CHAPTER 432: Making a Plan

The next day I found myself in front of the headmaster once more. I had no idea why I had been summoned and only Rose, Nyx and Kyan were with me as I reported.

"Sir!" I saluted as I stood in front of Erik's desk.

"At ease. I have heard that you visited the fair yesterday and there was an incident." He said.

I nodded. "Yes, sir! Is there a problem? Is the thief claiming he is innocent?"

"Not in the way you are thinking. It turns out that the thief was recruited by a person who was described as having a large chest."

I blinked. "Are you thinking that Renata was involved? Was that the whole description? Why would she want my purse?"

I was slightly confused by the unexpected revelation.

"There was more to the description, although that one trait has been mentioned several times. It seems that Renata, or whatever her name is, has promised him favours if he manages to steal your purse. Apparently she was also visiting the fair. If that was a coincidence, or how well they are monitoring the academy, is unknown. However, your carriage isn't subtle." Erik managed.

He did have a point. Skeletal horses tended to stand out but they also served as great protection when you parked. I was still considering putting more skulls on the carriage for decoration.

"It seems that Renata has become careful after her failed attempts and is trying to get a better idea of your security." Erik said.

"Sir, why wouldn't she send someone to stab me with a poisoned dagger? They could have gotten close during the fair." I wondered.

"Finding a skilled operative can be hard and expensive while convincing a pickpocket to go after you is rather cheap, especially if you expect them to fail and promise payment afterwards. She might be unsure what your capabilities are and is trying to learn more." Erik pointed out. "We aren't certain that Renata is working for Ilestria but she is still after you."

"I hope she is from Ilestria, we want to capture one of them." I said.

Erik silently stared at me for a while. "You want to capture an agent?"

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"Yes, sir! We believe they might know more about my past since they have been hunting me before they knew about my potential to become an archmage. It kind of seems personal." I noted.

Erik stroked his beard. "Not a bad theory. I am sure you would have told me before you tried anything…"

"Uh, yes sir! We were hoping to bait one of them outside the city. Maybe we could have a fake lesson, or something with the teacher leaving due to an emergency? We have also considered involving Nanami since she doesn't like Ilestria. Or we could stay outside the walls and camp if it were a Frigday, but it might be problematic to properly ambush them at night…"

Erik sighed. "I see. At least you told me before you actually tried anything. I will consider your plan. Dismissed."

I saluted and left.

"That went really well." Rose said.

"You think so?" I wondered.

Rose nodded. "You didn't get extra lessons!"

I smiled. "You are right!"

Later that day I met with my friends and my undead in my room and I told them about the conversation.

"Hey, that means the attempted robbery counts as an ambush!" Cassie said.

"No." Skadi replied.

"I apologise." Kaito said. "I didn't spot Rentata in the crowd. I should have been more observant."

"She was probably disguised and made sure we wouldn't spot her." Helena said. "She does seem to have some experience."

"Hey, if they knew that we were at the fair it means they keep an eye on you so it will make it easier to bait them into our trap." Skadi said.

"I guess. Unfortunately they might know about Kyan now. The guards know and I wouldn't be surprised if it's in some report." I said.

"It was only a matter of time and knowing he is one thing, finding a way past him is another." Helena said.

"We should try to capture an agent soon, before they have time to learn more." Cassie suggested. "I can try to make a sleeping bomb or something since the vampire bites have become risky."

"I think my control is good enough that I can still paralyse someone with a bite, I just have to stop myself from drinking." Hatsumi said. "Further, their anti-vampire potions seemed toxic and they only consumed it as a last resort. We have to ensure there are no hidden pills in their mouth or on their body."

Rose sighed. "We need to learn some blood cleansing spells…"

Hatsumi smiled. "I am already working on it so I could heal Koyuki if needed. The same magic could work on enemies if their blood is a trap but I need more time."

"How are we going to trap them anyway?" I asked. "I can switch places with Hatsumi but we still need a place where they think they have a good opportunity."

"What if the school had hunting lessons? There could be sightings of monsters in the forest nearby and the school could send a few teams of students to get experience." Kaito suggested.

"Oh, do I get to play as a monster?" Garm asked.

"You are somewhat well known but perhaps we can talk Grendel and Kotara into helping." Hatsumi suggested.

"Maybe we can talk to the academy into providing you with wolf corpses? Then you could create a pack that nobody knows about, except the headmaster and Gronir. If we stage the monsters in the forest they can further help to set up the ambush." Skadi suggested.

"We could also use Andy! He isn't that well known, I think. Although he was in the sewers with us…" Rose said.

"I think the general idea is sound." Kaito said. "But we already have a lot of monsters that potentially roam the forest: Goblins."

Everyone stared at him. Somehow we had missed the obvious answer. While Kaito himself was notable, most of my goblins were regular zombies. Most of them would look like living goblins from a distance, especially if they wore some clothes or armour.

"I like the idea." I said. I was looking forward to using my shamans and assassins.