The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 8

The sun is bright.

The air is refreshing.

The weather today feels like a blessing for the Academy’s new semester.

But I want to sleep.

Now, it’s become a habit to wake up early every morning without anyone needing to rouse me, but my first thought is always about wanting to sleep more.

Still grumbling, my body was already sweating profusely in light workout clothes, lost in a frenzy of exercise in a clearing near the dormitory.

This has been my routine for over a decade now.

Before dawn, I naturally wake up, get ready, and warm up to prepare for the day.

There are many times I really don’t want to get up, but after I’ve properly moved my body and freshened up, I feel good for spending the day.

It’s like warming up an engine.

After about an hour and a half of frantic movement, as I turned to head back to the dormitory, I sensed a presence.

“You…”

I locked eyes with River Shimoa, who was also in workout gear.

Had he been running just a moment ago? He was breathless, and a few strands of his golden hair were plastered to his face with sweat.

“You came out for a morning workout too?”

“Yeah, I just finished, so I’m headed back.”

Feeling a bit awkward in this encounter, I tried to make a quick exit.

“Wait a minute, you were going pretty hard from the morning… Do you do this every day?”

Where did he even see me? I must’ve been so into my thing that I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings…

“I do it about this much every day.”

“Is that so… Where did you learn to wield a sword?”

Wow, he even saw me practicing with a sword… At least more than 30 minutes…

Given how sweat-soaked he looked, it seems he must’ve been watching me constantly while I was working out.

“I learned it by getting beaten by my tiger-like parents. Why do you ask?”

“You seem to have solid fundamentals; I’m curious where you picked up those skills.”

It’s confusing where he picked it up from, but thankfully I was just warming up lightly this morning.

If I had gone into full training, I would’ve had my real skills laid bare before River even before the semester started.

For the time being, it was better if I was viewed as just barely nearing Sword Expert.

But that barely-reaching Sword Expert position is currently where River stands.

As I turned to head back to the dormitory, River grabbed my hand.

“I’m River, River Shimoa.”

A faint smile formed on River’s face as he introduced himself.

Yesterday, he had been so sharp with me, but seeing him working out this early seems to have sparked some fondness.

“Let me know your name; we’ve seen each other since yesterday, and it seems we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.”

“Yeah, alright… I’m Atlas Nemea.”

“Atlas Nemea…”

River rolled my name around in his mouth then said something resolute.

“Can you spar with me once?”

“I’d rather not,”

He said something strange, and I hurriedly dashed off back to the dormitory.

Asking for a sword fight right after hearing my name? What’s wrong with the kids these days?

I decided I should find a different place to work out starting tomorrow.

I can’t focus when someone else is watching me while I’m exercising.

————————————

Today marks the day when the new semester officially begins.

What constitutes a proper school life, anyway? Making friends, doing dumb things, laughing a lot, and having memorable experiences, I suppose.

I feel like I haven’t truly lived a proper school life in this lifetime yet.

The apprenticeship phase doesn’t exactly count as a proper school life, right?

I spent my teenage years in the knight order surrounded by the stench of blood and sweat, and now I’m in my twenties… If you count before reincarnation, my mental age is already in my forties…

Let’s not think like an old man; what matters is the physical age.

I’m still fresh in my early twenties.

Since I’ve finally got a chance, I should enjoy my school life.

With those thoughts, I moved towards the Academy, but then I began to hear whispers from somewhere.

“Oh wow… It’s the Five Pillars…”

“Are those people…?”

“I’ve never seen the Five Pillars before…”

The crowd parted like Moses parting the Red Sea, and the five students wearing the New Student brooch captured everyone’s attention as they walked in.

The Five Pillars consist of Lemnos of Fire, Russell of Stone, Albion of Rain, Perda of the Forest, and Prigia of Gold, representing the peak of imperial nobility.

They were once revered families who played a significant role when the Empire was founded. Masterful tightrope walkers of history, they engage in trivial acts without drawing the imperial eye, continuing to wield immense power to this day.

The Academy is a microcosm of society; the shrewd ones will do whatever it takes to get into the Five Pillars’ good graces.

Being part of their faction means you’ve caught the prevailing current.

‘They seem like prime targets for demons…’

Therefore, the Empire depicted in novels where they all perish is a chaotic melting pot.

People rise against each other for power, and as they distract each other, the demons come in and thoroughly destroy the Empire.

Just a little nudge against the desires of the oppressed nobility causes them to self-destruct.

Leading the charge was Edgar Lemnos, a muscular man with reddish-brown hair who looked most arrogant, followed by the cool-looking blue-haired man, Zeek Albion, and the dark green-haired man, Nivas Perda.

Trailing behind, with her long hair like golden silk befitting her family’s nickname, was Shaara Prigia.

Each one of them radiated an aura that seemed to demand reverence, but among them was one person displaying a distinctly uncomfortable demeanor.

That was Lucia Russell.

‘Lucia probably just met them for the first time yesterday and today.’

She appeared to be expressionless, saying nothing, yet I sensed her discomfort vividly.

Lucia’s past shares similarities with Atlas’ past.

She too had to stay indoors, unable to step outside as a child, compelled to train.

In my case, I ran away from home and joined the Royal Knight Order, integrating into group life, but Lucia did not.

To Lucia, the Academy must be an incredibly chaotic place.

A clear example of her not settling in properly among the Five Pillars was the way she was trailing behind the group.

Russell, renowned for wielding the heaviest sword in the Empire, is originally ranked in the top spots alongside Lemnos, meaning she should be at the forefront alongside him, but here she is standing at the back and not even making eye contact.

I wanted to get into class quickly, but with the crowd parting in the center, I caught Lucia’s eye.

‘She’s staring at me intently…’

It felt as if she might just burst through the crowd to get to me.

“Hey!!!”

At that moment, a piercing voice I recognized rang in my ears from afar.

Could it be directed at me? I turned around to see River charging towards me, wearing a much angrier expression than when we first met.

“You… why are you running away?!”

“Why are you chasing me?!”

In a snap, I realized I was also running frantically in an attempt to avoid being caught by River.

Ah, so that’s how it is; I’m sorry, Andy, but I just instinctively want to run away when you chase me.

After running a little more, we reached a place where the new students couldn’t be seen, and our chase finally came to a halt.

At some point, I began to wonder why we were running in the first place.

“Ha… you’re really fast… I just wanted to spar once.”

“Ha… why would I do that? Anyway, I’ll have a chance to fight when classes start; let’s do it then without wasting my energy now.”

“After all that training in the mornings, what do you mean you want to skip it?”

River was not one to give up easily.

He probably didn’t see me swinging a wooden sword during my morning routine, so what is he basing this request for sparring on?

However, I had no desire to oblige River’s request.

“You’ve learned your family’s swordsmanship, right? Is it really that hard to spar just once? Or do you have some sort of grievance with me?”

“…It’s not that I learned something so grand.”

Telling the truth feels a bit awkward.

I want to live like a regular student for a while, but then I would have to intentionally throw a sparring match and pretend to barely lose.

But I also don’t want to lose on purpose.

How would I explain that I’m afraid I’d hurt River’s pride more than my own by defeating him?

It’s better not to engage at all.

——————————

The new students were divided into five classes.

Looking at the list showed that they seemed to have assigned one of the Five Pillars to each class to balance things out.

In my class… it’s Lucia Russell.

Amy and River are also in the same class.

‘Good job, senior.’

As I told Andy yesterday, I ended up in the same class.

It’s easier to keep an eye on them when we’re all in the same class, so I’m glad it worked out.

Getting placed in the same class as Lucia is entirely by calculation.

Of the Five Pillars, Lucia is the one with the best temperament.

Every one of the Five has their quirks… addicted to showcasing power, mavericks, cunning diplomats, and borderline sociopaths fit into the cute category.

As soon as I entered the class, I noticed the red hair that stood out.

“Amy, we ended up in the same class, nice to meet you.”

“Yes… uh-huh…”

Amy, after greeting me, took a timid stance and sat down at a nearby seat.

It wasn’t right next to mine, but two seats away.

Did something happen?

I thought we had closed the distance quite a bit at the café yesterday, yet her reaction felt distant again.