Author: Himezaki Shiu	Original Source: Syosetu
Translator: PunishedLyly	English Source: Re:Library

Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

After checking the hunter-related lecture rooms with Palra, lunchtime came around, so we went to the cafeteria for a meal.
Up until now, we actually only ate food prepared by either me or Mia, so this will be our first time eating in the cafeteria. The said cafeteria isn’t the one on the dormitory’s third floor but at a separate building within the inner area of the academy grounds. This is where we’ll be having lunch today.

It was quite lively, only having several seats left unoccupied.
You would purchase a meal ticket near the entrance, exchange it at the counter, and then find a seat.
It’s mostly a similar system to the one in my previous world, but maybe this system is just that efficient.

The prices range from free to actually normal food prices.
The free ticket can get you jam and bread, or soup and a small serving of pasta, and so forth; basically just enough food and variety for sustenance.
These are for enrolled students who barely have any money on hand.
Still, considering how only a few seem to have gone for the free meals, maybe everyone actually has money on them. There were people who worked as hunters during the waiting period, after all, and there might be other places where you can find work.

As Palra previously said, she earned a sum of money assisting in monster dismantling, so instead of the free ticket, she bought a meal set consisting of bread, meat, and soup.
Meanwhile, Ciel went for the free meal, gleefully commenting, 『It’s a lot better than the food at Rispelgia’s mansion,』 inside her head. Additionally, she also ordered a slightly expensive cake, so no one would probably think that she’s penniless.
Rather, she might even give the impression of a whimsical young noble trying free food out for fun. Which, well, is technically true.

「Ailneige, are you really okay with that?」
「It’s alright. If I wanted anything else, I have money to spare. I’m just curious about it.」
「I see.」

Before Palra could finish her reply, Ciel had already started eating. Though surprised at first, Palra soon giggled and began eating as well.
The free meal was, well, decent to say the least. The bread not being rye bread already puts it far ahead of the food back at Rispelgia’s mansion, and the amount of jam was fairly sufficient. If they had added some margarine and sold it as a jam and bread sandwich, it could probably sell for around 100 yen.

However, it’s not very tasty.
While we both have white bread, Palra’s looks noticeably more appetizing. If I had to guess, the bread served with the free meals either wasn’t taken out of the oven in time or was perhaps made by a still-inexperienced baker.
With Ciel being satisfied with just this much, it’s hard to call her a noble lady. Her eating form is lovely, though.
People with a trained eye would probably feel whiplash upon witnessing this.

Perhaps because it didn’t seem like Ciel would stop eating anytime soon, the two of them quietly continued their meals—the cake was very delicious—and once they both finished eating, Palra spoke up.

「So, after this…」
「We will have to go our separate ways.」
「Ughhh…」

Palra’s face was filled with sadness, but unfortunately, we are just plainly incompatible with scouting.
Even without the need to conceal ourselves, we can safely walk through the forest thanks to our barrier, and with detection, we can avoid monster encounters altogether. Besides, our Jobs are completely unsuited for covert activities.
That said, the same doesn’t apply to ordinary people, and since she has the Huntsman Job, that’s exactly why I recommended it.

Also, Ailneige isn’t taking etiquette courses. If we wanted to learn courtesy, we would be better off asking the manor servants.

Besides, this whole day is just for room confirmation. While some rooms will have the respective teachers present—so you’re free to chat with them if you’d like—you could also go the entire day without speaking to anyone, if you prefer.
As for tomorrow, who knows?

「Now then, I’ll take my leave.」
「Eh!? Um, okay. See you tomorrow.」
「Of course. See you tomorrow.」

Mirroring Palra’s words, Ciel then left her seat. As Ciel briskly walked away, I looked back to see how Palra was doing, and there she pumped her fists as though to hype herself up.

◇◇◇

『Well, that wasn’t very interesting.』
『We are just searching around for our lecture rooms, after all. We might find some interesting sights if we stray off the beaten path, but let’s leave exploration for another day.』
『Good point.』

We went around to check the rooms for Basic Sorceric Tool Studies, Basic Hunter’s Sorcery, Magic Circle Studies, and Basic General Purpose Sorcery, but there wasn’t really anything worth mentioning.
Well, there weren’t any lectures ongoing, so I suppose it’s only natural.
At this time, there were many students going around by themselves, so as a result, we didn’t particularly stand out.

The next destination is our last for the day—a room located deep within the sorcery lecture building.

『Still, I think we’ll find something interesting here.』
『That’s true. After all, at every place we’ve visited until now, there were at least a few people around, but there’s no one here.
Hmm? There seems to be someone at the Puppet Sorcery classroom? I can somehow feel a lot of magic power, but it’s so thin, it’s hard to properly tell.』
『If you can tell that much, then it’s enough. Amount-wise, I believe the individual there has around the same magic power as Ciel.』
『In other words, far below Ain’s.』
『To be more precise, the magic power of all the presences in that location combined would be equal to Ciel’s.』
『That’s a strange way to put it.』

Though she said that, Ciel didn’t ask for further clarification, perhaps because she’s enjoying the moment.
It has been boring up until now, so I suppose she appreciates the mystery.
While the lights are on, the corridor gives off a dark and eerie feel as Ciel cheerfully passes through.
We’ve already encountered this level of eeriness before, so for Ciel, this must barely register as frightening.

With light steps, Ciel opened the door to the Puppet Sorcery classroom.
The rooms generally share the same construction, but there are only a few chairs and tables inside, as well as five humanoid presences.

「Oh? A new student, maybe? This is the Puppet Sorcery lecture room, you see. Have you perhaps lost your way?」

Out of the five, she has the strongest presence. She has the appearance of a woman in her late twenties. In terms of magic power, she has around 1/10th of Ciel’s.
While Ciel doesn’t fully understand the situation yet, I could leave her to handle this, but things will probably proceed faster with me speaking, so I switched with Ciel.

「I’m not lost. Anyhow, I believe Ms. Iena should be around, so please show yourself.」
「As I thought, hiding was meaningless.」

⇐ Previous

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⌈ Index ⌋

And that ends this half of the chapter! Well, it seems like we’re finally seeing what’s going on with Puppet Sorcery! There’s even five people inside the room!

We had a short scene with Palra, which was cute. Don’t worry Palra, you can do it! Also, Ciel seems to really like cake, considering that she also got cake at the cafeteria, lol. Meanwhile, while our girls urged for Iena’s appearance, there are should be also other new characters in the Puppet Sorcery classroom.

Now then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to comment. Stay healthy, stay safe, and have a nice day~!