The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 303

The hall was alive with a lavish party befitting the name of the Golden Ball.

In the giant hall, music flowed at a comfortable volume, and in the center, there were people dancing.

If it had been a younger crowd, there surely would have been many more dancers in the middle, but sadly, this was a pit of old fogies past their prime, so the numbers were few.

Amidst those people, I was busy mingling and making my rounds.

“It’s been years since I last saw you, Saintess. You always seem to get more beautiful every time I see you.”

“Thank you as always. It’s all due to grace… Though with everything covered, it’s as if you can see through it all.”

“Haha, one doesn’t always need to see the face directly to know. It’s possible because of faith.”

The king of the Ostry Kingdom, one of the Five Kingdoms Alliance, Hayan Ostry, exchanged greetings with Carmel.

The alliances formed to counter the Empire’s invasion were now left with nothing but old grudges, and some had forged quite close relationships that felt like a part of the Empire’s new territory.

It would surely infuriate the Master of the Alliance, Duke Ohseong, but now that it was too late, he’d have no choice but to turn a blind eye.

After finishing his greeting, he spotted me standing next to Carmel.

“Excuse me, but who might this be?”

“This is Atlas Titan, a senior officer in the Royal Knight Order. He always assists with the matters of the Church Country.”

“The Royal Knight Order! That’s impressive!”

“I’m Atlas Titan.”

I politely greeted him verbally without bowing my head.

Being a king, he could’ve been afforded a more formal greeting, but since I was here in the name of the Titan, a nod like this was sufficient for the Ostry Kingdom.

Honestly, I didn’t feel like bowing my head to him anyway.

Hayan didn’t seem too pleased with my greeting, but he brushed it off and moved on.

It wouldn’t do any good to frown in front of the Saintess.

“I know Atlas isn’t in a position to bow to him, but wouldn’t it have been better to leave a good impression, given he’s the king of the alliance?”

“That’s a different matter.”

Carmel scolded me softly after parting ways with Ostry.

Though the position was similar to the recently fallen Clover Kingdom, it was still a kingdom.

Getting close would be beneficial, but I had more reasons for disliking him.

“That guy was certainly running a black market within the alliance.”

He was one of the names on the kill list I drafted based on my original knowledge.

In the Ostry Kingdom, which borders the Empire, there exists a place specializing in selling slaves that the Empire can’t deal with.

There’s no need to adhere to Empire laws, so there are no issues, but the problem is that this place is going to be hit by another nuclear bomb two years later.

The reason I’m keeping him alive is that if I destroy the place before the incident occurs, the same event might happen in unpredictable locations, so I’m just keeping an eye on him.

There’s no need to curry favor with someone I plan to kill soon.

“You sometimes act in ways that don’t make sense. I’m guessing I wouldn’t understand it anyway?”

“I just have a bad feeling about it.”

When I was out and about in the main continent, I often did things that others found quite inexplicable.

Like hunting down Demon Church folks hiding in desolate areas or ambushing nobles who appeared perfectly fine.

All of it was groundwork for snuffing out the flames based on my original knowledge.

When presented with a problem, I knew the answer but not how to reach it, so I had to struggle to get to the answer.

While we were cutting off people like that, I was also meeting others.

“Running around like this drains my energy; swinging a sword would be much easier. Doing this all the time must have been tough.”

“Wow, are you actually worried about me? But it’s just because you’re not used to it. Once you get accustomed, it’s fun. In my case, I’m at a much more advantageous position, so it’s even more enjoyable.”

Though I was told to get used to it, it still felt challenging.

Suddenly, I remembered why I used to avoid official events like this.

Right now, I’m dressed in the uniform of the Royal Knight Order, and with Saintess Carmel beside me, everyone is trying to spare me any rude glances—but in the past, it was worse.

My master also hated places like this and wandered as a shadow, so suddenly seeing Commander, who shares a similar disposition, take the seat was quite impressive.

Of course, I wasn’t simply mooching off the Saintess.

“Saintess, I’ve set up a good seat for you, would you like to…”

“Buzz off.”

“Um… yikes? Understood…!!”

Another spirited young man came up and, trembling, quickly retreated.

I could easily chase off these crazy types who approached the Saintess with no clue what they were doing, as it was clear they didn’t recognize me despite wearing the Royal Knight Order uniform.

It takes a certain boldness to be that unaware; some businessmen didn’t even know that Carmel was the Saintess.

I shot out a slight killing intent, and they ran off in fright.

“Seriously… it’s baffling what they see when I’m all dressed up like this.”

“Uh…”

After sending away several men, the Saintess lifted the hem of her formal attire slightly.

The seductive curves were highlighted even through her thick clothing, and it was quite bewildering.

Wasn’t this kind of Carmel’s fault?

With such a body, there was no way to mask it when dressed, making her appear as if she were covered in luxurious packaging.

Having such absurd thoughts suggested I might have been too long at her side.

Feeling like I had interacted enough, I decided to step back for a bit.

“Ugh…”

“Already having regrets?”

“I wouldn’t want to unless necessary.”

“How about you go enjoy some delicious food and relax?”

“I’m not sure…”

The banquet hall was filled with delicacies worth more than an ordinary peasant’s monthly income, but I still wasn’t peckish at all.

I must have been really tense.

As I was catching my breath, I noticed the atmosphere shifting from afar.

It felt like people were gathering around a specific individual; it seemed someone important was about to appear.

“Who’s coming out, I wonder?”

“It’s not yet time for the Golden Ball to make an appearance; who could it be?”

The party host, the Golden Ball hadn’t even shown up, and yet the commotion was even louder than when Saintess Carmel appeared.

Curious, I tuned in for a moment, and the answer soon came.

“Shaara! You’ve become even more beautiful!”

“Shaara!”

From the surrounding chatter, it seemed Shaara had made her entrance.

But her figure was hard to see.

She was remarkably shorter than me, and surrounded by a crowd, I could hardly catch a glimpse of her face.

“Doesn’t seem like she’s coming this way?”

“She probably is.”

Indeed, no matter how I looked at it, Shaara was clearly heading this way.

Her face wasn’t visible, but it was only natural that the crowd would be coming toward us.

‘What’s she thinking?’

I wanted to believe she was coming over to speak to Saintess Carmel.

The connection between Shaara and me has been kept secret at the Academy and among those around us.

It wasn’t exactly a normal relationship.

So, surely, Shaara was coming not for me but for Carmel.

“Do you know Shaara?”

“If I did, wouldn’t I have seen her at least once at the Academy? I’ve met the Golden Ball a few times, but I’ve only exchanged greetings with his daughter once before.”

Carmel admitted she didn’t know Shaara well.

This party was meant for networking, and not having known her until now, it would be a good opportunity to get acquainted.

It must surely be.

Yet, I couldn’t shake the unease about the purpose behind Shaara marching this way without hesitation.

It was more so the crowd around her that raised my apprehensions.

The flock of people who had been gathering suddenly halted before us.

“Are the dishes to your liking? I was worried the spices might be too strong for the Saintess’s sensitive palate compared to what you usually have in the Church Country.”

Suddenly appearing from the throng, Shaara directed a blunt remark at the Saintess as if she were a villainess.

Right, she did have that kind of bratty attitude, didn’t she?

Having only seen her being obedient around me lately, I had nearly forgotten her true nature.

Carmel momentarily faltered at Shaara’s words.

Her expression seemed unable to process that anyone would speak to her like that.

“You’re quite the amusing one, aren’t you, Shaara?”

But Carmel didn’t shrink back or yield in any way.

It was as if she had found a worthy adversary after a long time, and I could sense a sly smile creeping behind her veil.