The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 192

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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 Academy’s Weapon Replicator – Episode 192
Chapter 62: Date (2)
Selena followed my suggestion and headed into the fitting room to change clothes.
There’s something strange about how readily she complies these days. I still can’t quite pin down her reasoning. Most of the time she’s rather stubborn about her own preferences.
‘Well, regardless.’
This is rather awkward. Since I didn’t know where else to look, I glanced up at the department store ceiling.
—I’d already noticed it. The shadowing.
Elody, Saiber, and Aten, was it? I hadn’t expected to notice it before Selena did.
When I destroyed the Hel Heim Fragment before and absorbed all its Mana, I experienced all manner of extraordinary things. This seems to be an aftereffect of that.
Now I perceive everything supernatural through all five senses.
At first I thought I’d only be able to see beings from other worlds, like spirits or gods. But it went beyond that—flows of Aura and Mana all came into view.
I had an incredibly hard time adapting to this over spring break. Not because I couldn’t see things, but because I could see too much. It came into view even when I had no desire to look. Unlike a game, I couldn’t toggle the settings on and off.
I heard once that pigs can’t lift their heads, so they never see the sky unless someone helps them.
I’m like a pig that lifted its own head and saw the sky. Once you’ve seen it, once you’re capable of seeing, it becomes hard to turn your eyes away.
A pig that saw the sky. It’s a rather easy metaphor to understand.
‘They don’t seem to be trying to do anything in particular.’
The three following us merely loiter nearby without any special action. But Elody’s magic is so thorough that passersby often don’t notice and bump into them.
Even after colliding, they just walk on without realizing what they hit, so those three must have it rough.
Given that Elody is with them, it doesn’t seem like mere fooling around. If it were, they wouldn’t bother with such meticulous concealment.
‘Right, this is because of me.’
Lately, my nickname has shifted somewhat—now I’m known as “Sloth.” I’ve transformed in the minds of the students from an object of contempt to an object of fear.
Perhaps that’s influenced those three as well. Maybe they’re worried I’ll do something to harm Selena.
When someone without power gains power, who knows what they’ll do. Especially Elody, who knew Frontdier as a child, would understand that risk better than most.
Selena and I have an employer-and-bodyguard relationship, so I hold the upper hand in the power dynamic. It’s quite a convincing story—that I’d exploit that to intimidate her. Never mind that I’m Frontdier.
‘I’ll leave it be.’
Saiber is the type who might cause a storm depending on her mood, and Aten has a reckless streak that’s worrying. But if those two are with Elody, I have nothing to fear.
Elody was the character I trusted most in Game Etius from beginning to end.
It’s probably not just me. Though she never joins the protagonist Aster’s party, perhaps because of that very fact, players’ trust in Elody runs deep. In the end, she accomplishes feats comparable to Aster’s party.
‘Besides, I’m not going to do anything anyway.’
Picking out Selena’s clothes will take some time, but once she’s chosen, we’ll head straight home. By then those three will relax and disperse.
So today will pass as nothing more than a minor happening—no real incident at all.
“Um, Frontdier?”
Then Selena’s voice reached me. It was so quiet I almost missed it.
“Oh, Selena. Did you finish changing?”
I turned to look at her.
And for a moment, I froze.
Selena wore a white one-piece dress. To be honest, it was a style completely opposite to what she’d worn so far. It was loose-fitting and airy, with an elegant, innocent image rather than a sexy one.
I’d been slightly worried whether it would suit her, but of course it did. Instead, a different concern rose in my mind.
‘…It doesn’t seem to hide her figure very well.’
Exposure was almost completely eliminated. The skirt is slightly short, but that’s unavoidable given Selena’s habit of hiding weapons in her thighs, and frankly it’s within normal bounds.
But separately from that, in terms of concealing her figure, it hardly helped at all.
Instead of her chest and rear, her delicate shoulders and legs stood out. Given her proportions, hiding the exposure simply accentuated the silhouette of the whole.
Now that I’ve dressed her in these clothes, I understand even better what Mangot’s purpose was in drawing Selena toward me.
“H-how is it? I’ve never worn clothes like this before.”
She’s visibly uncomfortable even without saying so. The way she checks her skirt and sleeves several times shows her anxiety about whether she’s wearing it properly.
“It suits you well.”
“Really?”
“What do you think yourself? It seems less embarrassing than what you’ve been wearing.”
“…I was never embarrassed by my previous clothes.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
What Selena said is obviously a lie.
The biggest reason for buying her new clothes was that at some point, Selena has grown uncomfortable with her own outfit. Not for functional reasons, but for emotional ones.
Since Selena was sent to seduce me originally, she’s completely changed her mindset and now approaches me differently.
Probably, while she was attempting to seduce me, she didn’t really see me as a man at all. It was just a stage she had to get through to complete her mission.
In my terms, I was nothing more than a Quest NPC.
But after the seduction failed, or more precisely after I redirected her in a different direction, things changed.
With no intention to seduce me anymore, when faced with this new situation, every piece of clothing feels like it was only meant to seduce.
I’m no longer a Quest NPC but another avenue through which she can be coaxed to regain her family and clan, her teacher in the Ancient Language, and her employer.
It wouldn’t be easy for her to dress as before when standing before such a person. Yet she couldn’t exactly tell Mangot about it either.
“Is it just awkward because you’ve never worn it before? Is there anywhere that’s uncomfortable?”
“……There isn’t.”
“Fine, I’ll buy it.”
“But there are still so many other clothes you haven’t tried.”
“If you don’t notice any issues with the fit, I’m buying it. Depending on how things go, I might end up purchasing everything you picked out earlier.”
At my words, Selena’s small mouth fell open. Only then did she move her body several times, scrutinizing the various parts of the garment.
“Ah, Frontdier. Now that I look again, this ankle area—”
“If you’re lying, I’ll burn every single piece of clothing you’ve been wearing until now. Then you’ll have no choice but to buy new ones.”
As I spoke, Selena closed her mouth quickly. I laughed at the sight and said to her.
“You don’t need to worry about my money. I won’t reduce what I give you just because I’m buying a few outfits.”
“That’s, that’s not the reason.”
“Regardless of the reason, you don’t need to worry about my finances.”
I turned my gaze to the staff member. At just the look in my eyes, she quickly hurried over and helped process the payment for Selena’s outfit.
Since security at Therst Department Store relied on magic itself, it was quite convenient to be able to purchase immediately without needing to change back into original clothes.
“Instead of wasting time worrying about such things, focus on wearing better clothes and acquiring better equipment so you can assist me.”
“……Understood.”
Only then did Selena nod, apparently satisfied.
But soon she rolled her eyes as if gauging the situation, then spoke.
“Um, but Frontdier.”
“Yes?”
“Like I mentioned before, um, your tone of voice.”
Ah.
Indeed, ever since winter break ended, the tension I maintained with Selena had loosened considerably. I wonder if even this could be one of Mangot’s schemes, but that doesn’t make sense.
Still, it’s better to maintain a stern tone with Selena regardless. It helps me keep my own mind in check, and it looks natural to Mangot as well.
If Mangot discovers that I’ve relaxed my guard around Selena and attempts something strange, it would only become more troublesome.
So I had tried to return to my original manner of speaking.
‘……Ah.’
But now I remembered—there had been surveillance.
Eyes of suspicion and vigilance, watching to see if I might do something improper toward Selena.
To put their minds at ease, it would be better to avoid an overly oppressive tone.
“No, Selena.”
“Yes?”
“Today I’ll speak like this.”
“……Yes?”
I smiled as I looked at Selena.
With a kind face, a kind smile, a kind heart.
Today, I am a good man.
“Just for today, let’s be like this.”

* * *
Inside a cafe within the department store.
Saiber sipped her coffee with a face full of discontent. Elody sighed as she watched that pouting expression.
“Let’s go back now. We’ve seen everything, haven’t we?”
“…….”
Saiber did not answer. Elody looked at Aten. Aten’s face showed no obvious signs, but it was clearly shadowed.
Sigh. Elody exhaled deeply. There’s no helping it. She’d have to speak plainly here.
“You both saw it, so you already know.”
“…….”
“That’s a hundred percent genuine date.”
“Ahhh! Don’t say it!”
Saiber buried her face as if in anguish. At that sight, Elody glanced across to the far side of the cafe.
There, Selena and Frontdier were facing each other, engaged in conversation.
Frontdier speaking with soft eyes, and Selena responding hesitantly, blushing slightly—truly a lovely, fresh, and adorable couple.
“I knew it was a date…… I did know…….”
Saiber murmured. Even if it pained her, she seemed to be the type who needed to confirm things with her own eyes.
“That guy, and he can speak so tenderly…….”
Saiber looked at Frontdier with an aggrieved expression. At this, Elody was somewhat taken aback. Saiber’s reaction was far too transparent and honest.
Within Constellation’s reputation rankings, Saiber is known among the students as the most “fox-like.”
That assessment certainly carried both favorable and unfavorable connotations, but there was no denying that Saiber possessed the most charm and affectation in Constellation Academy, along with a face to match.
Yet the way this same Saiber gazed at Frontdier, having shed her entire public image, was somehow—
“Saiber.”
While Elody’s thoughts wandered, Aten spoke first.
“Does Saiber like Frontdier?”
“Huh.”
Elody was the one taken aback. The way she was worrying about what others might say, and yet answered so casually—!
“……It seems like it.”
That was Saiber’s answer. Though her expression was rather curious. It wasn’t that she’d dodged the question out of embarrassment; it seemed more like an answer born from uncertainty, from her own inability to be certain.
“So when you say it seems like it, does that mean it also seems like you don’t?”
“No, well. I’m certain I have favorable feelings, but.”
Saiber looked at Frontdier.
Saiber had always been quite aware of her own feelings. She understood her own beauty well, knew how to make herself appear more beautiful or endearing, and knew how to use it. Through all this, she had received love from many, and jealousy too. And yet, to say that her own heart remained unmoved through it all would be a lie.
But Frontdier felt different from the men she had met before.
—Because he didn’t believe in Destiny.
That statement had now become something of an anchor for Saiber. It was undeniable that she received Destiny’s love, but Saiber had resolved not to depend on it.
“……Frontdier, you see.”
Saiber seemed to have made a decision and spoke.
“You embarrass me.”
“……?”
Aten and Elody exchanged glances.
……Did that mean she really disliked Frontdier?
They tilted their heads, trying to grasp the meaning of Saiber’s words, when—
“All of you, listen well!!”
A loud voice suddenly rang out through the department store.
That voice carried an Aura, suggesting considerable skill.
“I am Jacob, the third finger of Mangot!”
The sudden introduction made the people nearby catch their breath. Even if they didn’t know Mangot’s exact nature, its reputation was well-known.
“I have planted forty-five bombs throughout this department store! If you don’t want to die, everyone kneel and bury your heads! If I die, they detonate automatically, so don’t get any funny ideas! There are others besides me in this department store!”
At the man’s shout, Elody, Aten, and Saiber all grimaced. If what he said was true, regardless of his actual skill, they had no choice but to obey for now.
“Elody, did you sense any bombs?”
Saiber whispered. Thanks to the Wind Whisper, her voice wouldn’t reach anyone else, but somehow her voice still grew quieter.
“No. I didn’t sense any Mana, but there are bombs that use no Mana at all, so.”
Simple explosives and circuitry alone. Such bombs were actually rare in Game Etius, but they did exist.
What should we do? Elody’s mind raced. The Therst Department Store was a place visited by quite high-ranking nobles, and sometimes even royalty.
If this criminal was after money, that would be fortunate, but he said “Mangot,” so the odds were low.
“Hurry up! Unless you want to be blown to pieces—”
“Waaah.”
Splat!
After a sound both oddly familiar and drawn-out reached them, something struck Jacob’s back of the head hard.
For someone who’d spoken with such confidence and bravado, Jacob’s collapse was pathetically anticlimactic. His face hit the floor first, and he was completely unconscious, showing no sign of movement.
—And nothing happened in the department store.
“A bad guy fell down. Waaah. He must’ve received divine punishment. I really do have good luck.”
That monotone muttering that followed, sounding less like words and more like someone reciting from a textbook.
There was no definitive proof of who had knocked Jacob out.
But as everyone slowly began to kneel, the only one still sitting there with her chin resting on her hand was Frontdier.

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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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