Stella's expression froze instantly.
Tears quickly welled up in her wide eyes.
"Rea… really?" Her voice trembled with a sob. "I'm sorry… it's mainly because I've been eating too well these past few days… every meal had meat, and even desserts… I… I just couldn't control myself…"
Seeing the tears about to fall, Allen hurriedly waved his hands.
"Don't cry, don't cry! I actually think it's great! It means you're eating well and sleeping well—chubby like this is adorable!"
Wren, watching from the side, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
That kind of comfort… was basically pouring oil on the fire.
Yet, miraculously, Stella was instantly soothed.
Tears still clung to her face, but her smile had already returned, and she even nodded vigorously. "Is that so? Mm! The benefactor is right!"
Meanwhile, Morgan kept insisting that he was already satisfied and didn't want anything more, so he repeatedly insisted on giving his right to choose a treasure to Allen.
Allen looked at the room full of good stuff and flexed his wrists.
Now, it was time to divide the spoils!
They began selecting items in the loot room.
Stella was like a little mouse that had fallen into a grain jar, darting back and forth among the engineering blueprints.
Her small hands flipped through one sheet after another, muttering under her breath: "This one… no… this one… already have it… this one… wow!"
She pulled out an engineering blueprint and excitedly raised it above her head.
"This one! Portable Bronze Mortar blueprint! With this I can—"
"No."
Shaw's voice came from the doorway.
Stella's smile froze on her face.
"That's classified Stormwind military technology." Shaw walked over and pulled the blueprint from her hands. "It's registered in the armory—can't be circulated."
Stella's little face fell, but she quickly pulled herself together and pounced back into the pile of blueprints.
"Then what about this? This one should be fine, right?"
She held up another scroll, her eyes sparkling.
Engineering Blueprint: Gnome Cloaking Device.
Allen leaned over for a look, puzzled. "Aren't you a goblin engineer? Why are you picking gnome engineering blueprints?"
Stella chuckled. She took out a pen and directly crossed out the word "Gnome" on the blueprint, then neatly wrote beside it: "Goblin."
Allen fell silent.
So that's how your goblin engineering works?
"We goblins are best at—" Stella rolled up the blueprint, stuffed it into her clothes, and proudly puffed out her small chest, "learning from all strengths!"
You're a gnome, you know?!
Allen didn't say it out loud. He turned and walked toward another shelf.
As a man determined to become a great mage—no, now already the Royal Arcane Advisor—how could he not have a proper set of gear?
There were quite a few robes on the rack. Allen looked through them one by one before finally stopping in front of a pure white robe.
The fabric felt as smooth as flowing water. Silver runes were embroidered along the collar and cuffs, faintly shimmering under the dim light.
Allen took it down, then picked out a matching pair of gloves—also pure white, with silver runes on the back.
[Elegant Robe]
[Chest "Fine Quality"]
[Intelligence +3]
[Spirit +2]
[Equip: Slightly increases casting speed]
[Elegant Gloves]
[Hands "Superior Quality"]
[Equip: Slightly increases casting speed]
Allen nodded in satisfaction.
Now that's more like it.
He turned around and noticed Wren still standing in front of the weapon rack, his gaze sweeping over one blade after another, yet not lingering on any.
"Wren, you haven't picked yet?"
Wren shook his head. "Nothing I particularly want."
Allen's eyes fell on an item tucked away in the corner of the shelf.
It was a collar.
Black leather, embedded with a ring of sharp silver spikes.
He reached out and picked it up. The system panel popped up automatically.
[Spiked Collar]
[Neck "Superior Quality"]
[Use: Summons a Felhound]
Allen's eyes lit up.
It can summon a felhound? That's way too strong.
Felhounds are mage killers—demonic pets with built-in spell reflection.
"Why don't you pick this?" he said, handing the collar to Wren.
Wren lowered his head to look at it, and his face instantly darkened.
Those spikes, that leather… no matter how he looked at it, it resembled something… not quite describable.
"What do you mean by that?"
Allen blinked innocently. "What do you mean? This collar is really powerful."
Wren took it and glanced at it.
"Powerful how?"
Allen said with a straight face, "It really is powerful. Just not convenient to demonstrate right now. I'll show you when there's a chance."
Wren's brows furrowed tighter and tighter. He stared at Allen for a long moment before finally putting the collar away.
Not long after everyone finished choosing, the door to the loot room was pushed open.
Varian strode in. He had already changed out of his heavy ceremonial robes and was now dressed in light casual wear.
"All done picking?"
He walked straight up to Allen and hooked an arm around his shoulder.
Allen instinctively tried to shake him off. "Your Majesty, please don't. Maintain some decorum."
Varian glared at him and threw a punch straight into his shoulder.
"Ow!" Allen exaggeratedly clutched his shoulder. "That hurts! By the way, what exactly was that surprise you mentioned earlier?"
Varian smiled mysteriously. Instead of answering, he asked: "Allen, what are your plans next? Going back to Alterac?"
Allen's smile faded.
Alterac.
The place he claimed to be from—the kingdom already gripped in Deathwing's hand. Of course he wouldn't go back—he wasn't really from Alterac at all.
Even though no one had commissioned him, the Book of Medivh being stolen right under his nose still left him with a lingering sense of unfinished business. And that "strange wooden stick" quest from the system also pointed toward a city of magic.
"I'm not going back to Alterac."
He turned to look at Wren and Stella.
"I don't know what everyone else plans to do," Allen said. "But for me, I'll probably keep adventuring. In the near future, I might head to Dalaran."
"Dalaran?"
Varian looked at Allen in surprise. "You're going to Dalaran?"
The others were also somewhat surprised.
Varian immediately spoke up: "I have a friend who's also heading to Dalaran soon. If possible, could she travel with you? With you protecting her, I'd feel most at ease."
As he spoke, Varian smiled knowingly. "Also, if you're not going back to Alterac, why not just stay in Stormwind from now on?"
Then he patted Allen on the shoulder, waggling his eyebrows as he added: "As for the surprise… the mansions in the Garden District are almost rebuilt. By the time you return from Dalaran, they should be finished. When that happens, pick one—I'll give it to you!"
Everyone froze.
"What???"
...
Night.
Allen lay alone on the bed in his room, staring at the ceiling.
Varian's surprise really was giving him a house.
And not just any house—a mansion in the Garden District.
You could tell Varian really wanted to tie him down in Stormwind.
It's just that the Garden District… that location wasn't exactly auspicious.
In a few years, Deathwing—Neltharion, the world-ending dragon—would descend from the sky and reduce the entire district to ruins.
But even so, Allen couldn't help but feel moved.
He… was finally going to have a home in Azeroth?
Since transmigrating, he had always lived in inns—sleeping in other people's beds, using other people's things. Lion's Pride Inn, Pig and Whistle Tavern, the small inn in Darkshire… every bed had only ever been a temporary place to stay.
And now, he was about to have a house of his own.
Such a strange feeling—like… in this unfamiliar land, he had finally taken root.
For the sake of that mansion… should he go kill Deathwing?
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