The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 104

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Weapon Replicator of the Academy – Episode 104
Chapter 31: Rumors (Part 2)
“Rockbell is not only safe, but it appears he’s doing quite well at the Orphanage.”
“Quite well?”
“The Orphanage has had an excellent reputation for some time, and Rockbell has already made many friends there.”
“Did you see him yourself?”
“Yes. He wanted to see Grobel. I found no other issues of concern.”
I nodded at Selena’s words. There was still something that bothered me. “What about Gregory? Did you investigate him?”
“Gregory has had no contact with Rockbell.”
“Are you certain?”
“Rockbell confirmed it himself, and I checked the Orphanage’s access logs. Rockbell hasn’t met anyone from outside—not Gregory, nor anyone else.”
Rockbell was the mercenary’s younger brother. Besides Gregory, there would be no reason for anyone else to meet him.
I felt some relief. Grobel’s concern seemed to amount to nothing more than needless worry. Of course, I’d need to check periodically in case Gregory attempted contact with Rockbell in the future, but for now…
“The real problem, then, is where Gregory is right now.”
If Gregory had made contact with Rockbell, we could trace Gregory’s movements from there. Without that, finding him would be much harder.
At that moment, Selena placed her hand over her heart and spoke. “Frontdier, if I may be so bold, might I share a thought?”
“Don’t worry about being bold, and drop that formal tone.”
“During my investigation, I discovered that numerous rumors of unknown origin are currently circulating through Constellation. Most were baseless, but among them are several with quite high credibility.”
“Ah, you mean like the rumors about Aster using Aura freely, or Elody succeeding with the Triple-Element Combination?”
Those were famous enough that even I’d heard them. There were plenty of rumors about me as well.
“Yes. Including those, the sheer number is excessive.”
“…Ah. Then Pascal too?”
I grasped what Selena was getting at. She nodded.
“It’s possible that Pascal’s ‘misunderstanding’ that you use Aura is one of those rumors.”
I crossed my arms and thought it over.
The only person who could have caused Pascal to misunderstand that I use Aura would be Gregory. If we assume that’s the truth.
Gregory making contact with Pascal is a fact. And currently, a flood of random rumors within Constellation…
“—Is Gregory deliberately spreading rumors throughout Constellation?”
I spoke it aloud like a soliloquy.
[A Subquest has been generated]
[Subquest: Rumors Beget Rumors]
⦁Description: Simultaneous rumors are spreading through the Imperial Palace and Constellation. Find the orchestrator behind the whispers that blur the line between truth and falsehood.
⦁Objective: Identify and subdue the culprit spreading random rumors
⦁Reward: Simultaneous Weaving count +2
⦁Failure may result in loss of Named Characters.
My Smartwatch chimed. A quest had appeared.
Constellation was one thing, but the Imperial Palace too. It seemed they were dealing with similar headaches there.
The quest was telling me that the incidents at Constellation and the Imperial Palace were not unrelated.
When I’d played this as a game, quests had always been geared toward Aster’s rewards. Now, finally, I was receiving a quest tailored to me.
An increase in Simultaneous Weaving is always good news.
That said, this wretched quest keeps threatening the lives of Named Characters to pressure me.
“Frontdier, furthermore, from what I’ve confirmed—”
“Similar things are happening at the Imperial Palace. It seems unlikely to be unrelated to the rumors being spread at Constellation.”
“…Indeed. How impressive. You’ve been gathering additional information independently as well.”
Selena spoke with admiration. Well, there’s no way to explain this, so I’ll just let it be.
In any case, similar incidents occurring at the Imperial Palace. And Pascal is a knight of the Imperial Palace…
…I really should inform him, shouldn’t I?
But do I have a way to meet him on my end?

* * *

Empress Philly was somewhat surprised by the news that had come in today. The image of Pascal she held in her mind and “teacher” simply didn’t match.
The handmaiden attending to Philly bowed respectfully.
“Yes. He is said to be teaching basic combat techniques at Constellation.”
“Basic combat techniques… I can’t imagine what Pascal would be able to teach.”
At Philly’s sigh, a knight beside her spoke up hesitantly.
“Your Majesty, is Pascal not an excellent knight?”
“He is excellent. A knight with remarkable talent, indeed. And that’s precisely why he cannot teach others—he cannot understand the struggles of an ordinary person.”

Pascal is the most promising knight in the imperial court. He made it quite clear that he wished to become Empress Philly’s bodyguard, but she rejected him outright.
“Your Majesty seems to be rather harsh in your assessment of Pascal. Though he can be somewhat scattered, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with his character, and his skills are considerable, are they not?”
“I’m not harsh at all~ But to become my bodyguard, that simply won’t do.”
Philly waved her hand in denial, but—
she knew it herself.
She was extraordinarily stringent in her evaluation of Pascal.
“Speaking of bodyguards, what will you do about Sir Robert?”
At the knight’s question, Philly’s expression darkened.
Philly had sent Robert, her bodyguard, to Taeibun. It had been quite some time ago now. Yet she still hadn’t issued a recall order.
The reason was exactly what Robert had sensed earlier.
‘Foresight can be exhausting sometimes.’
Philly had received a premonition that Robert would be in danger if he remained within the Imperial Palace. It was the activation of her Future Foresight.
But on the other hand, she did not sense danger for herself.
In other words, there was someone targeting Robert, not her.
‘Somehow, I have the feeling that Pascal is at the root of it all.’
This wasn’t Future Foresight, but rather the result of her keen instincts honed through years navigating the political arena—her own exceptional sense of smell, so to speak.
Robert isn’t the only knight directly under Philly’s command, but it’s true that she trusts him most.
This is information that Philly’s knights generally know. And they all acknowledge it. Robert possessed both the skill and loyalty to warrant such trust.
‘Is Pascal… jealous of Robert?’
It’s a forced logic, admittedly, but not entirely nonsensical. The position of the Empress’s bodyguard is quite prestigious, after all. Pascal could very well covet it.
But it doesn’t add up.
As the knight said, Pascal isn’t a man of poor character. If anything, he’d be considered a righteous young man.
He has a somewhat childish air about him in appearance and manner, but he’s not actually a child, and he knows how to distinguish right from wrong.
For such a Pascal to attack Robert, who is called the model knight—it’s difficult to understand at first glance.
“Sir Robert is currently carrying out his duties in Taeibun. When the time comes, I’ll summon him myself.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I spoke out of turn.”
The knight spoke thus and bowed his head—a most composed gesture. Philly let out a soft laugh.
Just then, someone knocked on the office door.
“Your Majesty. Sir Artzie de Roach has returned after completing his mission.”
“Ah, I was waiting for him. Have him come in at once. Now then, everyone else may withdraw. We have urgent matters to discuss privately.”
At Philly’s words, the ladies-in-waiting and knights bowed deeply and filed out the door.
Then a tall man entered slowly through the open doorway, as if taking their place.
The man knelt respectfully before Philly.
“Artzie de Roach. I have just completed my mission and have returned to report.”
Philly observed Artzie, who was bowing his head with courtesy.
‘……Truly,’
he bore no resemblance to Frontdier.
“You’ve worked hard. Do you have any information to report?”
“Nearly all the charges leveled against Vincentz von Colman proved to be true. We discovered evidence of him leaking information from the knight order and video recordings of his accepting bribes. However, that was all.”
“All? What do you mean by that?”
“The information about who gave the bribes and who commissioned him to leak the knight order’s secrets was cleanly severed. It appears that Vincentz anticipated being caught and used himself as a disposable connection from the start.”
Hmm.
The Imperial Palace had recently been troubled by an incident.
Knights from the Imperial Palace’s own knight order were suddenly being implicated in violence, bribery, and other improprieties.
Most of those implicated were either new recruits or low-ranking members. But if this continued, it could damage the entire knight order’s reputation, so Philly moved quickly to find the root cause.
That was why she had called for Artzie. She couldn’t entrust this matter to the knights within the palace itself.
‘Someone is instigating the imperial knights. But the charges that stick are all different. Bribery, assault or extortion of civilians, theft, illegal prostitution….’
The imperial knights are elites educated and trained to the highest standards. Clumsy temptations cannot sway them.
To draw not just one or two, but quite a substantial number of such people into misconduct—each committing different crimes. Is such a thing even possible?
‘Could this be related to Sir Robert?’
She couldn’t be certain yet. But at the very least, until this incident is resolved, Robert should not be recalled.
“What is your own assessment of the matter, Sir Artzie?”
Philly asked. She was intrigued by Artzie. Of course, in public circles he was already renowned for his remarkable abilities and character, but from Philly’s perspective, she was more interested in the fact that he was Frontdier’s brother.
“……I hesitate to speak.”
Artzie lowered his gaze and paused as if in thought before speaking.
“I hold no rank, so being addressed as ‘Sir’ is too great an honor for me.”
“Hmm? But you are clearly a noble of the Roach Family.”
“That is merely a shell. I myself hold no rank, and I am not even a knight. I have yet to fulfill my obligations as a noble, and therefore to invoke the name of Roach would be nothing more than presumption and arrogance on my part.”
Upon hearing Artzie’s words, Philly blinked for a moment.
Then, shortly after,
“……Hah. Ahahahaha!”
Hearing this, Philly burst into laughter. Artzie regarded her with a puzzled look.
Had the bodyguard knights witnessed Philly laughing with such genuine delight, they would have been utterly astonished.
‘Two brothers with such different temperaments.’
She recalled how Frontdier had had the audacity to address her as “Philly,” yet he himself demurred when called by anything less than his title. His humility was quite characteristic.
“Then would you become my bodyguard knight? That way, there would be no objection to calling you by your proper title, would there?”
“……Someday, should such a thing come to pass, it would be the greatest honor.”
The way he prefaced it with “someday” was so very like him.
“Understood. Let us return to the matter at hand. Artzie, what are your thoughts? How do you perceive this incident?”
“As for the identity of those behind it, I cannot say. But I believe there is no need to search for meaning in each individual transgression the knights commit. The incidents are far too scattered and arbitrary.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It appears the perpetrator’s aim is to create chaos. By diverting attention through the small disturbances the knights cause, they will act to obtain their true objective in the interim.”
Philly nodded in agreement with Artzie’s measured assessment.
The knights are made to commit different crimes—she knew not the method—but there was no purpose in excavating each one deeply.
Yet as these compromised knights multiply, chaos will inevitably spread within and without the Imperial Palace.
“When the chaos reaches its peak, that is when he will move.”
At Artzie’s words, Philly gave a slow, deliberate nod.
And then,
Beep—beep—beep—
Philly’s Sage Phone rang out loudly. The volume and rhythm were strikingly similar to a siren.
Hearing that alarm-like sound, Artzie’s brow furrowed. Could it be—some communication concerning a threat to the Empress’s person—
Philly answered the phone and spoke.
“Oh, our daughter.”
“…….”
Artzie’s gaze dropped away.
“Hmm? No, she’s fine. When has she ever worried about something like that?”
As he watched Philly transform into a mother on the call, Artzie found himself remembering his own mother, Malia.
Yet Artzie’s brief reverie was interrupted by Philly’s next words.
“……Frontdier? He wants to see me?”
Philly’s repetition of the question.
Artzie wondered if he had misheard.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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