Chapter 128 - The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Section 40: Private Interview (2)

If Ospreet had summoned me for a private meeting, he must already be fairly certain.

He had probably seen through the face mask concealing my features. Quinier had confidently claimed that almost no one would notice, but apparently Ospreet was an exception to that “almost.”

“Well? All you need to do is answer.”

Ospreet had said he would not mind a lie. Either he was confident he could see through one, or he had already settled on an answer himself.

Either way, there was no point lying here. But there was something worth trying first.

“Before I answer, may I ask you something as well?”

“Go ahead.”

“Whatever my answer is, will it have any bearing on my daily life?”

Would my answer be the end of it? Or did Ospreet want to hear it for the sake of something he intended to do?

I suspected the latter, and I was right.

“... Heh heh. You’re sharper than you look.”

Ospreet chuckled like the old man he was. Somehow, it both suited him and did not.

“I’ve been putting a plan together lately. I need your strength.”

“... What sort of plan?”

At my question, Ospreet fixed me with a clear, piercing gaze.

“Do you know what sort of organization Indus is?”

... So that was it.

Things were moving faster than in the original game, and faster than I had expected, but that was not bad. No, in fact, it was very good.

“I do.”

“How much do you know? As much as everyone else?”

“Among those who aren’t members, no one knows more about Indus than I do.”

“Heh heh heh. Bold indeed. I like that answer.”

Ospreet nodded slowly. A faint smile still lingered on his face, but now that I knew what this was about, even that smile sent a chill through me.

“I intend to eliminate Indus.”

He spoke calmly, his tone devoid of warmth.

I felt a chill, but I was not surprised.

“... I see.”

“You’re taking this calmly.”

“As I said, I know a great deal about Indus.”

“Good, good.” Ospreet nodded.

“Then do you also know why I’ve made this plan now?”

“You’ve picked up their trail. No, you’ve judged that you’ll be able to soon.”

Ospreet seemed surprised by my answer.

“You really do know quite a lot.”

Only a few days ago, I had subdued Armel, the man responsible for erasing memories for Indus.

Now Indus could no longer plan audacious crimes. At the very least, they would avoid any plan with a significant chance of failure.

That left Indus with two options to consider: continue lying low, or believe the time for their “revolution” had come and begin taking the necessary steps.

Only an idiot would choose the former, and only a lunatic would choose the latter.

So Indus would choose the latter.

“And I need your abilities for that plan. Provided, of course, that you are that ‘young Ampere.’”

Ospreet smiled as he spoke.

As I thought, he was certain. He knew it was me.

“Well, then? I believe I’ve told you enough.”

Yes. It had helped me decide what answer to give.

I slowly began to speak.

“You’re right.”

“... Oh?”

“I was the one standing before Kora that day.”

I answered calmly, and a gleam of interest appeared in Ospreet’s eyes.

“Then that sword, too?”

“It’s exactly the sword you suspect it is.”

Until a little while ago, Ospreet had been holding The Legend of King Arthur.

Of course, he had probably been reading it, but he must also have intended for me to see it. It was an unspoken warning: I already know everything, so just try feeding me nonsense.

“I used Excalibur to stop Kora’s rampage.”

“... Ho ho.”

Ospreet laughed in apparent satisfaction. He seemed pleased that I was neither playing innocent nor denying it.

“Why have you kept it hidden until now? You seem to have a poor reputation at Constel. With an achievement like that to your name, why conceal it?”

Yes, I had expected that question.

That was probably part of the purpose behind the soundproofing magic here, too. He was telling me I could at least speak frankly to him.

But I could not.

I had several reasons for hiding my weapons and abilities, but one was that I would be far too helpless if my true capabilities were exposed.

I could not handle situations or opponents beyond what I had prepared for. I could not defeat a swordsman who had reached great heights through grueling training, nor a genius mage who wielded instinctive talent.

'Playing as Aster taught me the hard way that proving your strength isn’t always a good thing.'

When I considered how much the game’s protagonist, Aster Evans, had been constrained by his talent and fame, I had all the more reason not to go public.

Frondier’s position, which allowed me to move more freely and acquire all sorts of weapons, was extremely advantageous.

“I have no choice but to hide it. It’s a pearl necklace on a pig.”

“A pearl necklace on a pig? No one can easily acquire that much magical power. Releasing all of it as raw force is harder still. I’m expressing my admiration.”

Ospreet seemed to take my words as mere modesty.

So this was where it began.

This was where I started lying.

“I don’t have that much Mana.”

“What?”

The skin around Ospreet’s eyes twitched.

“Every teacher, myself included, saw the magical power you released with our own eyes. And you claim you don’t have that much Mana?”

“That was my sword’s magical power. That’s why I called it a pearl necklace on a pig.”

Ospreet had given me “permission” to lie. That permission stemmed from his own certainty.

The young Ampere who had faced Kora was Frondier de Roach. Certain of that, he must have built his reasoning around it.

But there was something even the great Ospreet did not know.

“You’re welcome to examine me now. I don’t possess that much Mana.”

I raised both hands to show that I was hiding nothing.

Of course, I was hiding plenty. Penelope’s Cloth, which I was wearing as a tie, for one. And the necklace, Black Lotus.

But if Ospreet truly believed my own Mana reserves were that vast, he would never discover the truth.

“... Very well.”

Apparently still doubtful, Ospreet reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder. He could probably have checked without touching me, but he seemed to be examining me thoroughly to see whether I was hiding anything else.

Of course, I was hiding plenty, but none of it was my Mana.

“...!”

Ospreet’s gaze wavered.

My Mana reserves were perfectly ordinary. Well, repeated Mana depletion and the Dragon Heart I had used in my earlier fight with Renzo had increased them considerably, but that was all.

They were probably above the average for Constel’s first-years, but nowhere near the amount I had used to subdue Kora.

“... I see. You don’t have that much Mana.”

Ospreet withdrew his hand. His expression grew more troubled.

“Then was it truly Excalibur’s power alone?”

“Yes.”

Naturally, that was a lie. Excalibur’s inherent magical power was nothing remarkable.

Its ability was truly simple and straightforward: the more magical power you poured into it, the stronger it became. Of course, it did not merely convert that power directly into force. Excalibur itself amplified it further. The more magical power it received, the more its strength grew exponentially.

I had consumed a fake Dragon Heart created through Weaving, then used Penelope’s Cloth to replace the parts of my body that vanished as a side effect of its being a fake.

Weaving, the difference between real and fake Dragon Hearts, and Penelope’s Cloth. Unless he understood the properties of all of them completely, even Ospreet could not see through it.

And above all:

“I’m deeply honored that you think so highly of me, President, but I’m merely an unremarkable first-year student.”

This lie was far more natural than the truth.

I was Frondier the Human Sloth, a nobody. Rather than trying to discover how a student like that had acquired such vast Mana, it was far more convincing—and above all, reassuring—to believe that he had not. Frondier was nothing special; it had simply been the sword’s power.

If I had carelessly swung or thrown the Excalibur I had held before Kora, it truly would have unleashed hell.

Wasn’t it better to believe it was the weapon’s power, rather than think that a student attending Constel could annihilate the school whenever he pleased?

“... Do you mean that?”

“You gave me permission to lie, didn’t you? Of course I mean it.”

I spoke with a brazen smile.

And regardless of truth or lies, I was simply giving Ospreet the answer he wanted.

Once people hear what they secretly hope to hear, it is difficult for them to reject it.

“Then how did you obtain that sword?”

Good. Ospreet seemed to believe what I had told him so far.

I answered.

“I borrowed it.”

“Borrowed it? From whom?”

I glanced around. It was something of a performance.

“This room is definitely soundproof, correct?”

“Of course.”

At Ospreet’s reply, I deliberately lowered my voice.

“Aster Evans.”

This time, Ospreet’s eyes widened in what seemed to be genuine surprise.

Sorry, Aster. Let me borrow your name for a moment.

“Aster Evans... He had Excalibur?”

“Yes. Please be sure to keep this secret.”

Not now. Later.

Someday, Aster would go to the lake I had visited and obtain Excalibur. By the time Ospreet checked whether Aster really had it, it would already be in his hands.

“Why did Aster give it to you?”

“We made an exchange. I gave Aster something precious to me, and in return, he gave me Excalibur.”

“Something precious?”

“I can’t tell you what it was.”

I had given Aster nothing of the sort.

But it was an easy lie to accept. He would have found it even harder to believe if I had claimed to have bought it.

“Well, now. This is...”

Ospreet sighed. The picture he had formed in his mind seemed to have been shaken considerably.

An operation to wipe out Indus. I liked it very much.

But my involvement had to be limited. I had no intention of using all my abilities, nor did I want Ospreet to think that was an option.

If all he wanted was my “bombardment,” I could help. But if he wanted anything beyond that, I had no intention of providing it.

The lie I had offered was a line between Ospreet and me. A boundary neither of us would cross.

“Then will you take part in the plan?”

“If you’ll allow it, I would like to.”

“Can you call upon Excalibur’s power whenever you need it?”

“Of course. Though only once a day.”

“That will suffice.”

Ospreet understood my meaning.

All I could do was swing Excalibur. Nothing more.

I asked,

“When does the plan begin?”

“That depends on when Indus makes its move. This plan is predicated on a counterattack. But this time, it is easy to predict when Indus will act, too.”

This time?

The question rose in my mind. With his next words, Ospreet reminded me of something I had briefly forgotten.

“The school trip is coming up, isn’t it?”