Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

The final testing period of the third and last period of the school year concluded… Morinomiya High was filled with a sense of relief, and nearby, in the elementary school building…

“Julia, you did so well today, I’ve come to pick you up.”
“Reo..!”

A silver haired girl like an angel, clad in the mainly white elementary school uniform, with a matching white beret…Julia, came running out into the arms of Reo, who was also back in his role of a doting prince.
And around them, the shrill shrieks of excitement over that sight…were completely gone, replaced by “Ugh, again…” mutters.

The first time there had been a strong reaction to watching that happen, but the novelty wore off quickly as it repeated day and day again…now there were only a small subset of students who watched him with ardent eyes, everyone else just grimaced and walked past.

“Have you had enough yet? We should get going.”
“I can’t believe this guy is so obsessed he won’t get tired after doing the same thing every day.”
“Oh, sorry for that. Julia, let’s go home.”

Kou and Subaru had also had enough of those antics by now, but he did not mind that at all, as he quickly picked up Julia’s heavy bag to carry it under his arm, while using his other hand to lead her.

“Bye bye, Julia!”
“Ah, yes, see you tomorrow!”

Some girl passed by them, likely a classmate of Julia’s, who happily greeted her, and Julia responded while waving her hand. It was nice to see she was adjusting to the new environment so well… and so the group of friends headed back together.

***

“By the way…are you Lua Cheia lot going to make it tomorrow? You’ll have to reach the old capital by 10 in the morning when it unlocks.”

They were aboard the train on their way back.
They had gotten out of school earlier than usual, so the train was relatively empty. Everyone was able to sit together, and once they were all settled, Reo addressed Kou and the rest.

The next day would also be a Saturday…and the day when the old capital area would finally be unlocked.

“It’s the weekend so we all have the day free, but even the adults of the guild made sure to take the day off.”

Kou was certain that there would be no issues with time, which Hijiri and Subaru confirmed with a nod.

“It’s going to be such a big battle. Even they were getting nervous in preparation.”
“Yeah, and whatever the outcome is, it’ll change the course of the game, so they wanted to see it with their own eyes.”

Hijiri was not exaggerating when she called it a big battle. During the two months of preparation, many other players had ended up becoming involved with the old capital in one way or another.

…For instance, the Union Nord Glacier had been following a series of strange disturbances in their territory, and that storyline led them to battle Qliph4i Astaroth, who ran away at the end.

…Something similar happened in the Union Blue Line. A certain underground organization had been running rampart there, which turned out to be led by Qliph3i Lucifuge.

And then…there was that whole outbreak in the Holy Kingdom Schwertrot, which was still a young Union.
The apparent leader, Cardinal Rodrigo, had actually been controlled behind the scenes by Qliph9i Lilith, who was hiding amongst the nuns. Suzaku ended up having to fight her, and then relayed the information to Kou.

All of them had escaped before their defeat, and similarly to Belial, only mentioned they would be waiting in the old capital.
Questlines followed by many other players led to similar encounters with devils, all of which vanished into the old capital, luring them to go once it unlocked.
Whether they had thought of it or not, many players felt forced to be there…to a final confrontation against all of the devils.

And now…there were more people than Kou’s friends involved.

“I’ll also do everything I can to help, Reo.”

The youngest present, her hands clenched firmly, expressed her determination as well.

“That’d be kind of you. Reinhard will have an easier time if you’re helping with healing. We’ll be counting on you.”
“You definitely will be a great help, Julia. You’re one of us now, so we’ll all fight together tomorrow.”
“O-Okay, I’ll do my best!”

While Julia gathered her courage, Reo and Reinhard watched her with smiles.

…Julia had also grown into a splendid healer during the last two months, and despite her young age, she could stand her ground even when surrounded by the elite members of Nord Glacier. Kou had seen that first hand, as they had already fought alongside each other a few times.
Julia always excused it saying that she had only managed to do that as she was mentored by her mother, the best healer of Worldgate Online…but in reality it was mostly her own motivation to be of use to Reo and his group.
In the end, she went from being the princess everyone protected…into a proper ally in battle.

Regardless, that was not the main concern at the moment.
Now there was a cute little girl doing her best to appear strong, inducing everyone around her to lean in to pat her head, causing her to look around dizzily.

***

…They continued riffing about their plans for the next day, until they reached their stations.
Nearby they dropped off Julia at the Hasekura household where Reiji and his family were staying, Reinhard headed to his house…and as they went on to the Mitsuki and Furuya households, Reo also split off in front of his home.

“…Reo!”

Before he could enter, Kou called out to him.
Wondering what she wanted, he turned around…and saw her, as well as the twins, holding out their fists.

“Reo, no, Sorleon. Once this is all over, let’s set the record straight between us too.”
“It’s been a whole year already, but it’s time we have our revenge for last time. And we won’t be going down so easily.”
“Heheh, we’ve all gotten stronger since then. Don’t think it’ll be the same as last time.”

As the three posed their challenge, Reo grinned, happily accepting it.

“Sure, let’s see who’s truly gotten stronger since then.”

The ferocity of a leon was hiding behind his handsome grin.