A few days after my meal with Anna, Leroy and I were just finishing up breakfast at our rented house, when we heard a knock at our door. We glanced at one another, before Leroy stood up to answer it. He wasn't wearing his wooden mask, but that was fine. I doubted either Andre Leone or Richard, Leroy's brother, would make their way to this humble abode.

While Leroy answered the door, I cleared the table and headed to the kitchen to wash the dishes. From behind me, I heard Leroy let out a surprised sound.

"Lady-"

"Shh! Don't call me that! My name is Cally."

Startled, I looked back to find Cally standing at the front door. Our rented house was small enough that I could see the entrance from the kitchen. Cally wore the same outfit from when we first met: a hooded blue robe and a veil.

"What are you doing here?" I called out.

Leroy and Cally looked in my direction. The former wore a confused and helpless expression on his face, while the latter… Well, it was difficult to tell with the veil obscuring her features. However, I noticed a hint of irritation in her eyes.

"Why?" Cally asked. "Am I not allowed to be here?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. The two of us agreed to work together, but it appeared that she still found me irritating.

"Of course you are." I said, giving her a cheerful smile. "Leroy, let her in."

He hesitated for a moment, before he stepped back to let Cally enter. She nodded at him, and crossed the threshold. I dried my hands, before I started preparing refreshments.

"Oh, you don't have to do that." Cally said when she noticed.

I scoffed.

"Nonsense. You are a guest, one of the highest caliber. We must treat you with the utmost courtesy."

Cally narrowed her eyes at me.

"Are you mocking me?"

I gave her an affronted look.

"Why would you think that? I am merely trying to be a good host." I narrowed my eyes at her. "Are you looking down upon us? Is our hospitality not good enough for you?"

Cally let out an exasperated sigh.

"I see that you are still beyond irritating." She said.

I burst out into laughter, before I finished preparing the refreshments. Nothing special. Just tea and cookies. Afterwards, Cally and I sat at the wooden table. We only had two chairs, so Leroy remained standing.

"So," I said after taking a sip of my tea, "You managed to convince your father after all."

Cally nodded. The day after my meal with Anna, I received a message from Cally. It said to wait until she convinced her father to let her continue working as an adventurer. She would then meet up with us to discuss our plans for the future. So, for the past few days, Leroy and I focused on training instead of taking jobs.

In the meantime, I shared some of what I knew with Leroy. I kept the whole regression business from him, since it wasn't my secret to tell, but I told him everything else. The demonic incursion, teaming up with Cally to deal with it, revealing my true identity to Cally, and so on. Leroy remained skeptical, but otherwise accepted my words.

However, he was less happy when I told him about my encounter with Anna and Andre. It took him a good ten minutes to calm down afterwards. Even then, he wore an irritated expression for the rest of the day.

"Every time I leave you alone, something happens." He told me.

I smiled at the memory, before I shook my head and focused on the present once more.

"I'm surprised." I said. "I thought it would take you longer to convince Lord Icefall, if you managed to convince him at all."

"Yes." Cally said. "My father was unhappy with the idea, but I had help from Auntie Charity."

That was something else I looked into: the relationship between House Icefall and Guildmaster Charity. It wasn't difficult to find out. It just took a little digging. Guildmaster Charity was in fact a member of Clan Frostheart. In fact, she was the head and matriarch of the Clan. This made the scions of House Icefall her kin, since the House originated from Clan Frostheart. In fact, Guildmaster Charity and Lord Icefall were second cousins.

This led to even more questions. If Guildmaster Charity was the head of Clan Frostheart why did she go by the Sinclair surname? After puzzling over it, I asked Leroy. He told me that while some Clans disguised themselves as Houses or minor noble families, others pretended to be commoners or didn't officially exist. The scions from these Clan sometimes had two surnames. One was their public surname, while the other was their Clan name. However, some of these Clan didn't bother.

"So," I said, "What's the plan? We didn't have much time to discuss the details when we met at Icefall Manor."

Cally glanced at Leroy.

"Does he know?"

I nodded.

"He knows enough."

"Good. That will make things easier."

Cally reached into her robes and pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment. After we made some space, she unfurled the parchment and spread it across the table. It turned out to be a map of the Icefall region.

"Unless we convince my father and the other authorities of the severity of the threat," Cally said. "We won't be able to prevent the demonic incursion from occurring."

I gave her a grim look.

"Because the ones responsible will sacrifice some pawns in order to throw the authorities off their scent."

Cally nodded.

"Yes. I'll try my best to convince my father to keep looking even after that happens, but it's best to assume the worst."

"You speak as if you know the future." Leroy said.

Cally and I shared a look, before we glanced at him.

"Let me just say I learned this from a reliable source." Cally said.

Leroy frowned, but remained silent. I wanted to tell him about Cally's regression, since I trusted him, but it wasn't my call to make. If Cally wanted to keep it a secret from him, that was her decision.

"If we can't prevent the demonic incursion from occurring." I said, moving the conversation along. "Then perhaps we can slow it down."

"Yes," Cally said, "That was my thought as well. From what I know, there won't be that many actual demons involved. Instead, fiends will make up the bulk of the demonic incursion. Specifically, fiends created from monsters with an affinity for Fire." She shook her head. "Don't ask me why. I don't know myself."

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is that why you wanted to take the job to hunt down the pack of inferno beats?"

"Yes. I wanted to find a clue, some evidence, anything to show my father and warn him about the impending threat."

"Well, we succeeded in that regard."

Cally flinched and nodded.

"Again, I am sorry for not warning you ahead of time. I never expected to encounter hellhounds."

I made a dismissive gesture.

"You already apologized once. No need to keep harping on about it."

Cally gave me an irritated look, but I moved on before she could say anything.

"You hope to slow down the demonic incursion by hunting down monsters with an affinity for Fire."

Cally took a moment before responding, no doubt to swallow back her irritation.

"That's a part of it, yes." She tapped the map. "I'm also hoping that if we keep track of any encounters with demons and fiends, we'll be able to narrow down the search area and locate the people behind the demonic incursion. I would rather prevent it in the first place, if at all possible. If we deal with them, we can stop the demonic incursion in its infancy."

"That's not a bad idea." I frowned. "Though, that might not work. You said that our enemies are devious and cunning. If they can trick the authorities, there's no guarantee that we'll be able to find them ourselves."

Cally sighed.

"I know. However, I still want to make the effort. That way, we can save more lives."

Fair enough. I wouldn't fault her for that.

"If a demonic incursion occurs," Leroy said, "It would also be a good idea to shore up Icefall City's defenses."

"Yes," Cally said. "That was one of my other objectives. Again, I'll try my best to convince my father, but we may have to do this ourselves." She smiled. "Thankfully, we have some help. I have a friend who also knows about the demonic incursion and is willing to lend her aid."

I nodded.

"You mean Anna."

Cally stared at me, stunned.

"How?" She asked in disbelief.

I shrugged, before grinning at her.

"It wasn't difficult to figure out." I said.

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Cally's shoulders slumped.

"I see." She said. "That would explain Anna's reaction." She gestured to me. "When I told her that you knew about me, and I asked for her permission to tell you about her, she wore a strange expression on her face."

I chuckled.

"She was probably angry that I managed to figure her out, while she failed to figure me out." I paused. "Unless you told her about my true identity."

Cally looked offended by this.

"Of course not. I know how to keep a secret." Her eyes twinkled with mischief. "However, I should correct your misunderstanding. Anna didn't get angry. Instead, she said that the hunt just got more interesting."

My expression fell and a shiver ran down my spine. I couldn't tell if it was from fear, or excitement. Perhaps both.

Cally laughed. "Oh, seeing that expression on your face made putting up with you this entire time worth it."

I let out a despondent sigh.

"How is Anna going to help shore up Icefall City's defenses?" Leroy asked, moving the conversation back on track.

I gave him a grateful look.

"By bringing in warriors from her Clan." Cally said. "They've been trickling in little by little, to avoid notice."

"I convinced Andre Leone to do something similar." I said. "I don't know how many he'll bring, but even a few is better than nothing."

Leroy let out an annoyed grunt.

"Because that's exactly what we need." He said in a sarcastic tone. "For Clan Leone to have a bigger presence in this area."

Cally gave me a questioning look.

"Clan Leone holds a grudge against my mother." I said. "If they figure out who I am, they might cause trouble for me." I paused. "Scratch that. They will cause trouble for me."

Cally's eyes lit up with understanding.

"Ah, I see."

I glanced back at Leroy, who wore an annoyed expression on his face.

"I understand your concern," I said, "However, the stakes are too high. If I wanted to put my personal safety over the lives of others, I wouldn't have become an adventurer in the first place."

Leroy clicked his tongue in irritation.

"I know. However, as your bodyguard, keeping you alive is my highest priority. Your cavalier attitude regarding your own safety makes this difficult."

I gave Leroy a sympathetic look.

"I know I'm not the easiest master to serve," I said, "So I am grateful that you're still around and haven't given up on me yet."

Leroy snorted.

"Of course not. My mother would kill me if I tried."

I chuckled. Despite his words, I noticed a slight blush on Leroy's cheeks.

"That reminds me," Cally said, "Could you ask your House for aid? House Sturm is famous for fighting demons and dealing with demonic incursions."

I thought about it for a moment, before shaking my head.

"I'm sure my father would be willing to help if I asked." I said. "However, I can't say the same for House Sturm's collateral families and vassals. Unlike with House Icefall, they know nothing about Murim. As far as they're concerned, I'm a failure of a wizard and a disappointment to my House. I doubt they'll want to risk their lives for my sake. They'll still come if my father orders them to, but their efforts would be half-hearted at best. I don't think it's worth trying." I paused for a moment. "However, if your father formally requests for House Sturm's aid, that would be different."

Cally gave me a look that I couldn't decipher. Maybe it was because she hid most of her face behind a veil.

"House Sturm's collateral families and vassals would be more willing to aid another House than a member of House Sturm's main family?" She asked.

I gave her a self-deprecating smile.

"They don't hold me in high regard. Most of them believe that I'm the reason why my father hasn't chosen my sister as his heir yet."

Cally regarded me for several moments.

"I see."

Ah, I recognized that look in her eyes now. It was pity. A part of me felt offended by this, another part wanted to brush it off, and the rest of me decided to just accept her sympathy for what it was and move on.

"You know," I said, "There is someone else I can ask for help: Grand Priest Darius. He's a friend of House Sturm, and he's like a grandfather to me. I could ask for his aid in dealing with this demonic incursion.

Cally's eyes lit up with joy. However, a moment later, her joy dimmed.

"We need to be careful." She said. "Our greatest advantage is that our enemies don't consider us a serious threat. They'll take measures to avoid scrutiny from my father, Auntie Charity, and the like. Not us. This may give us the opening we need to deal with them. However, if they realize what we're up to, we lose that advantage. Secrecy is our friend here."

I nodded in agreement.

"We need to be discrete."

"Do you even know the meaning of that word?" Leroy asked.

"I can be subtle when I want to."

Leroy wore a skeptical expression.

"What?" I said. "I can."

Leroy and Cally shared a look.

"I hate you both." I said.

They chuckled.

"To get back to the matter at hand," Cally said, "We need to keep our enemies from noticing our movements. So while I would welcome a grand priest's aid, I think that's too obvious."

Hmm, she had a good point. Unless…

"I have an idea," I said. "What if I ask him to send a few priests that are good at making Holy Water?"

Cally's eyes lit up with joy once again.

"Perfect! Holy Water is vital when facing demons. The more of it we have on hand, the better."

After that, we spent the next half hour hashing out the details and refining our plans for the future.

"This proved more productive than I hoped." Cally said when the conversation started to wind down. "However, we'll need to include Anna in the next meeting, or the one after that. The only reason I didn't invite her this time was because she was busy with another matter."

I gave her a pained look.

"Do we have to?"

"Of course." Cally said. "She's as much a part of this as you are. More so, in fact. After all, she was my ally before you were." She tilted her head. "Why? I thought you liked Anna. I heard about your bout with her at the Icefall Adventurers Guild. Didn't you two flirt with one another?"

I sighed.

"That was before I realized how sly she was. I won't go into detail, but she's done some things that I disapprove of."

Well, that wasn't the whole truth. While I disliked what Anna did to Robert, the stall owner, and the way she tricked the server at the Red Dragon Restaurant, that wasn't why I wanted to avoid her.

To be honest, Anna scared me. Rather, I was scared of the effect she had on me. I found myself drawn to her, like a moth to the flame. She made me vulnerable. Worst of all, she knew this and was more than willing to use it to her advantage. Even now, despite knowing this about her, I wanted to see her again.

And that was why I needed to maintain some distance between us. I feared that if I fell into her grasp, I'd never be able to escape. Worst of all, once she grew bored and discarded me, I'd be devastated.

"Even so," Cally said, frowning, "We're in this together. If you can't work with her, let me know now. I don't want to deal with any unpleasant surprises later on."

"I can work with her, as long as we keep it at that."

"In that case, don't let her see your real face. Otherwise, she will never let you go. You suit her tastes perfectly, and she is… Persistent."

I gave Cally a dismayed look.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"I am not."

I sighed.

"Well, thank you for the warning."

Cally stood up.

"Now then," she said, "Shall we head to the Icefall Adventurers Guild? The sooner we get started, the better."

I opened my mouth to say yes, but Leroy spoke up first.

"In a moment." He said. "I'd like a private moment with Brandon first."

Cally nodded.

"Very well. I shall be waiting outside. Don't take too long."

She turned and left through the front entrance. After she was gone, I gave Leroy a questioning look.

"What's wrong?"

Leroy took a moment before responding.

"Lord Gabriel," he said, frowning, "Should we really get involved with this? Even assuming that Lady Calla is correct and that a demonic incursion will destroy Icefall City, why should we care? This isn't our home, and these aren't our people. They're strangers to us. Why should we care what happens to them? This might sound heartless of me, but as your bodyguard, I felt compelled to bring this up."

"You're worried about my safety, aren't you?"

Leroy nodded.

"Fair enough." I said. "I understand your concerns. When I decided to come up here, I hadn't planned on getting involved in anything of this magnitude. However, now that I know what's going on. I can't walk away. Rather, I refuse to. I am a Sturm. I might be a failed wizard, but I am still a Sturm. Hunting monsters and killing demons is what we do." I smiled. "Besides, even if that weren't the case, it's not in me to walk away from people who need my help. At least, not if I can do something about it. I might not be able to play a big part in stopping the demonic incursion, but I can still try and save as many lives as possible. Does that answer satisfy you?"

Leroy shook his head.

"No," he said, "But it will have to do." He paused. "I apologize for overstepping my bounds."

I gave him a dismissive wave.

"Don't be. As I mentioned before, you help keep me grounded. Don't be afraid to question me. I'm not perfect and flawless. I've made my fair share of mistakes."

I stood up and cleared the table, putting the dishes in the sink.

"Now then," I said, "We've kept Cally waiting long enough. Let's head out."

My companions and I spent the next two weeks hunting monsters. We hunted different kinds of monsters, to avoid attracting too much attention from our hidden enemies, but we focused on ones with an affinity for Fire. This proved a little difficult, since those were rare up here in the Icefall Region. Monsters with affinity for Air and Water were far more common.

Thankfully, the three of us were all Bronze-ranked adventurers. Since Cally played an important role in killing the hellhounds, Guildmaster Charity gave her a promotion as well. Bronze-ranked jobs made up the majority of the commissions on the notice board, so my companions and I were spoiled for choice. All of the monsters we hunted were at Tier Two, but working together, the three of us dispatched them with ease. This earned us quite the reputation in the Icefall Adventurers Guild.

However, to our frustration, we made little progress towards our true objective. Despite hunting down many monsters with an affinity for Fire, none of them were fiends. Nor did we find any traces of demons or demon summoners. Cally wanted to prevent the demonic incursion from occurring in the first place. However, we couldn't prevent it if we couldn't find the ones responsible.

At least we earned quite a bit of coin from the jobs, as well as selling the monsters' body parts. However, this was a small consolation.

We weren't the only ones facing issues either. House Icefall, the Icefall Adventurers Guild, and the local Church of the Sun had pooled their resources together to find the demon summoners as well. However, they had as much luck finding them as we had, meaning none at all.

A few people grew skeptical and questioned if there had been any hellhounds in the first place, often within earshot of me and my companions. However, everyone else just grew more worried. If we didn't stop this demonic incursion in its infancy, it had the potential to cause widespread destruction. More and more people started carrying bottles of Holy Water, just in case. In fact, the Church of the Sun started selling them at discount prices. My companions and I bought several bottles for ourselves.

While our attempts to find the demon summons bore little fruit, we made progress in other areas. I wrote to Grand Priest Darius and explained the situation to him. In my message, I expressed concern over the demonic incursion and asked if he could send people who were adept at creating Holy Water to Icefall City. However, I also stressed the importance of discretion. I didn't want the demon summoners to catch wind of our preparations.

I also sent a letter to my parents, letting them know how I was faring. To keep them from worrying, I downplayed the magnitude of the demonic incursion. However, I mentioned my encounter with Andre Leone and how that went. Since this involved Mother's family, it felt wrong to keep that a secret from my parents. Leroy also sent a letter to his mother, though I didn't know what it said. I assumed it mentioned Richard, his older brother.

To my surprise, I didn't see Anna during these two weeks. This filled me with both relief, and disappointment. On the one hand, this made it easier to keep my distance from Anna. On the other hand, part of me didn't want to keep my distance from her. Contradictory, I know, but humans are full of contradictions.

After arguing with myself for a while, I caved and asked Cally. According to her, Anna was busy making her own preparations. Cally didn't elaborate on what these preparations were, only that they were vital to protecting Icefall City.

Other than that, my companions and I focused on training and growing our strength. While the three of us could hit above our weight class, there were limits to our power. Leroy and I were only First Star martial artists, while Cally was just a First Circle wizard. We needed to become as strong as possible within a short amount of time, so we could face the demonic incursion if/when it swept across the Icefall region.

To that end, I gave Leroy a few of my Spirit Elixirs, since he was on the verge of reaching Second Star. They would help him cross the threshold. Leroy tried to refuse, saying he didn't deserve them, but I overruled him. As I told him before, his strength was my strength. Sacrificing a few Spirit Elixirs was a small price to pay.

And so that was how things went for the next two weeks. By the end, just as our frustration reached a boiling point, my companions and I found a lead. In an ironic twist of fate, we didn't find it while hunting monsters. Instead, we found it while talking to merchants.

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