The next day, I found myself staring at Anna's grinning face. We were in the rented house, along with Leroy and Cally, sitting at the dining table. Anna sat across from me, while Cally sat off to the side. We didn't have enough chairs for four people, so Leroy stood behind me. Since we were in private, Cally and Leroy didn't hide their faces.

It was early morning, the day after my encounter with Anna. Earlier, after Leroy and I just finished eating breakfast, we heard a knock at our door. When I opened it, I found Anna and Cally standing on the other side.

At first I thought I was imagining things. Or maybe I was dreaming. However, when I caught a whiff of Anna's vanilla scent, I realized that this was real. I invited both of them inside, leading to the current state of affairs.

After what happened last night, I felt conflicted when I saw Anna. Half of me yearned for her, while the other half wanted to flee as far as possible. From the expression on her face, Anna didn't share my confusion. I resented her a little for this. Why was I the only one tangled up inside?

When I met Anna's eyes, she smirked and wiped her lips with her thumb. I thought back to last night's kiss, and my cheeks grew heated. My mouth felt dry and swallowed. The taste of this morning's breakfast lingered on my tongue. If the others noticed anything unusual about my behavior, they kept it to themselves.

I thought back to last night. After my encounter with Anna, I wandered back home in a daze. I didn't remember how I got there. When I arrived, I found Leroy alone. He must have finished his conversation with Richard. I should've asked him how it went, and if Richard suspected my true identity. However, I was too out of it to care. The memory of the kiss I shared with Anna lingered on my mind, refusing to go away.

Leroy, with a concerned expression on his face, asked me what was wrong. I just told him that I was tired, before I took a bath and went to bed. The next morning, I berated myself for falling for Anna's charms. I should've rejected her right then and there. Instead, I asked her to give me time. What was the point? I was just delaying the inevitable.

"Sorry to barge in so early," Cally said, pulling me back to the present, "However, I felt it was best to get started as soon as possible."

I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

"Get started on what?" I asked.

"The next part of our plan." Cally said.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"And what part is that? You never fully explained your plan to us."

Cally grimaced.

"That's because I'm making things up as I go along." She said. "There are too many unknowns for me to plan anything concrete." She paused. "However, after our meeting with Auntie Charity yesterday, I have a better idea of how to proceed going forward."

Anna raised a finger.

"Before we continue," she said, gesturing to Leroy, "Should he be here?"

"You don't have to worry," I said, "He already knows everything."

Leroy nodded. Granted, he remained skeptical of the whole regression business, but he knew about it. Anna blinked at me, before she glared at Cally.

"How many people have you told?" She demanded. "Knowing the future is our greatest advantage! The more people you tell, the more things change. The more things change, the less of an advantage we have."

Cally hunched inward with a sheepish expression.

"Brandon insisted on it." She said.

Anna turned her glare towards me. Thank you, Cally, for throwing me under the bus.

"You do realize that there are some secrets you shouldn't share with just anyone." Anna said.

I met her glare with a calm expression.

"Leroy isn't just anyone," I said, "He's my friend and trusted companion." I shrugged. "Besides, trying to keep it a secret from him seemed like a pain. Being open and honest seemed more convenient."

I glanced back and smiled at Leroy. He gave me a touched look in return.

"You may trust Leroy," Anna said in a grim tone, "However, I don't. If our enemies realize that Calla and I are regressors, they'll stop at nothing to eliminate us." Her expression darkened. "Or worse."

I gestured to myself.

"Trust me then." I said. "And if you can't trust me, then trust Cally. She was the one who told me about her regression in the first place."

Anna looked at Cally, who nodded.

"Brandon may be irritating and insufferable," Cally said, "But he wants to save Lumina just as much as we do."

Anna studied her for several moments.

"Fine," she said, "However, on one condition." She looked at me. "Tell me who you are." She gestured to Cally and herself. "You know our secret. It's only fair that we know yours."

I froze. According to Cally, Anna liked beautiful men like me. If she saw my face, she would redouble her efforts to pursue me. However, I realized that I didn't hate that idea. In fact, I rather liked it.

The part of me that wanted to keep my distance from Anna just sighed and threw its hands up in surrender. I was on this ride and it was too late to get off. In that case, I might as well enjoy it while I could.

Even so, I felt reluctant to reveal my true identity. Gabriel Sturm came with a lot of baggage that Brandon Norwood didn't. I would have to tell Anna my true name sooner or later, but I wanted to keep it a secret for now.

"Cally already knows who I am," I said to buy myself time, "Isn't that enough?"

Anna raised an eyebrow at me.

"No," Anna said, "Of course not. Don't be silly."

Damn it. That didn't work. I needed to make Anna back off. Otherwise, she would keep insisting.

Wait! I had an idea.

"Wouldn't that be boring?" I asked. "If I just told you who I was? Wouldn't it be more fun if you figured it out on your own?" I grinned at her. "Consider it part of the chase."

Anna narrowed her eyes at me.

"Fine," she said, "You win." She shook her head. "The only reason why I'm letting you get away with this is because I think you're cute."

Cally facepalmed. Meanwhile, I felt Leroy drilling holes in the back of my head with his eyes.

"You two were made for each other." Cally said.

Anna smiled at her.

"Thank you."

Cally glared at her.

"That wasn't a compliment." She said. "Just keep your flirting to a minimum. We're here to save my home, remember?"

The atmosphere turned somber as Cally reminded us why we were here in the first place.

"So, what's the next part of the plan?" I asked, moving the conversation along.

"In the First Timeline, we didn't know about the demons and their summoners until it was far too late to stop them." Cally explained. "Even when we found out about them, they threw us off their scent by sacrificing a few pawns. That kept us from realizing the full extent of the problem." She clenched her jaw. "I say we, but I didn't participate in any of this. I only found out long after the demons destroyed Icefall City."

No one had a response to that.

"You think they'll try the same thing again?" I asked.

Cally took a deep breath to regain her composure, before nodding.

"Yes." She said. "By revealing our enemies's existence early, we've hindered their plans. However, they can render our efforts meaningless by sacrificing a few expendable minions and lying low for a while. We need to prevent this. I'll do what I can to convince my father to maintain vigilance, but that will only go so far."

I frowned.

"In that case, our best chance is to find our enemies' hideout first." I said. "However, I don't know if we'll have enough time. It took us this long just to narrow down the search area."

Cally nodded.

"I know," she said, "And I have an idea for that. Glasses."

I raised an eyebrow at that.

"The man who we suspect is buying supplies for the demon summoners?"

"Yes. He'll lead us right to our enemies' hideout."

"Assuming he's one of them."

Cally gave me an irritated look.

"Yes," she said in an acerbic tone, "Assuming Glasses is one of our enemies."

I glanced at Anna.

"Are you going to follow him using that enchanted item of yours? The one that lets you turn invisible?"

Anna shook her head.

"That was my initial suggestion. However, Calla came up with an even better idea."

Cally pulled out a small glass bead. I leaned forward to take a closer look. It didn't seem like anything special. However, my intuition told me that there was more to this glass bead than met the eye.

"This is a special kind of enchanted item." Cally said. "Right now it's dormant. However, after certain conditions are met, it will activate and release a magical signal. We can use that signal to locate our enemies' hideout. The next time Glasses comes to Icefall City, we'll hide this in the supplies he purchases."

Oh, I see. It was a magical tracking device. Clever. However, I noticed a few flaws in this plan.

"Won't our enemies notice the magical signal as well?" I asked.

"Yes," Cally said, "Which is why we need to move as soon as we detect it." She wore a reluctant expression. "That means telling my father what I've been up to. He will not be happy with me."

That was an understatement. Lord Icefall seemed protective of Cally; overprotective even. It amazed me that he agreed to let her become an adventurer in the first place. Guildmaster Charity must have a lot of influence over him.

"The problem with this plan is that it relies too much on luck." I said. "First, we don't know for certain that Glasses is one of the demon summoners. He's suspicious, but that's it. Second, we don't know if the demon summoners are still alive. By this point, the demons no longer need them. Third, Glasses may not return to Icefall City."

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Cally glared at me.

"Do you have any better suggestions then?" She snapped.

I held up my hands in a placating gesture.

"I'm not saying it's a bad idea." I said. "Considering the circumstances, it's likely our best chance at finding our enemies' hideout. However, I think we should take other measures as well, just in case." I gestured to Anna. "For example, I'm told you have people in Icefall City."

Anna smirked.

"Yes," she said, "My Clan sent me a squad of warriors disguised as adventurers. It's for a… Training excursion of theirs. Most of them are Second Star martial artists, but their leader is at Third Star."

I narrowed my eyes at her. That was similar to what I suggested to Andre some time ago, as a reward for helping him out when we first met. I needed to ask him about that and see if he followed through. If so, that would be a great boon.

"Why don't we have your people scout for our enemies' hideout?" I suggested. "We know the rough area, thanks to the imps we encountered a few days ago. The more eyes, the better."

"The problem with that is we risk exposing ourselves." Cally said, frowning. "Anna's people might run into the team that my father and Auntie Charity put together, which could lead them back to us."

Anna shrugged.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." She said. "Having your father and the guildmaster find out what we're doing wouldn't be the worst outcome."

Cally looked conflicted, but nodded after a few moments.

"In that case, please lend us your aid."

Anna gave her a fond smile.

"Of course."

A part of me wondered what it would be like to have her smile at me like that. I ignored that thought and focused on the matter at hand.

"We could also lure our enemies out." I said.

"What do you mean by that?" Cally asked.

I gestured to her, Leroy, and myself.

"The three of us have hindered our enemies a fair bit," I said. "First, we discovered the hellhounds and revealed that there were demons here in the first place. Second, we killed a group of imps, though I don't know if they'll figure out it was us. Regardless, we've proven ourselves inconveniences. Our enemies might try to eliminate us for that alone, if we give them the opportunity to."

Cally gave me a flat look.

"You want us to act as bait." She said.

"Well, yeah. I thought that was obvious."

Cally rolled her eyes at me.

"Brandon," Leroy said, speaking up for the first time since Anne and Cally arrived, "This is a bad idea. Hunting monsters is one thing. It's another to get a group of demons and demon summoners to attack us."

"Besides," Cally said, "The only people who know that we were the ones who killed that group of imps…" She gestured to everyone in the rented house. "…are the four of us and Auntie Charity."

I grinned at her without saying a word. A moment later, Cally made a face at me.

"You want us to reveal the truth, don't you?" She asked.

"We don't have to." I said. "When used the right way, rumors are a powerful tool. They spread like wildfire. As long as we don't deny them, that should be enough for our purposes."

"Do you want my father to confine me to Icefall Manor until I'm an old woman?" Cally asked. "Because that's what will happen when he hears these so-called rumors."

"Think of it like this. At worst, our enemies don't take the bait. However, if they do and we capture one of them, we could interrogate them for information." I shrugged. "Even if we end up killing them instead of capturing them, I still see that as a victory."

Cally let out a resigned sigh.

"Fine," she said, "Go right ahead and spread those rumors."

I grinned at her.

"Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated, Lady Calla."

Her left eye twitched.

"One of these days, I'm going to freeze that smug grin off of your face."

"Don't do that," Anna said, "I'm starting to like his face. It's growing on me."

Cally closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Gods give me strength." She muttered under her breath. "Why do I put up with you people?"

"Because we're the only ones willing to put up with you." Anna said.

Cally opened her eyes and the two of them started bickering. While that went on, I glanced back at Leroy.

"Do you have any suggestions?" I asked.

Leroy took a moment before responding.

"I think it's a good idea to start evacuating some of the settlements near where we fought the imps," he said. "Otherwise, something may happen to them."

I grimaced.

"You're right." I said. "At best, they'll get killed. At worst, they'll become fiends."

In my second life, I had encountered many people who had been turned into fiends. Those who became fiends voluntarily went crazy, but still retained their ability to think and reason. Those who were turned by force became little more than beasts, full of fury and savagery.

"I'll discuss it with my father." Cally said, taking a break from bickering with Anna. "Considering the circumstances, it shouldn't be too difficult.

After that, the three of us discussed our plans in more detail, before Cally and Anna left. The former went to see her father, while the latter went off to meet with her people. However, before she left, Anna paused at the threshold and gave me a questioning look. It took me a moment to understand her unasked question.

"It hasn't even been a day yet!" I said. "Do you understand the meaning of the word 'time?'"

Anna let out a laugh, low and seductive. It sent a shiver down my spine.

"Don't make me wait too long." She said. "I'm not a patient woman."

With that, she walked out. After she left, silence fell over the rented house. I felt waves of judgment coming off of Leroy.

"I thought you said that you wanted to keep your distance from Anna." He said in an accusing tone.

I shrugged.

"Well, things changed." I said.

Leroy let out an exasperated sigh.

"What of Lady Annabelle Thorne?"

Oh, right. Her. The woman that Mother wanted me to marry, or at least meet.

"It appears that I'll have to turn her down." I said. "I'll meet with her, since Mother went through the effort of setting that up, but that's it. I'm not a two-timer."

"Do you remember why Lady Sturm wanted you to marry Lady Annabelle in the first place?" Leroy asked. "You're in a precarious position. Right now things are calm, since Clan Leone doesn't know about you, but that will change."

I leaned back in my chair, until it stood on two legs. Not for any particular reason. Just because I felt like it.

"Speaking of Clan Leone," I said, "How did your conversation with your brother go last night?"

Leroy paused before answering.

"It went well." He said in a soft voice. "It felt good to speak with Richard again. I missed him more than I realized."

"I'm glad to hear that." This time, I tried to balance my chair on a single leg. This proved trickier, but I still managed. "Does he know who I am?"

An even longer pause preceded Leroy's answer.

"I don't think so." He said, sounding uncertain. "Though he might suspect your identity. If so, it's only a matter of time before he tells Lord Andre."

"And from there, it's only a matter of time before the rest of Clan Leone finds out."

I wondered how Andre will react when he realizes that Brandon Norwood is actually his cousin, Gabriel Sturm. That was going to be a fun conversation.

"Oh well," I said, "We knew that this would happen sooner or later."

I stopped balance on a single chair leg and set all four down.

"Come on," I said, looking back at Leroy, "Let's go."

He gave me a puzzled look.

"Go where?"

"To monger some gossip, of course. If we want to lure our enemies to us, we need to put out some good bait."

After leaving the rented house, Leroy and I headed over to the Icefall Adventurers Guild to meet with Marilyn. As a receptionist, she knew quite a bit of people. I intended to make use of her connections to spread rumors about my companions and I.

Marilyn was more than eager to help. Getting some juicy gossip ahead of everyone else proved too tempting to resist for her. However, I emphasized the need for uncertainty. I wanted everyone to hear that my companions and I took down the imps, but I wanted to leave enough room for doubt. That would give Cally some wriggle room when dealing with Lord Icefall. Marilyn agreed.

The next few days proved peaceful for us. Rather than go out and hunt monsters, my companions and I focused on our respective tasks. I fed the rumors and gossip, while Cally dealt with her father and Anna organized her people. Other than that, Leroy and I focused on our training and cultivation. I wanted to reach Second Star as soon as possible, so I was better prepared to face the demons when the time came.

In the meantime, rumors about my companions and I spread throughout Icefall City in less than a day. Good. The more the rumors spread, the faster they would reach our enemies' ears. I found myself impressed with Marilyn. She either had more connections than I thought, or she was good at gossiping. Maybe both.

Almost everyone in the city heard that we were the ones who found the imps. However, there was enough doubt that people remained skeptical. People suspected the rumors were true, but didn't know enough to be sure. Perfect. It helped that my companions and I made no effort to either confirm or deny the rumors. People asked us, but we demurred.

This irritated Cally, since Lord Icefall gave her some grief over the matter, but she bore with it. After all, this was for the sake of saving her home.

During this time, I received replies from the letters I sent out to my parents and Grand Priest Darius.

My parents expressed worry for me, despite my attempts to reassure them. They knew just how dangerous a demonic incursion could be, since they dealt with a few themselves. However, they didn't ask me to stop what I was doing and return home. Instead, they just told me to be careful. Their trust in me, and worry for my safety, warmed my heart.

Mother warned me against underestimating Andre. If he was anything like his father, Bartholomew Leone, he wasn't as stupid as he pretended to be. He was still an idiot, but he was smart enough to use that to his advantage.

I felt skeptical about this. An idiot smart enough to use his idiocy to his advantage? That didn't make sense. Still, I wouldn't dismiss Mother's warning. Arrogance and complacency had led to the downfall of many. No need for me to join their ranks.

As for Grand Priest Darius, he agreed to send a group of priests to Icefall City, though it would take them some time to arrive. They would be accompanied by a group of paladins, martial artists who also used Holy magic.

This worried me a little, since we didn't want our enemies to notice our preparations. However, Grand Priest Darius mentioned that the priests and the paladins would disguise themselves before arriving in Icefall City. This reassured me.

And so things went. When enough time passed for the rumors to reach our enemies' ears, I discussed the matter with my companions. We decided to resume hunting monsters in order to tempt our enemies into attacking us. Leroy and Cally both agreed.

However, when we arrived at the Icefall Adventurers Guild in order to find a suitable commission, we faced a surprising but somewhat expected complication.

My companions and I were in the Icefall Adventurers Guild, studying the notice board. It went without saying that Cally wore her veil and hood. However, Leroy still wore his wooden mask, even though there wasn't any point anymore. Richard already knew who he was. When I mentioned this, he said that he liked the mask. It turned out that he meant it when he said that it gave him an air of mystique and mystery.

It was early morning. The guild lobby was even more boisterous than usual, and the smell of cheap beer was particularly thick. Anticipation filled the air. The team put together by House Icefall, the Icefall Adventurers Guild, and the local Church of the Sun had set out the day before. Everyone believed it was just a matter of time before they found the demon summoners and put an end to the demonic incursion threat.

In the midst of all this, a familiar voice called out my name.

"Brandon Norwood!"

I flinched. Andre Leone. He seemed to always pop up out of nowhere. At this point, he would start haunting my dreams. Ugh. That was the last thing I wanted.

I turned to find Andre striding towards me with Richard in tow. The latter gave me an indecipherable look, but remained silent. I decided to ignore him and focus on my cousin.

"Look!" Andre said, holding out his Adventurers Guild ID card. "I'm now Bronze-ranked, like you!"

I looked and realized he spoke the truth. Huh. That was fast. My companions and I took even less time to reach Bronze, but that was under special circumstances. Andre earned his promotion the hard way; by grinding a lot of easy but tedious jobs. Despite my feelings towards him, I found myself impressed with his tenacity.

"Congratulations, Young Master Andre!" I said with sincerity.

Andre puffed his chest out, looking happy with himself. Many of the other adventurers in the guild lobby eyed him with displeasure. However, none of them said a thing. They couldn't. Unlike with my companions and I, they knew Andre completed the requisite number of jobs. He was a House scion, but his status played no part in his promotion. That didn't stop the other adventurers from being irritated with him. Not that I blamed them.

"Thank you, Brandon!" Andre said. "We can now work jobs together!"

I stiffened. This was a terrible idea. Besides, if our enemies took the bait, then Andre would get caught up in it. I didn't want that to happen. He didn't deserve that.

"I'm honored that you think so highly of me, Young Master Andre," I said, a little panicked, "However, I am merely a… First Circle wizard." Damned Accords! "I would only hold you back."

Andre clapped me on the back and laughed.

"Nonsense," he said, "I heard about your exploits. You may be a First Sta-First Circle wizard, but it's clear that your skills are a cut above the rest. In fact, you may be skilled enough to defeat my bodyguard. Isn't that right, Richard?"

Leroy's brother eyed me up and down with an unimpressed expression on his face, before grunting. Prick.

"Of course," Andre continued, "You still have a long way to go before you can defeat me!"

I felt a twinge of irritation at that. Arrogant little… No. Calm down, Gabriel. He's your cousin, and mentally younger. You can't beat him up just because he's boasting that he's better than you. Don't be petty.

"So, what do you think?" Andre asked. "Shall we go hunting monsters together?"

I paused before responding.

"I'm part of a team, Young Master Andre," I said. "If I abandon them, they'll be shorthanded."

Andre made a dismissive gesture.

"They can come along, of course." He said. "That goes without saying."

A sinking feeling filled me. My intuition warned me that I wouldn't be able to get out of this, not without angering Andre and arousing his suspicions.

"What do you two think?" I asked, turning towards Leroy and Cally.

"I'm fine with it." Leroy said, though his tone suggested the opposite.

Cally gave Andre a curtsy.

"I'd be delighted if you accompanied us, Lord Andrew." She said.

Unlike Leroy, she sounded like she meant it. As she spoke, Cally glanced at me. I saw the glee in her eyes. Oh, so that's how it was. This was her getting back at me for spreading all those rumors. Cunning minx.

"Excellent!" Andre said. "Let us find a suitable commission and be off then!"

I forced a smile on my lips.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

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