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(N) TRT Chapter 21: A Potential Lead
🕑 Added 2025-05-13 04:44:15 +0000 UTC“This is a waste of time.” Cally said in a surly voice.
I glanced back and gave her an annoyed look. Cally gave me a withering glare in return. She didn’t wear her veil, since we weren’t in Icefall City anymore, but she kept her hood up. Meanwhile, Leroy kept quiet and focused on the road ahead.
It was early morning, a little after sunrise. My companions and I were traveling to a settlement a couple hours away from Icefall City. There was a road, so at least we weren’t roughing it through complete wilderness. Well, calling it a road was generous. It was little more than a narrow dirt path, but it was still better than nothing.
It was also the perfect weather for traveling. The sky above was clear, allowing the sun’s light to fall upon the land unhindered. The temperature was a little warmer than usual, though we still had to wear warm clothing. The air smelled crisp and clear. Each breath felt refreshing.
Of course, the landscape around us wasn’t much to look at. Rocky hills and plains covered in short, stubby grass, punctuated by the occasional alpine forest. Even so, there was a rugged beauty to the Icefall region. I could imagine living in a cabin here, enjoying a quiet and peaceful solitude, away from the hustle and bustle of civilization. Now that I thought about it, if it weren’t for all the monsters coming down from the Northern Wilds, the Icefall region would make for a good tourist destination, at least for people with a certain mindset.
Hmm, what about the southern part of the region? It was less dangerous than the northern part. Perhaps I could bring it up with Cally, after we dealt with the demonic incursion of course.
There wasn’t any point in thinking about that sort of thing, not when demons would attack Icefall City some time in the foreseeable future. My companions and I wanted to prevent that from happening. However, as more and more time passed, our chances of stopping the demonic incursion in its infancy grew slimmer and slimmer. After a certain point, we would have to prepare for the worst.
I shook my head and focused on the present once more.
“It isn’t a waste of time.” I said. “We’re helping members of the community.”
Yesterday, after my companions and I returned from another fruitless endeavor, Marilyn approached us. Her parents wanted to send supplies to their extended family, who lived outside of Icefall City. While they were self-sufficient for the most part, they needed to buy flour and other necessities from the city. In fact, this was true for most of the settlements in the Icefall region.
Normally, Marilyn’s extended family would’ve picked up the supplies themselves. However, they owned a cattle herd and spring was birthing season, which required all hands on deck. So, Marilyn’s parents decided to hire adventurers to make the delivery.
However, Marilyn decided to ask us instead of going through the process of putting up a job commission. I accepted, since I liked Marilyn and her family. They treated us well ever since Leroy and I came to Icefall City, so I figured this was a good way to return the favor. Besides, they offered to give us a discount at their noodle shop for the rest of our stay here.
Cally protested, but I shrugged and told her that she didn’t have to come along. However, to my surprise, she joined us despite her protests. That didn’t stop her from complaining the entire time.
“We don’t have time for this.” Cally said. “A demonic incursion is about to descend upon my home. We should be doing something about it, instead of… This!”
I sighed.
“Cally,” I said, “We’ve done nothing but hunt monsters and search for clues for the past two weeks, with nothing to show for our efforts. I don’t know about you, but I need a break, even just a short one. Otherwise, I might go crazy with frustration.”
Cally scowled at me, before she turned to Leroy. He wasn’t wearing his mask, since the chances of running into Andre and Richard out here were low.
“Can you talk some sense into him?” Cally asked.
Leroy shook his head.
“I agree with Brandon.” He said. “We need a break.”
Cally’s scowl deepened.
“You’re only siding with him because he helped you reach Second Star.”
Yesterday, after Leroy and I returned to our rented house, I encouraged him to cultivate before going to bed. My intuition told me that he was close to forming his Second Star. He just needed one more push. I even gave him another Spirit Elixir to facilitate this. My intuition proved correct.
Less than an hour after he started cultivating, Leroy formed his Second Star. He took some time to get used to his new state of being, before he challenged me to a spar. I accepted. Like before, I defeated him. However, it proved more difficult this time around, due to his increased physical prowess.
If he reached Third Star, he might even be able to defeat me, despite my higher level of mastery. Assuming I remained at First Star. However, I planned on reaching Second Star long before that happened.
At my current rate, I estimated that I would reach Second Star just before summer began. This was thanks to a combination of my experiences from my second life, all the time I spent hunting monsters, and my remaining Spirit Elixirs. Considering I just formed my mana core a short while ago, this was an astonishing rate of progress.
“No,” Leroy said, his voice pulling me back to the present. “I’m siding with Brandon since he is my master. However, even if that weren’t the case, I would still side with him. We do need a break.” He frowned. “Besides, I think we need to change our approach.”
I gave him a questioning look.
“What do you mean?”
“If we’re too focused on hunting monsters and ignore other possibilities, we might miss the very clues and leads we’re looking for.”
Cally looked ready to snap at Leroy. However, she instead took a deep breath to calm herself before responding.
“What do you suggest then?” She asked.
“What do we know about the demon summoners?” Leroy asked. “The ones who started all this?”
I raised an eyebrow at Cally. As the regressor here, she knew more than Leroy and I. At least now, she no longer had to be careful with her phrasing. A few days ago, I spoke with Cally and suggested telling Leroy the truth about her regression.
At first, she rejected my suggestion. She said she already took a gamble by telling me, and she didn’t want to take another one. However, after much insistence on my part, she relented. Leroy was a valuable member of our team, and leaving him in the dark would only lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.
When we told Leroy about Cally’s regression, he was understandably skeptical. In the end, he decided to go along with it. However, I doubted he believed us. Still, as long as he did his part, it didn’t matter.
“I…” Cally paused. “Not much.” She slumped. “I only know that they summoned a bunch of demons, who then turned a bunch of monsters with an affinity for Fire into fiends. That’s it.” She let out a frustrated groan. “Ah! I hate this! I know that a demonic incursion will destroy my home, but I don’t know enough to stop it!”
Cally stopped walking and faced the sky with her eyes closed, despair written all over her face. Leroy and I stopped as well. After a while, Cally opened her eyes and looked at me.
“You said it yourself,” she said in a weary voice, “We spent the past two weeks searching for clues, and found nothing. I’m almost ready to give up by this point. Instead of wasting our time trying to prevent the inevitable, it might be better to focus on surviving it. At least then, we might be able to save Icefall City.”
I nodded.
“Yes,” I said. “But what about the rest of the Icefall region? All our preparations have been focused on shoring up Icefall City’s defenses. However, we neglected the other settlements. I doubt the demonic incursion will spare them.”
Cally’s composure cracked.
“Do you think I haven’t considered that?!” She shouted. “The demonic incursion will scour the entire Icefall region! Why do you think I’m trying so hard to prevent it from happening in the first place?”
She paused and took a deep, shuddering breath. When she resumed, she spoke in a quiet voice.
“However, there’s only so much I can do. I’m… I’m not strong enough to save everyone. So rather than waste my energy trying, it’s better to focus on the people I can save. That means prioritizing Icefall City, even if it means abandoning the rest of the region.”
This was one of the reasons why I considered regression a curse. Just because a regressor knew what would happen in the future, didn’t mean they could do anything about it. It ate away at them, such as in Cally’s case.
I walked over and put a hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry,” I said, “We’ll figure it out.”
Cally shoved my hand away.
“How do you know that?” She asked in a scornful tone. “Or is that just wishful thinking?” She scoffed. “I didn’t think you were so naive.”
Leroy’s expression twisted in anger. He opened his mouth, no doubt to retort, but I held up a hand to forestall him.
“Rather than wishful thinking,” I said, “I would call it confidence in our abilities.” I nodded at her. “Remember, you’re not alone. You have plenty of allies on your side. Me, Leroy, Anna. Not to mention, you’re an amazing wizard in your own right. We will figure this out, one way or another.”
Cally wore a conflicted expression on her face, as if she couldn’t decide between accepting my words or lashing out at me.
“Besides,” I continued, “We’re not the only ones looking for the demons and the demon summoners. Even if our enemies sacrifice a few pawns to mislead everyone, that might still lead us to them.” I nodded at Leroy. “However, if you want something more solid than words of encouragement, then let us follow Leroy’s suggestion and focus on the demon summoners. They’re the ones who caused this mess in the first place.”
Cally rolled her eyes at me.
“I already said that I don’t know much about them.”
“True.” I said. “However, they’re human. They have the same needs as everyone else, including the need to eat. If they live in the middle of nowhere, how are they getting their supplies?”
Cally opened her mouth to retort, but then paused.
“That’s… A good question.” She said after a while. “Assuming that the demon summoners are still alive. The demons might have killed them once they no longer needed them.”
Fair point. Demons could summon other demons. After being summoned, they could kill the original demon summoners since they no longer needed them. This was why demon summoning was such a risky prospect, one that almost never worked out.
“True.” I said. “Still, it’s a start. Even if the demon summoners were killed by the very demons they summoned, they would’ve needed supplies before that point. Following that thread might lead us to their hideout.”
Cally wore a thoughtful expression on her face.
“If their hideout was somewhere in the middle of the wilderness, they would’ve needed to buy supplies from Icefall City.” She said, almost speaking to herself. “It is the only trade hub in the region. They could’ve imported their supplies from outside the region, but that is an unnecessary expense. Not to mention conspicuous. It would be cheaper and less suspicious to just buy from Icefall City.
“What if they bought their supplies from one of the other settlements in the region?” I asked.
Cally shook her head.
“No. The other settlements in the Icefall region are wary of outsiders. Unless they have close ties, trying to procure supplies from them on a regular basis would arouse suspicion.” She gave me an intense look. “We need to talk to every merchant and trader in Icefall City once we get back.”
My lips twitched as I held back a smile.
“Why don’t we narrow it down and focus on the ones who deal in foodstuffs?”
Cally blinked at me, before she let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
“Right. That would save us a lot of time.” She heaved out a sigh. “I apologize for lashing out, Brandon.” She looked at Leroy. “To you as well. Neither of you deserved it.”
“Thank you for apologizing.” I said.
I glanced at Leroy. He looked reluctant to accept Cally’s apology. However, he caved after I furrowed my brows at him.
“I accept your apology as well, Cally.” Leroy said.
I clapped my hands together.
“Great!” I said. “Now that we’re all best friends again, why don’t we get going? The sooner we finish this delivery, the sooner we can get back to Icefall City.”
Leroy and Cally nodded their heads. The three of us started walking again.
***
After we delivered the supplies to Marilyn’s extended family, who all regarded us with suspicion until we mentioned that Marilyn sent us, my companions and I rushed back to Icefall City. As soon as we made it back, we went around and investigated all the merchants and shops that sold foodstuffs.
At first the merchants and shop owners were reluctant to answer our questions. However, they became more talkative after we told them that we were investigating a matter on behalf of House Icefall. It wasn’t even a lie. Cally was the heir to House Icefall, after all. She even produced a document with her signature on it, to help prove our claim.
To narrow our search down even further, we focused on the shops and merchants that sold in bulk. The settlements outside of Icefall City lived a fair distance away. Even the closest one was about an hour away by horse. To avoid traveling to Icefall City every time they needed something, they bought as much as they could whenever they visited the city. We figured that the demon summoners would act the same way, both out of necessity and to avoid suspicion.
It took us a few hours, but we finally found a lead. A tenuous one, but a lead nonetheless. We found it after talking with a shop owner who specialized in selling food and other goods in bulk to the other settlements in the Icefall Region.
At first he was wary of us and refused to answer our questions, but after Cally produced the document, he became a lot more amenable. He took us to a storeroom in the back of his shop, so we could talk in private.
The storeroom was a small space, packed to the brim with crates. It was cramped with all four of us in there, especially Leroy, and smelled of vinegar. Despite being surrounded by three adventurers, the shop owner remained calm and composed. When we asked him about any suspicious individuals that might have bought from him in recent months, he nodded.
“There is one man that comes to mind,” he said, pinching his chin. “He dressed like a local, but didn’t act like it.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“The folks living outside of the city are tough and hardy. They lead simple, but dangerous, lives out there.” The shop owner shrugged. “It seems crazy to me, but to each their own.” He frowned. “However, the man I mentioned is… How do I put this? He seemed more like a scholar than anything. Thin, frail, wears glasses. He always acted rude and arrogant too, when he came in. No manners at all. It made him stick out like a sore thumb.”
My companions and I glanced at one another, a gleam of excitement in our eyes. While this could be a false lead, it was better than nothing.
“How long has this man been buying from you?” Cally asked.
The shop owner looked thoughtful for a moment.
“He comes in once a month, and I’ve only seen him a few times, so three months? Maybe four. No more than that.”
We continued questioning the shop owner, trying to get as many details out of him as possible. However, he didn’t know much more than that. He didn’t even know the thin and frail man’s name. We thanked him before leaving.
Afterwards, we decided to continue asking around the city. While we gained a potential lead, it was best to be thorough. However, nothing else panned out. When afternoon rolled around, we headed back to the rented house for a late lunch and to discuss our findings.
My companions and I sat around the dining room table. Leroy and I even bought a new chair for Cally some time ago, since she came by often enough. Leroy didn’t wear his wooden mask, and Cally didn’t wear her veil. She also had her hood down, revealing her white hair.
“It appears that finding the thin and frail man with glasses is our best chance at locating the demon summoners.” Cally said after we finished eating.
“Assuming he’s involved with them.” I said.
Cally nodded with a grim expression on her face. We had little information to work with. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, except the lights were off and we had our hands tied behind our backs.
“Still, it’s better than nothing,” Cally said.
She pulled out the map of the Icefall Region and spread it across the dining table. Over the past two weeks, we marked the locations of all the monsters we had hunted, the ones with an affinity for Fire that was. They turned out to be busts, but marking their locations helped us narrow down our search. We also marked the location where we encountered the hellhounds.
“If the thin and frail man with glasses-” Cally started to say, but I interrupted her.
“Can we just call him Glasses?” I asked. “Calling him the thin and frail man with glasses is too cumbersome.”
Cally rolled her eyes.
“Fine.” She said. “If Glasses only comes into the city once a month to buy supplies, then that means he lives a fair distance away. To be safe, let’s say a day’s journey by horse.”
After making some quick calculations, Cally drew a large circle on the map with Icefall City in the center.
“That is still a large area to search,” I said. “However, we can narrow it down further.” I tapped the area where we located the hellhounds. “We haven’t heard any reports of hellhounds or fiends attacking people, so whoever’s in charge must be keeping a tight leash on them. Since we encountered the hellhounds here, there’s a good chance that their hideout is located near this area.”
“Maybe.” Leroy said. “However, everyone is already searching near that location.”
Cally and I nodded in agreement. House Icefall, the Icefall Adventurers Guild, and the local Church of the Sun had spent the past two weeks searching around the area where we fought the hellhounds. However, they hadn’t found anything yet either.
“They’re working under the assumption that the demon summoners are located near that area.” Cally said. “What if that isn’t the case?”
I nodded.
“Hellhounds are fast and don’t get tired.” I said. “They can travel a fair distance in just a day. If I were a demon summoner, or a demon in control of a pack of hellhounds, I wouldn’t let them go any further away than that.”
I made some quick calculations of my own, before drawing a circle on the map with the nameless forest in the center. It was even larger than the one that Cally drew. I tapped the area where our two circles intersected.
“Assuming Glasses is one of the demon summoners, or is working for them in some capacity,” I said. “Then there is a good chance that their hideout is located somewhere here.”
Leroy and Cally grimaced.
“That’s still a lot of land to cover,” Cally said, “And we’re not even sure if that is the right area. We’re working on assumptions and guesswork.”
“There’s something else we need to take into consideration.” Leroy said. “What if the demon summoners have an underground hideout?”
That was also a possibility. Look at Icefall Undercity, for example. Digging out an underground hideout was simple in comparison.
“It will take us months to search that entire area.” Cally said, slumping her shoulders. “We don’t have months. At most, we have weeks.”
“Even so,” I said in a gentle voice, “It’s better than nothing. As long as we take this one step at a time, we’re bound to find them.” I tapped the map. “Besides, now that we narrowed down the search area, we can focus our monster hunting efforts here.”
Cally perked up at that.
“You’re right.” She sighed. “Thank you, Bran-… No. Thank you, Lord Gabriel. You’ve given me hope. Even if it turns out to be a false hope, it’s better than what I had before.”
I shrugged.
“Think nothing of it.” I said. “We’re allies. Helping each other is what we do. I expect you to do the same for me, when the time comes.”
Cally looked me in the eyes and nodded. According to her, demons destroyed most of House Sturm in the First Timeline, leaving my younger sister, Kaylee, as the only survivor. I aimed to prevent that. No. I needed to prevent that.
To that end, I planned on collecting as many allies as possible. While I was strong and skilled on my own, I wasn’t all-powerful. Having friends and allies eased the burden on my shoulders. Preventing Icefall City’s destruction was a good first step.
“We should also keep an eye out for Glasses,” Leroy said. “If we capture him, that would save us a lot of trouble.”
Cally and I nodded.
“That’s a good idea,” Cally said. “I’ll ask Anna to lend me some people. That way, we can focus on hunting monsters and finding more leads.”
According to the shop owner that we questioned earlier, Glasses bought supplies a few days before my companions and I fought the hellhounds. That meant we had about a week before he showed up again, assuming he showed up at all. With everything going on, he might not.
“Why don’t you ask Lord Icefall to lend you some retainers?” I asked.
Cally made a face.
“In exchange for letting me become an adventurer,” she said, “My father forbade me from getting involved with anything to do with demons and demon summoners. He insisted on it, no matter how much I pleaded with him. If I ask for some retainers, he’ll want to know why I need them.” She shook her head. “It’s better to rely on Anna here.”
My intuition warned me that this was going to blow up in her face. Lord Icefall was bound to find out the truth one way or another. However, Cally likely already knew that, so I held my tongue.
The three of us spent some time hammering out the details, before Cally returned home for the day. Tomorrow, we planned on hunting monsters in the new search area. However, to my dismay, when tomorrow came, an unforeseen development complicated things for us.
Comments
hearthshope
For now. Wait until you catch up. Muah ha ha ha.
Lon
When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth huh. Since they didn’t find fiends they went after the ones that have need for food. Quite smart of them. Good thing that cliff power was nerfed because of the next chapter already being available :p
