The girl who had appeared behind them wore a red-and-white knight's uniform reminiscent of a blooming rose.
Unlike the standard attire of the Knights of Favonius, however, hers was a specially tailored maid-style outfit.
Short silver hair framed her face, pale green eyes calm and steady, her cute features carrying a quiet seriousness.
"Boss Jiang Yan, is there something you need Noelle to assist with?"
She placed one hand over her chest and bowed slightly.
Paimon, still clinging tightly around Jiang Yan's neck with her short arms, finally dared to twist her head around and look.
Seeing that it wasn't a ghost—but rather an extremely cute girl—she immediately puffed up.
"Noelle?"
She repeated the name that had already left a deep impression on her, then planted her hands on her hips angrily.
"Can you not appear out of nowhere like that? It's really scary, you know!"
"I'm very sorry for causing you distress."
Noelle apologized at once.
She pulled a small notebook out of the front pocket of her maid uniform and began writing seriously.
Note: Next time I appear, I must pay attention to timing, or make an appropriate sound in advance. Do not frighten people.
"…?"
Paimon stared at her baffling behavior, becoming just as confused herself.
Does she really need to write that down?
Is this girl forgetful or something?
"Is your memory bad?" Paimon asked bluntly.
Noelle finished writing, tucked the notebook away, then habitually clasped her hands at her abdomen and stood straight.
"No matter how good one's memory is, writing things down is always more reassuring," she replied earnestly.
"And every night before bed, I can carefully review it again."
She hoped to fully integrate these notes into her daily behavior.
Only then did Jiang Yan speak.
"Noelle, are you done with your tasks?"
"The assignments Senior Kaeya gave me are not all finished yet," Noelle answered,
"but I heard here that you needed help."
Jiang Yan nodded.
"Help us prepare adventuring supplies for five people."
"Destination?" she asked immediately.
"Windrise."
Jiang Yan handed her a bag of Mora.
"Understood. Leave it to me!"
Noelle placed a hand to her chest again, accepted the Mora, and immediately dashed off toward the market street.
Lumine was still a little stunned.
"Jiang Yan… who is Noelle?"
"Oh, a maid of the Knights of Favonius. Similar to Amber's situation," he explained.
"She calls herself a knight, but she hasn't officially joined yet."
"Probably has to wait until she comes of age."
He added, "In short, she's incredibly helpful. If you ever run into trouble in Mondstadt, just shout her name out loud—she'll show up before you know it."
"Wow, that's an amazing ability in its own way!"
Paimon exclaimed.
"Noelle must have mastered some kind of summoning magic!"
"Mhm!"
Lumine was equally amazed.
Calling her name and having her appear…
Could she teleport?
"She can be a bit… overly enthusiastic," Jiang Yan added.
"What does that mean?"
Lumine tilted her head, looking adorably curious.
"You'll find out later. For now, let's head back to the Good Hunter."
The Attic of the Good Hunter
Barbara rubbed her sleepy eyes as she sat up.
She stared blankly at her surroundings.
The unfamiliar environment caused her brain to completely stall.
A few seconds later, memories from before she fell asleep came rushing back like a tide.
"Ah!"
A shy blush bloomed across Barbara's cute face.
"I overslept!"
"Did Big Brother Jiang Yan give me the bed after he woke up?"
Clutching the blanket, she recalled the scene of being carried onto the bed.
Her heart began to pound wildly.
She yanked the blanket up and flopped back down, covering herself entirely.
"Mm~"
A muffled, embarrassed sound came from beneath the covers.
The blanket twisted and squirmed into all sorts of shapes before finally settling down.
After a long moment, Barbara sat back up to catch her breath.
Her gaze drifted toward the pillow she had rested on earlier.
She swallowed quietly.
"Big Brother Jiang Yan shouldn't be here… right?"
She perked up her ears and listened nervously.
The attic was silent.
In truth, being on the third floor with specially customized high-grade wooden panels, the soundproofing was excellent.
None of the restaurant's noise below—or from outside—could reach here.
Barbara steeled herself.
She suddenly hugged the pillow tightly to her chest and buried her face into it.
"Big Brother Jiang Yan's scent…"
As a deaconess of the Church, doing something like this filled her with a sense of sinful guilt.
"May Barbatos bear witness—Barbara is only holding the pillow she slept on, to check whether she dirtied it."
"If any strange smell were left behind, it would disgrace the Church."
She prayed earnestly in her heart.
Creak—
Perhaps her prayer truly reached the Anemo Archon.
At that moment, the door to the attic bedroom opened.
Barbara's eyes met Jiang Yan's.
"Ah!"
Her skin flushed bright red as she screamed and instinctively hurled the pillow at him.
Thump!
Jiang Yan caught it easily.
He didn't think much of it.
"Didn't sleep enough?"
Girls hugging pillows while sleeping seemed perfectly normal to him.
"I—I'm leaving!"
Barbara sprang out of bed at lightning speed, slipped on her black dress shoes, slung her Vision and satchel over her shoulder, and fled downstairs in a panic.
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