Dughan continued, "Ever since the Kingdom of Gilneas withdrew from the Alliance, they've had very little contact with the outside world. No one knows exactly what is happening behind those walls."
Wayne asked, "Besides the Queen of Gilneas, who else was there? Did the Queen have children?"
Dughan replied, "I know what you're suspecting, but that possibility is very low—at least according to common sense."
"As for whether there were other children... maybe you can only ask the Regent yourself. I certainly can't find out. Logically speaking, half the people on that ship died in the shipwreck. Even if the Queen had a younger child, they likely perished in the disaster. Even if they miraculously escaped, what mother, after a near-death experience, would let her child..."
At this point, Dughan pointed toward the net cafe and continued with a look of disbelief: "...come here to do something so absurd?"
He couldn't help but add, "You're just a net cafe owner, not the Warchief of the Horde. If the higher-ups really wanted to keep an eye on you, they could just tell me. Besides, Stormwind is crawling with top agents from SI:7. Sending just one of them would be more than you could handle."
Wayne argued, "But don't you think it's too much of a coincidence? The girl's surname is 'Gini'."
He began to repeat, "Gilneas, Gini. Gini, Gilneas." He then looked at Dughan.
Dughan sighed and imitated Wayne's tone: "McKill, Menethil. Menethil, McKill. Oh heavens, turns out I'm a prince of Lordaeron!"
Three black lines practically appeared on Wayne's forehead. "Uncle... I'm being serious with you."
Dughan snapped, "Am I not being serious by helping you investigate and repaying the favor for repelling the Gnolls? Otherwise, do you think I'd be willing to do something this ridiculous for you?!"
Wayne desperately wanted to tell Dughan and Rainier that the brown-haired thief from the early morning could easily use Shadowstep and Cloak of Shadows—skills that only Master-level Rogues could master and deploy. This was his strongest evidence that the intruders were no ordinary thieves.
But he couldn't say it. For any normal person, their first reaction wouldn't be "Why does that thief know such incredible skills?" but rather "How did you recognize those specific skills?"
Wayne had no way to answer that. He couldn't exactly tell them he was a transmigrator and that they were all just NPCs in a game world. Though the Holy Light claimed to heal all things, Wayne was certain it couldn't cure perceived insanity.
He said to Dughan again, "I still have to trouble you to find out if there's a young girl in their royal family named 'Tess' or 'Tessy'... or anything similar."
Dughan groaned, "Good grief, that's Gilneas. Forget me—even senior agents of SI:7 can't get in there. If it wasn't for that shipwreck, most people thought they were prepared to stay behind that high wall for generations, never interacting with the world again."
"Who do you think I am? A High Lord of Stormwind?"
Wayne knew such a request was indeed asking too much of Dughan, but he didn't want to give up on the investigation. He asked Dughan about the three men he had mentioned to Rainier earlier.
In Dughan's mind, the only thing the physical descriptions triggered was "Tias Cheese Shop."
As for the green-eyed thief and the brown-haired, blue-eyed one with a middle part, Dughan—who spent his days guarding Goldshire—simply couldn't place them.
However, he told Wayne he would arrange for more guards to patrol the town center at night. If those thieves returned, they would do their best to capture them. Dughan believed that was the best way to get the truth.
He also advised Wayne not to overthink things. Although Lyria had found him at dawn to report the incident and raised their shared suspicion—why, in a town as large as Goldshire, did a twelve-year-old girl run all the way to the town center and specifically Wayne's net cafe to call for help?
But Dughan argued that it might be the same logic as the Gnoll attack. At night, only the Lion's Pride Inn in the center of Goldshire is lit up and crowded. Whether for an attack or a cry for help, that's where you'd get the best results.
And the little girl, much like the Gnolls, probably never expected that the one to change their fate would be a net cafe owner.
In short, moving the suspicion to the Kingdom of Gilneas, ten thousand miles away, seemed absurd to him.
What could a twelve-year-old girl do? Especially against Wayne, who had managed to drive off even Hogger.
But the more he spoke this way, the stronger Wayne's suspicion grew.
A super-rogue who knows Shadowstep and Cloak of Shadows couldn't catch a twelve-year-old girl after chasing her all that way?
Based on Wayne's knowledge, unless this was a play intentionally performed for him, there was only one other possibility: this little girl had a brother who wore red underwear on the outside of blue tights, or she was the type who would turn into a green, muscular giant when angry. Otherwise, no matter how you looked at it, she should have been a one-hit kill for that rogue.
While it was possible these clues were intentionally planted to lead Wayne in the wrong direction, he was absolutely convinced that the little girl and the two rogues were partners.
"Then Uncle, do me one last favor."
Dughan sighed and shook his head helplessly. "Fine, I must have owed you in a past life."
Wayne: "Send a message to Verie. I want to see him."
Dughan nodded. "That I can do. I heard the fighting on his end is going well. But let's be clear: once this is done, we're even. I won't owe you any favors for the Gnoll incident anymore."
Wayne waved goodbye as he headed back to the net cafe. "Sure, sure, whatever you say."
Back at the cafe, Rainier had nearly finished his meal. He was wiping his mouth, preparing to return to the game to craft combat items. Little Tess, however, hadn't moved a muscle, staring at Wayne expectantly.
Wayne, fearing his conversation with Dughan had been discovered, felt a bit guilty and started stuffing lamb chops into his mouth.
Seeing him start to eat, Little Tess immediately picked up the strawberry juice and waited quietly to the side. It looked as if the moment Wayne signaled, she would present it with both hands.
"The little girl is quite sensible," Rainier complimented, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the grease from his lips and fingers.
Little Tess gave a shy smile.
Wayne quickly reached out and took the cup of strawberry juice, draining it in one gulp. He finished the lamb chops at top speed. Just as he was about to wipe the grease onto his pants behind his hip, he heard Tess's youthful voice: "Wait!"
Tess took out her own handkerchief and stuffed it into his hand.
Hearing that sweet, high-pitched voice, a soft sound like "Aww" seemed to come from the Westbrook quartet nearby.
Wayne wiped twice, but Tess thought he wasn't doing it cleanly enough. She took his large hand with her small one and helped him wipe.
The moment they touched, Wayne felt something strange. His expression shifted.
Little Tess noticed immediately and explained, "My family is very poor. I've always had to do heavy chores, so it's natural to have calluses on my hands..." She quickly withdrew her hand.
Wayne nodded. "It's fine. I'm done eating, you should eat now."
He turned around and put on his goggles, returning to the game world.
But as he turned, his right thumb felt the area where the other four fingers connected to the palm joints, and his index finger curled to feel the space between the thumb and forefinger.
Those were distinctly the areas where one grips a weapon.