When dinner time came, Lith was surprised no one had come to pick him up. He wasn't worried though, he just thought that his teammates had fallen asleep and didn't wake up in time.
After going to their rooms and no one answering him, no matter how much he knocked, Lith understood that something had happened. He tried using the communication amulet, but no one answered his calls.
- "I told you to check on them! Why you didn't listen?" Solus scolded him.
"I'm sorry, okay? Let's be rational, four people cannot disappear into thin air. Linjos must know their whereabouts. Nothing gets in or out without his permission."–
Much to Lith's surprise, the door to the Headmaster's office was open.
Broken to be more precise.
Lith started conjuring several spells at once, fearing that somehow the one behind the boxes and Velagros' death made an attempt on Linjos' life.
The room was a mess. The Headmaster's desk was cleaved in half, the glass windows were broken at multiple points and several documents were scattered on the floor. Linjos seemed to be all right, though.
Professor Marth and Professor Vastor were tending to his remaining wounds, none of which appeared to be life threatening. From Lith's experience those were the kind of injuries that would inflict the most pain while doing very little damage.
The kind of injuries he was a specialist at inflicting on others.
"What happened, Headmaster? Seems like a cyclone trashed this place."
"Close." Linjos sighed.
"An angry parent didn't agree with my methods and decided to explain it to me how much, up close and personal." Linjos could have stopped Orion at any time, but his sense of guilt prevented him from doing so.
He was the kind of man that would always learn from his mistakes and be ready to suffer from their consequences, instead of hiding behind his title.
Also, a little mean voice in his head told him that it was better not to add the Ernas household to the ever-expanding list of people that hated his guts.
- "Thank the gods Archmage Deirus after threatening to gouge out my eyes and force me eat them, just presented a formal complaint to the Queen. I don't know if I can take another beating of that magnitude." Linjos thought. –
"If you are going to ask me about your companions, they have all left the academy and gone back home hours ago."
- "Hours? Since when does it takes hours to recover?" Lith thought. "Either Linjos fainted and called for help only recently, or that parent really knows his stuff. Wish I could ask him for some lessons." Lith mind-sighed in envy.
"You monster!" Solus scolded him with renewed vigour. "How can you appreciate such violence when your friends are hurting or worse? How could you not flinch when Linjos just called them 'companions'?"–
Her rage was genuine, and so was Lith's indifference.
"Because he was in the ball park. I like them, but not like-like them. Also, they may or may not have killed someone. Big deal! They'll get over it, just like I did. Don't you agree?" -
Then Solus gave a solid demonstration of her vocabulary by yelling at him all the insults she had learned over the years.
Solus' words struck a nerve, Lith didn't know how to answer without being even more of a jerk. Lying to Solus was impossible like lying to himself, also it was something he would never attempt to do. He could only try to be a better person.
"Don't tell me that any of them actually did it?"
"Friya and Yurial." Linjos replied with a sigh.
Hearing those words, Lith remained stunned.
Not only because of what they had done, but also because of how he felt. Or to be more precise, what he didn't feel. Lith honestly didn't care, killing had become such a big part of him that he couldn't bring himself to consider it a problem.
The realization stung hard at him and so did Solus.
- "Wow, your friends… oh, I'm sorry, I mean companions had a traumatic experience and your first reaction is feeling sorry for yourself? That's a new low, even for you."–
It was hard to determine what hurt the most, the sarcasm in her words or the truth they held. Lith turned around and walked away, feeling emptier than ever.
"Wait." Linjos stopped him. "Since you are already here, you can give me your report."
"My report?"
"I need to know how your group performed before the last part of the test, otherwise I cannot evaluate their progress."
Lith told Linjos everything that had happened in the dungeon, skimming only the parts where they needed his help the most, letting the Headmaster know their struggles and suffering.
***
Meanwhile, at the Ernas household, Orion and Jirni were having dinner alone. Their eldest sons were still away with their units and the girls had preferred to remain in their rooms. Even Lucky was absent, choosing to console Phloria over its beloved roasted chicken.
The big rectangular table in the dining hall had never been so cold and empty. The Lords of the mansion sat at the opposite ends, at the two heads of the table. Given the sensitive nature of their conversation, the servants had been forced to stay outside of the room, entering only when summoned with the bell.
"Did you really have to assault Linjos? He's the Queen's favourite right now, it could harm our interests in the acquisition of the Solivar's household." Jirni's tone was placid.
She loved her husband and knew that something serious was upsetting him, but she couldn't help being herself.
"He's free to challenge me to a duel or issue a formal complaint with the Crown, for what I care." Hearing Linjos' name almost made him choke on the food, spitting some back in the plate.
"And another thing, dear." He added after cleaning his mouth with a napkin.
"I know that you are not great with feelings, unless you have to torment and manipulate someone into confessing, of course, but I'd really appreciate you not mentioning duties and arranged marriages to the girls until further notice.
Otherwise I'm afraid the next thing you'll hear from me would be an irrevocable divorce petition."
***
The next day, all the students were gathered in the compulsory courses' class for the end of the trimester. Lith couldn't tell if this time Linjos' speech was addressed more to his students or to himself.
"My dear students, it's my sincere hope that this past semester has taught us a lot. In this life there are some conflicts that are impossible to avoid. What matters is how we decide to face them and what we learn from their aftermath.
I don't blame those who decided to not take part in this exam, just like I don't think less of those that despite accepting to face this challenge head on, lacked the necessary resolution to achieve success.
Remember though, that this is just an academy. Here your choices matter, weakness is allowed and questioning yourselves is encouraged. Only idiots have no doubts. Outside these walls, life is less lenient. Sometimes you will be forced to do the wrong thing for the right reason.
My hope is that when the moment comes, you'll remember this experience and you will be better for it. As for those who attempted to cheat, you'll hear from your parents about the disciplinary measures that await you.
The test has taken a toll on all of us, so I encourage you to return to your homes for the ten days break before the last trimester begins. Dismissed."
Just like the last time, the report cards appeared on the student's desks in the form of blank pieces of paper until imprinting them with mana would reveal their hidden content.
Lith's report card was as following:
"Principles of Advanced Magic: A+; Forgemastering: A+; Healing: S; Dimensional Magic: A-; School points gained from daily evaluation: 4,365. A complete evaluation for the second exam is impossible until I hear back from your teammates.
Headmaster Linjos"
- "What the heck is this?" Lith couldn't believe his eyes. "I didn't perform better than the last trimester on purpose, yet all my grades went up (*). More importantly, why A- in dimensional magic? I can already perform Warp Steps, that should be plenty enough for an A.
Once I learn how to Blink, I will have completed the course, and that's likely to happen soon. How can a student able to achieve so much so fast deserve just an A-?"
"Well, I think they went up because of your role in curing the plague." Solus pointed out. "I am amazed they didn't give you an S+ in healing, if that even exist. As for the other professors, maybe their judgment was swayed by the royal decree."
"Swayed my pale a*s! I bet that Rudd jerk is still mad at me for the only time I responded in kind to his taunts. Me and my big mouth."–
It was still early morning when Lith left the academy, surrounded by gazes full of rage and envy. The second exam had been a total disaster. Those that had refused to participate or attempted to cheat had their grades capped at B rank.
Those who participated and failed had their grades unchanged, but they still assumed to have been penalized because of their poor performance.
Lith could perfectly hear them talking, whispering could not hide the truth from his heightened senses. Despite it was supposed to be a secret, his report card was actually public knowledge and so were those of everyone that had passed the second exam.
Someone was trying to stir up troubles, further dividing the young mages not only by social status but also by their results, ruining all of Linjos' hard work.
As soon as Lith was Warped to the capitol of the Marquisate, he alerted the Marchioness, which in turn informed the Headmaster. Whoever was behind all the recent troubles had always been a step ahead of them.
Having a bad premonition, Lith used the now mastered Warp Steps repeatedly to arrive at the village of Lutia in a few minutes. A normal mage would have his mana depleted by the repeated use of dimensional gates, but Lith used Invigoration each time to keep his peak condition.
Lith's intuition proved to be wrong. Aside from the panic his arrival caused, the village was quiet. As soon the villagers noticed it was him, fear was replaced by more rage and envy.
Lith ignored them, as he had done for the past years.
It had always been like that, the farmers loved him because he healed them at half the price and because he was one of them that had made it. In their eyes Lith's and Tista's achievements were the proof that education and hard work could lead their children to have a better life compared to their parents'.
The merchants and artisans that lived in the village instead hated him. He was an anomaly that had shattered what they perceived as the natural order of things. A dirty poor farm boy that demanded to be paid in full, disrespecting their pact with Nana.
Overtime the hatred had only grown stronger. Lith's household had started as a bottom feeder, but their social standing had never ceased to rise since his appearance. In their eyes, he was a scourge that was stealing from them and their children what was rightfully theirs.
It was impossible for the merchants to accept that despite all the money and the resources they had invested in their children, none of them would ever be rich like Lith or respected like Tista.
Raaz was the third most hated member of the family, having meddled with their business with his self righteous attitude, making them look like vultures and ruining their reputation after the so-called plague had turned out to be just a rumour.
But the most hated was Lith, especially since he had executed Garith in public and caused Gurid Renkin's death. No matter what Nana said, they firmly believed that the merchant's heart had failed to accept his beloved son's death, following him to the grave.
There was only one exception.
Zekell Proudhammer, Senton's father and Rena's father-in-law loved Lith with all his heart. Thanks to the dowry that Lith had provided, he had finally managed to expand his business and buy a last name for his family.
Because of that heaven blessed marriage, they would always receive the best treatments for free and by using her daughter-in-law name, no one dared to bully him anymore.
Thieves and swindlers kept away from his shop, to the point he could leave the door open at night and find everything where he had left it. Sure, there was the occasional death threat every time Rena would get a scratch or a bruise during the daily activities, but it was Senton facing Lith's wrath, not him.
All in all, Zekell's life was damn good.
"Lith, my boy! It's so good to have you back!" He yelled as soon as their eyes met.
"Thanks." Lith replied with a half-smile. He never liked Senton or his family, but since he never liked any of his sisters' suitors, in his mind Zekell was a decent man. No one of the Proudhammer household had ever given Lith a good reason to kill him, after all.
"No, thanks to you, young man. I'll never thank you and your Locrias friend enough for saving my whole family!"
"Who did what now?"