Before long, Rex, Juster, and Aetheran appeared before Annan.
None of them looked like good people, especially Juster. His crooked mouth and lopsided eyes made Annan think, He was born to be a villain!
"Lord Annan!" Rex hurried to show his loyalty.
"I remember you... all." Annan changed his wording at Rex's wink. "Olmedo said you were villains, right?"
Aetheran, dressed in a Mage Robe, said modestly, "After joining Free City, we resolved to stop being bad people..."
"Free City needs you to be bad." Annan waved a hand. "The Red Dragon Sorcerer is hiding in these mountains. We need to lure her out. Any ideas?"
Just then, the Third Princess slipped quietly into the room. Annan made no move to send her away and let her listen.
Juster, on whom Annan had pinned his hopes, spoke first. "The Dragon Clan is greedy—uh, I mean, dragons yearn for wealth..."
Remembering the Blue Dragon that had accompanied Annan, Juster hastily corrected himself, only to find that Annan wasn't angry at all. He was nodding in agreement.
"...We could use treasure to lure her out."
"With so many Legendary Mages hunting her, would she be stupid enough to come out for a little treasure?" Annan asked.
"Dragons would dive headfirst into a river of molten gold even if they knew how hot it was." Juster's fawning look made Annan want to step on his face.
Annan considered it.
Free City itself was undoubtedly the greatest treasure, but the gravely wounded Red Dragon Sorcerer might not dare set her sights on a Floating City. There were also over a hundred thousand Gold Narls in the city. Should he scatter them through the woods?
Annan decided to try it first.
He found a clearing in the forest, had the Skeleton King take him several