Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Unemployed Life (3)

“Alright, it’s done!”

The mask-making was finished on the spot.

I thought it would take a few days and require manpower or equipment, but it was being made right in front of me.

“That’s really fast.”

“Unlike the masks you’ve used before, this one isn’t for disguising yourself as someone else, right? You just need to hide your face. So, it’s enough to make it slightly different from your original face.”

With that, Quinie held up the mask.

“Here, try it on.”

At those words, I took the mask and put it on my face.

Hmm, it definitely feels different from the masks I used before. It’s very light and soft, and above all, it doesn’t feel any temperature. It’s neither cold nor hot. Is it matched to my body temperature?

I put on the mask and looked in the mirror.

“How is it? Any discomfort?”

“No. It’s fine. But…”

I looked closely at the man’s face in the mirror.

It’s definitely not a face I know, and it’s clearly different from Frondier de Roach, and thanks to the high-quality mask, it doesn’t feel awkward or out of place.

But this face…

“Mr. Quinie.”

“Yes?”

“Did you really need to make it this handsome? A plain face would have been enough.”

At that, Quinie straightened up and said.

“I can’t tolerate that.”

“……Is that so?”

“To minimize the sense of incongruity, it’s best not to make too many modifications. The frame of this mask is based on the shape of your muscles and skeleton.”

Indeed, as Quinie said, this mask’s face has some similarities to Frondier. The positions of the facial features, for instance.

The appearance has changed, but more than that, the atmosphere is different.

The characteristic languor of Frondier has disappeared, and the eyes have become sharp and confident. Of course, I have to make that expression, but even if Frondier made the same expression, it wouldn’t look like this.

“……Oh, this.”

It was only after thinking that far that I realized.

This face resembles someone.

“It looks like my father.”

“……Ah.”

Quinie made a sound as if realizing it only after hearing my words. Looking back and forth between the reflection in the mirror and the real me, Quinie spoke in a flustered manner.

“Right, this. It looks like Mr. Amper’s face when he was young.”

It’s not exactly the same.

But if you know, it’s quite similar.

Probably, Quinie didn’t intend it either, and it happened unconsciously during the process of changing my face.

‘Come to think of it, Quinie had a connection with Amper. It was Amper who stopped the rampage of the white tiger beastman Cora in childhood.’

No matter how different the impression is, Frondier is of Roach’s bloodline. It’s not strange at all that my face resembles Amper’s face in the process of eliminating the languor.

“Haha, it reminds me of the old days.”

Quinie, looking at my face, seemed to be lost in memories. Somehow, it felt awkward.

Suddenly, I remembered and asked.

“By the way, how is Cora doing?”

The white tiger beastman, Cora.

After stopping his rampage, I was in the same class under the pretext of preventing such incidents in advance.

Cora was in the same class when I was in the third grade, but shortly after I became a third grader, I got caught in Odin’s scheme and left the empire without enjoying the third grade life much.

So, I have no idea how my friends or acquaintances were doing at that time.

To that question, Quinie,

“Ah……………… that guy?”

said, averting his eyes.

“Mr. Quinie?”

“Ah, yes. Well, I’m doing fine. Should I say I’m doing fine? There’s no doubt that I’m doing fine? Objectively speaking, can I say I’m doing fine? Should I say I’ve surpassed the median?”

“……”

Highly suspicious.

Come to think of it, Cora didn’t participate in any war. Not in the Mangot War, nor in the war with the gods.

Of course, I didn’t wish for him to participate in the war, but it’s a bit strange that there hasn’t been any news about him all this time.

“Where is he now?”

When I asked, Quinie blinked several times and finally sighed.

“……Obsidian.”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s in Obsidian. Obsidian Prison.”

I thought I misheard.

I blinked several times like Quinie did, and soon my expression twisted.

“What on earth did he do?”

Obsidian is not a place for just any prisoner.

It’s a place for those who committed treason or equivalent conspiracies, caused tremendous harm to citizens, or prisoners who can’t be handled by other prisons.

Cora, from my perspective, seemed like a bit of a troublemaker, but he wasn’t inherently a bad guy.

Did Cora change while I was away?

“It hurts more when you ask with that face.”

Quinie looked at my face and leaned back slightly.

She calmed her eyes and spoke.

“It was a violent incident. Quite frequent, too. He didn’t go berserk, but even without that, Cora is strong. Moreover, he learned to some extent to control the power of the White Tiger while studying at Constell.”

“Cora involved in a violent incident…? Without going berserk, you say?”

When I asked that, Quinie’s eyes tilted, as if recalling that time.

“……Actually, that scene was almost like going berserk.”

* * *

After hearing the story from Quinie, I headed to Obsidian.

I decided to get a license and a new car later, and thanks to Quinie’s consideration, I was able to head to Obsidian with a car and a driver.

‘Anyway, I had business in Obsidian.’

I had originally prepared a mask to meet Hagley in Obsidian.

So, the nose is merely a confirmation.

“……You are, Sir Frondier, right? Sir Frondier de Roach.”

Then the driver suddenly spoke to me.

He appeared to be a middle-aged man.

In fact, I had noticed him glancing at me through the rearview mirror for a while.

“Yes, that’s correct. I am wearing a mask right now, though.”

“Ah, yes. I’ve heard about you from Sir Quinie. You’ve been through a lot.”

“……? Ah, yes.”

I felt a bit strange but nodded in response.

Then silence.

Did he speak to me just to say that?

As I was thinking that, the driver, who had been glancing at the rearview mirror again, spoke in a slightly louder voice.

“Thank you.”

“Yes?”

“I am from Lirber.”

I paused for a moment to think about that.

Lirber. I wondered where that place was located.

“……Ah! Lirber! I see!”

I realized that the name was now a defunct place name.

Lirber was a place that used to be part of the Empire’s territory. It was a city where people lived before humans retreated due to the Monster War.

In other words, if someone says they are from Lirber, it is not much different from saying they are a ‘survivor.’

“At that time, the Empire issued evacuation orders to each dangerous area. We had to leave our hometown.”

“……I’m glad you survived.”

“Haha. I was lucky.”

The driver laughed heartily.

“My family all safely left the village and settled in the Empire. But there were many who couldn’t escape in time. We lost our hometown, and it is still a monster’s domain.”

The driver, who said that, smiled at me.

“But thanks to you, Sir Frondier, we have hope. I heard the Empire is moving to expand its territory. Because we won the war against the gods!”

“……That’s right. But the war was not just me alone,”

“Thank you.”

I was about to say something, but the driver spoke in a firm voice.

“It might be possible to reclaim our homeland. Just having that hope is enough. I’ve wanted to thank you for a long time.”

“……”

“Everyone now knows how difficult the path you’ve walked has been, Mr. Frondier. You are my benefactor. You are the benefactor and hero of many people. No amount of gratitude is enough.”

I just blinked at those words.

I didn’t know what to say.

No, I did know. There are the usual things to say.

No, it’s too much. It wasn’t just my achievement. It was possible because of everyone’s sacrifice,

…there were many things I could say if I tried.

But I couldn’t bring myself to say them.

“Oh dear.”

Seeing me choked up, the driver said sympathetically.

“You’re not used to receiving thanks, are you?”

* * *

When we arrived at Obsidian, we were blocked at the entrance.

Of course, since I was wearing a mask, they didn’t know who I was.

So I requested to meet with Director Esther, as I always did.

But this is where things started to go wrong.

“The Director is not here right now.”

One of the guards said, looking at me with an attitude that was polite only in words.

“Not here…?”

“Yes, she has stepped out for a while. She’s busy.”

That can’t be.

It’s not that Esther can’t step out or be busy, but it doesn’t make sense for her to be absent.

Because she has a mirror.

A high-performance clone that can perform exactly like her, and is therefore dangerous, is there, but she’s absent? That’s nonsense.

The reason there hasn’t been a deputy director at Obsidian until now is because Esther could handle everything on her own.

‘And unlike before, I came through the proper procedures this time.’

I had already announced my visit to Obsidian in the name of Roach. With the proud permission of Amper.

It was just a few hours ago that I was moved by the fact that such a day had come for me.

I took out the prepared documents.

“Here is the permit,”

“So, he’s not here.”

Thud.

The guard lightly pushed me.

Indeed, ordinary people without the badge of the heroic Frondier or Roah families are usually treated like this. In a sensitive and stressful place like a prison, it’s only natural.

Hmm, this is troublesome.

I inadvertently looked back.

The driver of the Quinier, who had not yet departed, was staring at me, frozen white. As if the guard had made a huge mistake.

From my perspective, it’s nothing, so such a reaction is rather troublesome.

I said to the guard.

“Um, when will the warden return?”

“I don’t know.”

“I have a bit of a connection, so if you could just tell me the return time…”

The guard sighed as if annoyed while I was speaking.

In my opinion, Esther must be inside.

I’m giving as many hints as possible, but there’s no way the guard would notice.

“Enough, just go back,”

As the guard tried to push me once more,

Thud, thud, thud─!

Someone came running roughly from the entrance.

“Wa, warden!”

It was Esther.

Esther was panting on the other side of the locked entrance.

Then she looked at the guard and said.

“Ahem, ah, I couldn’t inform you in advance. This man was supposed to come. Open the door quickly.”

“Really…?”

The guard looked at me suspiciously once more. His eyes scanned me from head to toe.

As Esther’s face hardened, I became a bit anxious.

“Alright, then.”

The door finally opened, and I followed Esther who was walking ahead.

“……How did you recognize me?”

I asked, since it seemed like Esther had noticed me behind the mask.

“You were the only one scheduled to visit today.”

Esther said as she walked.

“I’m sorry. Obsidian is in a very sensitive state right now. The guards don’t let anyone in without verifying their identity. I thought there would be no problem since everyone knows your face. I didn’t expect you to come wearing a mask. If I offended you, I apologize. Next time, I’ll make sure to educate them properly,”

“No, no, no, no. Please don’t do that.”

If they were doing their job well, there was no problem.

What were they planning to do just because they stopped me?

“Today definitely has a sharp atmosphere. Did something happen?”

“……Yes. It’s not an exaggeration to say that I was the cause.”

Esther was the cause?

“That can’t be.”

I replied immediately.

Esther looked at me as if she couldn’t believe it.

“You haven’t even heard what happened yet, and you’re saying that.”

“But you wouldn’t do anything wrong.”

Because it’s Esther.

At my words, Esther sighed deeply, pulling her lips tight.

“……You know that Renzo was captured, right?”

“Huh?”

“Since then, there’s been a strange tension among the prisoners. Renzo has a history of escaping once before. Now that he’s been captured again, the prisoners naturally think Renzo is planning another escape.”

“……If that plan is more ‘spectacular’ than the previous escape.”

“They’re dreaming of escaping along with him.”

Cold sweat ran down my back at those words.

Renzo is in here.

Yes, thinking about it, it was obvious.

I came to meet Hagley, heard that Cora was in here, and realized once again that a bomb named Renzo was planted here.

I said,

“……Maybe that was a bit of a mistake on your part?”

“See?”