The next morning we assembled as ordered. While Peter was there, he was not the person who addressed us. Instead it was the headmaster.

“Students, I want to personally apologise for the incidents during the field exercise. While the military is not a safe place, and there is always some danger, it is still our duty to prevent needless deaths. While a hidden vampiric nightshade infestation was outside of our control, we were not vigilant enough to discover it. As a result a student was critically injured. Thankfully he did not suffer any permanent harm.”

After a short pause he continued: “There won’t be any classes for the remaining week but the royal investigators might need to interview you. This is not optional, you are required to talk to them if they request it. Otherwise I can only encourage you to use the next few days to contemplate what you have learned. Dismissed.”

It was Flamday, which meant we had four days off.

“Do we need to stay inside the academy? In case the investigators want to question us.” I asked my friends.

“They did not say anything. I expect them to tell you in advance when and where you are supposed to be.” Helena answered.

“I need to replenish my potions. I think I will go to the city and buy more ingredients, then go to the lab.” Cassie said.

Nyx, who was sitting on my head, started pawing my ear.

“Oh, we promised Nyx a potion. A reward for the fish she caught. Maybe I should join you.” I remembered.

“So you are fine with leaving the academy? Awesome!” Helena said.

“I still have the horn to sell, so the city sounds like a good idea.” Skadi said.

The money I had left from my stipend, combined with the loot we sold on the trip, added up to two gold and eight silver. Not much for a noble but a fortune for my standards. Then again, I had never seen the prices inside of an alchemy shop.

“Koyuki, follow me to my office.” I looked at the headmaster in surprise. I had not noticed him.

“Yes, sir!” I responded.

My friends looked surprised. They had not noticed Erik either. “We can meet in the park afterwards.” I told them and followed the headmaster.

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We walked in silence until we reached his office. Irene was there, waiting for us. Once inside he took a seat, I remained standing. So did Irene.

“You are not in trouble, actually you did rather well from what I have heard.” Erik said to me.

“She did indeed. Her group was on guard duty when the spiders attacked. They managed that nicely. And they even took out a vampiric nightshade.” Irene said.

“Do you think someone targeted you, Koyuki?” Erik asked.

“I do not think so, sir. The spiders came at the whole camp and there was no way to know that we would run into a vampiric nightshade. If someone wanted to kill me they could have attacked me when we were inside the forest.”

He looked at Irene. “Someone disabled my wards before the spider attack. I was not able to find them. We did discover pheromones inside the base. They were somewhat near Koyuki’s tent, but it could have simply been a coincidence. It’s hard to say if they tried to kill her specifically. I would have expected an assassin to strike during the battle but we did not find anyone. It’s possible they aborted the plan because the camp reacted too quickly. Also, the spider queen was missing. I tracked down her lair. They could have killed her, or captured her for further use.”

There were pheromones? I did not know that. I wondered if they had searched the students' tents while we were in the forest.

“Any connection to the nightshades?” Erik asked.

“Unknown. The academy does not always camp at the same spot. Those plants were there for a while. It could have been a blood crystal farming operation. They were in an area that would not draw too much attention if the occasional person disappeared. Or it could have been an attack on the Barkworths.”

“What is a blood crystal?” I asked.

“They are rather useful in alchemy, artificing or enchanting. The vampiric nightshades form them and put their seeds inside. The crystal provides nourishment for a new plant to grow until it can feed itself.” Erik explained.

Oh. Oh! “Sir, I think Torben might have two of those. We found them together with the concealment crystal.”

“Thank you for informing us, I will handle it.” Irene said.

“Hm. This whole situation is troubling. Not many people could bypass your wards. Or escape your wrath.” He said, looking at Irene.

“After I took care of the spiders I went hunting. But there was nothing. Just a few bandits and regular scum. No mage. But I will keep hunting.” There was a dangerous gleam in her eyes. Were there flames in her red eye? Was I imagining things?

“Um, could someone have disabled your wards from inside the camp?” I wondered.

“No one there was powerful enough.” Irene said with absolute confidence.

“They would need an artefact…” Erik mused.

“That would be rather expensive and we did not find anything.” Irene said.

So they did search the tents.

“We will see if the investigators uncover something. Meanwhile, how do you evaluate Koyuki?” Erik asked.

“Talented, as expected. She has some reasonable instincts but needs more training and experience. Her team complements her well and will make a reasonable guard in the future. They seem to progress rather nicely. And Nyx is certainly smarter and stronger than we originally believed. What are you, a tier three?” She smiled at my undead companion, who was still sitting on my head. There was no response.

“We will pretend she is a tier two. We want others to underestimate her.” Erik said. “So, is Koyuki safe to leave the academy?”

“Probably. She has a decent shield and I think Nyx would spot most ambushes. It’s unlikely someone would cause too much trouble in the city.” Irene answered.

“I trust your judgement.” Erik said. Then he looked at me. “Koyuki, you are a valuable asset. Nethena needs strong mages. What I have seen so far gives me a lot of confidence that one day you will be my peer. That is also why you were included in this conversation. Now, enjoy your days off and keep working hard.”

“Yes sir!”

As I left the office I pondered the conversation. They told me more than the other students. Were they simply trying to gain my trust? They wanted me to work for the kingdom after all.