In the spring garden, roses were in bloom. Barbara, dressed in a nun's outfit, gently rocked with her eyes half-closed. The relaxed, carefree sight made Jean instinctively smile.
The Gunnhildr family was an ancient knightly line, but that proud blood didn't come from her father—it came from her mother, Frederica.
Her partner and Barbara's father was the continent-renowned adventurer Seamus Pegg. After arriving in Mondstadt, Seamus joined the Church of Favonius and eventually became its steward.
Perhaps it was differing views on education, or perhaps the Gunnhildr family's sense of duty was too heavy. In the end, Jean's parents chose different paths, and Barbara left with her father.
Jean was still young then and could only feel sorrow and helplessness.
Later, Barbara joined the Church of Favonius with her father. Jean always wanted to get closer to her blood-related sister, but Barbara would shy away every time.
It left Jean with a lingering regret.
Seeing Barbara so happy now, she felt genuinely delighted.
"Barbara's personality is soft and reserved. Most of the time she just doesn't know how to speak up. Deep down, she truly wants to share your burdens."
"That's also why she strives to be a deaconess and Mondstadt's idol. You are the one she chases after, a milestone she can't do without in her life."
Ken didn't directly answer Jean's question, because he understood her subtext.
Barbara had never displayed her inner emotions so freely in front of Jean.
That was why Jean sighed with feeling.
"I know her. No matter what… as long as I see Barbara happy, I can relax."
Jean leaned her elegant figure against a white stone pillar, fully relaxed for once.
Her ponytail, golden like shattered sunlight, gleamed in the light.
"Enjoy the rare chance to unwind."
Watching Lisa already sipping milk tea, Ken gently patted Jean's shoulder.
The sudden touch made Jean's body tense slightly.
The man beside her was powerful and handsome, kind and wise to boot. Even someone as work-obsessed as Jean couldn't help but feel her heart tremble.
The brief contact ended quickly, and Ken didn't notice Jean's reaction.
Today was the liveliest day since he got his system.
Looking at those dreamlike faces, Ken felt life growing more and more hopeful.
At least his relationship with the Knights of Favonius was solid now.
When he went to Teyvat in the future, at least in Mondstadt, he wouldn't have to worry about a lack of support.
After all…
Even Mondstadt's Anemo Archon, Barbatos, was currently sitting in the villa's flowering tree, hugging a bottle and savoring Blue Star's apple cider.
"This is what life is about."
Ken sighed lightly and decisively joined Klee, Eula, and Amber in their game.
…
Three hours passed in a flash.
During those three hours, everyone helped Ken record videos to release when Genshin's open beta launched.
As for voiceovers…
Ken wasn't in a hurry.
Over the next month, members of the Knights of Favonius would drop by from time to time to complete voice lines for their exclusive in-game characters.
During that month, Ken didn't invite any other characters.
After all, winning over the Knights and turning them into his contract partners was a mentally taxing process.
But though it took a lot, the rewards were great.
Ken's relationship with the Knights advanced by leaps and bounds. Even Venti became his drinking-buddy contract and would visit now and then.
As for Barbara…
Ken and Barbara's relationship heated up quickly as well. Apart from not breaking through the final step, he was already well-practiced with everything else—and would occasionally use elemental power to spice things up.
Lumine and Paimon came every day, too. Judging by their sneaky looks, it seemed like they were hiding from someone's surveillance.
Ken had a guess about that.
With the spoilers she'd received, Lumine had surely done something to Aether. Their furtive behavior was probably to avoid his gaze.
Aside from that—
There was one thing that exceeded Ken's expectations. According to Mona, envoys from Snezhnaya seemed to have set their eyes on the specialty store.
As for the Fatui's actions, Ken didn't have time to dwell on it. He only told Mona to take care of herself and to go to the Knights if she ran into anything she couldn't handle.
Because, thanks to the combined efforts of the company staff and Ken himself, Genshin was finally finished. The closed beta had successfully concluded, and the open beta would officially start tonight at 8 p.m.
…
Busy days always flew by.
Ken hadn't even drawn from the gacha during this time—he'd saved up over a hundred pulls.
The Star Dome Company was buzzing with activity.
A global open beta with cross-platform play—no matter how stable their servers were, nobody dared to slack off.
"Boss, it's seven o'clock now. Should we post the promotional video?"
The head of PR stared at the edited footage, unable to hide their excitement.
And the content? Exactly what Ken had the Knights record: "The Mondstadt All-Star Group's Invitation" and a big-map trailer for Liyue Harbor.
"Post it."
Ken's feelings were hard to put into words—after all this work, it was finally about to go live.
Most of it was thanks to the staff and the system, but this was his first project since awakening, and it held special meaning.
"It's up!"
As the video went live, partnerships with Twitter, Facebook, Tiktok, and other platforms got it onto trending lists as fast as possible.
Genshin Impact, officially online.
…
…
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