Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

“Geez, Master, you’re so slooow!”

During a break in the maintenance, we had decided to take turns eating. When I followed Isaac and Romeo into the cafeteria, Melua greeted me.

“Melua, what are you doing here?”

While I was still surprised by her presence, another figure appeared from behind the cafeteria door, perhaps drawn by the sound of our voices.

“I’m here too.”
“Estea!?”

I couldn’t help but raise my voice at the sight of someone who shouldn’t have been anywhere near the commoners’ dormitory.

“What’s going on, having two members of the Student Council team here together?”

Melua might have been one thing, but for her and Estea to show up in the commoners’ cafeteria together, there had to be a reason. Neither of them gave off a hostile vibe, but with tomorrow’s finals ahead, letting my guard down was out of the question.

“You don’t need to make that ‘I’m on alert’ face. We’re not Ignis—we’re not here to cause trouble, okay?”

As Melua waved her hands and gestured to show she meant no harm, Estea smiled and stepped forward to stand before me.

“Congratulations on making it to the finals. I came to tell you that.”
“Ah… thanks.”

I took the hand she offered and gave it a light shake.

“For a while there, I really wondered how it was going to turn out, but as expected of the mecha you made, Master. Lemures’ aether amplification was seriously unbelievable in power!”

While most of the audience’s attention tended to focus on Altered’s performance, Melua seemed to have been carefully observing Alfe’s Lemures. I myself had fainted and couldn’t witness its performance directly, but from Isaac and Romeo’s reports during the unit’s maintenance, I knew it had displayed far greater power than I could have imagined.

“Because I’ve been assuming I’d have to fight you.”
“In that case, Altered really has been conscious of me as an opponent, hasn’t it?”

Estea, who had been listening to my exchange with Melua, raised the corners of her lips.

“Because it’s necessary in order to win.”

Realizing that Estea was genuinely looking forward to tomorrow’s match, I too let the corner of my mouth curl upward.

“Umm, don’t we get a ‘congratulations on making it to the finals’ too, Master?”

Melua bent forward and wedged herself between me and Estea, who had been trading smiles.

“Eh…?” For a moment I didn’t understand what she meant, and the puzzled sound slipped out first.

“Heheh. It means that she believed it was only natural we’d make it to the finals, Melua.” Estea shook her shoulders in amusement as she laughed.

Ah, I had completely taken it for granted that we’d face the Student Council team in the finals, but now that I thought about it, unforeseen circumstances could have changed that.

“…Well then, congratulations.”
“Thank you. Tomorrow, let’s clash with everything we’ve got.”

I slowly nodded at Estea’s offer. Neither she nor Melua showed a trace of overconfidence in their own strength. In that sense, they were different from Ignis—there were no openings with them.

“…Master.”

Perhaps waiting for the conversation to pause, Hom finally called out to me from where she had been quietly standing behind the cafeteria door.

“Is the mecha maintenance finished?”
“Right now, Isaac and Romeo are taking care of the charged cloth.”

The charged cloth extending from the plasma verniers that Farah had severed played an important role in allowing Hom to trigger Blitzraid. Without it, going up against Estea would be extremely difficult. That said, we needed a countermeasure to prevent Estea from cutting through the cloth again.

Structurally, it was unavoidable that it could be sliced if she managed to get behind. The only option was for Alfe and me to maneuver well enough to cover Hom’s back.

“So if the charged cloth’s being worked on, that means the arm’s already fixed, right?”
“That’s right. I had spare parts prepared with this sort of situation in mind.”
“As expected of you Master! My master’s seriously amazing!!”

For some reason, Melua looked delighted, and Estea seemed to welcome her reaction as well.

“I can truly look forward to facing you in the Colosseum with machines in such fully maintained, perfect condition.”
“I’m relieved to hear that Lady Estea’s Selem Salkh is also in peak form.”
“Yes.”

Estea and Hom exchanged a look and gave a firm nod.

“Alfe, you’d better show off the results of your training too. My eyes can tell that wasn’t your full power back there, you know~”
“Yes!”

Melua turned toward Alfe and gave her a meaningful glance. In response to her encouragement, Alfe nodded firmly, her Pure Eye gleaming with excitement she couldn’t conceal.

“Well then, you know what they say—can’t fight on an empty stomach. So make sure you eat properly too, Master~”
“I’m glad we had a chance to talk with you all.”

Since it was nearly closing time for the cafeteria, they were probably being considerate. Estea and Melua wrapped up the conversation and passed by me on their way out.

“Somehow it feels kind of strange…”
“Yeah, it does.”

As Alfe murmured while watching the two return toward the nobles’ dormitory, I gave a small nod and slowly turned back toward the cafeteria.

“Hom, were you glad to be able to talk with Estea too?”

I asked as I looked down at Hom, who was keeping close by my side. She blinked in mild surprise, then lifted the corners of her lips in a pleased smile.

“Yes. …Lady Estea and Lady Melua came to encourage us, Master.”