The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

I just brushed it off since I was also an intruder into the castle, but the more I think about it, the stranger it seems.

How many audacious groups would there be trying to attack Prigia in this situation?

If they can infiltrate the castle, this isn’t some impulsive crime.

There’s definitely some backing behind it.

Organized crime may seem reckless, but it’s actually carried out with meticulous planning.

Where could there possibly be an organization that would gain more from attacking Prigia than the damage they would inflict?

It certainly isn’t Woodville, who’s always said to play second fiddle to the Golden Ball.

The current owner of Woodville Trading knows his position well.

I doubt he would think he could effortlessly slide into first place by removing the Duke.

I’ve considered the Magic Tower and all the countries, but no matter how I look at it, there are very few lunatics who would pull off such a bold stunt. Among those, one stands out as particularly suspicious: Hannah.

The Demon Church.

Could it be that the followers of the Demon Church infiltrated aiming for Prigia?

A piece of original knowledge flashed through my mind.

Although the original’s methods are nearly useless now, not everything is without merit.

In the end, the goals of the Demon Church back then and now are similar.

Clearly, in the original story, the Demon Church kidnapped Shaara Prigia.

They secretly abducted her, the rightful heir of the Golden Ball, and forced her to become a follower of the Demon, subsequently eliminating the Golden Ball to rot the Empire from within.

The large-scale student deaths from the dungeon terror effectively sealed the Empire’s doom.

Is this perhaps a prelude to that incident?

There’s no evidence that the little rats discovered are connected to the Demon Church, but my instincts kept suggesting that possibility.

If that’s the case, there’s only one thing for me to do.

I need to kill the demons and protect Shaara.

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As soon as I arrived at the dormitory, I dashed toward the church.

I had originally planned to attend the party, enjoy it somewhat, and leave, but now that I’d seen something like that, I couldn’t help but be concerned.

“The Saintess is waiting inside.”

When I displayed the emblem of the Royal Knight Order, the holy knights willingly guided me inside.

“I didn’t expect you to come so soon.”

The Saintess was staying on the top floor of the dormitory near the church.

As always, she greeted me with a bright smile as soon as I entered.

It seemed she was resting today, but starting tomorrow, she mentioned she would be making appearances as the dispatched Saintess from the church country.

“I didn’t expect you to come so quickly since you have companions… Is something wrong?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

She certainly had a knack for picking up on things.

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I explained to the Saintess what I had seen upon entering Prigia Castle.

“So there were giants hiding inside… This is not something we can easily overlook.”

“They were planning something around the date of the party. I didn’t ask what they were plotting, but it probably wasn’t harmless. I’m suspecting they might be part of the Demon Church.”

The guards would have taken them away, so there should be more information to gather.

I decided to ask Shaara about this later.

“The Demon Church… The fact that they still have the resources to pull something like this even while being targeted is impressive. On the day of the party, all the power brokers of the continent selected by the Golden Ball will be present. I figured it would be targeted, but if they’ve infiltrated inside the church, the situation is much more serious.”

The Golden Ball had also gone through many trials.

To filter through all the people pouring in from various regions targeting this party, he had fortified the checkpoints, and the costs for maintaining public safety had soared to more than double the usual.

Inviting the church country as a VIP was also part of that strategy.

While they were not direct business partners exchanging money, they provided a powerful force in the form of holy knights dispatched to Prigia.

Just having that kind of reassurance made the church country a great business partner.

It was well-known that the atmosphere inside Prigia would be exceptionally tense around the time of the party, almost like a state of martial law—how could they possibly find a way in?

And they said three were discovered… but could they really be the only three?

“If one rat is found, there are said to be a hundred more inside.”

What appeared to be a mere coincidence is just one of them.

If this was all that peeked out while hiding inside, I couldn’t even imagine how many little rats were lurking in there.

“I’ve let Shaara know about the discovery. It seems we’ll need a significant cleanup led by the Inquisitioners, but will the Golden Ball cooperate?”

“I agree that it’s necessary, but with so many guests invited to the party, we can’t have them be tormented by the Inquisitioners. We would have to reinforce defenses and prepare for contingencies.”

That is indeed a problem.

It would be simple to disinfect the entire city.

If the Inquisitioners searched thoroughly like pest control after sealing off the entrances, even ordinary believers who had no magic on them wouldn’t escape being caught.

Those who follow doctrines that blaspheme the god wouldn’t be able to escape the inquisitors’ interrogation.

However, executing this means giving all the people inside a terrible experience.

Especially with many high-ranking individuals among those currently in Prigia.

The Golden Ball wields enormous power but isn’t an absolute power.

He can’t enforce his will on everyone gathered here.

That’s one of the reasons why he’s able to still have the title of Golden Ball under the Emperor.

“I should ask McKinto to lend me a holy relic.”

“A holy relic?”

“Yeah, there’s that barrier powered by holy energy that activates automatically even if the caster loses consciousness. It can hold a Great Demon back for about five minutes.”

“You’re talking about the Staff of the Beggar, right? That’s something McKinto treasures…”

Though he values it, McKinto is a dragon who can easily set aside personal desires for the greater good.

If I convey my intentions properly, he’ll surely agree.

“I’ll negotiate to borrow it no matter what.”

“Who will you give it to?”

“To the heir of Prigia.”

“Not the Golden Ball, but the heir?”

It seems they thought the currently reigning Golden Ball posed a greater danger.

“The Golden Ball is getting old. If there’s only one target to deal with, he’ll likely go for the only heir. At least, if I were in his shoes, that’s what I would do.”

“That makes sense.”

This party needs to go off without a hitch.

Unlike usual, I’m being quite serious about this.

I’ve always tried to prevent unnecessary lives from being sacrificed, but my mindset is different this time.

Before, I thought as long as I could protect them somehow, the specifics didn’t matter, but this time is different.

If the party ends chaotically, it would be hard for anyone to forget in their minds, regardless of whether I showed up or not.

For a long while, I discussed with Carmel about how to prevent this incident, and how to minimize damage in case of the worst scenario.

“I’ll do my best too, so could you lend me your hand, Atlas?”

“Why suddenly asking for a hand?”

Just as the talk about borrowing the Inquisitioners was winding down, Carmel suddenly extended her hand.

I complied, and as soon as I extended my wrist, Carmel tugged on me.

“Ugh!! Why the sneak attack?!”

“What are you doing?”

Carmel pulled on me with all her might, but naturally, this time, I didn’t budge.

Seeing me not moving as she intended, Carmel got frustrated.

“You always talk about work. Just this once, go along with it. If you don’t, I won’t help you this time!”

I wondered what was going on, but considering the requests I had made to Carmel until now, her reaction wasn’t surprising.

I knew she held a personal fondness for me, unlike people from other church countries, but since we only talked about work whenever we met, I could understand why she would react this way.

“Ugh… alright.”

“Yay! Finally!”

As I slackened my strength, Carmel hugged me and began to caress my hair with an incredibly gentle touch.

“Hey, I wasn’t really angry. I just wanted to lay you down for a bit.”

Was this her unique way of comfort?

Lost in that sensation, my body felt incredibly relaxed.

From Carmel, who is cherished by the divine, a non-physical spiritual pheromone was flowing out.

It was powerful enough that if I relaxed, I felt like I would doze off right there.

“You’re really a good person, Atlas. You always try to solve what you can, within your capabilities.”

I could feel her caress as she succeeded in laying me down.

Her hand moved gently and a pleasant aroma tickled my nose.

“Talking only about work every time is kind of sad. Knowing a lot can be quite troublesome, too. It’s a lot to deal with.”

“I’m not that unusual. Anyone would be like that.”

“No, most people, even if they know, choose not to act.”

That must have been due to a lack of resources.

Didn’t they say generosity comes from a well-stocked granary?

The only reason I can act like this is that I have the power to achieve it.

For whatever reason, if taking action is good, did she want to express that as well?

“Get some rest. You might not realize it, but you look quite tired.”

“Haah… fine.”

I didn’t particularly plan to, but now that she said that after laying me down, drowsiness suddenly overwhelmed me.

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Atlas fell asleep quickly.

Even if he was the Master, he couldn’t hold out long when he let his guard down in front of Carmel.

“Is he asleep?”

There was no answer.

The reason I chose to put him to sleep was that I had a personal desire to see his sleeping face, but it was mainly because he truly looked tired.

Before reuniting here, Atlas had undoubtedly dealt with about three incidents that could have caused massive damage had they not been stopped early on.

He had put in so much effort to rest just by going to the Academy, and even though he was given a break, he had unwittingly been working hard all the time.

So I genuinely wanted him to relax and let all tension go, even if just for a little while.

“How wonderful it would be if we could just stay like this always.”

Even while sleeping, Atlas still bore a youthful boyish look, making him exceedingly cute.

If I said this, he would probably get angry, but it was hard to imagine someone with such strength to overturn a kingdom with just a sword.

As I gently placed my hand on his unguarded face, I caressed his soft cheeks, brushing against his gently rising nose.

“Mmm…”

I then let my finger touch his soft lips.

Unintentionally, my face drew closer at the softness of his lips.

‘Should I just go for it?’

A thought typical of a regular girl made my heart race.

Our breathing was close enough to feel, yet Carmel squeezed her eyes shut and lifted her head.

“It’s an enticing situation, but I’ll get scolded if I’m caught, so this is as far as I go.”

It was certainly a once-in-a-decade opportunity, but taking advantage of him while he was asleep felt too underhanded.

Instead, I brought the finger that had just been at his lips lightly to my own.

For now, I would have to be satisfied with this.