"Mr. Lu is truly a master of his craft!"
Looking down at the figure writhing in pain on the ground, Kelson's words were clearly praise, but his tone sounded as if he'd caught someone red-handed.
"Having nothing at all would only arouse suspicion. Only by presenting a choice can you better conceal another choice."
He pointed at Sunny, who stood frozen nearby.
"With a little planning, a character like her can mislead me without raising the slightest suspicion."
"Looks like you came up with this on the spur of the moment. It's hard to believe you managed to convince them to cooperate in such a short time—or should I say, it?"
"This little inn's proprietress is practically a puppet, isn't she?"
"Looks like it."
Even after Kelson saw through him, Fu Qian showed no embarrassment. He even offered his own assessment of Kelson's, his tone perfectly serious.
Sunny's blank, unplugged expression was simply too classic.
"I believe now that the Native Council really does have designs on the wasteland. I'm not sure what you plan to do with it, but even in a place this remote, you know more than I do."
Kelson chuckled.
"I'd wondered before what this strange little inn was really for. Now it all makes much more sense."
"To protect himself, the one on the ground set up a base here, giving a group of people somewhere to gather."
"Its exceptional ability to stay hidden, combined with the puppet's cover, can easily sow suspicion among hunters."
"And the more they keep one another in check, the less of a threat they pose to it."
"That all sounds reasonable, but there's one problem. If the Ancient Dragon can freely move around outside whenever it wants, why didn't it hide then and let the greedy adventurers catch a