Antonidas

Having made up his mind, Liam's thoughts shifted. The longsword in his left hand vanished in an instant, replaced by a big handful of... sand.

The sudden change caught Arthas completely off guard. A handful of sand flew straight into his face. An ordinary rogue using this trick would first have to put away his weapon and reach into a pocket. No matter how fast he was, he'd still have to make a few movements, giving anyone with decent reflexes time to react.

Unfortunately, Liam was simply too fast. There was no pause at all. Poor Arthas hadn't even recovered from Whirlwind when a handful of sand struck him in the face. He finally understood what it meant to be "covered in dust from head to toe."

When Arthas finally came to his senses and opened his eyes again, his hand suddenly went numb, and his longsword clattered to the ground. The despicable rogue was already standing in front of him with a grin, a beautifully crafted musket pointed right between his eyebrows.

Knightly honor meant nothing to Liam. He was a "pirate" now, not that "noble and upright" people's prince. Everyone had to do their job properly.

As a pirate, if you didn't want to lose, you did whatever it took to win!

"You..." The prince, who had devoted himself to the code of chivalry, hadn't expected to lose so easily to a "little hoodlum." For a moment, his proud heart didn't know where to turn.

Jaina, standing nearby, was dumbfounded too. The poor girl had thought she'd already lowered her expectations enough for the "damned liar," but Liam really did have a knack for shattering her worldview again and again.

"You, you, you what? When you're out in the world, you own up to your mistakes and stand tall when you take a beating! You lost. Got anything to say? Are you really going to send your men to capture me?"

Liam cut off Arthas's escape route before he could even consider it, and the satisfaction of needling an "honest man" came over him.

Arthas really wanted to wave his hand and order his men to gather an army and tear the boy in front of him to pieces. But just as Liam had said, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Even the thought of it was unbearable.

Arthas was still an innocent young boy. Invincible was still alive, and he hadn't managed to get together with Jaina, so he hadn't yet developed that shameless "I alone can save the world" attitude.

Arthas's face flushed purple as he struggled to find something to say, but Liam couldn't be bothered to pay him any mind. He just wanted to get away as soon as possible.

A prince brawling in the street had drawn quite a crowd. Arthas's attendants had kept everyone at a distance, but the crowd seemed to be growing by the minute.

"Go back and practice some more. If you still want to fight me, I'm always up for it. Come find me sometime." With that, Liam turned and walked away, carrying himself like a master.

But judging by his speed, he'd clearly used Sprint. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the crowd.

"That's right. I'll grow stronger, then take back the honor that belongs to me with my own hands!"

Liam's words had awakened Arthas like a voice from a dream. The "chuunibyou boy" resolved to train in the martial arts and avenge today's defeat. It was a fine sentiment, but after standing there in a daze for a long moment, Arthas realized he had no idea who to take revenge on!

Jaina saw the expression on Arthas's face and seemed to understand what the problem was. When Arthas looked at her, hesitating to speak, Jaina could only shake her head slightly. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. I don't know who he is either. I met him once before, but before I could ask, he snatched my... then ran off. This time, we'd only exchanged a couple of words before you interrupted us..."

There was a note of resentment in Jaina's voice, and how could Arthas fail to hear it? He looked awkwardly at the beautiful girl before him, then finally gathered the courage to invite her to explore Lordaeron with him. They could also "happen" to spend a couple of days at the palace afterward.

"I'm a little tired. My teacher has already arranged a place for me to stay, so I won't trouble you this time."

After all that had happened, Jaina had lost the desire to tour Lordaeron. Looking rather dispirited, she said goodbye to Arthas, climbed into her carriage, and headed to her temporary lodgings to find her teacher.

Poor Arthas remained frozen in place, unsure what he'd done to offend the girl in the carriage.

Jaina didn't know why she resented Arthas. Was it because she still hadn't gotten back her beloved shoe? Or because she hadn't learned the identity of that detestable liar? She couldn't figure it out.

Fortunately, the emotions of the young passed as quickly as they came. By the time she reached her temporary lodgings, Jaina had already put her displeasure behind her.

There was one thing Jaina had lied to Arthas about: her teacher wasn't actually at the temporary lodgings in Lordaeron. She'd lied without thinking, and even Jaina herself couldn't figure out why. Perhaps she'd picked up some bad habits after talking with that detestable liar.

Taking out a metal rune bearing Dalaran's insignia, Jaina channeled her mana into it, then quietly put away the softly glowing rune.

Not long afterward, a portal slowly opened behind the girl, and a figure stepped through.

The person's hair and long beard were completely white. He looked to be in his sixties or seventies and wore a light-purple mage's robe. It wasn't luxurious, but it was exceptionally neat.

"Mentor, I'm sorry to interrupt your research." Jaina hurriedly bowed to the newcomer. Her bow revealed his identity at once.

Antonidas, leader of the Kirin Tor, Archmage, and the "de facto" ruler of Dalaran.

"Little girl, I distinctly remember saying I'd take you straight back by portal. But you insisted on traveling by ship. So why are you summoning me now? Regretting it?"

Antonidas doted on his apprentice. Otherwise, he wouldn't have opened a portal so quickly. The moment he saw Jaina, he teased her, without a trace of a mentor's dignity.

"No, Mentor... I ran into that person again today—the one from more than a year ago." Jaina hurriedly explained. She didn't want her mentor to send her back by portal. The atmosphere in Dalaran was far too tense, and she missed the sea terribly!

"Oh?" Antonidas was intrigued. His apprentice had told him about that strange boy, and now the boy had appeared again. Could it be...?

"This time, I remembered to record what happened." In front of Antonidas, Jaina finally acted like a child her age. Now she was grinning like a little fox who'd stolen a chicken.