The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

“Currently, inappropriate romantic relationships are prohibited. Please cooperate.”

As I finished all the lectures and was coming out, I could hear the Knight’s voice.

This time, he was separating the couples holding hands.

With just about ten people trying to cover the whole Academy, I could only imagine how tired they must be.

That must mean they are desperate.

“…”

“Why are you worried?”

“Um… wouldn’t it get worse if they keep saying not to do that…?”

Lucia muttered as she looked at the separated female student by the Knight.

Though they had been forcibly pulled apart, the longing in their gazes didn’t fade away.

“Probably.”

Humans have a strange tendency to want something even more when it’s repressed, so it’s bound to explode.

Though I said that, it would be a lie if I said I wasn’t concerned about the Knight Order’s movements.

——————————

Tonight, River was coming over.

Whenever River came, the dim room lit up, and I always enjoyed it.

‘It’s about time she arrived, right?’

– Tick tick

While I was waiting, I heard pebbles hitting the window.

She’s here, so I opened the window to find River skillfully throwing pebbles outside the building.

‘Wasn’t she knocking on the window before…?’

Then again, she used to just walk in through the door.

I didn’t know what was going on, but it was clear something was up, so I quickly gathered my things and jumped out the window.

“What’s wrong? Why don’t you come inside?”

“Hah…”

River wore an outer coat over her thin pajamas.

Having just showered, her skin looked flushed and dewy.

“Oh?!”

As soon as River saw me, she suddenly hugged me.

I could feel her warmth through her thin pajamas.

I was a bit surprised, but I quickly wrapped my arms around her.

“It’s just… cold. I’ll stay like this for a moment.”

“… Okay.”

Standing made it feel like I was the one holding her, which didn’t feel too great, but if I casually took a few steps back, it might look better. I didn’t bother acting on it.

It wasn’t that it was still summer, but after the sun set, it felt quite chilly, though not chilling enough to make me shiver.

It felt like something uneasy had happened.

“…There’s been an issue with Atlas…”

“What kind of problem would make you come down like this?”

River looked down at me with her sparkling eyes.

“I think the security in the male dormitory has been tightened. We almost got into big trouble…”

“Here, security??”

…

“When I tried to get in, the door wouldn’t open, and I felt someone moving around inside the dormitory!”

“Yeah… hearing metal sounds makes me think it’s the Knight Order…”

Facing each other from less than a foot away, River grumbled.

As her head bobbed, her long blonde hair brushed against my nose.

I was listening to her story as I offered her one arm as a pillow.

“It’s inconvenient.”

“I know.”

Security in the dorms had been stepped up.

After hearing River, I went to check it out for myself, and while the door opened for me as a guy, it didn’t open for River as a girl.

They had reinforced the security in that brief moment.

It was irritating how well they managed things; it was almost scary.

To be honest, wasn’t it a bit too lax until now? But with the security ramped up, it had become hard to do things the way we used to.

Not only was the entry of boys into the girls’ dormitory blocked, but it seemed girls were also now restricted from entering the boys’ dormitory.

I glanced over, and instead of adding another guard to the rotation, it seemed like they just placed one more Knight at each post.

The faculty who used to nap snoring now had a Knight standing next to them following the manual, which must be a nightmare for them.

It meant sneaking into the dorms at midnight for fun until morning was no longer possible.

We weren’t even in my dorm bed like before.

Instead, we were lying on a blanket in the grass near the dormitory.

Lying on the grass at night looking at the stars made for an incredible atmosphere.

“The night sky is truly beautiful.”

“I never thought I’d be camping.”

“Camping, huh? Let’s just think of it as an opportunity to stargaze together.”

I could hear the sounds of crickets chirping all around and, unlike the dorm, it wasn’t filled with someone’s scent, it felt like nature.

It was still a bit chilly, but with just one blanket, we were managing to stay warm.

In my previous life, I would have been swarmed by all sorts of bugs, but in this world, with convenient magic like insect repellents, I didn’t have to worry about that.

But then again, we couldn’t lie here on the grass every time.

We needed to come up with a plan.

“Since it’s come to this… should we get ourselves a hideout outside the dorm?”

“Isn’t that a bit too grand all of a sudden?”

“The Academy grounds are large, so if we find a well-hidden spot, we could buy a prefabricated house and set it up; it could serve us well for a long time.”

As I talked, a good idea hit me.

There are always vacant rooms in the area where professors reside; wouldn’t it be alright to use one of those?

“That’s too far, though. It would complicate things more than coming all the way here.”

“Better than camping out.”

Suddenly, while conversing, I found myself gazing at River’s face as we lay side by side.

When I stared at her intently, River turned to look at me, and our eyes met.

Whether it was the openness of the outdoors or the nature surrounding us, River looked more beautifully enchanting under the dim moonlight than anyone else.

It was so endearing that with her barely a foot away locking eyes with me, I couldn’t help but steal a quick kiss on her rosy lips.

“Uh…”

“No, it’s nice to do this sometimes.”

“…It’s not going to be just sometimes anymore.”

River’s face blushed at the sudden kiss.

I considered going all the way, but the fact that we were outdoors kept tugging at my mind.

“It feels too open…Should I really tell the Bishop to ease up on the dorm security?”

“Is that even possible?”

“If I don’t try, I won’t know. But it feels kind of awkward to bring it up.”

“Is it really that awkward…?”

“Requesting to allow girls into the boys’ dorm after curfew would be too blatant. I need to figure out how to phrase it.”

If I’m going to speak to the Bishop, I’ll need to go as the Shadow, but asking him to ease security just so a female student can come to the dorm sounds like a long shot.

It wouldn’t be easy to bring up without feeling deeply embarrassed.

It’d be like revealing our secret relationship in front of everyone. Is that something I could do?

Or should I?

Rather than taking such a risk, wouldn’t it be better to just get a house set up on the grounds?

“It’s a real catch-22.”

For now, my actions were being restricted by these indirect methods, but I could endure this much.

It felt like an exciting thrill that hadn’t existed before, and it created situations I never would have thought of.

At the same time, though, there was a growing sense of unease.

I recalled the scene I saw during the day.

When they oppressed me the same way, I couldn’t help but wonder if I would be able to withstand it.

‘It’s impossible to hold back.’

Surely there’s going to be a big fight.

While I thought it might be better to fight now rather than later, there was a vast difference between fighting as a Master of the Empire and just being a student at the Academy.

As long as they don’t touch me, I want to avoid getting dragged into a headache-inducing situation.

I had too much to worry about to turn my attention away from the Code of Conduct.

Like how the Demon Church would operate from here on, or how I could throw a wrench into the other Masters’ discussions about the Demon Church at the summit, or how I might tease everyone during our next study group, and even what I should eat for dinner tomorrow.

And with vacation looming, I needed to head back to the Titan soon.

As I was organizing those thoughts in my head, I felt River’s gaze on me.

“Atlas, look over here.”

“Me?”

When I turned my head back, River had a very dissatisfied expression.

“Seriously…!”

– Crash!

Suddenly, River grabbed my shoulders and climbed onto my stomach.

It all happened in an instant, catching me by surprise, and I just stared wide-eyed at her.

“Are you planning to just keep heating things up and not finish them here?”

“Uh… what?”

I could feel her heavy breath.

As I looked again, River’s eyes were glowing a golden hue.

Flustered, I struggled to find the right words.

“Um… isn’t it a bit much to do this outside…? Someone might see us…”

“Who would come out to the woods in the middle of the night?”

River gently bit my neck.

I could feel a heat in contrast to the cool air.

‘Well, I don’t really know.’

Breathing in the scent of River as she nibbled my neck, I let my hands travel from her waist to her upper body.

At this point, worrying about the little things felt foolish.

River shivered at my touch creeping up her body.

The earlier restraint caused by being outside had been shattered by the golden wolf.

It was a night with the crescent moon shining bright.

———————————————

“A rare… guest has arrived. Please, come in, Reverend.”

“I’m not sure how to hold myself, Bishop.”

In the Academy’s only church, the two clergy greeted each other.

One was Pastor Fareway, who oversaw the Academy’s church, and the other was Bishop Peter, who had just been directly assigned to the Academy from the Church Country.

“As children serving the same parent, who wouldn’t be precious? By the way… what brings you here?”

“I came to give you a suggestion.”

“A suggestion; please, speak freely.”

With a friendly smile, the Bishop prompted, and the Pastor laid out his prepared words.

“Bishop, the Code of Conduct that you announced upon your arrival at the Academy… seems a bit premature. Wouldn’t it be better to wait a little while and take more time to understand the Academy first? Many students are confused by the abrupt changes.”

“I have no intention of retracting the Code of Conduct.”

The Bishop abruptly cut off the Pastor’s words without wavering.

His expression shifted from a prior pleasant smile to a stoic, serious demeanor like a stone statue.

The soft movements of his skin appeared as if they were solid stones, seemingly immovable.

“Those two measures are the minimum requirements to protect students from demons. As you know, we can capture the demons that have already entered this world. However, we have no means to catch those that have yet to manifest in this world.”

“No matter how much we secure the outside, if demons appear inside the Academy, we cannot stop them. Moreover, unless those demons are engaged in rituals, they tend to react to extreme emotions.”

“But if you suppress the demons, might not the students who are oppressed also develop such emotions…?”

“The emotions generated from prohibition are merely dissatisfaction. In comparison to the emotional surge caused by prohibited actions, it’s almost insignificant.”

“That method is typically used in monasteries where people are well-prepared to accept it. The Academy is filled with young students whose emotions can be quite volatile.”

“….”

At the Pastor’s words, Bishop Peter seemed to ponder in silence before eventually speaking.

“Do you recall the events that took place at the Academy twelve years ago, Pastor?”

“?!”

At the Bishop’s words, the Pastor visibly paled.

Twelve years ago marked the time when the Pastor received his assignment to the Academy’s church, during his fifth year there.

And he remembered vividly what the incident entailed.

“…How did you know about that…?”

“When I received the Holy Father’s command to come to the Academy, I researched it thoroughly. The Code of Conduct isn’t just empty words.”

The Bishop turned his back.

“I received a command from the Holy Father to protect this Academy from the hands of demons. I will ensure that this place is safeguarded.”