Jinzhou City Hall.
Inside the room reserved for receiving distinguished guests, the aroma of delicious food on the dining table wafted in all directions. The two people sitting opposite each other spoke freely.
"That's the current situation. Jinzhou has no internal troubles or external threats, the government functions smoothly, the people are harmonious, and development is proceeding well in all aspects."
Jinhsi picked up a piece of tender, delicious lean meat and placed it into Noah's bowl. Her gaze was fixed tightly on the sight of him devouring the food with big mouthfuls, and a gentle smile involuntarily appeared on her face.
The food in Rinascita mostly consisted of Western-style items like salads and pizza. Most Huanglong people who stayed there for a long time would especially miss Huanglong's cuisine.
Sure enough, Noah was no exception.
"Noah, what things did you experience during your trip to Rinascita this time?"
"The story is a bit long. Stretch out your hand, and I'll show you slowly."
Jinhsi felt some confusion about the wording of this sentence, but she still obediently extended her hand. Noah switched to Ciaccona and touched his fingertips to Jinhsi's.
Through Ciaccona's Resonance ability, Jinhsi, from a third-person perspective, finally learned about all the experiences from Aalto to the Black Shores to Rinascita.
Of course, Noah naturally glossed over the dangerous parts without going into detail, so as not to make Jinhsi worry unnecessarily.
After finishing recounting everything, Noah spread both hands:
"The situation is pretty much like that. Now, the matters have basically all been resolved."
"...That's good. I didn't expect you to have done so many amazing things during this period."
Jinhsi barely maintained the gentle smile on her face, but inside she was so angry that she tightly bit down on her silver teeth.
So——
While she was still secretly delighted about holding hands with Noah, the other party had already waltzed with the second young lady of the Montelli family and had truly embraced that yellow-haired girl from Rinascita.
Although she wasn't cuckolded, it felt almost the same as being cuckolded.
The vinegar jar was overturned on the spot. Jinhsi became sour all over.
So frustrating, but there was nothing she could do about it.
"Since the matters have been resolved, then from now on you should stay in Jinzhou, Noah. Don't go out anymore. In the future, I will protect you."
"I just returned to Jinzhou. Let's not talk about those distant topics."
Noah shrugged and stood up from his seat:
"Xixi, it's getting late. I'll go back to rest first and come find you to play later."
"So soon... Why don't you stay at the City Hall tonight?"
"Haha, no need. My house is quite close to the City Hall."
Jinhsi: ... If only I hadn't given Noah such a nearby house.
After seeing Noah off, Jinhsi returned to the Gilded Archive intending to handle the official business she had delayed today due to receiving Noah, but no matter what, she couldn't calm her mind.
He danced with another woman. He hugged another woman. He even participated in another woman's sword-pulling marriage proposal.
Even though she knew everything had its reasons, she just couldn't calm down——
How could this be? Clearly... she was here first!
The night passed quickly.
Jinhsi estimated the time and carried two steamers of small dragon buns as she walked out of the City Hall.
No matter how much vinegar she ate alone, it wouldn't change the fact that she wasn't even Noah's girlfriend yet.
The urgent priority now was to grind Noah's favorability and strive to directly secure him in two years.
Once she and Noah confirmed their relationship, she would see how those wild flowers and butterflies could still pester him. However, before that, she also had to guard against other women getting too close to Noah.
The great cause was not yet accomplished, so it needed to be planned slowly.
Noah would definitely be very happy when he saw her bringing breakfast to visit him. Harboring such a secretly delighted thought, Jinhsi pressed the doorbell a few times.
Soon, several male workers whom she had arranged to clean on a schedule came out:
"Magistrate, Mr. Noah left half an hour ago."
...
On the other side.
[Limited Banner "Crimson Feather Strategy Star", "Radiant Game of Light" has opened.]
"Having the Hero personally visit truly makes me feel apprehensive."
Changli invited Noah to sit in front of the chessboard, her tone teasing:
"I wonder how the Hero fared in Rinascita. Was my friend well taken care of by you?"
The last four words were deliberately dragged out and emphasized more heavily.
"Taken care of? What do you mean by taken care of?"
Noah was confused for a moment and didn't understand Changli's meaning. He simply stated his purpose directly:
"Changli, thanks to you having Cantarella return to Rinascita, I successfully pulled out the sword of Tyrvine and resolved the Threnodian matter there."
This time, it was Changli's turn to be confused.
"Threnodian? What Threnodian?"
Weren't you coveting my friend's body, so impatient to pull the sword for a marriage proposal? What does that have to do with a Threnodian?
It's not possible that the purpose of you pulling that sword was to beat up the Threnodian in Rinascita, right?
Noah was stunned: "It was pulling the sword to deal with the Threnodian. You didn't know?"
Changli was taken aback, her tone hesitant: "Should I know?"
Noah suddenly realized: "That's right. Knowing the truth would attract the whispers of the Threnodian, so Cantarella definitely didn't tell you."
Opening the banner panel and looking at Changli's signature weapon, Noah pondered for a moment.
Although the damage multiplier for the character Changli was conservative, her weapon was genuinely very useful, just like a certain mysterious female agent.
However, did he really need to pull a Changli signature weapon to replace the Emerald of Genesis? Was he really lacking just this little bit of boost?
He wasn't lacking!
Then he wouldn't pull.
Although Changli had high popularity, to put it bluntly, even a 6+5 Changli might not necessarily perform better than a 2+1 Camellya.
If a triple-Fusion team needed to optimize someone out, guess who would be optimized? It wouldn't be the Troupe of Fools leader, nor the Seven Hills gladiator champion. Then who?
Closing the panel, Noah handed over a letter and a big Rinascita gift package:
"Never mind. I just came to visit you. These are specialties I brought back from Ragunna. The letter is from Cantarella, entrusted to me to give to you."
"Ah, this... how could I possibly accept this with a clear conscience."
Facing the refusal, Noah casually waved his hand and forcefully pushed the big gift package over:
"We're all buddies. All those formalities are unnecessary. Just take it. I still have other places to go, so I won't disturb you any longer."
What? In your heart, you only see me as a buddy?
Also—— you've only been here for a few minutes and you're already in a hurry to leave. It's not like I'm going to eat you.
Changli bit down on her silver teeth, barely maintaining a polite smile as she saw Noah off. Only then did she open Cantarella's letter.
The letter roughly described the events Cantarella and Noah had experienced and expressed gratitude to Changli for introducing Noah.
Throughout the entire letter, everything was very polite and in proper epistolary style, but there was also a bit of reproach. Translated more bluntly, it was——
Cantarella: "Noah is not the type of person who likes to flirt with women as you said. He is clearly a righteous gentleman unmoved by female charms."
"What the heck! With his disciple, Yangyang from the Midnight Rangers, and that recently rising painter, he's clearly someone who likes to flirt with women. You say he's a righteous gentleman?"
Yet this person who likes to flirt with women always maintained an especially distant attitude toward her, always making her feel as if she had no charm.
What a joke. With her looks, her figure, and the powerful Resonance bonus from the Phoenix's Lihuo, the number of people who wanted to pursue her could line up from Jinzhou all the way to Ragunna. How could she possibly lack charm?
His sense of distance must be an act, playing hard to get.
Changli clenched her fist. The temperature around her suddenly rose as she muttered to herself in a low voice:
"How does Cantarella know he is unmoved by female charms? Could it be... she tried to seduce him? And failed?"
Thinking of this, she suddenly let out a chuckle:
"How is that possible."
The temperature around her returned to normal. Changli sat down at the desk, spread out Cantarella's letter, picked up her pen, and began writing a reply.
Suddenly, she patted her right hand, changed to a new sheet of white paper, pushed Cantarella's letter aside, and murmured to herself:
"Really, I almost got into the habit of copying letters. It's all because of the Hero."
...