The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

The Russell territory, one of the five pillars of the Empire, is located near Blade Mountain.

While it may not compare to Blade Mountain, the Russell territory is rugged and filled with rocky mountains, making farming extremely difficult. However, it boasts a wealth of mineral resources that even dwarves would envy.

The mansion governing the area was constructed a bit far from the mines where the territory’s residents worked.

A small-scale mine rising behind the mansion caught the eye.

It was odd to have an actively operating mine right behind the mansion instead of just a mound of dirt.

Inside the Russell mansion, a very large man was admiring the view outside.

He seemed to be around 2 meters tall.

His thick, grand physique was imposing, yet he had the delicate features of a middle-aged handsome man.

His emerald-shining, decadent eyes and curly black hair flowed down past his ears.

Carlos Russell, the father of Lucia Russell and the current head of the Russell family, was that man.

“Is my son… Lucia adapting well?”

“It seems she is doing quite well, contrary to my worries.”

“I was concerned because the child is shy, so it’s a relief.”

It was a strange conversation.

They were discussing the young master of Russell.

However, there was only one heir to the Russell family, and that was Lucia Russell.

Despite her impressive height and remarkable strength, she was a girl with large breasts and a slim waist that couldn’t even be contained in one hand. Nevertheless, they referred to her as their son.

“Edward and Linda have gone to the Academy, right?”

Carlos Russell reminisced about his past days at the Academy.

It had been a joyful time filled with fun memories, with the heads of the current five pillars gathered together, chatting and laughing before he inherited the family.

He remembered battling alongside Linda and defeating monsters; it was truly enjoyable.

It seemed he felt regret for not even knowing they had a reunion without him.

“… I suppose I should go visit.”

“Then I will send a message to the young master.”

“No, that’s unnecessary. If I go without telling anyone, I can see her true self and what she normally does. As for the message… just send it to Edward or the others.”

“I will take care of that.”

A member of the five pillars decided to head to the Academy.

The purpose was to check on how well Lucia was doing there and to see what the recent atmosphere at the Academy was like.

If Edward reacts, there might even be a reunion of the five pillars at the Academy after a long time.

Lucia, the person involved, was completely unaware of this.

—————————————

The reconstruction work progressed swiftly.

Thanks to the holy relic, my body recovered, allowing me to finally put into action what I had been thinking.

The first thing I did was demolish the mansion and move to the dwarf guild.

Having been there several times as an adventurer, I could find the place with my eyes closed.

“Who’d have thought you were still alive after dying in the Snow Country!”

What I found in the guild was a dwarf craftsman with a gray, bushy beard tied like a metal craft.

As soon as he saw me, he tossed aside his small magnifying glass and welcomed me cheerfully.

“It’s been ages since the expedition ended! Why haven’t I heard from you in so long?”

“It’s no easy feat for news from the Empire to reach this far!”

The boisterously laughing gray-bearded dwarf was Gray Pillar, the craftsman who had provided gear for the Snow Country Exploration Team.

The name Gray Pillar is like a nickname used within the guild; it’s given once someone becomes a recognized craftsman in the guild.

So I still didn’t know the real name of that dwarf.

“So what brings you this time? If you’re here to find me, it must be another annoyingly troublesome task, right?”

I explained the details of the construction to Gray Pillar.

“What? You’re building a villa at the Academy? Well, you came to the right place!”

The guild member Gray Pillar accepted my proposal with enthusiasm.

“For construction… I’ll need at least three to take along. Based on your plan, we’ll need a magician too, but is that already sorted?”

“I’ve managed to secure a moderately useful magician.”

“Then three will be sufficient! Our services might be a bit pricey, but did you bring plenty of gold?”

“This is an advance payment. I’ll provide additional payments when it’s completed.”

As I took out a pouch filled with gold from my pocket, he promptly accepted it and weighed it on a scale beside him.

“Wow! Just as I expected from the captain of the Snow Country Exploration Team!! I love your generosity! When shall we start the work?”

“Can we start tomorrow?”

“No, it’ll take about a full week just to get to the Academy from here. Tomorrow?”

“I’ll take care of that. Just be at the designated location by tomorrow.”

“Haha, you hired a magician, so are you planning to teleport? Hey everyone! We’ve got work to do! You can’t let a day like this go without drinks!!”

As Gray Pillar shouted, dwarves came rushing out from inside.

They can never resist the call of alcohol.

“I’m recovering, so alcohol…”

“This isn’t just any alcohol! It’s medicine! A cure-all that wipes out bad illnesses! Drink up, drink up!”

“Just one drink.”

In the end, I finished three barrels of it.

——————————————-

Once I found the craftsmen, it was time to hire a magician.

Since ancient times, magicians have often participated in construction, as it offers decent pay. These days, they even sell modular buildings that magicians can construct all by themselves.

There were many magicians available for hire externally, but I had someone in mind that I wanted to invite first.

“I need you to use some magic for my construction.”

“Are you invoking elemental earth magic because of Senior?”

“… That’s correct.”

Senior Rio admitted it willingly.

When elemental magicians choose the element they specialize in, they consider a variety of conditions.

The most critical is their own talent. Next is why they learn magic, and finally, how helpful it is.

Talent needs no elaboration.

For someone with no talent for an element, it’s extremely difficult to wield that power at all.

Why someone is learning magic depends on whether they intend to study it or if they are learning practical magic for work.

All elemental magic is good, but those focusing on combat often use destructive fire magic or movement-supporting wind magic.

But earth elemental magic is a different matter.

Earth is indeed an element that can be versatile in combat.

You can erect strong defensive walls and it excels in powerful physical attacks.

However, the true strength of earth magic lies in its immense practicality in daily life.

It’s incredibly useful for farming and constructing buildings; it proves advantageous in most situations.

Considering her background, it was easy to see she had focused on practical earth elemental magic.

“By the way, a student is taking charge of construction at the Academy? Is that really okay?”

“Worried that I might not have permission?”

“Yeah. I’d like to help, but… getting caught might lead to expulsion…”

It seemed like she genuinely wanted to help but was quite hesitant.

In reality, I didn’t obtain any permission at all.

“This is the deposit. Hmm… too bad. I was hoping to speak before inviting others.”

The pouch I subtly offered contained a hefty amount of gold.

What I had given to Gray Pillar was for three people, so this bag was much more filled, but it was still a significant amount.

Permission… Right, that might be more important to the model student, Senior Rio.

If it can’t be done, I could always bring someone from outside, but it was unfortunate.

“I will do it.”

But just as I was about to put the gold back, Senior Rio grabbed my arm.

“Wait?”

“P-Please let me do it!!! If I get caught, it’ll just be expulsion!”

It seems the gold was too enticing to decline.

————————-

After finishing up outside tasks, I returned to the hospital room and lay down.

I picked up a thick book I had prepared to read when I was bored.

While I was lying down, I heard a commotion outside.

A moment later, the door burst open, and the captain and knights swarmed in.

They all seemed to have a heroic determination.

There weren’t any weapons around, but I quietly propped myself up and stared at them.

I was ready to respond at any moment.

“What’s the matter? Are you all gearing up for another fight?”

“…Huff.. huff…”

The captain, panting and gazing at me, looked half incapacitated.

His entire body was wrapped in bandages, and his leg was in a cast as he limped along with crutches.

Feeling killing intent radiating from me, the captain shouted.

“I sincerely apologize for treating you rudely without proper recognition!”

Limping around, the captain suddenly knelt and bowed deeply until his forehead nearly touched the floor.

His hands were on his waist, but the way he only lowered his forehead to the ground was quite impressive.

That was a posture showing the utmost apology one could give to a non-divine being in the Church Country.

Normally, one would extend their hands out forward as well, but that position was reserved only for deities.

“””””””””””We are sorry!!!!”””””””””””

Following that, the other knights also knelt and pressed their foreheads to the floor.

I had an inkling of how the saintess had vaguely communicated with them.

“What’s going on here?”

“We, the Red Feather Knights, sincerely apologize for causing you unnecessary harm!! We… we are truly sorry.”

It seemed they genuinely intended to apologize, but seeing eleven large figures crammed into a hospital room with their foreheads on the ground was suffocating.

“Enough already. It’s making my head hurt just watching, so please leave.”

“… Yes!”

The moment I finished speaking, they all rushed out.

They all buried their heads down, but it was a bit of a problem.

How do I handle this?