The Academy’s Weapon Replicator

Previously, Philly said she would use the Dragon Heart to maximize her precognitive abilities.

That's not a lie. In the game, Philly actually uses the Dragon Heart to enhance her precognition.

Of course, not now, but much later. In the game, Philly still doesn't know how to use the Dragon Heart at this time.

There are two things players have seen so far. Either Philly uses the Dragon Heart to further enhance her precognitive abilities, or she fails to use it until the game over.

But players dislike both cases. They don't like it when she can't use the Dragon Heart because it's obviously a loss, and in the case of enhancing her precognitive abilities...

‘Philly becomes almost like a machine after that.’

Even though the current Philly is someone whose inner thoughts are unknown, she still possesses humanity. From the player's perspective, she may be infinitely gray, but in reality, people are all gray. They can't always be good or evil.

In that sense, Philly was rather a familiar character to the players. In the end, she dedicates herself to the Empire, so there are quite a few who favor Philly as a character.

However, Philly with developed precognitive abilities makes all her thoughts and decisions based on precognition afterwards. There's no will of Philly herself, no will of her daughters like Aten or Sale, not even the will of the Empire, just pure rational thought and decisions.

‘What about the current Philly?’

Frondier is also naturally one of them. He wants Philly to become a good character.

To that end, he helped Philly, gave her information, and above all, saved her eldest daughter Elysia.

He could have easily killed her, and it would have been the right thing to do to avoid future trouble, but he didn't kill Elysia to prevent Philly from going astray.

“...I...”

Philly, blinking for a moment at Frondier's question, opened her mouth.

Depending on her next words, Frondier's resolve will be newly determined.

Whether to use the Dragon Heart or not, that is the question. Frondier cannot stop Philly from enhancing her precognitive abilities.

He has no justification for doing so, and from the perspective of humanity as a whole, it is beneficial. Philly's decisions after gaining complete precognition are always rational.

However, Philly will become closer to a machine as a result. Frondier must be prepared to accept that.

“I definitely need the Dragon Heart.”

“...I see.”

So that's how it is.

Frondier pulled himself together, feeling a bit downcast.

He felt a similar feeling to when he heard Philly's precognition in the past.

Even though Frondier has tried this hard, the tragic future of Etius still progresses as he knew it.

Even in this world, can he not prevent Philly from becoming a machine?

“I need to save my husband.”

“...Yes?”

Frondier asked back. He heard something unexpected.

Philly, on the other hand, tilted her head as if asking why he was surprised.

“Didn't you see my husband earlier? He's so weak that he needs help just to take a few steps. As his wife, I want to help him. The doctor said it's due to chronic mana deficiency.”

Frondier blinked blankly at Philly's explanation.

The Dragon Heart to save Bartello? It was something he had never even considered.

“Th-then, what about the precognition...?”

“──Aha. So that's why you were surprised, Frondier.”

Philly raised her voice as if she had finally understood and laughed.

“Ahaha, Frondier. Don't you remember? I told you.”

Philly raised her finger. Pointing at Frondier and Aten alternately, she said,

“When the two of you are together, I don't get a bad feeling.”

“...!”

Frondier's eyes widened at Philly's words.

That's right. Philly felt an ominous premonition about Aster and Aten being together, so she cast a suggestion spell on Aten to keep them apart.

In the original game, that suggestion eventually breaks, and Aten ends up with Aster.

So, Philly can't help but continue to feel that ominous premonition.

“Huh? Wh-what are you talking about?”

Of course, Aten, who hadn't heard this story, was overly concerned about Philly's words.

“The reason I wanted to enhance my precognitive abilities back then was because the ominous feeling wouldn't end. But now Aten is by your side, right? So there's no need to enhance my precognition.”

That's right.

Philly always acts for her daughters. The safety of the Empire is the safety of her daughters. That's why she dedicates herself wholeheartedly to the Empire.

Originally, Aster and Aten were always a team.

That's why Philly's precognition is always on edge.

That's why Philly wants to further enhance her precognitive abilities.

Philly, who feels precognition sensually, would intuitively know what would happen to her after enhancing her precognitive abilities. But even knowing that, Philly was trying to use the Dragon Heart to enhance her precognition.

But the current Philly doesn't do that. Because she doesn't think it's necessary.

“Right now, my husband's well-being is more important to me than precognition. Sale is still young, and the citizens of the Empire still need Bartello.”

“... .”

Hearing those words,

Frondier couldn't tell what the emotion rising within him was.

“Frondier?”

Even when Aten called his name worriedly after seeing his face, Frondier didn't answer.

‘...Always.’

He didn't know what kind of expression he was making. What kind of face he had, whether he was laughing or crying.

‘I wanted to know if what I was doing was right.’

Frondier fell into the world of the game.

A world he had never cleared, a world no one had ever cleared.

A world where all the means he had tried failed to work.

Dropped into this place with only memories of failure, he lived as a character who wasn't even the protagonist.

It was a world with a predetermined death.

Frondier doesn't know how the ending of Etius will unfold. It was different every time he played.

He only knows one thing.

That all the endings were tragic deaths.

So, since he fell into this world, Frondier would also meet that death.

In a world where, if he did nothing, all of humanity would surely meet a tragic end in the distant future.

‘Just because I struggle doesn't guarantee things will work out.’

Even if he succeeded in something.

Even if he somehow overcame adversity and hardship.

He was afraid that it would be just a tiny ripple, completely unrelated to the tragedy of this world.

Or perhaps a ridiculous play performed before an even more tragic disaster.

“Ha...!”

Frondier lowered his head. A deep breath escaped his lips.

Philly won't become a machine.

Because she doesn't need precognition.

Because Aten is by Frondier's side, and her ominous premonition has disappeared.

A world where Philly becomes a better person, and the aging Bartello regains his strength and can live on, opens up as a possibility.

──The butterfly effect doesn't always cause a typhoon.

‘Haha, damn it, this cursed game...!’

Even as Frondier cursed inwardly, a smile he wasn't aware of spread across his lips.

“Thank goodness... .”

Gaining the certainty that he was still on the right path,

Knowing that his existence had meaning here,

Frondier quietly muttered words that Aten and Philly couldn't understand yet.

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