He was having the time of his life.
He'd actually come through the door belonging to the Serpent of Fate, rather than Yarakir's.
The spot where our persuasive friend had appeared was decidedly unusual.
But considering what he'd been through, it wasn't all that strange.
Being branded a turncoat and a servant of two masters would have been a relatively mild outcome, after all.
Fu Qian shook his head inwardly. He wasn't the sort to care about someone's origins. Besides, the delight on his persuasive friend's face was so sincere that even the most critical eye would be hard-pressed to find any trace of insincerity.
He looked like someone who'd just heard that an old friend was visiting and leaped out of bed without even stopping to put on his shoes.
"Long time no see. You look pretty well."
Of course, his persuasive friend didn't wear shoes in the first place. Fu Qian's gaze slipped from the spiked hind legs before him, and he greeted him with a smile.
The Speaker was almost exactly as he'd been the last time they met, without a single hair changed from head to toe, but the compliment wasn't entirely empty.
It all depended on what you compared him to. In the bleak state of things before them, staying the same was already pretty good, wasn't it?
"You look even better."
And today, the Speaker was unusually smooth with his words. He looked Fu Qian over and immediately returned the compliment.
"Of course."
Fu Qian wasn't about to be modest. He accepted it without batting an eye, even striking a pose to show off his limited-edition uniform and cutting-edge weapon.
To be fair, he had made some progress since their last meeting.
But since that progress was a little beyond the Speaker's pay grade,