The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

Edmon, who even shattered the expensive table, was completely subdued.

Caught by Hulan, whose body was honed to the extreme, Edmon struggled to escape, but his position was such that it was difficult to exert any strength while lying on the ground.

Even if they were at a similar level, there was a fundamental difference in stats between a Dragon Beastman and a human, making it impossible to escape through conventional means.

Unless he wanted to break the floor or cut off Hulan’s arm, he had no choice but to maintain this humiliating posture.

“I didn’t have to do this.”

“But this is fun, so let’s just watch for now.”

I awkwardly fiddled with the hilt of my sword.

If Hulan hadn’t been subdued, my blade would have cleaved Edmon in two.

My master was on the verge of drawing his sword, and although the Commander wasn’t speaking, it seemed like he was ready to attack at any moment.

It was funny, but in a way, Hulan had saved Edmon’s life.

Because there was no way he could withstand the attacks of three masters.

“Ugh!!”

Edmon, caught in Hulan’s grip, squirmed pathetically.

He flailed about like a drunken thug being subdued by a tough guy, cursing loudly, and his struggle was quite embarrassing.

However, Edmon was also a body that had reached the master level; he had some ace in the hole.

With a swift motion, he pulled himself down, slipping out of Hulan’s grasp like an eel.

“Wow, that’s gross… What was that weird movement? How did you get out?”

“Must have had an eel beastman among his ancestors. Wouldn’t scales pop out if we look closely?”

It was quite remarkable how he slipped away, not through brute force but by wriggling out.

Somehow managing to escape, his meticulously styled hair and sharply pressed clothes were now a disaster.

Though he probably wasn’t out of breath, Edmon seemed excited, grinning as he took ragged breaths.

Perhaps because he had been attacked every time he opened his mouth during the entire meeting, his eyes were bloodshot.

“It reeks of lizard…!”

“… What?”

Ah, he said that.

He stepped on a landmine.

A very big one at that.

He probably blurted it out without thinking, but that made it even worse.

To mention a lizard here, with both a Dragon Beastman and a Dragon present… the audacity!

“You’re young and undisciplined.”

Hulan wouldn’t let the insult slide.

As soon as he heard it, he unsheathed his claws and sent out Sword Qi, intending to tear Edmon apart.

“Alright then… let’s do this! I’ll teach you some manners…!!”

Since it was Hulan who shot out the Sword Qi first, Edmon thought he wouldn’t face too harsh of a penalty for retaliating, and he drew his sword to counter Hulan’s attack.

Out of nowhere, the Sword Qis from the two masters clashed, tearing through the wide Cathedral’s underground.

“Ugh?! Calm down, old man!! We’re underground!!”

“I’m not patient enough to endure this!”

The meeting was held in the underground of the Cathedral.

If things went wrong, the pillars could collapse, and everyone would end up treating the Cathedral like a tomb.

I wanted to keep watching because it was so entertaining.

As expected, Edmon was shocked to see that his attacks couldn’t even penetrate a single scale of Hulan.

“Cough!!”

He dodged expertly, trying to land effective hits, but ultimately, he was caught while throwing ineffective attacks.

Had Hulan simply aimed to catch him, Edmon could have dodged with some skill, but he had figured out enough to grab Edmon’s shoulder, infusing his claws with Aura.

With the pale Aura Blade piercing his shoulder, blood began to ooze out.

“Lizard? Say that again. Do I still look like one…!!”

Hulan, still holding onto Edmon, raised his fist.

Edmon’s body shrank back, knowing he was about to be hit by the Dragon Beastman who could crush mountains.

[I told you not to do it.]

Just as things were heating up, chains glowing brightly erupted from all directions, wrapping first around Hulan’s arm.

“Ugh?!”

“What the hell is this..! Don’t interfere!!”

In the blink of an eye, both of them were restrained.

Hulan was bound just enough to make movement difficult, but Edmon was tied up with no way to escape.

They both struggled to break free, but ultimately gave up.

There was no need for others to step in.

[If this continues, it will really turn into a life-and-death situation. There seem to be new masters, so let’s wrap things up here for today. If you intend to keep attending, learn the rules.]

Dozens of Holy Relics floated around McKinto, the Red Dragon.

Each one was of the caliber that could classify as a Holy Artifact I possessed.

Though he wasn’t a master, McKinto, known as a ‘Saint’ and ‘Red Dragon,’ was not someone to be trifled with.

[And… Duke Oseong. You drew your sword first even while knowing the rules… First, your right to speak in the Five Kingdoms Alliance will be suspended for three years… Also, it seems we need to have a chat, you and I.]

Although he didn’t show it, there was undeniable fury hidden in McKinto’s voice.

———————————————

Once the meeting concluded, everyone was making their way back to the surface.

There seemed to be a slight earthquake occurring underground, but everyone was trying their best to ignore it.

“I’ve got almost everything I wanted.”

“Good job. It would have been better if Edmon had held out till the end… But that’s a pity.”

As we exited the meeting, I casually remarked.

What I had to gain in this meeting was to ensure that the other masters had a reason to attack the Demon Church’s stronghold.

Bringing up baptism-like talk was purely to set that atmosphere.

In reality, I couldn’t guarantee that there were no other deviants among the masters.

In the original story, the Great Demons awakened all at once, and about half of the masters were killed off, but that wasn’t the case right now.

There might still be masters harboring improper thoughts, just hidden from sight.

Setting the example of the Sword Master, I laid the groundwork for the masters to not be able to remain as Sanctuaries any longer, making things a bit easier.

I figured there were still others among the masters who were hesitating to step in to deal with heretics like the Demon Church, but in an atmosphere like this, if they said they wouldn’t, it would be a huge social faux pas.

I intended to have a word with my master or the Commander before heading back, but someone called out to me.

“… Hey, you there.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, the short one.”

I felt a bit irked.

Who were they calling short when we were practically the same height?

Van Hoenheim was staring me down intently.

Seeing his left eye faintly glowing, it seemed he was using a mana-enhanced perception magic to see through my disguise.

It was downright rude for him to want to see beyond a mask when I was trying to hide it.

I knew that this wasn’t simple curiosity.

I had mentioned key words to pique his interest.

I had to deal with him either way.

“What’s the matter?”

I didn’t speak highly this time either.

Van Hoenheim, a master who reached the pinnacle of magic, was someone personally worthy of respect, but in this place as a shadow of the Empire, I didn’t raise my voice.

I only used honorifics for my master or the Commander; the rest were all equals as masters.

If I spoke formally, it would get troublesome since a master from the Empire using honorifics for a master from another nation would raise eyebrows.

Even as a shadow, I had to maintain the basics.

“Aren’t we acquaintances?”

“I remember seeing you once.”

It wasn’t our first meeting.

I hadn’t properly conversed with Van Hoenheim; I had only met her when I had to request cooperation from the Magic Tower in my capacity as a shadow.

We hadn’t had a deep conversation, just a few formal exchanges, and that was it.

“This meeting was very interesting. The Great Demons that had been silent are moving again… and that you’ve already taken down a few of them.”

“What do you want to say?”

“You know exactly what I mean. That’s why you brought it up with me, right?”

“Let’s leave it at that.”

As the conversation began to delve deeper, the Commander intervened, cutting it off.

“I do have matters to discuss with you, but I will formally announce them as the head of the Magic Tower, so please stand back; I have things to say to this shadow.”

“Since we’re both busy individuals, how about we save the deeper conversation for later? There are many eyes and ears around, after all.”

“True, but that doesn’t make it incorrect.”

Van Hoenheim looked around discreetly.

Everyone was pretending to be uninterested, but several people were eavesdropping on the conversation.

It would be problematic to discuss deeper matters in an atmosphere like this.

Van Hoenheim rummaged through his hair and pulled out a piece of fine parchment, quickly inscribing a spell on it.

“This is an invitation. Bring this along to the Magic Tower, and you can meet with me directly. I won’t ask you to come without an invitation, so drop by later.”

“If I happen to be near, I’ll stop by.”

“I’d like you to come as soon as possible. If possible, bring along a horn of that Great Demon too.”

“I’ll think about it.”

———————————————

After parting with Hoenheim, I got ready to leave.

I considered saying goodbye to Hulan, but she had already left with Luid.

We both felt we had gained a good connection, so it was mutually beneficial.

To leave, I had a teleport scroll I could simply tear, but since I was already in the Church Country, it would be good to take care of any matters I needed to while I was here.

“So, we’re heading back now, right?”

“I have people to meet, so I just need to take care of that before I go.”

The Commander, who had little connection to the Church Country, seemed eager to leave.

“Let you two figure that out. I have other plans, so I need to head back.”

However, the Commander said he was returning immediately, possibly because he had pending matters to deal with.

It was a shame since we hadn’t all gathered in a while and could have spent more time chatting.

– Can’t we have a more meaningful discussion?

Now that I thought about it, he did say something like that when we had a bit of time.

“If Linda is coming right back to the capital, you should at least drop by your territory once. It’s been a while; they might not even recognize you.”

“I want to go too. How many times do you think I’ve been there since I got the territory?”

“… Well, isn’t it around twenty times?”

After becoming a master and earning recognition for his skills, the Commander had been granted a title and a territory.

However, since he was busy fulfilling his duties as the head of the Royal Knight Order, he lived in a mansion set up in the capital, leaving the management of his territory to others while his family resided there.

“The people there probably don’t even know that I’m the lord, but what can I do? Do you know how much work I have to do here in the capital?!”

“You really got a prime piece of land when you got that as a master, but you haven’t even visited it.”

“The only way I even realize it is through the growth of my wealth.”

“Then why not make a family instead? You haven’t been back since your father passed away.”

“How dare you talk back like you’re my father.”

Even though the Commander was saying he needed to leave to handle things, it wasn’t like he was going to work through the night.

Having once been part of the Knight Order, I knew roughly what time the Commander finished work.

“Commander, should we go to the capital together then?”

“… Atlas, you need to return to the Academy.”

“You know me. If I want, I can head back immediately. We’ll just wait at the pub until your work is done.”

“That’s true. Ah, I need to go change; this damn coat has me itching. It’s been a while since I dressed like a civilized person.”

Seeing us eagerly following after him as he spoke of leaving, the Commander sighed.

“How nice it must be to have such free time.”

Turning his back firmly, he tore the scroll.

The parchment pieces began to sparkle and envelop him in light.

I wondered if that was a rejection, but before he disappeared, the Commander looked back at us.

“… It’s the pub behind the barracks at nine thirty.”

After leaving that small note, the Commander was engulfed in light and vanished from the hallway.

“Did you hear that?”

“Yes. Are you telling us to wait there?”

“Has he hit a late bloom psychologically or what’s with him?”

My master wore an expression of disbelief as we watched where the Commander had just been.

That wasn’t the behavior I would normally expect from him.

Was he embarrassed?