Chapter 54 of the Academy's Weapon Replicator

Fishing (3)

I looked at my watch in front of the Constel building.

Noon, it's about time for her to arrive.

I had made plans to meet Atene.

As an excuse, I told her we needed to discuss our roles in battle since we decided to act together in the future.

Atene asked me,

"What should I wear?"

I told her to leave it to her choice.

The reason I called Atene is because today is the day of the midterm retest.

The retest itself doesn't concern me, but I needed to keep track of the events happening during this period.

Today, I can finally feel the worth of the summaries I wrote for Atene to prevent her from failing in the library.

After waiting for a moment, I saw Atene approaching from a distance.

"Atene, over here, in, here..."

I stopped speaking as I looked at the approaching Atene.

She was wearing a white blouse and jeans.

Perhaps because I had only ever seen her in her school uniform, this look was quite different.

She, who usually seemed like the embodiment of everything white and cold, looked more lively and bright today.

"Hello."

"Uh, hello."

Atene greeted me as usual.

Her expression was no different from any other day.

"Um, how do I look? It's a style I've never worn before."

"It's your first time wearing it, huh? I was surprised."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It looks natural, I just didn't expect it."

I thought my preconceived notion was the reason I found it different from her usual image, but it seems Atene felt the same way.

"Um, I see. So why did you call me today?"

Atene asked with a much brighter expression.

"As I said before, if we act together, we'll form a 'party,' so we need to decide our roles in battle. We also need to discuss other things."

It's not a lie.

Just that an important part is missing.

There are several reasons why I'm here today.

One of them is to improve the relationship between Atene and Aster.

If my guess is correct, there's a high probability that I'll run into Aster today.

I hope the relationship between Atene and Aster improves.

If, as Philis said, their future together is doomed, then I can't force them to be together.

But it's not good for them to continue having a cold relationship.

Even if Atene is not a member of Aster's party but mine, it's the same.

However, I know that if I say this, it will never come out.

"Indeed, so you're heading to the training room."

Atene nodded as if she understood.

...Hmm, now that I think about it, we are heading in the direction of the training room.

Somehow, a plausible reason came to mind, and I nodded without realizing it.

As we turned the corner of the building,

"Huh? Frontier."

"Hello, Aster."

Aster appeared.

The moment Atene saw Aster, her guard was immediately heightened.

"Frontier-san."

"Hmm?"

"Surely you didn't call me here to meet Aster-san."

"No way."

Indeed, Atene is quick to notice.

But there's no way to prove it, and from Atene's perspective, it's an absurd idea.

How could I have known Aster would suddenly appear here?

But that's from Atene's perspective. In fact, I did know.

I knew I would meet Aster here.

Though I didn't have any confirmation.

Today, a sudden quest will pop up here, literally.

A sudden quest that only activates with Aster present.

From the player's perspective, since Aster is the protagonist, it's natural to come here to complete this sudden quest.

However, as I mentioned before, Aster, who is not the player, can go anywhere.

Aster frequents the training room every day, so the probability of encountering this sudden quest is very high.

There was a possibility that we wouldn't meet.

But it's fortunate that we did.

I looked at my smartwatch.

It's about time.

"Nice to see you again, Atene-sama."

"Please, no need for the '-sama.'"

I silently watched their conversation.

Then, the alert on my smartwatch rang, and I checked the screen.

[A sudden quest has been created.]

[Sudden Quest: Rovald's Rebellion]

- Rovald, tired of the retest, attempts to escape.

- Objective: Stop Rovald.

- Success: Reputation in Constel increases.

- Failure: Slight possibility of Rovald's expulsion from Constel increases.

As expected.

It's the same quest I received when I was the player.

In other words, the quest I received when I was 'Aster Evans.'

"Frontier, you also have business at the training room-"

Just as Aster was saying that,

Clang!

The sound of breaking glass came from above our heads.

Although we couldn't see inside the classroom, we heard screams.

They must have thought someone was dying.

Kwaang!

And Rovald fell right in front of us.

Without using any aura or magic, he just jumped from the fourth floor and landed on his feet.

Just that.

Rovald's reckless and extremely dangerous behavior is made possible by his physical capabilities.

"...Damn, it hurts more than I thought."

Well, it's not like he felt no pain at all.

"...Rovald."

Aster, unable to bear it, spoke up.

Atene, standing beside me, just had a look of disbelief on her face.

Rovald looked up at the voice.

He smiled in relief upon seeing Aster.

"Oh, Aster, what's up?"

"What's up with you? What are you doing?"

Rovald scratched his head sheepishly in response to Aster's question.

"Well, hahaha. I failed and have to take the retest, but it's so boring. I'm trying to escape."

He smiled brightly and cheerfully, as if the act of escaping was a minor matter.

"Rovald, the princess is watching."

"Uh."

Rovald noticed Atene standing beside me.

One of the reasons I brought Atene.

Because she can easily stop Rovald's escape.

Usually, by this point, the player would have become quite close to Atene.

Both Aster and Atene are hard workers, so going to the training room together is a good pretext for this event.

Of course, this sudden quest has nothing to do with Frontier.

It's an event that solidifies the relationship between Rovald and Aster.

Depending on how it's handled, they can become rivals or enemies, making it a rather dangerous sudden quest.

But with Atene here, this event can be handled smoothly.

If things go wrong, their relationship could become adversarial, but Atene reduces that risk.

"...Damn, that's true. Even I can't show a bad face in front of the princess,"

Rovald sighed in resignation and then said,

"──But I can show it sometimes!!"

He lunged at me.

...Huh?

Crafting (織造)

Workshop 17th item

Grade - Common

Wooden pole

I pulled out the longest ranged melee weapon I had and swung it.

And,

Thud!

A clean hit.

The pole struck Rovald's temple precisely.

Thud.

Rovald fell.

[Sudden Quest Success]

- Successfully stopped Rovald.

And the quest notification rang out, oblivious to the situation.

Yeah, I know I stopped him, but...

'Why did it turn out like this?'

Sure enough, Aster and Atene were staring at me with wide eyes.

I didn't expect this.

'My fault?'

I don't know what kind of strange idea Rovald had, but my presence seemed to have triggered something.

Although the plan was a bit off, I stopped him, so it's fine.

...Is it fine?

* * *

We brought Rovald to the infirmary.

After an awkward greeting with Malia, we laid Rovald down, and soon a teacher came to the infirmary.

The teacher frowned the moment he saw my face.

It was Ares.

Ares, known for standing up for the commoners in Constel.

Frontier is probably the type he dislikes the most.

"...Good job, Aster. And Atene."

Ares turned his gaze to me and thanked Aster and Atene.

"Teacher, Frontier stopped Rovald."

Atene seemed displeased.

"...I see."

Perhaps he didn't expect Atene to take my side, Ares looked a bit flustered.

Then,

"──Huh!"

Rovald woke up.

Even waking up was noisy.

We stopped our conversation to look at Rovald.

According to Malia, he had a mild concussion, so we expected him to wake up soon.

Rovald looked around dazedly and then spotted me.

"..."

"..."

He fell silent.

The moment he saw me, his face showed a flash of anger, then confusion, and finally, he seemed to be deep in thought.

He then asked me,

"Aren't you Frontier?"

Indeed, he knows me.

"Yes, I'm Frontier de Roach."

"...I'm Rovald Rief."

He extended his hand to me.

What kind of conversation is this?

Anyway, I shook his hand.

Rovald smiled provocatively.

"I'll get you back for this humiliation next time."

"Sure. Prepare something new next time."

In response to my provocation, Rovald made a "Huh" sound but kept smiling.

Rovald likes strong people.

Being knocked out by my blow seemed to raise his opinion of me, even though it was by chance.

"Rovald, why did you threaten Frontier all of a sudden?"

"Well, I heard a rumor that Frontier is always with the princess."

...Always with?

It's true that we've been acting together recently, but saying "always with" doesn't sound good.

"To find some weakness of the princess, I thought if I could give this guy a beating and escape, the princess might look at me more favorably."

Aster sighed and asked,

"Look at you more favorably and let you escape too?"

"Yep! It's a two-for-one deal, a very rational decision! Hahaha!"

...Rational, but a stupid decision.

"Rovald."

Ares called Rovald.

The sharp look in his eyes was an added bonus.

"Breaking a window and attempting to escape, this time I can't let it slide."

"Uh. I'm sorry, teacher."

"I will contact your parents."

Rovald's face turned pale at Ares' words.

"Please, not that!"

"Use this opportunity to reflect on your unruly behavior in school."

With that, Ares turned to leave.

He was about to go but glanced at me,

"...Frontier, Constel will give you a proper reward. Well done."

Without a trace of approval, Ares left the infirmary.

I watched his back for a moment.

"I'll be back in a bit. I need to use the restroom."

I stood up.

I pressed Atene's shoulder firmly as she tried to stand up.

"I said I'm going to the restroom. Why are you following me? Use this chance to get closer to them."

Specifically, to Aster.

Atene showed a clear look of displeasure but soon sat back down.

Following me to the restroom must have seemed absurd to her.

Besides, the training room is in the opposite direction of the restroom.

If Atene talks to Aster more, she'll understand Aster's upright character.

If they meet often like this, the spell Philis cast will also wear off.

──And during this time, I need to accomplish the most important purpose of coming to Constel today.

I handed a note to Malia, who was sitting in the infirmary.

The note was brief.

'I'm starting now.'

Right now.

I'm going to catch the rat in Constel.