Morning.
As always, Noelle carried her claymore to the Favonius Cathedral for sparring with Yaoyao.
After eating [Gods' Temptation] yesterday, her strength had grown even more.
So had Yaoyao's.
Their clash of sword and spear rang out with vigor.
After the spar, Noelle lowered her claymore and wiped sweat from her brow.
Yaoyao invited her for a bath, and Noelle agreed.
After a refreshing soak, seeing that most others were still asleep, Noelle decided to check on Barbara.
She'd gotten drunk yesterday—who knew how she was faring.
Noelle walked with practiced ease to Barbara's room and knocked.
A slightly panicked voice answered, "Who is it?"
"It's me."
Her voice sounded unusual, which made Noelle suspicious.
"Barbara, are you up?"
"Noelle? I'll be right out! Just a moment!"
"Alright."
Inside, faint sounds of hurried tidying reached her ears.
After a while, the door opened.
Barbara stood there, hair tousled, face flushed.
Noelle frowned in concern. "Still hungover?"
"Wine?"
Barbara blinked, then forced a smile.
"Yes. My head still feels a little fuzzy."
"Your tolerance isn't great. Don't drink that much again—it's hard on you."
"I know. Yesterday I had no choice. By the way, your hair's wet—just bathed?"
"Mm. Sparred with Yaoyao earlier, then soaked in the Serenitea Pot."
"Oh, you're so diligent!"
"I just came to check on you. If you're dizzy, you should rest more. I'll leave you be."
"Okay. See you."
Noelle walked off.
Back inside, Barbara pulled the novel from beneath her pillow, face reddening again.
"Maybe… just a little more reading."
---
When Xia Zhi woke up, he felt a heavy weight on his body—much heavier than usual.
Switching to his God's eye view, he saw that at some point last night both Xia Lin and Xia Le had climbed onto him and were now fast asleep, sprawled across his chest.
No wonder he felt heavier with the extra "load."
He'd originally thought it was just Xia Lin's bad sleeping posture. Now it seemed dragon girls were simply like this at night—they liked to sleep stretched out on top of something.
Xia Zhi reached out and gently nudged them awake.
"Big brother…"
"Papa…"
The two girls rubbed their eyes and sat up.
"Up you get. Go wash up."
"Okay…"
"Mhm…"
The little girl suddenly lowered her head and sniffed him carefully.
She smelled two strong scents on him—hers on the left, and Dvalin's on the right.
She pressed her lips together, feeling like someone had just forcibly taken half of her daddy away.
"Papa, do you want to take a bath?"
"A bath?"
"Yaoyao says a morning bath makes you feel better!"
"Yaoyao practices spearwork in the mornings. She gets really sweaty, so a bath feels good. I don't need one."
"Mm…"
She looked a little dejected.
Xia Le blinked and said, "Big brother, I washed my clothes yesterday, so I don't think I have anything to change into."
"Go find Sister Xia Ci. She's got lots of new clothes."
"Oh, okay."
Xia Le glanced at big brother's wardrobe and looked a little disappointed.
After shooing away the two clingy little dragons, Xia Zhi picked up his phone to check the time, then headed to the next room.
Outside, Xia Le had just reached Xia Ci's door and was about to knock when she suddenly turned to look back the way she'd come.
She sensed a faint aura of time's laws from that direction.
What's big brother doing?
She thought for a moment, turned back, raised her hand, and knocked on the door. "Sister Xia Ci, are you awake?"
---
Once everyone was up, they got ready to go out for breakfast together.
Thinking about that night's plans, Noelle couldn't help repeatedly glancing at Xia Zhi, her eyes full of anticipation.
Xia Le followed at Xia Zhi's side, discreetly sniffing and feeling puzzled.
Because she realized big brother didn't have any scent on him now.
He clearly hadn't taken a bath, and when he'd gotten up earlier he'd still carried the distinct scents belonging to her and Xia Lin. But now he was completely clean—aside from his own warm smell, there wasn't a trace of anything else.
As if someone had used some method to wipe every scent off big brother.
Xia Le thought for a moment, then simply tilted her head and lightly rubbed her cheek against Xia Zhi.
Perfect. Now big brother only smells like me.
A satisfied look appeared on her face.
After breakfast at a restaurant, Noelle returned to the Knights of Favonius.
No one had any contests to join today, so they wandered around, soaking in the bustle of the Windblume Festival.
Charlotte took her new Kamera and said she was going to shoot the best photos. The little girls were very interested and tagged along with Sister Charlotte.
Xia Le didn't go. She stuck to Xia Zhi's side.
It was only her second day in the city, and she was still fascinated by the toys and knickknacks at the street stalls. From time to time she'd stop, tug on Xia Zhi's sleeve, and act cute to ask for something.
Xia Zhi simply gave her some Mora and told her to buy whatever she liked, letting her fully indulge her shopping cravings.
---
That night, it was time for the familiar Massage session again.
"Big brother, I want to try an Essential Oil Massage!"
"Xia Ci told you again, didn't she?"
"Mhm, mhm."
"Got it."
"I need to take my clothes off, right?"
"Yeah, but you don't need to take everything off."
Experiencing a brand-new kind of pleasure, Xia Le looked completely content.
Being human really is the best!
You get to eat tasty food, drink delicious drinks, listen to beautiful music, buy whatever you want, and at night you can cuddle big brother to sleep…
What fun is there in being a dragon?
---
After his shower, Xia Zhi came out of the Serenitea Pot. He didn't go straight back to his room but instead headed toward the outside of the Favonius Cathedral.
Rosaria was strolling through the square, holding that white cat.
She'd grown closer to the white cat these days.
Rather than lying alone on rooftops zoning out, she preferred spending time with the cat now.
While she was teasing the cat, Rosaria suddenly noticed a familiar figure walking not far away.
She looked up and focused—turns out it was that Liyue man temporarily staying at the Church of Favonius.
Out this late—what was he doing?
Every time she'd seen him, he'd always been with the others. Why was he alone tonight?
Where was he going?
Stroking the cat in her arms, Rosaria pondered for a few seconds, then silently followed.
She'd always found this man very mysterious.
She wanted to investigate his true purpose for coming to Mondstadt.
This seemed like a good opportunity.
The white cat in her arms lifted its head, quietly watching Rosaria with its eyes.
But from its current angle, all it could see was a whole lot of white and huge, towering scenery.