Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

「I see, that certainly does make the magic circle more efficient.」
「Though in exchange, it complicates the operation.」
「But that won’t be a concern when used through a sorceric tool. Still, the work of integrating it into a sorceric tool seems difficult as well.」
「That’s where your crafting skills are put to the test.」

Several days after the confrontation with Professor Liens, as Ciel promised, she came back to play.
While I haven’t completely let my guard down―Ciel isn’t on high alert, though―well, I guess this can be considered playing. It’s practically like they’re having a class activity, but since Ciel sees this as play, then this is play.

That aside, we’re currently in the hidden room inside Professor Liens’ laboratory. The place, difficult to detect and examine through sorcery, seems to function as his workshop, and since we were told not to touch any of the many utensils around, neither Ciel nor I have touched anything. To begin with, I’ve yet to be in control within this room. In a sense, this is one thing Ciel is being very cautious about.

And while we are underground, there is sufficient lighting―and a cell with thick bars in the far corner.
There’s absolutely no privacy given, but it does have a bed and a complete set of furniture, so I think that the pitfall that appeared when we were scuffling was arranged to lead here.

As for what happens to those captured here… it’s easy to imagine. That’s probably why Professor Liens focused heavily on only capturing intruders.
And so because of this, he narrowly avoided being killed by Ciel.
Had we killed the professor, that would have led to a very troublesome situation for us as a student, so perhaps it was lucky we found common ground.

At the very least, Ciel probably wouldn’t want to leave the academy until she finishes puppet sorcery―magic―and now she has unexpectedly found another reason to stay.

「Nonetheless, why are you so curious about this when you didn’t even take the sorceric tool course?」
「The dolls used in puppet sorcery are sorceric tools, after all.」
「Puppet sorcery, huh. I also have an interest in that field, you know?」
「Why is that?」
「It requires great sorcery skills, you see. For me, the most I can do with it is be a child’s playmate―no, a newbie’s sparring partner.」

Being able to spar with a newbie means that, even if clumsy, he can probably make a doll fight. Now I don’t know if that’s enough to be counted as a reliable force against monsters, but this does mean that he should be relatively skilled at it.
I guess he’s not a former court sorcerer for nothing, huh.

On the other hand, that means even the best sorcerers in this kingdom can only operate puppet sorcery at that level. Even if Professor Liens happens to be the worst of his peers, that still puts him as weakest among the strongest, so I can understand why puppet sorcery is so unpopular.

「I see… ―That part is wrong.」
「Ah, you’re right… Why are you even passing off as an academy student?」
「There’s still a lot to learn, you know? I didn’t know about the previous optimization, for example.」
「The fact that we’re talking about that puts you well beyond normal students.」

To the professor’s words, Ciel indifferently responded, 「Is that so?」
If I ignore their age gap and the topic of discussion, it looks like they’re holding a study session to finish class homework, which is kind of funny but personally not amusing on my part.

「My swordsmanship should be around student-level, I think?」
「Aren’t you undefeated in sparring?」
「I’m in the lower class rank, after all. Also, combat experience. It isn’t my swordsmanship.」
「…―Right, there were rumors about Mistress Fiiyanamia’s daughter being an A-rank hunter.」
「I have my A-rank hunter card; want to see it?」
「No, that won’t be necessary. Still, despite being a Sorcerer…」
「A Dance Princess.」
「I still can’t believe that you got to A-rank with that Job, though.」

Professor Liens muttered in exasperated astonishment. Ciel is generally classified as a sorcerer-type, but her fighting style is far different from the average sorcerer’s, with the only way of describing it being a dance.
She can fight like a normal sorcerer, but she can’t operate at full power that way. Her standard sorcerer fighting style can only work against B and A-ranks. Which still sounds absurd, but what can I say?

「Anyhow, with you being an A-rank hunter, I guess you should have plenty of combat experience, huh.」
「Is it different with court sorcerers?」
「Depends on the individual. There are those with potent sorcery but are incapable of direct combat and those that can actually fight relatively well.」

Feeling something off with the professor’s phrasing, Ciel questioned him, and he answered without being particularly bothered. If you only see this part of him, he can be a good teacher. As they say, looks can be deceiving.

「Is there any meaning behind that?」
「It’s also a research post, you see, and in a military formation, you only need to shoot spells from behind the front lines.」
「It’s that different?」

Even in the same battle, the way individuals fight within an organized army and the way a hunter party―or soloists and raid parties―fight can vastly differ… I think.
We generally work on our own and barely team up with people around our level, so I don’t really know the difference.

Still, an army is completely different in scale, and considering how they need to coordinate even when it’s hard to move around, they probably appreciate support more.

「By the way, how strong is the best royal sorcerer?」
「High-end of A-rank―and humanity’s strongest, apparently.」
「Apparently?」

Humanity’s strongest at A-rank? That’s probably just the general perception, but that seems odd. Mother Fii, and even Munyechka, are both S-rank, and the people who defeated a dragon should be around S-rank in strength.
There are likely other people with S-rank capabilities, and to begin with, this kingdom―or at least the top leaders―should be aware of Munyechka’s existence.

But maybe it’s just that I happen to encounter people of that level more than others, and A-rank is commonly accepted as the strongest.
At the very least, A-rank is probably the strongest in official papers, while S-rank hunters are treated as legends. Mother Fii is…―well, probably considered an outlier. No, wait, Mother Fii’s strength has been questioned in the past, so perhaps she’s only seen as strong in a broad sense.

As for A-rank hunters―Carol should be one, right? We occasionally see B-rank people, but I don’t think I know many A-ranks. In that case, I guess that does make A the highest rank for most.