Gray Mist spoke up then, too. "Young Miss Olmedo..."
"Call me Only Here to Save Uncle."
"Only... what?"
Annan puffed out his chest. "My codename. If it's too long, you can just call me Uncle."
Gray Mist laughed. "You've got guts."
"Of course. I'm standing against the Empire to save my uncle."
After Annan's joking interruptions, Gray Mist gave up probing him—for the time being.
Once they had agreed on a time, the figures in the stone-pillar cottage left one after another.
As Gray Mist passed Annan, he suddenly stopped. "'Only Here to Save Uncle,' you can't show your face on Montreal Mountain again. Come with me. You need a new one."
Annan looked at the baron, who took the initiative and followed Gray Mist.
"All right."
As they walked through the Treasure Layer, Annan saw how much the Lower Hive had changed because of his intervention. The destitute people who had once been everywhere were gone, replaced by people dressed as mercenaries.
The Lower Hive was naturally beyond the reach of oversight, and a darker underworld had gradually taken root. The Shadow Brotherhood, information brokers, and all manner of shady groups gathered here.
"The Lower Hive wasn't like this before. There was no dignity, no hope—only poor people who couldn't survive. Then one person came along and changed everything," Gray Mist said wistfully.
"Annan?"
"So you know about him."
The look Gray Mist gave Annan made him wonder if Gray Mist knew something... but there was no reason he would.
Maybe it was just praise. Was Gray Mist a fan of his, like the baron?
Now this was interesting... I'm not even in the Chaos Cult, yet my name's spreading there. They might as well rename themselves the Annan Fan Club.
*What a shame the Empire got there first.