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“Good morning, Master.”

When I woke up the next morning, Hom was already standing by my bedside, fully prepared for the day.

“Good morning, Hom. How are you feeling?”
“Thanks to you, Master, I slept well.”

Since I had used a REM spell on her, it was practically forced sleep — but Hom seemed genuinely grateful.

“That’s good to hear.”

I sat up in bed and gently patted Hom’s head. I could feel the tension in her body ease just slightly. It was clear she was still carrying the weight of yesterday’s defeat.

“…I know it might be hard not to dwell on it, but I want you to understand that I need you, Hom. That much will never change.”
“Thank you.”

For a brief moment, I thought I saw a flicker of hesitation on Hom’s face. It probably wasn’t my imagination. As her creator, it was my responsibility to find a way to heal the wounds in her heart.

But how could I help her regain her confidence? I already knew that simple words of praise from me wouldn’t be enough.

Even though I knew I wouldn’t find an answer just by thinking about it, my worries kept spiraling back to Hom. I ate breakfast absentmindedly and headed to class as usual — only to find a group of F-class students gathered in front of the classroom.

“Leafa!”

Somehow, Vannabelle immediately recognized me, maybe by the sound of my footsteps, and called out in a loud voice.

“Did something happen?”

I hurried over to her, and she pointed to a notice pinned to the classroom door.

“It’s messed up. Look at this!”

The paper bore the signature of Saxos Karlman, the vice principal. Just seeing that name was enough to know the news wouldn’t be good.

‘From now on, when noble dormitory students are present, general dormitory students are to refrain from using the courtyard.’

The notice was lengthy, filled with unnecessary preamble — but in the end, that was the gist of it.

“They said if we won the duel, they’d respect our wishes — and then they pull this. I knew we couldn’t trust them.”
“…Well, to be fair, we didn’t push our argument hard enough. But I never thought they’d slap us with such a blatant restriction.”

Good grief. Ignis and Rizel must really want to get rid of Class F. Considering what Ignis said yesterday, his deep-rooted prejudice against demi-humans was obvious. It was highly likely he was working in tandem with the vice principal.

“In that case, we’ve got no choice but to show them our strength at the Zersteller!”

Vannabelle stomped her foot in frustration, glaring daggers at the notice. The one saving grace of this school was its lingering meritocracy¹ and I completely agreed with her sentiment.

“But my score in the Mecha Soldier aptitude test isn’t high enough, so I can’t participate. Leafa, switch places with me!”
“Switch… with me?”

I was caught off guard by Vannabelle’s sudden suggestion. Normally, the team would consist of Hom, Farah, and me. But from a combat sense, a lineup of Hom, Farah, and Vannabelle didn’t seem like a bad choice.

“I—”
“…I refuse.”

Before I could finish my sentence, Hom bit her lip, looking like she couldn’t bear to hear my response.

“…I get it. I guess you can’t forgive me for making fun of your master, huh?”
“No, that’s not it. I fight for Master’s sake.”

Even though I had told her she didn’t need to think that way, her unwavering devotion struck me to the core. Maybe I was wrong to try and keep her away from battle.

“…I have an idea. Vannabelle, what if you teamed up with Farah and Numelin?”
“Huh!? What about Hom? She’s got a perfect aptitude score of 100!”

Vannabelle shot me a sharp glare at my suggestion.

“Hom will team up with me. And —”
“I’ll join, too, Hom!”

Understanding my intent, Alfe gave a warm smile and agreed. Her aptitude score of 81 was just barely enough to qualify for the Zersteller, but she had magic on her side — a valuable weapon in its own right.

Normally, Mecha Soldiers couldn’t cast magic, but given the circumstances, I decided to customize them myself. Rather than forcing Alfe to confront her weaknesses, I wanted her to play to her strengths — and I had the means to make that happen.

““Lili-Lulu shall sit back and enjoy the show.””
“Hehe! Lili-Lulu would probably be stronger in pairs than as a trio anyway!”
“Alright, let’s submit the application for two teams: ours and Leafa’s. Based on the numbers, we should pass the initial screening.”

With Lili-Lulu voluntarily stepping back, Class F decided to submit two team entries for Zersteller.

“…Now then, I appreciate the enthusiasm for the application process, but we still need to discuss yesterday’s incident.”

At some point, Mr. Tanutanu had appeared behind us, clapping his hands to usher us into the classroom.

“Alfe recorded everything with her projection magic, so you can check it out later. But still, beating Class A in the mock battle only to get treated like this — that doesn’t sit right with me.”

Vannabelle crossed her arms, voicing her frustration without holding back. Mr. Tanutanu let out a weary sigh, smiling faintly as he waited for us all to take our seats before continuing.

“This academy values merit above all else. Zersteller—Canalford Cup is not just a class competition but a stage for the most talented students in the entire school. If you achieve results there, Class F’s true strength will be undeniable.”

“So basically, you’re telling us to win! I’m all in!”
“Mr. Tanutanu, we’ll be entering with two teams: me, Vannabelle, and Numelin, and then Leafa, Hom, and Alfe.”

Mr. Tanutanu nodded approvingly, glancing around at the students of Class F.

“With average aptitude scores of 93 and 92, you’re practically guaranteed to pass the first selection. But keep in mind — in the main tournament, you might end up fighting each other. Are you prepared for that?”

Ah, that was a possibility. Even in a standard tournament format, there was always the chance we’d be pitted against each other.

“All that means is we get to go all out and blow everyone away!”

Vannabelle laughed off the notion, and for the first time in a while, I thought I saw a small smile return to Hom’s face.

The student council already had a reserved seed spot in the Canalford Cup. If we could fight Estea and Ignis again — and win — it might just help Hom regain her confidence.

1. Robinxen: Lingering… barely.

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