The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 315

Five years ago, Saintess Carmel met Atlas right after he had just become a Master.

Even though it takes strong mental strength to become a Master, Atlas appeared to be a rather precarious person.

Masters, who possess unshakeable mental strength in any situation, typically have one of two character types: they are either fiercely self-centered or fiercely narcissistic.

Because Atlas belonged to neither category, he left a very strong impression on Carmel’s mind.

Her curiosity piqued, the Saintess went so far as to follow him around, thinking it was annoying whenever he visited the Church Country, all for the sake of getting closer to him.

And she reached one conclusion.

Without him realizing it, he was an exceptionally delicate person.

Someone with many wounds who was easily hurt.

The reason she couldn’t take her eyes off him was because, despite always pretending to be strong, he actually thought he wasn’t.

His accomplishments at such a young age weren’t something achievable through mere ordinary efforts.

To achieve the status of a Master is a level that ordinary beings can never reach.

It is only those who are lacking in something, yearning for it, and put in tremendous effort who can attain it.

That’s what Masters were.

While she hadn’t dug into his past, she could at least guess that he lived with some scars in his heart.

It wasn’t hard to speculate what kind of scars he bore.

He was so obviously prowling around, growling in every direction that it would be strange not to know.

As a Master who everyone revered, he held a complex about his height.

That wasn’t all of it, but even if she wanted to get closer, she couldn’t recklessly narrow the gap.

Being cat-like, he had a personal boundary he allowed others to reach, and stepping beyond that threshold would send him running away.

And, hilariously, even that slightly annoying aspect of him was exactly in line with the Saintess’s tastes.

Despite being around the same age, his childish appearance, with story-filled eyes filled with melancholy, paired with an unapproachable strength as a Master, cast him in a painfully lovable light.

Once, wanting to get closer, she tried to close the distance, but he had drawn a firm line.

“I don’t want to be swayed and entangled by you, so don’t come too close.”

“Swayed, huh… Your words are sharp, but it seems you don’t actually dislike me.”

“That would be true if it were entirely my heart. You, on the other hand, have something else, don’t you?”

“That’s just my innate charm.”

It was only then that she realized Atlas was putting up walls against Carmel because he knew of her blessing.

He thought that getting too close would drag him into something, so he built walls far higher than others.

‘How does he know that?’

Atlas mentioned it as if it were obvious common knowledge, yet the fact that the Saintess was endowed with a blessing loved by all beings was something only a very few people in the Church Country knew.

Dressing in thick formal attire was a virtue taught by other nuns to show less bare skin.

‘I need to find out more.’

Although Atlas knew something he typically shouldn’t know, she had no intention of pressing the matter.

If power figures like the Dragon Lord or Emperor knew it, it wouldn’t be strange for Atlas, who had been roaming around here and there, to have the same knowledge.

But it was a fact that piqued her interest.

Once she confirmed that he knew of the blessing’s existence, it became even more entertaining to see his reactions.

As it turned out, he didn’t receive the influence of other gods’ blessings, so whenever she narrowed the gap a bit, he would become flustered, and that flustered look was simply too cute to resist.

Every time, although she felt a desire to get closer, she couldn’t recklessly close the distance, and this continued for years, but recently, things started to change.

It was a few years after he formed the “Snow Country Exploration Team.”

‘Does it feel like the distance has lessened a bit lately?’

Whether Atlas knew it or not, he had been in a much better state recently.

Perhaps relieved?

He seemed to have gained a lot of composure.

There was no way to know what had happened during that time, but closing the distance would naturally bring that to light.

‘Now’s a proper opportunity.’

Now, even the light clothing he had once hated meeting in wasn’t something he’d reject so outright.

She was thinking of properly claiming him, but in that brief moment, he had quite a number of people around him.

She didn’t feel panicked.

She had never thought she could monopolize someone of that caliber.

In fact, she could see it in a more favorable light.

The Church’s doctrine said that the more love is shared, the greater it becomes.

Carmel believed that the doctrine was correct.

Wasn’t life too short to sow negative feelings around just to monopolize the love of one person?

Her parents’ bestowed blessing was not meant for that.

So, whenever she saw a hesitant little lamb, she felt an irresistible urge to extend her hand.

After all, she wanted to get closer to him too.

——————–

If it couldn’t be helped, then so be it. But it was much better for me to be by her side than for the Saintess to be sticking around Shaara all day, channeling her Holy Power into her. So, I went into Shaara’s room after she finished her bath and grooming.

I had come in before while she was moaning in pain, but the room was exceptionally large compared to Shaara’s petite frame.

Well, that’s how it goes for rooms belonging to rich nobles.

Even Narni’s room was similarly sized.

One difference, however, was that her room had a minimum level of consideration for her small figure, didn’t it?

“Thank you for taking on such an annoying task.”

“Don’t say that when you’re feeling sick.”

Shaara bowed her head politely upon seeing me enter.

There was no point in me saying anything since she was genuinely in pain.

Having finished her grooming, Shaara wore a thin nightgown, just like she did at the Academy.

From her freshly cleaned body wafted a sweet scent, reminiscent of honey, that I had experienced before.

It wasn’t long ago that monsters had been drawn to this scent.

It was a not-so-distant memory.

‘Under normal circumstances, I never would have done this.’

No matter how much it was to calm her illness, the thought of lying down side by side in the room of a woman past the age of maturity sent chills down my spine.

The only saving grace was that there would be no one around to spread rumors, right?

Since it was still a festival outside, no one would be curious about what was happening inside.

There had already been rumors spreading at the party, and if other nobles saw us in such a position, I could already feel a headache forming over the potential gossip.

But… honestly, the ones I was most worried about weren’t just the nobles.

“Does Lord Prigia know about this?”

“Yes. He came by just a little while ago.”

The one I was most worried about was Leo Prigia, the owner of this castle.

The fact that he left without even glancing at me suggested that he was planning to leave things be.

No matter what the situation, the Golden Ball could change everything to his advantage.

If I were to stay here with Shaara, it would only serve to support what he had said at the party, and by pushing her away, he could stir public opinion like a lovesick fool.

In the end, if things went south, it was simply about swallowing the poison and digesting it.

The worst-case scenario I worried about… well, the Golden Ball surely had everything planned out, so he must be acting boldly for a reason.

I should ask the Commander later about how His Majesty the Emperor views the current situation.

“Ugh… uh…”

As I momentarily lost myself in thought, Shaara’s complexion began darkening.

It seemed the Holy Power the Saintess had filled her with had run low.

“Here, take my hand.”

“Thank you….”

As I extended my hand, Shaara gently took hold of it.

Immediately, her previously darkened expression brightened drastically.

Yet, witnessing this made me feel a deep sense of responsibility within me.

There was no way I could treat Shaara as if she were invisible now.

The fact that just touching her was improving her condition indicated a deep trust in me, almost to the point of faith.

I was the one who created this situation.

How could I simply throw away the outcome I’d created?

“By the way, do you have anything scheduled for tomorrow?”

“Since the party is over, I think I’ll be dealing with related tasks. However… given my condition, I was excluded this time. So, I’ll probably just ask the Church for a holy relic.”

Since I would be by Shaara’s side, I was curious about what kind of day she would spend.

Originally, she would have to work on things related to the party now that it was over, but it seemed she had been excused due to her health.

Still, the quiet pressure from the Golden Ball could also be pressing her to take certain actions.

Upon hearing only the request for a holy relic from the Church, I began to think there might be some freedom.

‘If I’m free, can I just drag her along based on my schedule?’

I needed to stop by the Church Country anyway, and since she had business there too, it seemed like we could save time if we went together.

Little did I know, there were other schemes being hidden.