Chapter 57 of the Academy's Weapon Replicator

Chapter 16: Ambush (2)

In the slightly late evening, the Risha mansion was unusually bright with lights flickering.

The gentle music and the sound of people laughing blended well, seeping out to the outside of the mansion.

"......Sigh."

Elodie secretly sighed.

The Risha family often hosts such social gatherings.

Given the family's authority, it seemed like they could easily do the same in Loahe, but the head of the family was so frugal.

Elodie smoothed out the frills that were meticulously tucked inside her collar.

Even though she wore this dress quite often, she still couldn't get used to it.

"Did I gain weight......?"

She intended to say it so that no one would hear, but the men approached as if by magic and added their comments.

"There's no way. Lady Elodie, you are as beautiful as ever today."

"Of course. Even if you did gain a little weight, it wouldn't mar Lady Elodie's beauty in the slightest-"

Is this really considered a compliment?

Elodie forced a smile, pulling at the corners of her mouth.

......Actually, dealing with such men is not bad.

How must they feel, having to give such insincere compliments to her, now 17 years old?

Even if Elodie genuinely liked them, in a social setting like this, they could only repeat outdated and formulaic lines.

Elodie is the supreme gem of the Risha family.

If anyone were to sincerely reach out to her, other families would not stand idly by.

Therefore, the people around Elodie all maintain a natural distance from her.

Ironically, these men also know that offering clichéd compliments is the best way to keep that distance.

──Thus, every time such an event takes place, Elodie feels a profound loneliness.

The women are either filled with jealousy and envy or, conversely, overwhelmed by inferiority and bow to Elodie in a way she doesn't want.

The men, wary of others' gazes, neither get close to her nor stay away.

Gossip, flattery, and pretense—none of it really bothers her.

She isn't hurt by such things.

It's just the fact that no one speaks to her sincerely that is pushed upon her.

So she feels endlessly lonely and endlessly bored.

"......Is he not coming again this time?"

Elodie pretended to listen to the men while scanning the surroundings.

She was looking for Frontier.

In such settings, the only person who could make her feel at ease was Frontier.

She had friends from Constel who were also nobles, but it was difficult for them to attend social gatherings hosted by the Risha family, and even if they did, they would be busy mingling with other family heirs.

However, Frontier had never shown up at a social gathering.

The first reason was his characteristic laziness and lack of energy, and the second was that the Loahe family never invited him to such events.

"......No, that's not right. I shouldn't think of it as laziness. Elodie, you shouldn't think that way."

Elodie corrected her thoughts.

Until now, she had thought it was just laziness, but the recent mana depletion incident suggested other possibilities.

Frontier wasn't lazy; rather, he was working hard behind the scenes.

......It's still just a possibility, though.

In any case, the likelihood of Frontier showing up this time was slim.

Recently, his image in Constel had started to change, but that was a completely different issue from social gatherings.

Moreover, Frontier and Elodie's brother had a very poor relationship.

Just that fact alone made it almost certain that Frontier wouldn't come to the Risha mansion.

Yet,

Creak-

"......Oh."

Elodie's voice slipped out.

A man quietly opened the mansion door and entered, drawing everyone's attention.

An elegant and dignified black suit. Neatly styled black hair.

His usually sleepy eyes transformed into a mysterious charm when made up.

Frontier approached the head of the family, Risha, and greeted him respectfully.

"Oh, Frontier. I'm truly glad you could make it. I hope to see you more often in the future."

"We often see each other at home."

"Haha, is that so. But I think it's important for the people here to get to know you as well."

The head of the Risha family, Ortel de Risha, genuinely welcomed Frontier.

It wasn't Frontier himself but his political influence that was welcome.

While he himself might not be impressive, the Loahe family behind him was.

If Frontier could form good relationships with other families, Ortel could also benefit.

Indeed, some of the nobles were already whispering about Frontier's appearance.

Most of them were seeing him in person for the first time.

Frontier, at least in appearance, was a perfect noble, and the young ladies who noticed him were somewhat excited.

"Then, I'll excuse myself."

"Go ahead, take a look around."

Frontier, as when he arrived, greeted everyone respectfully and then turned to approach Elodie.

"......!"

Elodie was surprised for no particular reason.

It was the same Frontier she always saw in Constel.

Especially after the last incident at the Aktover, his face had become even more familiar.

When Frontier stood in front of Elodie, she fidgeted with her lips.

She was unsure whether to treat him as a friend or to maintain the formal etiquette of a noble.

Frontier opened his mouth to say something, but the music changed.

People paired up and stepped out, holding each other's hands.

It was time for the dance.

Frontier, noticing this, smiled awkwardly.

"Shall we dance? Miss."

Frontier suddenly asked, his tone unexpectedly gentle.

Elodie, caught off guard by the unexpected gentleness, forgot what to say and nodded.

Frontier led Elodie's hand and joined the dance line.

Frontier wasn't particularly good or bad at dancing.

On the bright side, it wasn't awkward, but on the downside, there was a risk of boring his partner.

However, Elodie had no time to be bored for various reasons. After glancing around, she spoke.

"It's awkward."

"What is?"

"You and me, here, like this, um, this way?"

It was almost a contentless statement, but Frontier nodded as if he understood.

"The collar is bothering me."

Frontier said, smoothing out his collar with one hand.

It was a bit of a faux pas to fiddle with one's clothes while dancing, but Elodie couldn't help but smile when she saw him doing something similar to what she had done earlier.

"So? Why are you here? It doesn't suit you. Did you suddenly develop an interest in social gatherings?"

Elodie asked, a bit more relaxed.

"There's no way. I came to see you."

Frontier answered plainly.

It was a statement that could easily be misunderstood, but it was better than before.

And for Elodie, this was actually more pleasant to hear.

"What kind of help......? What!"

Frontier pulled Elodie closer.

To others, it looked like a natural dance move, but Elodie, caught off guard, raised her voice.

"What, what is it? Suddenly?"

"There's an ambush at Constel."

"......!"

Frontier whispered in Elodie's ear.

He told her everything he had learned.

What Ares had confessed, the disciplinary committee, and the expected measures from the teachers.

At first, Elodie's expression wavered, but as he continued, it became increasingly blank.

She realized that her expression mustn't change during this conversation.

After hearing everything, Elodie asked.

"So, why are you telling me this?"

"Try to stop the monsters as spectacularly as possible when the ambush starts. Make sure the students and teachers realize it's an 'incident' right away."

"But if they don't know when it will start, the teachers are trying to come up with a plan, right?"

"I know when it will start."

Frontier's assertion was clear and concise.

There was no emphasis.

No tone to persuade her that his words were true, which made them more credible.

"If you know when it will start, you should tell the teachers."

"The teachers won't believe me. There's no evidence. No way to prove it."

"If there's no evidence and no way to prove it, why do you think I'll believe you?"

"You don't need to believe me."

"......What do you mean by that?"

Frontier then moved away again.

This, too, was a natural part of the dance.

"Because I believe in you, it's fine."

"......You've learned some strange things again, haven't you?"

Elodie's sarcasm made Frontier smile.

"You'll understand when the time comes."

* * *

The morning sky was overcast.

It didn't look like it would rain, but the clouds seemed to stretch endlessly.

......Clouds that don't bring rain are darker.

While having this thought, I finished getting ready to go out.

It was the time I would usually head to Constel.

But today, I was taking a different path.

Then,

"Where are you going?"

I was stopped by Maria.

Maria stood at the top of the hill I was heading towards, as if waiting for me.

"This way isn't the path to Constel. Are you planning to skip school?"

"......Then, you're doing the same, right?"

"Hehe, that's true."

Maria laughed.

It was a genuine laugh.

"How did you know I would come this way?"

"Mom knows everything."

"Are you going to stop me?"

"Why would I stop you?"

Maria ran her hand through her long hair.

Her approach made me feel a familiar scent.

"Are you starting? The monster ambush."

"......Yes."

"Are you going to stop it?"

"Stopping it is the job of other students."

I'm not stopping the ambush.

I'm eliminating the cause.

Swoosh-

Maria's hand touched my cheek.

"Before, you would have used this as an excuse to run away."

So, I understand. The identity of this familiar scent.

"The look in your eyes now is different from before."

This was the scent of my mother.

It was different from the scent of my mother before I came here.

Still,

"Go on. But in return."

Maria's hand moved from my cheek to cover my right eye.

Averil family bloodline skill

Sensory Sharing

Her hand, touching my right eye, glowed.

But I didn't feel anything special.

Still, I understood its meaning.

Maria lived as 'Maria Averil' before marrying Ampere.

And the Averil family has a bloodline skill passed down through generations.

Just as Philia, a descendant of Bella, could 'predict.'

Maria's Sensory Sharing allows her to share one of her five senses with another person.

This time, it was my vision.

She can see what I see through my eyes.

"I'll borrow your eyes. So I can come to you whenever I need to."

Maria's face was full of affection.

I felt a bit embarrassed and said,

"Please protect Constel instead of coming to me."

"Of course. If you come back without getting hurt."

That seems difficult.

I blinked for a moment and then said,

"I'll do my best."

Vroom-

At that moment, the sound of a car engine approached from a distance.

A luxury sedan stopped in front of us, and the rear window opened.

"Are you ready?"

It was Philia.

Philia waved at Maria, who was standing in front of me.

She didn't seem particularly surprised to see Maria.

"I'm going."

"Come back safely."

I bowed to Maria and turned around.

As soon as I got in the car, the sedan started moving.

"Where are we going?"

"3 kilometers west of the royal family's residence. Please stop there."

"Is your daughter there?"

"No. I'll walk from there. Please send the car back to the royal family."

"Can't we drive all the way there?"

"We need to enter the forest, so the car can't go in."

This is one reason for sending the car back to the royal family.

The more important reason is that if Elysia discovers the car, she might flee to the royal family and frame Philia.

Such a troublesome situation must be avoided.

"Hmm."

Philia nodded, seemingly understanding.

"I still can't believe it. One of my two daughters is the culprit."

Philia sighed.

Philia still doesn't know that Elysia is the culprit.

"......Philia, can I ask you one thing?"

"What is it?"

"Can you really treat your daughter as an enemy?"

I know how Philia will answer this question.

So, in terms of gathering information, it has no meaning.

But it's a question I must ask.

For Philia's own sake, I had to ask this.

"Of course. If someone is my enemy, whether they are my daughter or not, I will exclude them."

......That's right.

This answer is correct.

It's a genuine response from her heart.

──But one thing is certain.

Philia's resolve is still loose.

She will soon realize that it's not that simple.