“So, I never got your name.” Cal could hear Oleg moving around in the side room. The stumbling didn’t help the girl’s future prospects.

“A-Ana.”

Cal raised an eyebrow. “That’s a lie, but it doesn’t matter. You can be Ana. See, I know you’re not the only one that’s doing this. If you give me names—real names—you’ll be free to go.”

Since Oleg was mostly unharmed, Cal suddenly had a far lessened desire to take out Ana immediately. He was in the mood to take a more beneficial but slower route.

Besides, he would have Astris to sate any remaining anger.

“I-I…” Ana stuttered before falling quiet.

Tavia’s actions in the town center ensured this couldn’t be hidden. Someone from the core guild would investigate, even if only for show. It didn’t matter what the reason was. The investigation would serve him well.

The guildmaster wanted him to show ‘loyalty’ to the guild. Finding a hidden group working against the guild’s interests should be satisfactory. This had to be why Overseer Marek gave him the note.

Perhaps this was what would be used to spare Cal from appearing in front of the council.

He started to consider leaving Astris for the guild. After all, she did tell Ana to keep Oleg safe.

“I thought I was the only one. If there are others, I don’t know them.”

Cal smirked, throwing off Ana, who had just composed herself to reply to him. “Again, that’s a lie. Unfortunately, this does matter.”

Ana’s eyes grew wide in fear.

“Not to worry. I won’t do anything barbaric, but there is someone outside who might. She was eager to deal with you herself. Let’s see if this Astris is as impressive as she claims.” Cal kept an eye on Ana as he turned to the front door.

Shock flashed past her eyes as he said 'Astris' before a grim acceptance set in. She knew she had been betrayed by her ‘boss.’

At this point, Cal was just winging it. Finding out more about this little group was just a bonus. He didn’t particularly care how successful he was as long as he could hand it off to the guild.

“Tavia, come in. You too, Astris.”

They soon stood before Ana’s defeated form. Cal noticed how she couldn’t take her eyes off Astris even though he presented a known danger.

“Astris, you said he could deal with this, so here’s a chance. She’s not acting alone. I want names.”

Astris gave him a short, jerky nod. Cal watched her closely. She wasn’t the one that he needed alive. And he suspected that she would try something.

It was a convoluted way of getting rid of Astris, but he had things to consider. Two things, to be specific.

Tavia probably wouldn't care, but Oleg certainly would. And he didn’t really want to kill someone in a rather merciless manner in his view. If Astris gave him a reason to, it could all be excused.

“I can’t believe that you—“ Ana suddenly stopped speaking. She stopped moving. And more importantly, she stopped breathing.

Cal was caught completely off guard. He didn’t see Astris make a move, so there was never a chance for him to prevent Ana’s death.

“What did you do?” Tavia shoved Astris against the wall with bared teeth. “I knew you were hiding something!”

Cal realized that Tavia was still acting. She was giving him an option to go either way. To get rid of her or to keep her.

He stared as Astris tried to proclaim her innocence. He really wasn’t sure which he preferred. Well, that was a lie.

Cal wanted to get rid of her. But with Anna gone, it would be far better to leave Astris alive and let the guild deal with it.

He debated for a few more seconds before raising his hand, causing Astris to choke on her words in fear. She still didn’t try to save herself.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Let her go, Tavia. The girl wasn’t killed by her. There must’ve been some sort of failsafe that activated. It looks like we have no choice but to let this go… besides, I already found Oleg, so I don’t really care too much.”

Tavia gave him a sharp look before letting Astris slide down the wall onto her feet.

Cal gave Astris an apologetic smile. “Thank you for your help. We wouldn’t have been able to find Oleg without you. If you need anything, find me. I owe you a huge favor.”

Astris muttered a quick thanks before leaving as quickly as she spoke, but not before she took another look at Ana’s body.

“Tavia, where’s Nibbles?” Cal asked after she was gone. Before Tavia could answer, Nibbles dug out of the floor with sparkling eyes. “There you are! Follow the woman who just left and make sure she doesn’t leave the town. Stop her and get me if she tries.”

Tavia’s tense expression softened a little. After Nibbles left, she said, “I was debating if that was the right thing to do before you called Nibbles. What do you have planned?”

“You might have as good of a guess as I do. It wasn’t in my plans for Ana to die. Maybe this is a good thing. Who knows, it might help to retrieve your friends.”

Tavia didn’t believe that one bit, and he couldn’t blame her. Thankfully, Oleg stumbled out of the room just in time to distract Tavia.

“Cal! She’s dead!” Oleg gasped from the door before noticing Tavia. “Tavia? You’re friends with Cal now!?”

“You could say that,” Tavia smirked. “In fact, we live together.” That shut Oleg up as he stared at her with an open mouth. “Right, I’ll let you two catch up.”

Oleg eventually snapped out of it before returning to the dead body in the room. “… Is she the one that kidnapped me?”

Cal nodded, letting him process everything on his own time. Getting kidnapped, waking up in a room with eight other people, meeting him, and then seeing a dead body was a bit much.

“Why?”

Cal shrugged, not intending to give Oleg information that could only get him into trouble. At least, not now. “I’m not sure, but it can’t be for anything good.”

Oleg nodded slowly. “Enough that you had to kill her.”

“No,” Cal quickly denied it. “I did nothing of the sort. She died in the middle of a sentence. Someone felt the need to prevent her from speaking.”

Oleg’s eyebrows jumped. He joked, “I didn’t know I was that important.”

“You’re taking all this strangely well,” Cal noted.

“Give me some time. I’m sure I’ll be in shock for a few days when everything sets in.”

Cal hummed as he eyed Ana’s body. After a few seconds, he said, “Come back with me to my farm.”

“You have a farm?” Oleg sounded amused.

Cal replied with a shrug. “I do, and I want you to stay with me.”

He had already felt conflicted about the offer. If the guild hadn’t lied about Oleg in his past life, he might be depriving his friend of meeting his wife this time around. To his surprise, Oleg didn’t immediately agree.

“… Or do you have other plans?”

“I don’t know if I can handle being around you and Tavia. I’m grateful for the offer, but staying would mean being constantly reminded about failing the Selection… Am I in danger if I don’t live with you?”

“No, you’re no danger,” Cal denied quickly. He hadn’t thought about unwanted reminders. It was a good reason for not taking the offer. “It doesn’t have to be my farm. I can set you up in a nearby town.”

Oleg shook his head apologetically. “Maybe later, but not this soon.”

He wasn’t sure what else to say. Most of his focus was on trying not to feel rejected. It seemed like he was the only one who wanted to keep their friendship close, while Oleg wanted to be as far away as he could from him.

Our roles are switched in this life.

Cal crossed his arms and almost stared Oleg down before shaking his head. He wasn’t being fair.

He thought about it and realized maybe it was for the best. It wasn't like he was secure in his position at the moment.

This isn’t about me. He wants to find his way without my interference. I respect that.

“Fine, but there better be a later.”

Oleg smiled widely at his acceptance. With a laugh, he said, “You act as if we’re not going to catch up before you go back to your farm. I have far too many things to ask before I leave. The first is about Tavia. How did you get the stuck-up princess to live with you?!”

Cal smirked, eager to let Oleg know he had to depend on his charm. He would never admit the truth of her figuratively falling into his lap.

***

Night was about to fall on Silverpine.

Oleg had long left for Purple Vale, apparently intending to pretend the kidnapping was all a bad dream, but not before Cal got a promise out of him to keep in touch. Tavia waited for him at the town’s gate, and Nibbles was still tracking Astris.

Cal headed toward Dragon’s Head. He had to talk to Holt, the bartender at the place.

He entered and saw that it was completely empty. Holt was staring right at him as if he was expected.

I probably was.

“You heard what happened at the town center,” Cal commented as he leaned on the bar.

Holt shrugged slightly.

“When I’m going to meet the person who sent me the notes?” Cal questioned.

“I’m sure that it will happen soon enough. I thank you for your help.”

Cal gave a nod as he stood straight. “Keep an eye on a woman called Astris. She’s apparently a well-known merchant. She’s the ringleader of this mess.”

Holt finally looked a little surprised. Of course, it was gone so fast that Cal thought he imagined it. Holt said, “I’ll keep her in sight.”

“Good, and I wash my hands on this.” Cal took his leave right after. He hoped those last time he would have to deal with something like this.

He wasn’t fit for such subtle work… However, considering how well it went with improvisation at nearly every step, maybe he was a fit.

Still, Cal had no interest in doing this again. He would rather farm and be productive.

Killing people and trying to weed out information did not make him stronger.

Growing Sunfire Grains was indeed the best.