The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

“D-don't laugh!”

“Haha, so that technique is the first and last one you've ever been rejected for?”

“Ugh….”

Pielott, who had only ever received praise and adoration from everyone around him.

The only thing he had ever been denied in terms of swordsmanship was the ‘drawing technique’ he just showed. So, from Pielott's perspective, it must have felt like a technique he should never use.

“…Haah, you're strange, senior.”

“What is?”

“You're strict about everything I've been praised for, but you're telling me to try this technique.”

“Because it looks useful.”

“…You're saying the same thing as Dier.”

He must be talking about the proficiency test.

Of course, Dier would have said that. At the time, the drawing technique Pielott possessed was the perfect skill to pass the test.

“But how can we make this useful? Can I sheathe my sword during combat?”

Pielott said worriedly.

That's right. Even if putting it back in the scabbard has actual significance, it doesn't offset the fatal flaw it inherently possesses.

But I had a slightly different thought.

“Well, how about reversing the idea entirely?”

“Reversing?”

“If it's difficult to sheathe the sword during combat, then from the very beginning—”

Just as I was about to explain to Pielott,

Rumble—

It was as if I heard such a sound.

However, it was a misconception, and it was the heavy pressure of a massive magical presence.

I immediately identified its location.

──The moment I confirmed that the Headmaster's office was in that direction, I grinned.

“W-what was that just now?”

I asked Pielott, who was also tense after feeling the same thing.

“Pielott, about that proficiency test.”

“P-proficiency test, yes.”

“Do you happen to remember who you met in the final test?”

“Of course. How could I forget? The one person guarding the 5th stage. The one you're guaranteed to meet if you reach the 5th stage, Aster Evan…”

Pielott spoke as if it were obvious, but then,

“…W-what.”

He muttered, his expression changing instantly.

I smiled at that and asked again,

“Was it Aster Evans?”

“No. No, the person I met last was…”

Pielott looked at me with a frozen voice and an expression as if he had tasted fear on his tongue and spat it out.

Of course, I knew the reason, so I could look at him with a smile.

“…Senior Elodie.”

Pielott wouldn't know how long I had waited for that simple, short answer.

“Senior Elodie, why, until now, uh…?”

It seems Pielott is feeling confused. It's only natural. Someone he didn't even know existed until just now suddenly appeared in his memory.

“It's okay. It's fine now that you remember.”

“Did you know, senior? From the beginning?”

My answer to that question was predetermined.

“No way.”

Lying was familiar.

* * *

Osprey returned.

As soon as I confirmed that, the place I headed to was naturally the Headmaster's office.

Actually, I was supposed to help Dier with his training after Pielott, but I explained the situation and postponed it.

“Hopefully, I won't have to fight a teacher again because something went wrong.”

I sighed in front of the Headmaster's office. I don't want to go through that experience again.

After taking a deep breath, I knocked.

“It's Frondier. Can I come in?”

I expected to hear Osprey's voice, but there was no response.

At that moment, my tension reached its peak.

“I can't waste any more time.”

I grabbed the doorknob of the Headmaster's office and roughly opened the door.

I was prepared for the door to be locked, but it opened surprisingly easily.

“Headmaster! Are you alri—”

Inside the Headmaster's office I entered,

“…Huh?”

Teacher Jane was bowing repeatedly to Osprey.

“I-I, to dare take the position of Headmaster, I truly have no words…!”

“Hehehe. As expected, the one who became Headmaster was you, Jane. I knew it would be you.”

Osprey was smiling good-naturedly, and Jane was flustered in front of him.

‘…Ah, I see.’

Jane had no doubt that she was the original Headmaster.

The moment Osprey returned, she must have realized what she had been doing all this time.

“…Ha, Frondier!”

“Oh.”

Jane and Osprey soon noticed me.

I bowed my head.

“…You're back, Headmaster.”

“Student Frondier.”

Osprey stiffened his expression at my greeting and approached me.

And then,

“I've caused you a great deal of trouble. I'm truly sorry.”

He deeply bowed his head.

The sight of Osprey lowering his head in apology was beyond unfamiliar; it was something I had never seen before.

Teacher Jane, who was standing next to him, also gaped in surprise.

“I didn't think someone would be put in danger by the magic I created. I told you to be careful of you and Miss Elodie, but I didn't expect such a serious situation to occur. I thought the possibility of being caught up in the magic was very slim, but I should have prepared for it.”

Osprey apologized to me with a sincere voice.

For Osprey, who had ascended to the position of Headmaster and Zodiac, to bow his head and apologize to a Constel student like me was no ordinary matter.

…However, even so.

“If you truly want to apologize,”

I wasn't ready to accept that apology honestly yet.

“Please apologize to Elodie.”

“F-Frondier.”

Jane, who was next to me, looked at me. But I couldn't just accept Osprey's apology with a good heart. I'm not that broad-minded.

“Elodie was truly in danger. She made a very dangerous choice to protect herself from your magic.”

The pitiful image of young Elodie still lingered in my mind.

As a result of Osprey's magic, it's true that I realized Elodie's long-standing pain and struggled to resolve it, but the fact that Elodie almost completely disappeared doesn't change.

“If I had been even a little late and Elodie had vanished from the world,”

I said, looking directly into Osprey's eyes.

“Your next enemy would have been me.”

I had made this declaration before, to Hagley, who was in charge of Manggot's core.

If there's an enemy threatening Elodie, that enemy is mine. Her power is needed to save the world, and even if it weren't, I can't let Elodie die.

“From your perspective, Headmaster, even if I became your enemy, it might not seem like a big deal, but,”

“F-Frondier. Frondier. That's not it.”

Jane interrupted me.

“Yes?”

“N-no. Rather than saying it's not it, it's more like… there's no need for that, or you don't have to go that far…?”

“What do you mean?”

I tilted my head, looking at Jane, who was muttering with overly ambiguous words.

While Jane was rolling her eyes around as if searching for a place to look,

“…Sorry.”

Two people suddenly popped out of the wall, where there should have been nothing.

“We were hiding.”

It was Elodie. Mei was next to her.

Elodie emerged from the empty wall, removing a curtain-like barrier. Her face was bright red.

‘…That's, that’s it.’

The magic that Jane cast on Elodie to hide her appearance when I came here last time.

I had been subjected to the same thing in the same place, in reverse. How could I be so stupid?

“Hahaha, Student Frondier. I already apologized to Miss Elodie. And I received her forgiveness.”

“…….”

At Osprey's nonchalant words, I realized what I had been saying until just now.

“But you have a point. It was you who saved Elodie, so it's only right to apologize to her in front of you. I apologize once again, I'm sorry, Miss Elodie. I put you in danger. I promise to pay for that sin for the rest of my life. Even though I don't have much life left. Hahaha.”

“……No. Your words alone are an honor.”

Elodie muttered, her face still red.

Osprey then looked at me and said,

“How about it? Will you not become my enemy now? Frondier.”

“……I'm sorry.”

I covered my eyes with my hand. My vision felt dark. Both my heart and my actual vision. Like Elodie, I felt the heat in my face.

I tasted shame after a long time.