The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 48

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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 Duplicator Episode 48
Chapter 12: The Traitor (2)
Just as Malia had suspected, Frontier instinctively grasped that there was a traitor among the faculty.
If he revealed it to any of them, the culprit might get wind of it.
That would plunge them into even greater danger.
Which is why he hadn’t informed the teachers.
‘Has Frontier grown this wise?’
At this rate I can rest easy. My boy.
Knock, knock.
At that moment, a knock sounded at the conference room door.
All the teachers turned to look at it.
Who else could be coming here now?
“Excuse me~ May I step in for a moment~?”
A flat, listless voice.
Ales’s mood darkened visibly.
“Who are you? Don’t just walk in.”
“Ah, I am Philly Terstrathe~”
Philly? Who’s that?
All the professors went blank for a moment.
Malia was the first to come to her senses.
“Open the door! Quickly!”
The other teachers understood at last.
A teacher standing near the door hurried over and pulled it open.
“My, my~ how generous of you. I’m rather embarrassed~”
Philly entered and bowed her head gracefully.
Fair skin and bright eyes—a warm presence seemed to fill the conference room.
“P-Philly… however did you come to this place alone…!”
“It was just so dreadfully dull, you see. I slipped away.”
Slipped away.
The faces around her paled.
“Please, don’t worry so. I can manage to look after myself.”
The statement itself was no mere boast.
Philly possessed considerable skill of her own, and she was always accompanied by her personal guard.
Yet it was simply a matter of propriety, common sense.
“Philly, this is rather difficult. The Rector is not even present at the moment, and if you were to be discovered wandering about like this—”
“It’s quite all right, quite all right~ I came here for a specific reason, after all.”
That’s not the issue here.
While the teachers wiped cold sweat from their brows, Philly cast her gaze about the room.
Upon finding Malia, she broke into a bright smile.
“Oh, Malia! There you are.”
“…Philly, I trust you have been well.”
“What’s with that tone of voice?”
Philly laughed—a string of ahas.
Malia smiled in return, though it looked strained.
“I understand—you can’t speak freely here. We’ll talk later.”
Then Philly cleared her throat with a soft hmm.
She glanced around the room and spoke.
“You all know that my daughter came very close to being in danger, yes?”
The warm atmosphere from just moments before remained, as did the gentle voice.
Yet the content was so grave that the conference room suddenly grew taut with tension.
“Of course. That is precisely why we have gathered here—”
“I understand that well enough. The faculty of Constel are outstanding, after all. I trust you completely.”
Philly’s words were reassuring toward the teachers.
And yet, for some reason, the teachers felt their unease deepen.
“So then.”
Philly’s eyes narrowed.
That red gaze gleamed.
“I should like to meet Renzo.”
“Y-Your Majesty…!”
“He is here, isn’t he? In the depths beneath Constel.”
Renzo was imprisoned in Constel after his arrest.
Ironically, this place where students trained was far safer than any makeshift detention facility.
“But, but this is dangerous!”
Ales tried to stop Philly.
Philly laughed.
“Still, you don’t know who you should trust right now, do you?”
……!
There was a traitor somewhere within Constel.
Philly had reached the same conclusion.
“Then wouldn’t it be best if I spoke instead?”
Philly pressed her hands together.
Her expression utterly serene.
“I’m simply curious what motive lay behind the attempt to abduct my daughter.”
* * *
I’d momentarily forgotten because of Renzo.
But I was originally in the middle of taking the practical examination.
Once I came to and gathered my wits, I started wondering about the exam results.
Surely the whole thing wouldn’t be nullified just because Renzo had burst in.
There had been no actual loss of life.
Most of the students probably had no idea the intrusion had even happened.
There was no more absurd outcome imaginable than nullifying the exam after everyone had worked so hard to catch monsters.
But then again, I became the problem.
Because of Renzo, I hadn’t caught any monsters from midway through.
So I asked Atten about it.
“Atten and I are tied for sixteenth place.”
“Sixteenth?”
An odd ranking.
Not exceptionally high, but given that I’d failed to secure materials midway through, it wasn’t a low position either.
“Here.”
“Ah, thanks.”
Atten had peeled an apple for me.
……It tastes good.
“So, how exactly did we both end up sixteenth? Did we get some bonus for stopping Renzo or something?”
“No, even if we had received such points, it wouldn’t have made much difference in the rankings.”
“Huh?”
Atten tilted her head slightly.
Her pale eyes blinked briefly, as if recalling something.
“That Aster Evans person.”
“What?”
“Apparently she eliminated the boss monster and all the monsters around it.”
…….
“So from that point on, the top ranks were decided, and we ended up being the highest among those below her. You could say that from fifteenth place onward, they were significantly ahead of us.”
“……I see.”
Since I always play the game as Aster, I don’t know how the real Aster would actually move during the practical exam.
Normally, a player stops hunting monsters once first place is secured.
Hunting too much alone risks lowering your affinity with those around you.
But it seemed the real Aster didn’t care about such things.
This time, I benefited from that.
“So then.”
“Yes?”
“When do I get discharged?”
Atten and I are in the hospital room together right now.
I’m starting to feel at home in this hospital.
“You went right to the brink of death, so hospitalization is only natural.”
“But you’re the one who healed me anyway.”
“Still.”
Atten’s Restoration.
I never thought it would be possible this soon.
I heard she’d glimpsed her own future.
So in the end, Philly’s worry had become reality.
That reality saved me, though.
“Your body is fine, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I really thought I was dying.”
No exaggeration.
I had accepted death.
I’d underestimated the danger of the Woven Dragon Heart far too much.
……Though now that I understand the danger, I’m not sure I would’ve chosen differently.
“Don’t ever do that again.”
“Hm?”
“My success with Restoration was pure chance. I only managed it by glimpsing information for an instant, like a flash. I have no confidence in seeing the future again, and I don’t even know how it works.”
Atten, like Philly, was a Descendant of Vala.
That blood thinned with each passing generation.
Just as Philly’s foresight wasn’t true premonition.
Atten’s glimpse of the future had been pure coincidence.
Atten gripped the fabric of her skirt above her knees with both hands.
“……Next time, I won’t be able to save you. So please, I’m begging you.”
“Don’t worry. I’m too scared to do it again.”
That was the truth.
That Atten succeeded in Restoration at this moment was a miracle in itself.
I wanted nothing to do with such reckless gambles ever again.
“……You don’t know how terrified I was.”
“What?”
“How terrified I was. That I’d lose you—”
Creak—
The Hospital Room door opened then.
I thought it was the doctor, but a stranger walked in.
The man in the suit bowed formally to me.
“Pardon the intrusion. You’re Frontier, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I’m Detective Robert, assigned to investigate this incident.”
“An incident?”
“The attempted abduction of Princess Atten and all circumstances surrounding it.”
Ah, so this was a statement of facts.
When I nodded, Robert pulled a chair over and sat beside me.
He took out a notebook.
“I hear you discovered Renzo first. Where was that location?”
At Robert’s words, Atten tensed.
My early discovery of Renzo and quick response was a lie we’d agreed on beforehand.
If the investigation continued, it could unravel.
But.
“Frontier? Where was that location?”
Watching Robert perform his somewhat clumsy detective act, I laughed.
“……Robert, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not a detective.”
Unfortunately, I knew who Robert was.
The suit really doesn’t suit him.
“……If I’m not a detective, then why would I be doing this?”
“On Philly’s orders.”
At my words, Robert’s eyes widened.
I proceeded to scan his entire frame as if analyzing him while I spoke.
“It shows here too. The calluses on your hands, the trained muscle beneath the suit that’s hard to hide, and when you walked in you tried hard to look natural—but when you bowed to me, your habit slipped through.”
“…….”
“You’re one of the Royal Family’s direct knights under Philly’s command. Am I right?”
I was, in fact, just talking out loud.
Calluses, muscles—what did I care.
I already knew Robert was one of Philly’s knights.
I was simply producing plausible words to explain how I’d figured it out.
I couldn’t very well say I’d seen it in a game.
“……That’s impressive.”
Robert nodded, his voice carrying genuine admiration.
Once you know the answer, any explanation sounds plausible enough.
Robert’s expression hardened deliberately.
“However, you address the Queen with rather too casual a title. I must ask you to be more careful going forward.”
“My apologies.”
Damn. Without thinking, I’d fallen into the habit of calling her Philly, and now it was stuck on my tongue.
I’d need to watch that from now on.
“But it was not the Queen’s command. I came to find you of my own will. For that reason, I wished to conceal my identity. I am sorry for the deception.”
Robert lowered his head again.
He really is a courteous person.
“It’s no matter.”
“Now that there’s no need to hide, conversation becomes easier. I have something I wish to ask you, Frontier—someone who has fought Renzo directly.”
“What would that be? I’m afraid I may not have many answers to offer.”
How exactly I severed Renzo’s arm, for instance.
That’s something I cannot answer even if asked.
Though that’s probably what he most wants to know.
“Renzo approached both you and Atten without anyone noticing. Do you believe it was possible for him to accomplish such a feat alone?”
I thought for a moment.
Renzo’s movements at the time, his words.
I shook my head.
“It wouldn’t have been possible.”
Renzo’s Concealment Technique was exceptional.
He’d come within arm’s reach without Atten and me noticing.
And yet he still triggered Menosorfo.
Since Menosorfo wasn’t a magical barrier designed for security purposes, I find it difficult to believe that Renzo alone could have penetrated other defensive systems.
“Then you believe there was an accomplice?”
“Yes. Someone inside Constel.”
“……As I suspected.”
Not that I should say this.
But I know who that accomplice is—the traitor inside Constel.
However, that isn’t what matters.
If I become consumed with finding the traitor, the investigation could go completely off course.
“……You are Philly’s knight, are you not, Robert?”
“I am.”
“Then I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“There is one more person.”
Robert’s eyes blinked briefly at my words.
Then his face grew grave in an instant.
“……There is another accomplice?”
“Renzo said he was paid an appropriate sum for this task.”
Renzo has an employer.
The traitor inside Constel was similarly induced to betray—it stands to reason someone convinced them to do so.
Or else a spy was planted inside Constel from the beginning.
Which means there exists a third person: someone who hired Renzo and simultaneously created a traitor within Constel’s walls.
“……Frontier, I don’t wish to ask, but I find I must.”
“What is it?”
“That you would tell me this, and tell Her Highness—in other words.”
“Yes.”
I nodded plainly.
“I believe that person is someone of the Royal Family.”

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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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