"This is an insult! It's outright mockery!"
Krian sprayed Luoxi's face with spit.
"Don't get so worked up, Krian."
Luoxi found it strange. After returning to Free City, Krian had shown himself to be even more fiercely loyal than the rest of them.
Still, that was a good thing... Luoxi had always worried that, having run off once, Krian might want to do it again. If that happened, never mind Lord Annan—even his brothers wouldn't forgive him.
"Worked up? How can you still sit there? Our king is being humiliated! Send the troops! Attack the Elven Royal Court at once!"
"Krian's lost his mind." Luoxi shook his head at Femi.
Femi murmured coldly, "That day will come. Cannon fire will ring out across the Elven Royal Court."
"Not you too!"
"Be friends? With me?"
An attendant held a piece of fruit to the Rat King's mouth, but he forgot to open it.
Annan looked up at him, his expression hard to refuse. "Can we?"
"No human has ever been friends with a Ratfolk."
"Now one has."
Seated on the grass, the Rat King leaned forward. "Give me a reason."
"The Elves invited you to their Celebration, which means you're a good Rat King. You helped me, too, which means you're kind... Isn't that enough? Maybe we could even become allies."
"The Elves must have tricked you into losing your mind." The Rat King shook his enormous head, as if he'd heard something unbelievable.
"I'm serious. As you know, the Elves just backed out of their alliance with me, so I need a real ally. And making an alliance with you doesn't mean making one with the Sereine Ratfolk."
The Rat King looked deep in thought. Then he raised a hand, picked up a piece of Fruit, put it in