Alien world

Chapter 1746, Section 379: Three Flowers of the Male

Annan then pointed to the dusty rat-man tower tree at the very edge: "What about that one?"

"10 copper coins, plus free delivery to Montreal Hills."

"Wow, that's so far, doesn't that mean it's free?"

"These were originally just things we apprentices used to practice with, nobody buys them."

Annan was quite interested; buying such a large work of art for ten copper coins was a good deal, considering its size alone!
"Is it really made with rat heads? I heard some people use inferior clay to pass it off as high-quality..."

The apprentice looked at Annan with a "what nonsense are you talking about" expression: "You mean there are craftsmen who carve rat-man skulls one by one to life just to sell them for 10 copper coins?"

"You're right, I'll take this one."

For just 10 copper coins, what's the difference between this and giving it away for free?
I'll take it back to Maria; I don't know if she'll like it.

Annan paid the money, put the dusty tower tree into the ring, and returned to the gray-haired rat priest with a very unpleasant expression.

"They're all heads of brown rats; gray rats are priced differently," Annan explained on behalf of the locals.

"You still want the gray-haired rat's head?" the gray-haired rat priest asked in a chilling tone.

"Do you have one?" Annan looked like he didn't understand.

The gray-haired rat priest didn't want to talk to it anymore; what he needed was the succubus's body, not its filthy, depraved soul.

Following the gray-haired rat priest across Tower Town, they arrived at a cluster of workshops in the north.

The Chaos Cult's stronghold is located here.

Deep inside the workshop, which was riddled with hidden sentries, we arrived at a large hall.

Annan saw Albek and his group here, with a man in an imperial official's uniform standing next to them, and a figure talking to them.

The figure seemed to be formed from the mist, constantly condensing and reorganizing—the gray mist was also the true form present here.

But Annan's gaze was fixed on his face, and that face... how could it be exactly the same as Prince Aidan's?!

The gray fog is Aidan, and Aidan is the gray fog!
Annan finally understood why he felt a sense of familiarity when he first met this guy... He never imagined that Prince Aidan was not dead... No, or was he indeed dead, but like Baron Jim Kelly, resurrected in some way?

"Black Monkey, it's not time for you to come back yet," someone questioned the gray-haired rat priest.

"I was discovered by human creatures, so I returned ahead of schedule," the gray-haired rat priest replied.

"Demon, what are you looking at?"

A gentle voice suddenly rang out, and Annan's emotional turmoil drew Prince Aidan's attention to him—a succubus?
Annan was quite certain... not quite certain... that Prince Aidan probably wouldn't recognize him in his current state.

But the ambiguous smile on his face made Annan inexplicably uneasy.

How do you know I'm looking at you if you're not looking at me?

Prince Aidan smiled and simply said, "He's actually a rare male succubus."

"Who are you calling rare? Who are you calling rare! What's wrong with a male succubus! Cats can have male calicos, so why can't succubi have male succubi!" Annan acted like a chaotic demon.

"I just feel like you look familiar..."

Seriously? You recognize this?!

Annan wondered if he was a firefly standing out in the night, or if Aidan had a dog's nose and could recognize him even though he had changed his appearance and race.
"Boss, how come there's a human thing here?" Annan shifted the blame.

"Boss?" Aidan looked at Annan and the gray-haired rat priest with surprise. "How did you become a ratman's subordinate?" "You know it?" The gray-haired rat priest sensed a trick.

"Yes, is this the second time we've met, or... the third?" Prince Aidan's tone was questioning, but more like a confirmation.

The first time was definitely at the Elf Flower Garden, the third time is now, and the second time... is it at the Baron's Manor?

What's the point of pretending and sneaking in? They were recognized from the very beginning...

The gray fog's words plunged the hall into a deathly silence, a chilling aura quietly enveloped Anan's body, and malice silently crept up behind him.

Prince Aidan approached him, his appearance disrupting Annan's entire plan.

Annan could only avoid looking at Albek and try his best not to get involved with him. Fortunately, Albek just looked in his direction with a puzzled expression and did not recognize him.

So, should we repeat the old story of the Elven Garden and capture Aidan first, or should we kill everyone here, become the leader of the Chaos Cult, with Albek as his deputy, and send Aidan back to the Kingdom of Paem in exchange for three ships of treasure...?

"Am I right? Olme is just right?" Aidan's voice rang out.

Annan reacted instantly and chimed in, "Oh yes, yes, Prince Aidan, it's so good to see you again!"

Although it's unclear how Aidan came back to life and ended up with the Chaos Cult again, as if his dying vows were worthless, he doesn't seem hostile at the moment... at least he hasn't exposed me, which is a good thing.

Whether it's due to some unspeakable reason, a threat to be used against someone, or simply "helping a friend"...

"Really? I don't believe it." Prince Aidan said with a teasing smile. "If you were really happy, you wouldn't be pretending not to know me."

The gray-haired rat priest spoke up: "Is he your male concubine?"

“Why isn’t he my male concubine?” Annan retorted.

Damn it, is that the point?!
Beside Albek, the imperial official sent by his master to negotiate with the Chaos Cult couldn't help but curse under his breath. That's precisely why he refused to associate with the Chaos Cult; they were a bunch of lunatics!
They say they'll do something today, then they'll overturn it tomorrow, and announce it's done the day after. How can anything be accomplished working with these guys?

After being teased and joked about, the gray-haired rat priest was too lazy to investigate the succubus's situation any further.

The main reason is that it has competitors.

"Grey Mist, it is mine." The Grey Rat Priest blocked Prince Aidan from taking Annan away.

“I’ve known Olme just as long as you have,” Prince Aidan said.

Annan nodded in agreement, saying that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them sworn brothers.

"But it accepted my employment."

“That’s true. That black monkey gave me a bag of gems,” Annan replied to Prince Aidan’s questioning gaze.

They call him "boss" when needed, and he's just a black monkey when not.

“That’s a bag of gems,” Annan emphasized.

"I'll give you two bags."

Annan reluctantly took out the jewel pouch the gray-haired rat priest had given him and handed it over. The black monkey didn't take it, its red eyes fixed dangerously on Prince Aidan.

"Grey Mist, are you looking for trouble with me?"

"You can't say that. It is indeed one of my people; it just so happens that you happened to run into it."

Prince Aidan glanced at Annan, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Since neither of us is willing to back down, why don't we ask Olme who it wants to be with?"

(End of this chapter)