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There wasn’t much time until the second round. Since Isaac and Romeo had taken charge of the mecha maintenance, the rest of us decided to head out for an early lunch.

Because we operated the units using only our own aether, it consumed a considerable amount of energy. Frequent replenishment was crucial to prevent running out of magic power.

“The concession stands are probably packed. We should head to the dorm cafeteria instead.”
“Oh! Looks like the cafeteria ladies brought us some refreshments!”

Alfe, reading the message displayed on the monitor in the backstage area—which also served as an information board—turned to let me know.

“So that’s what they meant when they said the cafeteria staff had prepared something special for us…”

Lately, due to all the modifications I’d been making to my Mecha Soldier, I’d only been grabbing quick meals at the dorm cafeteria. But it seemed that, with two teams from Class 1-F participating, the cafeteria staff had gone out of their way to support us.

“In that case, we might even have time to watch Vannabelle’s match—”
“Yoo-hoo! Nice job out there, Hom!”

Just as I was speaking, Vannabelle’s bright voice called out from behind me, cutting me off.

“Vannabelle!?”
“We both made it through the first round, Leafa!”

She was still catching her breath, likely just having finished her own match, and flashed a big, confident grin with a thumbs-up.

“Congrats, Vannabelle.”
“Heh, thanks. But the real battle’s just beginning.”

Vannabelle’s team had faced off against “Versatile,” a team of third-year nobles. They were a strong team—green-themed units, each customized for its pilot. Their concept was similar to Burning Blaze, and they’d made it to the semifinals last year, marking their third consecutive appearance.

But if Vannabelle was already here, it meant they had defeated them in record time.

“Still, I can’t believe you guys really went with a three-on-one strategy. Guess all that training paid off, huh?”

Rather than boasting about her own fight, Vannabelle seemed far more impressed by Hom’s performance. Hom, eyes sparkling with joy, looked up at Farah with a gaze full of admiration.

“It’s all thanks to Lady Farah.”
“Knew you’d say that.”

Vannabelle exaggeratedly slumped her shoulders, but her expression remained one of genuine joy.

“Nyahaha! If Vannabelle and Numelin don’t act as decoys, we could never pull off a three-on-one like that in a real match!”

Farah laughed heartily at their exchange, and Hom revealed that they had actually been training specifically for a three-on-one scenario. It seemed the four of them had kept it secret so the rest of us wouldn’t worry.

“I’d love to hear how your first-round match went too. I didn’t get to see any of it since I was busy helping with maintenance.”

Alfe bounced on her feet as she spoke, her delight at everyone making it past the first round clear.

“Of course! Sit back and get ready to hear a true tale of heroism!”
“Since Belle’s stories tend to run long, let’s listen while we eat the refreshments~”

Right on cue, Vannabelle puffed out her chest proudly, while Numelin added her cheerful suggestion with a smile.

“Exactly! Can’t fight on an empty stomach, after all!”

Vannabelle showed no sign of offense—just a wide, beaming grin and a hearty laugh.

***

The match between Vannabelle’s team—“Belle and Her Merry Friends”—and the third-year nobles’ team “Versatile” had also ended relatively quickly, though not quite as fast as ours.

“Well, they’re a veteran team, so things were rough in the beginning,” Vannabelle admitted.
“Even if I can see things with my Magic Eyes,” Farah added with a wry smile, “a Mecha Soldier doesn’t move exactly like your own body, and the response time’s different too.”

From Farah’s expression, it was clear that they’d been pushed back at the start by Versatile’s exceptional coordination and seasoned piloting skills.

“But that surprise attack from the dust cloud after Nume’s Cataphract’s spinning slash really did the trick.”
“That was the strategy Leafa came up with for the team battle, remember~?”

Ah, that’s right. Back in the match against Class A, we’d staged a comeback using that same strategy—having Numelin act as a decoy to set up a crucial move.

I was honestly touched to hear they had adapted it for this match as well.

“It’s really thanks to Nume’s Cataphract having such insane output. That power boost of hers makes a huge difference.”

Numelin’s unit, the Cataphract, was a successor model to the Legion series and had undergone significant output-focused upgrades, just as Vannabelle said. It also matched Numelin perfectly. Its destructive power must have far surpassed anything she could have done on foot.

“So yeah, while the enemy was off balance, Farah and I went in for the kill.”

They had reused a tactic from the inter-class match, but since their opponents were upperclassmen, it was impressive that it worked so well. The fact that the third-years had completely underestimated us, Class 1-F, had likely worked in their favor.

“Watching Belle charge in with Flago was just so cool~! I knew it—Belle really is Nume’s hero.”
“Nyahaha! Hey, make sure you give my Lesvahl some credit too!”

Even without the flattery, it was hard to imagine that Versatile’s units—Löwes with only light customizations—could have held their own against Vannabelle’s Flago or Farah’s Lesvahl.

While their Mecha Soldiers weren’t quite on the same level as my heavily modified Altered or Lemures, they were still among the top-tier machines in the tournament.

Lesvahl, in particular, had been tuned to perfectly match Farah’s supple and agile movements, so I was sure she had put on a stunning display.

“I can practically see Lady Farah’s Lesvahl gliding across the battlefield,” Hom said, eyes sparkling.
“I’m really looking forward to the second round,” Alfe added.

The two of them seemed to be picturing the same thing I was, nodding enthusiastically as they listened to the others talk.

“…So, what happened next?” I asked.

Judging from the fact that the match had ended in such a short time, it wasn’t hard to guess that their surprise attack had overwhelmed the enemy in one swift push.

“Well, obviously—” Vannabelle began, as if she’d read my mind.

She stood up proudly, cheeks puffed full with a mouthful of sandwich.

“After I took down the lead unit, Farah swooped in and finished it off! Then the three of us rushed in and crushed the remaining two in one go!”

Standing tall, Vannabelle launched into a dramatic reenactment of her first-round battle, using big gestures to act it all out.