There was a prolonged silence as Red digested the information.

He looked back at Domeron. “Why?”

The swordsman shrugged. “Might be a test, or he might just want you to learn what it feels like to be in one of those meetings. Trust me, there’s nothing quite like being in a room full of cultivators who can kill you with a wave of their hand.”

Red frowned.

After his promotion six months ago, nothing had changed in the boy’s routine. He still focused mainly on his training, and sometimes he went hunting for troublesome monsters in the forest with Rog. Hector had never given him extra responsibilities, and since the collapse of the bandits, the region as a whole had been rather peaceful.

It was a period of bliss for Red, where he could focus on his training.

The boy didn’t expect this peace to last forever, but he was still taken off guard by the revelation.

“Is anyone else coming too?” he asked.

“Sure.” Domeron nodded. “Allen and Eiwin are going too.”

‘The sect’s talent base.’

Yet, the boy noticed the absence of a name in particular.

“What about Narcha?” he asked.

Red knew the woman had a short temper, but it wasn’t to the point where she would disrupt such an important meeting with a tantrum.

“Gustav is going to be there too.” the swordsman said with a grin.

That explained everything. Coincidentally, this was also the first time Red would ever meet the merchant.

“What can I expect?” he asked.

Domeron sighed. “You can expect a lot of arguments and insults thrown between Hector and Gustav. The Baron will try to mediate it, but he only succeeds about half the time. If things don’t go too well, you might be in the meeting for a few extra hours.”

Red nodded, but there was another concern for him. “I won’t have to speak, will I?”

The swordsman shook his head. “You shouldn’t have to. However, Gustav is a manipulative individual, so he might try to instigate you to probe your temperament. Since you’re not the kind to respond to provocations, though, it should be fine.”

The boy was relieved. He had achieved the difficult goal of remaining as inconspicuous as possible in this rather large town - even with his red hair. The last thing he wanted to do was to draw the attention of important individuals to him.

Domeron continued. “That power of yours should be useful there, too. You might be able to tell if anyone is spying on the meeting.”

The boy nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The swordsman seemed satisfied with his response. “Then you should go back to sleep. Trust me, you will be thankful to be well rested for tomorrow. Those kinds of meetings can be more draining than a dozen fights.”

“I will do that.”

Red trusted Domeron’s advice on these matters. He was never one for social meetings either, much less a war council of this kind.

After bidding the swordsman farewell, Red returned to his room.

The boy was prepared to go to sleep when he felt a fluctuation move.

‘Again?’

Red frowned, staring at the wall of his room.

The person he felt move was Rimold, and this wasn’t the first time it had happened either. Over these last six months, the rogue got into the habit of leaving the sect at night many times a week. Unfortunately for the man, Red’s nightly training seemed to have disrupted his schedule, and he always waited until Domeron and the boy were done before sneaking out.

In his escapades, Rimold also tried to stay as far as possible from Red’s room, probably fearing his detection abilities. Of course, the rogue was acting with outdated information, since with the boy’s upgraded crimson sense, his detection range had doubled.

The boy never followed or asked Rimold about it, though. His escapades didn’t concern Red as long as it didn’t affect him or the sect at large.

He was just about to settle down to sleep when he sensed something strange. Rimold was moving towards his room.

Red frowned in suspicion.

‘What is he trying to do?’

Did he think Red had gone back to sleep already? That didn’t seem likely.

The boy monitored his movements with his crimson sense. Sure enough, the rogue continued to approach his room until he was standing right in front of his door.

Red examined his fluctuation. He sensed the man was somewhat nervous.

The boy waited for a knock at his door, but even after almost a minute, it didn’t come. Rimold continued to stand in front of his room, doing nothing.

Red was tired of waiting. He got up and approached the door with quiet steps.

With his improved senses from opening his Five Senses Vein, the boy could hear the rogue’s heavy breathing clearly.

“What do you want?” he asked.

The boy heard a yelp on the other side of the door.

“Fuck, you brat…” Red heard an angry voice. “Why did you need to scare me like this?”

“I’m not the one standing in front of someone else’s room in the middle of the night.” the boy said.

There was a prolonged silence at those words.

Rimold finally spoke up again. “… Ugh, just open the door, will you?

“What do you want?” Red asked.

The boy felt some hesitation behind the door.

“… I need your help with something.” the rogue said.

Red still didn’t open the door. “With what exactly?”

“Listen, kid, can’t we speak face to face?” Rimold seemed fed up. “The more I stand right here, the more likely someone is going to notice us.”

“… Wait for me in the training field then.”

The rogue grunted. “Why not- Ugh, fine.”

Red felt his fluctuation move away. He moved back to his room and picked up an iron short sword that he had been using as his replacement weapon these last few months.

The boy had yet to craft anything using the Dark Iron.

He sheathed the sword at his waist before walking outside.

Rimold was waiting for him in the training camp, leaning against the fence. He was wearing a dark robe, but beneath it, the boy could see the glint of armor with his dark vision.

The rogue’s expression changed once he saw the weapon on Red’s waist. “What is that for?”

“That’s for if you were trying to kill me.” the boy said.

Rimold glared at him. “You think you could stop me if I wanted to kill you?”

“Sure.” Red nodded.

Anyone else in the sect would be a different story, but the boy felt somewhat confident about fighting against Rimold.

His response seemed to make the rogue even angrier. “Ugh, you little…” he trailed off, swallowing his irritation. “… Listen, we need to be quick before anyone else notices we are here.”

“They are all in their rooms.” Red said.

“How do you- Oh, of course.” Rimold sneered. “I forgot you are constantly monitoring everything people around the sect do.”

‘It’s not like I have a choice in the matter.’

Red sighed. “What is it that you want?”

Rimold’s expression became troubled. “I need your help with something delicate.”

“You mean something that you can’t tell the others?”

“Ugh…”

Judging by the rogue’s expression, Red hit the mark with his words.

The rogue recomposed himself. “Look, you’re very discreet, aren’t you? I heard about what you did in the past for the others when you… Stole things from other people.”

Red frowned. This wasn’t the reputation he was hoping to garner, and it was one of the reasons why he didn’t engage in those shady matters over the last half a year.

“You want me to steal something?” the boy asked.

“Well…” the rogue hesitated. “Yes, I do. I would do it myself, but this is a two-man operation.”

“What do you want to steal?”

Rimold looked surprised. “Really? You’re going to agree to it just like that?”

“I didn’t say I would agree to it.” Red shook his head. “I just need to know the details before making a decision.”

The rogue frowned. “How can I just tell you all my plans before you agree to it? What if you tell the others about it?”

The boy shrugged. “I’m not about to agree to something I know nothing about.”

Rimold hesitated. In the end, though, he relented with a sigh. “… Fine, but I need you to promise me you won’t tell them about it.”

“I can do that.” Red nodded.

He had no interest in screwing Rimold over, despite their less than amicable relationship.

“There is a merchant in town.” the rogue looked reluctant as he explained it. “He is carrying a lot of Spirit Stones with him… I need those stones.”

Red frowned. “Why do you need those stones?”

Rimold scowled at him. “Does it matter? It’s not like you need to know the reason to make a decision.”

The boy supposed he was right.

“Tell me about this merchant.” Red said. “Is he someone with influence? What kind of protection does he have with him?”

The boy couldn’t imagine someone carrying such a fortune wouldn’t have some strong bodyguards.

“As far as I know, he isn’t anyone important.” Rimold shook his head. “That being said, the fact he is carrying so many Spirit Stones with him means he must be conducting business with important people.”

Red was about to ask how the rogue even knew about these Spirit Stones in the first place, but this wasn’t relevant information, either.

“As for bodyguards…” the man hesitated. “He has a Lesser Ring Realm cultivator with him.”

The boy frowned. He wasn’t surprised by the revelation, but it immediately made him reluctant to partake in the rogue’s plan.

Rimold was able to guess what he was thinking. “You don’t need to worry. If everything goes well, there won’t be any confrontation and they won’t know anything happened until it was all said and done.”

It sounded like wishful thinking of the rogue’s part, but Red was at least willing to hear him.

“What is your plan?” he asked.

“I will provide a distraction. I have already scouted where they are staying, so all that remains is for me to draw them away, and for you to break in while they’re not there.”

Red was skeptical. “Would they leave such precious merchandise unguarded?”

“They wouldn’t.” Rimold shook his head. “What matters the most is for me to drag the Lesser Ring Realm cultivator away. For the other bodyguards, you can use this.” he took out a talisman from his pouch. “This is a sleeping spell. It can take out anyone in their room without making a sound.”

The boy’s eyes widened in surprise. He reigned in his curiosity, though, still considering the matter. As much as Rimold seemed to have thought his plan through, there would still be an inherent risk that things could go wrong, and since they stood against a cultivator at the Lesser Ring Realm, the consequences could be dire.

Rimold noticed his hesitation. “You can also have a share of the Spirit Stones. We can split it in half.”

“How much is that?” Red asked.

“Should be about 5 spirit stones each.”

Compared to what he had gotten in the hidden realm, this wasn’t a lot. However, Red was aware that opportunities like the ones in the trial came once in a lifetime and five Spirit Stones were already a fortune in the outside world. He would need a lot of those too if he intended to buy the materials for his Parting Storm formation.

“Fine, I will do it.” Red nodded. “But if things go wrong, don’t blame me for not going forward with the plan.”

Rimold smiled. “That goes without saying, of course.”

“Where are they staying?” the boy asked.

“They’re staying in an inn in town.” Rimold said. “The Adventurer’s Guild, to be more exact.”

Red frowned.

That was Gustav’s place. The same place he had stolen from before.