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Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

“This might sound like the ramblings of a hopeless fool… but please, hear me out.” With that solemn preamble, Crim addressed the gathered players.

“Not long ago, all of ye lent me thy strength to rescue one most dear to me—a precious member of mine own family. That debt I have yet to fully repay… yet now, there is another whom I would save. And for that, I must ask for thy aid once more.”

A wave of murmurs spread through the crowd as the players exchanged glances, wondering what this was all about. Crim couldn’t blame them. But she had to make them understand.

“Some may scoff, deeming this naught but a mere game, a realm of naught but lines of code and clusters of data, unworthy of true emotion. But… I know there be those among ye who have felt the sting of loss, or the joy of beholding another flourish, even within this world.”

She took a deep breath, then spoke with even greater conviction.

“For such is our nature—we are gamers! Though we be but travelers in a realm most virtual, we hold it as real!”

Clenching her fists, she raised her voice, but the crowd still seemed hesitant. Then, finally, one of the players shouted back.

“That’s right, we’re gamers!”

Hearing that, Crim felt a slight weight lift off her shoulders. Then again… she recognized the voice as one of the players who had just returned from investigating the water cocoon. Essentially, a paid actor. But still, it helped.

With the atmosphere shifting in her favor, Crim cleared her throat and continued.

“I’m sure all have already seen the news of the new raid boss upon the morrow. Here standeth a maiden who hath chosen to lay down her life to shield ye all, though it mean her demise or a slumber unending—yet even now, she trembleth in fear of waking alone. Is that truly the future ye desire?!”

Lulu’s eyes widened, blinking rapidly as Crim suddenly pointed at her. The crowd fell silent, all eyes turning to the girl. They saw the determination in her gaze. Then, at last, a voice rang out.

“No… I don’t want that! A game where a girl like her dies is just a crappy game!”

As if breaking free from hesitation, more voices followed in agreement, rising into a fervent chorus. Crim let them build up their energy before speaking again.

“Well spoken! Yet the path ahead is fraught with peril. To grasp the perfect happy ending shall be no simple feat. And what say we gamers to such trials?!”

“It’s obvious!”
“We’ll get the best ending!”
“We’ll never let a girl cry!”

The crowd roared louder and louder, their voices shaking the very ground beneath them.

“Very well!” Crim declared. “A wicked god is about to awaken, eager to torment this girl. So…”

“ “TIME FOR WAR!!” ”

“Yes! But don’t forget our true mission… To protect her smile!”

“ “ “ALL TO PROTECT HER SMILE!!” ” ”

The passion and determination that had once ignited to rescue Rouge, though it had waned, flared up again in an instant—blazing just as fiercely as before.

“Good! Then we begin upon the morrow at the ninth hour! Time and again hath this event tried our patience, yet now we shall stand our ground. We shall spit in the very faces of those wretched developers by seizing the best ending! Together, we shall triumph!!”

“ “ “YEAHHHHHHHHHH!!!” ” ”

Crim thrust her fist into the air, and the crowd erupted in response, their voices carrying a shared conviction. All eyes locked onto the water cocoon. Weapons were drawn, magic staves raised high as their war cry echoed into the night.

“…I still can’t believe it. She managed to rally everyone—not through strategy or leadership experience, but purely through emotion.”
“Crim really has a way of drawing people to her side… You know, doesn’t that technically make her the closest thing to a real Demon Lord out of the three of us?”
“Wh-What aileth ye two? Cease thy staring at me with such unsettling eyes!”

Crim turned around to find Sorleon and Shao whispering behind her back, their gazes unsettling. She shot them a glare before shaking her head with a sigh. Then, shifting her attention, she smiled at Lulu, who sat with the two Doppelgangers on her lap, still struggling to process everything unfolding before her.

“…’Tis done, Lulu. Wilt thou now place thy trust in us, having beheld their response?”

Lulu blinked, her vacant gaze drifting toward the gathered players, then back to Crim, who was beaming at her.

“Ah… yes, I think so… You’re all really incredible. So this is what it means to be… gamers?”

Crim met Lulu’s uneasy eyes and gently extended her hand.

Lulu tried to muster a smile, though her lips trembled as she fought back tears. Still, she reached out, grasping Crim’s hand as she stood.

“We’ll never give up. If it’s to make a brave girl smile, we’ll fight anything that stands in our way… After all, we’re hopeless, irredeemable gamers.”

“Okay… okay..!” By then, Lulu couldn’t hold back any longer. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she clutched Crim’s hand more tightly. Her hand was small and delicate, yet it was the same hand that had kept an evil god at bay for so long.

I won’t let her be lost.

That resolve burned within Crim’s heart, and the players shared in it. Together, they waited for the Great Old One, Cthulhu, to awaken from the cocoon…

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