The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

After running away, Patro had to calm his stunned heart when he discovered Atlas, whose whereabouts had been elusive.

‘Is that really my nephew?’

Seeing Atlas, who hadn’t changed at all from how he looked long ago, standing in the garden made Patro doubt his own eyes, wondering if he was seeing a ghost.

Patro had only seen Atlas a handful of times. Once a year, during the celebration of Atlas’s birthday, but after he turned twelve, Cronos began to hide Atlas away, so no one could see him.

But now, seeing him again, Patro understood why he had been hidden.

Atlas looked as if time had stopped at his twelfth birthday party.

Though he had heard rumors that Cronos was using all sorts of means to make Atlas grow taller, Patro hadn’t expected it to be this severe.

He had never seen him since then.

Patro was aware of the turmoil happening within the Titan household. He knew that Meteos, who lacked the ability to hold power, was struggling to hide his displeasure towards the unprepared heir.

In that situation, Atlas suddenly reappeared in Titan?

‘Has he come to reclaim his rightful place?’

The heir to the Giant was Atlas, the firstborn. He had received the most rigorous heir training from Cronos, and the symbol of legitimacy belonged to Atlas, who directly inherited it from Cronos.

Meteos had never been properly designated as the heir. He was merely raised as a backup card since there was no one else available.

He had just succeeded by default, with a very weak power base.

The mere appearance of Atlas under such circumstances could only be interpreted as him coming back to reclaim what he rightfully deserved.

Though it seemed absurd that he was using another title to hide his identity, it made sense.

However, Atlas’s reaction was completely different from what Patro had imagined.

“Don’t ever say that kind of thing, even as a joke.”

He looked so angry that it seemed he might curse right away.

—————————

As soon as Patro heard those words, he felt a wave of frustration wash over him.

Had he been seen that way by others until now?

Let’s review the details one by one.

The firstborn son who received the symbol of the heir from the previous generation appeared before the shaky head of a family with an unstable base, and he had directly subdued the most significant forces, the Knight Order and the Information Department.

‘Damn, I can see how that would look.’

His teeth clenched lightly at the thought.

In a drama or movie, this would be when political intrigue begins.

“I have no intention of staying here any longer. I will give everything I received to Meteos, so don’t even think about it. The head of the family is Meteos.”

Becoming the head of the family would mean working for Narni and Titan’s Mansion, which was something he absolutely despised.

If anyone knew me even slightly, they would be able to guess how much I would hate being cooped up in Titan’s residence.

‘No… there is not a single person here who ‘knows’ me.’

Thinking it through, there wasn’t anyone.

During my childhood in this second life, there was not a single person who understood me. Just people who refused to communicate, and not even one person tried to understand me.

“Well, if you say that, I will at least remember it for now.”

When he saw the intense reaction, Patro seemed to feel somewhat convinced.

“Still, I’m relieved that you’re thinking about Meteos. I was worried about what to do since the other six families might try to test Meteos.”

“Unlike others, Nemea shares a bloodline with Titan. You’re all my nephews, so how could I do that?”

Patro gazed into the distance before looking back at me.

“If your thoughts are firm with that, then there’s no need to worry. I was worried about a tragedy of siblings fighting among themselves.”

That was something I would also refuse.

There was no reason to fight with anyone over such a useless position.

“… Yeah, it’s been a while since we met; I spoke a bit harshly. I’m glad to see you healthy. I should have said this first. When we heard that you ran away, everyone was worried. Your older sister wanted to set up a search party right away, but your father didn’t want that. And…”

“They held my funeral, right?”

“Yeah… while I was aware of the whole story, many people truly believed you were dead.”

Cronos must have known that I was in the Royal Knight Order.

When I entered as a trainee, I submitted my identification tag as the Titan’s heir, and I also caused quite a commotion.

So Meteos must also know that I entered the Royal Knight Order.

It was just that Cronos thoroughly ignored me.

“So what are you doing now? Hera told me you’re at the Academy?”

“The Academy is only for the mission and, truthfully, right after I ran away, I joined the Knight Order, so I’m currently with them.”

“I see… the Knight Order, that’s a tough road…”

“Is it any tougher than Titan?”

At my words, Patro chuckled awkwardly.

“Which Knight Order did you join?”

I hesitated for a moment about how to answer. Should I tell the truth?

I had already told Meteos that I was part of the Royal Knight Order.

Though I hadn’t mentioned being an executive, so he probably thinks of me as a regular member.

‘… No, I should say it.’

Revealing my high status would actually be more helpful to Meteos.

So I decided to tell the truth.

“I’m part of the Royal Knight Order.”

“The Royal Knight Order?”

At my declaration, Patro’s eyes widened.

“Yes, I’m the third-ranking executive of the Royal Knight Order. That’s my current title in the Imperial Palace.”

I pulled out the black identification tag hanging around my neck, the ‘Adamantium’ tag exclusive to the Royal Knight Order executives, and showed it to Patro.

As he accepted it, he looked at me as if he were seeing a ghost, even more intensely than before.

“Adamantium… is that for real?”

“Would I lie about something like this?”

Patro looked at the Adamantium tag in disbelief, which brought me a small sense of pleasure.

That’s right, that’s it.

It felt like showing my Samsung employee ID at a family reunion.

I’ve been feeling down lately, but now I felt a surge of upliftment.

I also had a Mithril Plate issued by the Adventurer’s Guild around my neck, but that belonged to a more romantic realm.

The identification tag resonated most vividly with the nobles.

Even if one becomes a successful adventurer, it feels like just living day by day for the sake of romance, but being an executive of the Royal Knight Order is different.

It’s an article that only the elite wielders of the Empire’s most powerful sword can access; one must have real top-tier skills to enter as an executive.

“Well… that explains why you can shake that off without any regrets.”

.

.

.

Since we’ll be encountering each other frequently while I’m here, I wrapped up the conversation to apologize to my waiting companions first.

“Sorry, that took a bit longer.”

Hera tried to follow, but Patro told her not to interfere, so we decided to proceed alone.

Still, since everyone was watching, I thought we might as well show off a bit, so I asked Gemma for a favor.

“Can you give me a ride?”

“Ugh… here and now?!”

She hesitated, perhaps feeling burdened at the thought of carrying someone after the rush in the tunnel.

“Please.”

“If you’re asking, then… fine.”

After pushing a bit harder, she complied willingly.

Gemma’s body glimmered in a golden light as she transformed back into her original form from a distance.

“Haah…. Ah!!”

Dust scattered in all directions before a dazzling, radiant golden figure descended.

The Gold Dragon appeared in Titan’s Mansion.

“Thanks for the help!”

“This is… nothing at all…!”

“Is… is this what we’re riding?!”

Seeing Gemma’s outstretched hand made Lucia’s eyes spin in confusion.

I pushed her onto Gemma, and she trembled, clearly nervous at the thought of being in the air.

Could it be that she felt uneasy with her feet off the ground?

That was a phobia that Carlos had…

“Eek?? Gold Dragon?? Emergency!! Emergency!!!”

The guards fell into a frenzy upon suddenly seeing the Gold Dragon.

“Wha… what??”

“I’ll be back before dinner, so please explain things to the people here.”

“Do I have to explain this??”

“We’ve got to go, so it’ll have to be you, Uncle.”

With just that much said, Gemma soared into the sky.

The chaos would surely continue after we left.

———————————

“Wow. I have no idea how this world is turning, not even an inch ahead.”

After climbing onto the Gold Dragon’s back, Patro shook his head in disbelief as he watched Atlas rise into the air.

It was something he never expected.

“A runaway nephew being an executive in the Royal Knight Order?”

He thought he might have joined some famous place, but never in his wildest dreams did he expect this.

There was no way it could be a lie.

The identification tag Atlas displayed was made of Adamantium, a rare metal so precious that only a few artisans could even process it.

He had seen that tag before—it was used exclusively by executives of the Royal Knight Order.

If someone is an executive in the Royal Knight Order… Patro recognized that they would definitely be stronger than him.

Though he had managed to take a step into the upper tier as a noble responsible for a certain region of Blade Mountain, he had never progressed beyond that.

However, the executives of the Royal Knight Order were the real deal among the elites.

Despite their dignified uniforms, there were also those known informally as butchers, dealing with rough and dangerous tasks.

Thus, Patro grew even more curious.

There must have been some incident that triggered this.

What on earth happened that led Atlas to decide to run away, and why did Cronos hold a fake funeral for such a child?

Is there anyone who knows the truth behind this incident?

“Dead people don’t speak.”

Patro recalled his deceased sister.