The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 68

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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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Academy Weapon Replicator · Episode 68
Chapter 20: Scout (2)
Quinie. Not bad at all.
In fact, the best of all possibilities.
Of course, I hadn’t ignored Quinie when considering scouts—but I’d judged the success rate as extremely low. She’d be incredibly popular besides.
But if Quinie herself made the first offer, there was no reason to refuse.
“Then I’ll go have a word with your father. You go find Quinie.”
“Yes. I hope for a good outcome.”
I rooted for Malia. But nothing would change.
Anpere rarely bent on his convictions.
Malia was the same, which meant they’d simply talk past each other.
The Final Exam would end before Malia shifted Anpere’s mind.
After Malia left, I glanced around the infirmary.
This was a medical space, so truthfully there was no reason for me to be here. I was just thinking it might be time to get up when—
“It has been a long time, Family Head of Roach.”
That voice reached me. At the sound coming from behind, I turned my head.
A man offered me a formal bow.
Behind the man was a window. Had he come through there?
……I know who this man is.
I’ve never seen him before, there’s no proof, but my instinct rang clear as a bell.
──The man who whispered the Ancient Language to Frontdier.
The man who tried to strip Elodi of her Divine Power.
The man wore a long robe that concealed his entire body, his face hidden in shadow like some reclusive mage. Based on his voice and build he was certainly male, though even that might be altered by magic.
“I see my absence has startled you. My apologies. I am in a position where I cannot reveal myself to anyone.”
When I said nothing, the man lowered his head more deeply.
……This courteous treatment—it’s different from what I imagined.
The incident in the cabin, what I saw in Frontdier’s memory then.
The impression I got was that this man was controlling Frontdier like a puppet.
Reality probably wasn’t much different, but perhaps on the surface Frontdier was the one in the superior position—or maybe this man had made Frontdier believe he was, so he’d move as intended.
I opened my mouth. The silence had grown long.
Before he could suspect, I said what needed to be said.
“Family Head? Since when?”
I spoke to him with a show of arrogance and pride.
The Family Head of Roach—that was naturally Artzie’s place.
Whether Frontdier enjoyed being called the Family Head or not, he would certainly have been warned about such a thing.
As expected, the man nodded as if to say of course.
“My sincerest apologies. I had been seeing such a future for you, so I keep making these mistakes. I was premature.”
……Keep making.
It seemed this man had called Frontdier the Family Head more than once or twice.
And given that nothing had happened until now, Frontdier must have secretly liked being called that.
“But sir—your interpretation of the Ancient Language seems to be progressing slowly.”
This man didn’t yet know. That the deciphering of the Ancient Language was complete.
“Surely you need to draw out the young lady of the Lysha household?”
……He was talking about Elodi.
“I changed my mind. That’s all.”
As I spoke, I studied the man’s true nature.
The fact that this conversation worked meant that even as foolish as Frontdier was, he knew the other’s identity. But I have no memory of it, which is frustrating.
“Hm, how strange.”
From the shadowed face came an adhesive voice.
“It was you who asked me for this, was it not?”
……What?
Frontdier asked? This man didn’t propose it first?
“You hated that woman, did you not?”
His words coiled around me like a serpent.
That feeling—a sweet scent I’ve sensed before. He’d likely woven magic into his “words.”
But since that magic had been designed for the “original Frontdier,” it didn’t seem to work on me now.
……A small opening. I pretended to be half-enthralled, listening to his words.
“With all that talent, her giggling in your presence was repugnant to you, was it not?”
Disdain for Elodi. To me now, it sounded only unpleasant.
“You could not bear the sight of her flaunting herself before you, could you not?”
Whether he believed in the spell’s efficacy or not, the man gradually sharpened his expression. To provoke Frontdier’s jealousy and sense of inferiority.
Fine. Let me poke at this.
“……You.”
I opened my mouth slowly.
“Choose your words carefully.”
“……!”
The moment he heard me speak, the man immediately lowered his head again.
“I—I apologize. That woman’s presence was so offensive that I couldn’t help myself…….”
“Don’t overstep your bounds. Have you forgotten who you are?”
“I haven’t, sir.”
“Then tell me. Who are you? Why do you stand at my side?”
“I am Hagri of Mangot. I remain at your side to eliminate potential threats to you.”
“Don’t forget it.”
Even as I spoke, I felt a suffocating sensation filling my chest.
……Mangot.
The continent’s outcasts. A faction closer to the “outside” than any human alive.
That idiot Frontdier had involved himself with Mangot.
And now that burden was mine.
The reason Hagri bows so submissively before me now is because of Anpere.
The true Frontdier wouldn’t have dared exchange a word with someone like this.
“Then, regarding that woman……?”
“Elodi is not my enemy.”
Though I couldn’t see Hagri’s face, his refusal to answer suggested my words displeased him.
But it didn’t matter. This needed to be said. There was no telling what this creature might do otherwise.
“Just as I eliminate threats to myself, I will eliminate threats to Elodi.”
* * *
At roughly that same moment, scouting was in full swing throughout the academy, just as Frontdier had predicted.
Particularly the talented and well-known second and third-year students found themselves surrounded by eager first-years. The third-years, with their greater experience and refined skills, were pursued far more intensely than their second-year counterparts.
The most striking example was Quinie.
“Quinie! Please, won’t you join our team……?”
“No, ours!”
Quinie, quite naturally, remained seated at her desk while receiving an enthusiastic stream of recruitment offers from first-years. The line of hopefuls stretched not just around her desk but well out into the hallway.
Her mood was at an absolute peak. She was still concealing a smugly satisfied smile behind her fan.
Anne, watching from beside her with cold eyes, said nothing.
Right—let her enjoy a taste of popularity for once. It wouldn’t last long anyway.
Yet Quinie gave every student who approached with a recruitment offer the exact same answer.
“I’m sorry. I already have a prior commitment.”
At these words, the first-years would visibly deflate and shuffle away.
Quinie’s nose nearly touched the sky as her arrogance soared higher.
Yes, this was how things ought to be.
A merchant who single-handedly raised her house to prominence—Quinie de Viet.
Insight that rivaled foresight, calculation prowess to match. Formidable combat ability with no weak points, and an impressive network of connections besides!
Such was the treatment the “Little Devil Quinie” ought to receive.
“……So what?”
Once the first-years had dispersed after Quinie’s repeated refusals, Anne spoke up.
“What?”
“The Support Unit—you’re not doing it?”
When an upper-year accepted a first-year’s recruitment offer to participate in the Final Exam, it was called a Support Unit. Not an official term, but a phrase that had solidified through student usage.
“What did you just hear? I said I have a prior commitment.”
“……You don’t, though.”
“And what would you know about it?”
Anne spoke with pursed lips, and Quinie half-concealed her face behind her fan.
Anne answered as if it were obvious.
“I’m with you all the time, so I know. If recruitment offers had come in beforehand, would you have accepted right away given your nature? You’d’ve gone around, checked things out, picked something decent. But I saw none of those signs, and now suddenly you’ve got a prior commitment. That’s strange.”
When did this girl become so sharp? Quinie narrowed her eyes, barely visible behind the fan.
Anne watched Quinie quietly for a moment, then spoke.
“Frontdier?”
“──Why is his name coming up all of a sudden?”
Perceptive Anne, quick-witted as always.
“I mean, no matter how you look at it, you wouldn’t team up with Frontdier. Who’d do something that crazy.”
But Anne simply shrugged and organized her thoughts in her own way.
‘You’re in a bad mood? Why would that be crazy?’
She couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud, only rolling her eyes.
……In truth, there was no prior arrangement. Instead, Quinie had made a unilateral hint to Malia de Roach—Frontdier’s mother.
Frontdier would probably be difficult to scout. Not only because of his own notoriety, but from what she could tell, he seemed to be on the same team as Aten, and he didn’t strike her as having the nerve to bear the weight of performing missions alongside a princess.
Ellin was the most promising candidate, but Ellin wouldn’t be able to participate in the Final Exam because of her internship. A skilled merchant never overlooked such trivial details.
─She’d heard the announcement calling Frontdier to the Infirmary earlier.
So now Malia would relay the hint to Frontdier, and when he came to this Classroom to make the recruitment offer, all she had to do was accept as if she had no choice. Perfect.
…….
…….
……But why hasn’t he come.
It seemed like quite some time had passed since the announcement calling Frontdier to the Infirmary, yet there was no sign of him appearing.
“Uh, hmm. Well then. I’m going to the bathroom.”
“Huh? Let’s go together.”
“No, it’s fine. I think I’ll be a while.”
“Ah……. Aha. Sorry.”
Anne laughed awkwardly.
She could practically guess what Anne was thinking, and it irritated her, but there was no good way to explain herself, so Quinie simply left.
The direction she walked was naturally toward the Infirmary.
By coincidence—or perhaps not by coincidence—she was feeling ill at the moment. Her stomach felt heavy. It was as if something deep in her side was poking at her, and she found it hard to breathe.
Yes, with the Final Exam approaching, this kind of condition was decidedly poor, one might say dangerous.
So going to the Infirmary was simply an unavoidable choice of fate, wasn’t it?
As she walked, Quinie came to an abrupt stop. She was even surprised at herself for how completely she’d halted her forward momentum.
“No, wait—thinking about it, what am I doing? I should just go back to the Classroom and wait.”
Going to meet Frontdier now seemed like a hasty decision.
He was probably still in the Infirmary anyway.
She turned on her heel and retraced her steps the way she’d come.
She’d just go to the bathroom like she’d told Anne. That thought struck her suddenly.
……Quinie stopped again.
‘……What is this.’
Quinie squinted one eye.
Since becoming the Family Head of Viet, she had almost never reversed a decision.
And never once had she wavered so senselessly over something so trivial.
Her decision to go to the Infirmary had been clear—it was her will, it had reasons, and it was an action without hesitation.
Yet turning back on this path…
It was merely because a thought had suddenly occurred to her.
……Quinie. Get a hold of yourself.
Something’s off.
Quinie’s eye for people was as precise as a scale.
But her eye for ‘things’ wasn’t quite at that level yet.
She still had blind spots when it came to distinguishing fake from genuine—enough that she’d lost a bet with Frontdier over it.
After meeting Frontdier, Quinie had continued studying traps and barriers.
She’d never been negligent in that area to begin with, but the fact that the one who was supposed to be teaching had fallen behind was unbearable to her.
─Because of that.
She noticed it.
‘An Access Denial Barrier.’
The moment she identified it, the scent of mana pricked her nose.
The Access Denial Barrier that Renzo had used before to abduct Aten.
Because this wasn’t an open space like the Field, and because her opponent happened to be Quinie, the barrier was exposed.
An Access Denial Barrier was spread across the Infirmary. Someone was rejecting all approach to the Infirmary.
Why?
‘……Frontdier’s in danger.’
Quinie’s pace quickened. Even though she knew the barrier’s nature, its effect persisted.
It was a thoroughly unpleasant feeling—as if her own will was being continuously denied as she moved forward.
But if she tried to break through by force, whoever had set up this barrier would notice. Fortunately, because she knew it was a barrier, its effect was halved.
And when she reached the entrance to the Infirmary.
Quinie discovered someone she had not expected to see.
Someone had arrived before her.
That person stood before the Infirmary door, simply gazing at it endlessly.
As if by doing so alone, they could see through to the other side.
No, wait. She was listening to them—the conversation inside the room.
“…Elodi?”
When Quinie whispered the name, barely audible, Elodi’s gaze shifted slowly toward her.
Her eyes, meeting Quinie’s, trembled as though she had just heard something she ought never to have overheard.

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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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