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After parting ways with Melua, we headed to the dining hall much later than usual, where Hom, Farah, Vannabelle, and Numelin were happily gathered around the table, enjoying dinner together.

“Master!”
“Lefwa, fwainaryy!”

Hom and Vannabelle both jumped to their feet, raising their voices— they must have been really worried about how late we were.

“Belle~! Swallow your food before you talk!”
“Nyaha! She just put the bread in her mouth, though.”

Numelin scolded Vannabelle, while Farah rocked back and forth, laughing across from her. Vannabelle hastily gulped down her bread with water, then pounded her chest with a hand.

“You’ll choke like that~. Geez.”
“Nyahaha!”

Numelin handed Vannabelle another glass of water, which she chugged in one go before letting out a huge breath.

“Phew, I thought I was gonna die. But hey, listen to this!”
“What were you trying to say, getting yourself into such a panic?”

Hom gestured for us to sit, and Alfe and I took seats next to each other. It seemed Hom had saved us some food— neatly arranged plates of still-warm sautéed fish, bread, and salad were placed in front of us.

“We were working on strategies for Zersteller, but in the end, we got an earful from Mr. Tanutanu…”
“Nyaha, that one was on you, Belle.”

I could more or less imagine what had happened, so I quietly listened without interrupting.

“Anyway, during the discussion, we started talking about Estea’s close-combat strength. And guess what her score was?”

Close-combat strength referred to the combat ability measured with melee weapons like swords during the military training led by Mr. Tanutanu when we first enrolled. The scores were calculated with Mr. Tanutanu’s strength as a baseline of 100 points, and the top scorer in Class F had been Hom, with a score of 120.

“If we think about yesterday’s duel, maybe close to 200 points?”
“Turns out it’s 300 points! That student council president is insane¹!”

A score of 300 meant that it would take three Mr. Tanutanus just to fight Estea on even footing.

“That’s incredible.”

Being confronted with such an overwhelming difference in combat strength, all I could do was voice my amazement.

“…I finally understand where Lady Estea’s confidence comes from.”

Hom’s voice trembled slightly as she whispered. Even with the emotional suppression I had placed on her, her frustration was evident. Sensing that, I gently took Hom’s hand and stroked it softly.

“Zersteller isn’t just a contest of close-combat strength. We have a chance to win.”
“Master…”
“I’ll get custom units ready for both you and Alfe. The plan is still in its early stages, so we’ll need to move quickly.”

There were only two months left until the tournament. Passing the first selection round of the Canalford Cup was practically guaranteed, but considering the second round, we had even less time than it seemed. If we were going to customize the Mecha Soldiers, we’d have to submit an application by tomorrow to secure the base units.

“Farah, you’re getting your dad’s unit shipped, right?”
“Yeah, it’s already arranged. Oh, and speaking of which, about Mecha aptitude scores— Estea’s is 100, and Melua’s is 94.”
“What doesn’t make any sense is that guy Ignis’ aptitude score. Around this time last year, it was about 65, but somehow it jumped up by 30 points out of nowhere. Even if he switched units, that kind of sudden increase makes no sense.”

Ah, right— I think Melua mentioned that before. Seeing how unrealistic that score increase was, it seemed reasonable to suspect that the vice principal might have pulled some strings to get Ignis into the student council.

“Oh, but maybe this is actually a chance?”

Numelin swayed her body side to side, as if struck by a sudden thought.

“A chance? What do you mean, Nume?”
“Well, if Ignis’ true Mecha aptitude score is only 65, that means he’s at a disadvantage in terms of combat power, right?”
“Nyaha! Yeah, that makes sense! But I don’t think it’s that simple.”

I wholeheartedly agreed with Farah’s statement. As Estea had worried, even if Ignis might tarnish the student council’s reputation, it wouldn’t do him any good to suffer an embarrassing defeat. If someone was trying to drag the student council down, they’d likely have more subtle, effective methods. There was probably something at play here that we couldn’t yet understand.

“Well, either way, it’ll all come down to how well we can fight with the Mecha Soldiers.”

Even Estea’s incredible technique was an unknown variable when channeled through a Mecha Soldier. Melua could probably explain, but even with that knowledge, it didn’t seem like anything that would turn into a disadvantage for Estea.

“Yeah, that’s what I figured. Anyway, the main point is— I’m borrowing Hom after school starting tomorrow.”
“If Hom’s okay with it, I don’t mind. You’ve got something in mind, right?”
“Yes. Lady Farah, Vannabelle, Numelin, and I will borrow Mecha Soldiers and begin training.”

Hom nodded and shifted her gaze to the window, looking toward the lights of the aristocrats’ dormitory.

“It’s not just us, either. Some of the dorm kids will be joining in too.”
“Well, Estea said she’d drop by to observe, so I figured it’s a good chance to get a look at everyone’s Mecha combat strength.”
“That sounds great.”

Estea was likely planning to give her all as student council president in preparation for the Canalford Cup. In that sense, she might even cross the line between nobility and commoners to interact with us more directly.

“In that case, I’ll do my best to get Hom and Alfe’s Mecha Soldiers completed as soon as possible².”
“I’ll keep working hard on strengthening my magic with Senior Melua!”

Although we’d still see each other at Melua’s place, starting tomorrow, it seemed like we’d be spending more time apart after school. It felt a little lonely, but this was just another hurdle we had to overcome. When all was said and done, and we looked back on these days, this would probably feel like a trivial thing.

1. Robinxen: Seriously, are they going to explain this sheer power gap??? It seems wildly absurd!
2. Robinxen: Isn’t there barely any time before the event anyway? This schedule is a little unrealistic if you ask me… at least Knight’s & Magic understood timescale!

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