"Sigh! I hope they make it back safely."
An Kai sat in his chair and spoke slowly, as though worried about the safety of Hanks and his companions.
Malken's mouth twitched slightly. His silence was his only response.
As an accomplice in tricking Hanks into restoring trade with the Seven Kingdoms, Malken once again revised his opinion of An Kai.
When they had first clashed in the Desert, Malken had thought he was a true desert barbarian.
After Malken was subdued by An Kai, he watched An Kai teach Prince Wayne about spells and concluded that he was a learned old scholar forced to wander the Desert.
Later, on the way to Chaos City, An Kai proposed having Wayne revoke the Shak Kingdom's bounty on Hanks.
After hearing An Kai explain his relationship with Hanks, Malken had thought he was a loyal, honorable man.
Only now, with Malken standing in the hall and watching An Kai sigh over Hanks's journey to the Seven Kingdoms...
Did he suddenly realize that An Kai had cared only about himself from the start. Everything he did was for his own benefit.
To gain Malken, a Tier Five [Assassin], as a subordinate, he could suppress his impatience and take Prince Wayne as his student.
Then he had Hanks's bounty revoked, using the "debt for saving his life" to force Hanks to restore trade with the Seven Kingdoms.
Finally, he had Malken appear and falsely promise that a Tier Five [Assassin] would escort Hanks to the Seven Kingdoms, making Hanks willing to go.
Malken could already foresee that even if this party returned, they would suffer heavy losses.
But by then, they would surely have contacted some traveling merchant caravans.
That would fulfill An Kai's objective.
Trade would resume in Chaos City Outer City, while An