Rose and Rolf got me to a bed and only left my side once a nurse shooed them away. She gave me a clean bill of health but a worried look, then told me I could stay for as long as I wanted. I wasn't sure I was ready to face the dean just yet. As good of a liar as I was, this was a situation that called for more planning than something I could come up with on the fly.

For example, there was a chance that the dean was like Professor Zell. What if she was also a demon? On the other hand, she could be sympathetic to Di'at's cause if I told her, and having a powerful ally would be beneficial. I just couldn't tell her about the assassination part. Definitely just the altruistic "apocalypse" bullshit Di'at fed me.

Perhaps this was why Di'at had given me the [Demeot Eyes] skill. I assumed that meant I'd be able to tell if someone was a demon or not. If the dean was a demon, then I'd have to play innocent. More innocent than I'd ever played. If she wasn't, then I'd have to figure out on my own if it was time to bring someone else into this. I preferred to work alone, but if my past lives had taught me anything, life was easier when you had help.

For example, opening a magic shop on my own would be more than a full time job. Rolf, Alis, and probably their family's merchant guild were doing all the heavy lifting there. I just had to give them some more money. And soon. Maybe I should've asked Di'at for some gold as well. In the end, even if I had to spend some money on the start-up, I'd get the return in more than gold.

The potion making I wouldn't do all myself either. I just hadn't figured this part out yet. I could probably meet initial demand myself and then possibly recruit someone at school for secret help. Students are always wanting to make more money. If all else failed, I could hire potionmakers with the money I made from the magic shop. I could possibly even hire them as potionmakers for the shop and have them produce an assortment of potions, including the love potion.

Distribution of the love potions to the brothels was something impossible for me to do alone. Danio was quite helpful in that aspect, delivering messages for me and forming a bond with the Triam Drana. The Triam Drana were also going to play a large part in this scheme, as they had the manpower to actually distribute and protect the product.

I would need help killing a king as well. Not blatantly, of course. Killing a king wasn't easy, even if I'd done it before. I'd have to scope out the Royal Palace soon so I could get a good handle on what was the best way to infiltrate. To do that, either I needed help from someone with access to the palace like Rose or I needed to test out my new Skills as soon as possible to see if it was feasible to use them for such a task. If I wanted to practice them, though, I'd need someplace private.

That private place could be on campus, and it might be something Rose or Rolf could help me with. Or possibly the dean. If none of them are a realistic option, then perhaps I could find a spell I could do or hire someone to do.

With my thoughts sorted, I left the infirmary and navigated through the palace to the dean's office at the top levels of one of the towers. The name on the door read Dean Dhysrya Sarsyss. When I knocked, the door opened by itself, and I figured that was all the invitation I needed.

Instead of opening into a room, the door opened to a tiled courtyard in the middle of a one-story building. The sky was bright and hot, but the air had none of Brugge's humidity. There were tall potted trees providing shade and hiding the columned arcade wrapping around the courtyard.

The dean was leaning against one of the columns. Her dark purple hair was tied back and she wore clothes that I was sure were from another continent to the west. Maybe it was traditional from where she was from.

"Gerard, good to see you." She gestured him toward her. "Follow me. My office is over here."

I followed her into her actual office, which was a bright room with mostly white furniture and a view out into a vast desert with jagged mountains in the distance. She took a seat behind her oversized desk and I took a seat in one of the chairs on the other side of it. Why did it feel like I was in trouble?"

"I'm sure you're wondering why you're here," Dean Sarsyss said. She sat back, relaxed. "I received a letter from your father inquiring of your possible registration status. I don't like that man so I have no intention of telling him you're here if you don't want me to, but that will likely mean he'll send someone to come fetch you if he truly believes you to be here. I wasn't aware that he didn't know of your whereabouts."

Why would he have jumped to the conclusion that I'd study at Caemor when I'd never showed interest in learning magic before now?

"I wasn't either," I said. Since she said she didn't like him, I continued, "I don't want him to find me if possible. I ran away for a reason. That reason also is why I left the kingdom altogether. I can't go back."

Her eyebrows rose. She nodded slowly. "Yes, Duke Viscoti does has his hands in a few places most would find unsavory. For what it's worth, I don't believe he suspects that you're here specifically. That man works very meticulously. He may have sent letters to every prestigious academy on the continent."

I couldn't keep my eyes from widening. What the entire fuck? I'd known Father was desperate to keep me within his spider web, but contacting such a large number of academies was going a step too far. That did explain how he'd found me in the north, though. I'd underestimated him.

"That could be true," I said, "but he's probably well aware that I'm here because I wasn't entirely discreet..."

"You're still young. I wouldn't expect you to know how to cover your trail from your father at your age. If he does come looking for you, let me know. I'll do what I can to keep you as my student here. For your own safety. I'm not only worried about you because of Duke Viscoti..."

I had a bad feeling about what was going to come out of her mouth next, but her demeanor was rather calm. If she knew about everything, I wasn't sure she'd be acting quite like this. Unless she was a demon. She was a Cambion, which meant she already had some demon blood. That shouldn't make her any more likely of being possessed by the Rashirat or their demon dogs.

Not to mention, at the very least, I'd hope my Demeot Eyes would tell me as much by now or they were useless. I couldn't trust it, though, so it was probably best to play this safe until I knew how they worked.

Dean Sarsyss continued, "I was hoping you'd tell me what happened in the classroom today, but I don't want to make you relive that so soon. So this is what I'll say. Some of the students have reported that the demon who possessed Professor Zell singled you out in particular. I know that Zell was interested in you before today as well, so that leads me to believe her possession was not relatively recent. Given that I didn't know she'd been possessed at any point, I can't be sure that there aren't other professors here who may also be possessed."

"You think there could be another professor like Zell?" I asked carefully. Of course there were. Anyone could be one at this point, especially if they were strong. The academy had many strong Mages.

"It'd be perhaps more surprising if there weren't, I'm afraid, but there is at least some things I can do for you since this is my campus. First, it's most prudent to get you out of temporary housing to a House where security is more secure. Which house would you like to join?"

Convenient. The plan was to attend Jascar with Huxley, but he was dead. "Tespana," I answered.

[Notice]

Congratulations!

You have completed your Quest [Join Tespana House] [Joined Tespana House]. Mastery of [Silver Tongue] has increased by .10%.

That was his idea of no more Quests?

"A good choice," the dean said, drawing my attention back to her. "That's perfect. Princess Rose is very qualified to help should anything come up, and I believe there are a number of Royal Guards stationed throughout campus for her safety, so remaining near her would be beneficial. She also seems fairly fond of you, which is unusual for her." Dean Sarsyss raised an eyebrow.

I said nothing, as I'd learned early that was the best in these situations.

The dean nodded. "Alright then. Your silence is very fair. That said, there's a student at Tespana that I'll have you room with. He's another special case, a new transfer student around your age. He has some experience with the Demeot. His name is Gatra Imurlut. He can be quite a handful, but I trust he'll feel compelled to help you."

Odd choice of words. "Thanks. I appreciate that. I look forward to meeting him."

She smiled. "Is there anything else you think you might need? Please don't hesitate to ask."

Well, it was necessary for me to hesitate still since telling her no too quickly would look suspicious. After pretending to deliberate for a moment, looking down at my hands in my lap, I said, "I can't think of anything right now. Could I visit if I think of something later?"

"Certainly," she said. "Until then." She stood up and offered me something. "This is a whistle. If you blow it, I'll hear it, and I'll know you're in danger."

"Thank you." I stood as well and took it from her. It looked more like a dog whistle, small and easy to hide. That gave me other options if I did have to face a demon before I was ready, though I'd prefer not to rely on anyone in that way. Then again, if I wanted Gerard to look weak, it might be a good idea to lean on it a bit too much.

"If a demon singled you out, Gerard," the dean said, sitting again, "you are very special. I don't know yet what makes you special, and until I know, I'll do my best to protect you. I look forward to learning more about you while you study at my academy."

The meeting had been going a little too well. I'd caught her interest rather than her attention. Being a puzzle to solve was worse than being a problem to remove. I smiled at her and left.