The man in red's mockery was directed at Raymond, but old Marlin and the Archmage with the bangs heard it loud and clear.
Marlin, naturally straightforward and hot-tempered, was about to flare up when the Archmage with the bangs stopped him with a wave of his hand.
"Some people stay underground for so long that they can no longer appreciate the fresh things above."
Hearing this, the man in red sneered and immediately retorted, "And some people stay above ground for so long that they have no idea their research was surpassed by others ages ago."
Andrew took a puff from his pipe and exhaled a ring of smoke, completely ignoring the bickering between the old men. Instead, it was Tess, sitting on the steps with her chin resting in her hands, who spoke up:
"You can argue all you want, but you are not allowed to say bad things about Boss. Our net cafe's prices are perfectly fair. Boss says this is an 'honest business for young and old, a five-star shop with a conscience.'"
Seeing Tess stand up to the man in red, the Archmage with the bangs gave her a friendly smile and asked, "Little girl, are you also waiting for this small shop to open?"
Tess shook her head. "Mister, please look closely. This isn't a 'small shop'; it's a net cafe. And I'm not waiting for it to open—I am this net cafe's counter girl."
Seeing that Tess had even rebuffed the Archmage with the bangs, the man in red swallowed the rebuke that was on the tip of his tongue.
Raymond, looking at the little girl he had just helped save early yesterday morning and seeing how spirited she was now, couldn't help but ask, "Counter girl? What does that involve?"
Tess nodded. "When Boss plays, I collect the pay. I keep Boss's gold pouch safe. When Boss is hungry, I buy the food. When Boss sleeps, I'm on guard duty."
"Puff..." The white-haired Andrew tilted his head back and exhaled another string of smoke rings.
The four men on both sides listened to Tess and felt, deep down, that they wouldn't mind having such a cute and obedient counter girl themselves.
As noon approached, the four men continued to stand at the entrance, looking at each other with mutual disdain. The man in red was clearly growing impatient and began to scold Raymond again:
"It seems no one but you and these fossilized old fools would be willing to come to this dump."
Just as he finished speaking, two more people walked up and stood between the two groups, joining the queue.
Tess didn't know them, but Andrew and Raymond were all too familiar with them. They were Zaldimar, the Mage trainer from Goldshire, and Anita, the Priest trainer from Northshire.
"Oh!" Zaldimar turned and saw old Marlin and the Archmage with the bangs. He immediately hurried over with a respectful expression to greet them. "Archmage Andromath, Archmage Marlin! It is a great honor to see you both here!"
He placed his right hand over the left side of his chest and bowed slightly—a gesture of respect among mages.
Hearing Zaldimar's words, Tess stood up and walked over to Andrew, whispering, "Grandpa Andrew, who is that Andromath? Why do those two mages look a bit afraid of him?"
Andrew exhaled his smoke, leaned down, and whispered to her, "He is an Archmage from Stormwind, one of the few Kirin Tor Archmages who isn't trapped in Dalaran."
He paused and asked, "Do you know what Dalaran is?"
Tess raised her right hand. "I do! It's very close to my hometown!"
Andrew smiled and patted Tess' head, continuing, "He is currently the Chief Archmage of the Wizard's Sanctum in Stormwind. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him an 'Archmage among Archmages.'"
"Wow... amazing!" After hearing this, Tess looked at Andromath. He was currently calling Zaldimar aside for a private conversation, using the pretext of inquiring about magical affairs in Goldshire.
Zaldimar: "I truly didn't expect you to come here in person."
Andromath gave a wry smile. "That fellow Marlin went mad last night. He burst into my room around eight o'clock while I was bathing. He threw open the door and told me a dragon had appeared in Goldshire—a black dragon, no less."
Zaldimar couldn't help but chuckle at this.
Andromath: "I jumped out of the tub immediately. I thought such a critical event had to be verified and reported to the Regent at once. I asked him who gave him the intel and what the current situation in Goldshire was. Then old Marlin told me he saw it with his own eyes, and that the black dragon had been killed single-handedly by a twenty-year-old kid."
"After hearing that, I distinctly remember wanting to dump the entire tub of bathwater over his head. I thought he was playing a prank on me in the middle of the night. But you know how serious he gets—that look in his eyes... and he even swore on his daughter Amy's life."
Zaldimar nodded with a smile. "Yes, everyone knows Amy is the thing he cares about most, even more than magic. Combine that with the fact that he's a man who doesn't know how to joke and can't lie, and... you believed him?"
Andromath let out a long sigh. "If I hadn't agreed to come with him today, he would have spent the entire night rambling in my room. However, I told my colleagues at the Sanctum this morning that I was coming to see the Darkmoon Faire... I don't want anyone to know that an Expert-tier Archmage of the Kirin Tor actually believed the nonsense of a crazy old man."
Zaldimar hummed in response, silently enduring Andromath's humblebrag.
It was true; he was an Expert-tier Archmage, which was nearly the highest rank any mage could currently achieve.
On the other side, Anita stood waiting with a polite but distant smile. She had no intention of interacting with Raymond or the man in red.
The reason was simple: she could tell at a glance that the man in red was also a Warlock, and far more powerful than Raymond. Moreover, the fellow was currently grumbling:
"Raymond, is this Wayne you mentioned coming or not? What time is it, and the door is still closed?!"
Raymond explained patiently, but the man in red wasn't about to drop it.
"What good things could a tiny shop like this have? And to leave me out here waiting for so long."
He was just about to say "I should cast Immolate and set this building on fire" when Raymond, standing beside him, grew excited. "He's here! He's here!"
Old Marlin and Zaldimar also perked up, though their expressions were quite different.
Zaldimar introduced him: "Mil, this is Archmage Andromath, the Chief of the Wizard's Sanctum."
Wayne gave a sleepy nod while covering a yawn, acknowledging the introduction.
On the other side, Raymond wasn't to be outdone: "Teacher, this is..."
He wanted to match the other side's "Archmage" by saying "Arch-Warlock," but he realized there was no such title. Furthermore, Warlocks were usually ignored or even hated by the public, so announcing it openly in the street wasn't a good idea. He changed his wording: "This is the... expert training me. You understand. His name is Sandar."
Wayne gave another yawn. Perhaps he was too tired from just waking up; this time, he didn't even nod.
Sandar was somewhat annoyed and cut straight to the chase: "I heard one can see dragon-slaying here. Show me quickly so I can see if it's just some deceptive trick."
Tess had already moved behind Wayne. She tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "Boss, that's the bad man who said our shop is expensive and a scam."
Wayne replied, "Oh, at least he has some manners. He didn't say anything about burning the shop down."
He then turned to Sandar. "You want to slay a dragon? Sure, you can. But if you're starting from scratch, it'll take you at least half a month or so."
Sandar's anger flared. He glared at Wayne and then shot a reproachful look at Raymond. "Half a month?! Are scammers being this blatant nowadays?"
At this moment, old Marlin, who had been looking at Sandar with disdain, said to Wayne, "Does the fact that the dragon is dead mean it can't be seen again?"
Wayne signaled Tess to open the door. He didn't want to get into a long debate with Marlin. Walking into the net cafe with his back turned, he said, "Today, the old almanac says 'unsuitable for all affairs.' It's only suitable for watching movies, drinking Coke, and eating popcorn. I'm just watching a movie today. Wait until tomorrow—"
Marlin was fuming. "You! We came here specifically to see the dragon! You, you, you..."
Wayne saw that he was so angry he was stuttering again, just like yesterday. He offered a word of comfort: "The movie has many things you've never seen before."
Raymond quickly tried to give his teacher a way out. "Right, right! The movie has many novel things too."
Sandar: "Heh, and you're actually helping him make things up. Like what?"
Wayne turned back to the red-robed Warlock with a look of annoyance. "Like owls that deliver mail, Acromantulas that understand human speech, giant serpents that can petrify people with a look, and... a Phoenix that can be reborn from its own ashes."
Hearing this, Andromath, Marlin, Sandar, and Zaldimar—who was following behind—were all stunned.
"A Phoenix?!"