The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

Somebody always stands out in a group, whether for good or bad reasons.

Atlas was someone who stood out in a bad way.

When everyone was lined up, he had to step out to the front because he couldn’t be seen, and those who dared to speak about it had to go through mandatory duty.

Andy Robinson… No, for the apprentices who experienced the same time as him, Atlas Titan was like a nightmare.

As the worst crazy dog in the history of the Knight Order, he had many nicknames like the Ankle Hunter, Black Gremlin, Absurdity Butcher, Physiotherapist, Manners Enforcer, and so on.

It wasn’t something he made up; Andy was also one of the victims who had been beaten until he was a bloody mess after saying something foolish in front of Atlas.

Before Atlas removed his apprentice tag… well, even after he officially became a member, finding a knight who hadn’t been hit by him in the same bunch would be a challenge, as his presence was unmatched in the Royal Knight Order.

Even when the number of people who ended up in mandatory duty because they got beaten by him exceeded three digits, Atlas never faced punishment for “violence” in the order.

The ones who reported being beaten by Atlas were sent to parade ground as punishment for whining about getting hit by a junior after getting beaten by a senior.

In the Royal Knight Order, where the greatest strength must be upheld, the strong would always be right.

The rules that the seniors justified their absurdities with against their juniors ended up binding them instead.

Rumor has it in society that he was just the less capable eldest son of Titan, which makes you wonder what would be said about those beaten by him if that’s true.

————————————————-

I didn’t intend to chase this hard.

But feeling irritated by the blatant stares directed at me, I glared back and upon making eye contact, he fled.

Seeing him run away made it feel like an instinct to chase him.

‘That’s Andy’s senior.’

While chasing, I realized that the fleeing figure was a senior of the Royal Knight Order.

As I searched my memory, his face came back to me.

He wasn’t that eye-catching.

The fact that he wasn’t noticeable meant he wasn’t someone I had problems with during my apprentice days.

Back then, I had built up a lot of stress, and I was brimming with energy to the point that I’d explode over any taunting related to my height.

I wondered why he ran; it seemed strange to flee just because we made eye contact.

From what I barely remembered, he didn’t seem like the type who had wronged me during my apprenticeship.

But upon immediate contact, he might have mixed into a crowd when we all got beaten.

Still, back then, the seniors were all rushing to maintain their own pride, so I won’t hold any grudge.

“Did you do something wrong to me, senior? Why did you run away?”

“Couldn’t be! Has it been several years? Maybe four?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

If it’s been four years, that means we haven’t seen each other since I quit the order.

Andy, a regular knight, and Atlas, with a higher position, worked in different places.

“So why did you run?”

“Why did you chase me?!”

Why did I chase him? He looked like he was running away from a guilty conscience, so that’s why I pursued him.

“You were running away, so I chased you.”

“I ran away because you were chasing me in fear!”

“What did I do that you’d be scared of? This is absurd… But why are you here in the academy?”

“Uh… I retired… I just couldn’t keep it up anymore…”

“That’s too bad. You could have made it to Master someday, with your level.”

“Did you eat something weird? Why are you praising me?”

“Even good words get thrown back at me.”

I wasn’t just rambling.

He was no hopeless case; if he trained well through to middle age without any incidents, he could have reached the level of Master.

Did he ultimately break in combat? Guess that’s unavoidable.

A place like the Royal Knight Order is too formidable for normal people to handle and usually gets sent out frequently.

“How are you here? Isn’t it usually a busy period?”

In spring, they execute operations to stamp out rampaging monsters or barbarians at the borders, so there’s no time to be leisurely here.

“I had something important come up, so I threw in my resignation.”

“Did the Commander accept that?”

“Not sure?”

“Then that’s desertion, you can handle the aftermath??”

“That’s why I need your help.”

“Me?”

“You know I came here secretly, right?”

“Why would I….! If it gets out, I’d be in trouble too!”

Andy was being uncooperative, and as he did, the long sword embedded in the ground made an unpleasant noise as it moved forward.

“This isn’t a request.”

“Ugh…”

The solid stone floor reacted like pudding being sliced, moving up to Andy’s neck.

While Andy could cut stone with his sword aura, cutting stone like this without it was beyond the bounds of what he understood.

“If you cooperate, the reward won’t be shabby.”

“Ugh… ugh.”

Seeing Andy trudge off after declaring surrender from the situation made my heart feel light.

It was such a good outcome that I could forget the unpleasant happenings from just moments ago.

‘Looking for collaborators inside the Academy… This is a good start.’

With faculty staff now cooperating, it’s all the better since they’ll be assigned to handle new students.

—————————————————

Lucia Russell was waiting in the waiting room even after the exam had finished.

Normally, once the exam is over, there’s no need to linger inside to get assigned to dormitories, yet she stood anxiously in front of the exam room door.

After that commotion, students waiting made quiet comments while watching Lucia standing near the exam room.

“Why isn’t she leaving?”

“Is she waiting to pounce on someone when they come out?”

“Yikes, that’s sad.”

It was true she was waiting for someone, but not for that reason.

She was there to apologize to the dwarf who had been hurt by what she said inside the exam room.

Calling him a dwarf… That must have stung.

In a society filled with taller humans, that word would have been overly heard.

If someone called Lucia the size of a bear, she too would have been hurt, and she regretted being so thoughtless.

Though feeling displeased by the unnecessary speculation around her, correcting it felt tough given it was someone she didn’t know.

Just as the students in the waiting room cheered when they saw her destroy the golem, they could also see the situation from the exam room.

The dwarf that entered the exam room was facing off against a newly replaced golem.

The replaced golem looked different from the last, more pointed-headed.

As the command to start the exam rang out, the golem’s head flashed, releasing a beam, and—

The golem was split in two.

“?!”

‘I didn’t even see it…’

“The golem self-destructed?”

“What happens to the exam now, does it just end?”

“Wow, he totally game-broke it.”

“I wish I could do that… Guess luck is on their side.”

To the other students, it appeared the golem had just blown itself up.

No way. The golem didn’t self-destruct.

‘That dwarf destroyed the golem…!’

It had to be that dwarf who did it!

The golem was taken down faster than Lucia could even process what was happening, in a burst of speed she couldn’t hope to match.

Looking at the cleanly severed golem, Lucia was bewildered.

That golem’s attack magic—No, the attack magic it was using was definitely of a different level than the practice golem she faced.

If he had the skills to chop that kind of golem in half in an instant…

It was the moment Lucia realized that the strength that had her feeling inferior was not a mere misunderstanding.

Feeling ashamed for not recognizing his skill through his perfect physique held more weight than she thought.

The dwarf, despite being small, easily could end up looking indistinguishable from a stout dwarf if they didn’t watch their conditioning, yet he maintained a perfectly balanced physique as a dwarf.

He must have worked incredibly hard. How could she have thought of him as just cute?

But what happened next was even more shocking.

After splitting the golem in two, he stared blankly at the ceiling, then reentered the waiting room.

As soon as he came in, Lucia steeled herself to speak up.

“Hey…!”

Summoning her courage, but just as the door to the waiting room opened, he vanished.

He truly vanished without a trace.

Just like when he split the golem, he slipped out of the waiting room at a speed that made him hard to perceive.

Staring vacantly at the wide-open door, Lucia pondered with a deflated heart.

‘Did I make him hate me…?’

—————————————————

After a sincere conversation with Andy, I was trudging through the hallway to the dormitory.

Up until I arrived here, my plan was to watch over the protagonist and take a little rest.

It’s not boasting, but my life as Atlas has been one of continuous running without a single day off.

But with the protagonist, Hayden Parker, now mysteriously missing, there was no time to relax.

I had to find him quickly.

The fact that the most critical issue remained unresolved felt as uncomfortable as if a fish bone was stuck in my throat.

But yeah… I had an inkling that he might not even exist.

Yet I needed to maintain some level of certainty.

If I couldn’t get it, I needed to at least be prepared for the threats that might come.

If I can’t stop it… thousands would die.

“Ah… Thanks for earlier!”

While I was deep in thought and moving towards the dormitory, someone spoke to me.

With red hair, the presumed protagonist who had been late to the entrance ceremony.

“Did you manage to get to the ceremony?”

“… Yeah.”

Recalling the countless eyes that had been on her as she burst in during the solemn performance made her face flush red, much like her hair.

I’d been intending to find her, so this worked out nicely.

Time to ask for her name; there’s always the slightest chance… she could be ‘Hayden Parker’ after all.

‘Whatever will happen, will happen.’

This was a quote Hayden always carried around, stemming from the fact that he couldn’t save his family.

“This must be fate; let’s introduce ourselves.”

“Me? Me??”

“I’m Atlas T… No, Nemea. Atlas Nemea.”

“I’m… Amy Parker!!”

Hearing her last name had me internally cheering.

Different name, but the Parker part was still correct.

Amy’s face turned beet red, likely surprised by the sudden introduction.

Starting to think that the red hair must run in the family; if so, her family must have entered before her, meaning Hayden hadn’t enrolled yet.

“Do you have an older brother or younger sibling in your family…?”

“Uh… I’m an only child…”

The fact that she didn’t have any siblings made my head throb.

“That can’t be right; is there no cousin… Have you heard of anyone with the name Hayden Parker?”

“No… um… I only know my parents with this last name…”

‘Crap.’

Hayden Parker doesn’t exist.

What had happened, I didn’t know, but it felt 90% confirmed just through her words.

The protagonist… the demon-slayer meant to hunt down the demons wasn’t here from the start.

The first invasion was set to begin soon… and I had to manage without him??