An unexpected reward!
Nolan stared at the character panel as the affection notification popped up—he hadn't expected that last little bit of affection would max out just like that!
[Through sincere intent and tireless effort, you have forged a bond of fate with one who once had none with you. From now on, her star of destiny shall shine alongside yours. You have gained the ability: Twin Shadows of Ei.]
Immediately after, another notification appeared:
[Twin Shadows of Ei]: Activate this skill to summon projections of both Raiden Ei and the Raiden Shogun to perform coordinated attacks. These projections possess all of Raiden Ei and the Shogun's abilities and can be re-synced through physical contact. Their combined combat power equals 340% of the user's (based on the sum of Nolan, Raiden Ei, and Raiden Shogun's levels).
Tch! As expected of a skill earned from a god—the effect was absolutely outrageous. And due to the dual-soul nature of Ei and the Shogun, things had stacked perfectly.
Ei's affection had maxed out, which meant the Shogun's had too. Combined, the affection skill had become even more powerful!
Nolan was extremely pleased with this ability—it gave him a massive new trump card.
After all, being able to summon two projections with a power level 3.4 times his own? That was insane! He genuinely felt like he was approaching invincible in Teyvat.
Even if that was an exaggeration, it should at least equate to 80% of Ei's full power.
If he were to challenge her again now, he might really be able to last half a day… and then finally win her over!
But challenging her again so soon after just losing didn't feel appropriate. Better to wait a couple of days, then say he'd had a sudden breakthrough.
Now that her affection is maxed out, he thought mischievously, even if I force things a little, she probably won't resist…
He held her hand, already plotting.
When it came to executing on these thoughts, Nolan was usually very quick to act.
So, completely ignoring Ei's previous comment about "raising the bar," he wrapped his arm around her waist while she was still looking confused—and went straight in for a kiss.
He succeeded. Ei's lips, like the other girls', were soft and tender. But just as he felt a hint of moisture, a sharp, tingling sensation began to crawl across his body.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the deep violet braid behind Ei twitch—and the hem of her purple dress sparking unnaturally with lightning.
Moments later, arcs of electricity started crackling around his own body.
Then he saw Ei's face darken into a stormy scowl.
He chuckled nervously and instinctively let go of her, slowly backing away.
"Ahaha… It's getting late, I should head back to my room to rest…"
With that, he turned and ran.
Only to immediately smack face-first into something soft and... squishy, plunging his vision into darkness.
Right after, a buzzing like the cries of ten thousand birds echoed across the entire Wonderland.
That night, a certain fool who dared to profane a goddess ended up hanging by ropes from the ceiling of the living room on full display.
Personally guarded by the Raiden Shogun herself, no one was allowed to release him.
It wasn't until the next morning that Nolan was begrudgingly let down.
---
"You're seriously hopeless! How dare you try something like that with Ei?!"
The next morning, the air in the Wonderland was crisp and refreshing. Noelle had already prepared breakfast early. As they ate, Paimon glared at him with visible disgust.
"That just means I'm brave enough to challenge a god!" Nolan defended himself.
Thinking back to the previous night made his cheeks flush slightly—but he covered it up quickly and changed the subject:
"Nice weather today! Perfect for picking up some commissions from the Adventurers' Guild. Lumine, wanna come with me?"
As he spoke, he looked toward the blonde-haired girl beside him and pulled her into his arms.
"Nahida's development of the 'Akasha Internet' has already entered the implementation phase. As the project's advisor, I need to write some digital conduct guidelines. So I'm busy for now."
Lumine, who had once journeyed across the stars with her brother, had indeed seen civilizations far more technologically advanced than even Earth's.
Those worlds had systems similar to the internet too, and the laws and regulations surrounding them were far more refined than those on Earth.
So having Lumine act as a legal advisor for drafting Akasha Internet regulations was much more appropriate than Nolan doing it.
"Alright then, I'll head out and take a look around on my own."
Nolan nodded. He knew Lumine had her hands full—he'd only brought it up to change the subject anyway.
After finishing breakfast, he was about to teleport to Keqing to check on the progress of Liyue's Road Reinforcement Project, when—
He received a voice transmission from Shenhe, saying she needed his help with something.
In the next moment, Nolan vanished from his spot and reappeared beside Shenhe, who was in Yuehai Pavilion. Specifically, she was in Ganyu's office—somewhere he'd been before.
At the moment, besides Shenhe, both Ganyu and Yanfei were also present. All three women were looking at him, so he asked curiously,
"What's up? Did you need me for something?"
It seemed it wasn't Shenhe who had called him here, but rather Ganyu or Yanfei. After all, Shenhe had only just left the Wonderland after breakfast and come in for work not long ago.
If it were something important, she'd have said it back at home.
"Uh, well…" Ganyu began softly, but after a moment's hesitation, she glanced at the pink-haired girl beside her and said,
"Yanfei, it's better if you explain it yourself."
"Hehe, long time no see, Nolan!" Yanfei grinned, waving as she greeted him.
"Oh? Looks like you're the one who called me. What's going on?" Nolan smiled and nodded in response.
"It's a long story, so I'll keep it short," Yanfei sighed, then explained,
"I have a junior disciple in Inazuma who sent me a letter saying she's come across a difficult case and needs consultation from the greatest legal expert in Liyue—yours truly.
"But her letter got delayed a few days because her ship ran into some heavy storms at sea, so by the time it reached me, there wasn't much time left.
"I thought about asking Senior Ganyu to bless me with some incredible adepti technique to fly over there quickly, but then Shenhe mentioned you could teleport.
"So I was wondering if I could ask you to take me there."
Yanfei had said a lot, but to summarize: she'd accepted a legal consultation job in Inazuma, but traveling by ship would take too long. So she wanted Nolan to teleport her there.
"I see. That's easy enough. Should we leave now? Or do you have anything to prepare first?"
Nolan often visited Inazuma to hang out with Yoimiya, but he hadn't gone in the past few days because of other commitments. Taking Yanfei there was perfect—he could go shopping with Yoimiya while he was at it.
(End of Chapter)
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