performer! I’m honestly tempted to start promoting her professionally!!”

Thanks to our conversation the previous night, Alfe had intuitively grasped how to put her emotions into the song, and her performance was nearly flawless. Estea’s driving lead guitar, Farah’s drumming, and Melua’s keyboard accompaniment were perfectly synchronized as well.

As for Hom and me, we were doing our best just to keep up with the other four. Still, it seemed we had managed a passing grade, earning a somewhat favorable assessment from Marie.

“However, while Master may be fine, I feel as though I am the one holding everyone back…”

Apparently taking Marie’s evaluation quite seriously, Hom lowered her gaze to her guitar.

It probably wasn’t simply a matter of her playing ability. More likely, she still felt she hadn’t fully mastered this guitar yet. That kind of thing was difficult because it depended on intuition. Once she found the right insight—like the realization Alfe had experienced—she would surely be able to play in a way that felt more uniquely her own.

“If you’re not satisfied with yourself, then the only answer is to keep practicing until you are!”

Marie encouraged the troubled Hom.

Hom nodded with a sincere expression, and Estea looked at her before giving a confirming nod of her own.

“This concert is for my student council election campaign, so I hope you’re prepared for me to work you hard, Hom.”
“Thank you, Estea.”

With Estea teaching her, Hom’s improvement would probably come quickly. Now that the guitar repairs were finished, perhaps there was no longer much for me to do here.

“Well then, today we’ll all practice individually.”
“Huh? Already?”

Alfe asked in surprise, sounding somewhat deflated.

Marie slowly nodded.

“Already? More like, we’ve already been practicing for three hours. With the performance at this level, pushing yourselves too hard will only be counterproductive. Especially you. If you strain your voice, all of this will have been for nothing.”

Her assessment of the situation was perfectly reasonable.

Indeed, aside from Hom and me, everything was progressing almost suspiciously well. But with the student council general election drawing near, maintaining everyone’s condition was just as important as improving their performance.

“Oh, come on~. You say that, but the real reason is that you can’t wait for me and Master to finish your magic cannon, right?”
“Of course that’s true! But if we’re assigning blame, this is all because you left my request sitting around for over a year, Melua!”
“I said I was sorry!”

Marie immediately fired back at Melua’s teasing remark.

Apparently, she was genuinely excited about the magic cannon.

Well then.

Since I planned to focus on individual practice later that evening anyway, I might as well spend the rest of the afternoon concentrating on the magic cannon project with Melua in the atelier.

As it happened, the engineering department classes this semester had been assigned as open-ended projects. The design plans I had recently completed for a magic cannon—intended to be submitted as my project report—looked like they were about to become useful much sooner than expected.