Half an hour later.
In the living room on the first floor of the Wonderland space.
When Nolan and Lisa came down, they found that Ningguang had already gathered several key figures—Lumine, Acting Grand Master Jean, Raiden Ei, and Nahida.
They were the last ones to arrive.
"You're so slow," Paimon, floating next to Lumine, cast a disapproving glance at Nolan.
"It just takes some time to shower, you know."
Nolan saw there were still empty seats next to Raiden Ei and Nahida, presumably left for him, so he walked over and sat down.
Lisa went to the sofa and sat with the other girls.
This meeting was mainly about cooperation between the "Sweet Flower Merchant Association" and several nations' leadership, so the key discussions involved Nolan, Lumine, Ningguang, and the others.
"Oh? Does bathing require two people stuck together now? Is that how it gets cleaner?" Raiden Ei asked curiously from the side.
"..."
Nolan gave a light cough in embarrassment. "Let's get down to business, Ei—please don't tease me."
Sitting to his left, Nahida was already somewhat aware of Nolan's morally lax lifestyle with women.
According to what she had learned, humans do seem to be quite passionate about such things. Though she didn't fully understand it, it felt somewhat similar to doing something you enjoy frequently.
She didn't dwell on that topic and instead looked across the table at Ningguang and asked:
"Is there a new project for us to cooperate on this time?"
After the last meeting, Sumeru had partnered with Mondstadt, Liyue, and Inazuma on numerous projects, which greatly boosted prosperity across various industries in Sumeru.
With the presence of the "Waymark," communication between leaders across nations had become seamless, making all discussions far more efficient.
"This time, it's about establishing a joint chamber of commerce."
Ningguang then explained in detail what she had just discussed with Nolan at the hot springs. The main idea was to have everyone invest in the development of the "Sweet Flower Merchant Association."
Through the Association, they could rapidly spread emerging elemental technology and other advanced innovations throughout the continent of Teyvat, driving the overall technological progress of the world.
Once the Association started generating profits, dividends would be distributed to all participating nations.
Since the "Sweet Flower Merchant Association" would be the sole owner of advanced elemental tech, the business was essentially a guaranteed success.
"That does sound promising. But how much capital would each of us need to invest? And how would the shares be divided?"
Nahida pondered for a moment and asked.
"That part is simple. We'll treat the Association's total funds as a single investment pool. Whoever contributes to it owns a corresponding portion of the shares.
"The more you invest, the larger your share. You can invest additional funds at any time, but regardless of the share percentage, it won't affect the power one holds within the Association.
"All major decisions must receive my approval before being executed."
Ningguang, a seasoned businesswoman, knew all too well that allowing amateurs to meddle in business operations could easily lead to disastrous decisions. That could undo all the hard work she'd put into the Chamber.
Therefore, she needed to retain supreme authority.
"Whoa, Ningguang's really assertive!" Paimon exclaimed in amazement. And after all, there were two actual gods present at the table.
Lumine nodded in agreement.
"You'll have the final decision-making authority?" Nahida fell into thought.
"I'm fine with that."
Raiden Ei expressed indifference. Business wasn't really her area of expertise anyway—she'd leave the actual collaboration details to her sister and Yae Miko.
They were all allies, after all, so there was no need to worry about being taken advantage of.
"Alright then."
Nahida trusted Ningguang's expertise in economics and trade, and after a moment's consideration, she accepted the condition.
With the two Archons agreeing, Jean naturally had no objections. But while she governed Mondstadt, she wasn't in quite the same position as the Archons.
Unlike them, who could make decisions without opposition, Jean—as Acting Grand Master—still had to be accountable to the citizens. If she failed in her duties or made decisions that caused widespread discontent, she could be impeached and replaced.
Jean pressed her fair chin thoughtfully and said to Ningguang:
"I can accept your terms, but if there's ever a decision that's unfair or damages the interests of our nation, we must reserve the right to veto it."
"Of course," Ningguang nodded gently with her arms folded.
Since the nations were investing in the Association, it would only be natural to avoid making decisions that would harm the stakeholders' interests.
Both Nolan and Lumine were eager to see this deal go through, so naturally, they had no objections either.
Next came the detailed discussions on how much Mora each party would invest, what business directions the Association would pursue, and how its organizational structure would be arranged.
As for how much Mora to contribute, that would depend on how much funding each nation could spare. There wasn't much to say about it at the moment—it would need to be calculated later.
The Association's business focus would naturally center around promoting scientific and technological advancements. After all, the "Sweet Flower Merchant Association" was founded to drive global technological progress.
Profit wasn't the goal; as long as it didn't run at a loss, it would be acceptable.
In terms of organizational structure, they preliminarily decided on Ningguang as the Association President, holding the highest authority. Beneath her were the Association's top executives—those who held shares:
Nolan, Lumine, Acting Grand Master Jean, Raiden Ei, and Nahida.
Below that level would be the individual departments, such as:
- The R&D and Manufacturing Department, responsible for cutting-edge elemental technology.
- An Audit Department, which would become necessary once more employees were hired, to prevent corruption and oversee payroll.
- A Product Promotion Department and a Business Development Department, among others.
Each department would have branch offices in various nations, hiring local staff for localized operations—boosting employment rates across Teyvat.
To ensure the Association's mission and direction remained consistent, the upper-level leadership—including the president—would generally not be subject to change.
That was the rough framework. Specific personnel arrangements still needed deeper discussion from everyone involved.
However, since all participants had access to the "Waymarks" and could communicate freely, fine-tuning the Association's structure would not be a difficult task.
And now that the framework had been mostly agreed upon, all that remained was for the funding to be secured—once that happened, the "Sweet Flower Merchant Association" could begin full-scale development in every nation!
The meeting went on until late into the night. As for securing investments from each country:
Raiden Ei and Nahida could make those decisions on their own, since they held complete authority over Inazuma and Sumeru, respectively.
Jean and Ningguang, however, would need to consult with other high-level officials in Mondstadt and Liyue. After all, the investment would require a considerable sum of Mora.
While they had the authority to make investments, they couldn't act entirely without consultation.
Only by gaining majority approval could they withdraw funds from the national treasury without raising objections.
After all, that Mora came from taxes paid by the people—it was only right to be transparent about how it would be used.
With the meeting concluded, everyone began preparing to rest.
Before they turned in for the night, Nolan used his "Universal Energy" to help them improve their strength.
First was Ningguang, who advanced from Level 88 to Level 90 and successfully broke through—a significant power boost.
Then Jean advanced from Level 86 to 88 before hitting her physical limit. Any further increase would require her to first adapt to the new power.
From this, it was clear: simply leveling up through physical contact was more troublesome compared to the "Intimate" method.
The latter method didn't involve overwhelming energy transfers that the body couldn't adapt to. Instead, the energy was absorbed gradually during the "Intimate" process, allowing the recipient to adjust in real time.
In that sense, although the "Intimate" method was slower, it certainly had its own advantages.
Next were Eula, Lisa, and Sucrose:
- Eula advanced from Level 78 to 82.
- Lisa went from Level 81 to 85.
- Sucrose jumped from Level 43 to 50. Since lower levels required less energy, she managed to jump seven levels in one go before hitting her limit.
The Wonderland space also expanded by 7 square meters, reaching a total of 469 square meters.
Following that, Mona, Yun Jin, Hu Tao, and the other girls living in the space all had their strength boosted as well.
Even after enhancing so many people, Nolan—who possessed tenfold "Universal Energy"—had only used about 30% of it. It wouldn't take long to fully recover.
Of course, this didn't include god-level beings like Raiden Ei and Nahida. Their levels were already higher than his. Even if he poured all his "Universal Energy" into them, it would hardly have any effect.
When helping Ningguang break through to Level 90, he already felt a noticeable drop in the effectiveness of the energy.
From this, he estimated that with his current strength, the best he could do was help someone reach around Level 92.
Beyond that, the energy transfer would become far less efficient. Even if he used all of it, he might not be able to raise a single level—it would merely serve as a minor energy supplement.
It wasn't a matter of quantity anymore; to go further, a higher quality of energy would be needed for strengthening.
Which meant that Nolan himself had to grow stronger before the others could quickly grow stronger alongside him.
It was also worth noting that while helping the girls level up, Yun Jin and Shenhe—whose affection for him hadn't yet maxed out—naturally gained a bit more affection:
> [Yun Jin Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 360 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.8 (460/800)]
> [Shenhe Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 380 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (440/900)]
Presumably thanks to his exclusive trait, "Beloved by Maidens", the increase in their affection was quite substantial.
Before long, Nolan would be able to max out their affection levels—and he was a little excited to see what kind of affection-based skills they would give him!
In the end, he even helped little Paimon level up a bit. Maybe all of her talent points were allocated toward eating.
With just a bit of energy, she jumped from Level 22 to 25 before crying that she couldn't take any more. But since Lumine was always there to protect her, her actual strength didn't really matter much.
With such an efficient method of strengthening everyone, Nolan decided to focus on helping the others grow stronger for the time being.
After all, when the girls' strength increased, so did the power of their Constellation abilities—and that meant his affection skills would become stronger too.
It only made sense to put effort into this.
Time passed quickly—half a month went by.
During that time, Nolan used "Universal Energy" to enhance everyone's strength, prioritizing those at lower levels like Sucrose, Amber, and Fischl.
Whenever a girl reached her physical limit, he would use "Intimate Method" to help her digest the sudden power surge.
He discovered that with this method, it only took two to three days for a girl to fully adapt to her newfound strength.
Repeating this cycle over the half-month period, all the girls who were below Level 80 were successfully brought up to around Level 80.
Those who were already above Level 80 also saw significant progress—Lumine, Ningguang, and Jean all reached Level 92, while Lisa and Eula hit Level 90.
As a result, the affection-based skills that Nolan received also improved dramatically.
When Sucrose reached Level 80, the Wonderland Space expanded by another 30 square meters, reaching a total of 499 square meters.
Other affection skills improved similarly—their effects growing in step with the girls' rising levels.
During this period, Yun Jin, whose affection was nearly maxed out, finally gave in under the romantic atmosphere of the Wonderland space. Using the excuse of "helping her digest Universal Energy," Nolan coaxed her into taking that final step.
He even invited Hu Tao and Shenhe to share a bed, making it the first time either of them experienced "Intimate Method" with him.
Naturally, Shenhe didn't resist Nolan's wish to get close to her. As for Hu Tao, she was eventually convinced through the same kind of persistent coaxing.
Through repeated strengthening and "Intimate Method" over the half month, both Yun Jin and Shenhe's remaining affection points were finally maxed out:
[Yun Jin's Affection Level: Lv.10 (MAX)]
[Shenhe's Affection Level: Lv.10 (MAX)]
Once their affection levels hit the max, Nolan naturally received their unique affection-based skills:
Yun Jin's "Cloud-Gathering Banner Array":
> Cloud-Gathering Banner Array: Summons 180 phantom banners (equal to the sum of both characters' levels) to form an array that grants offensive, defensive, and trapping effects. For each banner phantom, the array's effective radius increases by 100 meters.
Shenhe's "Divine Maiden's Purity":
> Divine Maiden's Purity: Grants a target the "Divine Maiden's Purity" state. While active, the target is cleansed of all negative conditions and becomes immune to any debuffs below the power level equal to the sum of Shenhe and Nolan's levels.
> Temporary version duration: equal to total levels in seconds.
> Maximum simultaneous permanent versions: equal to the level total.
Yun Jin's skill created a formation with a radius of up to 18,000 meters—an incredibly powerful mix of offense, defense, and crowd control.
Nolan was quite satisfied with that.
But Shenhe's "Divine Maiden's Purity" was even more incredible. The description literally said it could purify any negative status—including erosion!
He tested it on the goddesses living in the Wonderland space—Raiden Ei, Raiden Makoto, the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, and Havria—and it worked flawlessly. All the traces of erosion they had were completely purified.
They were all overjoyed and, in turn, showered Nolan with a flood of affection:
[Raiden Shogun (Raiden Ei) Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 580 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (500/900)]
[Raiden Makoto Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 600 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (360/600)]
[Greater Lord Rukkhadevata Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 530 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (400/600)]
[Havria Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 520 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (320/500)]
During this period, aside from the girls in the Wonderland space growing significantly stronger, the Sweet Flower Merchant Association also saw major progress.
(End of Chapter)
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