The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 138

“Let’s stop this.”

“Is this how a Knight behaves?!”

“Have you forgotten the Code of Conduct proclaimed by the Bishop?”

The commotion drew me out, and I found a Knight confronting a professor in the adjacent laboratory.

“Oh my, Professor Baker? Are you okay?”

“I’m not okay, Professor Praha..!! Please help me!”

“What happened?”

“Ugh… that Knight suddenly barged in and twisted my arm!”

One professor, appearing to be subdued by the Knight, was in a vulnerable position.

‘There are five people… Looks like the one being restrained is the head, and the other four are undergraduates.’

The restrained individual being a professor was just confirmed by Professor Praha, and judging by the others, they seemed like undergraduates.

The undergraduates looked like they were barely hanging on.

With dark bags under their eyes and their skin in poor condition, it was as if they hadn’t slept in days.

“Could it be that a Knight subdued them because there was absurdity happening in the laboratory?”

“Absurdity?! I’m innocent!”

“Then you shouldn’t have done it, right?”

It seemed like he was indeed in the wrong.

The professor claimed his innocence, but seeing the state of the undergraduates made him look like a criminal.

Even though the professor was caught by a Knight, the undergraduates stood there like zombies, expressionless.

“Everyone, we genuinely care about the Academy. Look at these undergraduates—don’t they seem on the brink of summoning a Demon? You need to cooperate at least until we can confirm that the threat from the Demon Church has been eliminated. It’s crucial to unite in times like this. The Red Banner Knight Order won’t tolerate such occurrences.”

As the Knight spoke firmly, the captured professor grumbled.

“What absurdity… It’s only natural for undergraduates to work…”

“Professor!!”

“Ugh… fine… Everyone, just go and rest for today…”

The moment the professor waved the white flag and allowed them to rest, a dramatic change unfolded.

“Wait… Can we really leave…?”

“Wow… I’m going back to the dorm for the first time in a month…”

“Thank you, Professor…”

The lifeless eyes of the undergraduates sparked with a glimmer of hope.

“They’ve been held in the laboratory for an entire month? What a crazy situation!”

But I was shocked to hear that no undergraduate had stepped out of the laboratory during that time.

Had they really been trapped in there since the semester began?

“Uh… I haven’t left the laboratory either…”

“But, Professor Praha, you’re the one responsible here.”

Though Professor Praha said so while listening from the side, it didn’t carry any weight.

Even when the new recruits from the Knight Order were being trained, they’d been returned to the barracks.

“Professor Praha, isn’t it a relief that there are no undergraduates left?”

“It’s absurd that a professor is being threatened for using undergraduates… what a world we live in…”

“Wow, you said ‘using’ like it’s an everyday thing!”

——————–

What just happened was merely the beginning.

“My junior carries my burdens. This is common sense, isn’t it?”

“Carry it yourself.”

“My tuition is going towards their scholarships, so I should at least be able to ask this much.”

“Scholarships are earned through the student’s efforts, not something you give them. Students, do you wish to continue your reckless actions that will turn you into Demons?”

The Knights patrolling various parts of the Academy would not tolerate injustice.

The Academy students and professors, who had been naturally committing absurdities as if it were second nature, found it annoying to have the Knights questioning their every action but couldn’t voice their complaints properly.

Almost no one dared to defy the Knights, who were thick as tree trunks and donned mithril-alloy armor, with limbs as thick as their heads—confusing where neck ended and torso began.

The Knights subdued their targets by grabbing their arms, and you could feel their strength right from that moment.

Everyone possessed at least an expert-level skill.

As those bullying others were suppressed, naturally, the number of people being saved increased too.

Most of the restrained students were recommended admissions students, while those being saved were mostly entrance exam students.

While they knew how oppressed they were, most endured it, understanding that if they crossed the recommended students, their post-graduation prospects would be bleak. Seeing the sheer number of bullied students around made that number astounding.

“The Knights are working exceedingly hard… We need to be careful.”

“Aren’t they supposed to be capturing Demons, not people?”

Recommended admission students would refrain from saying a word while the Knights were present but would chatter away with disdain as soon as they were out of sight.

The only thing they could do was gossip about the mighty force that wouldn’t be swayed by their backgrounds.

It wasn’t just a matter of capturing innocent civilians.

“Ugh? A Knight is grasping someone!!”

In a place filled with chaos, a Knight had seized a male student’s arm in a grip.

‘This Academy never gives you a break.’

Other students tried to intervene, but the Knight remained steadfast.

“Ugh?! What’s wrong with you all!! I didn’t do anything!!”

“Even if you’ve deceived everyone else, you cannot deceive the Almighty Parent. I sense the putrid smell of a Demon on you.”

“This crazy Knight…!! Get your hands off me!!!”

The student struggling in the grip of the Knight was a recommended admissions student.

Being from a well-off family, he probably never imagined he would end up in such a predicament.

“That’s enough.”

“Ed… Lemnos!! Help me… these guys aren’t listening to me at all!!”

As the commotion grew, Edgar stepped in and confronted the Knight.

“The Knights promised to protect the students, so what is this madness?”

“We are currently conducting a search operation based on lawful procedures. Please do not interfere.”

Edgar Lemnos blocked the Knight’s path.

It seemed he was determined to stand his ground.

“Since we’re in the same class… if a few more classmate disappear from here, it would jeopardize the class’s existence.”

“It seems you have no intention of backing down… I won’t refrain from saying the situation is not a pretty sight; here’s proof showing this person belongs to the Demon Church.”

Not wanting to yield, the Knight reached into the student’s chest pocket as if to prove a point.

“Hey… hey!! What are you touching?!”

After some searching, he retrieved a small necklace.

Attached to the necklace was a small stone carving of a mermaid.

I recognized the item too.

‘Wow, it’s the church’s symbol…’

The mermaid symbolizes the Great Demon Leviathan.

Looks like they caught someone pulling out symbols from somewhere.

“This isn’t just a symbol; it’s a communication Artifact. With this, information about the Academy must have been leaked outside.”

“You…”

As the Knight spoke firmly, Edgar glanced coldly at the captured student.

“No!! I don’t know anything about it!! How could this end up with me! It’s a trap…! Yes, it’s a trap set by those who aim to slander my family! Damn, let me go…!! Believe me, I’m innocent!! Why are you all looking at me like that?!”

“This will only harm you further. Come peacefully.”

The captured student struggled and shouted in his last moments of freedom.

Edgar looked on with a complex expression as the student was dragged away.

I edged closer and spoke.

“Were you close?”

“Atlas, not exactly… but I can’t believe he was in cahoots with Demons…”

He seemed very shocked, not wrinkling his face in disgust but appearing completely stunned.

“This morning and yesterday, we were in the same class… and he was a traitor…?”

“Right now, I hesitate to say this, but… there might be more.”

“What?!”

Edgar looked surprised, but by then, I had already left.

Edgar’s expression turned complicated upon hearing there might be more traitors.

——————–

“Everyone, be prepared for the final skill assessment; it will be more challenging as the midterm was skipped. The professors are all gearing up,” Andy reiterated after calming down the chaos from the dungeon practice.

“Ugh, that’s just too much.”

“Now, now, I’ve said it many times in my lecture, right? I’ll only be looking at basic physical fitness, so everyone, train hard. If you put in the effort from now, your scores will significantly rise. It’s practically a free pass, you should be thankful.”

Andy puffed out his chest proudly.

Since it was the first semester for the new students, the promise was to solely focus on basic physical fitness for the skill assessments.

Students who had reached the level of expert all chuckled at Andy’s words while those whose skills were mediocre sighed.

“Can’t we do something like sparring instead?”

“Physical fitness assessments are absolute evaluations, but sparring is a relative one, isn’t it? Plus, it incorporates quite a bit of luck into those relative evaluations; can you say that if you face off against Atlas or Russell?”

“Ugh… can’t I just avoid them?”

“If you’re going to pray like that, you might as well go out and do more running.”

As we watched Andy speak, we whispered to one another.

“It’s nice to have something we don’t need to worry about here.”

“Once you’re at least at the intermediate expert level, it’s an easy subject where you’re guaranteed full marks.”

“Then shall we study together for the overlapping subjects?”

While there are classes some of us take separately, there are many overlapping lectures too.

We didn’t truly plan to study, but I thought I would relish in the feeling of finally being a proper student.

“Overlapping classes… I don’t have many…”

“Well, all the essentials overlap, right? Let’s do that at least.”

“Okay…”

With Lucia joining in, a study group of four was formed.

Since one member was only thinking of causing trouble, it might be more accurate to say there were three members in the study group.

“This will be fun.”

“We’re gathering to study, so what kind of fun are you looking for? Disturb us, and I’ll get mad.”

“With all the recent chaotic incidents, it’s nice to just be a student, isn’t it? Right, Amy?”

“Me? Well… I guess it’s nice.”

As long as the Knights were working hard, it should be fine for now.

When it comes to slacking off during exam periods, I’m confident I excel in that.

When told to study, it only makes you want to mess around more.

Surely, there won’t be any incidents happening on exam day, right?