Chapter 97: You Pass… But At What Cost?

Solomon was dizzy.

Even before he opened his eyes, he felt a churning in his stomach that made him feel nauseous and tired.

The left side of his jaw ached terribly. He tried to rub it as he slowly woke up, but something fastened to his wrist made moving hard.

“So you’re awake. I wasn’t quite sure after that punch you took.”

Solomon opens his eyes to his surroundings.

Instantly, he knows that he is inside the cargo hold of a ship. Wooden crates filled up most of his vision, along with current company.

His surroundings were illuminated by a single candle atop a small end table.

Master Abel sat on a small stool in front of him. In his lap, he held the cane he always carried, casually raking his fingers over a new nick along the shaft.

“…It is a shame. You have passed such a difficult examination, yet your accomplishments are overshadowed by the fact that you have committed a grave infraction.”

Solomon can barely keep his head upright. He’s been drugged, though he cannot tell with what.

Just the same, all attempts to circulate his internal energy are made in vain.

When his words come, they are slow and slurred.

“Infractionnn..?”

“Surely, the poppy hasn’t dulled your memory that much in such a short time. Or is attempting to assault an instructor not something you consider worthy of memorization?”

“Oh…that.” Solomon blinks slowly. “Did I get him…?”

Abel blinks. “…No, Cadet. You did not ’get him’.”

Solomon releases a frustrated breath as he lowers his head.

“Always a next time…”

Master Abel’s frown deepens.

“Do you actually dare to infer that you will attack an instructor of the academy a second time? Have you lost your mind while out in the wilderness?”

Solomon shakes his head.

He murmurs something unintelligible, but Abel does not care enough to ask him to repeat himself.

“Instructor Wilkins is furious. He’s demanding your head of all things. I’m inclined to give it to him.”

“…Heh.”

Solomon’s soft, barely audible chuckle soon devolves into a fit of thunderous laughter.

The cadet laughs until tears streamed from his eyes and his sides ached.

With less difficulty than before, Solomon lifts his hand to wipe his cheek, rattling the chains that bound him in the process.

“You’re certainly welcome to try! You will not be the first, and you will not be the last to attempt… though I fear you will all be exceedingly disappointed with the result.”

Abel’s jaw tightens as he watches Solomon regain control of himself after his outburst. He couldn’t tell if his cadet was really insane, or if his body was having some kind of reaction to the drug.

“Have you lost your mind, cadet? What would possess you to not only attack an instructor, but to claim that you will do so a second time, while I am telling you that your execution is up for debate?”

“You’ve already asked me that once…”

Suddenly, the butt end of Abel’s cain was pointed at Solomon’s temple. Even in his disoriented state, he could recognize the enormous threat posed by the old man.

His voice is of gravel and fire. There is no politeness left. “My patience wears thin, young man. I advise you to cut the theatrics and answer my-”

“Do you think one man’s life is more valuable than another..?”

Solomon’s drunken eyes meet his instructors. They flicker with their usual orange light, mimicking the flame burning in the room.

“I had someone close to me whom I could not help before… I could not save his life. I could not take revenge on his killer either… It haunts me every night, knowing I will never see my brother’s face in the flesh again…

So when I have a friend, a subordinate that I am responsible for, who is in critical condition, and he has been denied the aid he needs by some pompous, arrogant, disrespectful little shit… I’m liable to get just a little bit upset.”

Solomon leans against the wall, raising his head to the ceiling as if his exhaustion were catching up to him all at once.

“It does not fucking matter to me if the offending party is an instructor or a knight, or an emperor… If I have to lose someone close to me again, I will not live with regrets. I will be sure that they do not go to the afterlife alone…”

The crackle of the candle’s flame was the only sound in the room for several minutes.

Master Abel’s expression is nigh unreadable. But Solomon doesn’t necessarily care to check anymore, either.

In the back of his mind, Abel reflects on everything he knows about Solomon.

He was a good student. Well-mannered and quiet.

He was likely the best among the first-year knight students, not just the ones in Abel’s own class.

Up until this point, Abel had never had so much as a single issue with Solomon, or anything close to it. He’d never even heard the boy so much as raise his voice before.

Abel was no longer sure of what to make of him.

“…I do feel a small bit of remorse though.” Solomon says in a quiet voice.

Abel raises his brow. “That’s quite the change of tone.”

“… I feel pity for the difficult situation my actions have placed you in. That said… Given the opportunity, I would change nothing about my decision.”

Solomon was lying. He would have aimed for the instructor’s arm instead.

After several minutes, Abel removed his cane from Solomon’s forehead and placed it on the ground again.

“…Your punishment will need to be decided on by the Dean upon our return to the Academy. Everything that happens from this point forward is out of my hands.”

Solomon’s eyes flutter closed.

If he were worried about his looming fate, he certainly didn’t show it.

Abel turns to make his way out of the cargo hold when suddenly Solomon speaks once again.

“My team… are they alright?”

Abel pauses.

“…They’re fine. All of them.”

“That’s all that matters then…”

Only seconds later, Solomon’s soft snoring could be heard over the gentle creaking of the ship.

For a moment, Abel turns back to Solomon’s sleeping form and simply watches him.

Whatever thoughts the old man is having are his and his alone, but the slight crease of his thin lips does allude to some form of approval.

“…What a dumb kid.”

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