"Don't worry. If you succeed, you'll be rewarded. If you fail, I won't blame you."
Annan wasn't surprised the Demon Rat had agreed. His aim was to test the Six-Armed Snake Demon: would she keep their connection alive by sharing intelligence, or lie to him?
"I don't want to send you back either, but you're the only one who can do this..." Annan kept saying whatever cost him nothing.
The Demon Rat remained unmoved. After she left in a daze, Maria stepped out of the shadows.
"Are you sure she'll help us?"
Ever since demons had abducted Della, Annan had gone a full year without a guard. He needed one, but he wasn't comfortable bringing in a stranger. When he realized Maria was interested, he simply made her his guard.
"Her name's Rus, right?" Annan said.
"Why? It might be a fake name."
"Rus. Rose. Isn't it obvious?" Annan chuckled. "Free City has already shaped her. Once she leaves, she'll remember only the good things about this place, and she'll miss it more and more as time goes on."
The Demon Rat had long since fallen under his spell. He had her wrapped around his finger.
"Isn't that a bit much...?"
Annan gave an example. "Say you leave your hometown for somewhere unfamiliar. Someone there gives you money, so you don't have to earn a living or worry about survival. You don't have to work hard or struggle to maintain relationships. You can do whatever you want. Of course you'd remember it fondly."
"Once you go back to being 'restricted,' how could you stand the difference?"
Maria thought it over and finally found a second reason, besides Annan, to stay in Free City.
"But she's a demon's... rat... demon." Maria couldn't find the right word.
"That's why sending her will