Invitation from the South

[Severosa Fine Goods] was an independent three-story magic shop located in the very heart of Dalaran's prime commercial district on Violet Avenue.

The rent for its three-story street-facing premises was as high as one thousand Dalaran gold coins per month. Paying a year's rent at once reduced it to ten thousand Dalaran gold coins—slightly more than the Severosa Domain's total annual income!

No matter how one looked at it, that rent was outrageously high. Living in Dalaran was no easy feat.

Jobby and five settlers from Severosa were responsible for managing the shop. Its main business was naturally the various enchanted creations made by Orendo, though it sometimes also sold works by Orendo's friends at the academy.

For example, a certain noble mage young master from the South sold several kinds of alchemical potions here—the cheapest products in the shop, since their effects were mediocre.

Then there was a certain frosty young mage. The shop sold little pet-related trinkets he made, such as "Cat-Catching Collar Without Obstacles," "Quiet Kitty Collar," and so on. They sold fairly well, after all, wealthy ladies and socialites all kept little pets.

Although Jobby and the settlers were all ordinary people, having them manage so many valuable magical goods seemed somewhat unsafe.

But considering that the shop was in Dalaran, and in Dalaran's most prosperous district at that, there was actually no safer place in Azeroth's commercial world at present.

If anyone really dared lay a hand on [Severosa Fine Goods], whether by theft or robbery, leaving aside Orendo's retaliation, the Dalaran authorities would certainly hunt them down with all their might.

When promoting Dalaran to the outside world, the Kirin Tor Council that governed the city had always claimed it was "the safest city in the world," "a city with no thieves and no beggars."

Few thieves dared openly steal or rob goods worth tens of thousands of gold coins and bring the Kirin Tor mages down on them in a mad pursuit.

Besides... Orendo was not without allies in Dalaran's underworld!

When Orendo crossed the bustling commercial street and arrived at his shop, he happened to run into one of his friends—Nielas Aran.

"Eh? How rare. You actually found it in yourself to leave the academy." The cheerful man from the South, Nielas Aran, who was two years older than Orendo, happened to be browsing around [Severosa Fine Goods]. He laughed when he saw him.

Orendo did not respond. Because of his two mentors, he truly rarely left Violet Academy. The few mages who knew him well were all aware of that.

Nielas Aran was an open-minded young man who wore a smile no matter the occasion. Orendo found it hard to imagine that years later, Aran's soul would roar, "Even an old dog has a few teeth."

Aegwynn, the one who had turned Aran into an old dog, was now in this sort of relationship with him. Orendo believed his friend would no longer suffer as miserably as he had in the "original storyline."

I took away your chance to leave your name in Azeroth's history, but I also spared you your future tragedy. Whenever Orendo interacted with Nielas Aran, he carried that mindset.

He walked over and patted Aran on the shoulder. The fellow was two years older than him and a pure-blooded human, a full head taller. "What are you doing at my shop again? Let me make this clear first: I'm not giving you a discount!"

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not the sort of person you think I am!" Aran said disdainfully. His face practically had the words "This great mage isn't short of money" written on it. But in reality...

Just seconds later, the mage slung an arm around Orendo's shoulders and spoke softly, his tone so gentle it gave Orendo goosebumps. "Orendo, let's discuss this. You don't need to give me a discount. Sell it to me at the original price. Let me buy it on credit first, alright?"

Orendo ignored him and turned to Jobby, who stood beside them with a constant smile. "How much does Lord Aran owe us?"

"Three thousand seven hundred and fifty-six Dalaran gold coins. Lord Aran said he is willing to repay us with four thousand five hundred Stormwind gold coins," Jobby replied respectfully.

"You've owed me money for over a month already!" Orendo turned back to Nielas Aran, whose expression was utterly unconcerned. "And you still want to keep buying on credit?! No!"

"Someone who can't climb out after falling into a treasury..." Aran muttered, not daring to say it loudly. He refused to let go of Orendo's shoulders. "Just wait. My family will send me money in a few days! I'll pay everything off then! Trust me one more time, my dear brother..."

Orendo could not stand this kind of cheerful intimacy. He forcefully pushed him away and said helplessly, "Fine. What have you taken a fancy to this time? Since you're a major customer of this shop, I can consider letting you buy on credit once more."

As a classmate roughly the same age as Orendo, setting aside the cheat-like Orendo himself, as well as famous young genius mages such as Kel'Thuzad and Ansirem Ruin, Nielas Aran was actually already outstanding enough in Dalaran.

"I heard it from Jobby! The shop has some of your unpublished academic papers for sale now! I want to buy those!" Nielas Aran said quickly.

Orendo watched him silently for a while. Just as the latter began to feel uneasy, Sir Severosa finally spoke. "That's right, Aran. Just as I thought, you're buying these again. I remember that you've spent at least twenty thousand Dalaran gold coins in my shop. Yet you've never bought a single magical creation. Everything you bought was magical academic papers and spell scrolls. Many of them aren't even from your primary school of study, and some aren't even from your secondary school. Aran, tell me, what are you doing?"

"So you noticed after all? As expected of Orendo!" Nielas Aran smiled, as sunny and cheerful as ever.

"So what are you doing, Nielas? You're one of my few friends in Dalaran. I don't want you doing things that would make me unhappy," Orendo said seriously.

"My dear brother. Can we speak in private?" After pondering for a moment, Nielas Aran spoke with equal seriousness.

Orendo looked at him.

"Let's go to the third floor."

The first floor of [Severosa Fine Goods] was for customers to rest and browse the merchandise list. The second floor was the goods warehouse, while the third floor was the staff area, off-limits to customers.

It was also where Orendo entertained friends outside Violet Academy.

In the small sitting room on the third floor.

Once only Orendo and Nielas Aran remained, the young great noble mage from the South put away his usual cheerful smile and became solemn and serious.

"Dear Sir Orendo Seferosa, I, Nielas Aran, in my capacity as heir to Duke Aran and special envoy of Stormwind King Landen Wrynn, invite you to the Stormwind Kingdom!"