The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 53

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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 Duplicator of the Academy — Episode 53
Chapter 15: The Hook (2)
Frontdier’s record-breaking achievement spread quickly through all of Constellation Academy.
Staff members overseeing the Training Room program soon gathered to conduct a thorough re-examination.
It wasn’t so much that they distrusted Frontdier’s record, but rather that the figure of 3.14 seconds was simply too implausible.
“Yes, I’m ready.”
Jane, standing in the center of the private training room, spoke.
Several Mana Spheres already floated around her.
Confirming this, a staff member initiated the test.
Target Practice — the highest difficulty.
“Then, let’s begin!”
The staff member activated the test.
Jane fired multiple Mana Spheres toward the targets.
Moments later,
“……Hmm, it’s functioning properly.”
The recorded time was 34.6 seconds.
The teachers gathered, scratching their heads.
There were no malfunctions in the test apparatus.
Jane’s time was faster than her previous personal record, but not significantly so.
“If you finish the magical incantation beforehand and have someone else operate the program, you can shave off at most one or two seconds.”
“The previous record holder at 31.5 seconds was known for rapid-fire proficiency. In other words, they didn’t strike each target individually — they simply unleashed a barrage of Magic Bullets.”
“Then a time of 3.14 seconds is even more unreasonable.”
The program showed no malfunction or recording error.
Unless it had broken and repaired itself arbitrarily, Frontdier’s record had to be genuine.
In the midst of this discussion, one of the staff members spoke up.
“Couldn’t this fellow Frontdier be skilled at programming? If he were to hack it or commit some fraud—”
At that point, the other teachers fixed him with sharp stares.
The man didn’t understand at first why he was receiving such looks, but soon realized, and his face went pale.
“……Well, I suppose it can’t be ruled out as a possibility.”
It was Malia de Roach who said this.
Malia de Roach — Frontdier’s mother.
His remark had been tactless beyond measure, given her presence at this gathering.
“But Frontdier has no talent in that direction. I wish he did, frankly. We’ve never dealt with programming at home either. Does that answer your question?”
“Yes, yes. My apologies, Malia.”
“No need to apologize. That was actually a good observation.”
Malia smiled as she spoke.
To the man’s eyes, it appeared only cold and frightening, but Malia was quite sincere.
‘……But if it’s not hacking, then how on earth did he do it?’
Malia watched as Jane conducted the test.
A time of 3.14 seconds would be difficult to accept even if they brought in anyone other than Frontdier.
She couldn’t even fathom the method.
“What about the spell Chain Lightning? Lightning striking targets in succession and destroying them?”
“It doesn’t work. The targets are merely holograms, so lightning won’t adhere to them. Besides, if it were such a simple method, the record would have been broken long ago.”
Lightning was fast, but by its nature it couldn’t be condensed into Magic Bullets. Moreover, it was surprisingly difficult to land accurately.
Considering efficiency, one had no choice but to rely on multiple Magic Bullets.
‘The targets only appear after the test begins. In other words, the moment the test starts, one must grasp the number of targets at a glance, create that many Magic Bullets, and attach homing properties to all of them……’
It was absurd.
Absurd, yet the only possibility she could conceive of.
As the discussion progressed to this point, the teacher Ales, who had been silent, spoke.
“But wasn’t Frontdier a mage?”
At those words, everyone blinked briefly.
Their eyes turned toward Jane.
Among them, only Jane knew Frontdier to any degree.
She had the experience of venturing into a Dungeon with him.
“……Well, I’m not entirely sure?”
But even Jane couldn’t offer a clear answer.
Now that she thought about it, she’d never actually seen Frontdier in combat.
During the Dungeon raid, they had become separated due to a trap.
‘But his clothing wasn’t that of a mage’s attire. He was carrying a Short Sword, too.’
The Short Sword he’d been carrying then was a standard basic blade for general use, yet the fact remained that he’d had no other weapon besides that.
“Wouldn’t it be better to ask the student directly about this? It doesn’t appear to be a program error. Let’s think positively—if the 3.14 seconds is an accurate record, then Constellation Academy has produced a student who will reset the standard for genius.”
“Well, that may be so, but….”
The other faculty members wore troubled expressions at Ales’s words.
The truth was that most of the teachers had consistently regarded Frontdier with something closer to contempt, no matter how charitably they tried to frame it.
It was hard to accept that he’d suddenly posted such an impossible record.
And there was the immediate problem at hand.
One of the faculty members spoke up.
“So then, who’s supposed to ask him about it?”
* * *
And so, now.
I found myself regarding the two teachers seated across from me with something like bewilderment.
Teacher Jane, and Malia de Roach, the school nurse—my mother.
“So you’ve come to ask me how I set that record, then.”
“Well, yes, I suppose that’s it.”
Jane answered with a reluctant expression.
It was as good as saying that all the teachers who’d examined the footage couldn’t figure out what happened.
I paused to consider.
The Target Practice record improvement was something I’d never anticipated.
It had hammered home the true power of a Divine-tier Weapon.
‘…But if things are flowing this way, then the dice have rolled favorably after all.’
This place with only teacher Jane and Malia present.
And these two were purely good characters—they’d never fallen even once in the game.
I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.
It was especially fortunate that Malia was here.
Just as Phillie had inherited Precognition from Malia, Malia possessed Bloodline Magic—and I would absolutely need that magic for my plan.
“So how did you do it? How were you able to shave off some 27 seconds from the record?”
“…What do you think I did, teacher?”
I turned the question back on her.
Jane’s eyes narrowed.
She didn’t like that I’d answered her question with one of my own.
But either way, what I chose to reveal was my decision to make.
Jane regarded me for a moment, then spoke as if conceding defeat.
“…The faculty believes you either generated multiple Magic Bullets or activated some kind of rapid-fire option with a homing property attached.”
As expected.
No one seemed to think I’d used a bow at all.
Which made sense—there were far too many targets, and it was nearly impossible to imagine.
For a single arrow to split apart of its own accord was something few would believe without witnessing it firsthand.
It seemed highly unlikely that the teachers would puzzle out the truth from their collective speculation.
‘I wonder if Aten would have figured it out.’
Aten had seen Iokeira split during his fight with Lenzo, so he might at least be able to make an educated guess.
I hoped he wouldn’t volunteer that knowledge.
And if it were Aten, he wouldn’t.
“So now it’s Frontdier’s turn to answer.”
“…This conversation won’t leave this room, correct?”
“Of course not. That’s why we arranged this private setting.”
“You’re certain?”
“It’s a security spell that Malia and I created together. No information leaves this classroom.”
Good. I now knew everything I needed to know.
I clasped my hands together.
I could feel both Jane’s and Malia’s attention sharpen at the gesture.
“I have something to tell both of you.”
“What is it?”
“I know who the Rat is.”
The moment those words left my mouth,
no, before I’d even finished half the sentence,
their tension spiked to its peak, and Jane even drew mana to the surface.
Jane’s face stiffened, and she forced a smile as she spoke.
“…What exactly do you mean by that?”
Yes, that was the normal reaction to expect.
But Malia’s response was somewhat different.
Malia leaned closer to me and spoke.
“……Frontdier, is that true?”
Malia had dropped the formal address she normally used with me.
She was no longer my teacher now—she was Malia de Roach, my mother.
“M-Malia. Such information is far too dangerous for a student to hear.”
“But Frontdier seems to already know everything.”
The “rat” I had spoken of naturally meant a traitor within Constellation Academy.
Lenzo’s invasion had two additional accomplices.
One was Phillie’s daughter in the Palace,
and the other was a teacher within Constellation Academy.
The matter was far more urgent and critical than how I had broken the record.
Constellation Academy believed I had stopped Lenzo and severed his arm without being discovered.
Instead, they thought the incident had been handled quietly after I found him and reported to Edwin.
But Malia would understand the meaning of my actions from just this altered information alone.
Why I had not spoken to the teachers, but to Edwin instead.
That I too suspected one of the teachers.
That was why my words could be trusted now.
“I understand that you may not believe me even if I tell you who I am now.”
But it still wasn’t enough.
There was a vast difference between suspecting one of the teachers
and being certain of who it was.
“So I will provide proof.”
“……How?”
“I will draw the traitor to the surface.”
At my words, Malia and Jane exchanged glances.
I had spoken only absurdities until now, but this statement would surely be the most ridiculous yet.
“……You’re saying you’ll expose a hidden traitor among Constellation Academy’s teachers?”
“Yes. So I ask that you both keep this entirely confidential, and help me when the situation unfolds.”
“……What kind of situation?”
“That cannot be known until the moment comes.”
I held back my words because I truly did not know where the situation would veer.
I had a plan and confidence in its success, but the aftermath would branch into several possibilities.
Regardless of which path it took, I needed witnesses.
Witnesses that I had been targeting the culprit from the beginning.
* * *
Frontdier finished speaking and left.
Jane and Malia remained, each lost in their own thoughts.
Jane spoke first.
“Do you think Frontdier really knows who the traitor is?”
“……I’m not sure. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Malia generally gave Frontdier the benefit of the doubt, but even she found this difficult to accept so easily.
Before Lenzo’s invasion, the teachers of Constellation Academy hadn’t even known the traitor existed.
And from the invasion until now, their identity remained shrouded in mystery.
Yet Frontdier claimed to know exactly who the traitor was.
“Malia, it seems you trust Frontdier. What are your thoughts on all this?”
“……I…”
Malia trailed off, a rare occurrence.
With her lower lip caught between her teeth, she appeared deeply troubled.
“……It’s about Frontdier’s record-breaking performance.”
“Ah, yes. That’s why we called Frontdier in the first place.”
Jane ran her fingers through her hair.
Frontdier’s revelation had been so shocking that she’d momentarily forgotten the original purpose.
Jane asked a question.
“Malia, did you figure out how Frontdier broke the record?”
“No, that’s not it. But…… the timing feels far too coincidental.”
“Coincidental?”
“……Jane.”
After long deliberation, Malia appeared to have made a decision, looking directly at Jane.
“Don’t you think Frontdier deliberately broke the record?”
“……What do you mean by that?”
“Right now. This place. This situation. You called Frontdier in because of the record update, didn’t you? And you’ve cast soundproofing and security wards around this room.”
“……Surely you don’t mean, Professor Malia.”
“And the fact that we’re here—most of the teachers at Constellation Academy would know about it. Which means, conversely, that Frontdier meeting with us looks perfectly reasonable and natural to everyone else.”
Jane’s eyes widened at Malia’s words.
“Are you saying Frontdier broke the record to hand over information about the traitor to us? Professor Malia, that’s taking things too far.”
“But if this theory is correct, it explains everything Frontdier has done. The sudden record update makes sense.”
If a student drastically breaks the existing Target Practice record, the teachers would naturally inspect the program to verify it.
Especially if that student was Frontdier, who had such a poor reputation.
And if they couldn’t find the reason for the record update, the logical next step would be to ask Frontdier directly.
It was also predictable that Jane and Malia would be the ones called.
“What if all of this unfolded exactly as Frontdier intended?”
“…….”
Jane fell silent for a moment.
She wanted to dismiss it as absurd, but the more she thought it through, the more she felt a chill run down her spine at the soundness of Malia’s reasoning.
Frontdier knows exactly who the traitor is. Assuming that to be true.
He wanted to pass this information to a teacher he could trust.
But in Constellation Academy, where so many eyes and ears are watching, that wasn’t possible.
So he needed a ‘situation’—a pretext to meet.
But if that were the case,
“……Then Frontdier could have broken the record whenever he wanted?”
“Precisely.”
“Breaking the Target Practice record at 3.14 seconds wasn’t chance or error—he could pull off that time whenever he chose?”
“……That would be the implication.”
Jane pressed her fingers to her temple.
For all of it to be true at once—it was almost too much for Jane to accept, pragmatist that she was.

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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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