Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

The Professor wasn’t in the faculty office, but when we went to the laboratory he’d shown us before, he welcomed us with a smile.

“So, both of you together. That’s unusual. What would you like me to authorize this time?”
“Whoa, you got straight to the point! It’s Marie’s magic cannon. We want to give it to her as a birthday present, so it’d really help if you could just zip-zip-zip through the approval process!”

Realizing he was easy to talk to, Melua clasped her hands together and pleaded at machine-gun speed.

The Professor chuckled in amusement, walked over to her, then bent down to examine the magic cannon she was holding.

“…My, this is truly fascinating. A magic cannon that doesn’t use bullets—this is my first time seeing one. And the idea of layering Spark Shot repeatedly is remarkably clever! Yet at the same time, you’ve gone to great lengths to minimize the risk of magic power exhaustion by incorporating a Blood Grail as a magic amplification device. This has gone beyond craftsmanship—it’s art. Ah, if only I were allowed, I’d love to test its power. But I can already picture Miss Marianne berating me without mercy if I did. And once something happens, there’s no pretending it never did. So, regrettably, I’ll have to restrain myself.”

Taking the magic cannon from Melua, the Professor examined every inch of it while rattling off his impressions in a rapid-fire stream that barely paused for breath.

Even I was surprised that he had discerned so much from such a brief inspection.

“I designed it to deliver roughly five times the power of a standard round. The effective range was also designed to improve by about the same factor.”
“I thought as much. The craftsmanship of these intricate transmutation circles is exceptional.”
“Ah, I drew those~!”
“You did? Work this delicate?”

Still peering down the barrel, the Professor looked genuinely surprised.

Melua puffed out her chest proudly at his reaction.

“So? You finally get that I can pull my weight when I put my mind to it, Professor?”
“I now understand that it takes an alchemist of Leafa’s caliber to motivate you.”
“See? She’s an amazing master, isn’t she!”

That probably wasn’t meant as a compliment…

But since Melua looked so pleased, I decided to keep that to myself.

“If Miss Marianne is going to be the one using it, then I have no objections. I’ll grant both the carry permit and the usage permit. Let’s make them valid until graduation. After graduation, if she remains at the academy as an instructor, permits like these will no longer be necessary.”

With that, the Professor returned the magic cannon to Melua and, with the practiced hand of someone accustomed to paperwork, signed the authorization documents.

“Here you are.”
“Thank you very much!”

Melua accepted the permit and gave the Professor a respectful bow.

I’d expected him to ask all sorts of questions, so I couldn’t help feeling relieved that he’d approved it so readily.

Just then, the Professor turned to me with a smile.

“So then, you’ll be submitting a report on this as your final project for the third term, won’t you? I’m looking forward to reading it, Leafa.”

That reminded me.

I’d designed the magic cannon during the engineering department’s independent project period, so naturally he’d assumed this would be the subject of my report.

Well, if a written report was all he wanted, that suited me just fine. It meant I wouldn’t have to explain everything out loud and risk letting something slip.

“Understood. I only hope it lives up to your expectations.”
“You’ve done nothing but exceed my expectations so far.”

Judging by the smile on his face, he clearly had high hopes for this one as well.

Well, I’d thought I’d held back during the academic examinations, only to discover it hadn’t made the slightest difference. If I simply wrote the report honestly, it should contain more than enough to satisfy him.

Now then…

We’d obtained the permit, but there was still Ignis’ scheme—the one we’d uncovered through the eavesdropping spell.

The problem was how to bring it up.

As I pondered that, I glanced at Melua, only to find she was wearing the same troubled expression.

“…By the way, is that everything you came here for?”
“Huh?”
“No, it’s just… the two of you seem to have something weighing on your minds.”

The Professor gave us a wry smile, leaned back in his chair, and laced his fingers together.

“It’s not exactly a problem… More like there’s this really urgent danger looming over us… It’s way beyond what students can handle, but… the way we found out about it isn’t exactly something to be proud of, so we’re kind of stuck…”

I was relieved to see that Melua also felt guilty about using an eavesdropping spell.

“I won’t repeat a word of it. Please, speak freely.”

Perhaps he had already grasped the situation from Melua’s remark, but the Professor gently encouraged us to continue, making it easier to talk.

Melua then recounted, from beginning to end, everything we’d overheard through the eavesdropping spell—the conversation between Ignis and the vice principal.

“…I see. I understand the situation.”

After hearing the whole story, the Professor’s reaction wasn’t one of surprise.

If anything, it was more like I thought as much.

“Huh? Don’t tell me… you already knew about this, Professor?”
“No, this is the first I’ve heard of it. However, just between us, we were already aware that Ignis posed a risk of election fraud, so we took preventive measures in advance.”
“Huh?”

With that, the Professor took out a small sheet of paper and held it up for us to see.

“This is the paper that will be used for the ballots.”
“It just looks like an ordinary piece of paper to me.”

As Melua said, it looked completely ordinary to me as well.

Though I had a feeling that was precisely the point.

“Then try channeling some aether into it.”
“Like this?”

Melua took the sheet and infused it with aether.

The white paper immediately turned blue.

“Whoa! What’s this?!”
“It’s paper treated with Elnas Solution, a reagent that reacts to aether. When aether is passed through it, the paper changes color.”

I see.

So it was an application of Luminous Solution, the alchemical reagent that reacted to blood.

Isolating only the property that responded to aether must have been an incredibly difficult undertaking.

“And you’re using this for the ballots?”
“That’s right. It’s my own original creation, so it isn’t something that can be replicated overnight.”

Perhaps he’d noticed the analysis running through my head, because the Professor smiled knowingly.

Even if someone understood the principle, it would still take an alchemist with exceptional analytical ability just to reproduce it.

If someone asked me whether I could make enough before the election, I’d have to say no.

I might be able to produce one or two sheets, but there was no way I’d have enough time to make ballot papers for every student in the academy.

“…In other words, the forged ballots won’t react to aether. And if any legitimate ballots are discarded, we can have Melua or Alfe track them down.”
“I get it now~!”

Melua clapped her hands in understanding, her twin Pure Eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Exactly. So even if Ignis resorts to the worst possible method, he’ll only bring about his own downfall. Let’s hope he chooses to conduct a proper campaign instead.”

As a teacher, the Professor didn’t say outright that Ignis wouldn’t make that choice.

For my part, I could only hope Ignis’ last shred of conscience would prevail.

That outcome would give Estea something to believe in as well.

“…By the way, speaking of the campaign, I hear Estea is planning to hold a live concert as part of it.”

We hadn’t mentioned that yet.

How did he know?

Even if word had spread because we’d been practicing, what caught my attention was how certain he sounded.

“Huh? How did you know that?”
“Alfe gave me a flyer.”
“When did she find the time…?”

As he spoke, the Professor showed us the flyer.

It featured an illustration of us—apparently drawn by Alfe—and announced Re:berty’s first live performance, scheduled to coincide with the campaign speeches.

“I’m very much looking forward to it. Do your best.”

His words caught me off guard.

I’d never expected encouragement from someone like the Professor.

I’d assumed he was the type who would prefer a more traditional campaign speech over something like a concert.

“You like music, Professor? That’s kind of surprising~.”

Apparently Melua had the same impression, because she asked the question with visible surprise.

“It’s not so much that I like music as that I see hope in it. Throughout every age, music has been a voice for peace. I think it will make Estea’s vision for this academy clear for everyone to see.”

Listening to his explanation, I felt like I finally understood both the intent behind the concert and Estea’s feelings.

Unlike Ignis, Estea had no desire to rule the academy as Student Council President.

She simply wanted to restore it to a place that was free, fair, and enjoyable for all its students.

“…You really think so too, Professor?”
“Of course. I did say for everyone to see, didn’t I?”

The Professor answered my question with a gentle nod.