Red’s gaze didn’t linger around the spot where he saw this invisible fluctuation. Instead, his focus returned to the meeting.

‘Is this one of the baron’s men?’

Perhaps a hidden bodyguard. Although, when the boy thought about it further, it made little sense. The reason Red didn’t notice this additional fluctuation was because it was rather weak compared to the Lesser Ring cultivators in the room and more comparable to the other guards.

Would someone as strong as the baron need that kind of weak protector?

‘No, I can’t be hasty with my conclusions.’

How could the boy presume there were no ways to trick his crimson sense? That kind of overconfidence could spell his death one day if he misjudged an enemy’s strength.

Of course, there was another possibility. Maybe this invisible individual was a spy. In which case, Red needed to warn Hector about it.

He looked towards the elder from the corner of his eyes. The old man didn’t seem to have noticed anything out of the ordinary. Red didn’t feel comfortable whispering in his ear either, since he was inside a room filled with people with superhuman hearing.

He needed a different approach.

He looked over at Eiwin, poking her in the arm. The woman was taken by surprise, looking over at Red with a quizzical gaze.

“Do you have pen and paper?” the boy asked.

Eiwin looked confused, but she nodded. She fetched something from her pouch, handing it over to Red.

It was a small, leather-bound diary, accompanied by a special quill that, as Red had come to learn in the past, could store ink at its tip that did not dry for months.

He took the items, nodding towards Eiwin. “Thank you.”

His small interaction didn’t go unnoticed by others in the room, but they didn’t spare the boy a second glance before returning to their discussion. More importantly, Red didn’t feel the invisible fluctuation stir.

He opened the diary, which seemed to serve as some kind of ledger for the sect, before flipping it to a blank page. He took the quill, writing a short sentence in it.

Then he turned to look at Hector, poking the elder in his arm while he wasn’t speaking. The old man looked at the boy with a questioning frown, but didn’t say anything.

Red handed him the diary, hiding it from the view of others. Hector looked down at the written words.

‘There’s an invisible person behind the baron.’

The elder’s expression didn’t change once he read this. Red didn’t know if this was because he wasn’t surprised or that he was simply hiding it.

Hector extended his hand towards Red. The boy knew what he was expecting, and handed him the quill. The elder wrote something in the diary before handing it back to the boy and refocusing in the meeting.

There was a short sentence written on the page.

‘Ignore it for now.’

Red’s expression likewise didn’t change in reaction. By his side, he could feel Eiwin was silently paying attention to the whole interaction, so the boy handed the diary and quill back to her.

The woman read the few sentences and a slight twitch in her eyebrows was all the reaction she showed before stowing the diary away. The boy trusted Eiwin for her to not give away their discovery, and his trust was well placed it seemed.

Of course, this interaction didn’t escape the eyes of Gustav.

The merchant smiled at them. “Are your students passing you secret messages in the middle of a meeting, Hector?”

The elder snorted. “They were wondering how someone can fit that much food inside them.”

Gustav laughed merrily before taking another bite of the bread.

The Baron massaged his temples. “Please, gentlemen. We were so close to arriving at a solution.”

The merchant shrugged. “Isn’t the solution obvious? We can try investigating all we want, but if anyone can dig out any demon worshippers out of hiding, it’s the sect cultivators.”

Feron sighed. “I have already informed the Crystal Sky Sect embassy on the capital. Unfortunately, they are already stretched thin as it is with the horde, so they can’t really send any demon specialists for the foreseeable future.”

Red couldn’t help but feel relieved when he heard that.

Gustav smiled. “That might be so, but don’t we have someone in this room with some connections to a sect that can help?”

He looked over at Hector, and the Baron didn’t admonish the merchant this time.

Hector frowned, and Red felt his fluctuation flare with anger.

“Is this the reason you called me here?” the elder asked. “To ask me for a favor?”

The Baron shook his head. “You know that is not true, Hector. We had already scheduled this meeting before the demon accident… But yes, you’re right, I did mean to ask for your help.”

Hector grunted in visible annoyance. “You know damn well I’m not part of that sect any longer. When will it get through your thick skulls that I don’t want to have to ask anything of them?”

Red frowned as he heard these words. Didn’t the old man already promise him to ask for help from one of his friends to deal with the boy’s potential demonification?

‘More theatrics.’

The Baron nodded. “I know that, Hector, but I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. We will be dealing with a demon horde over the next few weeks and that will leave our town vulnerable against attacks from the inside. If any demon worshippers choose to act during that time, we might not be able to stop them.”

“Come on, Hector!” Gustav urged him on. “This is for your sect’s own good! You know it to be true!”

Hector glared at the merchant in silence. Of course, since Gustav was the one most affected by the demon accident, he stood to gain from a thorough investigation. Still, Red knew the man had a point. The only problem was that none of this worked in his favor.

“… I will ask.” Hector said after a long contemplation. “But don’t hold your breath. You know that what remains of my old sect is barely a fraction of their former power, so they might not be able to send anyone over that quickly either.”

Gustav grinned, raising a wine cup into the air. “I’m sure if the Great Elder Hector puts on his charms, tons of cultivators will stumble over themselves to fulfill his wishes.”

Hector frowned, but didn’t say anything.

Red was surprised at how tamely the elder was behaving himself today. Was this out of respect for the Baron or because he knew he couldn’t hurt Gustav? Was he afraid of those two bodyguards?

Red looked over at them. The bodyguards had yet to speak a word throughout the entire meeting, sitting there like statues by Gustav’s side. The boy could tell by their fluctuations that none of them were as strong as Hector. If anything, the only person in the room that could even slightly compare was the Baron, and even then he was still a ways behind.

That being such, Red doubted Hector would be afraid of them.

There was still one additional fluctuation he was paying attention to once the topic turned towards, but there was nothing to indicate any emotional distress in the invisible individual that the boy could feel.

‘What are they doing here?’

The Baron nodded towards Hector with a genuine smile. “Thank you, Hector. The town and I will not forget this favor.”

The elder grunted but didn’t respond.

“Since this matter is settled, we can move on to the original reason I sought to gather you here in the first place.” the man said, his expression becoming severe. “As you all have been made aware, the horde has already reached the borders of our province. Scouts tell us that they might reach the river in three days at most.”

The air around the room changed once the man said that.

The Baron continued. “I have already sent messages to the surrounding villages to evacuate with utmost urgency, so over the next couple of days, we will see a large influx of refugees. Gustav has also offered to help the evacuation efforts.”

Gustav bowed slightly towards the Baron. “It’s my pleasure to serve you, Baron.”

The man nodded. “Although we are evacuating all settlements beyond and around the river, my plans are to hold the horde at the river line and use the terrain to our advantage.”

Hector frowned. “That sounds very optimistic. Do you already know what monsters we are dealing against?”

“The first wave is an assortment of mountain monsters,” the Baron said. “My men say they number in the hundreds, with a dozen or so at the Lesser Ring Realm. A force to be reckoned with, for sure, but nothing we haven’t managed to defeat in the past.”

Gustav showed some distress once he heard those words. “You mean there’s another wave behind it?”

The Baron nodded with a troubled expression. “The next wave is what worries me. It’s a pack of Skycrown Wolves.”

Red recognized the name. Weren’t those the monsters he fought in the trial?

The atmosphere around the room became heavier, and Gustav’s expression paled a bit.

“H-How many?” the merchant stuttered.

“Around 300 or so…” the Baron hesitated.

“Not all?!” Gustav’s eyes widened. “What could be worse than over two hundred fearsome pack monsters?!”

“They’re led by a Greater Ring Realm Alpha.”

The merchant almost choked out of shock, entering into a coughing fit. The bodyguards by his side shifted on their chairs, ready to help their boss, but the man waved them off.

“I-I’m fine! I’m fine!” Gustav said, recovering his composure. “No, wait! I’m not fine! How are we supposed to hold off a pack of Skycrown Wolves led by a Greater Ring Realm monster?! We need to ask for help!”

“You know that isn’t possible.” the Baron shook his head. “Our province isn’t the only place where the horde is attacking, and we are not even facing the worst of it. The kingdom can’t afford to spare us reinforcements.”

“So what do you suggest we do?!” Gustav slammed the table in distress. “Can any of us kill a monster like that?!”

The Baron didn’t respond, looking towards Hector instead.

The elder snorted. “You know I’m not at the Greater Ring Realm. I can’t kill a beast like that.”

“Maybe not in direct confrontation, yes.” the noble nodded. “Yet, there is no one else in the province more qualified than you to hold the monster’s attention and remain alive. That much, I know you can do.”

Hector frowned. “And what would you have me do? Distract it forever?”

“Until we can defeat the pack itself, yes. When that is done, we will reinforce you with utmost haste and dispatch of their leader. Won’t we, Gustav?” The Baron looked over at the merchant.

Gustav nodded frantically. “Y-Yes, yes! I will send all my men to assist you, so please save you, oh mighty Elder Hector!” the man held his hands together and bowed towards Hector, as if worshiping the elder.”

A wide smile appeared on the old man’s face. “I suppose if no one else can do it, then I have to act.”

The merchant sighed in relief.

“But I have some conditions.” Hector said.

Gustav froze.