The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

“Still, I can’t do it right now. The skill test will end soon, so let’s take care of that first.”

“Hulan said he would stay here until then at the request of other professors… I guess that means I should stick around too.”

For now, I decided to wait until the test period was over before asking Hulan to join me for the summit meeting.

Carmel heard that the academy people had asked him to stay at the academy until at least the test, so he seemed to be relaxed about it.

Apparently, once he decides to go, he can teleport in an instant using the magic written on the scroll, so that’s fine.

A few days later, the mansion was built just as the craftsmen had guaranteed.

Aside from the first three days that required hard labor, Senior Rio was no longer needed, and the dwarves quickly finished the interior.

Yep, they were worth the money spent.

Two people who frequently visited came to check out the completed mansion.

The ones who came most often were River and Amy.

“It looked decent when I first saw it, but I can’t believe it was built in a week.”

“Wow, this was made in such a short time?”

River, who came to see it with me, couldn’t keep his mouth shut at the fully completed mansion.

It was a two-story mansion that retained the original structure of the previous house.

It wasn’t overly extravagant by noble standards, but it was clearly spacious enough for one person to live in.

Most of the rooms would probably be empty, but as long as the areas I frequently pass through are intact, that’s all that mattered.

“Alright, let’s go inside.”

The rusty fence was magically restored to look brand new, and the overgrown garden, which had grown so wildly that the mansion was nearly hidden, was all cleared away, leaving only neatly grown grass.

I had thought about building a wall instead of a metal fence, but that seemed too conspicuous, so I shelved the idea.

As soon as we walked through the garden and entered through the front door, Amy was astonished.

“The hallway boards are all intact… it really feels like a different house.”

“It is a different house.”

“Are you kidding me with that ‘country bumpkin’ line again? Yes, it’s been fixed up a lot, but it’s still that house.”

“I should have shown this to you on the first day.”

Amy still couldn’t believe that this house was built from scratch.

The house that had been there before vanished overnight, leaving only the foundation, and Senior Rio assembled the entire frame of this house before dawn using Telekinetic Magic and Earth Element Magic — unbelievable.

I explained that it was all redone while utilizing the foundation of the previous mansion, so the structure is similar, but she still didn’t buy it.

Just then, River, who had been listening carefully, spoke up.

“Have you two ever been inside together?”

A chill ran down my spine at that moment.

It wasn’t decisive, but it felt dangerous.

“You mentioned there was a trap that led to hell in the academy, right? Was that here?”

“It was here? Is it safe now??”

“If there were anything left, it would be a problem since I destroyed everything… The craftsmen who were working didn’t find anything suspicious, so it should be fine.”

Not just destroyed — I had personally used Vision Swordsmanship to erase all traces, so it would definitely be a problem if anything remained.

“The reception room, the kitchen, the study… did you go all out? I feel like you won’t be able to manage it all by yourself…”

“It turned out that way because I built it on the existing foundation… but the golems will take care of the house maintenance.”

River’s concerns were valid.

If I were to manage this vast space by myself, I’d end up spending all day just tidying up.

So, the magic tower sold golems along with the assembly houses, programmed to be invisible to people while managing the home.

If you listen closely, you can hear them tending to the garden outside.

They are programmed to not be easily noticeable unless they’re looking for something.

The last place we reached on the first floor was the bathroom.

I hadn’t touched the elegant carvings or decorations since they weren’t to my taste, but it wasn’t tacky either.

“Hmm~ it’s completed, right? It wasn’t just thrown together because you were short on time…?”

“It wasn’t thrown together because of time constraints — it turned out just as I wanted.”

“Really? Doesn’t it seem too plain?”

To the standards of people here, it probably looks quite simple.

Although this bathroom appears plain, from my perspective as someone who lived in modern times, it reflects a contemporary bathroom well, capturing the essence of the materials used.

It seems similar in color, but I used three different textured stones for decoration and adjusted the lighting position to create a cozy ambience.

However, according to the standards of this world, it might look a bit empty.

But there might be one thing that I like.

“Why is the bathtub so big? There’s plenty of room even for four people!”

River couldn’t take his eyes off the huge, octagonal bathtub that seemed excessively luxurious for just me to use.

“I decided to indulge a bit since it’s newly made. Managing the water with magic isn’t a problem.”

While I primarily used plumbing, such a large bathtub makes it much easier to manage with just a bit of elemental magic.

Even a bathtub that looks so big can be filled with water in one go thanks to magic.

I’m not the best at magic, but simple spells like that can be handled by an artifact.

He seemed eager to try it out.

The academy does have a large bathhouse, but since it’s a communal bath where many people share, many prefer to just shower… so she might not have even been able to step into a bathroom since the new semester started.

“Wow… this bathtub… last time… hmm?!”

I quickly covered Amy’s mouth as it seemed she was about to let slip something.

It seemed she was recalling the bathtub from that trap.

“Okay, okay, be careful…”

“Y-yeah…”

Fortunately, River didn’t notice as he was too focused on the bathtub.

“This… can I use it later too?”

“If you want, you can use it whenever.”

“Wow, thanks! Amy, let’s take a bath together later.”

“I… me?? Together??”

“It’s spacious, and what’s embarrassing about girls being together?”

‘But you also never went to the communal bath at all.’

I didn’t say it out loud; I’m not that foolish.

After wrapping up the bathroom tour, we checked out the bedroom on the second floor and then dispersed.

Now that the construction was complete, it would be great to study here starting tomorrow.

Preparations for the final skill test were going well.

Unless something else came up, that is.

—————————

That day, the atmosphere in the class was odd.

The cause was our instructor Andy, who came in for attendance.

He usually wore a cheerful face, but today he looked tense and restless, which affected the whole class’ mood.

I wondered what was up with him, but shortly after, he gathered his thoughts and spoke.

“With the final skill test just a week away, I must apologize for something before we begin.”

“…Instructor, don’t make us anxious like that.”

After everyone had become familiar with each other, Andy had always spoken casually to the class, but suddenly he adopted a stiff tone as if it were the first time we met.

That sounded like something said in the knight’s order.

“This isn’t just my problem alone. Right now, other professors in different classes are likely saying similar things.”

That meant it was information that would be announced to the entire year.

I felt curious about how important it could be to warrant such seriousness, and then Andy finally spoke up.

“…The content of the skill test has changed completely.”

“…..”

A chilling silence followed.

It was a desperate struggle to believe that what they heard was real.

However, the silence didn’t last long.

“What the hell is this!! Call the Principal!!!”

“Do you think this is just some ‘new student’ nonsense??!!!”

The students lost their minds at the unbelievable news.

It was completely understandable.

With only a week left until the test, they were changing the content!?

Had they lost their minds for real??

The others, who didn’t burst out in panic, were not in a good situation either.

Everyone’s faces turned pale.

Similar commotion echoed in the hallway.

It seems that other professors had told their students what was happening.

Watching them from a distance, I thought,

‘No matter what, this is too much.’

Andy fled as if to escape, but the despair of the students affected by the change in exam format just one week before was endless.

This might seem like just a single lecture being altered, but for those students applying for scholarships, it was like watching their chances vanish in front of their eyes, so naturally, they were frantic.

Fortunately, the only change in the test content was from Andy’s class, which had originally planned for a basic physical test.

We could consider ourselves lucky that it was just one change, but the new content was brutal relative assessment through ‘sparring.’

What had been a fairly lenient test for new students who could at least get an A by enhancing basic physicality had now turned into a harsh and merciless evaluation of skill.

“That’s it for us, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Both seem to be fine.”

Whether it was the basic physical test or the actual sparring, it didn’t concern those of us who had recently skyrocketed in skills and were among the top in the class.

The variable was whether these guys would start fighting among themselves from the beginning.

During attendance time, various excuses popped up, but none were believable.

They insisted they didn’t know they had to spar in the first semester, but come on, there’s no way Andy would be so clueless.

He was someone who understood that such issues would be a headache and always trembled when preparing class materials; there was no way he didn’t know something basic like this.

That thought popped into my head, making me spring up from my seat.

“Atlas, where are you going?”

“I’m going to find out the truth.”

Something felt off. I decided to check out the Room of Truth.