The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 267

As soon as Hamel suddenly swung his sword, it revealed a force surrounding River’s body, akin to that of mental powers.

“Is this happening because the family’s secret was exposed?”

Of course, he wasn’t hurt one bit.

“What the heck is Dad doing right now?!”

As I tried to envelop my hands in aura and grab Hamel’s sword, River’s fist, enhanced by the power of the Wolf God, struck Hamel’s cheek faster than I could react.

Hamel’s neck twisted unexpectedly, and his head spun off, rolling around.

“I refuse to acknowledge this!!”

River, surrounded by a golden aura, had his physical abilities massively boosted.

Hamel’s face swelled after taking River’s attack unprepared, but he quickly got back up, raising his sword.

For some reason, he looked incredibly filled with rage.

Is it because I’m using the family secret so nonchalantly?

Despite that, his anger felt more personal.

Standing before Hamel, who was seething without knowing why, River shouted.

“Dad clearly introduced him as my friend, right?”

River was furious about being suddenly attacked, regardless of the fact that he was my father.

Maybe because he was flustered, River, who had initially used honorifics in front of Hamel, had switched to a more casual tone.

His tone was casual, but it was razor-sharp.

“Friend?”

But Hamel had no intention of backing down either.

Mulling over River’s words, Hamel had a fiery gaze.

“These days, friends even sleep together, huh? I must be an old-fashioned fool… BUT!! I can’t forgive this!!!”

“Eh?!”

River’s face turned bright red.

Thinking back to the moment the essence of the Wolf God entered my body, I wondered if that was truly the condition.

Let’s think positively for now.

I was curious as to why this power had entered me, and now I understood how it came about.

All I need to figure out is why this phenomenon occurs.

“So Dad… this is…”

“Right… You’re an adult now, and you can do whatever you want. Compared to children who’ve been active in social circles from a young age, this could be considered late…!”

It’s not unusual for boys and girls to fall in love at this age, but being discovered by parents is a whole different issue.

It’s understandable, but it slips into the realm of emotions that are hard to digest.

Even River, who had been boiling with anger, turned crimson and was rendered speechless.

“I’ve been oppressed all this time because of a sword master until I turned into an adult, so that’s understandable! Right… yes, that makes sense…”

Hamel, muttering as if he had rationalized it to himself, suddenly veins popped out on his forehead again.

“But… still, I can’t accept it!”

His words were contradicting each other.

Is it that he understands but can’t accept it?

His boiling emotions seemed to govern his body.

“Atlas… was the one who stood by me when I was struggling the most. I don’t care what you think, Dad.”

“Mmm… ugh…!!”

Seeing River’s resolute attitude had Hamel’s eyes bloodshot with rage.

“First of all, I don’t like that attitude! You’re just a boy hiding behind me and relying on me!!”

From the moment Hamel raised his sword, it had been River facing him all along.

I wanted to step in, but this was something she wanted to do herself.

Hamel said I was being protected by River, but who was really being protected?

If it was a discontent, I should help resolve it.

“Father, are you worried because I look weak?”

“That’s a secondary issue. Your family is indeed remarkable… but that doesn’t mean he’s someone I can trust with my daughter!”

“Then… let’s have a duel.”

“A duel?”

Upon hearing my words, River was taken aback.

River seemed to want to wrap things up peacefully, but if it’s left to him alone, it’ll just be awkward for me.

And I felt like I was just creating discord in what should be a lovely father-daughter relationship.

So it was decided to settle this cleanly with a match.

“It’s a duel. If I win against you, will you acknowledge it?”

“Who’re you calling ‘Father’? I’ve never had a child like you!”

He reacted sensitively to the word ‘Father,’ but after a moment’s thought, Hamel gave a surprisingly positive response.

“Well, I don’t know if you can, but if you beat me… I’ll acknowledge you.”

“Dad, no way!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll adjust my strength.”

“It’s not that!”

River, who knew both of their skills, tried to stop them, but Hamel didn’t seem to take him seriously.

“Then…”

“Let’s start right away. The banquet isn’t prepared yet, right?”

“Is that alright? I could prepare a bit more… like bring an artifact or something.”

Hamel smiled at the suggestion to start right away.

“… Just go easy on me.”

“Hehe, don’t worry.”

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Just until this morning, Hamel was happy seeing his daughter return, but now his mood plummeted to the floor in an instant.

The sword master who had tormented the family and his daughter for over ten years had finally been killed, but someone snatched it away in the meantime.

Unlike before, now that she was an adult, she could choose her own opponent, but he didn’t like the chosen one.

Atlas, was it?

He agreed it was a great family. But everything else about him was disagreeable.

His small height, his cute face, the fact that his younger sister inherited the title instead of him, and River was standing as if to protect him, all of it made him uncomfortable.

Noble succession is fundamentally based on primogeniture.

Unless there’s a truly terrible disqualification, it’s natural for the eldest son to inherit the title, but Atlas, right in front of him, was pushed aside for his younger sister.

Was there some kind of disqualifying reason?

There were many reasons Hamel was aware of for the eldest not inheriting.

Being physically inadequate, having a bad character, committing misconduct, being dim-witted, and so on, there were numerous reasons.

No matter what, he didn’t want to give his beloved only daughter away.

Determined not to easily yield to the sword master, he was creating a hole to extract River.

Atlas would immediately be a thorn in his side.

River said he was there for her when she was struggling the most, but perhaps in her tough times, she became infatuated.

Arrogantly, he was calling for a duel.

He needed to teach him a lesson.

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Duel preparation was completed in an instant.

There was no need to set up a spell like Gears; it was just a spar with wooden swords, and since someone could get seriously hurt, they agreed to fight using only physical abilities and swordsmanship without any aura.

Despite not announcing it much, a crowd quickly gathered around the two.

There were some of River’s companions, but most were servants or knights working at the mansion in Shimoa.

Curiosity turned this into entertainment ahead of the banquet.

“The condition for losing the duel is for one side to admit defeat.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

There are various conditions for losing a duel, but admitting defeat is quite a brutal one.

The simplest one is to be struck in a specific area, but that’s too easy.

The condition of admitting defeat means testing not just skill but mental strength as well.

If one can keep getting up despite being beaten, the duel can continue endlessly.

Hamel took another look at the boy standing in front of him, Atlas.

A very small frame, extremely disadvantageous for a swordsman.

Not only was he short like a dwarf, but he also didn’t have thick limbs like a log.

‘Can he even muster any real strength with that fragile body…?’

He couldn’t get a sense of Atlas’ level, but he thought it’d be fortunate if he didn’t end up getting embarrassed by recognizing defeat in one blow.

His beloved daughter had chosen this opponent herself.

Even if his skills fell short, he would consider permitting it if he showed some backbone.

“Then I will act as the officiator for the duel.”

The officiant chosen was River’s mother, Lisa, who had been watching the situation.

After making the necessary announcements as the officiant, she shot a sharp glare at Hamel.

“And you, make sure to talk to me after this.”

Hamel felt chills run down his spine.

It seemed she was going to admonish him for acting childish towards his daughter’s boyfriend.

Although emotions had gotten the better of him, it was unacceptable behavior towards a guest.

He felt fear thinking of his angry daughter and wife after the duel, but a duel was still a duel.

“Then, let the duel begin.”

As the declaration of the duel started, the knights cheered.

Everyone seemed excited to see the renowned white wolf Hamel’s swordsmanship.

When the duel began, Hamel spoke to Atlas.

“I promise to engage fairly.”

Hearing that, Atlas smiled and said to Hamel.

“Yes, Father, I’m counting on you.”

“What…!!”

As soon as he heard the word ‘Father,’ Hamel’s body moved as quickly as the wind.

The sword style of the White Wolf, Hamel, was a swift swordsmanship based on the stance of a wolf, allowing immense speed without using aura.

‘I’ll take a hit!’

He aimed for Atlas’s right wrist as he stood defenseless, grasping his wooden sword.

Right after that, Hamel saw it.

The sight of Atlas moving one beat slower, yet one beat faster than him.

-Whack!!!

A dry sound echoed, and something soared into the sky.

What soared was a wooden sword one of them had been holding.

The wooden sword rose helplessly into the air before dropping uselessly to the ground.

“This wooden sword just went flying.”

It was Hamel who lost grip of the wooden sword, not Atlas.

Atlas was smiling as if it were the most natural thing in the world.