The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

From the very first day, a fight broke out, but everyone just saw it as a fun spectacle.

That’s how duels are.

When I heard the name of the castle, it didn’t seem to belong to such a great family after all.

It was a family so insignificant that Seymour didn’t even need to bother with it.

I don’t think River applied for the duel with that thought in mind, though.

‘Charles Fraser… I need to remember that.’

But the look in that guy’s eyes as he glared at River and Amy after the duel was something I couldn’t just let slide.

Who knows what he might do next, so I’d better keep it in mind.

Just like when the recommended students treated the exam applicants poorly, no one cared about the outcome of a rightful duel.

In this place, that was considered completely normal.

It’s just natural that the strong bully the weak, and personal disputes are settled through duels, even if someone ends up dying—none of that raises any legal issues in this world.

—————————————————————————

The first day at the Academy passed without much ado.

This mild situation would likely continue for about a week.

During the first week, the professors only introduced themselves and explained their plans for the future, while the more perceptive students seemed to be engaging in fierce explorations against each other.

Most classes were grouped around the ‘Five Pillars,’ but our class was an exception.

“Lady Russell!! Where did you disappear to??”

“I’ll look over there.”

After the first day of classes ended, everyone scattered, and the hallway was bustling.

Students from my class were busy searching for someone.

There was no need to find out who they were looking for.

“I’ve been looking for you, are you not coming?”

“…!”

Lucia peeked around the nearby corner, discreetly observing their movements.

When I spoke to her, Lucia jumped and hugged me tightly.

“Shh…”

With a height difference of nearly 40 cm, Lucia’s hug buried my face in her chest, but she didn’t seem to mind.

The plush cushion effectively wrapped around my face.

‘…This is uncomfortable but nice. What a complex feeling.’

My mouth and nose were squished, making it hard to breathe. As I inhaled deeply, I caught the faint scent of luxurious floral perfume wafting from Lucia’s embrace.

Realizing that this is how much taller she is made me feel a bit emotional, especially with the previous remarks about her being short, but the softness was too luxurious for me to pull away from her.

She was probably asking me to be quiet; despite her size, she managed to hide so well.

The reason our class stood out was that Lucia was extremely shy and would run away when people crowded around her.

Without the central pillar being visible, the students loyal to the Five Pillars were flustered, and like foxes waiting for the tiger to leave, they were trying to take charge.

As Lucia confirmed that the group searching for her had completely disappeared in another direction, she then realized she was still hugging me.

“…!!”

The comforting cushion feeling dissipated.

Realizing what she was doing, Lucia’s face flushed red.

“What is this…”

Lucia seemed bewildered and was about to say something, but duel time with River was drawing near.

“Yeah, I’m sure there was a reason for it. I have things to do, so I’ll take my leave…”

As I turned to leave, Lucia grabbed my hand.

“Wait a minute…!”

“Do you have more to say?”

Maybe she was choosing her words carefully, but Lucia briefly closed her mouth and lowered her head, not saying anything.

Since she said she had something to say, I was willing to listen…

“…Just once…”

Fidgeting and breathing erratically, Lucia had a flushed face, and it was clear she was anxious.

“Can I hug you just one more time…?”

“Nope.”

Without looking back, I ran away.

And that was how my first day at the Academy wrapped up.

—————————————————————————

Before dinner, during some empty time, I arrived at the clearing where I had met River in the morning.

River was already there, waiting.

Usually so stoic, he was now standing there with a scythe at his waist, a faint smile on his face.

Ah, that smile.

He was wearing that same smile during our duel that morning.

Confronting injustice is part of the ‘live righteously’ education, but fundamentally it was just because he liked to fight. However, with such a character, having average skills could be a problem instead.

He might rush in again and end up getting hurt badly.

If River really joined this hero’s journey, he should be competent enough not to meet an untimely end somewhere.

“I thought you hated this until this morning, what changed?”

“You’re too weak, so you need to get stronger.”

“Me? Weak?”

“Yeah, weak.”

“Me… weak? That’s amusing. So how strong are you?”

“Not even comparable to you… Well, since it would be unfair, let’s do this. I won’t use any techniques other than the four basic stances during this duel.”

“Ha! You underestimated me…”

River took his stance.

He got low, legs positioned forward, sword raised slightly as if ready to pounce like a beast.

It was the Wolf Stance, the basic stance of the Empire’s swordsmanship.

This stance, reminiscent of a wolf baring its fangs at its prey, serves as the foundation for all techniques in the Seymour style of swordsmanship.

That arrogant noble started to flounder after seeing that stance, and it didn’t take long for the match to be decided.

“I won’t let you say that again…!”

To counter that, I straightened my waist and lowered my sword slightly.

This was one of the Empire’s basic stances known as the Snake Stance, named that because it resembles a snake stalking its prey.

The golden wolf began to charge.

With that speed, he could easily try to sidestep, but perhaps due to pride, he charged straight to break my guard.

His stance was still wide, perfect for a swing, and the scythe was still positioned firmly.

He quickly closed the distance, nearly entering the range of my longsword.

What kind of move would he launch?

We were so close that our swords could almost touch.

It was time for a move.

If there’s no movement, it would be a simple thrust from that stance,

A slash while barely grazing my longsword,

The most conventional option would be to intertwine our swords, suppressing his attack while slicing at his arm.

Fighting with swords is easily likened to a real-time fighting game.

The one who panics always loses.

River’s sword moved.

The moment I predicted what he was about to do, my longsword moved simultaneously.

-Clang!!

The scythe and longsword locked together.

“One point.”

River’s scythe has gotten caught by my longsword’s cross guard, and the tip of my longsword was directed toward River’s neck.

If I had pushed a bit more, I would have inflicted a lethal wound on River’s neck.

River’s first move was a feint to intertwine the swords, manipulating the angle as he attempted a cut.

Reading that, I switched from Snake Stance to Wolf Stance, raising my longsword to block the angle of his scythe while simultaneously putting the tip of my sword against River’s neck.

River likely thought he had scored one point against me, but it would be baffling as he realized he’d been outplayed.

“Don’t you think that’ll be the end of it?”

“One more…!”

Confirming he couldn’t win at psychological warfare head-on, River utilized his agility this time.

Darting in from outside the range of my longsword, he attempted to confuse me on which side he would strike before making an attack from an angle. If he was on a similar skill level, it might have worked, but…

River didn’t realize that the opening itself had been a trap; his scythe cut through the air as the blade of my longsword gently brushed against his shoulder.

“How about it? You think you’ve got the prowess to boast now?”

“Ugh…!”

River’s expression twisted a bit.

After just two exchanges, River must have realized there was a significant gap in our skills.

Yet due to his pride, he seemed compelled to continue.

“Haah… Haah….”

There wasn’t much change in the outcome moving forward.

No matter what tricks River pulled, the moment I moved, the match was settled.

The afterimage sword, moving later than the opponent yet reaching first, was a technique achieved through completely gauging the other’s movements.

Given River’s circumstances relying on a preemptive style of swordsmanship, it must be a frustrating situation for him.

And it’s not like I’m employing any fancy techniques; I’m solely using the four basic stances to counter his family’s vision swordsmanship.

He understands he can’t win against this skill gap, but for the sake of experience, or perhaps he still thinks he’s got a chance, or maybe he just can’t admit it—I couldn’t tell what was going on inside his head.

Still, River was pouring all his effort into challenging me, and he had the tenacity that made me sure he was destined to be a protagonist.

In this world, as long as you don’t give up even when blocked by walls and maintain a thorough self-justification, you’re bound to succeed.

“You can get much stronger than this.”

While we continued to duel without any specific signal to end it, I was the first to speak.

Technically, the duel had already finished.

What was happening now was just me indulging River’s stubbornness, slowly needing to transition to the next topic.

“My goal is for you to reach the top tier of Expert by the end of this academic year.”

“Haah… Haah… Expert top tier is just below Master… is that even possible?”

Once again, River’s scythe cut through the air.

He should have been stable on his feet, but perhaps because he was fatigued, he fumbled and prepared to fall, so I caught him with my right arm.

“It all depends on you—why would you think it’s impossible?”

Our bodies were now close together.

Supporting him with my smaller frame, when I turned my head, I was right in front of River’s flushed neck.

Sniff sniff.

I didn’t really think about it.

I just unintentionally took a whiff since it was right there in front of me.

After the continuous dueling, River was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.

Despite him being this soaked, there wasn’t an unpleasant smell.

There was a refreshing citrus-like aroma.

“…!”

Noticing I had inhaled his scent, River jerked his arm away, creating some distance.

“What the…!! Why are you smelling me??”

“I just happened to be next to you, and you smelled nice, what kind of perfume are you using?”

“Wha… I’m not using any of that!!!”

Unlike before, he was flustered and added,

“Are you lurking around because you’re planning something?!”

“Are you out of your mind?!”

With his face flushed, River dashed away from the clearing much faster than when we were just dueling.

What a strange misunderstanding,

But it did smell nice.

I could have caught up to him in no time, but I merely watched as River disappeared into the distance.

“Then… shall I handle that matter slowly now?”

———————————————————

At dusk, near the foothills by the dormitory, masked thugs gathered.

They weren’t even wearing a brooch to identify them as students, and besides being masked, they all shared one commonality—they were all armed with menacing weapons.

“Remember, blonde hair and amber eyes.”

The lead thug summarized the features in detail, and the others nodded in agreement.

The location they were hiding, the foothills near the dormitory, was the only route connecting to the clearing that River or Atlas had noticed.

The masked thugs lay in wait among the brush along that lone path, waiting for River to return to the dormitory.

“Master, no matter what, isn’t this a bit… too much? I mean, he’s a noble too…”

“Fraser must pay for his grudges. How can I show my face again if I get eaten by a southern mutt!!”

As the thug directly behind the leader spoke up, the leader took off his mask in frustration.

Revealing himself was Charles, who lost his duel to River that morning.

“We’re just here to have a ‘duel.’ We demanded a 6 vs. 6 team match, but that guy just went into the duel alone. And the dirty business that follows could be considered our rightful privilege as the victors of that duel.”

“I wonder what the insides of a mutt will be like,”

“So when is he coming? I’m getting anxious.”

The thugs gathered here were all students he had roped in.

The son of the earl within the retinue, a knight-in-training who entered through the exams, friends who just thought it looked fun—all had joined this trashy proposal to gang up on someone who fought a girl one-on-one in a duel.

“It should be around the time to pass through… just a little longer and he’ll definitely return before the dormitory curfew!”

“Hmmm, I see.”

So mercy was out of the question; I slowly revealed myself from within the shadows of the trees.

“What?? Who are you!!”

“Does it matter? What are you going to do now… River’s not coming this way?”