The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 181

“…I’m not in a great mood.”

“Hey, Sword Master… I guess they don’t teach manners in the Empire these days? You could at least bow your head while talking to your seniors!”

As expected, everyone reacted strongly.

Receiving a baptism isn’t a huge deal, but the fact that they were being suspected must be quite unpleasant.

It would have been the same if the roles were reversed.

“Manners? Since when have we cared about that?”

The Commander scoffed at Edmon’s words.

“The Masters of the Empire have already received their baptisms. If you’re innocent, there’s no reason to refuse, right?”

Though he didn’t mean to, the Commander confidently stated this as he had recently been baptized due to a national event.

“Why are you afraid? Do you have something to hide?”

“This…!!”

Provoked further, Edmon stood up abruptly.

During meetings, arguments were fine, but fighting was strictly prohibited.

Everyone knew this, which made their words even sharper.

“Um…”

While everyone was on edge, Luid cautiously raised her hand.

“The baptism is… a religious ceremony, right? I hold a different belief, so it seems difficult for me to undergo that rite.

If there’s another way, I’d be willing to consider it. It was shocking for me that a Sword Master became a Demon, so I want to confirm that the Masters present here are safe this time.”

Luid, who had a strong folk belief, was a toss-up on whether she would agree, but fortunately, she gave a positive response.

Seeing her, who seemed the least likely to agree, readily volunteering, Edmon, who had been irritated, slapped the table with a lost gesture.

[…The baptism is a secondary issue. Unlike other places, if a Demon were to enter this place filled with Holy Relics, they would suffer far worse pain than just undergoing a baptism.

For that reason, it is quite recent that the Sword Master became a Demon… I think. At least, the last meeting was three years ago.]

Seeing the atmosphere getting heated, McKinto attempted to regain control.

[What’s important now is that they’ve grown strong enough to attempt to devour an entire kingdom.

We didn’t know that the Clover Kingdom was being taken over. Even though there were so many churches within the kingdom, we were oblivious.

Our confidence that other nations wouldn’t also face such a situation has vanished.

Now, let’s move on to a new agenda related to it.

The Demon Church’s explosive rise in power is prompting the Church Country to believe that ‘active military intervention’ from the Masters is necessary.]

“…We used to be able to manage just with the Church, didn’t we? Did some anomaly occur?”

[It’s better for Shadow, who has experienced the situation firsthand, to speak on that.]

Hoenheim, who had been dozing off, quietly opened his eyes.

This topic seemed to pique his interest.

“Recently, the Demon Church has carried out three acts of terrorism against the Academy. Once, a Demon Bishop even showed up personally, and we managed to handle that.

Afterwards, when we stormed the Demon Church’s stronghold they were using for pursuit, I witnessed the power of the Demon Bishop I had killed.

It was just a few days after the previous one died.”

“Oh~~ So they replaced him quickly since the last guy was gone. They work fast, but is that really strange??”

Edmon wore a disinterested expression.

He genuinely seemed not to grasp the implications of this.

I had heard that he had never truly fought a Demon, yet he didn’t even seem to consider wanting to know more about it.

But what can I do? I had already claimed responsibility for all the hideouts attacked by the Demon Bishops; Edmon might not realize it, but he was already deeply implicated.

“Since it seems the elder doesn’t understand, let me explain kindly.

Demon Bishops are Demons that have made contracts with the Great Demon. They aren’t easily created. At least until now, the Great Demons have invested a lot of time searching for new contractors.

Even if you try to make anyone a contractor, they wouldn’t last against the power of the Great Demon, which would end up exploding their bodies or obliterating their sanity.

So, the fact that they’ve been replaced so quickly suggests… either they resolved the side effects or prepared a spare in advance.”

[I hope it’s the latter.]

McKinto sighed heavily after hearing my explanation.

If it were the former, the situation would become many times more critical.

The main reason Demon Bishops, capable of wielding the powers of the Great Demon in this world, avoid direct confrontations with Masters is that they fall short in skill.

If they were to die, selecting a successor takes considerable time, and if they recklessly engage in battle, they could all be slaughtered, leading to a significant power vacuum.

Fearing that, the Great Demons had banded together, hiding away to grow their forces… But what if they can contract anyone as their contractor?

The seemingly favorable situation for the humans could reverse in an instant.

If someone like Belphegor continually scattered the Power of Domination and killed without stopping, only to contract with another believer…

It wouldn’t end until everyone around was dead.

We would be subjected to a horrendous hell, demanding unidirectional attrition from our side.

‘I’d be relieved if my excessive worries ended there, but the first to resurrect being Belphegor’s Demon Bishop is far more concerning.’

“Hmm… Is that the extent of it?”

Everyone wore serious expressions, but Edmon alone tilted his head in confusion.

“Well, they’re just heretics. If we replace the contractor with someone else, we can just kill them all. What’s the big deal?”

As expected, it seemed he still didn’t grasp the situation.

[Ha… If so, let’s decide. Those who think the Masters should intervene in the explosive rise of the Demon Church, raise your hands.]

Ignoring Edmon’s nonsense, McKinto proceeded with the vote.

“It’s absurd to expect this body to move just because of a bunch of heretics.”

“We’re from an island nation, so that’s difficult for us.”

The two Masters both indicated their refusals.

Various reasons aside, it seemed they felt no need to step in themselves.

Luid, from a strongly folk-believing island nation, didn’t recognize the gravity of the situation due to a low level of Demon-related damage, while Edmon seemed averse to the idea of having to deal with mere heretics.

“Look at these guys; they all came rushing over for nothing.”

The three Masters from the Empire all raised their hands.

The only ones not raising theirs were Van Hoenheim and Hulan.

‘Hulan said she would agree, didn’t she?’

My mentor lightly tapped his finger against my thigh, signaling me.

“Hmm… It does seem right…”

“Uncle, because you’re an individual, feel free to do as you wish. Don’t mind me.”

I wondered why Hulan, who supposedly agreed, was hesitating and realized she was likely gauging Luid, who sat beside her.

It seemed that the favor between them was stronger than that between her and me, whom she had only met briefly.

There’s really no one to trust.

If both opted to vote against it, this motion would be dead in the water.

If we couldn’t crush the Demon Church’s power here, the dismal original plot I’d gone to great lengths to ruin could unfold later.

That I absolutely cannot allow.

‘So… I’ll have to target someone else.’

If they’re going to show out like that, I have a plan as well.

There’s still someone else hesitant to make a decision.

I decided to help Hoenheim free his mind a bit.

“Hoenheim.”

“…What is it? I’m in the middle of contemplating, so don’t bother me.”

Hoenheim sank deeper into thought, resting his chin on his hand.

It seemed he was considering what the outcome of this motion would be from his decision.

Still, it was a relief that he hadn’t outright cast a vote against it.

“Did you know? There’s an expedition that’s recently conquered the Snow Country, and rumor has it there are ruins of an ancient kingdom over there.”

“…What’s the significance of that?”

“They say they haven’t found any truly important relics, but… one of my acquaintances was part of that exploration team…”

Upon hearing this, Hoenheim’s eyes opened wide, and he raised his hand.

I had wreaked enough havoc that the future of this story became uncertain, but at least the past occurrences would not change.

As I remembered that Hoenheim was studying the technologies of the ancient kingdom and casually dropped the bait, he immediately inquired.

“Okay, I’m in favor. The details regarding the Demon Bishop were quite intriguing.”

“I’m still dealing with Demons, so it’s not like I’m out of the game.”

Seeing Hoenheim raise his hand, Hulan followed suit.

[With five votes in favor and two against… It has been decided that ‘intervention is necessary.’ Now, let’s discuss the division of districts…]

“Dealing with the Demon Church is entirely the responsibility of the Church. I don’t see why I should intervene!”

As expected, Edmon vehemently protested.

In his position, it would be hard to believe that a prestigious Master like himself would need to act against such lowly heretics.

He was the kind of person who enjoyed ruling from above, much like the Sword Master.

I decided to give up persuading him.

It was impossible to convince everyone.

“It’s not an unreasonable demand. It’s quite rational. We’re already doing it, so we’re just asking you to join us.”

“We’re already doing it?”

“Counting the reestablishing, we’ve already killed three Demon Bishops. And…”

Just in case, I pulled out the package I had brought with me.

“I even brought back a horn of Asmodeus from hell. If I had prepared a bit more, I could’ve killed him, but it’s regrettable.”

“… Truly the anatomy of a Great Demon.”

Hoenheim showed great interest in the horn of Asmodeus that I unveiled.

“Oh right, if you don’t want to, don’t. But I would appreciate it if you didn’t hinder us from pursuing the Demon Bishops.”

“What did you say?”

“Why do you think I’m telling you this? It seems you don’t understand the situation: the hideouts of the Demon Bishops aren’t located elsewhere.

They’re all buried deep within your countries. If you don’t want to get in the way, open the borders, so I can handle it myself.”

When I declared that I would take matters into my own hands, the response was icy.

“Opening the borders… You’re revealing your true nature as a cowardly conqueror!”

Luid was the one who reacted most vehemently.

Her nation had endured the Empire’s invasions, so she deeply resented the idea of opening borders.

“If you don’t want to, then handle things in your jurisdiction by yourselves.”

Despite the motion passing, Luid and Edmon were still visibly upset.

“… If it must be, I suppose I can grant one request. Making such a grand proclamation, you must have developed some means to pinpoint the locations of the Demon Bishops, right?”

“Hoenheim… even you?! I told you I wouldn’t have time for that!”

“That was in the past. The Demon Church is a nuisance left unchecked. If they’re within my house, I’d be right to deal with them.”

Hoenheim, who had been observing the situation, expressed a positive opinion.

It seemed mentioning the ruins of the ancient kingdom had buoyed his mood, as he was now fully awake.

[If so, I’ll share the locations of the known hideouts so far.]

Seeing the majority agree, McKinto used magic to project a map into the sky.

The map showed several marked locations, all of which I had previously hinted at.

Seeing that, Edmon shouted.

“Are you all seriously considering this?! It’s odd for a Master to handle such menial tasks. Do you really have that much time??”

[Are the Five Kingdoms’ alliance choosing not to participate…? That is most regrettable.]

“Yeah, that was the Church’s job, wasn’t it!”

[Right, we can’t force a Master to do something they hate. In that case, I will leave it to the Church members present within the kingdom to deal with it.]

“Ha… Ha! That could work! Even if it’s not me…”

Edmon’s expression brightened a little as he thought he was finding a way out.

However, it seemed McKinto wasn’t particularly interested in that idea.

[If that happens… We will need to draw from most of the personnel stationed within the kingdom, making it impossible to continue relief activities for the populace.]

“What…?”

That was the extent of the Church Country’s leverage.

When Edmon was backed into a corner, he gritted his teeth, facing the fact that his people would become hostages.

“To take human lives as hostages…! How could you really!!”

From a glance, it seemed like he was speaking on behalf of the people’s interest, but we must remember he had not a single penny to spare while splashing around in pools during past droughts, doing nothing as people died.

It seemed he had grown jittery as the taxes trickled in due to the drought.

Not wanting to provoke Edmon any further, I smiled and addressed McKinto.

“You really don’t need to go about it that way. Just keep the relief efforts as is. We will handle it ourselves, so just open the borders and let me go.”

“It seems like you’re scared of Demons and unable to go out.”

“You brat…!”

Finally unable to hold back the provocation, Edmon drew his sword.

‘I’ve got him.’

.

.

.

Getting Edmon to draw his sword was one of the plans I had concocted on-the-fly.

Though it felt quite personal for the Commander.

Normal diplomatic meetings come with basic rules.

There are various worries one doesn’t need to pay attention to, but the crucial rule is not to draw ‘weapons’ and not to initiate a ‘preemptive attack’ within the discussion area.

If the other party brandished a weapon and delivered a life-threatening blow, the person is allowed to draw as well, and McKinto will acknowledge it as self-defense.

The one who draws is deprived of the ‘right to speak’ for a duration that varies based on the severity of the incident.

This means they can’t get a word in edgewise with the host’s power.

The Commander thought it would be easier to move forward if Edmon were dealt with.

And by continuously provoking him, I managed to get Edmon to the point where he couldn’t restrain himself any longer and drew his sword.

.

.

.

Edmon rushed in with speed that clearly demonstrated his skills, proving he wasn’t exaggerating with a showoff.

But it was something I could respond to.

I was also ready to draw at any given moment, so I was prepared to deal with him.

Neither of us used Aura Blade.

Using it would mean effectively declaring war between nations.

By the time I fully drew my sword, Edmon’s had already come too close to my face.

-BANG!!

And Edmon’s head slammed into the table with tremendous force.

“Who taught you to draw a sword in an impudent manner?”

As Hulan, who had been observing the situation, grabbed the back of Edmon’s neck and slammed him into the table the moment he charged, the long table snapped in half due to the sheer force.