Secret realms are high mana manifestations of deceased awakened imprinted into the world. We divide them in two broad and very different categories - natural and designed.

  — Excerpt from The Secrets of the Secret Realms

  Day 243, 10:20 AM

  Just like last time, the woman was blasting her presence without restraint, trying to suppress me into submission, drowning all the guilds’ patrons in it without mercy. Unlike last time, the guildmaster wasn’t at the counter. Instead, a first-order bartender was going pale and possibly suffering a stroke from the pressure.

  “Greetings, I am Dandelion, and I was once called by the titles you just mentioned. May I have the pleasure of knowing who is asking about me?” I kept my voice neutral, my smile light, and despite Redo being red, I wasn’t too worried about our conversation. After all, I had shored up my weaknesses.

  Mental note: in the final loop, don’t come straight here with Newstar.

  Once more she remained silent, the duration exactly the same as the last time, meaning it was also something she had practiced. Newstar shifted his weight behind me, but I remained relaxed. After all, we were dancing a choreographed dance. Right on the dot, she introduced herself.

  “I am Iceflow Frostgrave. Three moons ago, three rogues assaulted my granddaughter in the streets, and you fended them off all by yourself.”

  Identical words. Another sign she came into this prepared. With nothing better to say or do, I shrugged and went with the prepared lines. “I help lots of people. Beautiful women, especially, are my weakness.”

  She glared at me. I did my best to remain calm, the quivers of my soul hopefully imperceptible.

  “You’re a whole lot less nervous than I expected.” She sized me up with some confusion.

  “Why should I be nervous when facing a senior knight of a chivalric order whose descendant I saved in passing? Not to mention we are sitting in an establishment sponsored by the imperial family itself?” I said the rehearsed line with a slight smile.

  And apparently my approach worked. The chill permeating the room lessened, but she remained wary.

  “Did you cooperate with the attackers to get some benefits out of me?”

  “No, I am not and was not related in any way with those who wished to harm you, your organization or your family.” While her questions were of the yes or no type, I reckoned that giving a longer answer would sever potentially inconvenient paths of investigation. Not that I didn’t have answers for the followups.

  She eyed me. “Did you pay them, or hire someone else to hire helpers?”

  “I did not. Nor did I in any way instigate the matter or make it happen. I recognized the uniform and believed I would get some reward for saving an initiate of the illustrious Everfrost Order.”

  “Lie to me,” Lady Frostgrave commanded.

  “I would never lie to you,” I said, and she chortled, shocking the four ladies keeping her company.

  That line’s a keeper.

  “You really are sharp.” I liked the grin she flashed. It was equal parts threat and amusement. She just stared at me for several moments before what had to happen happened.

  “You are not Dandelion Blackfist.” The atmosphere suddenly turned deadly, a nebula of ice crystals merging and condensing into a swarm of icicles. She noticed the difference in my mana compared to what reports about me said.

  “I assure you I am the person you are looking for and not a fraud or a face thief.” I explained after clearing my throat. Fortunately, the difference in my realm was something I had already explained before and something I thoroughly prepared for.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “If you are referring to me lacking the aura of the metal-attributed mana, I have reforged my realm and started again. Coincidentally, I even have a witness who can confirm it in this very room.” I pointed at Newstar standing behind my back, and I could sense him bob his head like a chicken. “If you wish to discuss my realm further, Lady Valiant, we should continue the discussion in private.”

  She didn’t buy it. At least if the still floating icicles of death were any hint. She didn’t doubt me either, just mulled over my words, so I decided to help her.

  “Look, I am no threat to you, and I have done you a favor out of the goodness of my heart, maybe expecting a small reward. I could have just let your granddaughter bleed to death in a dark alley in which nobody should really go into, even if it saves five minutes when going places. All I wish is to have a talk and an amicable relationship from which both sides will benefit.”

  The murderous silence persisted a moment before Iceflow Frostgrave spoke again.

  “I have rented a suite at the Noble Dragon. We can go there.” The icicles disintegrated in the air, leaving behind nothing but the chill. That was all the proof I needed to know I had survived the interrogation, so like any former bandit, I pushed my luck. Besides, my one attempt at humor pleased her.

  “At least treat me to dinner. I am not that easy.” I smiled coyly, and her eyes went wide, but that was nothing. Her wards gasped in shock at my scandalous words. My joke had gotten me on their hit lists, two of them even going for their swords.

  “I have killed people for smaller slights.” Frostgrave said, her voice doing her name justice.

  “You are a noble woman. You would not stoop so low, especially since I have not insulted you in any way. As a benefactor of your family, I believe treating me to a meal before we discuss other matters is quite fitting and conforms to tradition.”

  Lady Frostgrave’s jaw went slack. In the normal flow of time, it looked like she opened and closed her mouth, impersonating a fish.

  However, she gathered her wits quickly.

  “In that case, I would formally like to invite you to join us for brunch.”

  “I gratefully accept your invitation, honorable Lady Valiant.” I bowed like a perfect gentleman, with full respect a valiant was due and then some.

  With the unexpected disaster averted, and Lady Frostgrave’s wards shifting uncomfortably, I shifted my focus back on Newstar.

  “Newstar, you can handle the registration here on your own. I’ll come by later and help you with the scribes’ guild once Lady Frostgrave has no more questions for me.”

  As I said that, I realized that getting Newstar closer to a large order would have probably been a good idea, something to add into the future loops. I didn’t believe Lady Frostgrave would mind or even notice an extra mouth, and if Newstar played his cards right, he could form a major connection or several.

  After all, in my vision, several behemoths of ice stood in Newstar’s army fighting against the cultists.

  Food for thought, but I was already set on a possible path, and knowing what would happen without Newstar would help when he joined us for the meal.

  Newstar nodded, his complexion slightly pale from fright and from Lady Frostgrave’s aura. Her murderous intent was focused only two steps away from him, and such an experience could pass as harrowing.

  Lady Frostgrave motioned for me to follow behind her while her wards took up the rear. She said nothing along the way. Whether it was because she didn’t know which topics to broach in public or if she was perhaps letting me stew, I had no idea.

  We reached the Noble Dragon, and as we entered, I recognized a certain someone whose amulet I had snatched and whose ass I had kicked when I was bored. He scanned me, not recognizing my face, which made sense, since that timeline hadn’t happened.

  A handsome server took us to a table for eight and took Lady Frostgrave’s order, since she ordered a feast fit for thirty, rather than the six of us. The man bowed deeply and went off to whip the chefs into a frenzy.

  “Now,” Lady Frostgrave said as an invisible ripple spread around us, muffling sound and blurring sight. “I want to know everything. Your fate is sealed if you lie to me.”

  I nodded solemnly. She wasn’t messing with me, and lies would seal my fate in the Eternal Light Empire.

  “I was heading to Prancing Boney on Elm street to grab myself some beer. The guildmaster of the blacksmiths’ guild told me they had some decent stock, which he also enjoyed. I tasted it later, and it was all right, but not the best, so I was kind of disappointed, considering all the trouble it got me into.”

  “You’re rambling.”

  “Sorry. So, I was going to the inn when all of a sudden, I heard the sounds of battle from a dark alley. I didn’t need to think, and the sight of five men assaulting a lone woman told me everything I needed to know. I killed two of them…”

  I proceeded to explain the facts of the battle and my surprise at discovering they were demonic cultists. The latter bit was the only unedited and genuine part of the story, even if they were all truthful.

  I explained everything until Flake and I parted ways. Lady Frostgrave listened to the entire story without interrupting, her frown deepening after I told her I was fairly certain the assault wasn’t a random murder attempt, but an assassination.