The Academy’s Weapon Replicator-Chapter 7.2: The Branch in the Coffin, Mistletoe (4) Part 2

He's controlling my body, trying to make me kill myself with my own hand.

A perfect disguise for a suicide leaving no evidence behind.

My right hand just trembled, not following my will at all.

The blade was getting closer.

I tried to clench my teeth with force.

...Huh?

I can still bite down on my molars.

I changed my thinking. I couldn't resist with strength.

I am just a human, and not even a named one, just an ordinary person. Opposing a god is foolhardy.

So what I need to do is to make him stop his own actions.

It was still possible to bite through it.

I could bite through it while my mouth can still move.

I met his piercing golden eyes.

Holding my breath, I moved my lips.

"—Thanatos."

My voice was barely a whisper.

But the damn god should understand it.

If he is a god, he should be able to do that much.

[……!]

His golden eyes widened.

At the same time, the boy's body moved away from me.

The blade that was coming at me stopped.

"Gasp! Huff, gasp!!"

I regained my freedom and exhaled roughly.

Ho, holy moly, I almost died……!

[──!]

The god in the form of a boy shouted something at me with a face filled with panic and anger.

I have no idea what you're saying, idiot.

Then, he quickly made a troubled expression as if he had just thought of something.

He bit his lower lip, glanced at me once, and walked through the closed gap.

Soon, the gap closed and my room returned to its usual state.

"......Is he gone?"

I collapsed as my tension eased.

The Greek god of death, 'Thanatos'.

However, in Etius, he is not 'death itself' as portrayed in the original myth.

He is a powerful and high-ranking god, but if he disappears, death does not disappear. Despite being in charge of death, he can also die.

Anyway, I'm lucky I figured out his identity.

Golden eyes, black wings, and the form of a young boy.

There aren't many gods who possess all three characteristics, but I had to risk my life to find out.

The most important clue is the killing method.

Just like now, when a god possesses a human's body and makes them kill themselves, there will be no trace left, making it suicide.

That's Thanatos, the god of death, for you.

Among the gods, only a few know Thanatos' face. Those few are higher-ranking gods than Thanatos.

"I simply took a shot in the dark, but from Thanatos' perspective, it wouldn't seem that way.

To him, the fact that I know his face would appear as if I have a close connection with other higher gods.

Therefore, killing me now would be risky.

That’s why I mentioned his name, hoping he would think this way.

...Yet, what I can say is,

I was really lucky.

“...It feels like a tremendous crisis but also a tremendous opportunity.”

The attempt on my life was surely because of the 'Weaving'.

Why the Weaving angered a god, I don’t know.

But there has never been a case in the history of Etius where a human has affected a god’s emotions like this.

“Could it be that Frondier, lacking divine power, is despised by the gods?”

...Did I go too far?

Initially, humans with divine power are rare, and it’s unlikely that Frondier is despised by all gods.

In any case, this ability called Weaving could be more dangerous and powerful than I thought.

“However.”

I glanced down at my hands. The trembling wouldn’t stop.

I mocked myself.

“I guess I need to get used to fear.”

I don’t know how far my bravado will take me.

Thanatos can’t just directly ask the other higher gods about me, so I’ll probably have some time.

But I need to prepare as much as possible until then.

* * *

‘Frondier.’

Quinie thought about him in the classroom.

Frondier de Roach, the second son of the Roach family.

Now in her third year at Constel, she thought she wouldn’t have to care about the Roach family anymore.

She only learned of Frondier’s name after he enrolled.

She knew Azier had a brother but didn’t think much of him.

She tried digging for information just in case, but there was nothing worthwhile. The only information was that he was very lazy and negligent, which seemed credible.

“Quinie, what are you thinking about so deeply?”

Quinie's friend spoke up beside her.

Quinie glanced at her subtly.

"Anne, what do you think about Frondier?"

"What? Don't tell me, Quinie, seeing that face of Frondier's, have you finally felt those fresh feelings? Have you experienced it? That sweet and sour, that lovely...!"

"I'm asking for information."

"Is that so?"

Anne chuckled, "Heh."

"Frondier, well, I don't know. He used to just sleep during class. Though it seems not to be the case recently."

"Anything but what everyone in Constel already knows."

"That's all I know too."

Hmm, that makes sense.

Anne wouldn't know much about Frondier.

Instead, Quinie asked another question.

"You know about the incident a while back, right? The one where Frondier broke the transparent case storing Mistilteinn."

"Oh, I know! It was really noisy until a few days ago."

"What do you think about that?"

"About his action?"

"Yes."

Anne tilted her head, pondering, then flashed a wide smile.

She cheerfully responded, "It was reckless! Stupid!"

"…Hmm."

Yes. That was the public's opinion of Frondier regarding the incident at the time.

Even if it was for his father, what if it really was a cursed item?

Who would want to see their son die?

'But to me, he seemed filled with certainty.'

He must have been. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to do such a thing fearlessly.

-I've never been afraid of such things.

"Pfft."

Quinie laughed. It was the first time she had seen someone talk like that.

Especially in a place where people who are loved by various famous gods gather.

Truly fearless.

"Alright, I've decided."

"What?"

"If I want something, I should go get it."

With her arms crossed, progressing thoughts in her head, and with shining eyes, Quinie spoke.

Watching her, Anne wondered, "Could Quinie really be after Frondier?"