The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 69

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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 69
Chapter 21 The Auction (1)
Elodi grasped the Boundary a step ahead of Quinie.
Elodi was half-certain that the person who had obliterated the demon with Firecracker when it fled was Frontdier. So she’d come to hear the detailed account of the attack, but.
…….
Confirming Quinie’s presence, Elodi opened the door. She couldn’t afford to waste any more time.
The door swung open, and inside sat Frontdier alone.
“Oh? Elodi.”
Frontdier’s voice was as usual. His listless face, too, without reservation.
Elodi smiled.
“Where’s Malia?”
“She stepped out for a moment.”
“What did she say? The announcement was looking for you.”
As natural as Frontdier appeared, so did Elodi.
Quinie entered behind her.
“Ah, Quinie. I was about to come find you.”
“……Is it just you?”
Quinie stepped inside and scanned the space.
The Infirmary’s interior was as immaculate as before. There was no trace of anyone having entered and left.
……Of course, Quinie, following behind, had no way of knowing who—or even if anyone—had been inside.
Only the presence of the Boundary had given her the instinct that Frontdier was in danger.
But seeing Frontdier now, he looked perfectly fine.
Yet when she looked at Elodi’s expression upon arriving.
Something had certainly happened.
“Senior. For our Final Examination this time, we need an upper-year student to help us, and if you could assist us…….”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
Frontdier steered the conversation toward everyday matters, whether he understood Quinie’s true thoughts or not.
Since that had been Quinie’s original purpose as well, she accepted for now.
Elodi listened to their exchange in silence.
* * *
Lisae Residence.
As the residence door opened and Elodi entered, a maid came hurrying forward.
“Oh, Elodi. You’ve arrived early. We received word that you’d be late.”
“The schedule changed.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll have dinner prepared right away…….”
“No, it’s fine.”
Elodi’s expressionless face sent the maid scurrying nervously in her wake.
“If you’ll just wait a moment, I’ll be quick—”
“It’s fine……!”
Elodi’s voice had risen. But soon she closed her eyes and shook her head.
Taking it out on the wrong person. She knew it. And so Elodi smiled again.
“No. I’m just not hungry. Really.”
“Then I’ll withdraw.”
“Yes.”
The maid retreated with her shoulders hunched.
“……Listen.”
Elodi called out to that bowed figure.
“I really am fine. I’m sorry. For snapping at you.”
“N-not at all.”
Watching the maid shake her head, Elodi entered her room.
“Sigh…….”
Elodi sat in the chair before her desk.
She would have liked to sit on the bed, but if she did, she’d inevitably lie down. She couldn’t do that without changing clothes first. Yet even now, amid all this, her mind caught on such trivial matters. It was almost amusing.
“……What is Mangokt, anyway…….”
A murmur escaping like a sigh. She disliked the tremor in her voice.
Elodi had heard their conversation. Someone named Hagri from Mangokt, they’d said. Whether he’d trusted his own Boundary or not, the Infirmary itself had no sound-dampening magic. Though if it did, Elodi could have broken through it anyway.
“What did you get into, Frontdier.”
The conversation itself seemed to have positioned Frontdier as the one in control.
But the content was anything but ordinary.
—Don’t we need to draw out the young lady of the Lisae Family?
—You hated her, didn’t you?
—With all that talent of hers, the way she’d giggle and preen in front of you was disgusting, wasn’t it?
—You couldn’t stand the sight of her showing off before you, could you?
“……Frontdier hated me……?”
Elodi gripped her head, her carefully groomed hair falling in disarray.
She’d never even considered it. When she was small, she and Frontdier played together often.
She was always smiling when she saw him, talking about what she’d done that day, what she wanted to do, boasting about her abilities.
Each time, Frontdier seemed annoyed, but still, even so.
……Frontdier, who had no Divine Power. Standing before him, she’d bragged about her abilities, sometimes complaining and griping.
Countless repetitions surfaced in her mind.
From childhood, Elodi had never held high expectations for Frontdier. She’d only hoped he’d carry his weight.
But it was she who had continued feeding him inferiority that even prevented him from achieving that.
“……It was me.”
That’s how it must have looked to Frontdier.
And she didn’t even know. Foolishly oblivious.
But if that were so.
Then why would Frontdier.
—Just as I eliminate my potential enemies, I will also eliminate Elodi’s enemies.
How could he say such a thing…….
Creak.
The door swung open.
“Elodi, are you all right? I heard you weren’t feeling well,”
Whoosh—
A pillow struck the face of the man who’d entered.
“Knock first and come back in!”
How many times was this now?
Already unsettled, her irritation doubled.
“Oh, right. Sorry.”
The man obediently left the room and closed the door.
Then came a soft knock, barely audible, followed by his voice.
“Elodi, it’s me. Is it all right if I come in?”
“No. Don’t come in.”
“But, Elodi! This isn’t what we agreed!”
“I never agreed to anything!”
Elodi’s brother, Rebet de Lisae.
It wasn’t that Elodi was on bad terms with Rebet—if anything, they got on rather well. Rebet usually gave way to her and indulged her whims.
But right now, Elodi genuinely didn’t want to see anyone.
“Well then, I’ll just talk from out here. That’s all right, isn’t it?”
“……Do as you like.”
An insufferable brother indeed.
“Ahem, I hear the Final Examination is coming up soon.”
“Yes.”
“For an important test, one must prepare well.”
“So?”
“Why not come to an auction with me? Some fine items are expected this time.”
An auction?
At that word, Elodi’s curiosity stirred.
It was true there wasn’t much time left before the Final Examination. During the midterm, she’d felt a frustration she hadn’t anticipated.
Elodi couldn’t control the power output of her magic. She’d wondered if it mattered so much, but performing tasks within the Field—where students were everywhere—had proven far more difficult than expected.
If there were an artifact that helped regulate magical power, she could perform at her best in the Final Examination.
“What kind of items?”
“Hmm, prepare yourself. That legendary metal, Bifagang, has arrived!”
“…….”
“You’d better look surprised, or we’ll have a problem.”
“Right. I see. Bifagang.”
How impressive. Where did he even get it from.
The fact itself was remarkable, but Elodi felt no real excitement. It made sense—as a mage, it had no use for her at all.
“Elodi, Bifagang can withstand your magical output.”
“Withstand it? But I need to reduce my output.”
“Being able to withstand it means it can also hold it. If you can regulate your output while storing that mana, it becomes possible.”
Hmm.
That’s rather intriguing.
“So? Will you consider it? Since it will be yours, I’ll commission the best Magical Artifact company to craft it. If need be, I’ll place an order with Hitchcock himself.”
“Well…….”
Elodi paused to consider.
All things considered, her mood had lifted somewhat during this conversation with Rebet.
It would have been perfect if it had ended there, but Rebet meant well even if he lacked tact.
“By the way, I’ve been hearing rumors that you’ve been talking quite often with the second son of the Roach Family here at Constellation Academy. Even at the social gathering the other day. Of course, I haven’t seen it myself, but—”
Elodi couldn’t help but sigh. She wondered why her brother couldn’t just say Frontdier’s name.
“Don’t you start too. I’m already in a foul mood.”
“What? Is it really because of that Frontdier bastard? If I get my hands on him—”
“If you try that, you’ll have to face six of us.”
“……Six? Has Frontdier gathered some allies? But mere Constellation Academy students hardly qualify as my enemies—”
“Me, Agni, Rudra, and Indra…….”
“Elodi……!”
Rebet’s voice cracked with anguish as he spoke.
Of course, he was outside the room.
* * *
In the far south of the continent lies a region untouched by the empire’s reach.
It is imperial territory, yet so barren that no living thing can survive there.
A southern wasteland where humans, beasts, and monsters alike do not dwell.
Here stands a sheer cliff face that seems to have cleaved land from sea by force, and a tremendous river descending from above becomes a waterfall that plummets without interruption.
Deep within this colossal waterfall—more than three kilometers in diameter—lies a cavern that has claimed the entire cliff face as its domain.
Mangokt. Those who call it the place nearest to the Boundary find it paradoxically safe in that no monsters venture there.
[Has something changed?]
In the deepest darkness of the cavern, a meeting was taking place.
Hagri spoke.
“His arrogance remains unchanged. Yet he did not fall under the Illusion Magic.”
[Did he detect that you used magic?]
“It did not appear so.”
[Hmm. Even the Incapable One shows some growth after sufficient time passes. Besides, humans always develop resistance to illusion.]
Hagri merely bowed his head deeply at those words.
He too had never believed magic would work indefinitely. It was simply that his magic had worked far too well on Frontdier thus far.
Yet the real problem now was different, as was the reason for this meeting.
“The situation has become difficult.”
[What is it.]
“Frontdier appears to have abandoned his study of ancient languages. He also seems unwilling to use any magic on the young lady of the Lisae Family.”
The voice fell silent for a moment.
[He won’t strip Inies of her Divine Power?]
“That’s correct. And more—he ordered me to protect her. I cannot fathom what moved his heart.”
A different voice spoke now.
[That’s troublesome. Inies is the greatest obstacle we must remove to cover Central. When I think of those fools who cast me out, still cackling away…….]
Hagri released a breath no one could hear.
The owner of that voice seemed to seethe with rage at every moment.
[Then we find a new tool. Leave Frontdier be—he’ll destroy himself in due course.]
“Ancient languages are something only Frontdier can interpret. As for who else might be capable, finding another would require as much time as finding him in the first place.”
Ancient language interpretation transcended mere difficulty; it required talent. It was a talent so rare that possibility itself hinged upon it.
Frontdier, who had been called the Incapable One, possessed that talent. Had the Roach Family discovered it sooner, they would never have dismissed him so thoroughly.
Yet Frontdier himself seemed unaware of the value of ancient languages, as did the Roach Family.
──In the end, the incapable remain incapable.
[Then for now, continue to watch over him from beside her. If you maintain your guise as an ally, his mind may yet turn again.]
“I cannot be certain. Frontdier has commanded me to protect Inies. Whether such resolve would waver easily…….”
[That is the nature of human inferiority, Hagri. What kindles Frontdier’s inferiority most is neither his family nor Constellation Academy—it is Inies herself. The environment Frontdier finds himself in is something few could endure. Soon enough, he will crumble back into darkness.]
Hagri could only bow his head deeply at the certainty in that voice.

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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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