The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 346

Amy, having assessed the situation, first searched for those close to Atlas within the Academy.

Even River, just at first glance, mistook him for ‘Atlas,’ and Amy wouldn’t have suspected him at first if not for her companion’s confidence.

They resembled each other that much, making it easy for anyone to be deceived.

Everyone needs to be properly warned about it.

That way, the impersonator won’t be able to move as they wish.

I don’t know where he’s hiding, but if the two of them move quickly, they might not be too late.

“… An impersonator of that uncle has entered the Academy? I’ll look into it.”

“Ah… An impersonator of Atlas?? If I see him in the Academy, I won’t forgive him!!”

“… An impersonator of Atlas…?”

“That person… I mean, to think there’s an impersonator of Atlas… I can’t believe it. I’ll let others know.”

As the news trickled down one by one, there were still no sightings of ‘Atlas’ reported.

Where on earth could he be?

Amy packed her gear and began to track down ‘Atlas.’

…

The stories that Amy spread among her acquaintances started to morph little by little as they crossed the bridge.

“Hey, did you hear? There’s an impersonator of a 5th class dwarf race? Apparently, one is going around!”

“Impersonator? Then where’s the real one? He wouldn’t let that slide.”

“Looks like the impersonator thought he was outside and took a boat.”

“Wow, that’s really quick action. But does that mean he entered the Academy while doing that?”

“I heard it from somewhere too, but that seems to be the case.”

“Isn’t the impersonator supposed to look the part? That’s not easy.”

“They say there’s a bounty on that impersonator.”

“Bounty??”

“I heard it’s being guaranteed by Prigia or Woodville.”

“If they put up a bounty, what bad thing did he do?”

“I don’t know about that.”

“From what I’ve heard, that impersonator is a demon who made a contract with a fallen human, right?”

“Geh… a demon? Ugh, I don’t want to get involved with demons…”

The command from Prigia to report back if found turned into a rumor about a bounty.

“What, is Atlas a demon??”

“Atlas went mad and is trying to strike down the Academy with a contract with a demon??”

“I knew that bastard would do that!! I thought so ever since he got caught at the church!!”

The word was traveling fast.

————–

Atlas couldn’t believe the result Kyrke mentioned and asked again.

“… You’re saying that someone who meets all the conditions I mentioned is at the Academy?”

“Yep. Weren’t you aware?”

He couldn’t help but be surprised. It was one thing to come from somewhere else; the fact that it was here at the Academy made him feel like something was off.

“How could that be at the Academy…? I came from the Academy?”

“Necromancy worked perfectly. The person meeting your conditions is indeed at the Academy.”

“Now that I know where he is… I should go look for him.”

His mind was in disarray.

Was it that he was originally in the Academy, as the saying goes, ‘the thief is right under the lamp’?

Or did he just come to the Academy after I left?

In the end, he would find out when he went there himself.

After all, he had a debt to repay.

“Before that, let me pull a fortune for you; just wait a moment.”

“I don’t have time for that.”

He was about to head out when Kyrke suddenly grabbed him and tried to sit him down on the fur.

A fortune reading by the legendary necromancer was something so precious that nobles would bring a mountain of gold to seek it, but all he could think about was heading straight to the Academy to cut down the impersonator.

Knowing it was a valuable offer yet wishing to refuse, Kyrke, clearly upset, said:

“I think something fun is going to happen. I’m doing this for free, so you could at least give me a little of your time, right? It’s good for you too.”

He was casually offering to pinpoint where a specific person was through a type of magic.

Thinking about it coldly, it wasn’t like he would ignore such a request, so he decided to sit down calmly.

“But keep it short and simple. No need to go into details.”

“Hehe, you still have that preference, huh? Are you that afraid of knowing the future?”

Sitting quietly, a bunch of meaningless objects flew in from somewhere and landed in Kyrke’s hands.

“It’s not fear of knowing the future; it’s something different.”

“A very wise person once told me that once you observe something, it becomes definite. That’s why I don’t like fortunes from powerful sorcerers like you.”

To him, the future was like an un-scratched lottery ticket.

As long as it hadn’t been scratched, he couldn’t know if it was a win or a loss.

With an un-scratched ticket, the outcome is not certain, and both winning and losing coexist, but the moment it’s scratched and observed, it becomes one or the other.

In the end, the moment would come when he could confirm whether it was a win or not, but at least until it’s scratched, the outcome wasn’t determined.

So, he didn’t like fortunes.

Especially the predictions from strong sorcerers like Kyrke, which were more accurate.

He believed that fortune-telling was a terrifying kind of magic that determined an uncertain future.

If he heard some ominous future, his mood would be spoiled all day.

Thinking like this was in direct contrast to the idea that there might not be any changes regardless of whether he observed or not, but that’s just how it felt.

The futures he was familiar with were sufficient just from the original story of ‘Devil Slayer of the Academy.’

“Khehe, here you go again with those incomprehensible statements… but my fortune was useful, right?”

“Yeah, so just start it.”

In the end, it was true.

Thanks to Kyrke’s fortune he saw when he was young, he found the exact timing to run away.

As soon as he yielded and accepted, Kyrke began the incantation.

“Hmm… You’ve changed quite a lot since childhood. You weren’t destined for an ordinary fate back then, but you’re soaring even higher now.”

Sitting in front of him, he felt a sense of remorse, but Kyrke, enjoying tossing the objects, was laughing and nodding with satisfaction.

“Alright, we’re done! Want to know how it turned out?”

“No, I don’t.”

As he tried to leave without listening, Kyrke once again grabbed at his clothing hem.

“Don’t avoid it. Since you’ve seen it already, it would be better to hear it, right? You wouldn’t want to keep worrying about what you were going to say if you walk away like this, right? Hehe!”

“… How did it turn out?”

Just as he finished speaking, Kyrke turned off the lights and lit will-o’-the-wisps around, lowering his voice to begin.

“You’ve left quite a trail behind. The storm that began from your footprints is coming for you. A storm so fierce that you can’t withstand it alone.”

My footprints, a storm I can’t withstand alone.

That wasn’t exactly good news.

“Is the storm going to knock me down?”

“Well, that’s up to you.”

In any case, it was a prophecy indicating a big crisis was coming.

This was why he didn’t want to see fortunes.

With that final remark, he returned to the Academy.

…

In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the Blade Mountain from the Academy.

There were many places to wander, so he took more time than expected.

He had a dinner appointment, and seeing that the sun had already set, he must have been late.

If it’s River, he might be waiting at the mansion, so maybe he should stop by there first and check.

“Is… he really in here?”

The buildings of the Academy, dimmed by the setting sun, appeared somewhat ominous.

Just as he was contemplating, a loud noise suddenly came from behind.

“There he is!!!!”

“Huh?”

One of the Academy students shouted loudly at the sight of him.

Seeing the face, he didn’t recognize the person.

Was there something he wanted from him?

That was just the beginning of the strangeness.

“What?! You found him??”

“Hey, stay still!! Call people. He’s here!!”

Unexpectedly, the students started to swarm around him.

He thought it would just be one or two, but suddenly more than ten people gathered, and in disbelief, he began to run away.

“What are you guys!!”

“He’s running, catch him!!”

Suddenly, what was this commotion?

It was unclear whether the students had any knowledge of hunting, but they scattered out to surround him like a hunting party.

That meant running the way they wanted was exactly what they intended.

“Dang it…!”

After a while of running, he kicked off the ground, leaped over the heads of the students.

“Whoa??”

They seemed utterly baffled by his unexpected move, looking like a dog chasing a chicken.

Not sure what’s happening, but it seemed he shouldn’t stick out too much.

For now, he needed to find someone else.

…

Something felt off.

Recall the initial chase and move quietly, observing the situation, it felt as though the entire Academy was in chaos.

Everyone seemed to be looking for him.

In conversations, his name popped up frequently, and some were taking a very hostile stance.

What was going on?

Just then, he spotted a group of people who stood out.

They wore capes that barely hung over their shoulders… the Swordsmanship Research Club.

And there, leading them, stood Hera—no, just Hera now; in any case, it was Hera.

Couldn’t she reason with him?

He decided to approach her.