Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Odyssey

“How much time has passed?”

Phrondir asked.

It had taken much longer in the dream than initially expected.

Between Lethe’s intrusion and the brief visit to Pantemonium while fighting her, as well as discovering Quinie’s past, more time had elapsed than anticipated.

In response to Phrondir’s question, Elodie shrugged her shoulders and replied.

“Not much. About an hour?”

“That’s a relief.”

The reason Phrondir was worried was that ‘Pantemonium’ is vast. Time flows quickly there.

Still, the time spent wasn’t long, and the fact that it was a dream seemed to have suitably diminished it.

“Then let’s go.”

At Phrondir’s words, Elodie and Quinie nodded, and the three opened the workshop door.

Outside, there was little difference from before they entered the workshop. It was only natural to say it was an hour ago.

Selena was still in conversation with Sergio, and the palace staff, including Empress Phily, were still in a meeting, each expressing their opinions. Wizards like Elodie and Osprit seemed to be looking for other means to control Sergio.

They soon spotted Phrondir and his companions coming out of the workshop.

“Phrondir!”

Saibel was the first to spot Phrondir, and naturally, people gathered around him.

“Did you find a solution?”

Osprit asked, and Phrondir nodded.

“Yes. But there are a few steps. You all need to help.”

At Phrondir’s request for help, everyone’s eyes sparkled.

Elodie, placing her hands on her hips, asked.

“So, what do we need to do?”

“Um. First, before we start….”

Phrondir trailed off, looking around.

He couldn’t see the person who should have been there before him.

Phrondir’s gaze lowered further.

“Could it be that guy swore an oath….”

“He’s here! He’s here!”

Someone flew in from afar, interrupting Frondior’s words.

It was Lethe.

“You’re really impatient! How long has it been since you woke up from your dream?”

Everyone looked at her with a bit of caution at Lethe’s sudden appearance.

She was an unknown entity, and the strange sensation emanating from her naturally put them on edge.

Most of them here had experience fighting gods. They sensed a similar aura.

“Oh, this is Lethe.”

Frondior lightly introduced Lethe to them.

The introduction was so casual that a few of them blinked in confusion.

“She’s the goddess of forgetfulness. Oh, but she’s not a goddess anymore.”

“Right. Because of you.”

Lethe retorted with a narrow-eyed glance.

Everyone exchanged vague smiles as they watched Frondior converse with a deity as if it were nothing.

Frondior asked, “Why are you so late? You could have arrived much earlier than me.”

“I had to gather a few things too! It’s not common to turn a monster into a spirit, you know? Do you think I’m always prepared for that?!”

Hmm. Frondior closed his mouth, thinking she had a point.

Still, he was aware that he had been a bit sensitive just a moment ago, considering they had just fought.

“Into a spirit?”

At that moment, it was Selena who reacted to Lethe’s words.

“Can our father become a spirit?”

“Yes. If this guy isn’t lying.”

“I’m not!”

Lethe immediately denied it. As she spoke, she rummaged through her clothes and pulled out a few sheets of paper.

“What is that?”

“It’s a magic circle. I told you, right? A ritual is necessary. Moreover, what we need is a double magic circle.”

“A double magic circle?”

“I heard you did it too, right? In the war.”

“……Ah.”

Frondior recalled.

May, at that time, summoned by Menosorpo along with Rocky. There, the old heroes were briefly called forth.

Though it feels strange for Frondior to say it himself, it felt like a ‘miracle’ had been performed.

“Does what we have to do this time need to reach that level?”

“It has to exceed that level. The magic of that time was temporary, but this time it must last forever.”

The summoning of the hero was only for a moment.

However, Sergio’s becoming a spirit must not be just a momentary thing.

“So this time we need to use two different magic circles. I know you’re anxious, but please wait a bit. It takes time to draw them…”

As she said this, Lethe waved her hands to clear the surrounding people away. It was to secure space for drawing the magic circles.

Understanding her intent, everyone willingly stepped aside.

The space prepared was quite large. If this was the smallest area that could be drawn, it could be compared to Menosorpo.

“Um, let’s see, from the largest circle, draw a line to the opposite side at the midpoint of the radius…”

Then Lethe alternately examined the paper and the ground with her narrowed eyes.

At that sight, Frondior scratched his cheek, and everyone had similar expressions.

“…Selena, I’m sorry.”

“Yes.”

“Could you bring May over?”

“Yes.”

Selena answered without asking for a reason.

She already knew the reason.

* * *

“…That’s a lie.”

After a moment, Lethe looked ahead with a bewildered expression.

A girl standing at the center of the magic circle, May, spoke while looking at Frondior.

“Is this how it should be?”

“Yes. Thank you, May.”

First, Frondior sneakily glanced at the paper Lethe had drawn and drew the two magic circles needed for the double magic circle on the ground.

May, who had arrived, created a temporary space in the air, vertically suspending one of the magic circles Frondior had drawn above the initially drawn magic circle.

Completion.

“Just as expected, it’s May. You remember the magic Rocky did.”

“It just happened to work out.”

Mae seemed to have no more words to say, her demeanor straightforward.

Rethe looked back and forth between the two with her mouth agape.

“……You’re saying you can draw a magic circle without any tools? No, what’s with this ridiculous speed? How can you draw such a complex shape all at once? And two of them? Moreover, that one created a temporary space in mid-air and just stuck the magic circle on top of it?”

“Right. Just stuck it on.”

“Is that your answer?”

The most absurd part for Rethe was that she was the only one surprised by the situation.

Everyone around her, excluding her, wore subtle expressions instead of sharing in Rethe’s shock. In their gazes towards her, there was a hint of nostalgia.

“So, what’s next?”

Prondior asked, intending to move things along before Rethe’s questions grew larger.

Rethe’s face turned sullen, but knowing that Prondior wouldn’t tell her anyway, she answered.

“Now we need to purify it.”

“You said you would eliminate the thoughts of the monster.”

“Right.”

Prondior looked at Sergio.

“Could you come over here for a moment?”

“Of course, I shall.”

Sergio approached with a calm voice and matching gait.

As she quietly watched him, Prondior asked Rethe.

“Do you really think Sergio harbors hatred towards humans?”

“Monsters are all the same, without exception.”

“How do you feel about it, Sergio?”

Sergio smiled at Prondior’s question and replied.

“Of course, I do.”

“It doesn’t seem that way.”

“Well, it’s an emotion I never had in my lifetime. Isn’t it natural to be cautious? Hahaha.”

Sergio laughed like that.

Prondior nodded, feeling a kind of awe towards Sergio.

“Then is it time for the ritual?”

“Yeah. You said your name was Sergio, right? Go to the center of the magic circle.”

“Will do.”

A strange conversation between gods and humans briefly passed, and Sergio headed towards the center of the magic circle.

Philly, who had been watching, narrowed her eyes for a moment and approached Frondior.

“Is this okay?”

“……I believe so.”

Frondior knew that Lethe had sworn an oath.

However, that did not guarantee everything.

Lethe might be playing tricks with lies, or even if not, Lethe could have misunderstood something.

There were many elements of uncertainty in this approach.

Philly spoke again.

“But what if it goes wrong?”

“Then.”

Frondior clenched his fist.

“……I don’t know what will happen to me.”

This was not a threat directed at Lethe. Of course, it might have sounded that way to him.

Frondior was genuinely worried about losing his composure.

“……Ahem.”

Lethe cleared his throat as if he hadn’t heard and then spoke.

“Anyway, it’s the wizard’s turn next. We need four. But they can’t just be ordinary wizards. They should be skilled professors or the head of the magic tower,”

“I’ll be the head of the magic tower.”

Elodie raised her hand.

“I’m a professor at that magic tower.”

Ospreet said confidently.

“……Alright. Then the other two.”

At Lethe’s words, everyone pondered for a moment.

There were many skilled wizards. Who among them would be the most suitable candidate?

Frondior asked.

“The desired range is vague. What qualities of a wizard are needed?”

“The dual magic circle is extremely complex. It requires meticulous and precise mana manipulation. Moreover, since there will be four of us, we must be able to clearly catch each other’s intentions. Someone precise rather than flashy. A bit rigid would be just right,”

When they heard that, Frondior and Elodie shouted.

“Basileo!”

* * *

Vasileo was originally participating in the Odyssey, advancing to expand the empire’s territory.

Just before that, he had been standing on the battlefield with Aster.

“What is this…?”

In the meantime, Vasileo had been half-dragged to Selena, and he was dazed by the double magic circle in front of him.

“It’s a double magic circle. I wanted you to help.”

Prondior said.

“Ah, Master! How have you been!”

Upon discovering Prondior, Vasileo bowed respectfully.

“Uh, yeah. It’s been a while.”

Prondior felt that Vasileo’s manner of speaking to him was becoming increasingly formal, but that wasn’t important right now.

“How about it, Vasileo? Can you do it?”

“Even if you ask if I can do it, what should I do?”

A cough was heard again from there.

“Ahem, so, what you need to do is this: Four wizards will stand around this magic circle. Those four need to eliminate the thoughts of the target in the center.”

“Thoughts….”

Vasileo looked at Sergio, who was standing in the center, with narrow eyes.

In an instant, a blue light flickered in his pupils,

“A monster, isn’t it?”

“……!”

In a moment, he grasped Sergio’s true identity.

“But that appearance seems to have some circumstances. It looks human, but it’s not undead. There’s almost no killing intent unique to monsters. What’s going on?”

To that, Prondior replied.

“That person is Selena’s father.”

“……What?”

Vasileo’s head snapped back to Selena. Selena nodded.

Vasileo’s expression turned grim.

“I-I’m sorry! How dare I overstep my bounds!”

“It’s, it’s okay. It’s the truth. Right now, my father is a monster.”

As Selena spoke, a resolute look shone in her eyes.

“Then we must change it.”

“……I see.”

Basilio looked at the magic circle again.

“I don’t know the details, but removing that thought will help him, right?”

“Exactly.”

“You said there are four magicians; who else besides me?”

“Osprite, Elodie, and the last one is undecided.”

At those words, Basilio nodded.

Then he looked at Frondior and said,

“Please make the last one Teacher Jane.”

“……Teacher?”

“Yes.”

Basilio nodded as if there was no hesitation.

“With Teacher Jane, we will surely succeed.”