A hole in the blindfold

They sold the mangled goblin corpses for 331 silvers.

"So that's 3 gold for you and-" Flint paused. "Ten kisses…" He mumbled.

Amanda shrugged. "I collect my loans in due time-" she said, just walking away from him. "Tomorrow at the same time, right?"

"Sure…" Flint mumbled, looking at the 31 lonely coins in his hand.

He needed to pay 10 gold to the guild by tomorrow-

At least that's what the lady by the counter had implied.

'I've to make a lot more-'

He could always just sell the troll heads-

But-

But- he needed them for the apprenticeship. And Amanda kind of kept the trolls as collateral.

A fist formed-

'Damn it!'

"There you are!"

A familiar voice.

The woman glared.

Her robes fluttering as she stomped forward- passing through the large burly men.

"H-hi…."

Almost all attention on the two-

"Flint Maysheather-" Teeth grinding, a whisper. "You're coming with me…" She stared at different parts of his body, different blood-stained parts-

And with every new part- her rattling grew and grew.

Flint knew women-

Or rather he knew a crazy woman when he saw one.

And this woman before him-

Was not crazy, no-

Crazy didn't even begin to explain the situation.

"Yes… mam…"

***

They were back at the Magus academy.

Flint sat in a chair- behind a table.

A small room.

Some pictures on the walls- four books on the table.

And just on the other side, a woman.

Erveine Xenecoaster.

She didn't glare and actually, she just had a smile.

A smile constantly sending shivers down Flint's spine.

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't do anything reckless till we figure out who attacked your village…" She said still smiling.

"About that-" Yeah, Flint knew too.

He knew a bit too well.

He'd messed up.

The chances of the overlords destroying his village was 50/50. They either did it, or didn't.

And acting on that- was stupid at best.

Yet Flint couldn't help himself.

In the end, Anne was right, the revenge aspect really was consuming him and clouding his judgment.

But even so- "I'm sorry." Flint said, staring ahead. He met her gaze. "I'm sorry but I couldn't avoid it."

Sigh. "And you even got so hurt. If Mari wasn't there-"

"I'd be dead. And that's why I'm grateful to you guys. But at the same time-" He didn't know what to say. What could he say at a time like this? "I'm really thankful for all your help. but right now, I need strength. I need something to distract-" He shut up.

Yeah-

Distraction.

In the end-

Everything he was doing was nothing more than a distraction.

He knew it-

Yet-

It hurt-

It hurt when he said it out loud.

After all, he knew he wasn't nearly strong enough to even hold a candle to those monsters- let alone-

"And that's why you're still hunting trolls?" She asked- voice too quiet.

"Yes…"

Silence.

For a moment Erviene shut up-

She tried opening her mouth but words didn't come out.

What could she say?

To a child who'd lost everything.

The man before her, the young man, was but a child-

Barely twenty- he'd lost everything.

There was so much more his life had to offer- so much potential- so, so much more.

And yet-

"It's okay-" she said. But she herself paused… "I'm sorry. It's not okay. But at the same time, it's okay to feel bad. It's okay to feel sad. It's okay to weep, to regret. It's okay. But when all that's said and done, you have to move on. You can't live like this forever-"

"I know…" Flint's voice leaked. "I know. But I can't forgive whoever did this. I won't forget, I won't forgive. I don't care how long it takes; I'm going to find them…. And I'm going to make them pay." He spoke quietly- yet every word dripped with poison.

"In that case, I think we can offer some assistance. I think we've found some clues regarding this- mystery-" Another woman entered the room.

The headmistress.

Erweine Xenecoaster.

"Clues!" Flint shot up- almost breathless.

At a moment's notice, his heart thumped faster than ever-

"Yes. Clues. But I'll be honest. We don't know who did it... yet. But of course, we can make educated guesses."

The village was destroyed.

Finding out who did it, was like looking for a needle in a haystack blindfolded.

There were far too many powerful individuals in the world-

But there was a silver lining- a hole in the blindfold.

And that hole was the headmistress's wisdom.

"But first-"