Chapter 52 My Second Sister Is a Very Nice Person

The next morning, before he was even fully awake in the rangers' quarters, Rhonin was woken up by Vereesa to watch her shooting practice.

The elven ranger's exquisite skills drew rounds of praise from Rhonin. Their interactions in the morning light felt as though they had returned to the days of adventuring together in Grim Batol.

Meanwhile, Sylvanas stood behind her office window, her expression dark as she watched the intimate movements of the two people in the training yard below.

"I will definitely expose your cheap tricks and make Vereesa see your true colors," Sylvanas muttered to herself. "Stupid human mage, the elves will not allow you to toy with feelings like this. My little sister is mine to protect!"

With that, she pressed the call bell on her desk. A moment later, a cold-faced ranger walked in and saluted Sylvanas.

"Execute Plan Number Three. Take advantage of the fact that the little mage is still here," Sylvanas said, her voice radiating chill.

"Yes!" The ranger stood at attention, saluted, and walked out, disappearing behind the closing door.

After finishing her archery practice, Vereesa brought over some food. She spread a clean cloth on the ground of the training yard, and the two sat down to enjoy breakfast while reminiscing about their past adventures together.

"Haha, do you remember that time you spilled the jerked meat soup all over your spellbook?" Vereesa asked, a piece of bread in her mouth, as she pointed at Rhonin, who was busy pouring out a bit more soup, cheerfully exposing an old blunder.

Flustered, Rhonin fumbled with a handkerchief to wipe his trouser cuffs, while leisurely recalling the past in a steady tone.

At that moment, a group of elves suddenly rushed in. They were carrying a companion who was suffering from a mana addiction flare-up, letting out inhuman screams. It took the combined effort of several people to suppress the wild surge of her addiction. A male elf ran forward, pleading for help from the ranger outside the barracks: "Please fetch Lady Sylvanas quickly! Someone here is having a mana addiction attack and needs her treatment."

As he spoke, Sylvanas had already run downstairs. She rushed to the mana-addicted elf, began suppressing her with her own power, and then shouted to a nearby ranger: "She needs arcane gas treatment! Go to the warehouse and get the gas, two test tubes' worth. It's on the last row of shelves in the restricted items room. Take the keys." With that, she pulled out a set of keys and threw them to the ranger nearby. Perhaps caught off guard, the keychain dropped to the ground not far from Rhonin.

Vereesa immediately stood up, picked up the keys, and handed them over. Then, returning to Rhonin's side, she whispered softly, "You must have seen this kind of mana addiction in elves back in Dalaran. Fortunately, Theramore has arcane gas. Though it's not very elegant, it's certainly better than fighting and dying over a single arcane crystal."

Rhonin nodded, observing the current scene closely. Seeming curious, he asked, "How do you get your arcane gas? The goblins who used to come to Dalaran to sell arcane gas always claimed it was smuggled from Theramore."

"That is a secret of Theramore," Vereesa said, maintaining her principles. "I cannot tell you!"

"Alright, alright! Since it's a secret, don't tell me then. I don't care anyway," Rhonin replied with a smile.

"Well, it's all for your own good," Vereesa said softly, her gaze turning somewhat wistful as she looked at Rhonin.

A short while later, the arcane gas was brought over. Sylvanas opened the test tube of arcane gas and allowed the patient to inhale it. Soon, the beast-like screams vanished, replaced by continuous laughter echoing across the training yard. "Hahahaha..."

Only then did Sylvanas seem to notice Vereesa and Rhonin watching from the side. She handed the laughing elf over to the care of other rangers, then walked up to greet her sister and Rhonin. "You two are playing here so early. What, still reminiscing about your past adventures in Grim Batol? Have you started having picnics right outside the house? When you have time, tell me more about your miraculous adventures," she said to Rhonin, adding, "And thank you for taking care of my little sister back then."

Rhonin hurriedly stood up, looking apprehensive, and bowed to Sylvanas: "Greetings, Lady Windrunner. Thank you both for your hospitality."

Seeing Rhonin's nervousness, Vereesa quickly grabbed his hand and explained, "Second Sister, he's just not very good with words. He was ostracized and suppressed by the orthodox mages in Dalaran, too. The last time he was sent to Grim Batol, he almost died there. Go on with your work; I'll show Rhonin around Theramore. I won't let us distract you."

Sylvanas feigned a helpless expression. "Alright, alright, alright. I won't disturb you two. Truly, you find a friend and forget your second sister. Have it your way. Your second sister is going back to work." Then, she shouted toward the assembling squad of rangers, "Lirath, come here!"

The youngest brother of the Windrunner family ran over, saluting his second sister with utmost seriousness and rigid form: "Ranger Lirath, reporting to General Windrunner."

"Alright, loosen up a bit. Your third sister's friend needs to spend a few days touring Theramore; why don't you accompany him for a while? I'll grant you leave," Sylvanas first said to her younger brother, before turning to Vereesa to ask her opinion, "Little sister, what do you think?"

Vereesa first introduced Lirath to Rhonin, then looked at her second sister and said, "There's no need to trouble our little brother. Out of the three of us siblings, if two are taking time off to play with a friend, it might not look too good."

Sylvanas shrugged and gave a wry smile. "Fine, fine. Have it your own way, little sister. I'm leaving!" The dignified General Windrunner showed none of the murderous anger she had felt last night; instead, she was like a gentle spring breeze, approachable and affable. However, the moment she turned around, a murderous glint flashed across the corner of her eyes. It sent a chill down the spine of Lirath, who was standing right in front of her. He immediately spun around and marched back to the ranger squad, pretending he had seen nothing. To himself, he muttered: *Second sister is truly terrifying. I feel like someone is about to have terrible luck. Why does third sister's friend have such an ominous aura hanging over his head?!*

On the other side, seeing that Sylvanas had walked away, Vereesa quietly told Rhonin, "You see? My second sister is a very good person."

Rhonin nodded foolishly, a hidden perplexity lingering in his eyes.

Just as they were talking, a flash of blue arcane teleportation light illuminated the area. Jaina arrived at the ranger encampment, exchanged greetings with Sylvanas, and walked straight over to Rhonin. "Long time no see, Mage Rhonin," she said.

Rhonin hurriedly bowed: "Greetings, Mage Jaina."

"You come to Theramore without even giving me a heads-up, so I could host an old friend properly."

Rhonin put on the persona of a carefree, sloppy, and unpolished mage: "It was those old fogies who sent me to Theramore to procure ores, and they didn't even give me enough travel funds. I was afraid of embarrassing myself with this appearance, so I just wanted to slip in and out quietly. I never expected to run into Lady Vereesa here."

"Dalaran is becoming more and more of a mess nowadays, forcing an outstanding mage like you to do odd jobs. Couldn't Krasus help you?" Jaina seemed to be standing up for Rhonin.

"Mentor... he's very busy. It was an assignment given by the Council of Mages," Rhonin stammered, defending his mentor.

"Well, regardless, since you're in Theramore, as the host, I must treat you. Whatever ores you need, just hand me the list. I'll have them prepared for you and loaded directly onto a ship for your return trip. For the next few days, just focus on enjoying yourself in Theramore." Jaina briskly arranged everything for Rhonin.

"That's wonderful, Rhonin! With Lady Jaina's arrangements, you can rest assured and stay in Theramore for a while longer." The elven maiden seemed completely oblivious to the hidden daggers flashing back and forth in the air.

Rhonin: *A bitter smile—I must maintain my composure!*

Jaina arranged for Rhonin to stay at the finest Golden Goblet Inn in the city, booking the highest-grade VVVIP room.

When Vereesa even helped carry the luggage into the inn, she was dumbfounded upon stepping inside—it was far too luxurious! More importantly, the inn's attendants were all beautiful elven maidens. High elven women generally possessed striking appearances; upon coming to Theramore, even if they had no desire to engage in manual labor like farming or weaving, there were plenty of inns, taverns, and music halls eager to recruit them.

As Vereesa walked up to the door of Rhonin's room, she happened to see a pretty elven attendant chatting and laughing with Rhonin inside. With a displeased expression, Vereesa marched in. Behind her, a cold-faced ranger hauled the luggage in, set it in the corner of the room, and left without a word.

"Why is she here?" Vereesa asked in an icy tone.

Before Rhonin could speak, the elven attendant immediately and professionally bowed to Vereesa and said, "Hello, Miss Windrunner. I am an attendant at the Golden Goblet Inn, and I was just introducing this distinguished guest to the room's amenities."

"That's right, the service here is wonderful," Rhonin said, looking like a guilty culprit caught red-handed. "We were just casually chatting about how to use the equipment in the room."

Suspiciously, Vereesa glanced back and forth between the two of them. Confirming she couldn't find anything suspicious, she put her smile back on. "That's good, then. I already had someone bring your luggage over from the ranger quarters. Let me know if you need anything."

Before Rhonin could open his mouth, the elven attendant chimed right in: "We offer the finest service here, especially for guests in this VVVIP room. As long as you have any request, we guarantee to cater to your every need. Both I and my sisters will provide the absolute best service around the clock."

For some reason, Vereesa suddenly felt a surge of anger. Rhonin hadn't really done anything wrong, and she didn't have any real reason to lose her temper. But the mere thought of seeing all the elven attendants in the inn—regardless of their looks, figures, or voices—made her feel irritated. Especially the fact that Rhonin was surrounded by these female elves, talking about "all-day satisfying service."

Stiffly, she said, "Fine, then. You aren't lacking anything anyway. I'm leaving."

Nursing a faint tinge of jealousy, Vereesa returned to the encampment and vented her frustration to her second sister: "Why are there so many of our kin working as attendants at the Golden Goblet Inn? Second Sister, you have no idea how revealing their uniforms are. Rhonin looked at them and almost lost his mind. Hmph!"

How could Sylvanas not understand her little sister's feelings? Yet, without exposing her, she simply said, "Theramore isn't very peaceful lately. You should be careful."

Startled, Vereesa asked, "What happened?"

Sylvanas patiently explained, "Because of the arcane gas, the entirety of Azeroth now knows we use it to treat mana addiction. With such a good product, how could it not attract the attention of others? That's why we've caught quite a few spies and secret agents sent from elsewhere recently."

After a moment of thought, Vereesa said somewhat hesitantly, "Rhonin shouldn't be one of them!"

Sylvanas patted her younger sister's shoulder and said meaningfully, "Best if he isn't. After all, he's your friend. Don't make things difficult for your second sister."

Suddenly smiling, Vereesa declared, "I trust him. We've been through life-and-death trials together. If he wanted the gas, he would have asked me directly."

Sylvanas wore a peculiar smile. "I also believe he isn't one. Dalaran and Jaina's relationship should be considered quite good, after all. You should spend more time with your friend; it's good for everyone!" With that, she walked away, leaving Vereesa standing all alone in place!