"So Mr. Iwatani, how was your first experience at the Windblume Festival? I hope it was enjoyable to you."
A man with blond hair spoke as he and Naofumi were inside an office. The office of the Grand Master. He has fair skin and messy blond hair that is slightly long, reaching the top of his shoulders. He has blue eyes. He also has one big scar on his neck and a smaller scar on the right side of his face.
Varka wears a black and teal coat accented with gold, consisting of white fur. Underneath is a black breastplate with the Knights of Favonius coat of arms. He wears grey pants, the left side having two black bands around his thigh. Varka has black boots and wears a glove on his left hand, and a gauntlet on the right. His Anemo Vision can be found attached to the left side of his coat.
The man is the Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, and right now, he is sitting in his chair with a stack of paperwork in front of him. He asks Naofumi a question regarding the festival as he wishes to hear his opinion.
"It was really fun, a wonderful experience. You said this last around another week?"
Today is the seventh day of this week which means the festival will continue for another week. Which was honestly fine with Naofumi as he still had a few people to hang out with.
"Yes, we always held the Windblume Festival for two weeks. This event really excites everyone as it is a chance to express gratitude and thanks to our Anemo Archon and the Thousand Winds. As well as showing love and care to those we have befriended and truly cared for.
"Not only that, but we also want to have people from the other nations have time to experience the fun of Windblume. You can even take it as a chance to meet people. I must say, Mr. Iwatani, you prove that you show kindness and support, whether they're your friend or not. I would not be surprised if you befriended people from our neighboring nation."
Varka remembers the words he heard from the knights who were befriended by Naofumi, talking about how his personality and abilities make him a good friend and ally. Especially the knights who are Eula, Amber, Lisa, Jean, Kaeya, Mika, Albedo, Sucrose, Hertha, and even little Klee.
He was also aware of how that particular shield of Naofumi was making said knights stronger thanks to a system he currently has. He was still in level 1 as he was busy with the responsibility as Grand Master, the Windblume Festival, and having meet-ups with important people from other nations, mainly Liyue.
"Well, throughout these two weeks, I grew to care about Mondstadt, even the people whom I am glad to have met. Honestly, I'm glad you understand that I am from another world, Grand Master."
"Mr. Iwatani, please call me Varka. I'll do the same with your name. And that, understandably, you're from another world. That shield, even if there was little to no information about it, the abilities that it can give you are truly unheard of, as well as how it can work on an ordinary person like yourself.
"I'll admit, I do see potential in you. But that potential lies within your body. From what I heard from Captain Eula, you're showing a good amount of progress, but it is obvious that you need to work on your reflexes as well as other instances that a knight can develop in their training. Your shield can only do so much as it can only block one side of where you're defending.
Even if you have abilities that can make you ignore that limitation, you also said it has cooldowns for every skill you shout. Much like our Elemental Skill and Burst, it too has cooldowns and requires energy to use again. As much as I admit of your powerful endurance against physical attacks you are still in danger of elemental attacks"
Naofumi nodded as he could see what Varka was saying, as much as his shield could make things not as hard as they could be, there were still openings that would be used against him. His stats other than defense, and his lack of experience in combat, even if he was getting better.
And now that he had heard about Elemental Burst, Naofumi realized he had never done his own Elemental Burst. So far, he had always used his Elemental Skill, as it was one of two, Gust Shield, which could allow him to attack. He mentally wanted to smack himself in the face for neglecting a potential attack skill.
"But I have noticed you have only been training with Eula; she is a good sparring partner. You both will soon be on equal footing with different weapons. I'm sure you notice she uses dance styles mixed with her attack."
Naofumi nodded as he couldn't help but blush. Eula's dancing always made him feel like he wanted to watch instead of training. But that also caused him to lose focus as he truly thought Eula was dancing instead of fighting, which Varka said was a mix of two things. He can still remember the scolding he received from her because he did not focus.
She did tell him that she learned her dance style from her family as it was one of the things she liked to do. Eula even passes the time dancing. She even offers to let Naofumi take dance class, tutored by her, so that he can master the style to mix with his shield techniques.
Naofumi did take her classes, but so far he only got the basics, so he still has a lot to practice her dance style.
"You know Naofumi, I wanted to see your progress myself. As I said I see potential. I wish to see how far that potential has gotten with your time sparring with Eula. You're aware that I wield a claymore weapon, correct?"
"Of course sir, Eula mentioned that when you spar with her."
Naofumi recalls that Eula said Varka held back during their spar as it ended in a tie. It also didn't help that he was relaxed when they were sparring. Which made her want to have vengeance against Varka. But this also means that he would hold back for Naofumi as he only wishes to see how far he has gone over these two weeks.
And his claymore is the Wolf's Gravestone, a big, red and black blade. A different blade from Eula's claymore the Song of Broken Pines, a blue and white big blade.
"Wonderful! Saves the time of having to tell you. Now, let us go outside the headquarters."
Naofumi follows Varka as both of them walk outside of headquarters. The two knights who are guarding the entrance salute the Grand Master as he nods to the two knights. The two of them walk towards an open area that has a few training equipment.
Some of them look like they were recently used by a knight. Varka and Naofumi got into position.
"Naofumi, may I suggest you switch to your strongest shield. You know what shield I'm talking about. I believe this training will take most of the day. Also don't use the shield's special effect."
Naofumi immediately switched to the Knights of Favonius Shield as it was still his strongest. He was now on level 6 as the stats were looking good so far. His defense was higher than ever.
"Now, let's see how much strength you'll need to use to block my strike!"
With no warning or hesitation, Varka immediately charged in and swung his claymore at Naofumi as he quickly blocked the strike. Naofumi immediately felt the strength that was carried in that swing as it was more powerful than Eula's strike. How much strength was he actually holding back?
But before Naofumi could even think about it, he felt he had lost his balance as he felt a swift kick on his feet. He fell to the ground as the edge of the blade was now close to his face with Varka looking at Naofumi with a bit of helplessness.
"You clearly managed to block my strike, but if I had put more effort into that strike, would the results be better or worse?"
"Depends on how much power you put in. Was that kick necessary?"
Naofumi asks as Varka helps him up.
"It is. Opponents like bandits or Fatui will use any dirty tricks to catch you off guard. And that kick is one of them, the enemy will use that distraction to hurt you as well as making sure you stay down. You can quickly block the attacks to give yourself enough seconds to get back up. But you can also return the trick on the enemy to get the taste of their own medicine.
But if you want to stay standing, then you can ensure your feet and legs are in the right position so that you don't get knocked over. This is the reason most of the knights wear armor to have protection for such occasions."
"I guess I should get myself armor for better protection. As well as different clothing instead of my clothing."
As it looks, Naofumi keeps wearing the same clothing every day; he does change them, like his shirt, pants, and underwear. He washed his sweater whenever it was too dirty or needed a wash. So with Amber's guidance, Naofumi got himself new clothing to wear, so he is certain he can find the right clothing to fit with armor.
"What kind of armor would you like to wear? You can have a custom-made armor, like the knights would perhaps take inspiration from our best maid and have a bit of armor in your clothing."
"The best maid?"
Naofumi was confused, he did notice a few maids in the Knight of Favonius headquarters, but never saw one in armor.
"Noelle is a special maid within the Knights of Favonius, her talents as a maid are so extraordinary that everyone would mostly rely on her for help. She is the maid of all maids. Noelle wanted to join the knights, and honestly, I wouldn't mind having such a talented young lady within the knights, but she couldn't pass her test, and it was her seventh attempt.
"I wonder if the test itself was hard to pass as I took a look at it, but to my surprise, it was perfect for someone who has truly studied. What makes it more confusing is that she always prepares to answer any question. But upon further investigation, I learned the reason why. It was because she lacked her own well-being and was fighting to protect others, but not protecting herself.
As much as I hate to admit it, unless she understands that she needs to take care of herself more, she can't become a full-fledged knight. You showed you can protect others and yourself, but would you rather neglect your well-being when defending?"
Naofumi frowns but understands, honestly, he can see himself in that predicament should he neglect his own body. But he did have a question.
"So why did she become a maid?"
"She believes it is the first step to being a knight. Believing it is a way to have experience when the day comes for her to be a knight. Even though her helping is knowledgeable and shows dedication to Mondstadt, it is also further causing her to neglect herself as she believes anybody will need help and wouldn't take any rest as long as people are being helped."
Naofumi's frown was still there.
"It does sound like more work for her, even if she views it as helping more than seeing how much it affects her own health."
"Exactly, even if she does train to be a knight, she never actually experiences any real combat against Hilichurls or any enemies that would use her naivety to their advantage. She also needs to learn how the world actually works outside. We tried to at least get her to learn that but so far it doesn't seem to work..
"And there is one more thing that makes her so reliable, so much, if you scream her name, she will instantly appear to help you. Try it, try shouting her name."
Varka encourages Naofumi to call Noelle and is a bit confused, and has a bit of doubt that shouting Noelle's name will make her just instantly appear.
"Err… Okay. Noeeeelle! …So wha— WHAT THE!?"
Not even 10 seconds had passed when a young woman came slamming to the ground, leaving a small crater from her landing. Naofumi felt like his life flashed before his eyes as he was too stunned to say anything. Varka, meanwhile, looks visibly relaxed, as if he had seen this already a few times.
The maid they were speaking about looks very ready to help in any way she can. But once she saw Varka she immediately bowed.
"Grand Master Varka! Did you request my help?"
Varka shook his head as he looked at Naofumi.
"Noelle, I believe you have heard about this special man."
Noelle looks at Naofumi for a moment, until suddenly she gasps as she bows once again. It seems she recognizes Naofumi not by the shield this time but by his appearance.
"Mr. Iwatani, it is amazing to have finally met you. My name is Noelle, one of the maids of the Knights of Favonius. If you ever wish for something to be taken care of, then you can rely on me as a dutiful maid would."
She introduced herself, and Naofumi did the same. But at the same time, he did wonder why Varka wanted Naofumi to call Noelle here.
"You see, Naofumi, just by yelling her name, she's instantly here. Anyway, there is a reason why Naofumi calls you here Noelle. Right now I'm training him to further improve his skills. And we had just spoken about how armor would protect the body. I did think about requesting armor for him, but then I thought about your maid outfit, as it has a few parts of armor."
Now that Naofumi sees it, he does see a few pieces of armor on Noelle. In fact, her appearance shows that she has short, neck-length pale gray hair with a straight fringe and lopsided locks of hair framing her face. A section of hair is braided over her bangs and pinned down at the right side of her face with a gold shield clip.
Her eyes are olive green. Her outfit was a maid-inspired dress with a metal headdress, a breastplate, a pauldron on her left shoulder, and a cravat. Her attire is adorned with ruby red roses and bows. Her dress has one bow at her hip and a second at her rear, upon which her Geo Vision sits. She wears black tights beneath her armored boots.
Naofumi wonders if he should take Noelle's outfit as inspiration. Maybe even ask if his own clothing would be able to have pieces of armor.
"Oh! Grand Master, are you requesting that I make suitable clothing with armor for Mr. Iwatani?"
"Well, not exactly, but I would like to hear of your options for what should be the best option for him. Naofumi, what type of armor would you like to wear?"
This got Naofumi thinking whether he wants to wear armor like clothing or just wear a full set of it. He thought of the pros and cons about it while glancing at Noelle. Perhaps…
"Well, I guess I can try something similar to Noelle's. Do you mind if I take inspiration from you Noelle?"
Naofumi asked her as Noelle was surprised to be asked such a question but smiled warmly.
"I don't mind Mr. Iwatani. If you wish, I can help you choose how much armor can be put on your clothing. I must say that it would be best if you wear clothing that will best fit the armor. Your current clothing, are they your ordinary clothes?"
Naofumi nodded as Noelle thought for a moment, much to his surprise she put on a thinking pose as she was thinking of a solution.
"If you already have other clothing, something that is easily worn, then we can go to Schulz's Blacksmith to ask Wagner to make some armor pieces for you. We can go right now if you want."
Noelle offers to further help Naofumi with pure determination in her eyes, but Varka stops her for a moment.
"You both don't have to go right away. Besides, Naofumi here still needs to train how to deal with different situations. If you wish Noelle, you can watch us spar in the meantime. From what I understand, Noelle, you received Vision a few weeks ago, didn't you?"
Noelle nodded, but Naofumi noticed that she was a little down when Varka mentioned her Geo Vision, but she was still happy that she was recognized by the gods. From what Naofumi understood from Varka, it seems Noelle is very ambitious to become a knight, which means her Vision came to her, showing that her determination was approved to grant her a Vision.
"Then you can see how you can further improve it. From what I understand, your Elemental Skill produces a shield to protect yourself. You are already aware of Mr. Iwatani's shield. Perhaps learning from the man wielding a shield can help you understand more of your Elemental Skill."
Noelle nodded, understanding what the Grand Master was saying, she even looked at Naofumi with pure dedication.
"Understood Grand Master! Mr. Iwatani, please allow me to observe your abilities as a defender!"
"If the Grand Master allows this, then who am I to decline?"
Noelle smiles as she quickly moves away to ensure the spar between the two has enough space. And with no hesitation, Varka attacked again while Naofumi quickly blocked the strike, and this time was prepared for the trick Varka attempted again. Like the Grand Master said, the spar did take most of the day.
But the results proved significant for Naofumi, not only for him but also for Noelle, as she noticed how much Naofumi protected himself as well as taking his distance to catch some air.
Naofumi and Noelle were able to spar with each other as Naofumi felt her strength for the first time. If he hadn't heard how many times Noelle failed her test, Naofumi would have questioned the knights for not recruiting such a powerful young woman.
Naofumi continues to endure and fully block impactful attacks, mainly claymore attacks. And Noelle's Elemental Burst. It was like he was blocking huge hammer strikes. He now wonders if there was a weapon like his shield, but it is a hammer that causes that much brute force in attacks. He would be surprised if such a weapon exists.
Still, at least that day he got a good amount of training and made a new friend.