The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

As soon as Lucia arrived at the annex, she realized something huge.

First off, her father was nowhere to be seen, even though she thought he’d be the first thing she spotted. Secondly, the place was packed with people from six different houses.

If she could just ask anyone there, she’d get the answer right away. But since they were all from different families, it wasn’t exactly easy for Lucia to start a conversation with them.

‘Should I just wait here…?’

She thought that if she just hung around near the entrance, someone like Carlos or Atlas would show up, but it turns out that wasn’t even necessary.

“No… Young Master? How did you end up here?”

It was a butler passing by who spotted Lucia.

With the butler’s help, she was able to find the room where Carlos was staying.

Inside, she’d noticed that each family had hung their crests on the walls of their respective areas, kind of laying out territories.

Not sure if it was just her imagination, but it seemed like Russell’s area was the largest.

“…”

When she greeted Carlos, he didn’t say a word back.

It would have been nice if he could at least say something, but with the silence, Lucia felt like she was choking.

What on earth was he thinking, just standing there like that? Was this some sort of plan to make her feel awkward? But just when she thought it was going to go on forever, Carlos finally spoke up.

“Now that I think about it, I never brought you along before.”

“… Yes.”

“Atlas must have brought you here, then.”

“That’s right.”

“The fact that you came all this way means… he must have told you your real name.”

“I just heard it a moment ago.”

“What did you think after hearing it? No, that sounds weird; since I haven’t told you anything about the Titan family, you probably didn’t have any strong feelings about it.”

Ouch, that hit the nail on the head.

When Atlas said he had something to confess, it didn’t sound that big of a deal.

He must have thought long and hard about it, but she didn’t fully grasp the gravity of that name until now.

“I focused so much on teaching you about the sword that I didn’t cover other things about the family. I intended to tell you about the responsibilities of the Head of the House when you were more mature and ready to accept it.”

“…”

“Given the circumstances, I suppose I should tell you now. Since you’re here, you can’t exactly claim to be unrelated to it anymore.”

It had been ages since her father had brought up a topic other than swords.

Lucia nodded.

Based on the attitude he had shown so far, it sounded like her family and the Titans, meaning Atlas’s family, had a bond that was much tighter than just living in the same mountain range.

That was certainly welcome news for Lucia.

Just as Carlos was about to dive into the serious talk, a ruckus erupted in the hallway.

“AAAAHH! Son, what the hell is going on?!”

It seemed like something had happened among the other families.

A man in a blue uniform was being carried in, covered in blood.

‘Please tell me this isn’t Atlas’s doing…’

She suddenly remembered Atlas, who had excused himself to chat earlier.

Nah, he couldn’t possibly be involved.

Atlas had said he was talking to Hera, after all.

“What in the world….”

But wait, over in one corner of the hallway, Hera was looking worriedly at the man in uniform.

Huh? Why was Hera here all alone?

What was Atlas up to?

—————————————

Count Bruce Anemoi, who was at the Titan to attend the annual Blade Mountain meeting, was in a state of shock with the unprecedented situation.

“Ah… no! What the hell is going on?!”

His pride and joy, the heir of the Anemoi family, Herbert Anemoi, had just gone for a walk and returned in a total wreck.

One of his arms was twisted, and his body was bruised like he’d been beaten all over. The most ridiculous thing was that his clothes were completely stripped off.

Which meant all those bruises were clearly visible.

Count Anemoi, unable to fathom why his beloved son had returned in such a state, pressed Herbert for answers.

He seemingly wanted to take vengeance for whatever had happened, but Herbert had a different thought.

Confessing that he had been beaten while trying to flirt with women, unable to even touch a kid half his size, and begging for revenge, versus recovering and getting his own payback later…

“… I was attacked by a bear.”

Of course, Herbert chose the latter.

Selecting the former would severely tarnish his honor as a knight.

Unless those women spread the word, he had to keep that secret buried with him.

“A bear??? How could an expert like you get attacked by a bear?!”

“I… was careless…”

The fact that a bear survived in the harsh environment of Blade Mountain was impressive, but Herbert felt pathetic, trying to conjure up some lie to convince his father.

“That dangerous monster is roaming around here…!! How on earth is this being managed?! No, I absolutely must go straight to Titan and complain!!”

“D-don’t, Father!”

As Bruce was just about to burst out of control, Herbert grabbed him.

This incident needed to be buried quietly.

With sweat pouring down his face, Herbert pled with his father.

‘That little brat… just you wait….!!’

———————————

When Lucia finished her greeting with Carlos and returned, she found that Atlas didn’t look so good.

“….”

He had his face scrunched up and kept flicking his fingers restlessly.

He must be feeling twitchy.

“… What’s up with him?”

Seeing his odd behavior, she asked and got an unexpected answer.

“There was a guy who I had a flare-up with earlier… I let him leave looking way too fine.”

Lucia’s mind immediately recalled the man who had just been carried into the annex.

So it was related to Atlas after all.

“Atlas, everyone said it’s fine. Come on, lighten up.”

“He should have at least lost a leg or something.”

“Come on, man… They stripped him of his uniform. It’s just sad.”

“That guy doesn’t deserve to wear that uniform. What the hell does a creep who harasses women even have to do with the Sky Knights’ uniform? I can’t let that slide.”

So it turned out Atlas had been the one to strip him.

“Hey, I saw him earlier, and he said he got attacked by a bear.”

“He got taken down by someone stronger than a bear…”

————————————

After telling Metios that he’d drop by to help with paperwork once he woke up, Lucia made her way to Metios’s chambers alone.

She had mentioned wanting to help, but since there were confidential documents, it was a problem to show those to outsiders carelessly.

“Older brother… can you please untie this now?”

When she returned, Metios was awake and glaring at her, wanting his bandages untied.

…

“The preparations for the meeting are going smoothly.”

“I’ve been doing my best. The Head of the House has never shown up for a meeting, so I could only rely on the records that were left.”

That had been something she learned while helping out.

After she had left the family, Cronos had considered passing his position on to Metios, but he hadn’t shared everything with him.

He had intended to give him more time, but suddenly died, leaving Metios with a lot still unknown.

Lucia had never attended a meeting either, so she felt bad that she couldn’t offer any help.

One would think that among the other six houses there would be someone willing to assist, but they all seemed indifferent.

From their point of view, the Titan, who had previously overshadowed them, had weakened, making it their world now.

Naturally, this thought popped into her mind.

“Little brother.”

“Yes, older brother. What is it?”

“It seems the retainers don’t respect you enough.”

“….”

Metios hesitated to respond.

It was an obvious deduction.

The most frequent documents he would encounter while governing the territory were those related to incidents that occurred within it.

There were documents on selling flour made from harvested wheat, but there were also issues like bandits emerging requiring a hunt or the undead appearing that needed cleansing.

And there were problems intertwined with other regions too, which were commonplace now.

Such occurrences were impossible when Cronos was alive.

“I’m still inexperienced.”

Metios dodged the conversation.

“I know well. Compared to the previous Head of the House, I’m lacking in strength, presence, and judgment. It’s only natural for the other families to look down on me, given I’ve become the Head of the House like this. But what can I do? It’s because I’m lacking…”

He kept talking as if it didn’t bother him, but his voice was clearly trembling, unlike before.

“If I gain more experience and develop the same gravitas as the previous Head of the House, surely…”

“No, little brother. That’s a wrong way to think.”

He halted his speech.

It wasn’t entirely wrong, but it was certainly not something a Head of the House should say.

“I will help you. The position you inherited there must never yield to the defiance of those beneath you.”