After the meal our spirits were high and we had a pleasant night without rain. The weather held the next day and we continued training on the road. It even got us some approving nods from the teachers.

There were no incidents on our journey home and we arrived at the academy on the 26th Iles in the evening. The students got visibly excited as we finally returned. Everyone had plans about food, baths and other luxuries we had been missing during the trip.

“We should do a spa day!” Helena proposed.

“Do you think we will get the remaining week off? I doubt they had lessons prepared.” Cassie wondered.

“Maybe. They will be busy dealing with the fallout.” Skadi said.

“We can always train ourselves.” I pointed out.

“Or, we could reward our hard work with some relaxation.” Cassie suggested.

Soon we were all standing inside the academy, at the same spot where we had left days ago. Peter addressed us: “Students, the field training did not go exactly as planned. Still, I hope you have all learned some valuable lessons. There is a saying in the military, no plan survives contact with the enemy.”

After a short pause he continued: “I know you are wondering what comes next. Tomorrow you will all assemble here at 08:00 for further instructions. The school takes this incident seriously. If there are major developments, you will be informed. Now enjoy some proper food, I know you are all starving. Dismissed.” He smiled at his last remark. Clearly he knew how much people were craving decent food.

“Quick shower, then food!” Helena proposed. We all agreed.

Once we were clean, we all met in the mess hall. I left my goblins in my room. Nyx was sleeping on my head.

“Tonight we feast from the paid menu, food and drink is on me!” Helena declared.

“Thanks!” I said.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

I chose chicken that was breaded and fried. It was served with a bowl of rice. It smelled heavenly. Despite the amount of first years we found a free table. It was already late and most of the older students had already eaten. Helena set down her plate. Whatever she had was covered in mushroom sauce. Ugh. Skadi had a crispy pork knuckle and Cassie chose a chicken curry.

“I will be right back!” She announced. When she returned she was carrying a small keg and four mugs.

“What is that?” I asked.

“They sell small barrels of beer here. So we can refill our mugs at the table!”

“Should we be drinking that much with school tomorrow?” I asked.

“Yes.” Skadi said.

“Relax Koyuki, we survived our field trip and now we celebrate!” Cassie added.

“We fought together, bled together and now we have returned together!” Helena said. “It’s time for a proper night of celebration!”

She placed the barrel at the edge of the table. The tap was on the bottom. Then she started filling four mugs and handed them to us. Nyx watched her, then she jumped from my head to the keg and sat on top of it.

“Can Nyx drink beer?” Helena asked.

“Uh, I have no idea. I don’t think we should try to find out if she can get drunk…” I cautioned.

Helena shrugged. Nyx made no move to steal some of the beer. She seemed content to sit on top of the keg.

“We faced an army of spiders, a horned boar and a vampiric nightshade. We prevailed every time and slew our foes! To our victories, may there be many more!” Helena said while raising her mug.

“To victory!” We responded.

Then we devoured our meals. It tasted sooo good. After our first success with having the goblins fish we had repeated the strategy every night. So we had escaped the crackers, mostly. We still ate them during the day. But having real food again was amazing.

“So, on our next off day we should visit the spa. It’s not as great as a proper hot spring but soaking in a bath will be nice.” Helena suggested.

“Yes. And with the money we made from the boar and fish sales I can even afford it!” I said.

“Speaking of money, what happened to those red gems from the plant? And we should ask Victoria if we get anything for the green gem with the concealment spell.” Skadi said.

“I forgot about those gems.” I admitted.

“Torben might have forgotten as well. He probably still has them.” Helena said.

“They might keep them as evidence for the investigation.” Cassie pointed out.

Skadi shrugged. “They can have them. They should still pay us. We slew the monster, we should get the loot.”

“Actually, I think the army does allow you to keep some things. I got a horse from the ambush on the way here. Actually, I should check on Coffee tomorrow.” I said.

“It is common to give the soldiers a small part of the loot. Depends on the commanding officer though. Some keep everything for themselves. Well, everything that the army itself does not claim.” Helena explained. Then she saw that my mug was empty and refilled it. She was sitting next to the keg and kept the beer flowing.

As I looked around I saw that we were not the only students celebrating. A lot of food and drink was consumed. I did not spot Archibald and his minions though. Maybe he was already somewhere complaining about almost being eaten by a plant.

Nyx was curled up on top of the keg but opened an eye to stare at everyone who came too close. She was a good deterrent and might have been the reason why we were alone at our table. And why no one dared to ask for some of our beer.

We kept drinking until midnight and I was very tipsy when we returned to our room. The bed felt incredibly soft. It was good to be back.