Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

A few days passed since the tournament qualifiers started. Life in the oracle’s room was perfectly peaceful.
Every morning they would set up the Magic TV and prepare it to watch the events, closely following the tournament.
The participants had all endured lengthy battles in the past, so there was always something to talk about while watching.

Iris would say: “Wait what! That was so cool! But it happened so fast I couldn’t see what it was!”
And Mira would explain: “That was Swift Gale, a Magic Spell. It creates a really violent gust of wind for a short time, and he utilized that wind to move their cloaks and blind them.”
Allowing Iris to become even more immersed in what she watched.

On top of that, at Alma’s behest, the engineers setting up the cameras had gone above and beyond to present plenty of viewpoints so all the action could be enjoyed as best as possible.
It was even debatable whether watching from home was a better experience than being in a designated seat there.
On top of that, Iris was already a master at switching to the correct channels when needed, seamlessly following the action on the fly.

“Woahh… This girl is crazy strong, but she’s also so cuteee!”

One of the contestants stood out a good amount from the rest during one of the many battle royales.
She was a girl wearing a cutesy outfit, who had defeated her nine opponents in almost no time, and Mira recognized her.

“Yes, I’ve noticed, she’s stupidly strong.”

That contestant was obviously Meilin. She had already become a favorite after her first appearance, despite the fact that she was still holding back. During her entire fight, she had kept both feet planted on the ground and only used her left hand to fight, while her opponents fell one after another, almost like she was putting them to sleep telepathically.

Something similar happened in a few other matches, with contestants clearly standing out from the competition.

“Woah! There he is! That’s Valzark!”

There was yet another such adventurer standing out on stage now.
He was Valzark, a retired rank A adventurer, and even average people who were not adventurers knew of him.
He had fulfilled countless requests, and countless people had been saved by him in the past. Plenty of villains had also met their end at his hands.

After his stellar service to the United Adventurer’s Guild, he retired and decided to become an instructor at the Union, nurturing the new generation of adventurers. That famous rank A adventurer, Jack Grave the One Hit Dragon Slayer, had been his student as well.

And since he was included in the card game, Iris also had a high opinion of him.

Whether he was there to dust off his skills, or to scout new students to unlock their potential, once Valzark took the stage, it stopped being a battle royale and turned into a training routine.

His opponents were not weak by any means, but they would easily be thrown to the ground by Valzark, after which they got up on their feet and attempted to strike him again, just like a scene out of some intense manga.

In the end there was only one person who remained standing against Valzark.

“I’m sure this will be the highlight!”

With eight contestants down, the ninth began to move. Iris knew him as a rank A adventurer that had recently gained recognition. As it turned out, there was a current rank A adventurer facing against a retired one, fighting in the same battle royale.

Just like Iris had anticipated, their fight was fiercer than everything before it.

Their bout was so frantic that it did not seem like it was just a qualifying match. Their sharp senses, their refined skills, the counterattacks, all of it was a display of true strength that could only be witnessed in this tournament.

That singular fight had attracted the whole audience’s attention. Iris also had her eyes glued to the screen.
That was only natural, as that fight would likely remain in everyone’s memories as an iconic moment through the entire tournament.

(Don’t worry, everything’s okay. I’ve watched you…I’ve made sure to watch your fight! I’ve seen how courageous you were, Bruce!)

Meanwhile, in a different quadrant, completely overshadowed by Valzark’s fight, a different battle royale had concluded.

That was Bruce’s first fight. He had been pitted against various warriors, and he defeated all of them with his summons. It had even been an impressive showcase. Anyone who watched it would have been surprised to see how powerful summoners could be.

Sadly no one had noticed that, as they were all entranced by Valzark’s fight instead. Only Mira had seen it, happening in a corner of the screen.
All she could do was to silently cheer for him as he walked away from the stage, his feet still a bit unsteady.

Every day the tournament introduced another storyline, or some type of drama, but all that also became routine eventually.
Mira and Iris also had their usual lineup of snacks and drinks as they watched, when they were interrupted by the sound of an incoming call.

“Hellooo, this is Alma!”

Iris jumped on her feet and went to pick up, and Alma’s usual cheery voice came from the other side, but after a greeting her tone changed a little.

‘Is Mira there? We just got a *visitor*, so I’d like her to join us, is that okay?’

There was just a little bit of nervousness she could not fully mask over.
Not to mention that Mira clearly understood what she was trying to say.

“Alright, I’ll go there right away.”

Hearing Mira’s reply, Alma said, ‘Okay, I’ll be waiting here. And ah, Iris, I got my hands on some really good meat today, so you can look forward to it later!’ speaking with her usual tone before hanging up.

“Now then, I wonder who came.”

Mira tried to play dumb a bit as she said that, while Iris was far more excited about having meat for dinner. Then she appeared pensive for a bit before her face lit up again.

“Maybe it’s someone from the Grimoire Company! They might be trying to take your picture already!”

She was almost convinced of that, as she added, “I really wish I could go see that too.”

When Mira got out of Iris’ room, she found Cecilia waiting for her. She was highly trusted, and was there to guide Mira.
After walking together for around five minutes, they arrived at a tower annexed to the palace.
Cecilia took her leave there, and Mira went inside, going down the stairs as instructed. Past a door down there, she found Alma and Esmeralda.

“So what’s the situation? Did it work out?”

Hearing Mira enter, Alma turned around and replied, “He fell right into our trap, just like we expected,” beckoning Mira to come inside.
Now that she had a better view of the room, she realized it was quite an extreme interrogation chamber.
A large glass pane covered half the window, which Mira assumed was a two way mirror, and past it she could see a man tied up to a chair, with Noin standing next to him.

“Let’s see what secrets this one’s hiding.”
“I can’t wait to hear him speak.”

A frigid smile appeared on Esmeralda’s lips, while Alma stared at the tied man with derision.
Mira silently made some distance between her and those two, slightly scared by them, and took a closer look at the captive, who had every limb restrained and his mouth taped shut.

(Hmm… he does have a pretty mean looking face.)

He had the eyes of someone who did not see people as human beings, as he tried to mumble something through his gag at Noin.
After an attempt to raid the palace, he had reached the underground jail, but was detected by one of the many traps set in place there, leading to his capture.

(This actually worked out better than I expected.)

Mira was impressed that their plan had worked out so well.
It was something they had decided back when Kagura extracted all the information Jorg knew.
While they discussed what they learnt, they decided to put some of it to use, and set up a trap.

First, they kept the interrogation secret, instead spreading a rumor that Jorg was extremely tight lipped and would not say anything. Then came the second step. They got in contact with the merchant Stendhal, who Jorg confessed was connected to Ira Muerte.

Alma sent out one of her knight delegates to order a certain drug from him, with specific instructions to act in a way that deliberately revealed it was for the military. Essentially it was a state representative secretly ordering a banned truth serum.

Alma was certain that Stendhal would report that straight away to Ira Muerte, who would try to intervene as soon as possible.

All of that had played out according to plan. There had been various forms of sabotage they could have chosen, but they went with the method to ensure no information about the organization would leak, assassinating Jorg.

The captive’s possessions were all laid out in a table on Mira’s side of the room, which included a variety of sharp blades, poison, and other tools.

(So they’ve chosen to dispose of that man. Still…using a prisoner as a lure was a genius idea.)

Since Jorg had actually told them everything he knew, he would likely be sentenced to death after his trial. That was the severity of his crimes.

Before that, Alma chose to use Jorg’s life to lure in his comrades. It mattered little to her whether he received the life sentence or was murdered by his peers, she had no pity for him.

Alma had clearly gone through a lot of experiences, both as a woman and as an empress. She would have never done anything like that in the past, so her new mental fortitude was something Mira decided to respect.

As a result, their trap had bore fruit and the assassin was caught straight away.
Now they just needed to figure out everything this man knew as well.

“Heyyy, Kaguraaa, could you come here for a little bitt?”

Mira lowered Gautarou from Alma’s shoulder and called loudly.
A few seconds later the shikigami began to glow, and when the light subsided Kagura was standing there instead.

“It’s good to see you again, Ka-gu-raaaa!”

Alma lunged straight at Kagura as soon as she appeared, and in response she dodged and quickly hid behind Esmeralda. That was the perfect defensive spot, as Esmeralda knew how to discipline Alma.

A stern stare from Esmeralda was all it took for Alma to retreat and slump her shoulders, but then she cleared her throat and explained the situation.

“Kagura, could you please use that spell again? We’d like to know everything that man over there knows.”

Kagura agreed readily, and then flatly rejected the request for a tight hug once it was done.