The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 394

“Phew..!!”

My eyes shot wide open.

What I felt was not the vague sensations of a dream but the vivid reality of the present.

As the Dragon Lord’s dream came to an end, Gemma and I, who were merely intruders, were suddenly expelled outside.

“Did Atlas succeed?”

“Yeah, he did. But first, hurry and get the knights out of the Sanctuary.”

The Saintess, who had been waiting nearby as soon as I woke up, checked on my condition.

Feeling a slight dizziness, I placed my hand on my forehead and felt the Three Strands of Light above my head vanish.

That meant the Dragon Lord had awakened.

Time was running out.

“Huh?? What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“Since we managed to wake the Lord, getting out shouldn’t be difficult. No one will have the time to worry about you.”

Saintess Carmel couldn’t comprehend the sudden directives I was giving.

It would be hard to understand why I was telling her to leave out of the blue.

Though I didn’t have time to elaborate, the Saintess quickly grasped my meaning as soon as the Dragon Lord awoke.

[This…!! That thieving scoundrel!!]

Golden fury spread in all directions.

Lux Aurum, the Dragon Lord who had awakened from the dream just like I had, began to rage at the last scene he remembered.

By the look in his eyes, he seemed far from sane.

“Do you remember everything now?”

[Yeah!! I believed you when you said you’d protect me, and now you’re trying to eat my precious daughter?!! How could I have been so foolish to trust a human!!]

As the Gold Dragon’s unique golden lightning raged, the Saintess panicked.

I deflected a few strands of the golden lightning, which almost hit the Saintess, using my aura.

“What happened inside for him to react like that??”

“I had to use a bit of shock therapy since he was firmly trapped in a dream. Wouldn’t it be great if he woke up quickly?”

“Shock therapy??”

“Atlas did nothing wrong.”

Though the Saintess was suspicious of what kind of shock therapy I had applied to elicit such a reaction, Gemma, who had witnessed everything, defended me.

Gemma, with a very serious expression, simply observed the raging Dragon Lord.

“I woke the Lord who might never have woken up, so don’t thank me with words; show me with your actions later!”

“Atlas, are you insane?? Why would you provoke him further??”

Seeing the Saintess startled and shouting while I was audaciously taunting the infuriated Dragon Lord made me chuckle.

But I meant every word.

I had truly awoken him from what could have been a perpetual slumber, and it felt unjust to be chased away like this.

[Do you really think I’d let such a precious child be taken away by a human!!]

From the Dragon Lord’s mouth, a golden light began to gather.

Given the amount of mana accumulating, it looked like he was ready to unleash a breath attack indoors.

“Stop, my Lord!!! If you do this here, the nest will be obliterated!!”

Jade, who had been quietly watching the situation, became alarmed and started gathering mana to protect the nest.

Even though the Lord’s nest was vast and strong enough to accommodate dragons without issue, a direct hit from a breath attack could only lead to tremendous trouble.

[Take this!!!]

A dazzling flash shot from the Dragon Lord’s mouth.

“Looks like he’s angrier than I thought. Let’s move.”

“Are we running away??”

“Yep.”

As the golden beam of light that vaporizes everything extended toward me, I tried to escape with the others using space transfer, but someone yanked my hand back.

“Gemma, what are you doing? We need to leave quickly!”

“This feels wrong. Why would we run when we haven’t done anything wrong?”

– Crash!!!

If one were to gauge just by the presence of the breath, it seemed devastating enough to obliterate the nest, but thankfully he seemed to have tamed the power at the last moment, preventing major destruction.

There were several reasons for this: first, Jade had cast a spell to absorb mana throughout the entire nest, reducing the breath’s potency by half, and second, something had blocked the breath, further diminishing its force.

Of course, I wasn’t the one who intervened.

“Father. I don’t understand why you’re angry.”

It was Gemma’s defensive magic that blocked the Dragon Lord’s breath.

“Though it was a short time, Atlas truly helped me a lot. You should be grateful instead of angry like Atlas said!”

Gemma stood her ground, glaring at Dragon Lord Lux as she expressed her opinion.

[Step aside, Gemma. That’s one thing… and this is another!]

“I won’t back down. If you’re upset for my sake, then stop it here.”

[What?! As I thought… you’re protecting that human…! No, it’s too soon! You’ve only just become an adult! It’s too early!]

“Father, you seem to have forgotten about me!!!”

[Ugh?!]

Lux’s expression twisted as he was struck at his weak point.

[No! That wasn’t my true feeling..! How could I forget you… my precious daughter? I only thought of you.]

Gemma seemed profoundly affected by the fact that he had failed to recognize her in the dream, and recalling that, Lux began to sweat profusely, trying to come up with excuses.

[The author may be a skilled Master, but he doesn’t match your level as a partner. Please don’t let a fleeting emotion sway you.]

“I am an adult now too! I can find my own partner, even if you don’t care! And… Atlas served as an agent while you were away; what’s the problem with that?”

[What?!]

Suddenly, Gemma grabbed my hand and tried to drag me outside.

Well, it worked out.

Leaving behind a Lord who was taken aback by hearing ‘I hate you’ from his daughter for the first time, I grasped the Saintess’s hand to escape the Dragon Lord’s bedroom.

.

.

.

“Now that I’ve woken you up, I’ll be taking my leave.”

“You’re leaving in a hurry. I’m sure you could stay a bit longer.”

As soon as we fled from the Lord’s bedroom, we didn’t head straight outside but first made our way to Forma’s room.

The Saintess started preparing to leave quickly with the knights before any irritation could spill over.

We could have fled entirely, but it would be wise to mention our departure for future relations.

Fortunately, it seemed Lux had been so affected by Gemma’s words that he remained behind feeling shocked and didn’t follow us here.

“If I stay longer, I might collapse again for another reason.”

“In that case, the agent will stay longer. I’d be more than happy with that.”

I needed to make my escape ASAP before the mark of an agent faded from my head.

“Getting lost in a dream of my youthful days. I thought I had forgotten it all, but it seems he still has lingering feelings.”

Forma smiled wistfully as she listened to my account of the Dragon Lord’s dream.

Of course, I refrained from mentioning the fact that the Dragon Lord had cross-dressed and shared love with a male human noble.

It would be cruel to reveal such a deeply hidden story.

“Thank you for doing so much for your juniors, Agent. I will repay this kindness by any means.”

Even though Forma was no longer an agent, she still treated me with utmost respect and seemed to think of something.

“By the way, how is Gemma doing?”

“Gemma? She’s kind and obedient, a good girl.”

I wondered why she suddenly asked about Gemma.

Forma, upon hearing my evaluation of Gemma, grinned widely.

“If you’re okay with it, how about taking her as your own? It seems Gemma has feelings for you as well…”

“That’s enough, I’m leaving.”

I needed to make my exit before I got caught up in some unwarranted atmosphere.

——————————–

After Atlas hurriedly, or rather fled with everyone, a short while later, Forma headed to the Lord’s bedroom.

In the middle of the mess caused by various incidents, Dragon Lord Lux sat in his human form, staring blankly at the ceiling.

“Back to your senses, have you?”

Since Forma had just welcomed Atlas, she stood in front of Lux, now in a tiny human form.

“… I’ve done something terrible.”

“Good to know you realized it. I felt embarrassed for causing a commotion after waking you up from such a deep slumber.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

The Dragon Lord, who had been so furious moments ago, bore no resemblance to how he appeared now.

With time passing and the heat in his head subsiding, he realized just how embarrassing his previous actions were.

“They must have left?”

“Of course. Why would the homeowner stick around after such a ruckus?”

“I’ll have to apologize for sure next time.”

Lux had his reasons for his outburst as well.

The suggestion planted by someone had blown up after Gemma was seen flying with Atlas, and the very fact that he woke up was also due to Atlas.

With Atlas being the common denominator at both the start and the finish, it was only natural for him to be thrown into chaos and act on his emotions upon waking.

But Lux didn’t voice any of this.

“I had a good dream. A dream of a time when I was free and unbound by anything.”

“Don’t you dare waste such dreams. You’re still too young to retire.”

“Right. I’m still too young to pass it on.”

Lux rose from his seat.

He knew this wasn’t the place for him to be sitting.

“Then should I deal with that cocky younger sibling first?”