After hearing the answer from the sweet store owner, the senior Option turned to the door and started speaking, apparently addressing the other guards who had arrived due to the alarm:

"Don't enter the kitchen without my order. Panyan, Vanalin, guard the entrance. Lorisa, Shali, Feylin, and Krastil, block off the Western Ox Street! Where are you going? I said not to enter the kitchen! What do you mean 'how else'? Go around, on foot! Execute!"

"And rightly so!" The old man pretended to eavesdrop carefully, even holding his hand to his ear, though I was sure he could perfectly well make out not only all the words but also the heartbeat of every guard in the adjacent room. "It's already a mess here, and your buffaloes will trample everything!"

"Grandpa Wyuan," Kim Chhong turned guiltily to the old man with his hands spread. "What happened? Five corpses!"

Hearing these words, I raised my hands, indicating not "five" but "seven."

"What?" The senior guard looked at me in such a way that it immediately became clear: the indulgence that he showed to the shop owner would not extend to me. "Did I understand correctly - there are seven bodies? Then, where are the other two?"

"There," I answer succinctly, pointing out to the street through the broken window.

"Don't chatter!" A slight pain burned below my back, and only then did I notice the reciprocal movement of the towel in the old man's hands. "Don't chatter, start sweeping!" The improvised "whip" snapped again; this time, it was Aun's turn. "This also applies to you."

The senior Option bent over to the nearest body, which turned out to be the "unlucky one" whose throat was broken by a stool leg and began to inspect it.

"I told you to sweep!" My observation of the guard's further actions was interrupted by another snap of the towel. "Start from this corner." Aun, who had been eavesdropping, immediately received a slap on the back of his head and his work orders. "And you start from that corner!"

Sweeping the remnants of flour dust with an ordinary broom is, to put it mildly, a pointless task, but I didn't argue with the old man. I simply didn't dare to provoke his irritation. For about three minutes, Aun and I mindlessly scraped brooms across the floor while the shop owner, constantly whining and complaining about life, began cleaning the oven. Meanwhile, having finished the superficial examination of the first body, the senior Option touched the corpse, reciting some spell, after which he looked up and began to speak:

"Grandpa Wyuan, you were a warrior of Wootz..."

The officer didn't get to finish - the long towel cut through the air and slapped him on the head. It was not a painful slap, and the strike was much slower than the one I had recently received on the loin. If he wanted, the guard could have easily dodged it, but he didn't.

"What do you mean, was?!" The old man screeched, nearly jumping in place. It felt like he was one second away from steam shooting out of his ears. "Who am I now, in your opinion?"

"Grandpa Wyuan!" The guard instantly raised his work-worn hands. "You're a Wootz warrior, why did you do it so carelessly? You could've at least left one of them alive!"

"Huh?" The shopkeeper seemed surprised, looked around as if he was seeing the five bodies on his kitchen floor for the first time, shrugged, and said in an innocent voice, "But it wasn't me."

"Not you?" The officer furrowed his brow and cast a heavy glance at me.

"And not him," the old man quickly interjected.

"And not him..." The guard repeated after him, looking surprisingly at Aun.

"And not him either," the shopkeeper dismissed, waving a towel.

The eyes of the senior guard grew twice as large, and he stared at Wyuan in silence for a long while before finally asking, "Then who... 'did' them?"

In response, the old man, hiding his true strength, theatrically spread his hands, shrugged, and said, "It sort of just happened by itself."

"By itself?!" The guard's surprise was understandable.

"Yes, that's right." The old man nodded and added, "I've always said that the new generation is dull and clumsy! And here's the proof! They just up and killed themselves! The only thing I can't understand," the shopkeeper rolled his eyes, "is why they chose my kitchen for it? Why ruin people's lives?!"

As the old man was lamenting, the senior guard rose to his feet and once more, this time much more attentively, examined the entire kitchen.

"Raven from Seyetl and Aun Duan, correct?" Unlike his previous conversation with the old man, his voice now rang with a steely tone.

"From Seattle," I corrected him, "otherwise, that's correct."

"You're to go to the marshal."

"What?" The old man immediately reacted to these words. "They're not going anywhere until they clean up the mess they caused!"

"But the rules..."

"Your rules?" The old man grimaced disdainfully. "They're not going anywhere until they clean up."

"Grandpa Wyuan," the guard towered over the old man like a cliff. He was almost twice as heavy as the shopkeeper and a head taller, "I need to figure out..."

"And who's stopping you? From figuring it out?" The old man put his hands on his hips and puffed out his cheeks. "Go ahead, figure it out! No one is stopping you, right?"

"Fine, but only out of the utmost respect for your years," the officer conceded.

"Only?" The old man smirked. "What about the times, ten or a hundred, when you were this high," the shopkeeper's palm pointed to his waist, "you hid in this kitchen from patrols? Have you forgotten about that?"

"I didn't..."

"You've grown as big as a city gate and forgotten the good done to you."

"I didn't..."

"Just think, the main hooligan of Tries he was! If he hadn't gotten under every merchant's skin by the end of the day, the day was wasted! Whose motto was that? And now he's a guard himself. Strange things happen under Antares' light!"

"Grandpa Wyuan, I didn't..."

"Don't you 'grandpa' me! Just admit it: 'I don't remember the good'! Or do you think I will clean this mess myself?" He gestured at the chaos around us.

"Grandpa Wyuan, I remember everything and forgot nothing. I can send servants." The officer tried to object.

"I don't need your damn servants, I need these two, yes, these ones who caused all this mess, to clean it up! Only them, and no one else!"

"Alright." The senior Option surrendered. "But can I interrogate them here?"

"Who's stopping you?" The old man spread his hands in surprise, then returned to cleaning the oven.

It seemed that Aun and I had reached the same conclusions. Synchronously turning to the wall, we started sweeping three times harder than before.

"So it was all 'by itself'." The guard, staring at the ceiling, finally said. He then stepped over the nearest corpse and leaned over the next one, the one whose head had burned in the oven. "By themselves..."

For about three minutes, he carefully examined the unfortunate victim, then briefly left the kitchen to give some orders. After listening to the responses from his subordinates, he returned. He stood by the oven, then, after briefly scrutinizing my back, he shifted his attention to the boy.

"Citizen Aun Duan, tell me what happened here?"

"Here?" The cunning boy innocently parroted.

"Yes! Here!" The guard's voice became even harder.

"After Master Raven threw me through this window," the youth showed with his broom which window he meant - for which he immediately got a towel lower down his back - and continued his story, not stopping his cleaning. "I hit the floor hard, and then Master Raven flew in through the window. Before he even landed, he kicked me under that bench over there." This time, the boy just nodded his head, not stopping his cleaning. "There was a rumble and a flash behind my back. Then, the shutters ripped off their hinges and flew into the kitchen. Grandpa Wyuan was standing there, with a large frying pan filled with hot oil in his hands, and when the explosion happened, he, surprised, spilled the oil in front of him - right under the window."

"Surprised?!! I..." The old man immediately flared up in supposedly righteous anger, but the senior Option looked at him disapprovingly, and the shopkeeper fell silent, returning to scooping out the coals from the oven.

"Continue your story, citizen."

"In short, the oil spilled there, and these two," the youth pointed to the corpses of the Iron-ranked assassins, "jumped in through the window after us, landing right on the same oil. The first one got carried away over there and died on the meat cleaver, and the second one slipped and drove his head into the oven, so unfortunately that he dropped that baking tray on himself." The boy visibly shuddered.

"So that's what happened?" The senior Option turned to me.

"Exactly," I answered, continuing to sweep.

"Grandpa Wyuan, anything to add?"

"Yep, that's exactly how it was." After that, the old man spread his arms again, and with a heavy sigh, he said with a mix of condemnation and puzzlement, "Such dumbasses..."

"Continue, citizen."

"After those two burst in, all the others followed. This one, presumably the eldest, immediately took a position in the corner, by the cabinet with utensils. This one attacked Master Raven, and that rascal you examined first decided to kill old Master Wyuan!.." The young man then fell silent, dropping his gaze to the floor.

"Go on!"

"I didn't... " Aun bleated.

"Officer, may I continue?" I asked.

"Go ahead."

"Citizen Aun Duan acted bravely but very foolishly. He threw himself under the killer's sword, shielding the respected shopkeeper with his body. Moreover, Citizen Aun Duan overlooked an important detail."

"Which one?"

"Before this happened, several bags of flour fell from those shelves and tore open. Flour dust rose into the air, and when that one, as Citizen Aun Duan noted, presumably the leader, struck with lightning, the flour dust exploded."

"Dust. Exploded?" The guard said in bewilderment and was immediately hit in the chest with a towel.

"The head is meant to learn, not to be eaten with! Your face became twice as fat, but you have not added any knowledge!" The old man scolded him.

"I see, I'll clarify that!" The officer nodded to Grandpa Wyuan and again looked sternly at me. "What happened next?"

"Then there was a flash, an explosion," I continued, "that one was thrown aside onto a stool, and the one who attacked me shielded me from the blast, taking the full blow on himself, and died. As for how their leader killed himself, I can only guess. Most likely, he was standing here and..."

"Stop! I can make assumptions myself!" The senior Option interrupted, taking another look around the kitchen, and added, "So, they killed themselves?"

"Well... dumbasses..." The old man sighed heavily.

"Ahem..." The senior officer cleared his throat, raised his finger, but then lowered it, his eyes carefully scanning the positions of all the dead bodies again. "And none of you got hurt?" He finally found something to pick on.

"Well, you see..." The shopkeeper smiled, "I'm not stupid! I'm an old-school man! As soon as I saw sparks in that fool's hands, I hid behind the oven," pointing to Aun, he continued, "dragging this 'savior' with me."

"I just wanted to..." The young man began to justify himself but immediately received another slap with a towel:

"Don't interrupt your elders!"

The conversation paused briefly, and I decided it was the right time to steer the officer in the right direction:

"May I add something?"

"Go ahead."

"I think I recognized that attacker pierced by the stool leg."

"Really?" The senior officer drawled in disbelief, his whole demeanor indicating he wouldn't be easily fooled. "What a coincidence..."

"If you turn the body over, " not bothering to argue, I simply continued, "you may find a burn mark from 'Discharge' on the back of the leather armor. The burn that is clearly not from today."

"Hmm..." Scratching his chin, the guard finally bent over and turned over the body of the Steel warrior, "There's a burn; they tried to clean it but didn't manage to do it fully." He got up, then snapped his fingers and stared at me as if seeing me for the first time. "That's it! No more words!"

With that, he left the kitchen, ordered one of his subordinates around, and then returned.

"So, what else?" The shopkeeper sighed heavily. "Everything is clear. These came," he pointed at Aun and me, "then those followed," he waved toward the corpses. "I know this one," he jabbed a finger at the boy again, "almost as much of a rogue as you used to be. Didn't know these, though."

"Unauthorized entry?" The senior Option queried.

"Only those who lie here. As for the boy, consider that he came at my invitation," the shopkeeper scowled. "Write it down as such."

"Covering for them?" The officer frowned.

"When I covered for you, everything was fine, but now all of a sudden..." The old man crossed his arms over his chest and, despite being shorter, "looked down" at the officer.

"I understand." This time, the senior Option's smile seemed genuine. "You go on, keep cleaning. I'll continue the inspection."

My plan to nudge the officer in the right direction had failed due to his order to stay silent, but I wasn't discouraged, hoping that I'd still be able to get a word in. For about ten minutes, Aun and I busied ourselves with a pointless task, sweeping with brooms, which did not satisfy the shopkeeper, and he gave us pieces of rag and ordered us to clean the walls, saying that he would handle the floor himself.

The senior Option, inspecting the bodies, was in no hurry; he stepped out of the kitchen three times to discuss something with his subordinates but invariably returned.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

It was the shopkeeper, not the meticulous guard, who made me more nervous. The looks he cast on me were very evaluative. It seemed that his eyes could literally see through me. I didn't like this attention at all, and I mentally pleaded: "Old man, what do you want from me? For twenty-thirty years, you've been posing as an aging Wootz veteran? Just keep doing it! Why do you need me? I'm not worth you blowing your cover. I'm not!"

Perhaps this mantra helped, or maybe I just didn't seem as interesting to the old man as I thought. Nevertheless, he finally turned away from me. However, the shopkeeper immediately shifted his attention to Aun, but that didn't worry me as much. Because I was sure that for this boy, who had grown up before his eyes, the old man would definitely not ruin his image.

Over half an hour passed as we were cleaning, and then a new person peeked into the kitchen. He looked as if he'd just been pulled out of a soft bed, which was probably the case. A middle-aged man with a very displeased expression on his face.

"Grandfather Wyuan," he greeted the old man with a bow, "may I come in?"

"Ah... Shafar Kalman, you've also been promoted to a senior Option, haven't you?"

"Yes, grandfather."

"Come in." The shopkeeper nodded and immediately lost all interest in the newcomer.

"Kim," the man approached the senior Option, "I understand, you have five corpses..."

"Seven," corrected the officer.

"Alright, let it be seven! But this is your zone and your shift. What do I have to do with it? Do you know how much of my own work I have? Why did you send to wake me up and bring me here?"

"These two," the senior Option pointed to the dead bodies of the patriarch of the assassins' clan and the one who tried to kill me, "seem familiar. Take a closer look, I think I saw them at your place."

With a heavy sigh, the newcomer rubbed his eyes, activated his Aura of Perception, and peered at the corpses. A moment later, all sleepiness vanished from him:

"Danr Quarti and his family! Arrived in town a week ago." Bending over one of the corpses, he tore open the shirt on the chest and showed something to the officer. "As I thought, a tattoo, like the Cisto caravaners do." The man clicked his tongue disdainfully towards the corpse of the patriarch, "And he kept assuring me that he and his family weren't from Cisto but from Valkrua! I could tell he was lying. But not all his family is here, three are missing."

"Two more are outside."

"Dead?"

"What do you think?"

"Well, what's there to think... So, one more is left."

"Is the missing one by any chance named Quins?" I chimed in.

"Oh! Look who we have here!" The man whistled, focusing on me. "Raven from Seyetl, my respects." Of course, he "sized me up" as soon as he walked in but decided to play out this scene. "I hope you lose today! However..." He shook himself and sternly asked, "So you are familiar with the Quarti family?"

"No, it's something else..."

Having captured the attention of the two guards, I detailed the past assassination attempt on me at Aun's house.

"Heard this story." The senior guard nodded.

"Of course you heard, it was told to both of us at the same table by Option Sharsah a few days ago," confirmed the man dressed casually. "Then the whole Quarti family is here." He concluded with a bitter smile.

Suddenly, the senior Option rose to his feet, grabbed the newcomer by the shoulder, and abruptly turned him to face him, then hissed very, very angrily into his face:

"And what have I been telling you for the past two years?! What have I been asking you to do for two years?! I directly told you that every three or four months in the city, there are outbursts of killings that look like contract ones. The periodicity could indicate that they are being committed by some clan that has come to town! The Caravan Market is your area! Everything pointed to the fact that the caravaners were behind the killings..."

"Indirect and far-fetched!" Shafar Kalman, shaking off the other's hand, answered irritably. "Yes, I checked, more than once, more than twice! There was nothing! And I couldn't even think about these guys! The Quarti family was always well respected."

"Well respected..." The senior Option mocked his colleague.

"Yes!" The latter cut him off confidently. "Well respected! They paid all taxes, all fees on time. Their tents were always clean! No complaints from the patrols! Over all the years they've been coming to us to trade, not a single complaint! Model caravaners, year after year, month after month, trading between cities with wool, threads, and fabrics!"

You know how it is when you're trying to piece together some puzzle, but nothing works out. You rack your brain for an hour, two, a day, a week - all in vain. But suddenly, something nudges you, and you see the whole puzzle solved. This happened just now, as soon as I heard: "wool, threads, and fabrics!". Fabrics! Damn it! Could it really be?! Now I knew who was behind the assassination attempts on Aun precisely!

While the two officers were arguing loudly, I turned to the boy. His eyes were even bigger than mine. He understood as well! I was about to reassure the kid when he shook his head in panic, like someone having a seizure.

"Do you wish to say something, guest Raven?" The elder guard immediately asked me.

"Hm-m-m."

Aun clearly doesn't want me to reveal the instigator of the assassination attempts, and I can understand why. So, turning to the officer, I say something different from what I had planned just a moment ago:

"We were actually at the caravan market this evening. Shopping! We bought a charm against lice." I removed the brooch and showed it to the guards, then returned the artifact. "Maybe they noticed us and thought we were on the trail of those who wanted to kill me? They got nervous and set up an ambush?"

I said this and realized that this was probably exactly what had happened. Our trip to the market likely provoked this poorly planned attack. The killers, having noticed us there, thought we had some kind of lead on them and decided to act immediately.

"Citizen Aun Duan, do you confirm the words of city guest Raven?" The senior Option formally addressed the boy.

I could see that the boy, who was pretending to be scrubbing the wall, had tears in his eyes, but he gathered his strength and answered clearly and distinctly without turning his head:

"I confirm."

Moving towards the entrance, I swapped places with Aun, justifying this by being taller and that it would be more convenient for me to wash that part of the wall than the boy. Such a castling was necessary to move the boy further away from the officers. It's a good thing that the two guards started arguing with each other loudly again and lost sight of the young man's state. And the boy's eyes, of course, were wet. No wonder! To suddenly realize that the person behind the assassination attempts is none other than your future mother-in-law! It's her - because tracing the connection is not difficult at all: the owner of the fabric store and the nomadic clan of killers who posed as yarn and fabric traders. Such news can knock anyone down, but credit to Aun, he composed himself in a few minutes. The tears left his eyes and instead came a determination I couldn't understand yet.

"Kim, stop, cool down, or you'll say something you'll regret in the heat of the moment." The second officer, apparently tired of arguing, lowered his voice and stepped back.

"Sound thought..." Grandfather Wyuan immediately agreed and smiled for the first time in a long while. "You've made a scandal here - like you are at home."

The old man's last words must have struck a chord in the senior Option, and he also stepped back.

"Fine," the officer in civilian clothes raised his hands in a sign of peace, "I'll be on my way now."

"Where?!" Kim Chhong, who had just calmed down, was on the brink of exploding in indignation again.

"To work," his colleague tiredly replied, "while it's night and everyone is asleep, I'll rouse the duty shift, and we'll examine the Quart family's tents. No one knows about their death yet, and their belongings are still intact."

"Sorry," the senior Option, realizing that his colleague intended to work rather than lounge around, extended a hand in reconciliation.

After a handshake, the second guard left first the kitchen and then the candy shop in general without even bothering to say goodbye to the other guards. From my new cleaning spot, I was closer to the door to the inner rooms, and I could make out such details.

When his colleague left, Kim Chhong interrogated us again, this time trying to catch us in discrepancies and mistakes in detail. But since Aun was holding himself together by that time and we weren't making anything up or lying, his tactics didn't work. We were lucky that the "accidental" death of five assassins so captivated the guard's mind that he didn't even think to ask us what we were doing on this street at night. He was entirely preoccupied with the question of what happened in this kitchen, nothing more.

This went on for almost an hour, during which we managed to wash the walls. Some help from Grandfather Wyuan, who used Water magic, was necessary, but we still managed to make it clean. Immediately after, instead of thanks, we were handed brooms and ordered to sweep all the dirt and dust into one corner.

Returning briefly to inspect the bodies, the senior Option began questioning us again, but the shop owner strongly supported us this time, confirming everything we said. Basically, it was a trivial case: a home invasion with an intent to kill. Moreover, the attackers seemed to have killed themselves due to a series of ludicrous accidents, so at most, two bodies on the street could be pinned on us. But the fact that I was attacked a few days ago by individuals with the same tattoos as the deceased and that this incident had been documented made such an accusation pointless.

On the other hand, the death of five assassins appears so ridiculous that Kim Chhong can sense something is wrong and is digging deep. He seems to think that Aun and I set it all up, but he can't even consider the ancient old man whom he has known since childhood. Or perhaps he is stunned by the thought of the report he'll have to write and how his superiors will react. Yes, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes.

"Boss, a moment, please," one of the guards peeked into the kitchen and called his chief.

Kim Chhong interrupted our interrogation and left, and I immediately shifted closer to the door to listen in:

"Ger Fan is coming our way, and with him, judging by their clothes, a couple of alchemists from the Guild, not city ones," reported the guard.

"Damn it!" The senior Option slapped the wall, "Shafr managed to tattle to the superiors already, may Da'Nnan take him!

"And that's not all, they are bringing with them the 'viper'..." The private uttered the last word very softly, but I was able to make it out.

"What's she doing here?" The senior Option seemed genuinely surprised.

"I wouldn't know!" The private fired back instantly.

The officer returned to the kitchen looking as gloomy as a rain cloud.

"Grandpa Wyuan, can you watch over this couple so they don't run away?"

"Where would they run?" The old man was surprised, "I won't let them go anywhere until they've cleaned everything up!"

"Good," the officer nodded to the shop owner and once again left the kitchen.

Not even three minutes had passed when the entrance door from the market square opened, and a quiet but confident and calm female voice, which I instantly recognized, said:

"Senior option Kim Chhong, could you please explain why you're holding citizen Aun Duan and guest of the city, Raven from Seattle, in this building?"

"Mistress Ninth Praetor, I'm conducting an investigation at the crime scene!" The guard reported briskly.

"It's been nearly three hours since the crime, and you're still conducting the investigation?" Oma Ai Tahayasi's voice had a clear note of mockery, discernible even through the wall.

"Exactly so!" The officer pretended to be a simple-minded guard doing his job.

"Have you charged them, or is there nothing to charge them with?" She continued without pause, "According to my information, a group of seven out-of-towners, masquerading as caravan merchants, trespassed on private property and attempted to harm two citizens and an 'honorable' guest of the city. Is that correct?"

"Exactly so!"

"All seven assassins died, correct?"

"Exactly so!"

"So, what are you charging citizens Wyuan Cohen and Aun Duan, and city guest Raven from Seattle with?"

"I'm not charging them, I'm trying to figure out..." the senior Option replied tiredly.

"To figure out?" Oma Ai Tahayasi hissed back, and I understood why the private guard had called her a "viper." "It's you who will be 'figured out'! Or did you not recognize one of the participants of the Alchemists' Guild Tournament finale among those you detained?"

"I did, but..."

"What 'but'? Just five days ago, I personally briefed the guard, and you were there. What was said?"

"To report any incidents involving Tournament participants to you immediately!"

"Then can you tell me why I'm only learning about two attempts on one of the participant's life now? Although the first attempt happened several days ago?"

"I wouldn't know!"

"I'm sick and tired of your mutual cover-up! Can't your meager mind understand where politics begin?"

"I wouldn't know!"

"If you don't know, then follow orders."

"It won't happen again!"

"Your promotion won't!" Oma Ai Tahayasi brushed off the senior Option and walked into the kitchen.

"Good evening," The stately lady looked cheerful as if she hadn't been roused from sleep in the middle of the night, "Guest Raven, follow me."

"He's not going anywhere!" The shop owner intervened immediately, "Let him finish cleaning up, then you can take him."

"Citizen Cohen, as far as I can remember, the trade department has five complaints against you..." Apparently, this lady had grown up far from the central market and had no reverence for the old man. "Is the hint clear?"

Snatching the broom from my hands, the shop owner pushed me towards the exit:

"Off you go, don't make the lady wait!" The old man grumbled somewhat theatrically.

"What about me?" Aun piped up.

"And you, citizen, continue answering the guard's questions as is your duty!" The Ninth Praetor snapped, deftly catching me by the elbow and leaving the kitchen.

Before we left the sweet shop, Oma Ai Tahayasi turned around and said:

"Senior Option Chhong, I expect a full report at dawn and not a minute later. Do you understand?"

"Absolutely!"

"Good," she said, pushing me out of the shop and following suit. "Raven, wait here for five minutes, no more."

Not waiting for any response from me, the stern lady approached three men standing at a small distance. After listening to her, two of them, dressed in the colors of the Alchemists' Guild, immediately turned around and left. Oma Ai Tahayasi then spoke to the last man, lavishly dressed, for another five minutes, after which they shook hands, and she returned to me.

"Raven, why didn't you mention at our meeting that someone attempted to kill you?" She asked.

"Well, it didn't come up in the conversation, and I thought you knew," I shrugged.

"Knew... if only... Shall we walk?" She once again took my arm.

"As you wish," I responded neutrally, and we started walking towards the central square.

"You seem excessively tense, young man. Relax, it's all over. The assassins whom Shiin Karim had hired to avenge his defeat are dead. Trust my experience, the resentful champion of Cisto won't find new hitmen anytime soon. Moreover, he has long since returned home, and news from our glorious city won't reach him anytime soon."

With every word she said, I became more and more at ease. What the Ninth Praetor had said meant that the city authorities accepted my version of the assassination attempts as the primary one.

"Relax," Oma Ai Tahayasi repeated.

As soon as she said that, a light, melodious chime of crystal bells echoed in my head. I immediately stopped and tried to pull away, but the grip of the Ninth Praetor was iron.

"Wow!" The lady seemed quite surprised. "Calm down! I didn't mean to hurt you!"

Not that I believed her, but I couldn't break free from her grip anyway, so I stopped struggling.

"Raven, I just wanted you to relax and stop worrying."

"Mental magic..." I began but was immediately interrupted.

"Mental magic primarily heals and only secondarily is used for attack. I apologize, I should have warned you. Allow me to be curious: how did you understand... that I was influencing you? You don't wish to speak? No need. Once again, my apologies, I didn't plan to harm you. On the contrary, I wanted to relieve the excessive tension and suppress the dark thoughts. You have the final in just a few hours and must be in shape. You're silent. I understand. No one likes mental mages."

"And they have a reason for it," I found myself blurting out.

"I agree," she responded very easily, "they do have a reason. But this is not the case. I am here to help you, not to harm you."

"That's just your words..."

"Plain logic, young man, plain logic. The city has taken on certain obligations towards the Alchemists' Guild. Without accepting them, they would have held their tournament in Cisto. The safety of all tournament participants is one of the obligations we have taken on. I've made this clear to our guard, but I didn't know my words weren't taken seriously. Now, some people are going to lose their heads, but that's no longer your concern. And my concern is to get you to participate in the final."

"Is that all?" I asked, clearly skeptical.

"High-ranking members of the Guild are watching the Tournament, and strong mental influence will be tracked. So, it wasn't in my interest to attack you. But to help you get back to normal, I thought it was possible."

"Are you expecting for me to say thank you?"

"I didn't expect," shrugged the ninth praetor, "I sense you don't trust me."

In response, I shrugged and said a little angrily:

"If you need something from me, just say it straight."

"Very well," the lady quickly agreed, "I have a request for you."

"I'm all ears."

"This nocturnal incident and your involvement in it has become known to the Alchemists' Guild, and you will be asked about it. The city would be very grateful if you do not mention the first attempt on your life."

"And what about the one happened tonight?"

"A plain attempt at nighttime robbery, not personally related to you, which our valiant guard courageously thwarted."

"So that's what really happened!" My words were laced with undisguised sarcasm.

"If you confirm it, that will be the truth," shrugged the Ninth Praetor.

Actually, this offer is beneficial to me. If I accept it, Kim Chhong will be put in his place, and the case will be quietly hushed up, which is the best outcome for me. But agreeing to it right away would look suspicious, so I ask:

"Benefit?"

"What?"

"What's my benefit?"

"Agree, and I'll give you some advice."

"Very vague," I continued to haggle.

"You understand that I'm not the last person in the city, and my advice is very expensive," Oma Ai Tahayasi smiled.

"Advice, plus Aun Duan will be released this very morning, and permission to bet on oneself."

"If you agree, then in the new version of events, the arrest of a citizen of the Duan family loses all meaning. But I can't help with the betting. The control process is underway, even I won't be able to bypass it unnoticed."

Pretending to be deep in thought, I walked silently for five minutes, then said:

"I'll take your advice."

"Raven, you've caught many people's interest in the city. Your performances, let's just say, have been unusual. The day after the award ceremony, you will receive at least three invitations from different but influential people in the city. All the proposals will be very lucrative. Very. And I'm not exaggerating. The secret is that all these invitations will be at the same time, and you can only respond to one. By doing so, you will offend those whose offers you reject. You are a stranger in the city, and people like you, no matter how bright you may be, are simply used as a tool. So here's my advice: leave the city as soon as possible after the award ceremony."

"I've heard you out, and your advice is certainly useful, but it's not enough."

"Not enough?" The Ninth Praetor sighed heavily and asked, "What else do you want?"

"Early in the morning, the day after the award ceremony, you will personally escort me to one place and then take me to the Temple, where, using your position, you will ask the priests of Sundbad to give me the maximum possible discount on the use of the Transition Gates."

Now it was the Ninth Praetor's turn to ponder, and she thought for a long time. We had already reached the city's main fountain, but she remained silent. Only when she stopped and washed her face with cold water did the lady ask:

"What is the place where I will need to accompany you? Without an answer to this question, I cannot agree."

"The Tunnellers' Guild office."

"Tunnellers' Guild?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I agree." The Ninth Praetor extended her hand, which I shook. "We have a deal."

"One question, where are we going now?"

"The Alchemists wanted to escort you to the Arena, where you could prepare for the final without, let's say, any incidents, but I took this upon myself." Oma Ai Tahayasi smiled. "You don't mind, I hope?"

"With one condition..."

"You're so difficult," the lady sighed heavily, "what's the condition?"

"When Aun Duan is free, he will be allowed to enter my preparation room."

"I'll arrange it." The Ninth Praetor nodded.

We crossed the square in silence and climbed the large staircase. The fingers of Oma Ai Tahayasi loosened, and my elbow was free.

"Who will win the grand final?" The Ninth Praetor asked me unexpectedly.

"You're not interested in the outcome of the Bronze final?" I smiled.

"No. Only the grand final."

"Me. I'll win."

"And the mask of the 'Rising Dragon' school?"

"He's strong, but I'm better."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, but why do you need to know this?"

The stern lady turned on the spot and said quietly:

"It's very difficult for an official who doesn't take bribes to survive in this city."

With a wave of her hand, she lightly ran down the stairs, leaving me alone on the Arena's night staircase. The Ninth Praetor's last phrase put the whole picture together. Oma Ai Tahayasi was not only worried about fulfilling the contract with the Alchemists' Guild but also had a personal interest in this matter. She was betting on my victory and planned to continue these bets, thus earning money.

Since no one was watching me at the moment, I allowed myself a wide smile.