Mondstadt City.
After spending the whole night training with Mona and Layla, Nolan headed to the Angel's Share tavern the next morning.
Rosaria's job was to patrol Mondstadt at night. When her shift ended in the morning, she would occasionally stop by the tavern for a drink.
If he was lucky, he should be able to run into her here.
But Nolan didn't need luck—he could just ask her through the "Waymark." He had already given her one during the banquet at the Jade Chamber last time.
He sent a casual morning greeting, and she replied that she was at the tavern, even asking if he wanted to come have a drink with her.
Although Nolan felt she was probably just being polite, he happened to be looking for a reason to spend time with Rosaria to see if he could raise her affection.
Since she extended the invitation, he might as well go along with it.
Pushing open the door of Angel's Share, he saw Diluc behind the counter polishing glasses, while Rosaria sat on a tall stool before him.
Scarlet thorns framed her headpiece, the black veil draped lightly over the pale skin of her back. A slit in her dress revealed long legs wrapped in black fishnet tights.
Black leather straps formed the garter ring on her thigh.
"Yo, good morning, Diluc."
Nolan greeted him naturally and took a seat beside Rosaria.
"Morning. You don't come by often." Diluc seemed a bit surprised, though his cold composure didn't change—he only nodded slightly.
"Been out adventuring lately. Please give me an Apple Cider."
After explaining briefly, Nolan glanced at the full mug of beer on the counter. It looked like Rosaria had just gotten a refill. He ordered some simple fruit wine for himself.
"Wait a moment."
Diluc set down the cup he was washing and turned around to prepare the drink.
"I was just being polite. Didn't think you'd actually come. Are you that free? Or did your new adventure finally wrap up?"
Rosaria lifted her wooden cup, took a sip, and shot a calm sideways glance at the young adventurer.
"There hasn't been much going on lately. And I thought… I haven't seen you in a while, so I came to catch up a bit."
Nolan replied with a soft smile.
"Don't say it in such a weird way. I don't have anything to 'catch up' with you about."
Rosaria lowered her gaze to the cup in her hand, looking slightly uneasy for reasons unclear.
[Rosaria Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 520 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.8 (420/800).]
Seeing the prompt on his status panel, Nolan was a little surprised.
Looks like Tingyun's charm-boosting skill works really well—it made gaining favor much easier and more effective.
A few more interactions and she'd be nearly maxed out!
Nolan looked at her. He knew Rosaria wasn't good at expressing feelings, nor was she the initiative-taking type.
If he wanted to raise her affection quickly, he would need to keep taking the lead.
At that moment, Diluc placed the freshly made Apple Cider in front of him and returned to work. Nolan took a sip.
The strong fragrance of wine, the sweet flavor of apples, with a faint tart bite—excellent as always.
Setting down his glass, he asked:
"Do you still have any tasks later? If you do, I've got time. I can go with you."
"I've been working all night. Obviously, the next step is going home to sleep. You want to accompany me for that too?"
Rosaria's wine-red eyes held a hint of playful teasing.
If you're willing, that's fine by me, Nolan thought silently. But realistically, he knew that Rosaria didn't have many issues that required his help, and morning wasn't exactly the best time to visit.
She'd been working all night—she definitely needed rest.
Still, since he had already come all this way, there was no harm in being a little shameless.
He thought for a moment and said:
"Then let me walk you home. I also have a gift for you—something that'll help keep you safer in battle."
Yes, he planned to give her Divine Maiden's Purity and Grace of the Night's Opulent Splendor, just like he did for Tingyun. Gifts usually raised affection.
Last time, when he gave Rosaria the "Interstellar Travel" ability, she also gained affection—this time shouldn't be any different.
After one more affection boost, her level would be close to nine. At that stage, a subtle confession and an invitation to visit the Wonderland with him…
Shouldn't be a problem.
And if her affection wasn't maxed yet, living together in the Wonderland for a while would surely finish the job.
"Gift?"
Hearing him mention that, Rosaria remembered the teleportation ability he had given her.
Was this going to be something equally precious?
For someone to casually give away a gift of that level… and care this much about her…
Does he… like me?
Rosaria's brow twitched slightly. Through the Waymark, she had sensed many other girls connected to him. This guy seemed pretty flirtatious.
If he had intentions toward her, it would hardly be surprising.
As a nun of the Church of Favonius, Rosaria's social circle was mostly women. Romance had never crossed her mind.
But if the person was Nolan… it didn't sound bad.
As her thoughts drifted in strange directions, Rosaria shook her head gently. She had never considered dating—why was she thinking so oddly today?
As a friend, there was no reason to refuse a gift.
As for what to do if Nolan used the gift as an opportunity to confess… she'd decide when the time came.
After finishing the remaining beer in one long gulp, Rosaria slid down from the stool.
"Let's go then. I'm tired."
"Alright."
Nolan got up as well, glanced at Diluc, and asked, "How much for the beer and the cider?"
"As Mondstadt's Honorary Knight, your presence alone is a walking advertisement. Consider it on the house."
Diluc shook his head.
Such a small amount of alcohol cost practically nothing. Even if Nolan came every day, Diluc could afford it. Besides, letting people witness the Honorary Knight frequenting the tavern would only raise Angel's Share's prestige.
People would say,
"This is the tavern even the Honorary Knight visits regularly!"
"Hehe, then thanks. One day I'll help you sell Mondstadt Winery's wines all the way into the sea of stars."
Nolan said with a grin, then followed Rosaria out of the tavern.
He wasn't joking—he had already made contact with the Herta Space Station and the Xianzhou Luofu, and maintained good relationships with their upper management.
Especially with one of the Xianzhou merchant guild leaders—Tingyun—who was literally his girlfriend. Future commercial cooperation was only natural.
After all, if Teyvat wished to grow, eventually it too would need to connect with the stars.
Before he reached at least Arbiter-level strength, it was still risky to come into contact with the universe-spanning monopoly known as the "Interastral Peace Corporation."
Although the company usually wouldn't forcefully seize Teyvat's resources, there was a very high chance they would apply pressure, coercing Teyvat into opening its foreign trade market.
If that process was led entirely by the IPC, Teyvat would almost certainly suffer losses—let alone the danger of exposing itself unprepared to countless forces across the cosmos.
Inevitably, they would be targeted.
For example—the "Antimatter Legion" under Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction. Their goal was to annihilate all civilizations in the universe. Being noticed by them would be inevitable.
There were also the "Abundance," similar to interstellar pirates who lived off invading other civilizations and plundering their resources.
Based on his understanding of the galactic situation, only by reaching Arbiter-level strength—or possessing power at that level—could one properly protect one's own civilization.
Superweapons and such.
Otherwise, once exposed, they would have no choice but to seek protection from the IPC or other powerful factions.
If that was the case, it would be better to remain as they were now. At least no one disturbed them, and they could develop slowly.
But since Teyvat had already brushed against the interstellar world, insisting on "developing slowly alone" would be foolish.
Considering all factors, Nolan believed he could engage in small-scale trade with the Space Station and the Luofu. With Asta and Tingyun helping, there shouldn't be any major problems.
He could use the "Void Starsea" to transport the goods himself, avoiding any risk of revealing Teyvat's location through trade routes.
Through trade, he could acquire large amounts of funds, bring back new technologies, and obtain resources Teyvat lacked—thus accelerating its growth.
Of course, this was only his initial idea. The specifics still needed to be discussed carefully with Ningguang and Tingyun.
With Tingyun—someone who understood interstellar trading systems—they should be able to come up with a viable plan.
"Then thank you."
Diluc nodded. He had learned about the "Akasha Interconnected Network," and knew that many of the new foundational theories originated from things Nolan brought back from the stars.
So he didn't doubt his words at all.
---
Naturally, Rosaria lived in the Church's nun dormitory. Nolan couldn't enter once they reached the building.
It was the nuns' dormitory—and he was a man.
"Alright, this is it. Do you want to come upstairs? Though if the other sisters see you… they'll probably chase you out."
Rosaria stopped walking.
The long black hem of her gown brushed lightly over her legs wrapped in black fishnet tights, swaying to a stop with her steps.
"It's fine. I'll make sure they don't see me."
He had already come this far, and Nolan still wanted to sit down and give the gift more slowly and naturally—it would help raise affection much more effectively.
"That works. Come with me then."
Rosaria didn't mind and walked straight up the stairs. Most of the nuns were already at work anyway—there weren't many left in the building.
By the time Nolan followed her to her room, he had only spotted one nun far down the corridor, and she hadn't noticed him at all.
Rosaria poured him a glass of water, then sat on the sofa and asked:
"Didn't you say you had a gift for me? What is it?"
"It's similar to 'Interstellar Travel.' Just some special skills."
Nolan briefly explained the effects of Divine Maiden's Purity and Grace of the Night's Opulent Splendor.
"Oh?"
After hearing the effects, Rosaria's eyes widened in shock.
Immunity to negative statuses, and being able to redirect incoming attacks—wasn't that essentially becoming invincible in any battle?
"You can casually give away something like this?" she asked.
"You can understand it as me—whose power has already surpassed godhood—simply granting you a portion of my strength. It doesn't affect me at all."
Nolan said with a light laugh.
"So that's how it is. Then thank you." Rosaria nodded softly.
She didn't truly understand what kind of power a "god" possessed. To ordinary people, gods were thought to be omnipotent, after all.
Even if that wasn't entirely true, it probably wasn't far off.
If Nolan could grant her power that negated debuffs and redirected attacks, perhaps only someone at godlike level could do that.
"Alright. I'll apply the skills to you now."
A pale white glow formed in one of his hands, and a violet symbol in the other.
When both landed on Rosaria, it meant the two skills had taken effect.
Rosaria immediately sensed the feedback from the skills.
For example, Divine Maiden's Purity—the fatigue from having stayed up all night, the mental fogginess… all of it seemed to vanish.
Beyond that, she could sense the locations of certain clothing and armor pieces—indicating she could redirect damage to them.
After receiving two skills so precious, Rosaria naturally felt another surge of affection toward him.
[Rosaria Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 580 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (200/900).]
Seeing yet another affection prompt pop up, Nolan felt genuinely delighted.
Rosaria's affection had reached level nine—only around seven hundred points away from max level. Two more affection gains should do it.
And with this level of affection, he could afford to act a little more obvious.
After thinking for a moment, he continued:
"By the way, you often stay up all night on patrol. Sometimes you might encounter powerful spies, or strong monsters wandering near Mondstadt.
"With only two support and defensive skills, it may not be enough. I can also enhance your physical strength with my energy. Want to try?"
"Enhance my strength…"
Rosaria fell silent for a moment. She looked at Nolan with an odd expression.
"You give me rare skills, want to enhance my strength… Do you perhaps… have feelings for me?"
It wasn't narcissism—it was just the truth.
She didn't possess some legendary treasure, nor did she hold some high position. Besides being interested in her, there wasn't any other reasonable explanation for why he was treating her this well.
(End of Chapter)
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