Chapter 35 of the Academy's Weapon Replicator

Chapter 10: The Empress's Insight (1)

A comprehensive hospital near Constel.

Sibel and Elodie were anxiously waiting for the results of Frontier's examination.

This was originally the hospital where Sibel had been admitted.

This time, the roles were reversed.

──Serp was declared dead by Sibel.

After all, that was the truth.

At the time of this decision, Sibel said,

"But we know the truth, right? Without Frontier, I couldn't have done anything. Frontier saved the child and saved us. That should be recognized by people, shouldn't it?"

She argued this way, and her words were reasonable.

However, Elodie shook her head.

"Even if everyone knows that Frontier did the right thing, there's no guarantee that Frontier's image will improve."

"Why...?"

"Image is like that."

Whether Frontier would be seen as a hero who saved the child or a murderer who killed someone, Elodie couldn't be sure which way it would lean.

But she judged that the latter was more likely.

The reason was Serp's popularity.

'Serp was popular in the empire before this incident. Moreover, the organization Serp belonged to, "Indus," has a high standing among the common people. In contrast, Frontier not only lacks popularity but has a very poor image, and on top of that, is a noble...'

In the extreme, people might think that Frontier killed Serp and covered up the incident.

Therefore, they decided to give the credit to Sibel.

Sibel has enough popularity in Constel, and she is a commoner, not a noble.

And with Elodie's own testimony added, there would be no chance for the incident to be questioned.

'Even though it's a bit frustrating that Frontier's actions will be buried...'

Frontier.

He should receive the appropriate reward.

While Elodie was thinking this,

Creak—

The door to the waiting room they were in opened, and the doctor came out.

"Doctor! How is it? What's the condition?"

Sibel approached the doctor and asked anxiously.

Seeing her worried eyes, Elodie smiled bitterly.

'Good for you, Frontier.'

The doctor smiled at Sibel as if to reassure her.

"His body is fine. The wound on his side has been treated well, and he didn't lose as much blood as we thought."

The two were relieved by the doctor's explanation.

However, the doctor seemed to be thinking about something for a moment before looking at them.

"By the way, how are you related to the patient?"

"Huh? Oh, we're friends."

"Is the guardian not coming?"

In response to the doctor's question, the two nodded.

In fact, Elodie had contacted someone. Frontier's older brother, Azje.

After arriving at the hospital, she had pondered who to contact among Frontier's family.

His father, Ampere, his older brother, Azje, and his mother, who is also Constel's health officer, Maria.

Elodie ultimately called Azje for a simple reason.

She didn't know Maria's number, and Ampere was too intimidating.

Azje was also intimidating, but at least they had talked before.

When Elodie explained the situation, Azje seemed to think for a moment and then said,

- I'll leave it to you.

"Excuse me?!"

Elodie asked without thinking.

- If our family goes, there's a risk that the rumors will get unnecessarily big, which wouldn't be good for Frontier.

He still answered matter-of-factly.

Thinking about it, that made sense. Frontier's family members were all too famous.

The doctor scratched his chin, looking troubled.

"Um, I see. I have something to tell the guardian."

"Is Frontier in danger?"

"No, that's not it. But I have something to tell you."

"Then please tell me. I'll take responsibility for passing it on."

Elodie said, and Sibel nodded vigorously from the side.

"......I see. That's fine. This way, please."

The three of them moved to the doctor's office.

Sibel and Elodie sat down in the chairs, tense. Despite the doctor's reassurances, his expression was quite serious.

The doctor said again,

"Don't worry too much. The patient is fine. But I want to give you a warning."

"A warning?"

When Elodie asked, the doctor nodded and took out two photos.

"First, because the patient had a deep wound on his side, we took an X-ray. As I mentioned, the treatment was successful. Fortunately, the knife didn't touch the bones or internal organs, so there shouldn't be any aftereffects, and there will be almost no scar."

Elodie and Sibel's tension eased a bit with the doctor's explanation.

The doctor took out the next photo.

"And this is a photo of the mana distribution."

"Mana distribution?"

"Yes. It shows the distribution of mana in the subject. We can see the remaining mana and where it is concentrated."

As the doctor said, Elodie and Sibel looked at the photo.

They both tilted their heads in confusion.

"I, I don't understand. I can't see any mana."

The photo they were looking at showed only a white silhouette of a person.

They knew it was Frontier, but how could they see the mana distribution?

"You're seeing it correctly."

"Excuse me?"

"The patient collapsed due to mana depletion. When he arrived at the hospital, he had no mana at all."

The doctor's words made the two of them open their mouths in surprise.

So that's why there was only a silhouette in the photo.

It was completely empty.

"Of course, fainting due to mana depletion is a common occurrence. As you two know, when a person lacks mana, they feel extreme fatigue. Moreover, the patient was moving very strenuously before the depletion and had also lost blood."

The two nodded.

As students of Constel, they naturally knew the sensation of lacking mana.

Fainting due to mana depletion was understandable.

"Then, this is the next photo."

The doctor took out a new photo.

This was also a mana distribution photo, but it was clearly different.

"......Huh? There are blue areas. Quite a lot."

"Yes. That's mana. This photo was taken an hour later."

Sibel marveled.

To recover mana so quickly after depletion?

'Is it really that fast?'

Unlike Sibel, Elodie, a pure mage, found the speed a bit unusual.

So Elodie asked cautiously,

"......Excuse me, can someone recover mana this quickly after depletion?"

The doctor adjusted his glasses.

"That's what I wanted to talk about."

"What?"

"As you noticed, the patient's recovery speed from mana depletion is too fast."

Sibel blinked.

"Is that a problem?"

Elodie also wanted to ask this question.

While the speed seemed unusual, it didn't seem particularly bad.

The doctor said,

"It's not so much a problem as... it seems like the body is accustomed to it. To mana depletion."

At this, the two of them stiffened.

They finally understood why the doctor wanted to tell this to the guardian.

"I don't know what the patient has been doing, but mana depletion is not a common occurrence. It could mean that the patient has often been in very intense battles or similar situations. Do you have any idea?"

In response to the doctor's question, the two shook their heads.

They looked bewildered even as they shook their heads.

Mana depletion is not done intentionally.

While mana depletion doesn't particularly strain the body, using magic or skills means being in a combat situation.

Mana depletion means using all one's strength in that battle.

So being accustomed to mana depletion means, in other words, repeatedly engaging in intense battles.

"......Doctor."

Elodie spoke.

"If someone is accustomed to mana depletion, how often has it happened?"

"Hmm, well. With this recovery speed..."

The doctor adjusted his glasses and looked at the photo again.

"──I would say over a hundred times."

Elodie's eyes trembled.

She felt an indescribable emotion rising within her.

'How could I, not know this?'

Even if Sibel didn't know,

Elodie had known Frontier for a very long time.

She had even called him by a nickname that now made her cringe.

If he had experienced mana depletion over a hundred times, it must have been happening since before he entered Constel, unless he was depleting mana every day.

It must have been a long time ago.

Since then, Frontier had been experiencing mana depletion?

'What have I been seeing all this time...!'

The emotion finally reached the tips of her fingers.

It was an emotion she didn't want to acknowledge.

But she couldn't help it. It was anger. Anger at herself.

"Elodie! Elodie!"

"......Huh?"

When Sibel called Elodie's name, she finally snapped back to reality.

The temperature in the room had risen significantly.

She almost activated her divine power.

"I'm, I'm sorry!"

Elodie quickly apologized to the doctor.

The doctor looked surprised but laughed it off.

In fact, divine power without malice wouldn't harm the target.

In Elodie's case, it would just make things hotter, colder, or create a breeze.

But it could be perceived as a threat depending on the person.

The doctor tried to calm them down.

"As I said, there's nothing particularly wrong with the patient's body now. But I must advise you to avoid overexertion. If the patient continues to be in dangerous situations, it could be a problem."

"......Understood."

The two answered solemnly and left the examination room.

"......"

"......"

After hearing the doctor's explanation, the two sat side by side on the chairs, deeply dejected.

Elodie,