Chapter 72

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Chapter 072: A Fitting Wish

When the colonel mentioned telling the king about this matter yesterday, Jesse didn’t really believe it yet. Although he hoped for a reward from the king, he didn’t expect to actually meet him in person.

Speaking of which, Varian Wrynn really wanted to be a good king.

In the early days of the 60s version of the game, Varian was split into two personalities by the black dragon princess, Onyxia. One retained Varian’s courage and valor but was left outside, while the other, kind but obedient to Onyxia disguised as Lady Katrana Prestor, became a puppet controlled by the black dragon, ruling the Kingdom of Stormwind.

Eventually, even the black dragon didn’t want this puppet anymore.

Hence, until the early stages of the 80s version, before Varian regained his throne and full personality, and before he defeated the black dragon princess, he didn’t have much presence. People assumed him to be an incompetent puppet king until his restoration.

But after living in Stormwind for a while, Jesse realized that he had overlooked Varian Wrynn before Onyxia arrived.

At that time, he was still considered a good king, at least someone who wanted to be a good king. Not only was he constantly trying to solve the problems left by the war such as refugees, bandits, and food shortages, but he even risked his life to come to the border fortress after it was attacked to stabilize the morale and boost the spirits of the troops. This shows that he still wanted to make a difference. However, when the mother black dragon truly descends, Stormwind and this king may enter the familiar phase to gamers where they become utterly insignificant.

That night, while Jesse was practicing sword fighting with the soldiers in the courtyard, a noble-looking man in his thirties was dragged to him by a guard.

"Mr. Jesse Seso?"

"Yes, who are you?"

"Baron Gray Alleyan, the secretary to King Varian. We don’t have much time, I need to quickly return to Lakeshire. So, skipping the formalities, do you know that you will be meeting the king tomorrow?"

"I know, Baron."

He had heard that Varian’s wife, Queen Tiffin Wrynn, came from the Elywnn family, a noble family with a small estate in Westfall. He wondered what connection this person had with the queen.

"Because the king will be traveling early from Lakeshire tomorrow, I must inform you of some things to keep in mind when meeting him… as he will be engaging with you in some discussion. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Understood."

After hearing the baron’s words, Jesse felt more at ease.

Since he didn’t understand the etiquette of facing a king at all, not even the etiquette of meeting nobles, he treated everyone with an attitude of using whatever etiquette came to mind. However, when dealing with ordinary people like shopkeepers or even mages, they could just pretend and get by. But if it was a real noble, like a king, it could potentially cause trouble.

The baron led Jesse into a small room in a corner of the fortress and looked at Jesse’s attire, asking, "Is this what you were wearing when you fought the Gnolls?"

"Yes."

"Good, wear this outfit to meet the king, it’s fine if it’s a bit worn out."

After saying that, the baron began to inspect Jesse from head to toe. Jesse wondered how his new clothes, which he had just bought not long ago, could be considered worn out.

He hadn’t even damaged these clothes while fighting the Gnolls, had he?

However, a few days ago when he fought the Orc Shaman, his lightning magic did indeed burn a hole in the back. But in Azeroth, was having a hole in your clothes a big deal?

Having a hole on your face is not a big deal!

"Is your hand injury better?" Baron asked again.

"It’s much better, thanks for caring, Baron."

"I am not concerned about your hand, I mean your bandage."

"Hmm, do I need to remove it?"

"No need, keep it on, it’s good to meet the king this way," Baron squeezed Jesse’s wrist and softly said, "The burn looks serious, very effective, well done." Looking into his eyes, Jesse felt like punching him.

"Oh, by the way," Baron suddenly turned around and said, "Don’t shake hands with the king, don’t wave to the king, don’t say anything or make any moves before the king approaches you, stay calm. When the king comes to you, bow, just a slight bow, don’t touch the king’s chest, then address him as Your Majesty. The king will ask you your name, or if you are the hero who saved Stonewatch Keep. Only then reveal your name, or say you are that person."

"I almost remember."

"Pay attention to your attitude, not ‘almost remember’, remember it firmly," Baron said, "Considering you are the hero who saved Stonewatch Keep, I am willing to confide in you with some things that should not be said to others, Mr Jesse Seso. The king is a young man of similar age to you, even a child, he has just returned to Stormwind not long ago, all he wants is to make King Varian Wrynn’s great legacy as strong as Lordaeron, and a crucial condition for all this is for everyone to believe he can achieve it. So, he doesn’t want any trouble, you should understand how sensitive a boy of this age can be, he just returned from Lordaeron, saw Terenas II, and also saw the one loved and blessed by the seven kingdoms."

Was Varian Wrynn’s image different in the minds of others when he was young?

Jesse nodded earnestly.

"Now let’s get to the point." The baron’s expression turned serious as he sat on a nearby wooden chair, looking up this way.

So we haven’t gotten to the main point yet? What’s coming next? Does Varian Wrynn think Jesse bravely defeated a large group of Gnolls, so he wants to have a live competition with him?

"Don’t jump to conclusions, focus on listening to me, Mr. Jesse Seso." The baron said seriously, "King Varian will eventually ask you what reward you want, or what wish you want to fulfill, as a hero of the Kingdom of Stormwind… he will try his best to fulfill your request."

So that’s it!

Jesse’s mind was already filled with a lot of ideas.

"Is it possible, a house?" he blurted out.

"By the Holy Light, look at the trouble you’ve caused me." The baron raised his eyebrows and said, "Duke Beval sent me here for you to talk to me, it really shows the sharpness of an experienced politician, otherwise things would really go wrong."

"If you just say it like that, can the king refuse you? He is a young man under twenty, full of passion but knows nothing about everything. When he agrees readily, I will find you a house in a valuable place like Stormwind. I will have to argue with those nobles, quarrel with them, until all the property-owning nobles are annoyed, I may not even be able to find you a place you dream of. If I really manage to take a small house from a minor noble and give it to you, do you feel secure living there? Can you survive in Stormwind? Those guys are damn vampires, they will never let go of any benefit, even if the kingdom is in danger!"

Jesse had a feeling that this guy wasn’t complaining because of his own matters.

Baron helplessly said, "Make some more realistic demands, or just suggest something random, I will discuss the possibilities with you. I think you should keep your demands within the range that 10 gold coins can cover."

"Then let’s do 10…"

"10 gold coins won’t do." He said firmly, "Common gold should not be a wish that a hero of a kingdom should make. More realistic is that even the royal family can’t just give you 10 gold coins for free, mister, now they probably can’t even afford the wages of the Stone Mason Brotherhood."

Baron suddenly felt he had said too much, he wiped his mouth with his thumb and said, "They should be able to pay, anyway, don’t cause trouble for the royal family."

Jesse thought again and said, "So, I want to enter the Wizard’s Sanctum."

"What do you mean, aren’t you already that Malin’s assistant?" Baron asked.

"An assistant is not an apprentice, I want to become an apprentice, to learn magic," Jesse explained.

"I don’t understand," Baron frowned and asked, "Isn’t an assistant just an apprentice? Are you saying that the young people hired by Wizard’s Sanctum to run errands for mages don’t even qualify to learn magic? What’s the reasoning behind this?!"

Jesse explained, "An assistant is just a worker. To become an apprentice, you either need to be recruited at a young age of around 10, or you must have undiscovered talents. I am much older now and lack any special abilities, but I have a strong desire for magic…"

"I think this should not be a problem. It’s just a slot for an apprentice, can’t the large Mage Quarter accommodate one apprentice?" Gray Alleyan stood up from his chair with a smile and said, "I will report to Duke Bolvar Fordragon. It’s a good request, a hero who thwarted the vile Gnoll invasion attempts, striving for knowledge to become a mage and serve the kingdom. This could be turned into a story."

"However, I believe that as far as those scholars in Wizard’s Sanctum are concerned, if you don’t show any results inside and fail their assessments, even if you are granted entry by the king, your connections won’t promote you to a formal mage. You still have to rely on your own efforts to continue on."

"I understand, Baron," Jesse said.

"Very well, that’s about it then."

Baron taught him some necessary lines, patted his clothes, walked out of the door, and added, "No need to see me off, I’m in a hurry to report back to Lakeshire."