Ambassador to Stormwind City

After exchanging words with the friends and subordinates who had rushed over upon hearing the news, Karen finally found some free time.

Karen dismissed everyone and returned to his own room.

Karen first carefully inspected the perimeter of the room, ensuring there were no detection spells or magical items present.

Calming his nerves, Karen retrieved an object from his storage ring, which had remained untouched for a year.

It was a set of tools, identical to the one Sathis had produced on the day Karen went missing; it was a magical device for long-distance video communication.

Karen inserted a Magic Crystal, adjusted the magical frequency, and pressed the button to activate the device, simultaneously dispelling the magic of the Orb of Deception he had been using for so long.

After a long wait, a figure appeared on the video device.

"Brother."

"What? It's you! Karen, where are you?" Upon seeing that it was Karen communicating with him, the gentle expression on Kael'thas's face instantly shifted to one of agitation.

"Brother, I am currently in Stormwind City."

"Alright, I will have someone go to fetch you immediately. Why haven't you contacted me all this time?"

"There is no need to come get me. I encountered some issues a while back and was unable to reach you. Now that the problem is resolved, I am contacting you right away. I am doing quite well here, and I would like to continue developing my life in this place. I will head to Dalaran in a while; I can come find you then, is that alright?"

"Very well, you are grown now and should have your own ideas. However, I need someone to be able to reach you. Let's do this: after you disappeared, Sathis led a squad to search for you throughout the Stormwind City region. I will notify them now to go to Stormwind City to find you and remain by your side." Kael'thas pondered for a moment, and after confirming that this was truly Karen's intent, he spoke.

"I am currently disguised within the human kingdom, so perhaps they shouldn't have direct contact with me." As he spoke, Karen used the Orb of Deception to transform into the appearance of the human alchemist, Drew. "I am currently at the Alchemist Association in Stormwind City, under the identity of a Master Alchemist named Drew." Karen hurriedly provided a brief explanation of his situation.

"I previously thought you only studied alchemy out of curiosity, just for fun. I never expected your talent to be this great, reaching the level of a Master Alchemist in just one year. Very well, in my name, as the heir to the High Elf kingdom, I will dispatch a delegation of masters to Stormwind City. When they arrive, you can seek them out, and I will appoint Sathis's squad as the ambassadors. Tell me, do you intend to be an alchemist from now on?" Kael'thas asked, clearly still very concerned about his younger brother's development.

"Brother, I have advanced to the High rank. When I said I would go to Dalaran in a while, it was to pursue further studies. I will tell you the details when we meet."

"That is wonderful. I told you that you have talent; do not lose heart. Now that you have finally broken through the bottleneck, relax a little and do not push yourself too hard. Whatever happens, your brother will shoulder it for you." Kael'thas said happily.

Afterward, Kael'thas asked about a few more things. Karen recounted the events of the past year, omitting the existence of Drew, and did not tell him about his own talent.

As the questions grew more frequent, Karen used the excuse of hiding the magical fluctuations of the communication device to shut it down.

Although his brother's concern made Karen feel warm, there were too many secrets he could not reveal. Karen had no choice but to end the conversation.

A few days later, news arrived that the envoys of the High Elf kingdom had entered the city; they had made a grand entrance.

Their high-profile arrival ensured the news reached Karen's ears.

Two days later, Karen followed Guild Master Pierre to represent the Alchemist Association in paying a visit to the High Elf kingdom's delegation of masters.

Sathis was somewhat agitated upon seeing Karen. Although Karen was currently in his human disguise and Sathis had not reached the Heroic rank to see through the deception of the Orb of Deception, he had learned of Karen's current identity from Kael'thas. He had even collected information regarding Master Drew, including footage from an Image Projection Crystal, and recognized Karen at a single glance.

Throughout the past year, he had been filled with self-reproach, leading his squad members to search for news of Karen across the entire kingdom. Now that the person he sought had finally appeared, he was deeply moved.

Guild Master Pierre was somewhat puzzled by the ambassador's agitation; were High Elves not supposed to be arrogant? Why were they so unsettled upon seeing him? (Karen was standing behind Guild Master Pierre, and Pierre assumed Sathis was excited to see him.)

"On behalf of the Alchemist Association, I greet you, Mr. Ambassador. Come to think of it, Master Drew and I have some history with the High Elves." Guild Master Pierre spoke up to interrupt Sathis's emotional state, and Sathis quickly composed himself to converse with Guild Master Pierre.

They chatted for a while longer, and when Guild Master Pierre departed, Karen stayed behind under the pretext of inquiring about the recent status of the teacher he had fabricated for his fake identity.

"Your Highness," Sathis said once they were alone.

"Sathis, it has been a long time."

"It has only been a year; for our lifespans, that is merely the time it takes to take a nap."

"I heard you spent the whole year looking for me; I am truly sorry."

"Your Highness, you jest. It was I who lost you; it was my dereliction of duty."

"Enough, let's move on. Why don't you introduce your squad members to me?" Karen steered the conversation away.

"Greetings, Prince Karen. I am Malvin Firewing, a collateral member of the Firewing Family. I am a High Fire Mage," one of the squad members stepped forward to introduce himself.

He was a high-level mage, wearing High Elf leather-stitched mage robes, his dark green eyes seemingly flickering with sparks.

"Greetings, Your Highness. I am Cloya Sunstrider. I am a high-level warrior, and I shall be your shield. Any enemy who wishes to harm you must first step over this shield of mine," the person beside him said, declaring his loyalty to Karen as he spoke.

This man came from the Sunstrider Family and was a staunch royalist.

It seemed his brother had done something to turn this squad into his personal guard.

Compared to the talented first heir, Prince Kael'thas, pledging loyalty to him was certainly not a wise choice.

However, for this warrior to declare his loyalty so readily, it remained to be seen whether he was truly willing to follow him or if he had ulterior motives.

"Yulia Sunfury." A rogue revealed herself from a state of stealth.

She appeared to be a cold rogue, stating only her name before vanishing back into stealth.

However, as long as a rogue did not enter the Shadow Plane, they could not escape Drew's Scanning System.

Guided by the constant prompts from Drew, Karen's gaze followed the rogue's figure the entire time.

Yulia Sunfury realized that Karen could track her hiding spot the whole time.

She immediately cast aside her contempt, stopped circling around Karen, and respectfully retreated behind Sathis.

Karen shifted his gaze to the final member of the squad.

"Greetings, Your Highness. I am Vereesa Windrunner, a high-level ranger. It is a pleasure to meet you." She was a somewhat playful young girl, looking to be about the same age as him.

Her personality was quite lively, and her large eyes blinked as she sized him up, clearly very curious about him.

"It is a pleasure to meet you too, little girl of the Windrunner Family." Heh, another famous figure.

The youngest of the three golden flowers of the Windrunner Family.

"I am not a little girl; I am a formal ranger. I am an adult elf," Vereesa retorted, clearly dissatisfied with Karen calling her a little girl.

But the way she wrinkled her nose while retorting only confirmed that her temperament was still quite young.

She looked like a young girl who had just left home and stepped into society.

"Alright, we all know each other now. We will be working together here from now on. Let me be clear: unless there is a special situation, do not come looking for me, and do not expose me. I will send someone to notify you if there is anything," Karen said.

"How can that be? Our mission is to protect your safety," Vereesa said hurriedly.

"Vereesa, it is fine. Your Highness, you have already promoted to a high-level professional and possess a certain ability to protect yourself. With your equipment, I believe you have the capability to keep yourself safe. Furthermore, after this incident, you have grown a lot. However, I hope you do not stray beyond our range. You must maintain contact with us at all times. You should know that it only takes one teleportation to get here from Dalaran," Sathis said, hinting at the end that if he didn't listen, he would tell Kael'thas, who would arrive directly via teleportation circle.

Sathis handed Karen a short-range communication device.

"Fine, I am not a child. I have my own sense of judgment," Karen said, glancing at Vereesa.

The implication was that he was different from such a child. Vereesa wrinkled her little nose and secretly shook her small fist at Karen.

After accepting the communication device, Karen bid farewell to the embassy.