The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Chapter 438 (1) – The Academys Weapon Replicator

“Leave it to you? You’re saying you’ll deliver the message to Frondier?” Aster asked. The crow nodded.

[It would be difficult for the two of you to leave the continent. I, on the other hand, can reach the western continent by flying.]

Aster nodded at the crow’s words. According to Dier, Marco wanted Aster and Dier to go to the Agoris continent.

He didn’t know the reason, but Dier believed there was ‘something they wouldn’t want to know inside Agoris’.

Of course, Marco’s words could be a lie, but in Dier’s eyes, they were sincere. Aster trusted Dier’s judgment. So if there was someone to go in their stead, and if that someone was a crow, nothing could be better. It would allow for a swift response.

“Alright, let’s entrust it to you. There shouldn’t be any problems if it’s a crow tamed by Frondier.”

“Hold on.” Dier suddenly spoke up.

“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be by Frondier’s side?”

[……Well, about that.]

The crow turned its head. The reason was simple. It was because Frondier didn’t fully understand Gregory’s abilities.

‘That guy must have thought I’d be with him wherever he went.’

Unlike Selena, Gregory wasn’t connected to Frondier in any way. Gregory, stuck inside the prison, had merely been loitering around Frondier out of boredom.

So, if Frondier crossed over to another continent, Gregory naturally couldn’t follow.

Come to think of it, it was only natural. If Gregory could truly control any small animal in this world, he would have known about the existence of the Agoris continent from the start.

However, even Gregory couldn’t give orders to small animals in places he didn’t know, and his abilities wouldn’t reach such a far distance.

[I was abandoned.]

In the end, Gregory decided to say that, his voice filled with faux despair. His acting skills were improving smoothly from pretending next to Frondier.

Gregory himself was holding back laughter, but it didn’t show on the crow’s face.

“Oh my….” Aster let out a surprised, yet pitiful voice.

“We don’t know what creatures live on other continents. We don’t even know if it’s a suitable environment for crows to live in. That’s probably why he left you behind. Don’t be too disheartened.”

[……I suppose so.]

“But to still have such loyalty to your master even after being left behind. You’re truly admirable.”

[Thank you.]

The crow didn’t feel grateful at all, but it bowed its head nonetheless. Dier seemed to feel a little sorry, his mouth twitching slightly. Aster noticed this.

“Dier, apologize. Even crows have feelings. You just hurt the crow’s feelings.”

“……I still don’t get it.” Dier still unconvinced, glared at the crow.

“The crow I saw last time looked a little different from this one.”

Aster was surprised. “You remember all the little details about Frondier’s crow?”

“Yes, I’m sure of it.”

Even Gregory was surprised. ‘Normal humans don’t even realize that crows look different. This Dier guy is no ordinary guy.’

The crow perched on Frondier’s shoulder in Constel was always the same. Of course, Gregory was worried about cases like Dier’s, where someone might notice it was a different crow, but the real reason was simpler.

While Gregory wasn’t using his ability, the crow was just a normal crow, living its own life.

Therefore, if Gregory moved the crow too far from its original location with his ability, the crow would be greatly disoriented when the ability was released, and in some cases, wouldn’t be able to return to its habitat.

Most could return to their homes using their instinctive senses, but that too had its limits.

Of course, Gregory didn’t care whether the crow lived or died, but it was important for it to be where it was supposed to be.

That’s why Gregory tried to use crows that overlapped with Frondier’s living radius as much as possible. Therefore, the crow perched on Frondier’s shoulder in Constel was always the same one.

‘To think he saw and remembered that with his own eyes.’

As Gregory marveled, Aster spoke up. “But Frondier could have tamed multiple crows, right? He’s skilled enough to make a crow act on its own and speak human language. Taming multiple crows would be easy for him.”

“That’s certainly possible. But it would be difficult to make two crows capable of language acquisition.”

Not two, but hundreds, thousands of crows were all capable of language acquisition. Because it wasn’t taming.

Of course, it was just Gregory speaking through the crow, so it was different from taming.

Dier looked at the crow with suspicious eyes.

“Hey, you’re not mimicking, are you? While language acquisition is difficult, it’s not impossible for veteran tamers with talent and enough time. If your master isn’t Frondier, but some other random guy…”

“Even a veteran would struggle with this level of language proficiency, don’t you think?”

“I’ve only ever seen Frondier’s crow. But at the same time, we have a clear example in Frondier.”

Dier had just racked his brain to figure out Marco’s true intentions. The heat of that moment still lingered.

In other words, not only was he already sharp, but his engine was still running.

‘Interesting kid.’

Gregory found Dier intriguing.

Of course, he wasn’t Frondier’s enemy, but rather an ally. However, he wasn’t a tamed crow either.

He was originally a criminal belonging to Indus. Although he had now finished his sentence in prison, he didn’t want to run into people like Aster if possible.

But it was also true that there was no room for excuses now.

However, Gregory found himself amused even though he was cornered. An insight similar to Frondier’s, yet different; seemingly heading in the same direction, yet going the opposite way.

“Dier.” Aster placed a hand on Dier’s shoulder, as if to calm him down.

“It’s not good to be suspicious without reason.”

“……But it’s suspicious.”

“Let’s trust it for now. This crow is the only one who can help us.”

If it were Frondier, he would have said, ‘Let’s be suspicious first.’ This was where he felt the difference between the two.

From Gregory’s perspective, Aster was easier to deal with than Frondier or Dier.

“Besides, it’s easy to find out if this crow is Frondier’s pet. And we’ll also know where to go.”

“Huh? How?”

[……?]

Neither Dier nor Gregory understood what Aster meant. How could they find out if the crow was Frondier’s pet? And how could they know where to go?

At that moment, it struck Gregory.

Caw-!

The crow let out a belated cry of alarm and flapped its wings to take flight.

Thwack!

Faster than the crow could fly, Aster’s lightning-fast hand shot out, grabbing the crow by the neck.

Caw, caw-!

The crow squawked desperately.

Gregory knew what Aster was going to do. And he was appalled.

He immediately retracted his thought about Aster being easier to deal with.

This guy was a righteous madman.

Aster looked at Dier with a bright smile. “Let’s take this crow to Miss Malia.”