"Uh..."
In his soul form, Andreas' face flushed with a hint of embarrassment. He hadn't expected that his inner thoughts had long been seen through by Elune.
"Alright, don't be so tense. I am not omniscient, nor do I have the time to monitor you all day long."
Elune chuckled softly as she consoled him. "I told you before, didn't I? Excessively strong psychological fluctuations will naturally be sensed by me."
"From the moment you began calling to me, you held a very obvious doubt. Even if I didn't want to look, those emotions would still be transmitted to me along with some of your memories."
Andreas remained silent for a long while before asking in a somewhat strained voice, "Then, is my guess correct? Are you truly..."
"Hehe~" Elune gave a playful, mischievous laugh. "Why don't you guess?"
Andreas immediately gave her a "dead fish" stare. You guess if I'll guess? Is it really that fun to be such a troll?
"Alright, all joking aside." Elune's voice became serious. "It's not good for you to know too much right now. I can only tell you that I have always been on Azeroth's side. You don't need to worry about me becoming a threat to this world."
Since Elune didn't want to answer directly, as her follower, Andreas found it inappropriate to press further. At least the Moon Goddess had explicitly stated her benevolent stance toward Azeroth.
Andreas tactfully shifted the topic in another direction. "Respected Elune, regarding the friction between Tyrande and me, as well as the newly founded Shadow of the Dark Moon sect, do you have any thoughts?"
"Heh~ No thoughts at all. It's just like children bickering." Elune said with a smile in her voice. "Tyrande often complains about you in her prayers, but I have never responded to those prayers filled with personal grievances."
"As for the Shadow of the Dark Moon you created, it is indeed a correct interpretation of my dark side. Do not feel uneasy about it; you have done the right thing."
As expected... Andreas curled his lips with a trace of disdain. So this counts as two kids fighting, and the one who lost the argument ran to complain to the parent? How childish...
"At least from the current situation, the conflict between you hasn't escalated to an irreconcilable level. At most, it's just a mismatch in philosophies and personalities."
"Tyrande is indeed a bit childish in this regard. You don't need to take her too seriously. Just treat it as upholding the gentlemanly grace favored by the Highborne. Take a step back, and you'll find the world is wide enough for both of you."
Andreas had no objection to this. He truly had no intention of a life-and-death struggle with Tyrande. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left to establish Moonshadow's Rest back then; he would have simply seized power from her directly.
"Respected Elune, regarding the upcoming War of the Satyrs, do you have any instructions for me?"
Elune said with a half-smile, "Haven't you already made many preparations for it? I have nothing to instruct you on; you are doing very well."
"The only thing I can remind you is... do not put all your attention on the Satyrs. Watch out for threats coming from your own side."
Your own side?
Andreas frowned in confusion, but seeing Elune's attitude, he knew she didn't intend to explain her hint in detail.
"Alright, one last question." Andreas shrugged and asked Elune, "Regarding the facial features of your statue, do they need to be specially customized?"
"Hmm..."
Elune, who had been composed all along, seemed to hesitate when this topic was brought up.
After pondering for a long while, Elune—who usually existed as a large orb of light—manifested a face within the void and imprinted it deeply into the depths of Andreas's soul.
It was a face of an exquisitely beautiful Night Elf. Within its sacred purity was mixed a hint of allure. Both in temperament and appearance, it stood on equal footing with Queen Azshara, whom Andreas had seen before—each possessing their own unique charms.
"Use this image. It is not a long-term solution to always have the priestesses carve blurred and indistinct faces. It's just that no one has ever asked before. From now on, this image will serve as the symbolic representation of my appearance in the material world."
Andreas bowed respectfully. "I obey your divine command. I will urge the craftsmen to carve it according to your requirements as soon as possible."
"Mm. Today's communication will end here for now. Tyrande has started calling to me again. I'll go see what interesting complaints that girl has this time."
Before Andreas could react, Elune vanished from the depths of his sea of consciousness, and Andreas subsequently released his state of deep meditation.
"...Just how bored is that woman? Even the smallest trivial matters have to be prayed to Elune." Andreas shook his head with a chuckle. "Elune is also quite free, to actually be willing to listen to Tyrande's grandmalike nagging."
However, for Elune to deliberately adopt a beauty no less than Azshara's to show the world... is that really not out of a sense of competition?
...
"Um... Lord Andreas."
Having received the highly detailed sketch of Elune's face from Andreas, the head craftsman in charge of the carving was instead somewhat hesitant.
"Is this really alright? In the statues the Sisterhood of Elune requested in the past, the Moon Goddess's face was never specifically described. I'm afraid that carving it arbitrarily might incur Elune's displeasure."
Andreas patted the craftsman leader's shoulder confidently. "Rest assured. This is the standard appearance given by Elune herself after I consulted her."
"Elune also sent down a divine decree: from now on, all statues concerning her should be carved according to this likeness."
"Uh... alright. You are the God-favored; you have the final say." Seeing Andreas give such a confident guarantee, the craftsman leader finally agreed to start the work.
Just then, Leticia suddenly came running from afar, shouting boisterously while calling out for him.
"Andreas! Someone is looking for you, someone from Eldre'Thalas."
"Eldre'Thalas?" Andreas transformed into his flight form and descended from the scaffolding at the statue's neck level to the ground. "Is it Master Mordent?"
Leticia shook her head. "No, it's a woman wearing a hood. She said she's here to join you."
"A hood... Prisi?" Although Andreas was somewhat puzzled, he quickened his pace and led Leticia toward the Lord's Manor.
...
"Are you sure you want to leave your homeland and join Moonshadow's Rest?"
In the reception hall of the Lord's Manor, Andreas looked solemnly at the dejected hooded woman across from him.
"Yes, I have decided."
"Hmm..." Andreas rubbed his chin while frowning. "If it's convenient, could you tell me what happened? Your status among the Shen'dralar shouldn't be low, right?"
Prisilla remained silent for a long while before slowly speaking. "Although I believe I acted out of loyalty and to preserve the final dignity of Prince Tortheldrin by taking action against him..."
"My act of personally killing the Prince was not accepted by most in Eldre'Thalas. The people have always held doubts about me, and their attitude has grown increasingly distant."
I see. Cold violence born of misunderstanding?
Andreas, who had personally experienced the mutation in Eldre'Thalas, did not doubt Prisim's motives. This rogue lady had hesitated for a long time before acting, only finally making up her mind when Tortheldrin was about to be completely controlled by Fel energy.
"Alright. As long as you yourself don't mind leaving your home, as the Lord of Moonshadow's Rest, I welcome any capable person to join us."
Andreas stood up and extended his right hand toward Prisim. "In this town where a large number of immigrants are gathered, I guarantee you will not be ostracized by the people."
"If you don't have a specific job in mind for now, I invite you, as the Lord, to become the Rogue Trainer of Moonshadow's Rest."
Prisim visibly breathed a sigh of relief. She stood up, shook Andreas's extended hand, and replied solemnly, "Thank you for your understanding. I accept your invitation."