Academy Ankle Reaper

58. I want to be strong

Lucia joined in the morning exercise class.

From the time Amy and River were hospitalized, she looked at her little by little, and she seems to have taken permission from them as well.

Recently, River and Lucia have been sparring a lot.

River asked Lucia why she didn’t fight against Atlas…

“I don’t like pointing the sword at Atlas…”

It’s hard to swing a knife at me, so I refuse.

Looks like it’s a problem because I’m small, but I passed on it because I felt really afraid.

As a result, Lucia’s opponent was River, who ate a lot of elixirs while in the hospital and improved his skills to the intermediate level at once… And all were defeated.

It’s not like they’re overwhelmingly defeated, but they seem to keep their pride.

And the River, who had been defeated just once, is talking with Lucia about the sparring they just did.

“So… How did it go…?”

“So…”

Hmm?

Something is different…?

Listening carefully, Lucia was listening to River about what happened yesterday.

“The two of you are whispering something.”

“Wow?! Atlas??”

“Did you gossip about me?”

“That… That’s impossible…!!”

On that day, he saw me moving with the head of the swordsmanship research department, but he said he hadn’t seen anything after that.

As I listened to the work in the manager’s office where the two men were attached, my face became hot.

“I haven’t heard that the school had a family.. I want to know too..”

“Do something yourself.”

“…I want to know better.”

I continued talking instead of River at Lucia’s words.

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After I completely changed my mind, we became very comfortable with each other.

Hera thinks of me like her real sister, and I think of her as my real sister.

No, she’s a real older sister too.

Because we are blood cousins.

In my previous life, I had memories of getting along really well with my cousins, so I was able to treat them comfortably.

Of course, because of the memories of her mother that are reflected on her face from time to time, even if I tried to get closer, I felt a sense of distance somewhere.

Hera was talking to me when she suddenly changed her gaze.

“Younger brother… Don’t you want to join the swordsmanship research department?”

“I will never go in.”

What did I enter the Swordsmanship Research Club for?

At best, the only thing I can gain here, which is at the level of students, is networking at best.

If you’re looking for connections, you have to join the student council or the newspaper club. There’s no reason to come here.

“I didn’t see your first duel, but I did after that. Your swordsmanship suits our swordsmanship research department the best.”

Looking at what you’re talking about, it seems you didn’t see it during the first duel.

It is natural.

My duel happened during class both times, and it’s strange that kids who skip class just because they watched it.

It felt good to see swordsmanship and recommend it, but there was one more reason why I couldn’t get into the swordsmanship research department.

“I don’t have a good relationship with the members here…”

I’ve already built up too many bad ties with the members here.

I beat him once in the newspaper department, and after that I beat up the guys who came for revenge, and I beat up the guys who came this time.

Even if Hera, the general manager, has no bad ties, how can she be in the same department when the other members have a bad image?

“It’s not a good relationship.. Is this?”

But Hera frowned and jumped up and opened the door to the manager’s office.

There were a lot of members outside the door.

Some of them look familiar.

I saw the culprits who had been beaten by me.

Hera shouted loudly at them.

“Is anyone dissatisfied with him!!”

“”””No..!!!””””

“I heard that?”

Hera grinned when she heard the members’ answers.

If you do it right in front of you, of course you’ll say no..!

‘Everyone seems dissatisfied…’

“Umm… If it’s uncomfortable, I won’t recommend it any more.”

My expression didn’t look like it, so Hera became sullen again.

I really liked that the person was very honest and easy-going.

It would have been better if it didn’t resemble Asia.

Does she like skinship? Does she sometimes try to stroke her hair? She does, but it’s okay with her cousins.

Even when she was like that, it was cute how she became a bit sullen.

“Well then, there’s an exchange meeting with Clover Academy in the Western Kingdom next time, so why don’t you take a tour.”

“Looking at that doesn’t change anything.”

Having an exchange meeting with an academy from another country?

‘…It didn’t happen in the original story…?’

There were no episodes of interacting with other academies in the academy’s Devil Slayer.

But when she realized what a difference it made, she was convinced.

In the original work, the advent of the great devil I had prevented took place during this time, and the whole world was in an uproar.

Now, few people know if such a thing has descended, so it seems to be progressing.

‘If this happens, everything that happens in the future will become unpredictable.. It means peaceful, so let’s think positively.’

As she thought about it seriously, Hera patted her on the shoulder.

“Hoohoo, if you see sister’s great skills, will it change? My sister’s arms are too thin! If you eat more nutritious food and wield the sword more, it will grow bigger soon. Cancer”

Hera smiled and said it, but I was very bitter.

Unfortunately, I tried that for over 10 years, but it didn’t work.

I know I meant it very well, but it was painful.

After that, we talked doran and then broke up.

From noble mtl dot com

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Lucia listened to the general information and spoke seriously.

“…The Swordsmanship Research Department is one of the strongest clubs in the academy.”

“Who am I to learn from?”

“Wow, look at the confidence…”

“Athletes have their own atmosphere. That atmosphere is disgusting.”

I can’t stand the unique atmosphere of the sports club that tries to kill new recruits to protect the authoritative top down.

If I… Join the team and get stressed out in that atmosphere again, the swordsmanship research department could get bloody winds again.

Not going in is good for each other.

“Come to think of it, do you think there will be an exchange meeting with the academy of the western kingdom in a while?”

“Uh.. I heard that there is such a thing.”

I think Lucia heard it somewhere too.

Even if she just stays still, there are sparrows around her who ask for information, so unlike her atmosphere, she knows a lot.

“…The Imperial Academy always wins overwhelmingly at exchange meetings, so everyone says they don’t want to do it… It seems that this year’s proposal came from the Western Kingdom.”

“Isn’t there even a monstrous freshman like Atlas?”

Amy smiled at Lucia’s words.

“…?”

At that moment, I saw it.

The way River’s shoulders flinched and trembled when people from the Western Kingdom said they were coming.

River’s condition continued to be strange until the moment we parted ways after the morning exercise.

————————————————————————- —

After class, River came to see me separately.

“Atlas has something to say. Do you have time?”

“What’s going on?”

River came in with a hesitant attitude somewhere.

It was cute how I couldn’t make proper eye contact with him and twisted his fingers.

“I was wondering if you could play sparring with me in the evening.”

“Let’s train in the evening too?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

Suddenly, I wanted to suggest something… But it wasn’t that bad.

Because even though Amy carries on most of Hayden’s fate, she makes River stronger as well, because she’s determined.

I got stronger after taking the elixir last time, but compared to the minimum goal, it fell far short.

If you ask yourself to increase your training time like this, I’d be happy.

“I can do anything you want.”

“Thank you always”

He readily agreed, and River grinned.

“But why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

“…..Recently, I look a bit shabby…”

River paused for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Everyone around you is strong. You and Mr. Russell are like that… Amy doesn’t try to fight sparring, but I know she’s stronger than me.”

The contact between River and Amy started when River stopped Amy from being bullied by a nobleman.

Until then, River thought Amy was weaker than him, but recently she seems to have changed that opinion.

Amy usually hides a lot of her strength to prevent her being targeted by demons, but she is this much.

What was River thinking when he realized that?

It may not have been such an optimistic idea. That’s why they say let’s train together in the evening like this.

“I’m very halfway. I’m not very weak, but I’m not very strong, and I thought that because everyone around me was stronger than me.”

“That’s a good attitude. So, shall we start today?”

It was good that River was determined to be strong on his own.

“Okay, I’ll prepare…!”

Watching River smile brightly and return to the dormitory, he felt the need to train his ‘image’ as he increased his aura.

————————————————————————- ————–

The Kingdom of Clover located in the west of the Empire, also known as the Western Kingdom.

It’s really not a big deal, but there was only one reason why I was able to hold on to the border with the empire.

It was a country with few masters on all continents.

“So, how did the ‘exchange meeting’ go?”

“Imperial Academy has agreed and we are currently negotiating a time.”

“I’m sure it was mentioned that I will accompany Clover Academy as an advisor, right?”

“Of course I did.”

In the royal castle of the Clover Kingdom, someone is hearing a report about an exchange meeting between the Imperial Academy and the Clover Kingdom Academy.

Sitting arrogantly astride a throne, the middle-aged man with his chin resting on his chin and listening to the report of the man standing in front gave a tear-jerking smile.

At first glance, the man sitting arrogantly on the throne looks like a king and the one crouching down looks like a subordinate, but the scenery was somehow strange.

The crouching man had a crown and staff symbolizing the king’s authority, and the middle-aged man sitting on the throne held only a fancy sword.

“Sword Saint, I will finish all preparations so that you can depart next week.”

“That’s right.”

The man sitting on the throne is ‘Adolphe Rohan’, the Master of the Clover Kingdom and the Sword Saint.

And the one bowing his head in front of him was the true owner of the throne, King Art Nouveau III of the Clover Kingdom.

The swordsman who occupied the throne stroked his beard.

“You’re such a troubled fiancee that you sneak into the academy as soon as you get older…”