I stared at Anna as I considered my options. In a fight to the death, she would kill me. The two of us were at the same level of mastery. However, she was at Second Star, which gave her a significant advantage over me. I'd make her pay for it, but she would win in the end.

That said, I doubted she would resort to violence right away. The two of us were in a public space. While we were at an out of the way location, we were still out in the open. This part of Icefall Undercity was lively and bustling. There were large crowds nearby, with hundreds of people going about their business.

This gave me some room to work with. Maybe I should just make a run for it. I didn't know what Anna wanted, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know. While I found her attractive and just my type, that didn't mean I trusted her. It wasn't as if she gave me much reason to.

"Well?" Anna said, when I remained silent. "I'm here to make good on my word. Didn't you want to share a meal with me?"

I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Why are you following me?"

Anna shrugged.

"Who says I was following you?" She gestured in the direction that Andre went, after I finished speaking with him. "Maybe I was following that insufferable idiot, and just happened to listen in on your conversation with him."

"Were you? Following Young Master Andrew that is?"

Anna's lips curved up in a smile, until her eyes resembled crescent moons.

"No. You were right. I was following you."

"Why? And why be coy about it?"

Anna took a step towards me. I stepped back to maintain the distance between us. From the expression on her face, this amused Anna.

"To answer your second question," she said, "I find your reactions cute, Brandon. It makes me want to tease you." Her expression grew serious. "As for your first question… Well, you've interfered with my plans several times and I wanted to see if you were friend or foe."

Anna took another step towards me. I felt conflicted. Do I step back again to maintain distance, or do I remain in place? Either option felt like playing into Anna's hands. In the end, I remained in place. This earned me a chuckle from Anna.

"Which one is it then?" I asked. "Friend or foe?"

Anna shrugged.

"That remains to be seen." She said. "Though, given your conversation with Lord Andre, I'm leaning more towards the latter."

I thought back to my conversation with Andre.

"Are you talking about my request to bring warriors from Clan Leone to Icefall City?"

Anna nodded.

"Yes." She held up a hand to forestall my response. "However, before we go on, let us go somewhere more secluded. This is hardly the place for a private conversation." She grinned. "Like I said before, I'm here to make good on my word. Let me treat you to a meal."

I snorted.

"I don't trust you."

"Good. I'd call you a fool if you had trusted me. I've done very little to earn it. Quite the opposite, in fact."

"And yet you still expect me to follow you?"

Anna took another step towards me. We were now within striking distance of one another.

"Yes. It seems that you and I share a goal. Rather than get in each other's way, we should talk the matter out." She smirked at me. "Besides, we're close in age and we're attracted to one another. Who knows? This might lead to something beautiful." She let out a faux forlorn sigh. "However, if you decide to run away like a coward, we'll never find out."

On the one hand, going with her was a terrible idea. As Anna herself said, she had done little to earn my trust. More than that, she was more than capable of killing me. If I followed her, I'd be at a severe disadvantage. It didn't help that she knew I found her attractive and used that against me.

On the other hand, we had no reason to be in conflict with one another. This could be an opportunity to prevent a grudge from forming. Unless Anna was involved with the demonic incursion somehow. Then we had every reason to be in conflict with one another.

Besides, I still hadn't given up on the idea of growing closer with Anna. If I turned her down now, I would regret it. Even if she ended up becoming an enemy later, at least I gave things a try.

There was also a chance that Anna was the friend that Cally mentioned, the other regressor. That would explain her level of mastery. However, I didn't know enough about Anna to make that determination. Accepting her invitation was a chance to rectify that.

"Very well then." I said. "Lead the way."

A sly grin spread across her face.

"Excellent."

I gave her a flat look.

"You know, it doesn't help your case when you do things like that."

Anna let out a delightful laugh.

"I am aware. However, I can't help myself." She smiled at me. "Teasing you is just too fun."

I let out an exasperated sigh. Well, I didn't hate her teasing, though my actions said otherwise. However, I would rather die than admit that out loud.

"Follow me." Anna said.

She walked past me. As she did so, I caught a whiff of her scent. She smelled like vanilla, which I found alluring. I shook my head, before I turned to follow her.

Anna led me to one of the few high-class restaurants in Icefall Undercity, called the Red Dragon Restaurant. Like the other restaurants in the North Tunnel, it was a literal hole in the wall. However, the wooden door that served as the entrance had been carved with beautiful imagery, setting it apart from the others. It depicted crimson and gold dragons in flight against a fantastical landscape.

When Anna and I entered, we found ourselves in the restaurant's common area. A myriad of enticing and mouth-watering scents filled the air, teasing my nose. The common area was small, since space was at a premium in the undercity. Round wooden tables, painted with interesting designs, took up almost the entire area. Many of them were occupied by people dressed in expensive looking robes. They conversed with one another in quiet murmurs. Servers dressed in simple red robes attended to them.

The ceiling, the floor, and the walls were all made from some kind of beautiful red stone. Like the entrance, the walls were carved with fantastical imagery. Glowstone lamps hung from the ceiling, bathing the common area with warm yellow light. Beautiful rugs covered the floor. In the corner, a stone staircase led to a second floor.

All in all, the Red Dragon Restaurant looked like the sort of place that Clan scions and their vassals would frequent, not adventurers like Anna and I. The two of us, in our tough and practical clothing, looked like paupers in comparison. A few of the customers noticed us and frowned.

Moments after Anna and I entered the restaurant, one of the red-robed servers barred our path. She was a slender young woman with dark eyes and fair skin. Her long black hair was tied up in a simple bun.

"The two of you don't belong here." The server said in a dismissive tone. "Leave before I call the guards to have you removed."

I bristled at her attitude. We might not look like the Red Dragon Restaurant's usual customers, but that didn't mean this server could treat us with such blatant disrespect. However, before I could say anything, Anna pulled a token. It looked similar to the one that Andre gave me. As soon as the server saw it, she turned pale and looked stricken.

"You were saying?" Anna asked in a deceptively sweet tone.

Before the server could respond, a man dressed in more ornate red robes appeared and shoved her aside. From his attire, I guessed that he was the Red Dragon Restaurant's manager. He bowed to Anna.

"I apologize for my employee's disrespectful behavior, Esteemed Guest." The manager said in a deferential tone. "I'll have her beaten as punishment."

Anna snorted.

"Instead of doing that," she said, "Why don't you train your employees so that they're not so quick to judge others by appearance?"

The manager nodded several times.

"Yes, yes. It shall be done, Esteemed Guest." He gestured to the staircase in the corner. "Would you like to dine in one of our private rooms upstairs?"

Anna nodded and gestured for the manager to lead the way. We followed him as he made his way upstairs. The other customers in the restaurant eyed the two of us with curiosity and interest in their eyes.

The second floor consisted of a hallway with six doorways that led to private rooms. The manager led us to the third door on the right and opened it. The room on the other side was gorgeous. Like the common area downstairs, the walls, floor, and ceiling were all made from red stone. However, instead of carvings, gorgeous landscape paintings decorated the walls. A round wooden table, much larger than the ones below, occupied the center of the room.

Anna and I sat down on opposite ends of the table.

"What would you like to order, Esteemed Guest?" The manager asked.

Anna glanced at me.

"Are you fine with me ordering for us both?" She asked.

I gestured for her to go right ahead. It was her treat, after all. Anna nodded, before she looked at the manager and ordered several dishes. However, she didn't order any drinks, which I found odd. No tea, no wine, no beer. Nothing. After Anna finished ordering, the manager bowed and left.

"No drinks?" I asked.

Anna shook her head.

"There's no need." She said. "You'll see why in a bit."

A little annoying, but fine.

"What was that token you showed earlier?"

"You mean this?"

Anna pulled the token out again and held it up for me to sea. Like the one Andre gave me, it was a simple golden medallion. However, instead of the Spirit Tongue characters for "Andre Leone", it depicted the characters for "Clan Frostheart" instead.

"My parents gave this to me before I left home, in case I ever needed it." Anna said.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Hmm, was Anna a Clan scion who had disguised herself to explore Murim? I already suspected that she wasn't a regular adventurer. Still, her actions mystified me.

"And you used that token to get preferential treatment at a restaurant?" I asked. "Isn't that… Petty?"

Anna put the token away and opened her mouth to respond. However, before she could, someone knocked on the door.

"Enter." Anna said.

The door opened and one of the red-robed servers, a man this time, walked in carrying a bottle of wine and a couple of wine glasses.

"A gift." The server said, speaking in a polite tone. "Consider this an apology for my colleague's rude behavior earlier."

Anna nodded. The server placed the bottle of wine and the wine glasses on the table, before he bowed and left the room.

"See?" Anna said. "This is why I didn't order drinks. In Murim, if a restaurant offends a high status guest, it's customary for them to send a bottle of wine as an apology."

Really? That surprised me. I hadn't heard that before. Then again, I was new to Murim. There were plenty of customs and practices that I still knew nothing about. Mother and Leroy did their best to teach me, but there hadn't been enough time to learn everything.

"Wait a minute," I said. "Did you do that on purpose?"

Anna gave me a questioning look.

"Did I do what on purpose?"

I narrowed my eyes at her.

"You could have revealed the token right away. Instead, you waited until after one of the servers insulted us. Did you do that so we could get a free bottle of wine?"

Anna gave me a mysterious smile and didn't answer.

"I'll pour you a glass." She said instead.

Anna stood up and grabbed the bottle of wine and one of the wine glasses, before walking over to my side of the table.

"I can do it myself, you know." I said.

"True," Anna said, "However, you are my guest. Let me do this for you."

I eyed her with suspicion, but I gestured for her to go right ahead. Anna smirked, before she placed the wine glass next to me. She then opened the bottle and started pouring wine into the glass. For some reason, she leaned in close, her body almost touching mine. Her vanilla scent wafted over. My face grew a little flushed at her proximity. I leaned away to try and put some distance between us. It didn't help.

What was wrong with me? Why was I acting like a youth dealing with his first love? Wait. I thought back on my life, or lives I should say.

During my first life, I spent all of my time at Sturm Manor and almost never went out to socialize. This left me little opportunity for romance. Besides, I was too focused on trying to become a "proper" wizard, that I never entertained any ideas of romance in the first place.

In my second life, I was too busy training to care about that sort of thing. Afterwards, I was too busy hunting monsters and closing Gates. While I developed friendships and built relationships, I never dated anyone. It wasn't as if I avoided it. However, I never made the effort to try.

With all that in mine, and taking into consideration my current body's age, I was in fact a youth dealing with his first love. Oh god. I had fought monsters and demons, achieved Supreme level of mastery in martial arts, and traveled to other realms. And yet, when it came to love and romance, I was as inexperienced as they come.

Fuck.

"Here." Anna said after she finished pouring me a glass of wine. "So you know that I didn't poison it or anything."

I looked over as she picked up the glass and took a sip from it. Afterwards, she used her thumb to wipe her lips. I stared, entranced. Anna noticed this and gave me a seductive smile. She leaned down, until our faces were inches apart. Her brilliant blue eyes captivated me.

"Would you like a taste?" She asked in a low, intimate voice.

I couldn't tell if she meant the wine, or her lips. By this point, my face felt like it was on fire. I covered my face with my right hand and looked away.

"Please stop." I said. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Anna purred.

"Oh? Why should I? It's so fun."

I looked back at her and glared.

"I don't enjoy being toyed with."

Anna leaned in even closer and whispered in my ear.

"Or maybe you do, but you don't want to admit it."

Her breath tickled my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. I took a deep breath to regain my composure.

"Enough," I said in a firm tone, "We came here for a reason. Stop messing around. You said you wanted to work things out between us."

Anna stood up straight and pouted at me.

"What do you think I've been doing this entire time?" she asked.

I just glared at her. She shrugged.

"Very well. If you want to be boring about it."

Anna poured herself a glass of wine, before she sat back down again. A few moments later, the restaurant manager returned with a small gaggle of servers. They brought in several dishes and laid them out on the table. Afterwards, they bowed and left. The restaurant manager remained and tried to suck up to Anna, but she dismissed him.

Over the next several minutes, the two of us focused on our food and ate in silence. The entire time, I chastised myself for falling prey to Anna's teasing. This wasn't a first for me. While I never dated in my previous lives, that didn't stop people from trying to seduce me. Most of them were women, but a few men gave it a shot. None of them succeeded.

And yet, for some reason, I found myself defenseless against Anna. Considering that she was a potential enemy, one who achieved the same level of mastery as me, this could be disastrous. I needed to get myself together.

At least the food tasted delicious. Anna ordered a variety of dishes, and I liked most of them. I enjoyed the beef dishes in particular.

After we finished eating, the servers returned to clear the table. Once again, the restaurant manager attempted to suck up to Anna, but she brushed him off. When they all left again, our conversation resumed.

"You, Brandon Norwood, are an enigma." Anna said.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"That came out of nowhere."

Anna placed her elbow on the table and propped up her head.

"You have a high level of mastery in martial arts," she said. "However, you weren't born and raised in a Clan."

I gave her a questioning look.

"How do you figure that?"

"You aren't familiar with many of the customs and practices of Murim." Anna gestured to me. "You're a little awkward when using chopsticks, suggesting you didn't grow up using them. You also have an accent when speaking in Spirit Tongue. Altogether, this suggests that you're a newcomer to Murim."

I narrowed my eyes at her. She was more perceptive than I expected. If I wasn't careful, she might figure out my true identity.

"What are you getting at?" I asked.

Anna frowned.

"As I said, you are an enigma. At first I thought you might be… Well, that doesn't matter now. Afterwards, I assumed you were a transmigrator from First Murim. However, I met a few of them. You're nothing like them. For one, you're far less arrogant and insufferable." Anna's expression hardened. "Which begs the question, who are you? What do you want?"

I sipped my wine, acting nonchalant.

"My name is Brandon Norwood." I said. "Adventurer."

Anna scoffed.

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

I snorted.

"I don't expect anything from you. My affairs are none of your business." I paused. "However, I will say this. I want to protect the people of the Icefall region and keep them safe. If you want proof, just take a look at my actions thus far."

Anna studied me for several moments, before nodding.

"Very well." She said. "What is your relationship with Lady Calla?"

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Lady Calla Icefall?"

Anna nodded.

"Nothing." I said. "I've never met her."

This earned me an eye roll.

"Fine. What is your relationship with Cally?"

So, she knew that Cally was Lady Calla. Interesting.

"She's my teammate." I shrugged. "Nothing more, nothing less." I tilted my head. "Why? What's your relationship with her? It's clear that you two know each other. Otherwise, why would you ask about her?"

Anna toyed with her wine glass for a bit before she answered.

"We share many of the same goals." She said. "And that's all I'll say on the matter."

Aha! Anna was the other regressor, the one that Cally mentioned. That's how she achieved Supreme mastery, and why she was interested in me. She knew about the impending demonic incursion that was about to befall Icefall City. Given what happened with Cally and the hellhounds, no wonder she found me suspicious. I was an anomaly. Was that why she goaded me into a bout earlier? Perhaps.

"Are you satisfied?" I asked. "Or do I have to worry about you targeting me again?"

Anna snorted.

"Of course I'm not satisfied," she said. "You stopped me just when things were getting fun earlier."

I gave her a flat look.

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

Anna laughed.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." Despite her words, she didn't look apologetic at all. "However, I am less suspicious of you. It's clear you're not a foe." She snorted. "You're just an interfering busybody who keeps getting in my way."

"What do you mean?"

Anna gave me a mirthless grin.

"Because of you," she said, "I had to meet with that idiot, Andre Leone."

I blinked at her in surprise, before thinking back to my first meeting with Andre.

"Wait, he was meeting with you that day?"

Anna nodded.

"I tried to get out of it, but then you came along and ruined things."

I stared at her in disbelief.

"You're the one who pushed Robert!"

That whole mess with Andre started because Robert, the stall owner, ended up getting sauce on Andre's clothing. If I hadn't come along, things could've gone poorly for him. When I questioned Robert about it afterwards, he said that it felt like someone bumped into him from behind. However, when he looked, there was no one there.

It just so happened that Anna had a way to turn herself invisible, either a spell or some kind of enchanted item. It didn't take a genius to put the clues together.

"You mean the stall owner?" Anna asked. "Yes, I did. If things worked out as I wanted, I could've used that incident as justification to avoid meeting with Lord Andre.

"You almost ruined Robert's life over something that trivial?"

Anna made a dismissive gesture.

"I was about to come to his rescue, so he would have been fine regardless, but then you showed up."

I rolled my eyes.

"Oh no," I said in a sarcastic tone, "You had to meet with Young Master Andre because I acted like a decent person. How terrible."

"Considering his Clan is pressuring mine to force me to marry him," Anna said. "Yes, it is."

"Really?"

Anna nodded.

"Yes. Our two Clans have been friends for generations, and Clan Leone wants to solidify that friendship through marriage." She let out an exasperated sigh. "I tried coming all the way here to avoid all that, but Lord Andre followed me. The less I meet with him, the better. Otherwise, I might end up in a marriage I don't want."

I gave her a questioning look.

"Should you be telling me all this?" I gestured to my disguise. "Aren't you hiding your true identity, like me?"

Anna raised an eyebrow at me.

"Are you going to tell others about this conversation?"

"No."

"Then I don't see the problem."

"What if I find out your true identity? Given what you just told me, it won't even be that difficult."

Anna grinned.

"As I said, I don't see the problem. So what if you figure out who I am? That will just give me free reign to pursue you. I won't have to hold back anymore."

I gave her a horrified look.

"You were holding back?"

Anna's grin widened.

"Yes. I like you, Brandon. You're strong, you're fun to tease, and, as we established earlier, we aren't enemies. Marrying someone like you would be infinitely preferable to marrying Lord Andre."

Well, that wouldn't be the worst-No, this was a terrible idea. Anna said that her Clan was friends with Clan Leone. Getting involved with her would lead to all sorts of trouble.

"I doubt your Clan would accept someone like me as your husband." I said with a snort.

Anna shrugged.

"They'll come around. They have another suitor lined up for me, but he won't be a problem for much longer."

I stared at her for several moments, before I stood up. Time for tactical retreat.

"Well, with that," I said, "It's time for me to leave. With our business concluded, there's no reason for me to stay."

Anna pouted.

"Aw, really?" she asked. "Are you sure? The day is still young. Why don't we go to the South Tunnel and have some more fun? I know this music house that has an amazing singer."

I shook my head.

"I'm sure. If I don't leave now, I fear I won't get another chance."

Anna sighed.

"Suit yourself." She grinned. "You know, the more you run from me, the more I want to chase you."

I gave her a serious look.

"That's exactly why I won't accept your advances." I said. "I don't want to be with someone who will toy with me, and then toss me aside after she's had her fun."

Anna's mirth faded away.

"What makes you think I would do that?"

I nodded to her.

"Your behavior thus far hasn't exactly inspired confidence." I shook my head. "I find you attractive, but I wouldn't trust someone like you with my heart. Find someone else to play with and leave me alone."

Anna gave me a sharp look.

"Careful." Anna said, an edge to her voice. "I like you, but don't cross the line. There is only so much insolence I am willing to tolerate."

I gave her a humorless smile.

"Thank you for the meal. Enjoy the rest of your day."

With that, I walked out of the room and left the restaurant. While I found it disappointing, this was for the best. I meant what I said earlier. Falling for someone as sly as Anna would only end in pain and disappointment. Besides, I didn't have time for romance. I had a city to save.

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