"I was ready to let my fists fly like Heavenly Maiden Scatters Flowers and beat those ratfolk senseless, but they heard their nemesis, Gram, was coming and hid from me..."
In the study of Star-Moon Bay's Lord's Manor, Annan regaled Olmedo with tales of his adventures in the Royal Capital.
"Looks like nothing happened to you," Olmedo said with a chuckle. "You can still brag."
"How can you say that? Everyone knows my name, humans and ratfolk alike. To curry favor with me, the Acting King put me up in a princess's manor and even wanted to arrange a marriage for me. I turned him down because I had a family to restore."
"If the future King values you so highly, why didn't you stay in the Royal Capital?"
"Some people see the strong and want to serve them. Others see the strong and want to become strong themselves."
Annan couldn't bring himself to smear pale mineral powder on his face and play the fool for Nobles, becoming a slave to money like Faru Barros—nor did Faru Barros want Annan stealing his business.
"The Northern Frontier really is a poor place..."
Olmedo recalled a trip from her youth. "I went to the Southlands once... Now that was true splendor. Floors paved with crystal, weapons made of gold."
"But crystal is brittle, and gold is soft."
"Exactly. When a floor tile broke underfoot, they threw it away. When a golden sword snapped, they melted it down."
Annan set his sights on their wealth. If the southern Nobles were that extravagant, their hearts must be terribly barren... Once the Kingdom's crisis was over, he would find a way to make the southern Nobles shout "Jack, I love you" too.
"Oh, right. Is there a way to stop just anyone from opening a