The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

– Watch out for the dog!

A sign was hung up in Class 5, which was running a tea house, for everyone to see.

Upon entering, not a single dog could be seen inside, leaving everyone bewildered about what dog they were referring to. However, the “dog” here didn’t mean an animal at all.

“This is nothing compared to the taste of Ben’s bakery!”

Someone threw a teacup and shouted from within Class 5.

The sudden commotion startled the surrounding students.

“How dare a new student pull off such a scam!”

A short-haired man with a displeased expression exhaled sharply.

Hans, a second-year from Class 3, was causing a scene. His father was a member of a prestigious gourmet association in the capital.

He had actually visited Ben’s bakery with his father.

The pastries and breads he had tasted there were treasures worth more than anything he had ever eaten.

When the hunting festival began, he had high expectations upon seeing the flyers spread around the academy claiming they had reproduced the taste using ingredients directly sourced from Ben’s bakery, only to be horrified by the terrible letdown.

The croissant was overcooked, falling apart to the point of being soggy inside, while the madeleine, which should have been a light brown, had turned a dark brown, losing all moisture.

The baguette ended up as soft as a loaf of bread, leaving his brain in confusion, but the worst was the black tea.

He had confirmed they used the finest tea leaves, but they boiled it like soup, scorching the flavor away and leaving it tasting so bitter it felt like taking cough medicine.

For someone who had only ever enjoyed fine cuisine, this was the worst.

“I came based on the flyer, but this is total fraud… Ugh…!!!”

“Hey, hey, no chaos allowed in the tea house.”

He couldn’t forgive the idea that such a poor excuse was being sold as the taste of Ben’s bakery; he was so upset he could hardly speak anymore.

Someone grabbed him by the neck and started dragging him away.

“Who are you to drag me… Ah… owowowowow!!!”

“Are you going to leave quietly… or are you going to be dragged out like a dog?”

He wanted to protest about what they were doing, but the pain in his neck made it impossible for him to say anything further.

As he was being dragged out, he wondered if things could get any worse than this.

“Senpai… The cute juniors worked hard on this, so how about we just leave quietly without causing any trouble?”

He couldn’t see ahead, so he didn’t even know who had grabbed him, and he couldn’t turn his head either.

It wasn’t because the grip on his neck was getting stronger.

It felt like pressure was squeezing his heart, making it hard to breathe.

‘Am I… going to die??’

It wasn’t that there was a dog in the class.

If there was a commotion inside, anyone could turn into a dog.

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Another troublemaker was dragged outside, causing a stir among the waiting crowd.

Most of the students causing chaos were bringing up Ben’s bakery.

As expected, there was a huge difference between eating it directly and this.

For first-timers like me, the difference might not be obvious.

The flyer had only stated the cold, hard truth.

They claimed they reproduced the taste of Ben’s bakery as closely as possible, but they never said you’d feel the exact taste you got from Ben’s bakery.

They mentioned using the finest quality black tea leaves but didn’t promise you’d taste the finest black tea.

This was merely a booth created by students for effort’s sake, not a professional shop run by masters in the field.

While ordinary students and professors chuckled at the memories of the taste, occasionally people like that would pop up.

This was already the third one.

Thinking back, Shaara had entered the class, had a bite, and snuck a glance at me before leaving.

She probably had a lot to say but restrained herself because we were in the same class.

I should go over and ask her.

“Should I take a look around as well?”

Amy and River had already left to sightsee with senpai Rio.

They seemed keen on strengthening their bonds before the hunting festival day.

-Creak

Having established a good dominance, I was about to head out when I heard a metallic sound from behind me.

It was Lucia, who had been waiting in one corner of the class.

“Atlas… have you got a moment?”

“Were you waiting for me?”

“Yeah….”

Everyone was in casual clothes, yet Lucia stood out, fully dressed for a hunt.

Even though our teams couldn’t be formed together, it was still possible to enjoy the festival together.

“Then should we go together?”

I was curious about what other classes had prepared.

“Things are settling down in Woodville, so I’m going to have some fun there.”

“Huh?? Are you leaving now??”

“I’ll be in the same area, so if it gets loud, I’ll come back.”

“If that happens, I’ll shout loudly, so please take care of it!!”

What an energetic girl.

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Standing in the middle of the complicated hallway, Casey watched the people bustling around in a daze.

This wasn’t her first time experiencing a festival.

Atlas, who had taken her in, was part of the Royal Knight Order, so even though he often traveled outside the capital for missions, their usual residence was the capital of the Empire.

Because of this, she had unexpectedly experienced some annual events that took place as a tradition.

On festival days, Atlas would always hold Casey’s hand, and they would enjoy the festivities together.

Looking back, Casey realized she was just being pulled along by Atlas’s hand, but she had never minded.

Having been cooped up in a cave all her life, she didn’t even know what to do during festivals.

Strangely enough, she had heard that right after arriving at the academy for her mission, a festival called the Hunting Festival was being held.

“Do you have a specialty, Casey?”

“I’m good at fighting.”

The Hunting Festival was one that didn’t take place in the capital.

Curious about the festival, Casey asked Woodville about it, and he first asked about her specialty.

“I see… then are you also good at hunting?”

“I’m somewhat skilled.”

“Well, if you’re good at hunting, how about participating in the Hunting Festival?”

“Do most people participate..?”

“Yeah, they give good rewards if you rank high, so everyone who’s confident in their skills tends to join.”

Since most people participated if they were confident in their skills, she thought it was just expected that she should sign up.

Of course, she assumed Atlas would participate as well.

“You’re participating in the Hunting Festival too, right?”

“Me? I’m not.”

That’s when she found out Atlas wasn’t participating in the Hunting Festival.

“Why not..? Weren’t we supposed to participate?”

“We don’t have to. You and I have nothing to gain from it, so there’s no need to.”

“Is that so…?”

After hearing that, it made sense.

She thought everyone would be participating but hadn’t considered that it was okay not to.

“It sounds like you’ve already signed up, right?”

“Because most people say that those who are confident will participate.”

“That’s not wrong… well, good then. Since you’re on a mission anyway, you should just watch over the other students.”

“I’m supposed to?”

“There’s a high chance something will happen. The professors will be on standby outside, but it’d be good to have someone inside as well.”

Seeing him say it directly made her think he had to sense something.

The academy was a well-fortified facility, but if he was assigning it to her, he must have some confidence, Casey thought.

“What about you?”

“I’m going to help with the booth in our class.”

“Booth..? What’s that?”

She hadn’t heard about something like that.

“Remember the festival we had in the capital?”

“Yeah.”

“We sold food from street stalls then. That’s what we’re doing.”

After hearing that, she recalled all the stalls selling snacks that were scattered across the street.

So, they would be setting up something like that inside the academy?

It seemed strange to have stalls inside the building, unless it was outside.

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“Hey Casey, I heard you’re going to the Hunting Festival, do you want to team up?”

After separating from Atlas, Casey was wandering around trying to learn more about the Hunting Festival when she ran into River.

She suggested that they team up.

“Team..?”

“In the Hunting Festival, you can form a team of four. Right now we have one magician and two front-liners, so since we have an empty spot, would you like to join if you don’t have another team?”

Forming a team would definitely increase their efficiency.

She didn’t have any bad feelings toward them.

The person she was mad at was Atlas, and there were no issues with those close to him.

After she made up with Atlas before, she didn’t feel as negatively towards him anymore.

But the thought suddenly crossed her mind.

‘Do I really need to form a team?’

Even if she sometimes forgot, this was the academy.

A place filled with amateurs who had never faced an actual battle; no matter how much effort she put in, she held a seat among the Royal Knight Order’s higher-ups.

At such a young age, she was trained by Atlas and had achieved the status of an expert; it didn’t seem wise for her to join the Hunting Festival with a team.

‘Come to think of it, Atlas said he wasn’t participating, right?’

Had Atlas also thought about things like this and decided not to join?

There was no great benefit in winning the Hunting Festival; perhaps it was better to follow Atlas’s advice and just keep an eye on the students to prevent accidents.

Having reached the level of an expert, she felt overwhelmed by the idea of competing against students.

With these thoughts in mind, Casey said, “That’s something only the weaker ones do. I don’t need it.”

“What did you say?”

River’s expression turned stiff.