Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

“Onii-sama!”

It was the weekend, and Ekaterina was standing in front of the duke’s family carriage that had come to pick up the siblings.
As soon as she saw Aleksei’s face, Ekaterina ran over and threw her arms around him.

“Ekaterina.”

Aleksei gently embraced his sister. With his neon-blue eyes, he gazed intently at Ekaterina’s purplish-blue eyes from close up, looking concerned.

“My dear Ekaterina. I’m happy you’re being so affectionate, but aren’t you a little tired? I know it, the preparations for the school festival are taking a toll on you.”
“No. I’m just so happy to be with you, Onii-sama. I absolutely love the journey home with you.”

Ekaterina replied with a bright smile.
After all, just being able to see you, Onii-sama, makes me happy!

“Preparations for the school festival are proceeding smoothly. The costumes, in particular, are sure to be magnificent.”

The costume department members, eager to showcase their sewing skills, weapons in the battle for marriage, had come up with design sketches so flashy that even Ekaterina was slightly taken aback.
Ekaterina gave them the all-clear.
Among the performers, Marina was all for it, while Flora and Olga offered wry smiles, saying, “Well, if Lady Ekaterina says so…”
Olga’s gaze drifted off into the distance as she imagined herself wearing the villainess costume… but since the point is that it doesn’t suit her, Ekaterina hopes she’ll pull herself together and embrace it.
Incidentally, only the Yes-Yes Trio complained that their costumes were too plain. They play the so-called “plot-advancing” roles, appearing during scene changes to explain the situation. There’s no particular need for them to be flashy. However, since it wouldn’t hurt if they were flashy anyway, Ekaterina found herself thinking “might as well dress them up like they were Kohaku Uta finalists.¹”

Ekaterina finds the costume department’s enthusiasm reassuring. It’s not quite the “Yatte Minahare” that was the catchphrase of the president of a certain beverage company², but having a spirit of challenge is a good thing. Even a complete amateur like Ekaterina can see some parts that seem physically impossible, but maybe there’s a way to make it work—so they should just go ahead and try making them.
It’s only once they actually get started that they’ll realize the lack of realistic time and the impracticality of the design, and settle for what’s feasible.
This Onee-san sees it all, you know?

Come to think of it, I once read online that the passionate person from my past life was a relative of that “Yatte Minahare” founder. There might be a subtle connection there. So, I’m going to cheer on the costume team with all my might³.

And as for materials, I can provide them with my grandmother’s dresses—seing I still haven’t gone through them all yet!
It’s a massive collection of dresses enough to fill two grand halls, one at the Imperial Capital residence and one at the main mansion in the domain. The ones at the Imperial Capital residence are almost all gone by now, but there are still some left at the domain. If they need materials for flashy costumes, I’ve got you covered.

Also, I’ve handed over samples of the vivid, plant-dyed fabrics from the Forest Folk to see if they could be used for the costumes. I feel like their quirky look would be perfect for costumes in a play set in ancient times.

On top of that, I’ve even managed to get Khalil on board. Celestial Azure is apparently already all the rage in the imperial capital’s social circles, but I pointed out that the school festival, which will be seen by the parents and guardians of students coming from the provinces, would be a great opportunity for promotion. As a result, he’s agreed to provide fabric for the costumes and pigments for the backdrops.

*“I’m looking forward to seeing the play to see how you’ll put these to use.*

Khalil said this with a cheerful smile, and I felt like I’d shot myself in the foot.
Ever since they found out my class was putting on a play, everyone in the office had been radiating an air of eagerness to come watch, so it was a bit too late to back out now.

Well, even if they have high expectations, I’m going with a “Yatte Minahare” attitude, so it all depends on how hard my classmates work. I’m also looking forward to Yuri’s staging effects that make use of light magic, but I hope he doesn’t push himself too hard.
Unlike during the singing contest with Lydia the other day, there aren’t any treasures from Olga’s house at stake this time. I hope to enjoy the school festival without pushing myself too hard, so as not to worry Aleksei and Mina.

.

As she chatted with Aleksei about the parts of the story she could share while riding in the carriage they’d boarded together, Ekaterina suddenly gasped and covered her mouth.

“Oh my, I’ve been talking far too much. How unladylike of me—I’m truly sorry.”

Since Aleksei is a man of few words, Ekaterina is usually the one doing most of the talking. However, the topics are usually about Aleksei’s work or the management of the glass workshop, so their conversations flow naturally. Ekaterina takes care to keep it that way.
And yet, right now, she had gone on a one-sided rant about the preparations for her class’s school festival, specifically the costumes, a topic Aleksei likely wouldn’t find all that interesting.

Oh no, what a blunder unbecoming of a brocon!

Ekaterina gritted her teeth in frustration, but Aleksei’s neon-blue eyes widened for a moment, and he smiled gently.

“I’m enjoying it, too. Nothing is more pleasing to the ear than your cheerful voice.
—The song of a little bird, the rustling of leaves in a gentle breeze, and the murmur of a spring stream are all considered soothing sounds, but none of them speak such gentle, wise words as you do. Your words are filled with a radiance and warmth that seem to light a fire in the listener’s heart.
—If you were a little bird… I could let you perch on my shoulder so we could always be together, and I could listen to your voice whenever I wanted. How wonderful that would be. At the very least, now that we’re together like this, please let me hear that gentle voice of yours forever. My beloved Bird of Sweet Melody.”
“Oh, Onii-sama…”

The performance of Onii-sama’s auditory Siscon filter just keeps getting better and better! Just as I expected from Onii-sama!
Uuu… I need to try harder, too…

Just how much harder do you plan to push yourself, and where do you hope to end up? That remains unanswered.

In any case, Ekaterina rested her head gently on Aleksei’s shoulder, looked up at her brother, and smiled.

“If that is what you wish, my heart will always rest on your shoulder, speaking to you. Whenever you feel lonely, please remember that my heart is always by your side.”
“…What a kind girl.”

Aleksei reached out with the hand opposite the one his sister was resting on and gently stroked her indigo hair.
It felt so good to be pampered by her brother… She had intended to stay like that just for a little while, but before she knew it, Ekaterina had fallen asleep.

And when she woke up after arriving at the duke’s mansion, she was in a complete panic.