Chapter 127 - The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Chapter 40: A Private Meeting

Before Kora arrived as a transfer student, Jane had already explained the situation to me.

“Frondier, I am assigning you the duty of supervising Kora.”

Jane addressed me with deliberate formality.

I said, “This is less of an assignment and more of a punishment, isn’t it?”

“Yeees.”

Jane readily admitted it.

“I’d been thinking I ought to give you a suitable punishment soon for destroying that exterior wall, so this works out nicely. I hear you already know what sort of student Kora is?”

Was she talking about him being a White Tiger? Quinier must have told her.

“So you want me to keep Kora from going berserk?”

“That would be ideal, but it would be difficult. If he shows signs of going berserk, I’d like you to evacuate any civilians nearby. Of course, you should get away as quickly as possible too. An alarm will automatically sound at Constel if he goes berserk, so there’s no need to contact us.”

It did take Kora quite a while to fully transform into a White Tiger when he went berserk. Evacuating civilians during that time would be the right call.

And judging by what Jane had said, the others still seemed unaware that I’d been there.

The face mask Quinier had given me had been a tremendous help. She’d also carried me away after I subdued Kora, so I could only be grateful.

... Well, knowing Quinier, I’d expected her to ask me for something else in return, but she hadn’t said anything yet.

“... By the way, Frondier.”

“Yes?”

Jane seemed to be thinking about something. No, she seemed to be debating whether to voice something that had been on her mind all along. At last, she spoke.

“There was a man who faced Kora after he turned into a White Tiger.”

Oh, so she was bringing this up.

I braced myself.

“I’m told he had the face of Lord Ampere in his younger days. Does he have anything to do with you?”

I’d practiced my lines and expression in advance in case anyone asked me this.

Not too startled. Widen the eyes slightly and draw the brows together. Then, in a voice just beginning to shake off its drowsiness:

“... My father?”

Good. Perfect.

Selena had given it her seal of approval, so there should be no problem.

“Mm, never mind. If you don’t know anything about it, that’s fine. Forget I asked.”

Jane shook her head. My act seemed to have worked.

“In any case, please look after Kora. He says he’s visited Constel a few times, but becoming a student here will take a different kind of adjustment.”

“Understood.”

Getting to know Kora was something I wanted too. I couldn’t let the incredible potential of a White Tiger slip away. Besides, he would be a frightening wild card if he became an enemy.

Jane spoke again, as if something else had occurred to her.

“Oh, as you know, Kora can be a little unruly. He hasn’t quite learned his manners yet, either. You may find him a bit cheeky, but I’d like you to keep him in line.”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

I’d experienced more than enough of Kora’s noisy personality.

The thought of having to deal with that every day at Constel was a little exhausting.

* * *

That was what I’d thought, but the reality was the exact opposite.

Kora had certainly come into the classroom chattering away with boundless confidence, but the moment he spotted me, he shrank into himself. Apparently, he hadn’t known I was here.

“Well, oh dear. There aren’t any empty seats. We’ll have to bring in another desk. You can sit at the back.”

“The back... Ah!”

Startled by those words, Kora looked at Jane. His desperate eyes seemed to plead for rescue.

... Probably because my seat was at the back.

Jane didn’t understand why he was acting this way. She tilted her head at his sudden turn toward timidity.

Even if she had known, Kora and I needed to stay as close together as possible. Her decision was obvious.

Once an empty desk arrived, Jane said, “Go and sit at the back, then, Kora.”

“... Yes, ma’am.”

And so Kora was assigned a seat near mine.

There really was no helping it. Before I possessed him, Frondier had spent most of his lessons asleep, which was why his seat was in the very back by the window. They’d decided to stick him in a corner.

But when a transfer student arrived and there were no empty seats, they brought in a new desk and put it at the back. That made it extremely likely they would end up near me.

“... I-I look forward to getting along with you.”

Thus, Kora ended up sitting to the right of Aten and me. With Aten between us, perhaps that was some small mercy for him.

“Good to see you, Kora.”

I smiled and raised a hand. Now that the incident was resolved, I bore him no ill will. In fact, I hoped we could be friends. Kora would be a dependable ally in battle. Jane had asked me to look after him too, so I ought to be the one to say hello first.

“... Yes, sir.”

Unable even to meet my eyes, Kora bobbed his head like a sparrow.

Aten gave me a stern look.

“Frondier, did you do something to this child?”

“Nothing.”

“Really? From the way he’s acting, you’d think you’d beaten him up.”

“Beaten him up... Well, I did smack him on the back of the head once.”

Aten’s expression turned grave.

“That was cruel. He’s so young.”

He’s older than you.

And I doubt that’s why he’s scared of me.

“Are you all right? My name is Aten.”

Aten addressed Kora gently.

Calling him a child herself, then still speaking to him so politely—that was just like Aten.

“Y-yeah. Nice to meet you.”

Kora nodded, responding much better to her than he had to me.

Aten asked, “What did Frondier do to you? I can give him a scolding.”

Well, she was an imperial princess. Was the point that, however much it sounded like an empty boast, it absolutely wasn’t?

Still, Aten was good with children.

“... I don’t really remember.”

Kora spoke while watching me warily.

“I have this feeling that something was really terrifying, but I can’t remember what...”

With that, Kora hung his head.

What? Why would he leave it at that? People would get the wrong idea.

Aten glared at me.

“... Frondier, don’t tell me you went so far that he can’t even remember...”

She’d gotten exactly the wrong idea I’d expected.

“Of course not. I’m not the reason he can’t remember. That’s his own issue.”

I spoke calmly.

But once I left out everything that was difficult to explain, I sounded like a real bastard.

Sure enough, Aten furrowed her brow.

“That’s what abusers always say.”

“Hey! You say that when the abuser claims not to remember! Not the victim!”

“...!”

Only then did Aten’s eyes widen in realization.

... So I was going to be hanging around with these two now?

Of course, I’d always wanted to form a separate party that wouldn’t get in Aster’s way.

Was this the result? Oh, right. There was Selena too. Of all the people around me, she was the closest thing to an enemy, yet she was the most reliable.

Was I really going to be all right?

DING-DONG

Just then, a chime sounded through the classroom speaker.

“Huh?”

Every student in the classroom looked toward the speaker in puzzlement.

Class was still in session, and Jane was right there. She wasn’t startled either, but remained silent, looking perplexed.

I wondered whether someone in the broadcast room had pressed the chime button by mistake, but a voice soon followed.

[“Uh, am I really supposed to say it like that?”]

What was that about?

The voice coming through the speaker sounded quite flustered.

[“Ah, ahem. This is an announcement from the broadcast room.”]

Then, at last, the announcer began delivering a proper message.

[“Frondier de Roach, please report to the president’s office immediately.”]

... Me? The president’s office?

Not the faculty room?

[“Once again. Frondier de Roach—”]

As the announcement continued, the students and Jane all turned to look at me.

The president’s office, not the faculty room. And in the middle of class, no less.

“... Off you go, Frondier.”

“... Yes, ma’am.”

Jane and I briefly exchanged looks, our faces creased with much the same awkward expression.

As I rose and left the classroom, I could hear the students whispering.

“Has Frondier finally gotten himself into trouble?”

The voice sounded as though it had been waiting for this.

* * *

The president’s office.

Only once I stood outside it did the gravity of the situation sink in, and I sighed.

There was only one person inside.

Constel’s principal and president. Ospreet, one of the Zodiacs.

Unless some incident occurred, Ospreet was adamant about staying out of Constel’s affairs. Yet he had made the unusual move of summoning an individual student over the public address system.

Why did that student have to be me?

I took a small, steadying breath and knocked.

KNOCK KNOCK

“It’s Frondier. I’m here because you sent for me.”

“Come in.”

Ospreet answered without delay.

When I opened the door, the first thing that struck me was the size of the office.

It was far too large for a single person’s workspace, and most of that vast space was packed with bookshelves.

Ospreet stood in front of one of those shelves, examining a book.

He looked at me with an easy smile.

“Ah, good to see you. Make sure you close the door. The corridor is rather chilly for these old bones.”

... Because it was chilly. What a plausible excuse.

“Shall I lock it?”

At my question, Ospreet’s smile broadened.

“Even better.”

CLICK

As I locked the door, I felt mana fill the room.

“Is that a soundproofing spell?”

“Something like that. However...”

Ospreet extended a hand toward me and swept it through the air. Something like a breeze brushed over my face and neck.

“Even my magic cannot block Malia’s Sensory Sharing. That’s why I checked. Fortunately, her ability isn’t active on you at the moment.”

... Had he just checked what spells and abilities were affecting me?

“Is this conversation so important that even my mother mustn’t hear it?”

“Of course.”

SNAP

Ospreet shut the book with one hand.

The cover read The Legend of King Arthur.

... Just as I’d thought.

Ospreet looked at me with a smile.

“Don’t you feel the same? I believe we’re of one mind on that.”

“... Indeed.”

“Then have a seat. This will be a long conversation.”

Ospreet offered me a chair, and I walked over awkwardly and sat down.

Would I have been less nervous if I were an ordinary student?

Knowing just what sort of person Ospreet the Zodiac was made this meeting feel particularly weighty.

Ospreet sat across from me and said, “You’re Ampere’s son, aren’t you? Then I’d best get straight to the point.”

... I wasn’t his real son, but it was true that I disliked needless formalities.

I nodded, and Ospreet asked, “That young Ampere was you, wasn’t it?”

Truly direct. Straight to the heart of the matter.

I’d expected this ever since Ospreet summoned me, but I still didn’t know what he was thinking.

I couldn’t lie carelessly, but admitting it wasn’t easy either.

When I fell silent for a moment, Ospreet said, “Of course, you’re welcome to say yes or no. What I mean is, I don’t mind in the least if you lie.”

A mischievous smile played on his lips as he continued.

“It will simply change what I say next, depending on your answer.”

Ha. This old man.

I returned Ospreet’s smile.

Apparently, he wanted a very frank conversation with me.

Well, then. How should I answer?