The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 191

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

The Academy’s Weapon Duplicator Episode 191
Chapter 62: A Date
Frontdier listened to the full explanation in the Staff Office and returned to the classroom.
It seemed that quite a bit of preparation would be necessary to conduct the practical examination. They said they would contact him again in a few days, so everyone who had been in the Staff Office dispersed.
‘I should go see Selena right away, then.’
Following their earlier agreement, Frontdier had made plans to go shopping for clothes with Selena. They’d likely head to the Terst Department Store, though he was prepared to explore other places if needed.
‘They said shopping for clothes, but it’s harder than I thought.’
Finding clothes for Selena wasn’t simply a matter of fashion.
While it was partly about replacing garments that revealed too much of her figure, if the replacement pieces were inferior to what she currently wore, it would be better not to buy anything at all.
After all, Selena’s usual clothes were fundamentally combat gear.
‘If I just wanted to find good clothes, I could use the Workshop and Analysis appropriately, but ultimately it has to suit Selena.’
This looked like it would take far longer than expected.
Click—
Frontdier pushed open the classroom door.
“Selena, sorry for keeping you waiting?”
“Ah, Frontdier.”
Frontdier spotted Selena and approached her. Saiber was standing nearby as well, and upon seeing Frontdier, she offered a stiff smile.
“Hey, hey! Frontdier! How’s it going? Have you been well?”
“…We already greeted each other this morning.”
“There’s no such thing as too many greetings!”
If you say so. That’s just Saiber’s philosophy, I suppose.
“Then let’s go, Selena.”
“Yes.”
At Frontdier’s words, Selena rose from her seat.
Witnessing this, Saiber spoke in a daze.
“You’re, you’re really going together….”
“Hm? Ah, so Selena told you about it, then.”
Selena nodded at Frontdier’s remark. Of course, there was some discrepancy between what Frontdier understood and what Selena had conveyed to Saiber, but Frontdier had no way of knowing that.
“Um, Frontdier.”
“Hm?”
“Uh, how long do you think you’ll be out?”
Saiber’s question made Frontdier pause briefly.
He’d been wrestling with a similar concern just moments ago. So the answer came quickly.
“Probably quite a while?”
He’d need to pick out good clothes and determine whether they suited Selena.
“Oh, a while?”
“Yeah. And I’ll probably spend quite a bit too.”
He couldn’t afford to pick Selena’s clothes carelessly.
Frontdier waved his hand and departed with Selena. Selena gave Saiber a respectful bow before following Frontdier out.
Fluttering, Saiber waved him off blankly.
Then, as if sparks were flying from her eyes, she spun around sharply.
Behind Saiber stood the students who had just returned from the Staff Office.
Saiber’s blazing gaze fell especially upon Elody and Aten.
“Both of you, you heard it, right?”
…….
“A date?”
After listening to Saiber’s explanation, Elody’s expression naturally twisted.
A date and Frontdier—two words that could not possibly go together.
“That’s right! That guy Frontdier is planning to go on a date with his hired bodyguard!”
“Planning to? He’s already gone.”
“Ugh, y-you’re right.”
While Saiber fretted dramatically, Elody remained markedly calm. After a moment’s thought, she spoke.
“Who did you hear this from?”
“Hm? From Selena.”
“If Selena herself called it a date, then she accepted the date invitation. I don’t see why there’s any problem….”
At Elody’s words, Saiber chewed her lip.
Saiber wasn’t particularly worried about what trouble Frontdier might cause. She simply felt driven to do something about it.
Aten, listening in, tilted her head in confusion.
“Um, a date is that thing where men and women eat together or go shopping together, right?”
“That’s right.”
“A picnic, then?”
Suddenly it sounded far more respectable.
Saiber shook his head vigorously.
“No, Aten. A date—that’s something lovers do.”
“Lovers……”
She turned the word over in her mind, and Aten’s eyes widened.
“Then Frontdier and Selena are currently lovers, you’re saying……!”
“W-well, that much I’m not sure about, but a date is something two people do when they’re lovers or planning to become lovers! It’s about confirming your feelings for each other!”
“I see……”
Hearing that, Aten fell into thought.
Frontdier and Selena. The one being guarded and the bodyguard. Given that relationship, they spent long hours together, and without mutual trust, their work couldn’t function properly.
And during winter break, Selena had been closest to Frontdier among all the Constellation students, so it was possible they could develop into lovers.
……So that’s how it is. Lovers.
“So what are you planning? Tailing them?”
Elody asked in a voice tinged with exasperation. Though she wasn’t asking in earnest.
“Yep!”
Saiber’s answer was nothing short of cheerful and clear. Well, that doubled Elody’s incredulity.
It wasn’t as though Saiber tailing Frontdier would change anything, but it was certainly not something to be proud of. Elody couldn’t stand by and watch one classmate tail another.
Elody was admittedly bothered by the fact that Frontdier and Selena were going on a date, but she had no intention of actually interfering.
“Aten, you say something too. Tailing them—isn’t that a bit much?”
At Elody’s words, Aten nodded.
“You’re right, Saiber.”
This was precisely the moment for the imperial princess to step in and uphold the distinction between public and private matters.
“You’ll need help with this. I’ll come along.”
Wrong.
The imperial princess was utterly useless.
“Aten……. You want to tail them too? Why?”
“I need to confirm whether those two are truly lovers.”
“And what will you do with that information?”
“……I’m not planning to do anything with it.”
Aten shook her head. Her white hair cascaded softly below her shoulders.
“I simply want to know.”
“……Sigh.”
Elody exhaled slowly. Her mind raced.
Saiber tailing him alone.
That would actually be better. Because Saiber had a tendency to “generally have things work out,” and this tendency was absurdly stronger than anyone else’s, so even with tailing, she wouldn’t be too worried. At minimum, even if discovered, he could slip away without major incident.
The real problem was Aten.
Aten had probably never tailed anyone in her life, and despite appearances, she was prone to blunders. It wouldn’t be strange if she slipped up and got caught at any moment.
……There was no helping it. As much as she disliked it.
“Fine. I’ll come too.”
Elody made her decision.
These weren’t children she could simply stop by refusing.
At the very least, she’d make sure they didn’t embarrass themselves.

On the way to the Terst Department Store, Frontdier received an explanation from Selena about her personal equipment.
“As you know, my primary weapon is the Needle. Of course, it’s different from the kind used for sewing clothes. It’s long enough to grip with my entire hand, and it’s quite sturdy.”
Frontdier nodded. He’d seen Selena’s Needles up close before. She’d even pressed one against his throat outright to threaten him.
“I store Needles at my wrist, thigh, left hip, and behind my ankle. The more quantity, the better. More doesn’t significantly impact weight.”
“So the order you just mentioned—that’s the order they’re used first?”
“Precisely. Though the wrist storage is for immediate use in emergencies, and the thigh and left hip hold the largest quantities. Depending on the outfit, I sometimes don’t wear any on my wrist.”
“Sleeveless clothes, or ones that are excessively tight?”
Selena nodded at Frontdier’s question.
As he processed the explanation, another question occurred to Frontdier.
“How do you keep track of how many are left? If combat goes on long enough, you’ll keep firing Needles, and eventually you’ll run low. Do you have some way to visually check your remaining count?”
“No. I judge by weight.”
Selena raised her wrist. Inside the long sleeve of her School Uniform, below her wrist, a storage container holding Needles was mounted.
“There are exactly twenty-four in this wrist right now.”
“You can sense the weight of a single Needle well enough to judge it?”

“Yes. That’s why it’s best to wear clothes that are as light as possible. To avoid miscalculating their weight.”
“How about the Constellation School Uniform?”
“This much poses no problem. Though the sleeves and waist will need some alterations. The storage space is insufficient.”
Selena spoke while showing Frontdier the inside of her uniform sleeves. The sleeves were indeed wider than those he wore.
“I always equip the Needles in multiples of four. Exactly four are ejected when gripped in hand.”
“From thumb to pinky, you grip them all at once, then.”
Selena nodded.
Frontdier recalled the first time Selena had met Angen.
Startled by the killing intent Angen radiated, she’d stepped back and completed her combat stance with Needles gripped in both hands. He felt as though he’d uncovered one secret behind those swift movements.
“So when choosing clothes, what matters is finding something with a wide cut that can conceal the Needle storage—and good durability to boot. No matter how well hidden, if the fabric tears, it’s worthless.”
Thinking back on it now, Selena’s usual attire was quite bold, but it certainly concealed the parts where the Needles were hidden. People simply hadn’t noticed because their eyes went to her figure first.
‘If the intent isn’t to show off one’s body, then choosing clothes becomes easier.’
Having made up his mind, Frontdier spoke.
“All right. I’ll pick out some clothes first, and you choose whichever you like best from them.”
“……You’re going to pick out clothes for me, sir?”
Selena tilted her head. Frontdier didn’t strike her as someone with any particular eye for fashion.
Yet in truth, there were few people whose judgment about such matters could match Frontdier’s.
“Don’t worry. I’ll pick the finest.”
As Frontdier stepped through the department store entrance, his face brimmed with confidence.

* * *
“……I can’t hear well.”
Saiber narrowed his eyes and observed Frontdier from a distance.
The two were having quite a lengthy conversation, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying.
“Elody, can’t we get any closer?”
“This is already pushing it hard enough.”
Elody sighed as she spoke.
It was Elody’s signature concealment technique—the soundproof magic Wind Whisper, an approach-blocking barrier, and Awareness Reduction Magic layered threefold.
With this much care taken, most people wouldn’t notice even if they walked right past, but Elody judged that getting any closer would be risky.
‘I have a feeling we’ll be discovered.’
Especially Selena. From what Elody had observed, Selena was a person of extraordinary perception. Rather than magic being the problem, Selena’s intuition might catch Elody’s presence first.
“……I can’t hear anything, but something about it.”
Aten, who had been watching quietly, opened her mouth.
“Hmm?”
“Were those two ever that affectionate with each other?”
Aten confirmed what she saw on Frontdier’s face.
As she remembered it, Frontdier’s expression whenever he looked at Selena was always stern. It was the kind of expression one might even call domineering and authoritarian.
That seemed natural enough given that he was her employer, yet at the same time, it struck her as distinctly odd.
After all, he’d seemed to direct suspicion, wariness, and even something like hostility toward a bodyguard who should have been building trust with him.
But the Frontdier of now is different.
His gaze when looking at Selena is warm. And Selena’s expression, in turn, seems much softer.
“Ah, they’re going in. The department store.”
“What are they planning to buy?”
“No idea. But it looks ridiculously like a date.”
The conversation between Saiber and Aten might have seemed a bit foolish to an outside observer, but they weren’t exactly wrong.
“Once we’re inside, we should be able to get closer. There will be more people and cover.”
“Y-yes, that’s true.”
After a brief pause, the two slowly pushed open the department store doors.

* * *
“……You really do have an eye for these things, sir.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“I thought you’d just glance and grab whatever came to hand.”
“Everyone says that when they first see.”
Each time Selena looked at the clothes Frontdier brought over, she marveled. The materials, the design—they were all excellent pieces that took into account the special requirements of what she needed to wear.
“It’s hard to choose. Which one to get.”
“Don’t deliberate here. Try them on first.”
“……Try them on?”
“That’s the only way to know for sure, isn’t it?”
Well, that was true enough.
Changing into clothes like these took considerable time. She had to check their functionality in various ways.
In the meantime, Frontdier was left waiting, which didn’t sit well with Selena.
“It’s fine.”
Frontdier said.
“I have nothing to spare from you.”
……
Hearing Frontdier’s words, Selena found herself recalling something peculiar.
─The way she was gradually coming to like Frontdier.
Those had been Hagly’s words.
─Act as though you’re falling in love with Frontdier until he reveals the next piece of the Ancient Language. Until now you’ve been the seducer, but now you must appear as though you’re the one being seduced by him.
─Frontdier won’t teach you the Ancient Language partly because he suspects you. But if he believes himself to be loved by you, that suspicion will dissolve. After all, there’s no reason to doubt someone who loves you.
Selena was something akin to a Double Agent caught between Mangot and Frontdier.
Which side she chose was entirely her decision, and so far Selena had chosen neither.
Yet, having spent time at Frontdier’s side all this while, her heart had tilted heavily toward him.
Because of this, there was no need to obey Hagly’s orders to the letter. And Frontdier would likely teach her the Ancient Language anyway.
That was true. And yet.
‘Even if I were to follow his command.’
To act as though gradually coming to like him.
She was beginning to understand just how difficult it was to treat that as mere performance.

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