The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 47

The Principal’s Office at the Academy was always a place where the Principal worked alone.

It would occasionally have more than one person present when someone came in to report on tasks, but even then, the conversations wouldn’t last long.

Morgan, who had remarkable skills but disliked having his solo rhythm interrupted while working, didn’t even keep a secretary.

Outside, he behaved like an old man who loved to surround himself with people and flaunt his status, but this habit had been with him since his days as a professor.

“Professor, you look older every time I see you.”

“I didn’t hear you coming in…”

“Come on now, Professor. If a student wants to visit, they can, right?”

But curiously enough, today there were two people sitting face to face in the Principal’s Office.

In front of him sat a woman who could hardly be seen as anything older than her early thirties, unlike Morgan, whose deep wrinkles told a different story.

She was Linda Westharbor.

The Commander of the Royal Knight Order, protector of the Empire, and the Empire’s finest Master.

The two were addressing each other casually, as if they were old friends.

“Right now, I’m the Principal. Isn’t it enviable that the Master doesn’t age? I’m getting old, and my back is acting up — did you bring a gift?”

“I came in a hurry, so I sent it on ahead. It should arrive tomorrow.”

“I thought you’d grown up with age, but it seems you haven’t… If you’ve reached that position, you could at least have let me know you were coming. What on earth was the rush for?”

“It was something that couldn’t get out, just in case.”

At Linda’s words, Morgan’s eyebrows twitched.

It bothered him that someone of her status had to hide her whereabouts.

“…It seems that among the new students, there’s a person of concern.”

“If it’s you, Professor, you would have sensed it, right?”

A particular student popped into Morgan’s mind.

A very small student, yet also very noticeable.

He had indeed considered killing Professor Buckingham in the faculty room… His actions had been rather flashy, and it was clear he wasn’t an ordinary student.

“Yeah, it hasn’t even been a week, and he’s already clashed with the Five Pillars. How could I not know?”

“He clashed with the Five Pillars…?”

“You didn’t know? He even dueled with Lemnos.”

“Hmm… is that so?”

“The world is filled with idiots who still haven’t figured it out. It’s about driving me insane… So… has it been resolved?”

“I checked on him; he’s fine. Just pretend he’s an ordinary student. There’s no good that can come from recognizing him.”

Taking that as meaning not to even think about investigating further, Morgan decided to heed the Master’s advice.

No need to poke the hornet’s nest and suffer the consequences.

“If they find out you’re here… the Five Pillars won’t just sit back.”

But then another concern arose.

It was common knowledge that the Five Pillars and the Royal Knight Order did not get along.

They were extremely wary of the Knight Order, to the point that they even arranged events in such a way as to avoid bumping into one another, and now their Commander showing up at the Academy carried significant weight.

Upon hearing this, Linda smiled slyly.

“Why don’t we invite them to a reunion? It would be quite lively, wouldn’t it? Things have been so peaceful lately that I’ve been a bit bored…”

“Oh come on… Friends should get along; it’s pathetic to still be fighting like kids…”

To think they had fought so much during their school days and were still at it now…

Morgan thought that they were all basically just like children despite their grown bodies.

——————————–

“Wow…!! Is that the Empire’s finest Master?!”

“I’m a fan of the Commander!!!”

“Please look this way just once!!”

The news of the Royal Knight Order Commander’s arrival had spread through the Academy like wildfire along with Andy, who had returned as a hero.

Even though he lived in the capital, it was hard to catch a glimpse of the Empire’s finest Master, so everyone rushed out, skipping classes, just to get a look at her.

Some of the professors were former students too, so it was no surprise at all.

Seemingly accustomed to the crowd, Linda wore a gentle smile and waved slightly while looking around the classrooms.

Now that I think about it, the Commander was also a graduate of the Academy…

Decades ago, Linda and Wendy, country bumpkins from the western port, had entered the Academy through the admissions exam, and during their time there, they reached the level of Master, becoming legends at the Academy.

Even now, many students entering through exams aimed to take Linda as their role model.

From freshers to seniors, everyone gathered to catch a glimpse of Linda, causing a massive swarm of people, while the areas of the Academy that were left abandoned were becoming increasingly quiet.

Though it wouldn’t take long for bustling noise to return, even a brief silence was ample for me.

“AAAHHH!!!!”

“Did you repay my kindness with malice?!!”

Meanwhile, I had to catch Andy quickly.

Dressed in his military uniform, Andy was running without showing any of the sluggishness he’d displayed on the first day; he was genuinely sprinting away from me.

He might have retired from active duty, but he was an Expert after all, and even if he was worn out, he was still incredibly quick.

In the grand scheme of things, though, that didn’t matter much.

“I told you I wouldn’t let it slide if I found out!!”

“Help me!!!”

I could easily take a big step forward and catch him, but that wouldn’t relieve my stress.

I needed to run a bit to let off some steam… No, running only made me angrier.

“I couldn’t help it! I’m sure the Commander already knew!! I didn’t say anything!!! How could I just not go if they’re going to the Academy!!!”

So ultimately, the Commander had known everything from the start, and he was saying he couldn’t do anything about it…

Did I tell him to prevent the Commander from coming?

“You should’ve at least contacted me beforehand!!!”

“I had no time to do that!! I got caught as soon as I received the medal!!”

“That was the agreement: you were supposed to try, and now you take everything you can get and stay quiet when it matters!! What good is that!?”

The chase finally came to an end.

While I had been jogging leisurely, I eventually caught up with him.

Now that I had him cornered, there was nothing left to consider, so I lunged towards Andy, who was right in front of me.

“GRAH!!”

-KUDAN-TANG!!

Having been tackled from behind, Andy stumbled and hit his head on the hard stone floor.

It made a huge noise, but I wasn’t too worried.

After all, he was an Expert level — if this knocked him out, they wouldn’t even bother with putting his affiliation on the gravestone.

“Hey, hey, hey! Seeing your limbs intact, it seems like you had a decent time with the Commander, can’t you go easy on me?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s that, and this is this; I almost died, so let’s just go just up to the point of dying.”

Thinking about this made me recall my apprenticeship days.

Back then, I was much angrier and violent and didn’t play around with my opponent, but the memories of sprinting through the hallways with a heated head were the most vivid.

For Andy, who was currently pinned down, it probably wasn’t a memory he wanted to relive.

“AAAHHHHH!”

My fist was raised.

As Andy screamed, the sound of the drum echoed cheerfully in the empty garden.

——————————–

“Ah~~ that felt good.”

I beat him down to the point where I felt refreshed.

Even though he was in Expert level, Andy was a lot more durable than the Academy students, so I had no trouble hammering away at him.

I didn’t have to take him to the hospital, and once I stuff him into the dormitory, he should recover quickly.

“You learned well. You’ve got a knack for only beating him down to the point of not being crippled.”

Suddenly, it was as if the Commander had just dropped from the sky.

Stepping onto the cross guard of the sword, she glided down like Mary Poppins.

Even though she wouldn’t get the reference, knowing that she was probably going to beat me up for saying it, I kept it to myself.

“I learned well from my Master. Did you enjoy the tour around the Academy?”

“Yeah, it’s really not much different… It feels like time has stopped in this place.”

From a distance, the hum of students still gathered noisily could be heard.

How did she manage to slip away so quickly with everyone flocked around like that? If we scattered and started searching, this area would be discovered quickly, so we should move on soon.

Still, I thought I should stuff Andy away somewhere, and when I lifted him up, the Commander was quietly inspecting the classrooms.

She appeared to be lost in thought.

“It seems you’re having quite a good time at the Academy, Atlas.”

“Good time? There are so many things I’m picking up; what brings you here?”

“I heard you had a duel with Lemnos’s young master? How could you keep something so entertaining a secret?”

The Commander smiled slyly and started ruffling my hair.

Even though I had become a Master, she still treated me like a puppy.

Both the Master and the Commander seemed to have this habit since my childhood.

Did they ever tell me I shouldn’t get taller than them?… The slight 0.1 difference from back then still bothered me.

How did they learn about the duel, I wonder?

I thought for sure they would scold me for beating up rookies as a Master, but seeing her in such good spirits made it even creepier.

“I’ve agreed to a rematch.”

“In that case, I suppose I should see that before I leave. When is it?”

“I think it’ll be decided today or tomorrow… But if you’re there, won’t it cause a ruckus?”

If the Commander of the Royal Knight Order were to witness a duel, the attention would surely rise among other students.

That wasn’t a beneficial situation for me, considering I’d wanted to stay low-key, but glancing at the Commander’s expression, it seemed she liked the idea.

“I actually prefer that. I have… a bad tie with Edward, the current head of the Lemnos family, you see. Did I mention that?”

“I haven’t heard about it.”

“My brother and I… we had a lot of conflicts with the current heads of the Five Pillars back in our Academy days. In the end, only we became Masters.”

The Commander stared at the classroom, lost in reminiscence.

While I’m not sure it’s been properly revealed, it seems the heads of the current generation of the Five Pillars, along with the Commander and the Master, were all students of the same Academy.

Apparently, they both became Masters through their own hard work, but what happened during their time remained a secret to everyone but them.

Looking at their expressions, it seemed they had some good times back then…

“Do you know what Edward looked like when I became a Master? Really… it was truly refreshing.”

“Heh… You’re going to duel Edward’s son…”

The Commander’s expression turned frightening as she fondly reminisced.

It seemed like an unpleasant memory surfaced.

“I’ve been wanting to see that expression of his again… Just don’t even think about losing.”

“…I absolutely cannot lose.”

By the look of her aura, it seemed like if I purposely threw the match, she’d either beat me to a pulp or think about killing me.

She’s really serious about these kids’ duels, isn’t she?