The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 93

A solitary flickering candle illuminated a vacant conference room in the Academy late at night.

Despite the absence of a match, the candle lit itself and gradually multiplied, bathing the entire room in warm light.

One after another, faculty members of the Academy entered the brightly lit space.

They naturally found their seats as they gathered.

Finally, Professor Buckingham stepped in with his characteristic footfall, taking the most honorable seat.

“Thank you all for gathering today, despite your busy schedules.”

Indeed, there exists a faculty gathering within the Academy.

The most notorious of these is the “Golden Apple,” led by Professor Buckingham Houston, who teaches Combat Tactics.

The Golden Apple is an exclusive group within the Academy, allowing only those of distinguished lineage from the faculty—a mere proficiency won’t get you in.

Outwardly, it appears to be a gathering focused on student education, but in reality, it is far from it.

This was a club for backbiting those faculty members who couldn’t make the cut for the Golden Apple and conspiring on how to ostracize them, discussing troublemaker students and what disadvantages they could impose.

Buckingham, the ringleader, remained blissfully unaware of it all.

“The first topic I want to bring up is this.”

“Should we just sit back and watch Atlas Nemea…?”

Buckingham tossed the first talking point into the air.

Though he held the second highest position after the Principal, here he maintained a respectful demeanor.

Most faculty members present were beneath Buckingham in rank, but a few were from clanships much mightier than his.

“Yes, indeed. The new student, Atlas Nemea, is turning the Academy upside down…!

Think of all the calamities since his entrance! It’s only been a short time since the new semester started, and there have already been two demon attacks.

The number of students assaulted by him has crossed into the double digits and is eyeing the triple… The Principal has practically washed his hands of it; we must take action ourselves.”

Atlas had become a thorn in Buckingham’s side.

He hadn’t had any direct altercations other than the unfortunate half of Buckingham’s class ending up in the hospital, but ever since that day, Atlas had increasingly bothered him.

After the first duel, Prigia made moves to smear Atlas through the Newspaper Club, and just when Buckingham thought it might be resolved, it was retracted overnight, and the two ended up taking a friendlier stance towards Atlas.

“… But those incidents aren’t merely personal issues for the students, are they?”

Unlike the monocle-wearing Buckingham, a middle-aged man with dual spectacles chimed in.

“..!!”

Buckingham barely managed to suppress an ugly expression.

Being contradicted did not sit well with him, but the one speaking was someone not to be trifled with.

William Stanhoff, a professor of Magic Studies, was the brother of Count Stanhoff.

Though younger than Buckingham, his background made Buckingham wary of acting disrespectfully.

In the Academy, the influence of external lineage often applies.

Even if he could not forget the Stanhoff family, it would be foolish to cross William, who had smoothly secured his position without ambitions toward the family headship.

“The incidents in the dungeon were also initiated by his class… the transformation of Clover Academy students into demons occurred just after he pressured them excessively. It’s hard to say there’s no connection.”

Buckingham needed to solidify his allies.

For reasons unknown, the Principal was exceedingly lenient with Atlas.

Since they couldn’t pressure him like they would a scholarship student nor could they act directly, it became increasingly evident that no students could match Atlas.

Even their captain from Clover Academy, with Expert-level skill, was beaten with a mere finger; how could the other students possibly measure up?

However, if the professors got involved, matters would escalate.

Though it might seem resolved if a professor used force, the aftermath would be a tangled web.

The biggest concern was…

“I’m not sure if we can win even if we fight…”

Professors thought Atlas was strong enough to surpass them.

Hence, Buckingham began to consider a scheme where they could force Atlas to quit by teaming up to harass him.

“I will abstain.”

“What?!”

But Professor William outright refused.

“That student indeed causes many disruptions, but I don’t want to fall out of favor with Russell. Even after two duels, Remnos and he seem to be getting along just fine.”

“Ugh…!!”

The mention of Russell left Buckingham speechless.

One of the five heirs who entered this year, Lucia Russell, had declared her intent to protect Atlas.

Buckingham was not the sort who would dare attack someone under Russell’s protection after covertly assaulting him; it would be madness.

“Professor, your enthusiasm is commendable, but as educators, it doesn’t look good to disparage a student who’s received a ‘recommendation letter.’

It seems we’ve exhausted this topic, so let’s move on… is there anyone else who wishes to speak?”

William smoothly seized the floor from Buckingham.

He seemed quite eager to steer clear of discussing Atlas.

“Are you aware of that exam student, Rio, who has been arrogantly attempting to rank first without knowing his place?”

“Oh dear… simply being a scholarship student should suffice… how can he be so presumptuous?”

“Exactly. Just because he performed well a few times, he’s acting like he’s king of the hill… I hope everyone will support some penalties for this behavior.”

“Rio… that’s a student in my class. I will give him a C grade in the next assessment.”

“He’s a student who performs exceptionally in exams; let’s dock his attitude points and group project scores.”

“Ha, shall we ensure he can’t win a scholarship this time? After facing the consequences, he’ll realize his missteps.”

“If a commoner can’t win a scholarship, he won’t be able to attend the Academy.”

“If he’s that skilled, he’ll find a way. Isn’t that a part of societal practice?”

“Speaking of which, there’s been a new transfer student, hasn’t there?”

“Yes… although it seems they have no clan… looks like they came in on a recommendation.”

“Ha! A kid without a family getting a recommendation… perhaps they’re an illegitimate child?”

“I hear the Principal approved it directly… Well, this seems like a hornet’s nest, so let’s leave it alone.”

“Yes, indeed. There was a previous incident where someone who had entered without a surname turned out to be an illegitimate child of the royal family and caused a stir.”

As soon as they decided to steer clear of Atlas, they shifted their target.

With strong backing, they chose to abandon Atlas, but the exam students were fair game.

Though none knew who Rio was, the faculty found pleasure in ruining his life.

They showed no guilt over squashing one person’s life for merely irritating their feelings, a revealing glimpse of the Golden Apple’s true nature.

They cheerfully singled out their victims and parted ways after making their “deal.”

When the conference room emptied, only Professor Buckingham remained.

-BANG!!

“Those…!!! How can they claim it’s inappropriate to disparage a student who received a recommendation letter?!”

Buckingham slammed his desk as he sat dazed.

“How can they not see it!? That kid will become a detrimental presence in the Academy!!”

He knew it logically.

Attacking Atlas would only be self-destructive.

He understood that he had made it this far without issue solely because he had refrained from direct confrontation against Atlas.

He would retaliate against anyone who attacked him.

All he had done was inform Remnos why Pleasure had dropped out and conducted one interview—nothing more.

Despite boasting about wanting to get rid of Atlas, Buckingham had essentially done nothing.

Suddenly, he sensed someone’s presence nearby.

“Right… I agree.”

“Who?!”

A solitary professor remained.

Buckingham recognized him—someone from the introductory class on Administrative Studies.

He barely remembered the details; the man had an exceedingly vague impression.

‘Since when was he sitting there…?’

What was strange was that he had confirmed everyone had left, yet someone remained.

“I fully agree with Professor Buckingham’s observations. That student is indeed extraordinarily dangerous…”

“Yes!! He is a malignant entity!!”

But Buckingham quickly forgot.

It was far more important that someone shared his views.

After hearing Buckingham’s enthusiastic take, the professor pondered thoughtfully before speaking.

“However, expelling a student with that kind of background would be difficult… yes, that’s right.”

“Exactly… how can they not realize the urgency to get rid of him?”

“In that case… how about we proceed like this…?”

Buckingham leaned in to hear the professor’s suggestion.

—————————————-

After the regular meeting of the Golden Apple concluded, one girl in the dormitory couldn’t sleep late at night.

Dressed in thin pajamas, Shaara Prigia sat on her bed, her luscious blonde hair cascading like a golden waterfall.

Lit by a tiny candle, her lovely face and deep, night-sky-like eyes were fixated intently on a small piece of parchment.

[… This concludes the report of the Golden Apple meeting.]

The text on the parchment was writing itself without Shaara’s touch.

It contained the information discussed at the faculty gathering of the Academy, known as the Golden Apple.

Sitting in her room, Shaara received the entirety of the faculty’s discussion.

Having finished reading all the content, she picked up her quill and began scribbling on the parchment.

[“Yes, keep it up, Stanhoff. Just like that.”]

[“Understood.”]

The power of the Five Pillars extends throughout the Empire.

Even the Academy is not exempt.

Even within the secretive faculty gathering, the Golden Apple, the flow of ‘gold’ across the Empire was firmly under Prigia’s control.

Having extracted information from Stanhoff, Shaara sorted through the details, eliminating irrelevancies one by one.

“Penalties for the scholarship students… not my concern, and as for the transfer students, I won’t bother… now regarding Atlas…”

Shaara’s hand paused momentarily.

Buckingham’s remarks about Atlas were hardly significant.

Before they could even be opinions, they were dismissed by Stanhoff, and if Professor Buckingham had intended to harm him, he would have acted long ago.

“… Nothing too serious, but I do need to mention it separately.”

Yet, it could serve as a pretext for a private meeting.

Imagining that, Shaara wore a lovely smile that others could not see.

“… By the way, Russell returned early; did everything go according to plan?”

Lucia Russell had asked for recommendations for a date location with Atlas, and feeling mischievous, Shaara had deliberately provided several absurd options.

It was a later consideration that atlas had ended up in the hospital.