Cal approached Silverpine. He had dropped Seris off at Mariner’s Rest, but it had been harder than it should’ve been to convince her to stay in town.

She had gotten attached to Tavia when she was offered spell books out of the blue yesterday. He had to thank Orrin for stepping in and holding her back, in addition to making the multi-bladed plow for the golem.

Cal frowned when he saw that there was only a single guard manning the gate. He glanced at the too-long merchant line before entering the town.

There was something wrong.

He sensed the concentration of mana in the town center. The fact that he could sense it in a place with so much mana residue meant something odd was happening. Far too many guild members were in one place.

Cal wouldn’t have thought much of it, but he had sent Tavia to meet Astris. He recalled that Tavia was… impulsive at times. The cause of this concentration of guild members could very well be her.

He sped up, getting into a near sprint as he reached the town center in seconds. His guess was, unfortunately, accurate.

Tavia had Astris in a chokehold, her free hand blazing with fire as she threatened to burn Astris’s face. She had a large crowd around her, mostly [Alchemists], as they seemed to view this as entertainment.

“Initiate Tavia, I’m not sure why you insist on Astris being a traitor, but she is well known to be a trustworthy cog of the Celestial Order. Please, let her go, and all will be forgiven.”

The man trying to de-escalate the situation seemed to have a position of authority among these [Alchemists]. It seemed to somewhat work, and Cal was thankful for that.

“Tavia!” Cal broke into the circle and gave her a warning glare. He knew she was somewhat volatile, but he thought she understood the importance of keeping her calm.

“Cal! Do you know what she told me?” Tavia replied with wild eyes. She proceeded to tell him the answer immediately. “I should just leave them be. Let them die!”

… Oh. Clever girl.

He hadn't paid close attention to her expression until now. She was angry, yes, but it wasn’t at the level of losing her temper to this extent. This was planned, and he was interested in where she would take it.

“I’m sure she was just thinking in your best interest,” Cal stood before her. He got a look at Astris. She didn’t look particularly concerned at her current situation, though she seemed to be thinking of something else.

She knew there was little chance she’d personally come to any real harm since so many tried to calm Tavia, but this also meant more attention would be on her.

Cal wanted a smirk. Astris did not like that, and rightfully so.

More importantly, he finally got a sense of her strength. Astris wasn’t an Apprentice. It felt like she was a mid-level Initiate. He questioned how she and the others were able to leave the Celestial Order’s territory without drawing attention.

Cal had assumed that her rank as an Apprentice allowed her to be undetected in some way as the group passed the border. That assumption was now required to be thrown out.

Before Tavia could reply, the [Alchemist] with authority spoke. “Pardon. Are you an Apprentice?”

Cal glanced at the man and nodded. It wasn’t supposed to be known, but at this point, there was no reason to even try to hide it. He found that the man was on the cusp of becoming an Apprentice himself. The [Alchemist] looked relieved at his presence.

The man smiled and waved off the crowd. “Then I leave this to you.”

They were given space as everyone dispersed. However, that didn’t mean they stopped watching from afar.

“Tavia, release her.”

Astris took in an exaggeratedly deep breath before rasping, “Thank you.” She put a few feet between herself and Tavia before addressing her. “I hold no control over the Dominion or your friends, Initiate Tavia. Your anger is misplaced.”

“Ah, you must be the one who passes information along to Tavia,” Cal injected surprise in his tone. “She has given praises for your help.”

Astris finally looked uncomfortable.

Cal continued, “In fact, I owe you my thanks, too. You have been keeping track of Oleg, an old friend of mine. I haven’t been able to meet him personally due to my schedule, but I know where to go, thanks to you.”

Astris no longer looked uncomfortable. She looked alarmed. “I–It’s my pleasure to be of help.”

Cal gave her a slight nod before looking at Tavia. “It would be best if we had more privacy. I despise airing out perceived issues for everyone to see.”

“It’s not necessary,” Astris said quickly. A look of alarm that turned into panic. “I hold no resentment towards Initiate Tavia.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“I insist.” Cal pretended he didn’t see her resistance. “This is partly my fault, anyway. I was the one who told Tavia to meet you since I felt it was time for me to let my friend know I hadn’t abandoned him.”

Astris could do nothing but agree with the jerky nod.

***

“You have a wonderful house, Astris.”

Cal had rejected the woman’s original plan of meeting in a restaurant. That wasn’t nearly as private as he wanted, and that was precisely what he told her. Astris reluctantly offered her residence as an option.

“Thank you, Apprentice Cal. Let me prepare some tea for us. Excuse me.”

He watched her leave with sharp eyes and forced himself to stay seated. It was likely she was setting out warnings while ‘preparing tea.’

“It was a good thing you came, Cal. I might not have stayed my hand for much longer.”

Cal glanced at Tavia. She was vague enough for her words to not matter. “There’s no reason to harm someone who has done no wrong. She’s just the messenger.”

Tavia smirked at his response. She knew it was unlikely for Astris to breathe for much longer. Cal had become much more mild-mannered, but there were always signs that he could be just as ruthless as ever.

“What did she tell you about your friends?” Cal mainly asked to fill in the silence. He could hear the tea brewing in the other room.

“Mostly the usual, but she mentioned how it was best to forget about them. Something about how the Dominion had plans.”

Cal’s eyebrow rose in surprise. That wasn’t something to reveal casually. He assumed that Astris might have formed plans of her own for Tavia. That was unfortunate… for Astris. She wouldn't have the chance to see these plans through.

He heard cups being placed on a tray before Astris reappeared. She carried three cups of steaming tea on a silver tray and placed it on a small table before them.

“I really do apologize, Initiate Tavia. You seemed so interested that I was afraid you’d be tempted to travel there yourself. The guild wouldn’t take kindly to that.”

Tavia grunted ungracefully. She grabbed a cup and hid her lips behind it as she took a sip.

Better that than revealing something in anger.

“This isn’t worth mentioning again. Tavia admitted that she was in the wrong.” Cal brushed it off. He ignored how Tavia’s hand twitched. “I do apologize for this. It seemed it wasn’t necessary to speak more private. Unless… you have a grievance with Tavia?”

“No!” Astris almost yelped. “No, what she did was completely understandable. I have no issues at all. I would be more than happy if she still considers me a friendly acquaintance.”

“That’s a relief,” Cal picked up a cup. He was about to take a sip but stopped when he saw the fiery orange color of the tea. He blurted out, “Where did you get this?”

“… Is there a problem, Apprentice Cal?”

Cal heard the renewed anxiety in Astris’s voice. He looked away from the Sunfire Grain tea in his hands. “Not at all, I had this once a while ago. I found that it matched my tastes very well.”

“I see… I can try to find out where it can be bought, but it was a gift from an acquaintance of mine. I generally don’t drink tea unless I have gifts over. It’s rare that I had this on hand.”

He was all but certain that this must’ve come from Nismus. He crushed his curiosity. There were more important things to take care of.

“I would owe you a favor, Astris,” Cal smiled. “Ah, actually, this would be a good time for me to speak to Oleg. I was planning to do it a few days from now, but since you’re already in front of me, I might as well get his location. Where is he?”

Cal kept a pleasant smile on his lips as he stared at Astris. Her hands trembled slightly as she tried to buy time by taking a sip of the tea.

“Astris? Is there something wrong? Tavia told me the news about Oleg was good just a short while ago.”

Astris cleared throat. “There has been a slight mishap. I got word that Oleg was one of the many that were taken by someone. Luckily, I caught wind of who this was, and I tracked her to Silverpine. I was actually about to take care of it after I met Tavia this morning.”

She's sacrificing that girl.

The smile on Cal’s lips fell immediately. “Lead me there.”

“Apprentice Cal, that’s really not necessary. I can take care of this for you and have your friend back without issue.”

“That wasn’t a request, Astris. As reliable as you may be, I will not leave his safety with others when I can easily ensure it.” Cal dared her to try and convince him again. He truly wanted her to so he would have a reason to put some fear in her before her inevitable end.

Plus, he had no intention of letting the girl who kidnapped Oleg go. If she was allowed to go alone, Astris might try to find a way to make that happen.

Astris visibly swallowed in nervousness. “… Very well. Follow me.”

They put down the teacups and left Astris’s house.

***

“This is the place?” Cal wasn’t aware there was something that could look so shabby in Silverpine.

Astris nodded. She had become more subdued the closer they got to the destination.

Cal motioned for Tavia to keep her outside before striding into the house. Something about the house blocked his attempts to sense who was inside.

The door swung off its hinges right into the girl crossing the room's far side. She shrieked from surprise before it was quieted by the door slamming into her.

He sensed nine bodies in the side room.

Cal saw her try to defend herself, but he did to her exactly what he did to Kaelor. She wheezed when his fist broke her ribs. He injected his mana directly into her body, disrupting the usual flow and making it impossible to use it with any real effect.

“Hello,” Cal said pleasantly. “You kidnapped my friend. I suggest you cooperate and sit here quietly. Our follow-up conversation will depend on how Oleg is.”

Her eyes widened at Oleg’s name. She tried to say something, but his punch still made her unable to speak. He wasn’t really concerned about what she had to say. At least, not until Oleg was confirmed to be safe.

Cal broke open the door where the nine other people in the house were. They were all slumped on the wall, their eyes closed, clearly unconscious. He ignored the others and checked Oleg's vitals.

He’s fine.

Despite his current mood, he found it ironic that Oleg was unconscious due to a variation of what he had just done to the girl who captured him.

Cal took his time and slowly drew out the girl's mana. It was draining Oleg’s body of energy. It didn’t do anything harmful other than make it impossible for him to be awake.

Oleg’s eyes fluttered open. He looked around in confusion before finally seeing Cal standing above them. It looked like he didn’t believe what he saw.

“Cal? Am I dead?”

Cal chuckled. “I wasn’t aware that I was the first thing you wanted to see after death. Is there something you want to tell me?”

Oleg blinked slowly, regaining more of his faculties. “… You’re right. There’s no way I would be punished like that.”

“I’m glad to see you again,” Cal clapped his shoulders, drawing the pained wince from Oleg. “But this will have to be delayed for just a few more minutes. I need to have a talk with the girl that kidnapped you.”

“A girl kidnapped me?” Oleg almost sounded happy about it.

Cal rolled his eyes, though with a smile, and returned to the main room. The girl stared at him like he was a demon.

To her, she might be correct.