This Young Master Isn't Serving Today

To be honest, being tackled so "enthusiastically" by a young girl, Lanlos—the disgrace of the elves with a Charisma stat of 8—couldn't help but feel a flicker of secret delight.

What? You say it's dangerous?

Please, with that blade held so blatantly in her hand, how could he possibly ignore it?

The intense exertion left the girl breathless, her rhythmic, warm exhales brushing against his face and sending a tingling sensation through Lanlos. Realizing the suggestive nature of their current position, he couldn't help but let his tongue run loose.

"Little sister, if you want to play horse, this brother is more than willing to teach you. There's no need to force a man."

Her breath hitched abruptly. Only then did the girl realize she was pinning him down with one hand, straddling his abdomen. Although she held a short blade in her other hand, a sprain caused by her initial struggle against the ropes made the blade tremble, and her breathing grew ragged.

If anyone were to pass by right now, it would look exactly like she was forcing this guy to do something unspeakable!

"Bastard! I'll kill you!"

Her resentment toward this mage reached its peak. With a tearful, miserable cry, she ignored the taboo of killing her own kin and thrust the blade down with all her might.

But the moment she exerted force, her elbow suddenly met an immovable resistance. When she finally managed to tear her focus away from her chaotic emotions to observe, she found that the rope from above had extended to her elbow, binding it tightly once again.

Realizing that he was intentionally provoking her, the girl snapped back to reality. She raised her other hand to grab the blade and cut the bindings, but she was a step too late.

A finger suddenly tapped her forehead. The girl felt a surge of heat pour in, and in that instant, her vision seemed to invert. Her brain spun, and her body collapsed limply.

Supporting the girl's lithe, boneless frame and catching the faint scent of flowers from her skin, Lanlos felt his heart wander, yet he didn't do anything untoward to the girl under the effects of the Sleep Spell.

His past life had taught him much; he had been cynical, fallen, and lost, but what ultimately allowed him to retain his dignity in the face of fate was not desire.

He simply propped her shoulders against a tree trunk and used the Animate Rope to bind her, layer after layer...

Respect is one thing, but for a spellcaster, caution is everything.

By the time Vereesa groggily opened her eyes from her slumber, the sun was already high in the sky.

The girl remained dazed for a moment before her eyes widened. She tried to stand, only to find herself bound once again.

"I advise you not to struggle," Lanlos, who had been meditating, opened his eyes the moment she woke. "Unless you want to suffer."

"What did you do to me?!" Recalling the various perverted impressions this guy had left in her memory, Vereesa gasped almost instinctively.

However, that sounded particularly unpleasant to Lanlos's ears: "What, are you hoping I did something?"

Lanlos had always felt that the Keystone gave him an incorrect Charisma rating. Generally, low charisma meant a lack of presence, not being universally loathed and constantly framed for things. But upon reflection, this body had "died" once and suffered the ravages of Fel energy; with his affinity for magic and elements being exceptionally low, a charisma value lower than the average person seemed plausible.

On the other side, Vereesa breathed a sigh of relief after sensing no signs of violation, though she paused when she saw the bandage on her right wrist.

"Just a sprain and some swelling, nothing serious, but it will still hurt if you move around." Lanlos rubbed his sore neck and stood up. "Tell me, who exactly are you? And why did you attack me twice?"

The girl raised her head to meet his gaze, then silently turned away. "What are you talking about? What two attacks? I don't understand."

With the help of the Keystone, Lanlos's senses were far beyond what they used to be. Although he hadn't used the Keystone to scan her physical data, he had long since memorized her petite frame and curves, and he had recognized her as the same person who ambushed him that night almost instantly.

Furthermore, he had proof.

"Here, something you left behind last time." He pulled out a folded piece of cloth and retrieved a silver hair that shimmered in the sunlight. "Any more excuses?"

"Pervert!" He didn't expect the girl to become suddenly agitated upon seeing the hair. "You twisted, shameless villain! You despicable rogue!"

He was stunned for a moment, but upon seeing the girl's flushed cheeks and wet eyes, Lanlos suddenly realized.

Well, keeping a single hair so carefully did seem a bit inappropriate, especially since the other party was a young maiden...

"Ahem." Even a thick-skinned man like Lanlos felt his old face flush, but he quickly acted as if nothing was wrong and darkened his expression. "Enough talk, answer my question! Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Having lived two lives, having purged demons and slaughtered trolls, the serious Lanlos exuded a pressure as fierce and scorching as a raging fire.

The girl's face turned pale. She finally realized that she had fallen into the hands of the villain whom Sarell had targeted.

"I came to take back the Windrunner Blade, you greedy, thieving bastard!" The girl gritted her teeth, suppressing the instinctive fear rising in her heart, and tilted her head to stare defiantly into the mage's eyes.

Windrunner Blade?

Lanlos was somewhat surprised. At first, he had wondered if the Golden Branch Village incident and the "resurrection" of Lanlos had drawn the attention of the Farstriders or others, but he had dismissed that theory because the two consecutive ambushes were so amateurish and reckless. He never expected the reason to be a sword.

"Did Lirath send you?" Considering that the first attack did indeed happen on the night he obtained the Windrunner Blade, Lanlos didn't have too many doubts, though even he didn't believe this question.

"I am Lirath's sister, Vereesa." Seeing that the mage wasn't suspicious, the girl secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least the mission arranged by Sarell hadn't been exposed.

"Vereesa?!" Lanlos exclaimed almost instinctively, looking at this pretty girl in disbelief.

He had to admit, although she was still young, her features did bear a resemblance to Alleria, and she had the same silver hair from his memories. Yet, he still couldn't reconcile the future leader of the High Elf remnants with the girl before him.

Vereesa Windrunner, the third of the Windrunner family. After Quel'Thalas suffered the invasion of the Scourge, Kael'thas destroyed the corrupted Sunwell, led his magic-starved elven kin to form the Blood Elf faction, and pledged allegiance to the demon hunter Illidan.

However, a group of High Elf led by Vereesa believed that using demonic magic to satisfy their magic addiction was a cowardly surrender, and they were unwilling to take orders from a Night Elf who wielded demonic power. In the end, Vereesa led these High Elf away from Quel'Thalas and founded the Silver Covenant.

Regardless of who was right or wrong, her ability to become the leader of the Silver Covenant spoke volumes of her charisma and strength.

None of those things had anything to do with the little girl standing here now.

Seeing Lanlos shout her name without a hint of unfamiliarity, Vereesa couldn't help but knit her brows. "You know me?"

"No." Lanlos shook his head naturally. "But I know your sister. She has mentioned you."

"Sister?"

Whether it was because she feared exposing the purpose of her surveillance mission by knowing too much, Sarell hadn't told Vereesa that the client for this mission was Alleria, so she was unaware of what had happened in Golden Branch Village.

"Alleria Windrunner." Nodding, Lanlos cast his gaze upon her face with perfect justification, the corners of his mouth curling into a hint of amusement. "You do bear a certain resemblance, but aside from your looks, you two are nothing alike."

These words grated on Vereesa's ears; she gritted her teeth, seemingly wishing she could bite him to death. Yet, more than the resentment in her heart, she was concerned about another point: "Why did my sister mention me? What did you two talk about?"

She truly knew nothing of the events at Golden Branch Village.

Seeing that the confusion on her face did not seem feigned, Lanlos felt even more at ease. After a moment of hesitation, he suddenly flashed a strange smile. "She said you are a petty little sister."

Vereesa was stunned, then, ignoring her injuries, she kicked her legs with all her might. "Impossible! You lying scoundrel!"

Regardless of whether the statement was true or false, who would hear such a remark and then repeat it to the person in question? It was clearly nonsense!

I am not lying.

Seeing this girl fuming with rage, Lanlos was amused to the point of grinning from ear to ear. Although it wasn't the same person he was referring to, they were both sisters, so it made no difference.

"At first, I didn't believe it either," Lanlos said, feigning righteous indignation, before suddenly letting out a long sigh. "But now I realize she wasn't wrong at all."

"Look at you—one moment you're trying to ambush me, the next you're flanking me to stab me, all for this blade?" Lanlos drew the Windrunner Blade from his waist and tapped the blade indignantly. "I never said I wouldn't return it; why are you so narrow-minded?"

Vereesa was momentarily speechless. When she heard that the Windrunner Blade had fallen into the hands of this villain who required surveillance, she had immediately begun planning to reclaim it. Now, hearing him say this, could it be that she had been impulsive and misunderstood him?

No!

Finding a loophole in his words and actions, Vereesa immediately began to retort: "Then why have you kept the Windrunner Blade for so many days? I think you never had any intention of returning it!"

That point hit home. These past few days, he had been racking his brain to overcome the difficulties of 2nd-circle spells and had indeed forgotten about Lirath. As for that little guy, he probably felt too embarrassed to approach him because of Vereesa's unauthorized actions.

"Shameless bandit, lying swindler! You had better pray you don't fall into my hands, or I will make you pay!"

Lanlos had been feeling a twinge of guilt, but who would have thought this girl would launch into a barrage of insults, instantly souring his mood.

Respect is mutual. Although he had once loved this world deeply, a game is a game, and reality is reality. Regardless of who she was, such extreme disrespect in her words and behavior displeased him greatly.

However, if Lanlos were to stop and think from her perspective, he might understand why Vereesa was so bitter and vengeful. After all, she was a young maiden who had been groped and bound by him; expecting her to be kind? That would be a pipe dream.

"You are absolutely right." Lanlos silently sheathed the blade and gave the girl a thumbs-up with a beaming smile. "Since I am nothing but a bandit in your eyes, it would be better if I didn't return this blade after all."