On the other side, Jaina covered her mouth tightly, her shoulders shaking violently, before finally burying her face in Jaina's shoulder and letting out a muffled laugh. The Princess of Lordaeron patted her back gently, but she couldn't help but smile herself.
"What's wrong with you all?" Deren asked, pretending not to know anything.
Jaina walked over to Deren and said softly, "This morning, Ms. Aegwynn and I were taking a walk in the Mage Tower Garden District when those three came up to us and started fawning over us. Kalecgos and Mr. Antonidas got into a fight. They ended up exchanging Arcane. The Blue Dragon was defeated and got punched a few times by Mr. Antonidas. That's why it's like this now. Ms. Aegwynn and I couldn't stand it anymore, so we took the opportunity to teleport here to you."
"Is your Mage Tower alright?" Deren asked, worried that all that was left there was now just a pile of ruins.
"It's alright. Teacher Aegwynn and I set up a protective barrier before they destroyed the Mage Tower. Consider it another kind of magical trial." Jaina patted her chest with lingering fear. She recalled how the simp dragon, for the sake of his so-called beloved, had actually fought the chief Archmage of Dalaran to a standstill. If it weren't for the handsome middle-aged mage's trick, she might not have been able to defeat him.
"Where is my stupid brother?" Onyxia was still concerned about her brother.
"He noticed that Aegwynn was unhappy, so he tried to comfort her, which Kalecgos saw as a rival. Nefarian then teamed up with Antonidas to beat up the Blue Dragon. Anyway, the Black Dragon didn't like the other Aspect Dragons. Antonidas, on the other hand, quite liked him. After all, it was really a fight with the Blue Dragon."
"This—" Deren was at a loss for words. The relationships involved were complicated enough. He thought of a certain aunt who had passed away; if she were to travel back in time, she could write dozens of episodes of a TV series called "As Long as the Heart Remains Young, the Sunset Will Turn Red Again and Again."
Nefarian was the first to sense that something was wrong. The Black Dragon Prince caught a glimpse of the warning glint in his sister's eyes, immediately made a pursed-lip gesture, and obediently moved to the seat closest to Onyxia —he vividly remembered the punishment of the Soul Contract, and he didn't want to relive the experience of being turned into a sheep and forced to eat grass by the teacher last time.
But Kalecgos and Antonidas weren't so sensible.
"My dear, I traversed seven spacetime rifts to find the perfect magic rose!" The Blue Dragon knelt on one knee, offering a bouquet of flowers glistening with astral dew, tiny arcs of electricity crackling on the petals. "They only bloom at dawn, and—" His bruised and battered face, coupled with his deeply affectionate expression, made it seem as if the Undead had devoured the Blue Dragon's brain.
Antonidas snorted and, as if by magic, pulled a roll of parchment from his charred sleeve. "Senior Sister, this is my improved gas compression formula." The old mage proudly unfurled the scroll, "Ahem. This time, we'll definitely break through the range limit of Arcane Missile! Forget about Astral Roses, that boring, useless stuff. Let's study magic and explosions together!"
Aegwynn looked up and cast a pleading glance at Jaina, only to find her beloved student already collapsed in Jaina's arms, laughing so hard that the Golden-Haired Princess was gently patting her back to help her catch her breath.
The breakfast that followed turned into an absurd magical performance.
Kalecgos attempted to use spatial folding to spread butter on Aegwynn's bread, but accidentally coated the entire mahogany dining table with a golden hue. The Black Dragon Princess narrowed her eyes dangerously as Onyxia's knife was found to have suspicious butter on it.
"I... I'll fix it right away!" Blue Dragon frantically waved his hands, accidentally sending Deren's coffee cup to Antonidas's head—he did it on purpose, didn't he?
The old mage flew into a rage, slamming his staff heavily on the ground. "Insolence!" He waved his hand and cast a Starry Sky Illusion, instantly transforming the entire restaurant into a vast universe. As a result, the three red Dragon Maid were so frightened that they partially revealed their true forms— Misha's dragon tail swept over three tiers of pastry shelves, Luna's wings knocked over an antique vase, and Aella's dragon breath accidentally ignited the curtains.
"My curtains!" Jaina exclaimed, while Chromie jumped up excitedly, "Wow! Star projection! I want to learn that!" The Bronze Dragon really loved to stir things up.
Nefarian seized the opportunity to sidle up to his sister, peeling an orange with great enthusiasm. "My dear sister, don't you think I've been much better behaved lately? Help your brother tell the teacher—"
"Shut up, you stupid brother." Onyxia glared at him fiercely. The current situation made her both angry and speechless. "Nobody thinks you're mute. When will this chaos end?!"
Deren leisurely sipped the coffee Jaina had just poured, enjoying this rare spectacle. Onyxia leaned in and whispered in his ear, "You knew this would happen?" Her warm breath carried the aroma of black tea.
"Of course not," Deren smiled and took his partner's hand, his fingertips gently tracing the faintly visible dragon scales on the back of her hand, "But I'm glad that the Asura Field happened to someone else."
At the other end of the table, Aegwynn finally lost her temper and slammed her hand on the table, her guardian aura instantly dispelling all magical effects. "Shut up, all of you!" Her eyes flashed with dazzling Arcane light, her silver hair moving without wind. "Anyone who disturbs my meal will be turned into a hamster and locked in a magical experiment cage!"
After a moment of silence--
"Don't be angry, senior sister. Don't get sick from it. We still need to continue studying the art of explosions," Antonidas murmured, oblivious to the coffee dripping down his face.
"I'd be your hamster!" Kalecgos exclaimed, tears welling in his eyes, when he accidentally dropped another bouquet of roses from the Void onto the dessert plate.
Aegwynn looked at Deren in despair. "Do you need any more pets? I'll give you these two." With a flick of her finger, a flash of magic transformed the Blue Dragon and the old mage into two hamsters. Aegwynn pointed at them and placed them into a magically constructed cage.
Amidst the suppressed laughter of the crowd, Deren solemnly shook his head. "No, I already have a Black Dragon at home," he deliberately pinched Onyxia's puffed-up cheek, "I'm afraid two more will fight."
Upon hearing this, Onyxia proudly raised her chin, and her dragon tail quietly wrapped around Deren's ankle.
Outside the window, the ship's departure bells rang in Theramore Harbor, and the cries of seagulls echoed in the morning light. This seemingly ordinary morning, amidst magic and chaos, still maintained its unique "peace"—if one ignored the guardians surrounding a Asura Field and Chromie trying to steal all the muffins with Time Magic.
Jaina sighed and began instructing the Dragon Maid to repair the furniture; Jaina finally stopped laughing and used magic to clean up the mess she had just created; Anveena silently pushed the last intact plate of muffins in front of Deren, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter. Deren bit into the soft, sweet blueberry muffin, savoring the burst of fruity flavor on his tongue—this was perhaps the most perfect morning—thankfully, he was just watching someone else's Asura Field.
Second update. Still asking for votes and subscriptions.