The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 167

After the academy’s classes ended each day, everyone gathered at Atlas’s mansion to prepare for the test.

In the past, everyone usually focused solely on reports or test preparations, but this time there was one more addition.

That was the practice for the newly added test: sparring.

“We might meet each other, and looking as good as possible should be related to getting good grades, so let’s treat it like an extension of our morning practice.”

“Do I have to do it too?”

“You have to help me. Did you forget you promised to make me the best before graduation?”

“At this rate, I think it’ll be smooth sailing until graduation.”

“Even better if it’s faster.”

I didn’t really want to do it, but since River insisted, I went along.

No matter how hard the mansion was designed, it wasn’t made for practicing swordsmanship inside, so we gathered in the usual open area.

There were exactly four participants, so we easily matched up without anyone left out.

We decided to take turns fighting one by one, but…

“Uh… I’m strong…”

Aside from me, Lucia was definitely the strongest.

If we ranked it… me > Lucia > Amy > River.

River and Amy couldn’t even get close to Lucia.

Russell’s swordsmanship, similar in style to Titan’s, dominated the space; just one swing of her sword affected the entire area around her.

The two who tried to close the distance quickly found their knees buckling in defeat after Lucia swung her sword just once.

Lucia was getting stronger even though she wasn’t doing anything exceptional during the semester.

I knew she had great talent, but this was scary progress.

If River is likely to reach the upper tier smoothly before graduation… Lucia might achieve that within this year.

Even if she doesn’t gain enlightenment, she will quickly reach that boundary line.

Both River and Amy have improved compared to when they started, but Lucia was at a whole different level.

When Edgar kept provoking me to fight, I thought if we battled, even without me stepping in, Edgar’s head might get smashed.

If we purely compared the levels achieved, everyone was similar, but Lucia’s strength and the output of her aura made it easy to mistake her for being on a higher level.

Should I say she was born different?

With a vast aura like the ocean, innate strength, and a towering height to back it up… Maybe that was the kind of heir Titan had wanted.

‘No, I’m not envious.’

Thinking of Titan made me feel unpleasant, and I shook my head.

“I… haven’t given it my all until now.”

“You’re talking about the sparring, right?”

After the rough practice ended, Lucia said to me.

It seemed she was holding onto the fact that I was the only one she lost to.

Her face was slightly flushed; she looked like she was holding back her anger as well as other emotions.

Was she worried about getting overpowered before she could show her full strength?

If Lucia had unleashed her full skills, one swing of her sword could have turned all the dirt in this area upside down; she likely held back a lot.

But nobody here poured their heart into it for real.

Amy didn’t use her main weapon, and River didn’t use the essence of the Wolf God.

“… If Atlas is my opponent during the test, I will clash with my true feelings. So… don’t hold back and respond with your full strength.”

“You’re talking about the sparring, right?”

Since she knew we were holding back, did she mean she wanted me to fight seriously?

This time, her phrasing was a bit ambiguous.

But since I decided to do it moderately and end it, I probably wouldn’t fulfill that request.

————————————-

After several meetings, they decided that the content of the test would be a random draw where two students from the entire grade would compete against each other.

I thought there might be inter-class competitions, but it turned out to be rather ordinary.

It seemed that there was some intense discussion that was finally sorted out.

“If we’re going to watch all grades, won’t it take ages?”

“We can do multiple matches simultaneously, so it’ll be fine.”

“Those showing only basic techniques will hardly stand out and will earn only a little score, right?”

“… You’re too quick to catch on.”

Since the fitness test had clear standards, we could line everyone up and finish it relatively quickly, but for sparring, we had to evaluate the levels of two students, making it impossible to score based on winning or losing alone.

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I was wandering around after the last class ended when I suddenly caught sight of a scene.

Carmel was wearing casual clothes that showed her lines, similar to yesterday.

Dressed like a student of the academy, she wore a large white hat that obscured her face, and beside her was a student I hadn’t seen before.

From the look of the brooch, they seemed to be a second-year student.

“Let’s take responsibility. Your charm has captivated my heart! Is there anyone else in this world with such a captivating beauty? Your beauty ignites a fire inside me, like magic melting my heart.”

The second-year guy boasted a well-groomed mustache while passionately confessing his love to Carmel, but she, already familiar with such situations, didn’t even glance at him.

He looked at least 15 years older due to the mustache.

I was worried seeing her alone like this, especially when she’s not particularly strong.

Does being loved by all creatures mean she won’t face harm, even if there’s someone annoying?

Even now, that guy was being bothersome, but he didn’t seem to show any signs of intending to harm Carmel.

Still, one person among many could attract attention, so I needed to take her away quickly.

“What are you doing in a place like this?”

“Don’t touch me… Oh, Atlas?”

When I lightly tapped Carmel’s arm to pull her away, she reacted sharply.

It was the first time I saw Carmel frown.

She quickly returned to normal, though.

She had quite a fierce look in her eyes… Did she usually walk around like that?

“Didn’t I tell you not to loiter where there are a lot of people? Don’t you have any escorts?”

“Isn’t this area pretty deserted? And… saying that after putting all the church members down is a bit much.”

“Why didn’t you come here with someone from the church country?”

“Careful stealing a holy relic, and I should have brought someone from the church? Isn’t that a bit much??”

Thinking about it, I guess that was fair.

Circling around the deserted outskirts of the academy was indeed true; it seemed she had run into someone like this by bad luck.

As I was about to shake off the annoyance and take the saintess to somewhere less conspicuous, the mustached senior grabbed my shoulder.

“Hey..! Who are you to interfere between her and me? You look like a new student, but I… ow ow ow ow ow!!”

I twisted his wrist as he was about to spew nonsense.

Seems he was smitten with Carmel; if I combined pain and fear, he’d snap out of it quickly.

“Don’t be a nuisance.”

“Y-yes… yes!!”

As expected, when I emitted a deadly killing intent, the cocky posture he had just moments ago disappeared, and he became humble.

I sent the victim who was entangled with Carmel away and grabbed her wrist again.

“Thank you. I was just about to say to get away, but you did it for me. Good job, should I hug you as a reward?”

“Hug? What are you talking about? Why on earth are you out here without any guards?”

“I’ve been trapped inside every day in the church. Should I stay trapped here too? If I keep doing that, I might fall sick.”

Carmel, the saintess, can’t move freely in the church country.

Once she moves, many people move with her.

Looks like she wanted to feel a bit of freedom, even if it was short.

But for that, it would be better to move her to another place.

“Let’s go.”

“Where to?”

“Somewhere not visible to others.”

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The place I took her to was the mansion I built.

Carmel sat on a fairly spacious sofa in the undecorated reception room.

“Oh my, to be alone in such a place…”

“Stop saying strange things.”

I made a point of emphasizing we were alone.

“I told you not to cause trouble, right?”

“Isn’t it you who causes trouble all the time?”

“They’re all confused because you suddenly changed the test format.”

“You’re talking about that? But that’s not my fault! Even if someone else was here instead of me, it would have been the same, right?

Really, if I hadn’t come, it would have been decided once Master Hulan arrived.

From the principal on down, it seems everyone wants to show how hard they’re working.

They even said they were going to go outside with some internal announcements from the academy.”

Carmel denied that it was because of her secretly coming.

She said that they had already been preparing press materials to release outside, and even if she hadn’t come, it would have turned out the same way.

“But… I envy you. This school life thing. I grew up only in the church since I was little, so I admire it. Cute clothes, spending time with friends.”

“Don’t try to elicit sympathy; that won’t work on me.”

“Oh, really? Wasn’t it sad?”

“You said before that you were satisfied with your current life; asking for sympathy now seems a bit off.”

“Even so, the longing for something like this is genuine. Can’t you guide me a little since I’m here at the academy? I came all the way here, but I can’t even get properly inside the building… it’s lonely.”

With her unique powers, Carmel moves unnoticed by the students.

Currently residing at the church, she’s been staying near the academy for work, but it seems she feels frustrated about not being able to enter the academy.

“Are you saying you want to experience your unfulfilled school days, wandering through empty classrooms at night?”

“Are you aware of that? I think it’s unfair that nobody gets to see how pretty I look!”

Carmel said that and twirled around.

The shorter skirt, which she had been wearing quite modestly, swirled up a bit, revealing her pale thighs; it was risky.

If there were other students, they would have fallen for her right there.

“… If the summit ends well, I’ll think about it.”

“Really?”

“For now, I’m just thinking about it. I might not do it.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it!”

“Don’t get your hopes up.”

“I will be looking forward to it. Atlas has never let me down since our first meeting!”

Carmel took my hand and smiled brightly like a blooming flower.

—————————————-

The final tests began.

It was a fierce test that determined the first-semester grades.

I was wandering around after submitting three reports on the first day with nothing else to do when I suddenly spotted Casey.

“Do you think you’ll get a good grade?”

“I have no idea at all.”

Casey said confidently.

“You attended the lectures, didn’t you?”

“I only came in midway, so how would I know?”

She said it’d be tough without an open book since she didn’t know the earlier content, but she still felt confident about everything regarding magic and swordsmanship.

She claimed only history and subjects like that were difficult.

“This won’t do. You should study a bit… ”

“Are you going to teach me?”

“Yeah. You’re my family, after all. It would be a bit awkward if my family had no common sense, you know?”

“That’s fine when you leave me to nature, but now you want to act like a guardian?”

“Can you phrase it as prioritizing your free will??”

After saying that, Casey stuck out her tongue at me and ran away.

She dashed out, met Woodville, and vanished somewhere with her arms crossed.

I felt good seeing their close bond, but I was also worried.

What should I do about that idiot?

I definitely need to make sure she learns about history.

As I sighed and moved to check if the other kids had finished their tests, something felt off.

The hallway was blocked.

Although the academy’s hallways aren’t narrow, dozens of students were swarming around, making it impossible to see a single spot where someone could pass.

“Did a fight break out or something?”