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“Wow! This is amazing, Leafa. Your golden aether looks soft and gentle.”

According to Alfe, the Ring of the Shimmering Starry Sky¹, which I customized last night with a simplified formula for Melua, had turned out quite well.

It was designed to regulate the amount of aether detectable through the Pure Eye, but since I didn’t possess one myself, having Alfe examine it was a huge help.

“Does it change how it looks that much?”
“Yeah! I can still tell there’s a lot of aether, but the way it appears is different. Does that make sense? It’s like… the aether is visible through a thin curtain, just slightly obscured.”
“Ah, that’s exactly how I designed the simplified formula. Good to know it’s working as intended.”
“Leafa, you really are amazing.”
“I just enjoy this kind of thing. Even in the past.”

The fact that my research from my previous life was still useful in this one meant that the title I was granted after death wasn’t just some whim of the goddess. Instead of simply settling as a special-class alchemist, it might be worthwhile to use my knowledge and skills for the benefit of others, striving toward even greater heights in this lifetime as well. But first, I needed to find a way to cure my mother’s Black Stone Disease.

“…Alfe, you’re going to see Melua after school today too, right?”
“Yeah. We’re going to practice in a slightly bigger space today.”

Alfe nodded, looking a little sleepy. Knowing her, she had probably stayed up late practicing multi-vision.

“Make sure you get enough rest too, Alfe.”
“Hehe. You really see right through me, Leafa.”

Alfe chuckled softly at my advice, then gently wrapped her arms around mine.

“I’ll deliver the Ring of the Shimmering Starry Sky to Senior Melua.”
“Thanks. Alfe, you really do see right through me too.”

Borrowing Alfe’s own words, I expressed my gratitude. She narrowed her eyes in a ticklish smile.

“Well, I’ve been with you since we were babies.”
“…Yeah, that’s true.”

A promise I had made with Alfe back in elementary school—to always be together—suddenly came to mind. If she knew about my secret plan, would she be sad? Or would she simply smile, as always, and follow me without hesitation?

What does happiness mean to Alfe?

With the time we spent apart growing more frequent, I found myself wondering about that more than ever.

Since I had already given Melua’s Ring of the Shimmering Starry Sky to Alfe in the morning, we went our separate ways after finishing our cleaning duties in the afternoon.

Hom headed off for training with Farah, Vannabelle, and Numelin, while Alfe had plans to meet Melua and learn more magic from her.

As for me, I had received an announcement during homeroom that I had passed the first selection round of the Zersteller. So, I had asked the Professor for permission to observe the Mecha Soldiers that would be used in the tournament.

“Oho~! The university division’s hangar, you say! We shall accompany you as well, forsooth²!”
“Sorry… Isaac insisted. And, well… I’d like to see it too, if possible.”

Isaac and Romeo, who had coincidentally been visiting the Professor for another matter, perked up at the mention of a hangar tour and decided to tag along.

“Starting the selection process for your Mecha Soldier at the preliminary approval stage? Impressive.” The Professor, leading us through the facility, let out a breath of admiration. “And this year, we have two teams from Class F… Farah also arranged for Lesvahl, so I can see just how serious you all are.”

Lesvahl was a custom Mecha Soldier once piloted by Farah’s father, a former Imperial soldier.

“It’s a customized unit based on the sixth-generation Mecha Soldier, Löwe. I’m looking forward to seeing its evaluation score.”

For the second selection round, both the Total Combat Power and Mecha Soldier Evaluation Score of each team would be combined. The top 14 teams would then advance. In the actual Zersteller, these 14 teams, plus the student council’s team, would compete in a 15-team tournament bracket.

The student council members and noble students typically piloted Löwe-class sixth-generation Mecha Soldiers, each worth around 200 points, making a three-unit team’s total approximately 600 points. Since I was using Arkecius, a Subordinate Unit, which was generally considered inferior to a Mecha Soldier, I would need to ensure that Alfe’s and Hom’s Mecha Soldiers had high enough evaluation scores to compensate.

“Oh, by the way, Leafa, just for reference—since Subordinate Units are evaluated at about half the score of a Mecha Soldier, your Arkecius is currently rated at 65 points.”

Ah, that was higher than I expected. I’d like to customize it further, but for now, making sure Alfe and Hom had strong units took priority.

“Well, I highly commend the fact that you’re customizing and improving an antique Subordinate Unit for personal use.”
“…That being said, failing to even reach 100 points will make passing the second selection quite difficult, forsooth.”

Isaac and Romeo, both well aware of the Zersteller’s second selection criteria, wore identical grim expressions.

“But as long as it’s repaired, even a military decommissioned Mecha Soldier can be entered, right? So if you just go with a Löwe…”
“You’d still be about 35 points short.”

Mathematically, that was correct—but due to physical limitations, Arkecius was my only viable option.

“If you customize Arkecius for combat use, you could raise its evaluation score. Of course, that’s assuming you can get it done in time.”

It wasn’t my top priority, but I hadn’t ruled it out either. Time was against me, but considering the main tournament was still two months away, I had about a month and a half to work with.

“The assessment deadline is a week before the tournament. Given the speed at which you craft magic tools, I doubt time will be an issue for you, right?”

The Professor asked this with an unmistakable gleam of excitement in his eyes. He was clearly looking forward to seeing what kind of modifications I would make.

“Oh, and I’ve made arrangements for you to use the technical university’s facilities for your work. The high school division doesn’t have the necessary equipment for Mecha Soldier modifications, but while it’s a bit of a hassle to go there, at least you won’t have to worry about interference. You’ll be able to focus completely.”
“Thank you very much.”

Having to travel to the university division was a bit inconvenient, but having a distraction-free environment for Mecha Soldier development was a huge advantage. I wondered if the students in the university division’s engineering school had a similar atmosphere to those in the engineering department.

1. Robinxen: Hmmm… this gives me DnD ideas. No stop, I must turn off that part of my brain. I have been working on too much DnD stuff recently.
2. Robinxen: I really love this way of speaking, so much character.

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