The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 39

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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 39
Chapter 10: The Empress’s Eye (5)
I remember Aten Therst from the game Aetius.
When I first met Aster, Aten always looked at him that way.
But as the game progressed and I navigated the Main Quest and story, Aten came to acknowledge Aster.
Sometimes she even developed a romantic relationship with him.
So I’d always known Aten to be a cold character.
“Aten, have you met Aster before?”
“No. This is the first time we’ve met.”
Even after parting with Aster, Aten’s expression didn’t improve.
It was probably true that they’d only just met.
As for me, I’d never encountered Aten from before Aster transferred in.
‘So that austere gaze I saw from Aten when I played as Aster—was it not her nature, but something with its own reason?’
From Frondier’s perspective, Aten isn’t nearly as cold as all that.
……Just someone I don’t quite communicate with.
That is, I mistook Aten for having a cold temperament because I was playing from ‘Aster’s’ viewpoint, but that wasn’t the truth at all.
Between Aten and Aster, something exists that I don’t know about.
“So where are we going now? Shopping seems finished.”
Aten, who’d followed along, asked.
There wasn’t much to shopping, really.
I only bought writing supplies for the Midterm Exam notes.
I answered her.
“I’m heading home. Are you coming all the way there?”
“Of course not. I’m a woman who knows her limits.”
No, you don’t know your limits at all.
Just because you don’t cross the final line doesn’t mean you’re showing restraint.
“Then let’s part ways here.”
“Right. See you tomorrow, then.”
With that, Aten gave a small bow.
See you tomorrow.
What’s that supposed to mean?
It’s just a normal greeting, right?
She’s not saying we’re repeating this exact same thing tomorrow, is she?
* * *
I ran into Astje the moment I returned to the Mansion.
It was a training day.
During training, I asked Astje to demonstrate the Nakjang for me.
Since I had one from Elodi anyway.
But Astje shook his head.
“Not happening.”
“……Why not?”
“If you try it now, you’ll only hurt yourself.”
Astje was firm.
Not that he was ever anything else.
“Besides, Nakjang works best when wielded as a spear. It relies on the flexibility and length of the shaft.”
“Ah, I see.”
Astje saw straight through my thoughts.
“If you want to mimic Nakjang with a short sword, build your body first. You’ve barely started training.”
“Understood.”
I let go of my lingering hopes of learning Nakjang and adjusted my stance.
Training with Astje was invaluable.
For the muscle work, I followed along as best I could, and for combat, we mostly sparred while he pointed out problems and gaps in my movements.
This simple repetition was steadily raising my experience.
As for Nakjang itself, he didn’t actually teach it, but he showed it to me often during our matches.
The lesson was to steal what I could by watching.
Thanks to that, I couldn’t use Nakjang, but I was learning how to counter it.
Just like when fighting the golem, my main defense was to drop my weapon first.
‘Wait.’
……The golem?
‘Oh.’
What do I do.
I’ve just remembered how to learn Nakjang.
But let me focus on training for now.
As Astje said, if I try to use Nakjang with this body right now, I’ll end up hurting myself.
And if I’m going to attempt it with a short sword instead of a spear, the strain would be even worse.
……But is it even possible?
“Um, sir.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t you doubt my abilities?”
“What are you saying?”
Ah, I knew it.
“You’re nothing but a novice who’s just started training. You’ve spent your years in idleness, starting far behind everyone else. By the time you satisfy my eye, you’ll have already graduated.”
“……But, sir, my father has commanded me to reach the top ten within a year.”
“That’s a different matter. Even if you ranked first among Konstel’s first-year rabble, you wouldn’t impress me.”
The current first-year top student is Aster Evans.
Even the current Aster hasn’t quite reached Astje’s standard yet.
“……Sir.”
“You’re awfully talkative today.”
“Do I have any aptitude for combat?”
This is what’s been troubling me lately.
In the previous world, I’d observed this one through the lens of Aster, a character brimming with talent.
Aster’s companions were already characters who’d distinguished themselves at Konstel.
I knew instinctively what position they should occupy, how they should fight.
But for a character like Frondier, someone entirely unknown to me, I have no path to follow.
My choice to fight with Direct Weaving.
Pouring effort into Throwing and Short Sword Technique.
Replicating legendary weapons like Gram and Krisselakatos.
Is this the right direction to take?
Is Frondier’s body truly suited for ‘combat’? Does it have talent?
Aetius gives me only threadbare information, and navigating a situation like this feels like groping through fog.
I, and this body of Frondier.
Can we keep walking this path and find our way through?
After observing me for a moment, Astje spoke.
“Frondier, talent and aptitude are matters of consequence. We don’t speak of talent in the context of failures. Only the successful, only the strong, are acknowledged for their talent.”
Astje had spoken at unusual length.
Perhaps my question prompted some thought.
“Throughout history, when people explain how someone’s achievements were possible, if ‘effort’ doesn’t suffice, they dismiss everything else as ‘talent.’ Yet there were far more elements at work in their accomplishments.”
──It’s as though he were speaking of his father, Ampere.
Ampere, who as lord has never once allowed demons to breach his lands.
The epithet attached to him: the Iron Bastion of the North.
Astje, having watched his life unfold, must have his own reflections.
Apart from that, Astje’s words held truth.
Talent and aptitude are words bestowed upon the successful.
Countless people who believed in their childhood talent have fallen flat,
while someone unremarkable has risen to success—such is the world.
And once success comes, talent suddenly clings to that person.
There was no such talent before success.
Yet after success, that talent is repackaged as though it existed from the start—that is human nature.
“But Frondier, I say this with certainty.”
Then Astje’s impassive eyes fixed on me.
“You cannot lack aptitude for combat.”
“I beg your pardon?”
I couldn’t discern what he was thinking.
I felt no intention behind it.
With eyes like that, Astje conveyed it as though stating fact.
“Because you are my younger brother.”
* * *
“Golem data?”
“Yes. Do you think any might remain?”
The next day, after classes, I sought out my instructor Binkes.
Binkes, the original owner of the golem Edwin had used.
She tilted her head at me with a soft hum.
“I’ve got some left, but what would you use it for?”
“Could I perhaps record a technique demonstration?”
“Record? Ah, so you have a Wizergram?”
……How did she know that.
Is the Wizergram originally a famous item?
I’d never heard of or seen it when I was playing the game.
“Then there’s no need to record. I’ll transmit the data to you directly. You’ll be able to view it on your Wizergram.”
Excellent—how convenient.
I took out my Wizergram.
“Ooh, you’ve got a nice one.”
“Really?”
“Look at the mark on the bottom. There’s only one magical tool company that uses the ‘eagle’ mark. And every product from that company boasts the highest quality.”
Just as Binkes said, the underside of the Wizergram bore an eagle emblem.
Indeed, this eagle was the mark of Hitchcock.
I didn’t know about the Wizergram, but I knew the company Hitchcock.
“So? What technique did you want to see?”
“Nakjang.”
“You’ve got big dreams, don’t you?”
Binkes laughed and transmitted the data to me.
Perfect—now I could watch it on my Wizergram whenever I wanted.
As Astje said, my body still wasn’t ready, so I shouldn’t attempt to imitate it carelessly. For now, I’d just observe.
Getting my eyes accustomed to it came first.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Sure, it’s nothing. But hey, Frondier.”
“Yes?”
“How long is she going to keep that up?”
At Binkes’s words, I turned around.
Behind me stood Aten, frozen like ice itself.
Aten had accompanied me again today without fail.
And I had been doing my best to escape.
Though it had been almost useless.
Aten should be sticking with Aster, not following me around.
She was one of Aster’s important forces—why was she trailing after me like this?
And if I tried to arrange her with Aster, she’d transform into that Ice Maiden I knew from the game, making conversation impossible.
So to the other students passing by, our relationship must look rather strange.
The Empire’s princess following a student with the worst reputation around.
The rumor had spread far and wide in a single day.
Aten blinked those large eyes several times when she was pointed out, then opened her mouth.
“──Ah, me?”
“Thank goodness. I thought you were alive. You were standing so still I mistook you for a doll.”
Binkes the instructor joked.
“The rumors are flying, aren’t they? The Empire’s princess trailing behind Frondier? What’s this? What’s this? Frondier, did you seduce the princess in just one day?”
“No, ma’am. I don’t understand it myself either.”
I answered naturally, but Aten’s eyes moved upward as if she were thinking about something.
And then she said something unsettling.
“I was seduced……. If possible, I would like to be.”
“……Huh? What did you say?”
Even Binkes was flustered this time.
“I wish Frondier would seduce me, if it were possible,”
“Ma’am! Thank you for the data! I’m leaving now!”
I pulled Aten outside.
Ignoring Binkes’s dazed expression as she saw us off.
“Frondier, where are we going?”
“The library. The library!”
“Why?”
“The Midterm Exam is coming up soon. How are you doing with your studies?”
Actually, Aten probably should be more worried than I was.
She’d just transferred schools when the exam was right around the corner.
Aten rested her hand gracefully upon her collarbone as she spoke.
“It’s quite all right. Wealth doesn’t correlate with grades, after all.”
“That’s not all right at all, is it?”
And don’t make dangerous remarks like that.
It sounds like you’re planning to bribe the examiners with money.
‘For all her icy appearance, Aten’s actually a diligent student when it comes to academics.’
Despite the cold bearing she projects, Aten possessed an equally intellectual demeanor, though in truth her intelligence was rather ordinary.
Originally, when she’d transferred here and things soured between her and Aster, she’d thrown herself into studying and barely scraped through the Midterm Exam.
Now she’s neglecting her studies while chasing after me.
She doesn’t seem interested in it at all anymore.
‘Damn it.’
Why should I be the one doing this?
“Come with me. I’ll teach you how to study.”
If Aten’s grades slip, I’m the one who suffers.
If she fails the written portion of the Midterm Exam, she’ll have to retake it after the practical portion.
There’s an event that occurs during that retake period, and I absolutely need Aten for it.
Aten’s eyes widened slightly, as though my offer had caught her off guard.
Then she spoke.
“I’ve been following you anyway.”
“I know!”
“And the thought of you teaching me is… well, I’m having difficulty imagining it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“My apologies. Let me rephrase. I’m finding it difficult to have faith in the prospect.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re so honest you end up hurting people?”
!
At my words, Aten’s face took on an expression of shock more pronounced than anything I’d ever seen from her.
“How did you know that…!”
…Strange.
She’s starting to get on my nerves.

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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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