Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

At any rate, C-rank durability is enough for me. Still, I’m not capable of making such a doll, so I was thinking of how to breach the subject when Munyechka, with a resigned tone, spoke to me.

「As payment, can I have the excess materials?」
「Is that alright?」
「Either way, I still need to make you a doll for class purposes. I’ll have the materials in exchange. But since it’s a part of the course requirement, you’ll be the ones to finalize the doll. Does that sound fair?」

It’s fine for me, but since Ciel is the one taking Puppet Sorcery, 『Will that be alright?』 I asked for her confirmation. Without any second thought, Ciel answered, 『Sure, of course.』
Well, it’s nothing new. It’s nothing new, but I need to remember that this shouldn’t be the natural response.

「That sounds fair.」
「In that case, I want you to find me materials that are similar to what I’ll be describing.」
「Understood.」
「Once we finish the doll, you’ll complete this course, and, as promised, I’ll use puppet magic to make you a body, so I’ll be taking enough materials for that as well.」
「Please feel free to take as much as you like. It’ll help with our inventory disposal, too.」

As the topic of my body was brought up, 『So close, we’re so close!』 Ciel was in high spirits, but I intentionally ignored her―out of embarrassment―and offered Munyechka a suggestion.
Perhaps understanding that I’m partly serious about it, Munyechka shook her head in refusal.

「Very tempting, but just the necessary materials and my reward’s worth are enough.」
「That’s a shame.」
「Honestly, it takes a lot of effort to make S-rank materials actually usable, so even if I take as many as I like, it’ll just be sitting unused.」

As she made her statement, she started to look through the materials I presented. As I watched her work, I began looking in the magic pouch for materials relevant to her requirements.

◇

「You’ve got quite the rare item.」
「Oh, that one. I honestly forgot that we had it; is it that rare?」
「Not as rare as that thing on your head, though.」

Without raising her head, Munyechka pointed to the spirit’s rest spot.
Even at this moment, spirits come in and out of it as they please. Although it absorbs magic power, it’s not a burden at all. I was shocked that Munyechka knew of its existence, but since she’s Mother Fii’s acquaintance, I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise.
What’s more important is the item that caught her attention: a four-leaf clover that we found near where the spirit’s rest spot was. We took it since it contained a lot of magic power, but it has never seen the light of day since.

We actually dried it out for preservation, so it’s no longer fresh, but its magic power hasn’t seen much decline.

「What are four-leaf clovers used for?」
「They’re generally used to heighten the effects of potions. You already know that the so-called medical herbs contain magic power, right?」
「That’s right, which thankfully makes them easy to find. Does the magic power contain their special effects?」
「To put it simply, apparently yes. I don’t really have technical knowledge about potion-making, though.」

We barely ever found use for potions, but many wealthy and high-rank hunters probably use them regularly.
With it capable of heighten the effects of potions, which are capable of immediately healing injuries, I can understand why it’s so valuable. It might even be capable of regenerating damaged or lost body parts, and its effects might not be limited to that, either.

「Just to confirm, there are potions that can also cure illnesses, are there?」
「That there are. However, potions aren’t necessarily capable of curing any and all types of diseases.」
「―In that case, it seems like this is more valuable than I thought.」
「This plant is difficult to find to begin with, you know? They only grow either deep in the mountains filled with monsters and magic power or places where magic power accumulates and a monster stampede is likely to occur in the future.」

Considering the danger level, it’s at least B-rank level material. Even A-rank hunters probably can’t find it without encountering monsters.
If made into an official request, it’ll probably be difficult to prepare an adequate reward for it unless you’re a noble. Especially if we consider that, excluding a certain country, most places regularly cull nearby monsters to prevent stampedes from happening, making them even rarer and more valuable.

「So, what use does it have for puppet sorcery―or magic?」

The discussion was about the four-leaf clover’s general use, but since Munyechka reacted to it, it probably has use for dolls. After all, in terms of pure rarity, the monster materials from the lower stratum should be rarer.
―Though it is possible that it’s simply difficult to find even compared to the rare monster materials, resulting in her response.

「You can use this as material for forming artificial magic circuits when crafting a doll; without that, I wouldn’t be able to perform sorcery at all.」
「It’s that important, I see.」
「When reusing a monster’s circuits as material, for some reason, the artificial circuits deteriorate faster. Plant-based material lasts much longer, but it’s not easy to find suitable candidates.」
「Do Iena and the other dolls use these too?」
「Most of them do. Or so I say, but theirs are made with a much rarer material.」
「What material is it?」
「Some mysterious branch I got from Fiiya. It contained a tremendous amount of magic power, but she didn’t tell me what exactly it was and where she got it from.」

Hearing her response, Ciel said, 『One more reason to return to Central,』 to which I replied, 『True enough.』

「Will it be fine to use this four-leaf clover for making a doll?」
「Yes, but objectively speaking, it’s a lesser high-tier material. Just passable, in my opinion.」
『I don’t plan on compromising, you know?』
『Thought so. However, it’ll be best to keep it just to be sure.』
『It is possible that we won’t find any better material, after all.』
「In the meantime, we’ll keep the four-leaf clover while looking for better materials.」
「It is for your possible future body, after all.」

Munyechka nodded with an expression of understanding, but to be more precise, it’s mainly because Ciel wants to keep the material just in case. Still, there’s no reason to correct her, so I just nodded in response. Then, I asked her one last thing I wanted to know.

「By the way, Munyechka, did you also use the branch for your body?」
「Nope, this one’s special, you see. It uses the best material I could get.」