"So you kept it from me and went to Dragonspine together with Ye Xi, and the two of you played there the whole day?!"
Inside the girls' dormitory of the Knights of Favonius, in Mondstadt City.
Amber stared at the photo in front of her, her eyes brimming with disbelief—and envy!
In the picture, snow blanketed everything in white.
Eula and Ye Xi were pressed close together, and behind them the land of Mondstadt sprawled far below, seen from a commanding height.
Even though both of them were bundled up in thick, puffy cotton coats, they still looked terribly intimate.
And what's more, there wasn't just one photo like this!
That most desolate of places had somehow become nothing more than a backdrop for the two of them to pose against.
It was so bitterly cold up there, and yet they'd tirelessly snapped so many pictures.
Amber flipped through the photos one by one, her heart aching with sour jealousy—she really couldn't take it.
This was the very summit of Dragonspine, after all!
It was the peak of a snowy mountain that no one had set foot on in a hundred years!
To be able to stand atop the snowy summit, looking down upon all of Teyvat, and take a photo together on top of that—that was just too romantic!
There absolutely wasn't another couple in the whole world who could ever share an experience this wonderful!
Amber was practically dying of envy!
She wanted so badly to grab Ye Xi and go to the snowy mountain right this instant, and snap a few pictures of their own!
She didn't want to be shown up by Eula like this!
And besides!
Eula had actually made her move first, without breathing a single word about it!
That was going too far!
"This is a betrayal of our friendship, Eula!
This grudge—I'm writing it down!"
Amber crossed her arms, puffing up her cheeks in a huff, the very picture of indignation.
"Don't imitate me like that! It's so embarrassing!"
It was the first time Eula had ever watched someone mimic her!
So this was how embarrassing she looked whenever she declared she was holding a grudge!
Amber gave a snort. "Confess honestly—what else did the two of you do up on that mountain?!"
"There really wasn't anything else!"
Eula gave a dry cough, then went on, "Afterward, we came down from the mountain, and he went off to Stone Gate to survey the terrain."
"And then, well… we just came back…"
"Oh? Is that so?!"
Amber's eyes were fixed intently on Eula, her gaze full of suspicion.
She understood Eula all too well!
After spending so much time together day and night, she could read every one of Eula's little schemes with a single glance!
Sure enough, she suddenly noticed that Eula's eyes had darted away for just an instant!
And in that very moment, she'd caught it!
"Eula, you're lying!"
"N-no I'm not!"
Eula felt a pang of guilt. After being pinned under Amber's blazing stare for the longest while, she finally couldn't hold out any longer.
She could only nod and say, "All right, actually…" Eula had no choice but to make a full, honest confession.
The moment Amber heard what Eula said, her whole face flushed crimson to the ears.
"What?! The two of you even took a cold-water bath together?!"
She had thought that Eula's story about being carried up into the clouds by Ye Xi was already embarrassing enough.
She'd never imagined that after coming down the mountain, they had gone and taken a cold-water bath together too!
Eula buried her face in both hands, even the roots of her ears flushing red.
The truth was, after coming down the mountain, she had seen a great deal of meltwater from the ice and snow.
Ye Xi had immediately set about collecting some of it.
And she had been missing cold-water baths so terribly that, while Ye Xi was busy gathering the meltwater, she found an excuse and slipped off to soak in a pool nearby.
But before long, Ye Xi came looking for her—and walked right in on her.
And then…
"We were actually really far apart! It wasn't anything like what you're imagining!"
Eula argued in her own defense, always feeling that the scene playing out in Amber's head had probably already reached some mortifyingly scandalous extreme.
In reality, the pool had been very large!
Amber, however, was clapping her hands over her ears, the very picture of someone refusing to listen to any explanation.
Jealous as she was, in truth Amber didn't hold the slightest bit of resentment toward Eula.
Honestly speaking, Eula's actions today had genuinely caught her off guard.
She knew that Eula had feelings for Ye Xi too—she'd just assumed Eula would agonize over it for a very long time.
She had originally thought she'd be the one to make a decision before Eula did.
Who would have guessed that Eula would actually be this bold, and that through a lucky twist of fate she'd suddenly closed so much of the distance between herself and Ye Xi!
That left Amber feeling a little anxious.
No matter what, she felt she ought to make a move of her own too, and close some of that distance.
Otherwise, she'd fall far too far behind Eula!
"Come on now, Amber, you're not actually going to get mad, are you!"
Amber let out a snort of laughter. "How could I possibly stay mad!"
"Still, you sneaky thing—you sure move fast!"
"And I wonder just who it was that, not so long ago, kept insisting she didn't like Ye Xi~"
"And the result? She secretly dragged Ye Xi off on a date!"
"Eh?! A-a date?!"
Eula's face instantly flushed scarlet, and she broke into a fit of coughing.
Seeing the grin spread across Amber's face, she realized that Amber was just teasing her.
She was about to say something about holding a grudge, but then she remembered how Amber had mimicked her manner of speaking just now, and how mortifying it had been—and in an instant the words died in her throat…
She could only endure Amber laughing at her right by her ear.
"So then, where has Ye Xi gone off to now?"
Eula answered hurriedly, "He went to headquarters to see Grand Master Jean. After all, pulling out that nail was no small feat—it caused quite a stir."
Amber gave a nod. "Then let's go find Ye Xi!"
The headquarters of the Knights of Favonius.
Grand Master Jean's office was in an uproar.
After learning the news that the nail on the snowy mountain had been removed, the captains of every squad were utterly astonished!
Everyone knew that the nail was the legendary thing that had fallen from the heavens!
Just what kind of power could it possibly take to pull out that nail?!
Seeing everyone descend into utter chaos, Grand Master Jean afterward dismissed all the squad captains first.
Until at last only she and Ye Xi remained in the room.
"Master Ye Xi, thank you for the contribution you've made to Mondstadt!"
"I would like to invite you to become an Honorary Knight of our order!"
Ye Xi hastily cut her off, shaking his head. "Never mind, never mind. I'm not particularly interested in being a knight."
"It was just a trifling effort on my part—there's no need for such formalities. Let's talk about the terrain near Stone Gate instead."
There was no way he wanted to be some Honorary Knight.
The last Honorary Knight was already his wife—the errand girl of Mondstadt, plain and simple.
That kind of thankless, backbreaking work? He wanted no part of it!
Grand Master Jean didn't press the matter either, and instead listened attentively to the solution Ye Xi laid out.
After examining the terrain around Stone Gate, Ye Xi discovered that near Dawn Winery there was another route.
Because of the meltwater from the snowy mountain, this route was often flooded and submerged.
As long as a bridge was built over the water's surface, it would be passable.
After the bridge, what one would face next was a mountain ridge of the snowy mountain.
By boring a tunnel through the ridge, the other side would be Sal Terrae.
That side was likewise a waterway—build a bridge, and then goods could be delivered straight to Dihua Marsh.
Although this route was rather troublesome, it was indeed feasible.
Once completed, together with Stone Gate, that would make two lines.
The Railway would run through the tunnel, and the highway would run through Stone Gate—this way was the most reliable of all.
After he had explained all of this, Grand Master Jean had likewise recorded every bit of it.
"All right, in that case the planning is just about done."
"Next, we can pick a day and begin construction, then?"
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