The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 129

I haven’t entered the barracks for years, but it really hasn’t changed at all.

The Royal Knight Order looked like quite an elite group from the outside, maintaining a serious image.

With the Master at the helm, they put a lot of effort into their public image as the representative knight order of the current Empire.

The sleek uniforms, impressive achievements, and tidy barracks all contributed to the current image of the Royal Knight Order.

But ultimately, it’s just a physically demanding group of knights.

To maintain a level of skill that qualifies as the best in the Empire, they train every day, sweating it out, and no amount of cleaning seems to get rid of the lingering odors inside the barracks.

The barracks with a few women are somewhat better, but the men’s barracks? No mercy there.

Especially in the Royal Knight Order, there’s this weird perception that stronger is better, creating a very hierarchical atmosphere.

Casey and I were walking through, attracting all sorts of looks.

We were just passing through the hallway, yet everyone gave us a glance over.

Seems like it’s been a while since I left the Order.

I spotted quite a few new students whose faces I didn’t even recognize.

While I was lost in thought, someone grabbed my shoulder.

“Hey… which family are you from? The visitation room is on the first floor.”

The knight looked really friendly.

He must’ve just come from the training ground, drenched in sweat and bearing bruises from sparring with wooden swords.

“Need a guide? I can show you around.”

He must’ve really thought Casey and I were some knight’s relatives.

“Wow, really?”

-Whack!!

I seized the knight’s hand on my shoulder and delivered a strong kick to his shin.

“Ow?!”

The knight, caught off guard, flew into the air, landing face-first on the ground.

“Yikes??”

“You’re too weak to guide anyone!”

I didn’t know if the new knight gasping for air after hitting the ground would hear me, but I was being generous.

Gack! Gack!

“Since you’re a newbie, I’ll let it slide this time.”

I might’ve tolerated some antics at the academy, but in the knight order, there’s no room for mercy.

Words don’t mean much to the strong knights.

The fastest way to learn is to feel it physically.

“Wow… you just outright kicked him…”

“Guys like him won’t get it unless you show them.”

Casey was surprised that I kicked him the moment I saw him, but my actions were justified.

If I tried to reason with him, he probably wouldn’t listen.

He’d likely think I was just being cocky; it’s best to teach him the hard way.

“Ugh… wait, isn’t that Atlas? I thought you were on a mission, but you’re back?”

As someone spotted me, their expression turned sour.

The voice belonged to a quite impressive knight.

With neatly cropped black hair and shining brown eyes.

Wearing a spotless white Royal Knight uniform, he didn’t quite seem like your average knight, but his strong physique and rugged hands reminded me he was a trained knight.

He was Patrada, a higher-up in the Royal Knight Order.

“You look like you’ve been doing well, huh? Your skin is so pale.”

“Do you know how tiring it is to force a smile when you’re wandering around every day? It’s peaceful lately, so I’m swiping faces more than swinging swords.”

We began hurling rough words at each other the moment we met.

Although I was younger, he was a fellow officer.

In the Royal Knight Order, higher-ups don’t really put on airs with each other.

In a place where strength reigns supreme, skill equates to rank, regardless of age.

“Ha… peaceful…?”

-Whack!

“Why’d you hit me?!!”

Seeing him so relaxed after I had struggled so much at the academy just pushed my buttons, and I kicked his shin again.

Unlike the newbie earlier, Patrada merely jumped back in pain.

He probably felt worse about me kicking his pristine white uniform than the pain itself.

“Must be nice to have it easy!”

“Yeah, who said you could just stroll around?! Oh, Casey, you’re here too? Did you actually catch her?”

“Well, you could say that.”

Casey confidently replied to Patrada, who was older than her; her speech habits were inevitable given her environment.

“Is the Commander in there?”

“Yeah. Just be careful; he’s not feeling too well.”

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After walking a bit further down the hallway, I arrived at the Commander’s office.

While the barracks reeked of sweat from the knights, the Commander’s office was a different story.

It felt entirely like another world.

Inside, the luxurious office befitting the royalty radiated elegance, and as I entered, the Commander was seen twirling a sword in the air.

“Commander, I’m back temporarily.”

“I’m back.”

“Good. You did well this time. Casey helped too.”

I greeted the Commander while ignoring the sword that spun menacingly in the air.

The Commander had a habit of spinning the sword when he was deep in thought.

A sword defying gravity, spinning like a windmill, was a terrifying, yet strangely familiar sight.

The fact that he was doing this meant he had a lot on his mind.

I couldn’t help but think that if I slipped up, that sword might end up flying at me.

“This incident is being handled by the Church’s… Heh… special investigator, so just go get questioned and come back.”

“Why do you look so amused?”

“Oh, it’s not a big deal.”

But seeing him struggling to hold back laughter made me think my worries weren’t unfounded.

“So… did you take care of that Demon Bishop?”

“Yeah, he was contracted to the Great Demon Belphegor.”

“Belphegor… the demon of sloth and domination, huh? You got rid of a pesky one. What was he like, that Demon Bishop?”

“…He was really annoying, using hostages to attack us.”

“It was easier to catch him before he got too settled in.”

Casey and I had completely opposite stories regarding the incident.

For me, he wasn’t that tough of an opponent, but he must’ve been a handful for Casey.

“The Demon Bishop at full strength can supposedly match the Master. Lucky for us, that wasn’t the case.”

“Yeah. He was barely at the level of a high-ranking demon.”

“You said you killed a Sword Master before?”

Casey didn’t respond at all to the mention of the Sword Master being killed.

Other Masters rarely drew her attention.

“That was my prey… if it weren’t for that damn lizard, I would’ve taken its head.”

“You saw the report, right?”

“Yeah… it pisses me off that my first victory as a Master was against some scum.”

The sword spinning in the air began to whirl even faster.

“You know as well as I do that the atmosphere isn’t great. We’re fortunate that the damage has been minimal compared to the scale of the incident, but if this happens three times in such a short period, nobles are going to demand we send students back home. To prevent that, we’ll need to take special measures…”

With three major incidents involving demons, notorious for being elusive, occurring within two months, the nobles, who only knew about demons through legends, would certainly fear that their precious children were caught in dangerous situations.

Fear and dread are contagious.

Once one person starts sending students home out of fear of demon invasions, it’ll spread to other houses and students.

A mass exodus of students before the semester even ends is a scenario the Principal would want to avoid at all costs.

“On the bright side, it’s good for the new entrants.”

“Most of those swayed by this sort of thing are the ones who’re just fluffing the numbers, so it doesn’t matter much.”

Linda had been deep in thought, arms crossed.

“Oh no… you must be in a rush to wrap things up, so let’s call it a day. That special investigator from the Church has been waiting in the palace since yesterday.”

“Can I go with you?”

“You’ll leave later.”

Looks like Casey is up next for the questioning.

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I entered the palace wearing the Squirette’s black armor.

Even saying “entered” is a stretch; I used spatial movement.

The guards were startled by the sudden appearance of a knight in black armor but brushed it off as just another random incident.

“Special investigator from the Church, huh…”

I’d worked with the Church before, but most of the investigators had unpleasant personalities.

Since I had some requests to make, I hoped we could negotiate well when I opened the door to the investigation room.

As soon as I stepped in, a sweet scent wafted through.

It was bizarre.

Even if it was the palace’s investigation room, normally it should carry the dank vibe of a dungeon and the humid air mixed with unpleasant moldy stench since it was adjacent to the underground prison.

But this room? It felt like stepping into a flower garden with the fresh air and a delightful floral fragrance.

Based on the atmosphere, one would expect sunlight pouring in through a hole in the ceiling, but the room still looked dark and dreary, with stone walls all around.

The discrepancy between what I saw and the other sensations I felt was unsettling.

What sent chills down my spine is that I knew who could create such an atmosphere, and I wanted to deny that such a person could be in a place like this.

“Long time no see, Atlas~!”

But that hope of mine shattered with those words.

“Ugh?!”

With an adorable smile that could catch anyone’s attention, bright pink hair, and an aura that could make anyone smile just being near her, a lovely woman lit up the cold, dreary investigation room.

Why the hell was she, of all people, a mere investigator in this gloomy basement?

The identity of the special investigator dispatched from the Church was the Saintess.

She was the kind of person I absolutely detested.