The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 372

I’m still not fully recovered, so I just briefly explained the situation and sent everyone back.

I was relieved to see that everyone seemed fine as soon as they walked in, but a few were still upset that no one said a word.

Fortunately, it didn’t last long and ended in about a day, so I suppose they let it slide.

“I’m glad things got sorted out quickly.”

That was what Shaara said.

Shaara, who deliberately chose to go last, immediately shot a glance at my master leaning against the wall, trying not to care.

“It only lasted a single day, yet everyone felt immense anxiety. If it had continued for about a week, the situation might have escalated.”

Talking about the possibility of it escalating was terrifying.

“I guess you were worried a lot.”

“Atlas might not know, as he lost consciousness. Everyone was there when Leviathan collapsed and we moved Atlas to the hospital. Me, Lucia, everyone.”

What a sight to behold.

Thanks to the blessing, his severe injuries had improved considerably, but still, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had passed out at any moment.

He must have looked utterly horrifying, so it was only natural for them to worry.

“Well, if visiting hours were restricted after that, there’s no way they wouldn’t worry.”

I hadn’t considered that part.

If the investigators hadn’t shown up, I wouldn’t have even thought about going this far, so let’s blame the investigators for that.

What a hassle it was to go all the way to the capital just to send that jerk back at midnight.

“I couldn’t complain since it came from the capital.”

It’s fortunate that things didn’t spiral out of control for me as well.

Among the investigators, there are sometimes lunatics who, even when given orders from above, dig until they’ve scrutinized every detail, but this one was the type to follow orders, which was a relief.

Had he kept investigating me even after hearing those orders, I’d have no choice but to employ less straightforward and quicker methods to wrap things up.

But he was still an investigator, and when the fact of my critical condition leaked, there were some who inevitably took the bait, so let’s hear how that went.

“So, who is it this time?”

“The student council president and some of the surrounding characters have banded together. They are all people who suffered either directly or indirectly from you, Atlas, and up until now, they had just been gossiping, but at some point, the student council president decided to take action, leading to this.”

Even calling it a victim group at the academy would mean it’s just those who tried to stand up and got their butts kicked first.

What kind of victim group is that? It’s infuriating.

My master chuckled at Shaara’s words.

“Your victims?”

“Something like that happened.”

“I see, I get it. How could a person live without having any enemies?”

Given that he had turned about half of the nobles into enemies during his time at the academy, he looked quite pleased.

“Upon investigation, there were people who seemed to be possessed by demons in the group, so we plan to begin an official investigation in cooperation with the holy knights starting tomorrow.”

“The ones who just arrived must be busy, so it should be the holy knights stationed at the church.”

“Yes. We captured one suspicious person and confirmed that he was possessed by a demon. They even asked us to tell them where it came from.”

Was it called the Atlas victim group? I don’t remember everyone, but I decided to pay my respects to the events that would unfold starting tomorrow.

I had come under the Pope’s orders to cleanse the academy corrupted by demons in the name of the parents, but knowing there were students possessed by demons would surely prompt a very sensitive reaction.

“I’m actually thinking it’s fortunate that the demons came in.”

Shaara’s eyes sharpened.

It seemed she was recalling not-so-pleasant things.

“They are a group that has been persistently slandering you, Atlas, using cleverly fabricated falsehoods to undermine you. They had already been ramping up their activities, so I was planning to deal with them separately, but they ended up self-destructing, making my job easier.”

I had no clue what was happening behind the scenes.

I didn’t particularly want to know, either; finding out would just put me in a bad mood.

But it looks like Shaara, who has her ears everywhere, often hears these kinds of things, which must stress her out a lot.

She didn’t seem to care much about the slander directed at herself, which was nice.

“The holy knights are planning a surprise raid on them tomorrow. We’ve sent cooperation requests to them, so they will be caught in front of all the other students.”

Being apprehended in front of everyone isn’t exactly a pleasant experience.

News spreads quickly among students.

The truth and lies will blend together, rapidly infiltrating what they did and for what reasons they got caught.

“Even if they weren’t possessed by demons, they wouldn’t be able to hold their heads high.”

The academy had been under constant attack by demons.

Slandering me, primarily led by those possessed, means that to slander me is to align with the demons, and with just a hint of that being spread further, it would become difficult for them to operate.

It’s ridiculous that I, who had saved the academy from demons multiple times, would be worried about something like this.

“You handled it well.”

“… If everything ends without incident…”

Shaara who received praise tried to say something indirectly but couldn’t finish her sentence.

I guess the fact that we weren’t alone here made her somewhat nervous, as she cast a quick glance to the side before shutting up again.

“Let’s talk again after everything is resolved.”

“… Yes.”

With that final word, Shaara lowered her head deeply and exited the hospital room with quick steps.

“Hmm~”

As soon as she left, my master, who had been leaning against the wall and observing the situation, smiled and wrapped his arm around my neck.

“What was that just now?”

“Nothing much.”

“Oh come on, you think I wouldn’t know if it was nothing? Seems like something interesting happened.”

He continued to pat my head like it was amusing, but the atmosphere felt different than usual.

“I didn’t notice the news, but I found out that while I wasn’t watching, you’ve accumulated quite the scandal, haven’t you? How many fiancés have you gotten in the meantime?”

“That… It’s not confirmed.”

“Oh come on now, how is that not confirmed? Spreading such rumors and then pretending not to know is just an unconscionable act.”

If it’s about fiancés, then he must be talking about the rumors circulating in the world.

I certainly didn’t care about this kind of stuff last time I met him; who told him?

“When I only heard the rumors, they seemed exaggerated, but seeing it in person changed my mind. The emotions in your voice were all genuine. Just how many affairs are you juggling?”

It seemed like, knowing full well this was a personal topic, he was still sticking around the hospital room just to check on that.

“Is that why you stayed here? Master, you came to protect me, right?”

“I’d have done what needed to be done at least once to let you know an investigator was coming.”

Unfortunately, he was right.

What a troublesome situation.

If he were just a simple swordsmanship teacher, there wouldn’t be any discomfort, but being more than that complicated things, making me break out in a cold sweat.

—————————

Wendy arrived at the academy with a very light heart.

A huge incident had taken place at midnight, leading to the formation of an investigation team, so she was tasked with checking on Atlas’s condition and suppressing the investigators.

Blocking the investigators meant she’d have to shoulder a lot of risks, but fortunately, Wendy didn’t care about any of that, putting her in an optimal situation.

“I heard that you’ve defeated the Leviathan that plagued the continent for thousands of years; truly an exceptional student.”

She wouldn’t praise him directly, but as a master, knowing her extraordinary disciple had defeated a Great Demon proudly made her shoulders rise.

Her dear disciple might have been seriously injured, so she planned to help him recover and stay until he was fully healed.

However, after arriving at the academy, what Wendy saw was completely beyond her imagination.

Her disciple was surrounded by women.

All of them were young, beautiful daughters from distinguished families.

She had heard that they were infiltrating the academy, but she never imagined it would turn out like this.

It could happen, but she might have dismissed the thought, convinced that it wouldn’t be.

“Uh-oh? Am I in danger here?”

Panic set in a little.

Wendy had feelings for Atlas that went beyond a simple teacher-student relationship.

She had been planning to retire and return to her quiet territory with Linda and Atlas, but she felt that her once-clear vision was beginning to waver.

She had always thought of him as her cute disciple, but now that he was surrounded by butterflies drawn by his sweet scent, things were getting complicated.

After all, Atlas was a man. It was only natural for him to be drawn to much prettier and younger women.

“This isn’t just one-sided; I need to come up with a plan.”