The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 419

There were a lot of people gathered.

River, Amy, Lucia, Shaara, Gemma, and Casey.

They were all hiding in that shabby ruin, sitting in a circle around the Principal as if they were going to use him as a sacrifice for some sort of suspicious ritual.

It was only natural to be surprised if they got caught, considering how suspiciously they were gathered.

“How did you find this place…?”

“I have a way of knowing everything.”

Hearing that he knew everything, a few of them reacted.

Sure, I had tracked them down using Shaara’s holy relic, but aside from that, there were plenty of others here who possessed features I could track easily.

“And how did you end up getting caught, Principal? We searched for a long time.”

“Ugh… I’m embarrassed.”

The thing about being a Principal is that getting caught by students looks pretty pathetic, but no matter how great an Archmage you are, if you’re caught by a Gold Dragon, there’s not much you can do.

No matter how much one struggles, an ordinary human can’t win against a dragon with magic.

Let alone when that dragon is the apex, a Gold Dragon—it’s even more impossible.

The Principal, aware of just how miserable his situation was, scowled in disdain.

“Just to ask, you’re currently held against your will, right?”

As soon as he heard my words, the Principal nodded vigorously.

“Is what you’re doing right now somehow related to me? Or do you have a personal grudge against the Principal?”

“If you do, will you let it go?”

Shaara stepped forward to speak to me.

“No. I’d love to let it go, but I have something to do. If you’re going to do that, can’t you finish everything up first?”

If it really was a personal grudge against the Principal, I’d respect it, but for now, my withdrawal application was the priority.

“Ugh, you’ve really messed it up!”

Just at that moment, River pushed forward in front of Shaara and drew his scimitar.

The surface of the scimitar began to shimmer with a golden aura.

“What are you trying to do right now? Are you going to fight with Lord Atlas?”

“It’s not like it’s a secret anymore. Did you think I wouldn’t come after you? Trying to beat around the bush won’t help; I’ll do my best to stop you!”

Shaara scolded River for breaking the game, but the timing of his intervention was quite impeccable.

I had been observing the situation to decide how to rescue the Principal, but he stepped in first.

Did he really intend to not let me go? The flickering golden aura sent chills down my spine.

“I’m sorry for deciding this without consulting you in advance, but do you really hate the idea of me withdrawing that much?”

“Isn’t it only natural!”

“That’s right!”

Not just River, who was in front of me, but everyone said this together.

‘Did I really do something that bad?’

Thinking back, I felt a bit wronged.

I wouldn’t be a student anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’d sever all ties; I had gone missing for a day, yet I had returned.

Previously, I had mentioned that it would be embarrassing to show my face if everything got out, but was it really such a sin to be scolded like this?

“I understand that you’re all anxious and want to hear me out, but…”

Although I felt a bit hurt, it was indeed my fault for hiding my decision.

I knew that once my withdrawal was finalized, nothing would change, and surely they’d all understand.

“Let’s hear the rest of this later.”

As soon as I took a single step, I found myself in front of the Principal in an instant.

If I could just reach out and touch him, I could use teleportation again to escape this place.

“Do you think I’d let you go!!”

But before I could touch him, I felt an intangible force binding my entire body.

It felt like being caught in the hand of a Giant; clearly, only Lucia could do something like this.

“Don’t go… we promised to graduate together!”

“I did say that…”

“That’s right. You promised… you promised to keep it!”

Hearing them remind me of what I had said at the beginning of the semester, my conscience pricked at me.

I had made that promise, but back then, I believed the situation would unfold a bit longer.

Who would’ve thought that less than a year later, I’d end up killing Satan?

“Ugh… this is heavy.”

Lucia’s greatsword pressing down on me didn’t seem to indicate any intent to subdue me.

She was genuinely attacking me with full strength.

It might seem like I was caught effortlessly, but if she had directed that same pressure towards the nearby rock, it would’ve shattered instantly.

There’s nothing more ridiculous than showing mercy against someone far stronger, yet somehow it felt like she was pouring emotion into it.

“Alright, hold me there!”

“Hey!!”

Seizing the chance when my movement halted, River, Amy, and Casey all rushed toward me.

They all charged at me with a menacing aura, wielding Aura Blades, not letting me move an inch.

Oh, except for Amy, who wasn’t holding an Aura Blade.

But getting hit with that thick mithril sword would still hurt.

With strong confidence in the shared understanding that I would evade, they all bore down on me.

I should have let myself get caught a bit during our sparring sessions.

“Please just stay unconscious for about five hours!!”

While specifying a very particular time frame, a sword came flying, but I had already dodged, avoiding it entirely.

The force binding me suddenly disappeared in that moment.

“Again, you avoided it!”

“No matter how you plead, I can’t let it happen.”

Although Lucia still bound me with her greatsword’s force, the opponent was unfavorable.

She may not have reached the proper level yet, but the output of the force emanating from Lucia could rival that of an expert-level greatsword.

However, I had mastered the same type of technique and was a knight with a much higher level than Lucia.

Taking a short breath, I expelled the aura circulating within me and easily dispelled Lucia’s force.

It took less than a second to break free from the confines of the greatsword’s force and to deal with the three of them collaborating against me, yet seeing River’s frustrated expression as he witnessed my escape made him charge at me even more fiercely.

“Look at that. Who’s being merciful? If you all want to catch me, give it your all!”

When had they practiced this? The four of them were quite skillfully cornering me.

Leading the charge, River engaged Amy, while Lucia’s greatsword flew in every time I found an opening.

And of course, the most annoying one was Casey, who was darting around and trying to hit from various angles while assisting the others—she was definitely the toughest to deal with.

…Wait a minute, why is Casey here?

“Why are you doing this too? Your mission was released as well, you know.”

“I admit that my mission was released.”

Casey and I belonged to the Royal Knight Order, and our missions had been mutually released.

With the Demon Church—the greatest threat to the Academy—having been crushed, the mission to infiltrate the Academy and protect it was no longer necessary.

Just as my mission had been released, Casey’s should have been too.

“But I can empathize with what it feels like to be abandoned without a word.”

Saying this, she lunged at me with her rapier once again.

Except for Gemma, who was holding the Principal, and Shaara, who wasn’t a combat member, everyone was teaming up against me in such a rare situation, and it happened to be against a countryman. That was a lamentable situation.

It’s not like I could refuse when everyone asked me like this…

“Well, this won’t do.”

No, I wouldn’t let it get that soft.

If I was going to be this lenient, I shouldn’t have started at all.

I had enough of playing around.

—Crash!!

“Binding?!”

“They escaped!”

The moment I appeared in front of the Principal with teleportation, my sword glimmered with Aura Blade, and all of Gemma’s spells binding the Principal were shattered.

I then smoothly grabbed hold of the Principal and moved him to safety.

“Here’s the final document.”

“Ah, yes… I’ll accept it well.”

Then I pulled out the prepared document and handed it to the Principal.

Despite looking a bit bewildered, the Principal accepted the document and nodded.

“Is everything processed now?”

“Yep. Now you’re no longer a student of the Academy.”

The intermediate process was complicated, but the final part was wrapped up quite simply.

I was no longer a student of the Academy.

“Unbelievable…”

Everyone stared blankly at the withdrawal application in the Principal’s hands.

I had expected it, but the result of the resistance ending so simply saddened them.

“And here’s… the resume I mentioned last time.”

“…I’ll take this as well.”

As he retrieved the next document from his pocket, Casey asked.

“What’s this document about?”

“It’s for the Special Instructor position I applied for.”

“Special Instructor?”

“A Special Instructor isn’t a part of the Academy; they’re invited from outside, and don’t have a fixed lecture timetable; rather, they can slot in their special lessons during free periods.”

“If that’s the case, aren’t you leaving the Academy?”

Realizing the true nature of the resume I submitted, everyone’s faces lit up with color.

“You promised to stay with us until graduation.”

I honestly wanted to remain in some capacity, as being a student would become burdensome, but it looked like everyone misunderstood.

It was only natural, as I hadn’t explained it to them.

“Well, if that’s the case, was there really a need to withdraw?”

And the real reason I had to keep it a secret was this next part.

“Of course! It wouldn’t make sense for me to continue as a student; from now on, I’ll be referred to as Lord!”

“Lord?”

“Lord?!”

“You mean… you’re becoming a Lord?”

“What do you mean by that?”

As I mentioned becoming a Lord, everyone’s eyes widened in shock, staring at me.

“I’ll receive various honors, including decorations, for everything I’ve done thus far. There’s a ceremony at the Imperial Palace two weeks from now. You all will come to watch, right?”

“What???”