(Shaking, trembling, cold…)
"Haa… this time it should really be settled."
Looking at the charred pit on the ground, still radiating heat, Noelle finally withdrew her sword and nodded with satisfaction.
When dealing with enemies, one had to be decisive like this.
Otherwise, who knew if it might be hiding, or if it had some strange trick up its sleeve?
At that moment, another prompt appeared in her mind:
[Simulation Progress: Ryuuguuin Seiya 2%]
Then, a strange stream of information surged into her mind.
"This is… Atomic Split Slash?!"
After receiving the knowledge, Noelle's face lit up with joy.
Just like Hellfire, this too was one of Ryuuguuin Seiya's signature early skills.
"I wonder how powerful it is…"
Noelle had an urge to try it out.
But seeing that the Hilichurl had already been obliterated, she could only sigh and give up.
She would just have to wait for the next one to test it.
"Eh? What's wrong with you two?"
Noelle turned around, only to see Kaeya and Mona standing stiffly in the distance, looking dazed.
When she looked toward them, they instinctively took two steps back.
"Ahem, nothing…"
Kaeya and Mona exchanged glances, both seeing the same speechless look in each other's eyes.
What else could they be?
They were scared witless by Noelle's sudden actions.
"Oh! You mean my behavior just now, right? Actually, there's a reason for that."
Noelle clapped her hands in realization.
"A reason?"
Kaeya grew curious.
He knew Noelle wasn't normally like this.
Could it be that there really was something he hadn't noticed?
Mona was puzzled as well.
She had divined earlier—
that Hilichurl had been killed by Noelle's very first strike!
"Don't tell me… my divination was wrong again?" Mona thought uneasily.
Noelle, however, gave a very serious explanation:
"Even if it looked like just an ordinary Hilichurl, you never know if it had some kind of stroke of fortune. Something like what happens in Boss Han's manga store.
If that were the case, and we didn't completely destroy it, once it came back to its senses, or worse—went to call other Hilichurls—then we'd be in big trouble.
So I had to be extra cautious. This was all for the sake of safety."
Kaeya: (⊙⊙)
Mona: (⊙⊙)
That sounds like it makes sense…
—like hell it does!
At the end of the day, it was just a regular Hilichurl!
And calling this being "a little cautious"?
This was a billion points of caution, at least!
"So by your logic, are you saying we should deal with every Hilichurl and Slime with this kind of caution~~?"
Kaeya spread his hands helplessly.
"That's right. If possible, we should swiftly eliminate every single one of them!"
Noelle nodded earnestly.
Kaeya: "..."
If they did that,
even if ten more Knights of Favonius squadrons were formed, it wouldn't be enough manpower…
This girl was way too cautious.
Kaeya sighed and dropped the subject.
Fine. Better to be overly cautious than to leave enemies half-dead.
"By the way, what are you doing here?" Kaeya asked.
Noelle was just a maid of the Knights of Favonius—
she was never summoned for combat operations.
"I was escorting Miss Mona."
Only then did Noelle recall her actual purpose here, and she hurriedly introduced Mona.
"So that's how it is."
Kaeya nodded, then smiled at Mona.
"I'm Kaeya, Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius. Miss Mona, welcome to Mondstadt. But the specifics will have to wait until Acting Grand Master Jean returns."
"Thank you."
Mona nodded gratefully.
With this, her problem was solved.
She didn't have to worry about food and lodging for now.
Afterward, she could just focus on working to repay her debt—and reading manga.
"By the way, Captain Kaeya, is that really how the Knights usually deal with Hilichurls? By asking them to 'give you face'?"
Mona asked curiously.
She still couldn't believe it.
In all her travels across Teyvat, this was the first time she'd seen someone handle monsters like that.
If this was a Mondstadt-only custom…
well, then she'd just have to adapt.
Though it still felt a little strange.
Kaeya: (⊙_⊙)
It wasn't actually like that—
but phrased this way, it really made him, the Cavalry Captain, sound incredibly unreliable.
Noelle nearly burst out laughing.
She had also witnessed Kaeya's reward earlier that morning.
She just hadn't expected him to really go and use the "Face-Fruit" ability on Hilichurls.
Would he try the same thing on Slimes next?
Or even on Abyss Mages?
Walking up to them like, "Would you be so kind as to give me some face?"
Just imagining it made Noelle chuckle.
"Miss Mona, what Kaeya used was actually the Face-Fruit ability he got from Boss Han's shop."
Noelle explained.
"Ohh! So that's how it is!"
Mona finally understood.
So it was another one of Boss Han's strange rewards.
"The Face-Fruit ability, huh? That's really interesting."
She marveled to herself.
That manga store of Boss Han's truly was full of bizarre and fascinating things.
"Well then, I'll be taking my leave first."
Now that Mona's issue had been resolved, she needed to hurry back to the shop.
She had already delayed too long on this errand—she needed to get some work done to make up for it.
Otherwise, she'd feel guilty.
"Noelle really is such a warmhearted girl… She helps you, and then goes right back to working for the Knights."
Watching her retreating figure, Kaeya couldn't help but sigh.
Just from her responsible attitude alone, most of the Knights couldn't compare to her.
Even he couldn't.
"No, actually… Miss Noelle is going back to the manga store. She's officially Boss Han's maid now."
Mona corrected.
"She's… working for Boss Han now?!"
Kaeya's eyes widened in shock.
After the surprise, however, he felt genuinely happy for Noelle.
To be able to work at such a miraculous shop, she would surely gain a lot.
And to be around a mysterious figure like Boss Han… her future achievements would be unimaginable.
Thinking about it, Kaeya couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
If only he could work there too…
But alas, Boss Han probably only hired adorable maids like Noelle, right?
Shaking… trembling… cold…
Returning from outside Mondstadt, Noelle quickly tidied up her belongings, then hurried to the manga shop.
"S-sorry, Boss. I ended up taking a lot longer than I expected."
She lowered her head apologetically as she stepped inside.
Especially when she saw how packed the store was with customers—her guilt grew even stronger.
"All settled?" Han Feng asked.
"Mm, yes."
Noelle briefly explained what had happened.
Hearing this, Han Feng finally understood the whole story.
Just as he had guessed earlier—
they hadn't run into Jean's group.
He just hadn't expected them to go outside the city in the end.
The part about Kaeya asking a Hilichurl to "give him face" made Han Feng chuckle.
"No worries. Go upstairs and pick a room, put your things away, and then you can get started."
He wasn't about to hold something like this against her.
"Alright, thank you, Boss!"
Noelle beamed as she ran upstairs.
She moved quickly—setting down her luggage, then immediately coming back down to fulfill her duties as a maid.
Just then, she noticed a new customer entering the shop.
Her eyes lit up, and she hurried over.
"Hello, welcome. Would you like to read manga?
It's 100,000 Mora per person, and you can only read once per day."
She paused briefly, then added:
"If you don't have enough Mora on you, you might need to return to fetch it or find another way. Please note that our store does not offer credit!"
At that, Han Feng's eyelid twitched.
He hadn't told her to say all that.
Wasn't she being… a little too thorough?
What next—
if a customer didn't have money, would Noelle offer to help them find a job?
But when he looked toward the shop entrance, Han Feng himself was taken aback.
Of all people—
Dainsleif had arrived?!
~~--------------------------------------
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