The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 362

“So… are you saying you’re going to play sick for a while?”

“Yeah, the word sounds pretty cheap, but… yeah, that’s right. I’m caught up in a bit of a hassle.”

Professor Praha, suddenly called by Atlas, was dumbfounded upon hearing the sick act plan.

Why on earth would he need to disguise his perfectly fine condition as if it were a complete mess?

Always amazed by Atlas’s recovery speed, Professor Praha couldn’t help but express his admiration.

This time, it was certainly true that by the time he was brought in, Atlas was in a situation where it wouldn’t have been surprising if he died, yet he got up as if nothing had happened.

People always praised Professor Praha’s excellent treatment skills, but as someone who had lived far longer than Atlas, he knew very well what kind of results his treatments generally produced.

Even when Atlas came in with burns all over his body, twisted veins, and torn muscles, his recovery was unimaginable for an ordinary person.

Of course, he was significantly stronger than an average human, but even among the aura users, his recovery was exceptional.

It was as if the source of life within him shone with the brightness of a sun.

‘Maybe that really was the case.’

Suddenly, Professor Praha recalled the time he had examined Atlas’s body.

Being the child of a prestigious family, it was said that Atlas had been raised on good things since childhood, and within his body, there were essences containing tremendous power.

If those were the sources of his overflowing vitality, it wouldn’t be hard to understand why.

Bragging about such recovery, what on earth could he gain from hiding the fact that he had fully healed?

Suddenly, he recalled incidents where former authorities pretended to be ill, taking advantage of weakened opportunities to deal with rebels all at once.

‘This can’t be right.’

Could there really be a need to find such people within the academy?

He decided to go along with whatever Atlas wanted.

“Well, it’ll be easy since I evaluated your condition when you were brought in last night. If you want, disguising it that way shouldn’t be a problem. But… wouldn’t it be better for me to know exactly what this is all about?”

“They’re sending investigators from the royal family regarding the incident from yesterday. I’m just trying to avoid them since it’ll be awkward.”

“Investigators… did you do something wrong?”

Hearing that royal investigators were coming, Professor Praha stiffened.

The fact that investigators were coming wasn’t strange. It was natural for them to send investigators to verify the facts since the academy, one of the empire’s key facilities, had suffered considerable damage and was undergoing repairs.

However… it was somewhat strange that, considering there had been such threats before, this time the investigators were coming intentionally.

Did he do something wrong?

Was he getting dragged into being an accomplice?

“What did I do wrong? I just broke my body protecting the academy.”

“Then why are you trying to avoid them?”

“Even if I didn’t do anything wrong, talking to people like investigators is uncomfortable.”

He understood what he meant.

Whether one had done something wrong or not, facing investigators wouldn’t be a pleasant experience.

Investigators are the kind of people who would comb through every little detail, probing tirelessly for even the tiniest speck of dirt on their subjects.

“I’ll do my best to keep them away. Sure, a mistake could lead to exile from the country… but then Titan will take responsibility, right?”

“All you need to do is disguise the fact that I’m critically ill. The others will handle facing the investigators.”

“The others?”

“Someone who won’t back down at all against the investigators.”

Who on earth could possibly be someone who wouldn’t take a step back against royal investigators?

Feeling a strong instinct that they were caught in something dangerous, Professor Praha shut his eyes tight.

Considering the money supported by Titan, there was no way he could just jump off now.

He had no choice but to think that the ship he was on wouldn’t sink so easily.

——————————

Having arrived at the academy just as night began to fall, the moment they got to the port, darkness started setting in.

“How long will it take to get to the dormitory from here?”

“Walking would take about an hour. But if we use flying magic, it’ll only take about 15 minutes.”

“Since it’s getting dark, we’ll start the actual investigation from tomorrow.”

After hearing the words from the guide, Anthony, the three experts decided to pause the investigation simply because the sun was setting.

It was absurd that they would delay because it was just getting dark when they said it was an urgent task, but it didn’t mean they were lazy and couldn’t work at night.

They needed to collect samples for the investigation, but the sea’s condition was worse than expected, hence the danger.

“I can sense a horrifying amount of magic in the sea. If we get close to such a place when the sun goes down, who knows what might happen?”

“If magic is the problem, can’t holy knights handle it?”

“You can’t just fix a spilled inkpot with a drop of liquid.”

Though he didn’t find it satisfying, Albert decided to follow the experts’ opinions without question.

They weren’t forced into this, and each of them was enthusiastic about wanting to investigate.

He believed that it truly was a situation where they couldn’t proceed.

However, they weren’t doing absolutely nothing. They planned to collect seawater samples and samples lying around the port to take back and examine.

It felt awkward to spend a day like this.

That sentiment also applied to Albert, the investigator.

“Investigators, your accommodation is this way.”

“Forget it. I still have things to check.”

Royal investigator Albert didn’t head directly to the accommodation with the other investigators.

“I need to go see the crucial witness you mentioned.”

He thought that seeing Atlas Titan, who likely had all the keys to the situation, might help untangle the knot in his mind.

.

.

.

After the sun set, the hospital, once bustling, had turned eerily quiet.

Only one nurse was sitting at the reception desk, ready for duty.

It was highly unusual for someone dressed crisply in a proper uniform to show up at such a late hour.

“I’m a royal investigator. I understand that a patient named Atlas Titan is admitted here. Where is he?”

“The visiting hours for today have ended, so we would appreciate it if you could come back tomorrow.”

“Just a moment will do.”

The nurse’s face expressed perplexity at his uncompromising words.

Even if it were possible to visit, just hearing the patient’s name raised alarm bells as he was a patient under visiting restrictions in intensive care.

Additionally, the one requesting the visit was not just any student or faculty member, but a royal investigator.

Even if she were to permit him, she feared what consequences might befall her for it, while dismissing him also made her anxious about what harm might come.

As she hesitated and pondered, the royal investigator whispered softly.

“… If you’re scared of the responsibility, just tell me where he’s admitted. I’ll say I forced my way in.”

“U-Uh… even so… the patient isn’t conscious, so visitation isn’t possible.”

“I’ll verify that with my own two eyes.”

“Ugh…”

As the investigator’s tone became increasingly pressing, someone stepped out from the empty first-floor hallway.

“Is bullying a nurse for being an investigator your game? That’s just wrong~.”

“Who are you?”

Investigator Albert turned around, pretending nonchalance.

As a seventh-circle magician, Albert constantly deployed magic that allowed him to sense the presence of all living beings weighing over 30 kg within a 10-meter radius around him, and so far, he had only sensed himself and the nurse in this space.

It felt as though a ghost had appeared, yet he didn’t panic.

There was no point in panicking, as it would only worsen the situation.

So, slowly turning around, Albert was finally able to identify the being that had easily negated his sensing magic.

“…I’m surprised. Why are you here at the academy?”

Horrifyingly, the presence was someone he recognized.

A woman with short black hair, dressed in the royal knight’s uniform, there was only one woman in the empire who looked like that.

She was none other than Wendy West Harbor, the twin sister of the empire’s number one swordsman, Linda, and second in the royal knight order.

Apart from the shadow, she was the second most powerful force in the empire according to official measures.

Given that she spent most of the year away on assignments, it was difficult to find someone who had seen her face at least once, so why on earth was she here?

“My student is hospitalized, so naturally, I should come.”

“Your student?”

“Did you not know that? That’s disappointing. I thought investigators knew everything.”

From the investigator’s perspective, that was incredibly unfair.

Investigators are not human encyclopedias and know nothing beyond what they’ve researched.

Moreover, the information known in this capital was highly restricted, and he was dispatched to ascertain those details, which meant he had to start from scratch.

But the most crucial witness was in a mentor relationship with the second-in-command of the royal knight order?

Albert nearly fainted from dizziness but managed to hold himself together.