Mikella was feeling an intense amount of rage just a few moments ago. Now, that rage simmered and died to the point of non-existence.

Seeing the poor, clear look of guilt on the young girl's face was enough to put her off track. No matter how she spun it in her head, it was clear that she didn't have any choice.

Putting things into perspective, they do these sorts of jobs to make some levels and income in this new world. When you got nothing to your name and only have the clothes on your back when they were summoned here, you really got to use whatever methods you can to make a living. If Lyle and Janet first arrived here in Arcelot, with everything being so restricted and filled with strict rules unlike in Eve Glade, even Mikella would take on this kind of job if it meant having a stable income.

She figured Janet was just doing this to make sure they wouldn't get targeted, but Mikella can just tell that this girl really regretted her actions. Not really having much of a choice, Mikella and Zeke left the backroom for the two to deal with this. It wasn't something they needed more input on. Now they needed to find out what to do for themselves. It won't take that long, so the first pair of otherworlders turned to each other for their own input.

"I think we should give her a break," Zeke said, finality in his tone.

"I knew you would give in," Mikella let out a breath. "A cute girl looks guilty and you instantly want to forgive her."

"Now I know you're just being cranky," Zeke looked at her with an admonishing stare. "You're better than that."

"...I know, sorry."

She just wanted to let out a bit of frustration on him, maybe make him squirm a bit. But she should know by now that Zeke wasn't the sort to get uppity about this.

"But I know you got the right to be angry," Zeke eventually said. "I don't like the idea of being targeted and killed by assassins. Just… I can't really explain but I just don't have it in me to blame her for this."

Zeke looked just as confused as Mikella felt. Zeke may be a bleeding heart at times, but he doesn't have the time to feel sympathetic for every sad case they come across. They have their own problems to worry about.

Knowing that at least Zeke felt somewhat confused as well, Mikella relaxed a little. She felt a bit childish to want to have someone on her side with these feelings, but it just made things clearer for her.

And now that the two understood their justification, it was easier to let go. She hoped that Janet could get over it for her own sake.

"So do we tell Ali about this?" Mikella asked. She knew Ali would need to be told, but she wanted more clarification. "I'm honestly not sure how to tell her about their affiliation with the assassins…"

"I don't think that's our decision to make," Zeke frowned. "Ali needs to know regardless. But I'm not sure if they're alright with us just letting her know about their existence…"

"Why's that?"

The two looked back to find Lyle coming out of the backroom with a smile. It was a lot more relaxed, especially when he turned to find Janet coming out along with him. Now that they all stood like this, Mikella realized that compared to everyone around, she was the shortest, at least by a few inches under Mikella.

She had a serious look on her face, but it was no longer plagued with guilt and despair. Now she looked resolute, if a little nervous by the way she fidgeted. Mikella could tell that she wasn't the sort to like it when people look at her–at least when she knew about it.

"You remember when I talked about how we got here?" Zeke asked. Mikella only just realized that they talked quite a bit before they showed up. Just how much information did he share with this alchemist on the very first day?

"Oh, you mean that liaison to the Lord?" Lyle asked, but then he tilted his head. "Can she be trusted? I mean, to know about us and all…"

"She knows that the assassin's guild exist, at least," Zeke shrugged. "And she's the sister of the one who helped us out at the beginning. Though, I heard they aren't on good terms, we trust her with pretty much everything since we started living here."

"We're also freeloading off of her, so there's that," Mikella stated, getting Zeke to nod with a wince.

"And… she will really have no problem with us?" Janet finally spoke. It sounded a bit harsh, considering she was crying moments ago. "She won't sell us to the lord because we're otherworlders?"

"We'll make sure that never happens," Zeke promised, his face turning hard. "We don't plan to be sold to anyone while we're here."

"Alright, I'll believe you," Lyle nodded. Janet, despite saying nothing, nodded her head. If Zeke is anything, he's an honest man.

That's when Mikella realized something important and asked the two. "Did you guys have a kid when you were summoned here? Like, out of nowhere, or perhaps was with you before you were taken?"

"A kid?" Janet asked in surprise. She wondered if Janet thought about the natural process of having a kid before Lyle spoke up instead.

"Nope, just the two of us. If there was a kid with us back then… Man, I don't even want to think about it."

"We figured out that it's possible there could be more or less people depending on the tower. The first tower we visited after our own supposedly had his own partners, maybe two of them. Then they got turned into zombies by him."

"What?!" Janet shouted in alarm. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, oh, let me tell you," Lyle quickly spoke up, a grin rising as if he wanted to tell the story himself.

Apparently Zeke told Lyle quite a lot about their adventures, including the biodome and its own tower. Hearing all of this, Janet's eyes were so wide that she thought her eyeballs would pop out at any second like some cartoon and start rolling around. Mikella couldn't help flashing a grin after seeing Janet turn to her whenever she gets mentioned in the story-telling.

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She knew there were tons of things they needed to discuss first, such as the assassin's business and what they plan to do later on, but she also knew that everyone, including her, needed this. Some semblance of normalcy between otherworlders who had their paths shaken up so much. Seeing Janet slowly shift from that of surprise to wonder and awe the more Lyle spoke so animatedly about their adventures made her chest squeeze tight in pride and warmth. This was exactly what she wanted when they found Amber, and wished so hard that she was alive to see this right now. That there was still hope for them to live in this new world.

Screw the trials, she would crush them all if it means living this fantastic life of theirs.

Once the story was over, Janet had a serious look on her face as she faced the two. Her face now showed that clarity, her eyes brimming with the energy she must normally have, at least according to the relieved look on Lyle's face.

"An angel…" Janet said, almost mistified when she said it. "But then something happened at the bidome tower… this really is starting to sound like some buggy game that we're all sucked in and forced to play. Now the developers are going crazy trying to fix everything."

"That's my thought exactly," Zeke said, his eyes glinting somehow. "You're a gamer?"

"I play some games, sometimes competitively for fun," Janet shrugged. However, there was that definite smugness that Zeke sometimes had whenever he was talking about something he only knew. "But if there's anything worse than dealing with incompetent developers, it's definitely incompetent gods. What can we do about this?"

"For now, we need to go after the towers to save as many otherworlders as we can. We don't have a good track record yet, but we have hopes," Zeke said optimistically. "Then, deal with the trials Zoan mentioned, and hope to survive through that."

"Not exactly a great plan, but better than nothing," Janet said, nodding her head. "Not like I have anything better."

"Well, while I like to discuss potential future plans," Mikella intervened before they start talking about what-ifs or something. "I really wanna know exactly who ordered the hit on Zeke. Can you guys tell us anything?"

Mikella asked, even though they already deduced who was the culprit. Though if she knew a specific name, she'll at least know who to target with her sword this time.

"Normally, we're under contract to ensure that we don't spread information about our clients, especially to the target," Lyle explained, which put a damper on Mikella's mood. But his rising smirk caught her by surprise. "However, considering that we just talked quite a bit, I found out that there's a loophole."

"Seriously? How so?"

"Turns out the contract states that we're not allowed to share information about our client, our organization, to anyone that is not connected to the guild itself. But it looks like you two are included. And the only way I can figure out how we're all connected at all would be…"

"...Our connection with the old world?" Zeke muttered, surprising Mikella. "Could it be that we have a link with you two?"

"I'm not certain, but that contract has been around for a long, and I mean long, time. I think it just hasn't been updated to keep up with the current times. So maybe it hadn't figured out the distinction between those from Tarial and those from Earth?"

"If that's the case, then we can pretty much share anything with our own people," Janet said, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Wow, I can't believe I said it like that. Our people…"

"There's like a novelty to it, right?" Mikella smiled, though that got Janet to look away nervously. She can wait for her to open up. She got used to it.

"So, on that note, you can pretty much guess that the Alchemist and Runist guilds wants your bleedin' ass. Your little spectacle with the adventurers made it very clear that they don't like you. Like, at all."

"Yeah, I figured," Zeke shook his head.

"Lyle, you feel okay, right?" Janet asked, putting her hand on his arm to check. Lyle smiled back.

"Yep, no horrible feedback. As for specifically who it is, it's more of a general consensus."

"Wait, everyone wants to kill me?" Zeke asked incredulously.

"Not everyone, but they all agree that you're too much of a hazard to be left alone."

"Is there a way to stop this from happening?" Mikella asked, raising a brow. "It's not like we can let that happen."

"That's… complicated," Janet finally said, facing the two. "Rules state that we need to kill the target and bring back a piece of them to officially declare that the deed is done. Thankfully, it's nothing too complicated, like a blood ritual or something like that. The thing is… I need to cut off your hand to bring to them as proof."

The group fell silent as Mikella and Zeke stared at Janet in shock. Lyle nodded as though he understood their disgust, and Janet squirmed under their gaze as though they were judging her for the act herself.

"I-It's normally to represent the sin that the target made that got them on the guild's list. For you, your hands are the ones responsible for saving the lives of the adventurers, ruining their business. It's normally meant to be an insult on top of sending a message. It's not that I like doing this. If anything, it's the grossest thing outside of killing for a job."

Janet looked over to Zeke with a wince. She probably expected Zeke to be mortified. Mikella can't blame her, though. Even if it is a job, it's not exactly something a young woman would like to do. At least, Janet didn't seem like the gruesome girl who liked carrying body parts.

"Uuh…" Zeke, instead, stared awkwardly at her as he asked. "Can just one hand work?"

Mikella looked back at Zeke this time, with the otherworlders included. Janet and Lyle looked at each other, trying to comprehend his question.

"Umm…" Janet uttered before eventually answering. "I mean, sure. As long as it is a piece of you, the assassin's guild can work with it. That's how they make a contract valid and finish their deal with their clients. But, how exactly are you gonna do this?"

"If all you want is a hand, then I can give it to you."

"...I'm sorry, what?"

Zeke's casual answer stumped Janet so much that she had to ask for a repeat. Instead, Zeke looked over to Mikella. When she saw the look in his eyes, Mikella clicked her tongue in frustrated realization.

"You're gonna do it, aren't you?" Mikella asked. She wasn't even gonna bother being surprised by this. At this point, she was used to his messed-up antics.

"It's the only way without making unnecessary enemies," Zeke pleaded. He really did look guilty at least, with the way his face winced at her reaction. "If all they need is a hand, I can just cut it off, simple as that."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on there, bruv," Lyle immediately stepped in, raising his hand. She can't blame the poor man for trying to stop this. "You're sounding as if cutting your damn hand is as simple as healing a wound. It's not easy recovering a lost body part. Even if there are potions that can heal lost limbs, they are flipping expensive! I don't even have the skills to make one until I'm at least Journeyman! You can't just cut off a hand like it's nothing!"

"Hey, don't worry, I'm a healer." Zeke said proudly.

"That's what I mean!" Lyle said, looking ready to pull his hair out. "Just because you're a healer doesn't mean you can just recover a hand!"

"Listen, Lyle, I get what you mean," Zeke tried to placate the man. "It's not easy healing a whole hand, but it's better than nothing."

Before Lyle could even protest, Mikella already figured out what she needed to do. She didn't like it, and she certainly isn't gonna tell this to Clara–but she pulled a sword out of her storage bag, surprising the others to the point of shutting them up.

Then when Zeke offered his hand as if on cue, Mikella raised her blade up. Before the second pair of otherworlders could say another word, Mikella swung her sword down with fast precision that it was nearly invisible to the naked eye.

Without a single hint of blood splatter, the hand was cut off.

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