The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 398

In the afternoon, Amy came by and asked about what I had mentioned earlier.

“Is it really possible to completely sever the connection between Atlas and… hell, this world?”

“It might be possible. Or it might not. That’s why we need to check for ourselves.”

I don’t necessarily believe everything Hoenheim says. I just think, wouldn’t it be nice if such a thing were possible?

What she said clearly contradicted many of the laws I understood in this world.

But still, the thought that maybe—just maybe—it could be true couldn’t be helped, seeing as both she and I were masters who disregard the rules of this world.

The ‘master’ of magic, Van Hoenheim’s principle was not some powerful combat trick but a mere ‘eye’ that allowed him to see what he wanted.

With his ability to see through anything, the Archmage Hoenheim was convinced there were truths beyond his vision and continued his relentless research, ultimately reaching the pinnacle of mastery.

She reached the truth of this world not by wading through the creator’s postscript style writings but by experiencing it for herself.

That’s how Hoenheim shared this high-level information with me.

I don’t fully believe it, but I can’t ignore that it’s worth investigating.

“Suddenly, I wondered—if ancient civilizations buried beneath the ruins had such technology, why did they perish?”

Amy’s question was valid.

If they truly could separate hell from this world, it would mean completely severing the connection between two dimensions.

It’s a real mystery how a civilization capable of such a technological feat, one that could store Dragon Heart like a drug, ended up annihilated.

“Amy, having strong technology doesn’t mean being strong in battle.”

“…I guess that’s true?”

“Yeah.”

But in the history of this world, such things have happened numerous times.

Many renowned nations adorned with technological prowess flourished, but surviving was a different story altogether.

“Speaking of which, you said you were looking for something too. What is it?”

“Oh, the thing I’m looking for?”

Amy pulled out a small hourglass hanging from her neck.

“I’ve heard that there’s a final piece to complete this in the ruins of the Snow Country.”

It’s definitely the ‘rewinding clock.’

I heard it’s an artifact that allows for instantaneous movement to the spot where you were a day ago.

What kind of judgment allows it to be usable in places where space movement is impossible, like my own realm? And it’s incomplete?

I’m really curious about what it’ll look like once complete.

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After sending off my master, the Academy returned to normal.

I was just continuing on with my daily life, trying to calm the fluttering in my chest while making plans.

While meeting with Hoenheim or Bella, I cross-verified where in the ruins to explore.

With so many things on my mind, incidents at the Academy would become quite troublesome, but oddly enough, it was eerily quiet, as if the Academy was questioning what I was expecting.

This followed a series of incidents.

Now, it seemed like everyone who could challenge me at the Academy had vanished.

“Atlas… do you have a minute?”

At that moment, Lucia said she had something to discuss and asked me to follow her.

Curious about what it was, I followed, thinking she was leading me to five pillars when, in fact, it was a completely different place.

It wasn’t the usual empty classroom; as I delved deeper, a secret space appeared.

Inside, Shaara was waiting for us.

“Where is this again?”

“You know there are several hidden secret rooms in the Academy, right?”

I was aware such places existed, but I had no idea this one was here.

“What’s going on?”

The two exchanged glances to see who would speak first, and Shaara began.

“It took some time, but everything has been taken care of.”

“Everything’s finished? What did you handle?”

Suddenly showing up to say it’s all taken care of was puzzling.

A foreboding feeling washed over me.

“When Atlas collapsed in the battle against Leviathan, we promised to deal with the uneasy forces that dared to harm you.”

Once I heard that, I remembered.

In the meantime, the dragons had gone on another rampage, and I completely forgot about it, but it seems the situation had still been ongoing.

“Ah, that? So it’s finally over.”

“Yeah… I wanted to finish it quicker, but there were some annoying folks involved.”

“Annoying folks, huh….”

Hearing that made me feel like something was definitely not right.

“It’s nothing major, just one of the princes from the Kingdom Alliance got involved.”

“A prince? Isn’t that a big deal?”

“It’s just one of many princes from the Kingdom Alliance, not some dwarf or beastman alliance. Nothing to worry about.”

The Kingdom Alliance was formed by several kingdoms coming together to oppose the Empire, even though many small kingdoms joke about it being no different from village heads wearing crowns, the special status of royalty can’t be ignored.

If they sent a prince to study at the Empire’s Academy, he’s probably not just some weakling royal, so is everything really okay?

“Since you all say it’s nothing, I’ll have to trust you. Did you silence them or something?”

“Something like that. It varies per person, but the common factor is they won’t make unnecessary noise moving forward.”

I hadn’t seen how they handled it, but I just trusted that Shaara would take care of it well.

Or what could I do about it?

If issues arise, we can deal with them then.

After Shaara explained how she dealt with it, Lucia also seemed eager to know.

Just a few months ago, those two were at odds; I wondered how they ended up here.

It must have been that one side made some concessions.

“I…! I also worked hard. I broke down the door when they were barricading themselves… and gathered evidence from inside.”

“Lucia, you did well.”

Lucia chimed in from the side.

She explained how they resisted, and I thought that with that level of resistance, it would have been alright to simply act against them.

“…so, um, is there a possibility we could…”

Shaara glanced my way and hesitated.

“What’s the matter?”

“Could we… receive a reward?”

Seeing the expressions of excitement on both of their faces, I realized this was the main point.

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I had no complaints about giving rewards.

If you deliver results, you should receive a reward that reflects that.

If not done properly, motivation fades, no matter how nice someone claims it to be.

While I was thinking about it, I wondered what kind of reward would be fitting.

‘Material rewards have no meaning.’

Both of them had lived without lacking material things from their lives.

Cash prizes wouldn’t mean anything, really.

What they probably wanted… was an experience that money can’t buy.

“Is there something you want?”

I figured they all had different wants, so I decided to just ask directly.

“W-want something? Um, wait, if it’s a single thing… let me think for a moment.”

Thinking I would just ask for anything, Lucia seemed deep in thought, trying to come up with various things.

“What kind of things are possible? Is there a chance you could announce in a formal setting that we’re to have a ceremony?”

Upon hearing that, Shaara immediately started saying strange things.

Ceremony? What on earth was she talking about?

“I never said anything about that. Am I supposed to lie?”

“Even if it’s not now, it’s not impossible for the future, so I thought I’d let you know in advance…”

While I did say to mention their wishes, I didn’t promise to fulfil everything.

“Shaara.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Once I spoke a bit sternly, Shaara bowed her head right away.

It was probably just an impulse for her to say it, but being dealt with firmly made her back down.

Lucia, too, after hearing Shaara, seemingly made her mind up.

“Then may I hug you… too?”

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In the hidden room, there was an unexpectedly extravagant velvet sofa, which was either there for maintenance by a golem or placed there ahead of time.

Considering the situation, it would be better to think that it was laid out in advance for this very purpose.

“Hmm…”

Lucia rested her head on mine and started to rub her cheeks against me.

But a promise is a promise, so I thought it’d be alright, and just like that, she plopped down onto the sofa.

It seemed like she had no intention of stopping anytime soon.

“Didn’t you hug a doll like this?”

“…that’s a misunderstanding.”

It reminded me of the way Lucia hugged her teddy bear; there was a certain resemblance.

But as long as they said they were okay with it, it was all good, right?

“Atlas, can I… ask for my reward now?”

“…what is it?”

Seeing Shaara looking at me enviously after witnessing Lucia all over me and blushing, she finally asked.

“Could you… hug me too?”

Was she asking to be hugged??