Would You Like Some Bread?

"Thanks for your hard work..."

In the returning ranger squad, Alleria sat upright on her Hawkstrider. After listening to the report from the subordinate who had just returned, she offered a word of praise and led the rangers onward toward the front.

"Is this really all right, captain...?" the young female elf who had delivered the report asked Alleria hesitantly, her voice uneasy. "His Highness Prince Kael'sala expressly ordered us not to let them continue partnering up..."

"It's fine. He won't find out." Alleria smiled faintly, firmly convinced she was right. "That Priest is a very gifted child, and she partnered with His Highness Kael'thas before. Sending her to protect His Highness couldn't be a better choice!"

Over the years, Kael'sala had never explicitly stopped Kael'thas from associating with others. Strangely, though, no member of the opposite sex had ever stayed by Kael'thas's side for long, and no one knew the reason better than Alleria.

That was why... she had decided to do the opposite. She didn't want Kael'sala to sink any deeper. The eldest prince's true character was completely different from his gentle appearance. If he sank too deep and the dark thoughts inside him erupted, no one would be able to stop him!

Even if only for the stability of Quel'Thalas, Alleria had to find a way to break his monopolistic control.

Thinking this, Alleria could almost see the furious look on Kael'sala's face.

"Pfft..."

She covered her mouth and laughed softly, her upper body trembling slightly.

Meanwhile, Kael'thas, thoroughly worn out by the young Priests' enthusiasm, had finally had enough and gone out to gather herbs.

Perhaps because of the many years of war, the forests of the Ghostlands were not densely populated with creatures. Kael'thas had heard that the hostile Trolls had a habit of eating humans and elves. They worshipped an evil, mysterious primitive religion and captured animals to sacrifice alive. Could that be one of the reasons?

He soon laughed at himself. That explanation was too much of a stretch. The Ghostlands had been under high elf rule for thousands of years. How could the animal population have dwindled because of living sacrifices?

"Ding..."

"You obtained Silverleaf, 100 experience! Current Silverleaf: 127!"

After the system notification sounded, Kael'thas successfully picked another herb.

The rewards were even more satisfying than he had imagined. Better still, the quest had no quantity limit; it was the same no matter how many he picked. The first time, Kael'thas had brought eight back to Suncrown Village, and the second time, twenty-four. He had discovered that experience was awarded per herb and could stack without a limit, so on his third trip, he had stayed out instead of returning to Suncrown Village, carrying a larger basket and picking herbs as he went.

It was a pity he didn't have a profession skill. Normally, Kael'thas wouldn't gain experience from gathering herbs. Otherwise, at a hundred experience per herb, it could have added up over time...

Of course, with the gathering experience and the quest experience combined, the rewards were quite good!

Kael'thas had a vague understanding of how the quest system worked. There were two kinds of quests: those from the system and those from people. The system ones seemed to require him to trigger them himself, either through actions or thoughts. Quests from people were much simpler: whenever someone asked him to help with something, most of the time it could become a quest.

"Blink!"

Spotting a Peacebloom more than twenty meters away, Kael'thas cast Blink. The air rippled, and in an instant, he had moved to a spot near the Peacebloom.

This skill, similar to teleportation, was extremely useful. It cast instantly and looked impressive. As a result, Kael'thas gathered herbs far faster than the Priests. Gathering herbs in reality wasn't as simple as in a game; good medicinal herbs had to be carefully cleared from the ground, and each plant took four or five seconds. That made Blink's ten-second cooldown seem short.

Basically, whenever Kael'thas saw an herb, he walked a few steps toward it, used Blink, and immediately crouched down to pick it. Thus, he used Blink more often than once every two herbs. The young Priests always watched Kael'thas blink back and forth with envy and longing in their eyes.

They didn't begrudge him, however, because they had chosen to be Priests. The high elves who entered this profession had surely given up certain things and chosen something more important. In some respects, Kael'thas considered Priests nobler than knights. They were the most deserving of respect-Shadow Priests excepted, of course.

"Pii~~"

Xiao Ao, flames burning all over his body, circled in the sky before suddenly swooping down to land on Kael'thas's shoulder and giving several clear cries.

He wanted to help gather herbs, but they would burn up whenever he got close. Though willing, he was unable to help and could only guide Kael'thas from the sky.

"What is it, Xiao Ao...?"

Kael'thas tilted his head and asked his pet in puzzlement. Xiao Ao rubbed gently against his hair, seemingly trying to say something.

"Beep beep~"

Xiao Ao's voice changed, and he flew up, looking a little excited. He fluttered about in front of Kael'thas, holding his head high and pointing his beak at the sky.

The sky?

Kael'thas looked up and saw masses of dark clouds advancing from afar like a great army. No wonder it had been a little dim lately. They were rain clouds.

"Are you saying it's going to rain?"

Kael'thas smiled as he asked Xiao Ao. He hadn't expected Xiao Ao to have that ability too.

"Pii~~"

Xiao Ao happily flapped his wings. It seemed Kael'thas had guessed right.

"Then let's find somewhere to shelter from the rain..."

Kael'thas glanced at some of the slower Priests not far away and thought they needed to act quickly. "Xiao Ao, go find somewhere we can shelter. I'll call them!"

He gave Xiao Ao his instructions. They were some distance from Suncrown Village, and there wasn't enough time to return.

"Pii~"

Xiao Ao flew high into the sky, and Kael'thas hurried to warn the young Priests nearby.

A little over ten minutes later, Xiao Ao led them beneath a huge tree with lush foliage. Just as they arrived, enormous raindrops began to fall.

The leaves sheltered them from the rain perfectly.

"Why hasn't this ancient tree become a treant?"

Kael'thas and the Priests sat down along the huge roots on the ground, and a cheerful young female elf asked the question in puzzlement.

The tree was enormous, about ten meters in diameter. Ordinarily, the high elves would have cast a spell on a tree like this to turn it into a treant.

"Maybe... it wanted to stay where it was."

Kael'thas touched the trunk, and an Arcane glow seeped from his hand into the tree. A tree like this had already begun to develop faint thoughts. Although Kael'thas couldn't fully decipher them yet, his elven gifts still allowed him to sense one of the giant tree's feelings.

The Priests exchanged glances, then smiled, looking at Kael'thas with even greater respect.

"Conjure Food!"

A little bored, Kael'thas began to chant. At his spell, slices of fragrant bread appeared on a huge tree root that had been wiped clean.

This was the mage's Conjure Food. Kael'thas had never paid it much attention in the game, but now that he was living in this world, he realized it was a spell worthy of being called a "miracle." It drew elements from the air and put them through a series of transformations to create bread. Even with the advanced technology of his previous life, that had yet to be achieved, but in this world of magic, it was accomplished with ease.

Bread could speed up health and mana recovery-for the natives, it sped up the body's recovery-and it could also fill the stomach. Simple and easy to learn, it had become one of the skills every mage had to master!

"Thank you, Your Highness..."

Kael'thas handed the bread to the Priests, and the boys and girls were somewhat overwhelmed by the favor.

"Pii~~"

Xiao Ao, however, paid the bread no attention. He gave a disdainful chirp, closed his eyes, and dozed off on Kael'thas's shoulder.

This child has gotten used to being picky...

Kael'thas was both annoyed and amused. His bread had an added Arcane effect, and it tasted quite good. Sooner or later, Xiao Ao would regret this...

Time passed slowly, and the rain began to ease, though it looked as if it would be a while before it stopped.

"Pii?"

Xiao Ao suddenly opened his eyes and looked outside in puzzlement.

Kael'thas followed his gaze.

"Someone's coming, Your Highness!" the cheerful Priest beside him said. Kael'thas nodded. His tall ears twitched slightly, as sensitive as a rabbit's, and he too heard the distant calls.

"Your Highness~~ Your Highness Kael'thas~~~"

Someone seemed to be looking for him, and the voice sounded familiar.

Kael'thas was puzzled, but this was a safe area, so it couldn't be an enemy. With that thought, he cast a Fireball into the sky. After seven years of basic Arcane education, he had mastered Fireball quite well.

Boom. The Fireball exploded in midair. Because of the rain, it didn't have much effect, but the rising smoke was enough for the other person to notice.

"Your Highness~~"

"Your Highness!!"

The person quickly came running over.

It was a Priest, with a familiar face, familiar clothes, and a familiar wand in her hand.

Liadrin...

"...Your Highness?"

She looked at Kael'thas hesitantly, as though she still wasn't quite sure she could recognize him.

Kael'thas nodded.

"Ah, it really is His Highness Kael'thas!!" Her eyes lit up at once, and Liadrin's face filled with delighted surprise. The corners of her mouth rose as if she were about to smile, but she quickly suppressed it.

"Forgive my discourtesy!"

Liadrin composed herself, bowed to Kael'thas, and saluted him. "Your loyal Priest, Liadrin, reporting for duty!"

It was a flawless display of etiquette; even the royal etiquette instructor could have found no fault with it.

She hadn't even taken the time to step beneath the leaves, remaining in the light rain to offer Kael'thas this utterly perfect salute.

Liadrin's rain-soaked hair clung to her face, and her cloth clothes were drenched, revealing glimpses of her delicate figure. Kael'thas looked at her and saw filthy mud on the legs of her trousers. Even her shoes were completely stained an earthy yellow...

The future Countess stood there in the rain, dressed in filthy clothes, offering her lord the most graceful salute of loyalty...

Kael'thas was momentarily stunned. For the first time, he didn't know how to accept such a salute.

But he soon smiled, as warmly and brilliantly as he had when they first met seven years ago.

"I look forward to working with you, Liadrin."

"Would you like some bread?"