Chapter 87: Suspended

[Kael’s Perspective]

The message came during the break between classes. A junior cadet, trembling slightly, handed me a sealed envelope.

"Instructor Samantha demands your presence immediately."

I frowned, staring at the wax seal.

"What is it, Kael?" Elisha asked, looking over my shoulder.

"I’ve been summoned," I said, tucking the letter into my pocket. "Probably about the incident this morning."

"Be careful," Celestia warned, her expression grave. "Instructor Samantha is... formidable."

"Don’t worry," I gave them a reassuring smile, though my stomach churned slightly. "I’ll just explain what happened. Once she knows the reason, she’ll understand. Justice is on my side."

I walked to the faculty building with my head held high.

I expected a lecture. I expected to be told to control my temper. I even expected Lucien to have hired thugs to ambush me on the way.

But I didn’t expect

this

.

*****

[Instructor Samantha’s Office]

"You admit it, then?"

Samantha sat behind her desk, her steel-grey eyes boring into my soul. She didn’t offer me a seat. I stood at attention in the center of the room like a criminal.

"I do, Instructor," I said firmly. "I struck Cadet Lucien."

"No hesitation? No excuses?"

"Hiding the truth is pointless. There were witnesses. And I am not ashamed of my actions."

Samantha slammed her hand on the desk.

BANG.

I flinched.

"You should be!" she barked, standing up. Her aura flared, the pressure of a Platinum Knight filling the small room.

"What do you think this Academy is, Cadet Kael? A tavern? A back-alley fighting pit?"

She walked around the desk, stopping right in front of me.

"A month ago, Lucien Ashborne was the one standing where you are, being punished for bullying and violence. And now? Just as he is turning over a new leaf, showing restraint and discipline,

you

are the one attacking him?"

"Restraint?" I scoffed, the injustice of it burning my throat. "He isn’t showing restraint, Instructor. He’s mocking us."

"If you have disagreements with a noble, there are protocols!" Samantha snapped. "You could have challenged him to a duel. You could have settled it like a Knight. Instead, you sucker-punched a student who had his hands in his pockets. That is the act of a coward, not a hero."

"I am not a coward!"

I shouted back, losing my composure.

"Do you know why I hit him? Do you know what he said?"

Samantha crossed her arms. "Enlighten me. What words justify physical assault?"

"He knew," I said, my voice trembling with suppressed rage. "He knew about the attack on CrystalVale."

Samantha’s expression didn’t change, but her eyes sharpened instantly. The air in the room grew heavy.

"Explain."

"I confronted him. I asked him if he knew something was going to happen. And he admitted it," I spat the words out. "He said he had his guesses. He stood there, looking bored, and told me that the lives of commoners didn’t mean anything to him. That as long as the VIPs survived, the rest were ’acceptable losses.’"

I clenched my fists, the memory of his cold, poker face driving me mad.

"If he had informed the authorities... if he had told

you

... that disaster could have been avoided! Those people died because he couldn’t be bothered to speak up!"

I looked at Samantha, expecting her to share my outrage. Expecting her to grab her sword and arrest Lucien right now.

"His nonchalance... his cruelty... it angered me. And in the spur of the moment, I attacked. I struck him for the dead who couldn’t strike him themselves."

Silence hung in the room.

Samantha’s face had hardened into stone. She looked out the window for a moment, processing the information.

’Lucien knew?’

she thought.

’That explains his precision. The shotgun. The coordination.’

But then, she turned back to me. Her face was unmoved.

"Is that all?"

I blinked. "Is that... Instructor, did you hear me? He let people die!"

"I heard you, Cadet."

She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

"But that is an accusation. A suspicion. Do you have proof he was involved with the terrorists?"

"No, but—"

"Then it is hearsay. And regardless of his moral failings, regardless of what he knew or didn’t know... the crux of the matter is that

you

attacked a fellow cadet who offered you no physical threat."

She poked a finger hard against my chest.

"That is a cowardly act unbecoming of a Knight of the Empire."

"But justice—"

"What do you think you are?" she cut me off, her voice rising. "A Hero? A vigilante going around punishing evil as you see fit? Who gave you the right to be judge, jury, and executioner?"

My face burned with shame.

"I... I just..."

"You are a student, Kael. Not a god."

She stepped back, returning to her desk. She picked up a quill and scribbled on a piece of parchment.

"I will speak to Cadet Lucien about the allegations you’ve raised. If he withheld intelligence, that is a matter for the Intelligence Division."

She handed me the slip of paper.

"But for what

you

did... you will be punished."

I looked at the paper.

[Notice of Suspension]

"You are suspended for one week. Effective immediately."

My jaw dropped. The world spun.

"S-Suspended?" I stammered. "But—the mid-terms! If I miss classes now—"

"Then you should have thought about that before you threw a punch," Samantha said coldly. "No buts. You are dismissed."

*****

[The Cafeteria]

I walked back into the cafeteria like a ghost.

The noise of the students felt distant. The smell of food made me nauseous.

My friends were waiting at our usual table. They saw me approach, saw the slump in my shoulders and the paper in my hand, and their expressions fell.

"Kael?" Celestia stood up. "What happened?"

I dropped into my seat, tossing the suspension notice onto the table.

"I’m suspended," I whispered. "For a week."

"WHAT?!"

Mariella shrieked, drawing looks from nearby tables.

"Suspended?" Elisha grabbed the paper, reading it frantically. "But... mid-terms are next week! This will ruin your ranking!"

"Why?" Bordon asked, slamming his fist on the table. "Did you tell her what Lucien said?"

"I did," I said bitterly. "I told her everything. About him knowing. About him not caring."

"And?"

"She said it didn’t matter. She said I acted like a vigilante. She said... I’m not a hero."

I put my head in my hands.

"She said Lucien’s morals are separate from my actions. He played by the rules. I didn’t."

A heavy silence fell over the table.

"Damn him," Elisha hissed, her eyes narrowing into slits. "That Lucien... he’s become more sinister than before."

"He knew," Celestia murmured, her face pale. "He knew Kael would react. He knew Samantha would follow the book. He baited you, Kael."

"He used the rules as a weapon," Bordon growled. "That’s dirtier than using a sword."

"He’s trying to destroy us without even lifting a finger," Mariella whimpered. "He’s a monster."

Kael stared at the table.

For the first time since coming to the Academy, he felt truly defeated. Not by a monster he couldn’t cut, but by a system he couldn’t fight.

Lucien Ashborne hadn’t just punched back. He had disarmed him.

"A week..." Kael muttered, his grip tightening on the table edge until the wood creaked.

"He thinks he’s won. But this isn’t over."

***

Far away from the Academy, in the basement of

Kitchen 21

—which I had converted into a private potion brewing room—the air was thick with the smell of sulfur and crushed moon-lilies.

Cough! Cough!

I covered my mouth, hacking suddenly.

"Damn," I muttered, rubbing my throat. "Is someone cursing me? It feels like a very specific, golden-haired grudge."

I shook it off and turned my attention back to the workbench.

Ariana was standing over a bubbling cauldron, her silver hair tied back in a messy bun, safety goggles sliding down her nose. She was focused intensely, adding drops of Gryphon blood into a shimmering teal liquid.

I was teaching her the recipe for a very potent healing potion.

Actually, calling it a "healing potion" was an insult. It was closer to a miracle.

[Elixir of Rebirth]

In the game lore, this was a legendary consumable capable of regrowing missing limbs, restoring damaged mana cores, and curing incurable diseases. It was the Holy Grail of Alchemy.

In the original timeline, this would be developed by Ariana in the far future—specifically, during her "Witch of Decay" phase as a villain. She invented it not to save people, but to keep her test subjects alive longer so she could experiment on them.

But since I am here, that dark future isn’t going to happen.

However, I didn’t want to wait ten years for her to invent it naturally. I knew the recipe from the game wiki. I knew the ingredients, the temperature, the stir count. So why wait?

It could help many people. It could revolutionize medicine.

But most of all... it could help

me

.

Make money.

Lots and lots of money.