Chapter 56 of the Weapon Replicator at the Academy

Chapter 16: Ambush (1)

Aless's resistance ended rather anticlimactically.

It would be difficult to face both Jane and Maria, who are also teachers, at the same time.

From the moment I exposed him as a traitor in front of me, Aless was finished.

He will soon be brought before the disciplinary committee.

From there, it's up to the teachers.

...And it's my turn to fulfill my role.

"We ultimately need a front-line fighter."

After discussing in the training room, Atene seemed to have reached a conclusion.

I nodded.

We confirmed each other's roles in the training room.

We simulated what positions we would take when fighting as a party.

Atene is one of the few people who has seen me fight up close.

Thanks to this, she can objectively review my fighting style.

The conclusion was that it's advantageous for me to fight from a distance.

When fighting Slav in the dungeon,

When toppling the golem,

When facing Renzo,

Although I often finish off enemies at close range, giving a strong impression of being a front-line fighter, I'm actually more of a back-line fighter.

Most of my fights ended with a close-range attack, but getting to that point was largely due to 'throwing.'

I inflicted wounds on Slav with dagger throws, revealing his form,

I threw weapons at the golem from a distance to limit its attack methods,

I consistently used ranged attacks against Renzo to hide my final move.

Now that I can use Crescendo Catastrophe, my function as a back-line fighter has improved even more.

"The best choice for a front-line fighter is... "

"Aster Evans."

At the sound of my answer, Atene's face turned sour.

Well, Phil's magic is still in effect.

According to Phil, it's not a particularly strong spell, and it should naturally wear off as we spend more time together, but looking at this state, it seems unlikely.

Actually, I don't want to include Aster in my party.

The ideal situation is to form my party without disrupting Aster's party.

And the best scenario is for both parties to advance towards the game's strategy.

So I won't touch the best members of Aster's party.

...Atene was originally one of those best members, but it ended up like this somehow.

"Then what about Aster's sister?"

"Sister?"

Atene tilted her head.

She might not know.

"Elin Evans. She's the best-skilled swordsman among the Constel students."

"If she's the best swordsman, wouldn't she surpass Mr. Aster?"

"Ah, well, that's the thing."

Atene's question was understandable.

Aster also uses a sword.

The trap in the phrase 'best-skilled' is that it doesn't mean the strongest.

"She's not the strongest swordsman. She has the best skills."

"Ah, I see."

Elin Evans.

The title 'best-skilled swordsman' attached to her is certainly a compliment.

But it also reveals her limitations.

Unlike the Evans, Elin lacks divine power.

Moreover, her 'ki' is not sufficient.

In the world of Etius, mana and aura are essentially the same substance called 'ki'.

Elin has already acquired aura and can use various techniques derived from it, but she doesn't have enough mana for prolonged battles.

Her specialty, 'One Strike,' can be used once in a battle, and at most twice if she pushes it.

In other words, she's a character who overcomes her weaknesses with her skills alone.

'Her innate stamina probably isn't that good either. That's probably why she learned how to sleep while walking.'

Elin spends most of her time sleeping when not training, attending classes, or fighting.

Especially when moving silently, it's almost 100%.

In the game, it seemed like a comedic element, but now that I'm inside, I can see the reasons behind it.

"Anyway, she's an invaluable addition to our party."

"If she's invaluable, wouldn't it be hard to bring her in?"

Hmm.

The truth always hurts.

"I'll try talking to her."

The possibility isn't zero.

We've worked together to defeat the golem, so some camaraderie has formed.

...Right?

* * *

The Disciplinary Committee.

Aless sat in the center, watched by all the teachers.

His arms were restrained.

The same seat where Edwin von Behertio once sat.

Aless, who had once pushed Edwin to the brink, is now in the opposite situation.

"What are you waiting for?"

Someone spoke up.

The history teacher, Isamaya.

Isamaya scanned Aless with an annoyed expression.

"This incident involves a teacher betraying Constel and putting the princess in danger. There's no defense or justification for it. He should be immediately expelled and reported to the authorities. There's no need to hold a committee meeting."

"Isamaya-sensei, don't be hasty."

"I just don't want to waste time."

Despite the other teacher's reprimand, Isamaya didn't back down.

"Frontier student captured evidence, right? Jane and Maria confirmed it. There's no room for doubt."

Jane was slightly surprised by Isamaya's words.

'Huh. I thought Isamaya-sensei would dislike Frontier.'

Isamaya had been embarrassed by Frontier before.

She gave a test to see if he was taking notes, but instead, her true feelings were exposed, and she was laughed at by the students.

Frontier's reputation spreads quickly, just like the rumors about him.

Jane spoke honestly.

"I'm surprised. I thought you'd dislike Frontier student."

"Of course, that arrogant brat is unpleasant."

Isamaya nodded as if it were obvious, even snorting.

"But that's a personal feeling and shouldn't affect the facts."

Isamaya stated firmly.

Jane smiled and laughed.

"But this committee isn't to discuss Aless-sensei's guilt. His guilt is already established, as Isamaya-sensei said."

"Then what?"

"To understand the full extent of the incident."

"Isn't that already clear? We know Aless-sensei is a traitor."

Maria hadn't yet told the other teachers about Elysia.

She was saving it for this disciplinary committee meeting.

The most important thing at Constel is the safety of the students.

Most of the people here don't know that the royal palace was involved in this incident.

It's just an extension of the Renzo incident.

Renzo, who attacked Atene and Frontier, and the traitor inside Constel who helped him.

Now that it's been revealed that Aless is the traitor, there's no more doubt.

"That's not the case."

Jane said.

The full scope of the plan Frontier extracted from Aless.

Even though Maria had told me, it was still full of mysteries.

Especially the mention of Princess Elysia.

"......Then where should I start?"

Maria slowly began to speak.

The information she had was overwhelming, but she went through it step by step.

The true culprit, Princess Elysia, the attack by monsters, the targets being Atene and Rodrick.

With each piece of information Maria revealed, the teachers' expressions grew more shocked.

"......Lies. Princess Elysia......"

Someone expressed their natural reaction.

"Then, shouldn't we just destroy the magic circle that lures the monsters? It was called 'Laphlesia,' right?"

"It's not that simple."

A teacher's suggestion was immediately rejected.

Vinkis, the teacher of summoning magic and magical engineering.

"From what Maria said, the culprit has already set a schedule for the plan. The magic circle is likely already complete."

"Is that a problem? Even if it's complete, we can just damage the circuit."

"If we do that, they probably have a failsafe to activate the magic circle. It might cause more damage than if we didn't know about the plan, especially since Constel will be in chaos."

Vinkis's words made the teachers' faces turn grim.

Isamaya asked.

"Then what should we do? Are we just going to watch the enemy's plan unfold?"

At this, Vinkis rubbed her lips.

After a moment's thought, her words were unexpected.

"......Yes. That's probably the best course of action."

"What?"

"We need to wait for the enemy to start their plan and aim to thwart it with minimal damage."

In other words,

Elysia's 'attack' can't be stopped now that it's this far along.

So we'll let the plan start.

But knowing about the plan, we can prepare thoroughly.

"The most important thing is to keep the enemy from knowing that we know about the plan."

"Yes. On the surface, Constel must appear as it usually does."

Everyone nodded, understanding Vinkis's words.

"We need to request help from outside. We can't let it be known, so it should be a small, elite team."

Requesting help from outside, a small, elite team.

At these two keywords, the teachers' gazes naturally fell on one person.

Maria de Roach.

The Roach family, with Ampere and Azie, is known for its great talents.

"......I'll pass the message along."

Maria said reluctantly.

Jane asked.

"What about the students?"

At this question, everyone fell silent.

They are teachers, protectors of the students.

But if the students learn about this plan, it will inevitably be revealed to Elysia.

Moreover, can Constel be protected without the students?

Even if the result is to reduce the students' losses,

"All Constel schedules will proceed as planned."

At that moment, a heavy voice.

Everyone looked at him.

It was the principal, Ospriet.

"There will be no changes."

His voice was firm, not open to objections.

When Ospriet takes this stance, the conclusion is already set.

All the teachers nodded.

* * *

In a room at the Roach mansion, I was lost in thought.

I have no way of knowing exactly what the teachers will do to prepare for the ambush.

But they will at least take some precautions.

And most importantly, I can't stop the 'ambush' from happening.

I tried everything with Aster, but couldn't stop it.

It only led to more sacrifices.

So my task is a bit different from others.

If I can't stop it, I need to eliminate the mastermind.

There's only one way.

'Kill Elysia.'

Elysia is a predetermined villain.

If I don't kill her now, she'll only become more troublesome for the players later.

However, it has never been possible.

Aster is too much in the spotlight, and his relationships are too entangled, making it hard to move freely.

It feels like every move is being watched, and any unnecessary actions will raise suspicion.

Elysia, during the planning, was not in the royal palace but in her tower, monitoring the situation.

It was impossible for Aster to leave Constel and reach there.

But for me,

For Frontier, it's possible.

In my current state, no one pays attention to me.

'......From here on, it's an unknown path.'

The true culprit behind the Atene ambush, the accomplice, the subsequent plan, and the method to thwart it.

Everything up to this point has proceeded as I knew it.

But from here on, the path to subdue Elysia is completely unknown.

"......Hmm, but."

Has anything ever gone according to my plan?

I couldn't handle everything in the game and failed.

Failure is familiar to me.

Whether in the game or in reality.

[Main Quest: Ambush]

- A large-scale monster attack will occur at Constel. Prepare.

- If the response is inadequate, there is a possibility of losing named characters.

I checked the smartwatch again.

It's been a while since I saw the main quest content.

A considerable amount of time has passed since I received this quest.

......They're giving me enough time to prepare.

The ambush is coming soon.

"But."

I have a place to go today.

To prepare for this ambush, to gain the best ally.

It's a very appropriate time.