After careful consideration, Acting Grand Master Jean decided that Noelle would continue working as her secretary while also joining Amber's reconnaissance squad for training.
After all, official Knights of Favonius include administrative and logistical personnel too.
This arrangement allowed Noelle and the others to serve as the Acting Grand Master's secretary while simultaneously gaining field experience under the guidance of their senior, Amber—giving them a transitional period that suited their lack of experience.
Before long, Noelle had prepared an array of exquisite-looking pastries.
Moon pies adorned with rose petals, golden apple stew, mint jelly that sounded refreshing just by its name, and of course, Mondstadt's famous potato pancakes!
Noelle truly lived up to her title as an all-around household expert—her culinary skills felt almost on par with Xiangling, the head chef of Wanmin Restaurant.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon tea party.
But perhaps because she was too happy, Noelle ended up making far too many snacks, and they couldn't finish them all. So the leftovers were set aside to be served as dessert after dinner.
Soon, the tea party ended.
Jean and Lisa returned to their work at the Knights of Favonius headquarters, Mona went off to study astrology, and Fischl had an investigation report to write.
Nolan had more free time and decided to take Noelle on a tour around the Wonderland to help her get familiar with the environment.
They visited the second-floor hot spring bathhouse and beach pool, the third-floor library, meditation room, and even Mona and Sucrose's shared laboratory.
He also introduced her to the Greater Dendro Archon, Guizhong, and Raiden Ei and Makoto.
When they arrived at the warehouse on the fourth floor, Nolan introduced Noelle to Havria and told her she could store anything she found in this space.
Especially valuable treasures—storing them here would even expand the space itself.
"Mhm! I'll definitely put any treasures I find here to contribute to the growth of the Space!" Noelle said with a serious expression on her fair and adorable face.
Being able to pass the Knight selection and now live together with the person she had admired since childhood—Acting Grand Master Jean—was a dream come true, and Nolan's help had played a huge role in making it happen.
More importantly, now that the two of them were in a relationship, helping each other came naturally.
If he needed rare items, Noelle would certainly keep an eye out.
"You've been busy all afternoon. You must be tired, Noelle. Want to go soak in the hot springs together? It'll help you relax completely."
Nolan smiled warmly.
"T-Together?!" Noelle's cheeks flushed instantly as she frantically shook her head. "N-No, thank you! Bathing in the regular bathroom is fine for me!"
"A bath? Sure, that works. I'll go with you."
Nolan nodded with a smile.
"Honorary Knight, please don't tease me! I'll go on my own!"
Noelle shook her head, her smooth hair swaying gently. It looked like if he kept teasing her, steam would start rising from the top of her head.
"Alright, alright." Seeing her refusal, Nolan nodded with a hint of regret.
Whew. Seeing that he didn't push the topic further, Noelle quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Bathing together… she wasn't ready for something like that yet.
As the two walked downstairs, Noelle seemed a little flustered, eyes fixed on the floor, lost in thought.
A mischievous smile curled at the corners of Nolan's lips as a naughty idea crept into his mind.
Just as they neared the second floor, he gently took hold of Noelle's soft hand. She was already used to things like holding hands and light hugs, so she didn't react much.
He gently caressed the back of her fair hand before letting go—only to wrap his arms around her from behind.
"Mmph… Please don't… I can't walk like this…"
Noelle's shoulders twitched slightly. Her white-and-gold pauldrons shifted with her movement, and her legs stopped in place.
Nolan held her by the waist. Unfortunately, her armor got in the way, so he couldn't feel the softness of her waist and belly.
"I think I smell a faint rose fragrance coming from your hair. I just wanted to check if I imagined it," he said, making an excuse while bringing his nose close to her hair and inhaling deeply.
"T-That's just a decorative faux rose clip… It couldn't possibly have any real scent…" Noelle protested, her voice getting quieter.
"Ahem. Then I must've been mistaken. That wasn't the scent of a rose... it was your natural fragrance, wasn't it?"
With a soft smile, Nolan brushed aside the hair hanging beside her face with his nose and gently kissed her cheek.
"…N-No, it's not…" As she felt the warmth of his lips on her skin, the pale white of her face quickly turned crimson.
She squirmed a little, trying to break free, but couldn't.
Soon, she felt that warm sensation shift from her cheek to the corner of her lips—right as she was about to say something.
"...Mmph!" Her lips were sealed, and whatever words she had were swallowed back down.
Noelle's eyes widened slightly, and only after a few seconds did she manage to pull her lips away, covering her bright red face with both hands as she muttered in a small voice:
"…Honorary Knight, that was too much…"
"Affection like this between lovers is perfectly normal," Nolan said as he crouched slightly, slipping his left arm behind her knees to lift her into a bridal carry. "Let's go enjoy a hot spring soak together."
"Even if that's true… It's all happening too fast…" Noelle said shyly.
But her protests had no effect. Before long, she was carried into the changing room of the bathhouse.
"Before we soak, let's get changed first," Nolan said, setting her down and turning to grab some clean towels.
Noelle's face felt feverish, her head light from the emotional overload.
Her heart thudded wildly in her chest, and she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, nodding one moment and shaking her head the next—completely unsure of what to do.
Nolan knew that girls like Noelle and Sucrose—who got flustered easily—needed someone to take the lead.
If he waited for her to suggest bathing together, who knew how long that would take?
Once they got past the first time, she wouldn't refuse again.
Thinking this far, Nolan, now holding a towel, decided to make the choice for the still-hesitant Noelle.
He first took off the hat on her head and placed it on the nearby shelf, followed by removing the two rose-shaped hairpins.
As he did so, Noelle seemed to finally come to a decision.
She closed her eyes and chose to let Nolan take the lead. After all, she was feeling too flustered from embarrassment to change clothes on her own without fumbling.
Might as well stay still. They were lovers now—bathing together was nothing strange. Yes, this was a normal thing between lovers.
Noelle kept repeating such thoughts to convince her overly nervous body to relax.
Nolan couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked and quickly proceeded to remove her shoulder guards and chest armor.
Next, he slipped off the layered skirt in black, white, and rose shades, then said,
"Next are your long boots. Could you lift your legs for me?"
As he spoke, he helped Noelle lean against the wall and gently supported one of her thigh-high heeled boots.
"Mhm…" Noelle still had a flushed face but softly responded and cooperated, letting him remove the boots.
After taking off the skirt and boots, Noelle now wore a long-sleeved black tight-fitting top that exposed her back, and sheer black pantyhose that wrapped her legs.
Through the semi-transparent tights, the black triangle shorts underneath could be faintly seen.
She folded her hands over her front, cheeks glowing pink with embarrassment, and turned her gaze away, whispering,
"Uuh… Honorary Knight, please don't stare so much…"
"Well then, I think you can just wear this into the bath."
Nolan chuckled, choosing not to remove the rest of her clothing. Instead, he draped a white towel over her shoulders, took her hand, and led her out.
"Eh? But wouldn't it be uncomfortable to bathe in clothes?" Noelle asked with uncertainty.
"Then we'll just take them off later if they start to feel uncomfortable," Nolan said, leading her to the edge of the steaming hot spring.
Although still a bit confused, Noelle felt a bit relieved—at least she didn't need to undress completely just yet.
"The water's just right. Let's get in."
Nolan stepped into the hot spring first, then opened his arms, signaling for her to jump in—he would catch her.
"P-Please be careful!" Noelle placed a hand over her chest and then leapt into his arms.
He caught her, though a small splash was unavoidable.
The warm water soaked through Noelle's clothes. Her top darkened, and the clinging tights outlined the elegant curves of her legs, pressed closely against her fair skin.
"Ah!"
Realizing how undignified she looked, Noelle cried out in surprise and embarrassment, immediately sinking into the water until only her blushing head was visible.
Nolan chuckled and sat down beside her, gently wrapping his arms around her waist before lifting her up to straddle him face-to-face.
Gazing at her flushed, crimson-dipped face, he slowly leaned in and kissed her.
Even though they had already kissed earlier, Noelle was still nervous. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, gripping slightly harder than she realized.
Though Noelle was far stronger than the average person, it didn't bother Nolan at all.
His hands gently stroked her back and waist through the wet fabric of her top, then slowly slid down to her hips, wrapped snugly in the semi-sheer black tights...
The sound of fabric tearing was muffled by the warm water of the hot spring.
After their soak, though Noelle was a little exhausted, her level had increased significantly—and her body had grown even stronger.
During that time, Nolan also began experimenting with the skill term "Breath Circulation" as a method of cultivation.
To his surprise, in just about an hour, it had pushed his progress toward Level 101 forward by quite a bit.
---
Name: Nolan Walker
Level: Lv100 (112,561 / 10,000,000)
Race: Human
Titles: Honorary Knight, Distinguished Citizen of Liyue, Legendary Adventurer, Honorary General of Watatsumi Island
Innate Talent: Entangling Affection
Skills:
- Lumine's Authority: Divine Level Lv.10 (Starsea Manifestation, Boundless)
- Musou no Hitotachi: Divine Level Lv.10 (Musou State)
- Abysswalker: Arcane Level Lv.10 (Deep Space Warp)
- Flowing Sky Shot: Awakening Lv.10 (Frostglow Arrow)
- Element Manipulation Lv.10 (Max Level)
- Martial Arts Lv.10 (Subtle Mastery)
Specialties:
- Beloved by Maidens (Exclusive)
- Unmoving Gospel of the World Tree (Exclusive)
- Threads of the Northern Wind (Exclusive)
- Spiritual Core (Exclusive)
Adventure EXP: 1,280,889
---
Originally, he had filled 100,000 EXP with the Bloodjade Branch. Now it was 112,000 or so.
In other words, using "Breath Circulation" to cultivate through physical intimacy for just one hour yielded roughly 10,000 EXP!
Damn. He had always expected great things from this skill term, but this far exceeded his expectations!
10,000 EXP an hour meant 240,000 in a day, 2.4 million in ten days, and 24 million in a hundred days—that's two whole levels!
It was a bit insane. Of course, it was unrealistic to use "Breath Circulation" nonstop for a hundred days without rest.
Still, it was undeniable that this skill term had an incredible training effect, saving a huge amount of EXP farming time.
And much easier than traditional training.
That said, proper cultivation should still be done normally—after all, everyone had work during the day and couldn't accompany him around the clock.
But Ei (Raiden Shogun) always stayed in the Wonderland. With her, he could stick together and cultivate daily. Plus, "Breath Circulation" would benefit her as well.
Even if it wasn't as efficient as for him, it would still help.
Given that Ei's affection toward him was nearly maxed out, if he explained that this kind of training would boost her strength, she might actually agree.
After all, at Ei's level, ordinary training no longer improved her much. A new and effective method might pique her curiosity.
Especially if the partner was someone she deeply trusted—like Nolan.
Now that he thought about it, Ei was much stronger than Noelle.
Would the EXP gain from an hour of cultivation with Ei be the same? Or even more?
If training with Noelle for an hour gave 10,000 EXP... how much could it be with Ei?
Nolan couldn't help but imagine.
But there was one issue: Ei, while having a physical form, was still essentially a soul-body.
Would cultivation even work with her? Or would it have to be Raiden Shogun instead?
Nolan decided to find a chance to talk to Ei soon—see if he could win her over and understand how it would work.
---
(End of Chapter)
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