January 28, Saint Laurent Calendar. An ordinary winter day.
What was unusual was that Annan sat in his newly refurbished Office, handling the administrative matters his subordinates had brought him.
The sight prompted Olmedo, Reynaldo, Francois, and Luoxi to deliberately walk past the Office door several times, marveling.
"Did Lord Annan get his heart broken?"
"Don't be ridiculous. I'd say he's worn out from too much indulgence."
"You're the one talking nonsense. Would he have the energy to work if that were true?"
"You don't get it. Men coming out of the Tavern with women always have that clear-eyed, capable look. Why do you think Mercenaries head straight to the Tavern when they get paid?"
Before long, even Idelia left her Office and came to the Lounge.
"How did you do it?"
She put the question to Olmedo, the one responsible for all this.
Olmedo looked confident. The young City Lord from Breeze City was back.
"Have you heard of Pavlov and his dog?"
Idelia's cheeks reddened slightly as she shook her head.
"Annan told me about him. An alchemist named Pavlov rang a bell every time before feeding his dog. Eventually, the sound of the bell alone made the dog expect food and start salivating."
Idelia looked thoughtful. Olmedo continued, "I took the experiment a little further. If a dog doesn't salivate, could it be because it doesn't like the food? Would it salivate if I gave it something it liked?"
"Administrative work puts Annan to sleep because it's complicated and dull, so I found him interesting matters to handle."
"Judging by the results, the experiment was a success." Jeffrey Pavlov Olmedo pointed next door.
Next door, Annan signed his name on the first file, "Residents Protest Goblin Noise," and handed it to his advisor, Peterson.
"Take this