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As we finished the maintenance and activation tests for Altered, Lemures, and Arkecius, the backstage area began to grow noticeably crowded.

Most students from the noble dorm brought along at least two mechanics per mecha, and with all fifteen teams now assembled, the number of people present was substantial.

On top of that, the ongoing media coverage surrounding Estea’s Selem Salkh meant a growing presence of reporters from broadcasting networks, newspapers, and magazines.

“We should relocate so as not to get in the way of the other competitors,” Estea suggested, clearly aware of the increasing congestion. She used a natural pause in the interview to begin moving toward the Colosseum stands.

“Are we allowed to head into the arena as well?” Hom asked.
“The combat area is probably still undergoing final checks, but we should be fine to look around from the audience seats,” I replied, glancing at the event guidelines we’d been given beforehand.

“Let’s take a look at the venue before the crowds come in,” I suggested.
“Yeah! Let’s all go together,” Alfe said, cheerfully taking both my hand and Hom’s as we started walking.
“…You can already hear the crowd from here,” Alfe murmured.
“It would appear there are more attendees than the venue is designed to hold,” Hom added.

Even just walking down the hallway toward the arena, the noise from outside was intense. We hadn’t noticed it back in the backstage, but despite the general admission still being an hour away, a massive crowd had clearly gathered.

“Looks like that interview is already being broadcast live,” Hom said.
“Watching it in real time… feels kind of amazing,” Alfe added.

As we stepped into the arena, we could see Estea’s face projected upon the large screen. Though the seats remained mostly empty, we could hear waves of cheers and applause echoing from outside—an outpouring of excitement and support for Estea that swirled like a living thing around the venue.

“This is how popular Lady Estea is… It’s more than I imagined…”
“That exhibition match the other day probably boosted her name recognition a lot,” I replied to Hom’s murmured observation.

Estea wasn’t just last year’s Zersteller’s champion—she was the ace of the winning team. When she took part in that exhibition match all by herself, everyone present saw for themselves that her power was far beyond high school level.

“I bet a lot of people became fans after seeing that.”
“Totally! Estea’s super popular and suuuper busy now,” came a voice from above in agreement with Alfe.

It was Melua.

“You’re not doing any interviews, Melua?”
“Well, I’m just one of the crowd compared to Estea.”

She stood on the uppermost tier of the arena seating, tapping her toes while casting a sideways glance at Estea, who was mid-interview on the landing halfway up.

“But unlike someone, I don’t get all jealous about it or anything~,” she added meaningfully.

While her gaze stayed fixed on Estea, Melua subtly flicked a finger in another direction. I followed the gesture with just my eyes—and sure enough, there was Ignis, glaring openly at Estea, frustration plain on his face.

“Ugh, petty jealousy between teammates is the worst… but you know, it’s not like he ever listens to anyone.”

With an exaggerated shrug, Melua rested her chin in one hand on the audience railing, looking every bit the picture of exasperation.

“Can the team even function like that?” I asked.
“Well, honestly? As long as we’ve got Estea, it doesn’t really matter,” she said without a trace of concern.

It was blunt, but the meaning was clear—Melua didn’t even consider Ignis a meaningful part of the team. Even though they were both part of the student council and on the same competition team, the rift between Estea and Ignis was obvious, even to me.

“Normally, it would’ve been Marie, our student council secretary, representing us again this year… I’m not the only one who thinks this whole situation’s messed up.”

Given the rumors surrounding Ignis’ mecha compatibility scores and suspicions about his actual ability, I suspected even Professor harbored doubts. But considering Ignis came from the prestigious Dulan family—one of the most powerful in the academy—there was no one in a position to challenge him openly.

“Well, no point in griping now. Whether we can work together is up to him, but since I’m also the team’s middleman-slash-diplomat, I’ll just have to make it work somehow.”
“…Sounds rough.”

The tension between Estea and Ignis was so bad they didn’t even bother hiding it. Thinking about the burden that was placed on Melua made me wince sympathetically.

“Right? Oh, oops—Estea’s waving me over! Catch you later~!”

Still as upbeat as ever, Melua gave us a quick wave and dashed off toward Estea, who had just wrapped up her interview.