The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 21

I just realized that these guys have hardly fought anyone as small as me.

I need to keep my center of gravity lower than usual, and I can feel that my techniques are a bit clumsy.

This is a common phenomenon seen among inexperienced newbies.

It’s annoying, but a gain is a gain, so let’s make the best of it.

“Two members of the Swordsmanship Research Club have already been taken down…!”

“Aren’t they hopeless too?”

“Hey… hey! Just pressure them first…!!”

“What?! Don’t come over here!!!”

As soon as two members of the Swordsmanship Research Club were taken out, the Newspaper Club members panicked and started charging in, each grabbing a weapon.

The members of the Swordsmanship Research Club, who were trying to attack from both sides, were caught off guard by the Newspaper Club’s sudden actions.

‘This is turning out to be easier.’

And it was a huge boon for me.

The encirclement created by the members of the Swordsmanship Club was shattered in an instant.

– Crunch!

“Ugh!!”

– Crunch!

“AAAH!! My leg!!”

In no time, the Newspaper Club room turned into chaos.

Untrained Newspaper Club members were trying to stab me, but as soon as they crossed into my range, they were taken down.

The fallen members became obstacles for others, and I harvested even more of the Newspaper Club’s ankles.

As the battle turned into a brawl, members of the Swordsmanship Research Club couldn’t swing their swords thanks to the entangled Newspaper members.

“W-What are these ignorant fools doing?!”

Swinging a sword in this situation would clearly see more Newspaper members getting cut than me.

A red-faced member of the Swordsmanship Research Club yelled at the Newspaper members, but they couldn’t hear him.

“Are you all going to let yourselves be distracted?”

– Crunch!

“AAAH!!!”

Then, seizing the moment, I sliced another member of the Swordsmanship Research Club’s ankle.

No matter how chaotic it got, to let go of focus like that shows they were really cocky.

“Not bad… I get why Lemnos was taken down.”

The remaining member of the Swordsmanship Research Club looked over the fallen ones, sweating profusely.

“Are you better than your president?”

“What?! How dare you mention the president?!”

The moment the Swordsmanship Research Club was mentioned, they flared up and swung their sword down.

It was a well-aimed strike targeting my torso.

Should I stab while blocking with a cross guard?

No way.

I don’t trust this sword’s cross guard yet.

There are a lot of manufacturers out there that make shoddy ones.

To be safe in this situation…

‘Let’s push back.’

– Clang!!!!!

With the sound of steel clashing and sparks flying, the Swordsmanship Research Club member’s sword was blocked by mine, making it impossible for him to bring down his sword onto my body.

Our blades slipped, locking against each other in a standoff.

A smile spread across the Swordsmanship Research member’s face.

He thought that since he had dodged up until now, he would win now that we were in a strength contest because of his larger size.

Especially with the height difference, the Swordsmanship member was in a position to strike down on me.

He must have thought this would be the end, letting his weight come crashing down…

‘But that’s under normal circumstances.’

“Ugh?? Why is your strength so strong??”

The expression of the Swordsmanship Research Club member twisted in shock.

As I held my ground in this strength contest and even pushed back, he was taken aback.

The Swordsmanship Research Club member was nearly twice my size, yet was losing.

I continued to force my sword against his, and he was sent flying.

“UAAAH!!!!”

– Bam, bam, bam!!

The Swordsmanship Research Club member crashed into the president’s room door, breaking it down.

And then, as if he had definitely been absent, the Newspaper Club president appeared, calmly sipping tea.

Seeing him sipping tea after writing such an article made my anger boil.

“Are you trying to guard while only letting rookies stand watch? You’ve got some nerve!”

“You… How dare you!!!”

The guard, looking like he was there to protect, unsheathed his sword.

He looked ready to charge in at any moment.

“Lower your hands… If you raise that sword, I’ll cut off your arm.”

“Are you threatening me right now?”

“Oh, so you understand. Yes, it is a threat.”

Seeing the guard get ready to attack, I corrected my grip on the longsword.

If he lifts it, I’m cutting right away.

“That’ll do.”

But the guard ultimately lowered his sword.

It was because the Newspaper Club president raised his hand to stop him.

“Now… to think all the members of the Swordsmanship Research Club are in this state… Hera is going to be furious.”

Even with the Newspaper Club in disarray, the president was still leisurely sipping tea.

Where was that calmness coming from?

Was it the guard standing next to him?

Or was it the status of being a Newspaper Club president?

Or does he seriously trust his identity as a Count?

“Ugh?!”

The relaxed expression on the Newspaper Club president’s face instantly warped as my fist slammed into his face.

His nonchalance had been irritating.

“Quite… the rough greeting…”

I lifted the fallen Newspaper Club president by his collar, and with his swollen face, he forced out a twisted smile.

“You!! How dare you disrespect the Count?!”

Before the guard, who failed to notice my movements, could fully unsheathe his sword, my longsword stopped just in front of his neck.

“Ugh?!”

“Stay still; I have something to say, or you’ll get hurt.”

Seeing the sharp sword pointed at his neck, the guard gulped nervously.

It seemed he was finally ready to talk.

“You’re the Newspaper Club president?”

“Y-Yes, I am Malcolm Dunmore, the president of the Academy Newspaper Club. Just call me Dunmore or president, whichever you prefer…”

The Newspaper Club president Malcolm Dunmore, curiously enough, wasn’t just an heir but a genuine Count succeeding from above.

Being both a Count and a Newspaper Club president, even the professors couldn’t treat him carelessly at the Academy.

But I was not one of them.

“That title is excessive. You’re just a ‘garbage journalist.’”

“Garbage journalist? What do you mean?”

“It means a trashy reporter.”

Malcolm’s eyes widened at being called a ‘garbage journalist.’

It infuriates me that he writes articles filled with nonsense and expects to be treated well.

Given the indignities I’ve been through since arriving here, even speaking to him feels like a waste.

“Ha… haha, you’re… the rumor about the Dwarf Race, right? Did you come here because of today’s article?”

“Who sent you? I know it was either Albion, Perda, or Prigia; just tell me.”

“Oooh… quite specific. Did you have some clues?”

“If it’s not one of those three, then there’s no reason to do it.”

The people who could have Malcolm Dunmore under their thumb are very limited.

Professors wouldn’t act since they have to watch the principal and other professors.

People wanting to squeeze Malcolm while also wanting to change the duel’s outcome would be aristocrats who lost money in high-stakes gambling.

But if the Newspaper Club was acting because they lost money from gambling, there would have been complaints long ago.

So, those five pillars… excluding Russell, the concerned member, Lemnos wouldn’t have the brains to pull something like that either.

So, that leaves three… Albion, Perda, and Prigia.

Albion, who reveres the two pillars, might have done it, or maybe Prigia is worried about the image of the two pillars being tarnished, or perhaps Perda jumped in first, reading the thoughts of the other two.

Even though it sounds strange for Perda, that’s just his nature.

All three have a plausible reason each, so narrowing it down is hard.


Or they could all be in on it.

“So… you know that, and you’re still trying to attend the Academy?”

“If I didn’t know, would I have fought him?”

Malcolm’s eyes widened in surprise.

He seemed amazed at my confidence, knowing that I had turned the five pillars into enemies.

He knows perfectly well what happens when these five pillars turn against someone.

Turning the five pillars into enemies means turning all the nobility who follow them against you.

In Academy terms, it means everyone within the five pillars’ factions in each class becomes my enemy.

An ordinary student would likely tremble with fear and break a sweat, but I couldn’t care less.

“Then you’ll issue an apology and a correction alongside tomorrow’s newspaper.”

“A correction? What do you mean, what needs to be corrected?”

“Everything you wrote today was nonsense.”

“Right, it was all nonsense… But you know it’s not the facts that matter, right? You’ve turned the five pillars into enemies. If it were me, I’d just drop out and live quietly. Being marked by those people makes it tough not just at the academy, but in society too. If you go out and lay low, people will forget.”

What Malcolm suggested meant to play along with the wishes of whoever ordered that article and act according to his intentions.

Pretending to be smart, and ultimately just telling me to roll over.

He must have been a good judge of character, for the principal’s judgment was sharp.

But fearing the blade that’s being thrust at him while being less afraid of the sword still sheathed…

I tossed Malcolm aside and stomped down on his left arm.

– Thud!!

“Gah?! You must be thinking I’m asking for a favor right now.”

Malcolm’s premise was all wrong.

“W-Well… with such abilities, capturing me wouldn’t be a problem. But taking on all the imperial nobility will be too much for you… I hope you don’t take my suggestion the wrong way.”

The insults I heard on my way to the Newspaper Club and the humiliation I faced at the entrance, all the cocky words from someone who clearly believes that an invisible sword would make me submit swelled my anger.

Do you think I’ll just go along with the fight? You think that’ll turn the whole Empire against me?

I don’t think so.

Whispering into Malcolm’s ear, who grasped his broken left arm…

“Do you think I’d be afraid of that?”

Malcolm’s eyes changed upon hearing my surprisingly bold statement.

What kind of confidence was this? He began to panic.

It’s either he’s too stupid to grasp what kind of threat this is or he possesses ‘strength’ that genuinely allows him to handle it.

I sensed his mind racing in confusion.

I certainly was curious about which one it was.

“Y-You!! How dare you?!”

While whispering to Malcolm, a guard took the opportunity and unsheathed his sword again.

His master, trying to come to a conclusion about me with limited information, was in a state of chaos, while the guard was desperate.

– Crunch!

And then, the sword that was drawn fell to the ground again.

To be precise, it was the two arms of the guard that were severed.

“Y-You…!!”

Malcolm gasped in surprise.

Blood gushed out from the severed arms of the guard like a fountain.

The guard, unable to believe his arms had lightened, blinked without even letting out a scream.

“I still haven’t heard your answer. Again, will you issue a correction or not?”

One person… no, two people were surely going to look like fools, and just then a voice echoed from outside the Broken Newspaper Club room.

“Is… is this the Newspaper Club?!”

It was the voice of a trembling female.

Even I, the one who had just been trying to cut off limbs, along with both Malcolm and the guard, turned with dazed expressions toward the person speaking to the wrecked Newspaper Club.

She had her eyes closed.

With her tightly shut eyes and a flushed face, she was forcefully stating her opinion inside the messy Newspaper Club room.

“A-Atlas would never engage in cheating like that! As one of the five pillars, I cannot tolerate such false articles!!”

Maybe it was due to her nervousness, but her speech was a bit stuttered and slow, yet she slowly and surely expressed her opinion.

“Russell?”

“Huh…??”

As I dumbly replied, the girl who appeared in the Newspaper Club, Lucia Russell, opened her eyes and looked at me.

“U-uh?? This… this is the Newspaper Club, right?”

Finally noticing the wreck of the Newspaper Club, Lucia reacted.

“How did…?”

Seeing one of the five pillars, the Rock’s Russell has come personally to defend me made Malcolm’s expression warp once more.