The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

If you’ve decided to do it, you need to act quickly.

Let’s recall the basic rules of the engagement battle.

All I need to do is prove I’m the strongest at the academy, and once I graduate, I can promise to marry Lucia.

Naturally, when it comes to proving strength, everyone thinks of brute force.

Currently, the top spot belongs to the student council president, who will graduate at the end of this year.

If he can maintain this rank for just half a year, he could graduate and immediately claim Lucia.

‘I need to resolve this as soon as possible.’

The fear Lucia has of Carlos is quite intense.

He must have spent a lot of effort training her since she was a child.

I don’t want to see her trembling in anxiety at the thought of her father anymore.

One thing I can commend about the student council president is that, despite being in first place, he didn’t needlessly seek out Lucia.

I’m not sure if it was out of consideration or if he was simply too preoccupied, but if he had tried to get close to her just because he was first, I might have killed him.

Isn’t that a bit extreme?

I can think of quite a few people who would do just that.

Resolving this competition is just the beginning.

There’s still a long way to go to resolve the root of this incident.

“Surely he hasn’t left work yet?”

Fortunately, the student council operates normally even as the semester nears its end, with no labor laws to restrict them.

——————–

In front of the student council, two security guards stood.

They were wearing the familiar cloaks of the Swordsmanship Research Club.

It seemed this place borrowed guards from the Swordsmanship Research Club.

Usually, this is where I’d turn back, but I had already breezed past the four guards protecting the Newspaper Club without batting an eye.

Just two guards here posed no problem at all.

“Ugh, it’s the club president’s younger sibling…”

“No matter who you are, you can’t just walk into the student council.”

The two guards recognized me and were on high alert.

They knew they shouldn’t back down carelessly as security, but they also realized facing me wouldn’t end well, resulting in their complicated expressions.

“I have business inside, could you move aside, please?”

“You think just saying that will make us step aside…!!”

“No, please just let me through… If we get breached, we’ll get in trouble with the club president!”

At first, they tried to block me, but one of them, realizing this was futile after thinking it over, even kneeled and pleaded.

Normally, I might have let it slide, but unfortunately, I wasn’t in the mood for that today.

I wanted to smash through, but maybe I should give them a chance if they’re going that far.

I issued a polite but firm warning.

“I’m currently in a very bad mood, so for Hera’s sake, I’ll ask you one more time. Would you please step aside?”

“…Ugh… alright…”

Whether my sincerity was conveyed or not, the two seniors stepped aside obediently.

“Uh… who are you?”

As I opened the door and stepped inside, a student wearing thick glasses caught my eye.

He seemed to have finished all his work, clearing away documents, and was absorbed in a book when his gaze met mine.

I must have surprised him by barging in unannounced.

“Is the student council president inside?”

“What brings you here…?”

“I’ve come to challenge the student council president to a duel.”

“I see, a duel with the president… just a moment.”

The secretary, upon hearing my words, hastily put on his overcoat and attempted to stand up.

He moved a bit slowly.

However, as he got up, he seemed to notice something odd and met my gaze again.

“…Huh? You’re going to duel the president??”

“Yep. He’s inside, right?”

“Please… just wait a moment…! There’s a manual for situations like this…”

Panicking, he rummaged through a drawer to pull out a book to read.

It could be seen as stalling, but I just figured this person was a bit dazed and decided to ignore him and walk in.

“Hey, I’m going in now.”

“Ugh… no!! I’ll guide you! President… there’s a guest here.”

After a brief moment of silence, as if he was contemplating, the door opened.

As soon as the door opened, two men appeared.

One was the dashing student council president, while the other was someone I recognized quite well.

“Well, well, who is this? Isn’t that the Newspaper Club president? I wonder what secret discussions you’re having alone here without any guards.”

The Newspaper Club president was having a private meeting with the student council president.

“I’m not sure what suspicions you have, but club leaders and the student council indeed have many discussions to share… I’m done here, so you two can take it from here.”

As the Newspaper Club president caught sight of me, his expression stiffened, and he awkwardly smiled before bolting away.

What on earth were they discussing?

I may not know the details, but judging by how his face paled upon seeing me, it didn’t seem like a pleasant conversation.

I could interrogate him later, but for now, the student council president took precedence.

“Honestly… don’t you think it would have been good to give a heads up before just showing up at a time like this, junior?”

After the Newspaper Club president left, the student council president regained his composure and spoke with a casual demeanor.

I don’t particularly like the current student council president, Anthony.

In the “Devil Slayer of the Academy” series, the student council president often acts as the villain who hinders the protagonist in various ways.

Logically, you would think that a guy who slaughters demons within the academy shouldn’t be left alone when he’s causing such chaos, but his actions felt particularly villainous.

Ambitiously wishing to topple the firmly established power of the noble empire centered around five pillars and place himself at the center, his top priority was to graduate without any major incidents happening at the academy.

While he disrupts the protagonist’s extreme actions aimed at safely graduating, Hayden, who was in the midst of significant growth, found himself repeatedly obstructed by the student council president.

Killing demons is ultimately for everyone’s safety, yet by keeping the protagonist at bay and causing delays in tackling the demons, the student council president became one of those responsible.

While one could understand his perspective, it frustrated the reader’s viewpoint… such is the character.

His tone of quietly stirring up trouble also played a part.

“We’re both meeting for the first time, junior. How about we start with introductions?”

“Let’s skip the small talk and get straight to the point. Fight me.”

“You dare challenge me, junior? I knew you were close to the Russells, but is it love you feel for them?”

He teasingly laughed, throwing a sly remark my way.

“Let’s leave it at that; I really can’t stand the thought of someone stealing what’s mine.”

“But for now, it seems difficult. I had a back-to-back duel yesterday, so I’m not feeling well today. How about we postpone it until I’m in better shape?”

“But do you think anyone could forget that you targeted those who had back-to-back duels yesterday?”

The student council president seemed reluctant to duel me.

If he kept refusing, I had my own plans.

———————-

‘He’s really small.’

The student council president’s first thought upon seeing Atlas was that simple statement.

Fortunately, he managed to keep that thought to himself.

If he had accidentally spoken it out loud, he might have witnessed Atlas unsheathing his sword.

Unknowingly opting for survival, the student council president continued to evaluate Atlas.

‘Even from a distance, he looked small, but up close, he looks even smaller. Is this really the so-called dwarf race from the rumors?’

I had only heard there was something odd about a new student, but I didn’t pay it much mind.

It wasn’t the first time I had seen problem kids appear.

The only time the student council president saw Atlas in action was during Clover Academy’s exchange tournament, just once.

Watching a student who was an expert level toy with another student using just a single finger was a shocking spectacle for many.

But that was it.

While he possessed incredible power, the student council president had shown little interest in him.

First and foremost, he had no intention of ever crossing paths with him.

No matter how strong he was, if the sword wasn’t aimed at him, it didn’t concern him.

According to reports from the Newspaper Club, he’s not the type to attack first, so as long as we don’t provoke him, we should be safe.

And secondly, he sensed an invisible hand that prevented anyone from tampering with Atlas’ surroundings.

Curious about who it might be, he thought of poking a little, but the intuition that carelessly prodding could ruin his own carefully built base made him stop in his tracks.

‘Considering Count Dummore’s warning… it would probably be wise to stop here.’

In a short span of time, he found himself deep in thought.

Seeing Atlas, he recalled Count Dummore’s advice, which he had rushed away from given Atlas’ close presence.

That warning was likely about this very student.

Count Dummore wouldn’t have warned him simply because the kid was strong.

If sheer strength was the only issue, there were ways to deal with it.

‘But… this is an opportunity that won’t come again…!’

Even knowing it was a dangerous gamble, he couldn’t easily let it go.

The reward for victory right in front of him was far too tempting to ignore.

The position as Russell’s son-in-law was worth that much.

Because of that, he wanted to avoid a duel as much as possible.

If he could just manage to endure the first semester, the victor would naturally be him regardless.

If possible, I want to avoid Atlas as much as I can for the entire first semester.

After expressing my intention to refuse once more, Atlas’s demeanor shifted.

“If you don’t want to duel, then that’s that. I’ll back off from the duel.”

I was surprised at how readily he seemed to give in.

I had more excuses prepped for a follow-up.

But contrary to the seemingly relaxed tone, Atlas began to exude a suffocatingly dense killing intent.

“The condition Carlos Russell mentioned isn’t to become the strongest in a duel, but merely to prove you’re the strongest at the academy.”

Taking a step closer to the student council president, Atlas drove his sword into the president’s abdomen.

“?!!”

Startled, the student council president touched his belly but felt nothing.

‘An illusion…?’

Suddenly, cold sweat began to drip down his back.

The sword buried in his abdomen was just an illusion caused by the killing intent Atlas had momentarily released.

In that split second, even though it was only for a fleeting moment, the fear he felt made his heart race with each step Atlas took closer.

‘If it comes to this… without even the minimum rule of a duel… what will happen to me?’

Images of students who had ended up in the hospital after a confrontation with Atlas in the hallway during the first week of the new semester flashed in the president’s mind.

The hallway was a gruesome sight, slick with blood and severed body parts rolling around, making him swallow dryly.

He wasn’t at all prepared to face a strong adversary like Atlas now.

As Atlas approached, looking like he would kill him at any moment, the student council president had no choice but to make a decision.

“A-alright, junior!! I’ll duel you!! That’s all you want, right?!!”