Chapter 141 - The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Section 43: Community Service (2)

Elodie and Aten followed Saibel. Jane trailed them from a little farther back.

Unlike Malia, Jane did not know exactly what had happened at the elevated railway. She had therefore assumed that Frondier, who had participated in the operation, would have no time to come to Kropol.

But as if to casually prove her wrong...

“Oh.”

Saibel was the first to speak, her voice bright with excitement as she pointed.

“There he is.”

The shore. A sandy beach already crowded with students and locals enjoying their leisure time.

Frondier was ambling along in front of it.

“... It really is him.”

A simple uniform, a hat to shield him from the sun, and even a whistle hanging around his neck.

He looked every inch a lifeguard.

Aten looked at Jane.

“So his community service was lifeguard duty?”

“Huh? Oh, well, yes.”

Jane answered awkwardly.

She did not really know either.

‘So he really is doing community service.’

She had thought it was merely an excuse for the Operation to Eliminate Indus.

Did that mean Frondier had carried out the operation with Ospreet, then immediately returned to Kropol to work as a lifeguard?

... Wasn't he pushing himself a little too hard?

“No, we don't know that yet.”

Elodie gave a huff.

Everyone here knew there was always one other possibility. They had seen Quinier's face masks.

That Frondier might also be an impostor wearing a mask.

‘Well, we followed Saibel and actually found Frondier, so the chances of him being a fake are slim.’

Still, she ought to check.

Elodie rolled up her sleeves and slowly approached Frondier.

“... Oh.”

She saw several women in swimsuits approaching him.

Where are you from? You look young—are you a student? Is this a part-time job? Snatches of their conversation reached her.

As she drew closer, she could make out more.

“Oh, I know who you are! You're a Constel student!”

“Oh my, really?”

“Of course! They said Constel was coming to Kropol on a school trip today, and his face was on Wizerview more than anyone else's!”

The women who had approached Frondier grew increasingly excited as they chattered among themselves.

Elodie's gaze naturally turned toward him.

Frondier still wore his usual languid expression. It was impossible to tell whether he was even listening to the women. That was a relief—

‘Wait, why am I relieved?’

Elodie brushed the sudden thought aside.

“Frondier certainly is popular.”

Aten spoke from behind her.

To be fair, Frondier's unpopularity at Constel was largely due to his reputation. People saw him as an incompetent, lazy, immature boy who swaggered around relying on his family's power.

Strip away that image, and there was nothing to fault in his appearance alone.

Elodie knew how everyone's eyes had gravitated toward him when he wore a suit at her estate.

Besides, whether it was thanks to his training or something else, his body had already become firm and muscular. At the very least, he could call himself a warrior without embarrassment.

“Hmm.”

Someone grinned, looking amused. It was Saibel.

She swept her hair back and walked past Elodie toward Frondier. By then, she had already completed a certain “switch.”

If allure and flirtatiousness had stat bars, Saibel was walking with every one of them maxed out.

It was easier and more familiar to her than breathing. Just watching her walk somehow made Elodie blush.

“Frondier~!”

Saibel waved and called to him. Tension and surprise appeared on the faces of the women around him.

“Oh, Saibel.”

His response was the finishing blow. Once she heard him say her name, Saibel made her smile even more alluring.

“Frondier, so your community service was lifeguard duty?”

“Pretty much. Before I left, they briefed me on lifeguard procedures and things like that. So although I set out a little late, I finished getting ready while Constel was gathering everyone and going through the announcements.”

Saibel listened with a warm smile. In truth, what he was saying hardly mattered. As soon as he finished, she turned her gaze to the women around him.

“Hello. I'm Saibel Forte. Frondier, who are these ladies?”

Her greeting was ever so kind and sweet as she asked him to introduce them.

“Oh,” Frondier said, looking around at the women. Of course, he had only just met them, so he could hardly introduce them even if he wanted to. Saibel had asked precisely because she knew that.

“Um, are you his girlfriend?”

One of the flustered women asked Saibel, who answered with a mischievous smile.

“Yes, we're friends. We go to Constel together.”

As she spoke, she subtly sidled closer to Frondier. Answering “we're friends” when asked if she was his girlfriend was downright crafty, but it worked remarkably well.

The key was that Frondier could hardly deny it outright.

“Friends? Hardly.”

But Frondier was different, all right.

He denied it without hesitation and placed a hand on Saibel's head.

She pouted. She had gone to the trouble of switching modes(?) for the first time in ages, and this was the lousy response she got.

Still, why did he have to say they weren't friends? Hey, do you think just anyone gets to be my friend—

“She's my girlfriend.”

At Frondier's next words, Saibel froze solid. Watching from a distance, Aten and Elodie stared wide-eyed, their mouths hanging open.

“Oh, I-I see. You look good together.”

“Uh, we'll be going, then.”

“Let's go over there. I want to rest a little.”

“Y-Yeah.”

With those farewells, the women awkwardly drifted away.

Frondier addressed Saibel, who was still frozen.

“Thanks, Saibel.”

“... Huh?”

“I was having trouble getting them to leave. That's Saibel for you. What a performance.”

A performance. Right.

Only then did Saibel understand. Frondier had played along with her act to drive the women away.

So that was it. Thank goodness. She began to thaw.

Of course, she did like Frondier, but suddenly becoming his girlfriend was a little too abrupt. She wasn't remotely prepared for that.

There was a hint of disappointment, but for now, relief outweighed it.

“I've been tired enough lately as it is. You saved me.”

Frondier spoke with a sigh.

Of course, since he always looked sleepy whenever Saibel saw him, it was hard to tell the difference.

* * *

I'm sleepy.

I had lost count of how many times lately I had told myself, Just this one thing, then I'll rest. My exhaustion felt as though it had reached its limit.

But I was the only one who knew that. I had checked in a mirror, and no matter how tired or sleepy I was, Frondier's face never changed.

Because he looked tired and sleepy to begin with.

“Whew.”

Once my lifeguard shift ended, I returned to my lodgings and slumped into the chair in my room.

I had a private room here, with far better facilities than the other Constel students had. Probably a reward for taking part in the operation.

But even now that I was here, I still couldn't rest.

There were other “rewards” I was owed besides this private room.

‘The quest reward isn't coming.’

[Main Quest: Operation to Eliminate Indus]

? Description: Indus's plan has been revealed. Thwart the plan and subdue the members of Indus.

? Objective: Subdue Indus's members and leader.

? Reward: Varies according to the number of people subdued.

? Failure may result in ‘anarchy.’

The “Operation to Eliminate Indus” quest.

Constel's operation had ended, but the quest remained incomplete.

I had thought we had stopped Indus and cleared it without anyone getting hurt.

In other words, it wasn't over yet.

CAW!

Just then, a crow called outside the window.

I looked outside. The crow circled once in the air, then perched on my windowsill.

[“Found them.”]

The crow spoke to me. As expected, it was Gregory.

Even after we caught the Indus member hiding within Constel—Armel, in other words—Gregory had stayed by my side.

He obeyed my orders and diligently kept up the act of being a crow I had tamed, even inside Constel.

When I asked him why, he said:

[“Prison is nothing but tedious and boring. I'd rather stay beside you and watch. It's more entertaining. Trouble seems to break out wherever you go, after all.”]

I wasn't sure whether I should be pleased about that.

In any case, I had put Gregory in charge of searching for Kraken.

Kraken had lost one life to my arrow. I hadn't seen it happen myself, but I trusted Chryselakatos's capabilities.

Two lives remained. Kraken would certainly use one before the “revolution.” The original intention must have been to use both spare lives for the revolution, but I had ruined that plan.

The question, then, was which of the two intended uses Kraken would choose.

There was simply no way for me to know, so I told Gregory about both locations and ordered him to find out which one Kraken was heading toward.

One of the two likely destinations was the Lur Sea.

Kraken would cross beyond humanity's borders, fight through the monsters of the Outside, and plunge into the Lur Sea to earn Poseidon's recognition and obtain the Divine Relic, the Trident.

Kraken was originally a sea monster, and thus also the one most likely to acquire the Trident that now lay dormant deep beneath the sea.

If Kraken acquired the Trident, it would mean an instant game over from a player's perspective. Even by my present standards, the situation would be hopeless.

Like Mjolnir, the Trident was Chief Deity grade. Besides, my weapons were only replicas. I had yet to discover any difference between them and the originals, but genuine Legendary or Divine weapons might be another matter.

Above all, Kraken's own combat strength exceeded mine, so my chances of winning would have to be considered slim.

Still, even with all three lives, Kraken might succeed in obtaining the Trident only once in tens of thousands of attempts, if that.

I had never actually experienced it while playing, either. I had only heard about it from other players.

Some dismissed it as an urban legend, but given the number of eyewitness accounts, that route apparently did exist. Those accounts were, of course, steeped in the players' fury.

But Kraken had now unexpectedly lost a life. Surely they wouldn't do something as stupid as trying to obtain the Trident.

So, most likely...

[“Kraken went to Renzo.”]

“... I see.”

I nodded at Gregory's words.

Renzo was currently being held in the prison called Obsidian.

No one, whoever they might be, could escape Obsidian on their own, nor could anyone break into the prison from outside.

But Kraken alone could get Renzo out of Obsidian without using either of those methods.

‘Good. Every roll of the dice has gone my way so far.’

I had already meddled extensively with the game's usual course to achieve a better outcome.

Unexpected things had certainly happened along the way, putting me in dangerous situations.

Even so, I would keep reading the game's overall course and responding accordingly.

All while carefully examining the divide between what I had changed and what I hadn't.

‘Kraken, I'll let you have Renzo.’

If I truly put everything I had into it, I might have been able to prevent even that.

But there was no particular need.

Renzo wasn't someone just anyone could handle.

If things went as I expected, Kraken was now personally throwing open the door that would allow us to wipe out Indus completely.

... And then, at last, this persistent, ill-fated entanglement with Indus would end.

I could rest after that.

Just this. Just this one thing, then I'll rest.