Outside the tavern,
Ryan, with Noelle trailing behind him, walked through the streets, passed through alleys, and avoided speeding carriages…
They arrived near the main gate of Mondstadt, where the bustling stalls were located.
The shouts of vendors selling fruits, flowers, fish, and more filled the air with a sense of everyday life.
"Wow! It's the great benefactor and Noelle!"
Fara, the fruit vendor, put his palms together and bowed in gratitude.
"Sir Ryan, thank you for your rescue in the canyon. I just picked some Sunsettia and Berries today, would you like to try some!"
Ryan heard his address of "Sir" and laughed, "You're being too formal! How did I become a sir?"
"Uh~" Fara scratched his head, "Isn't it because I heard you were powerful enough to defeat a squad of Knights of Favonius..."
"Give me two catties of Sunsettia and Berries!" Ryan said casually.
He hadn't eaten fruit in a long time, and he needed some vitamins.
"Alright! Just a moment!"
Fara picked out the freshest, largest, and sweetest ones for Ryan.
Ryan bought the discounted fruits, holding the bag, and handed a Berry to Noelle.
"What are your thoughts?"
Noelle, who had been deep in thought since leaving the tavern, looked at Ryan.
"Is this story real? Or did you just..."
"Made it up!" Ryan interjected.
"It's very similar, isn't it! Demonic Beasts, Dragon Calamity, the Grand Master's departure, foreign oppression..."
"After hearing this story! Do you want to become the Knight King?"
Ryan's eyes gleamed. It was a story that blended his Transmigration-era Western fantasy, Japanese adaptations, and anime game spin-offs.
He wanted to guide Noelle to become a brand new Knight, to redefine and supplement the Dao of Knights in Mondstadt.
"I want to hear it again, the part about defeating the White Dragon and being redeemed in time..."
Noelle mused.
"White Dragon?" Ryan looked out of Mondstadt City at Stormterror, who stirred up storms and roared aimlessly every day.
"Then let's start from the beginning!" He instantly saw through Noelle's intention. Was that the main point of the story?
Night fell, with endless stories and endless conversations.
Ryan and Noelle finished dinner.
They called a carriage.
After resting for a day, he had to go to his appointment.
"Eula! Today's victory or defeat..."
Ryan took out his longsword, covered in red pigment, and glanced at Noelle, who was nervously watching the battle.
His figure disappeared, and his Sword Intent became a blur.
"Is your defeat!"
"Unattainable!" Eula's greatsword was held upright, ready for battle.
Between the clash of wooden swords, their sharp gazes met.
Ryan saw blue ice in Eula's pupils.
The Sword Intent was slightly cold.
Without needing her Vision to use Ice Element power, her Sword Intent naturally transformed into wind and snow, cutting into the Soul.
"Are you finally going all out?" Ryan felt Eula's Sword Intent for the first time, proving that she had mobilized all her power outside of her Vision.
Bullet time made Eula's sword slow down in his Vision.
Stepping on wooden boxes, stepping on saplings, moving gracefully over stone locks, Ryan used the Sword Intent in his heart.
Riding the Anemo, seeing the world, guarding the beauty in his memories.
Therefore, all obstacles must be crushed.
I want to be... a level 99 Sword Saint traversing Teyvat.
Within the sword light was unyielding determination.
Through countless difficulties, breaking through mountains and rivers.
Eula's sword was parried.
The swift Sword Intent surpassed Eula's blocking speed.
The crimson marks were like a paintbrush, casually smearing.
After a brief moment of surprise, Eula's heart gradually calmed, and her focus became even sharper.
Her graceful movements created a dense and rapid rhythm.
Trading blows!
The captain, who was good at guerrilla tactics, for the first time relied on the surrounding environment to dodge attacks, and then used her body to block the enemy's sword to gain victory.
In a trance, she looked at Ryan, as if she saw Acting Grand Master Jean, who she had fought before.
Acting Grand Master Jean's swordsmanship was also so exquisite, possessing the lightness and swiftness of the Anemo.
She possessed a firm resolve to protect.
She used her dance to stir up wind and snow, creating her own Martial Skill, half of which was the chill of her Vision.
In terms of orthodoxy, she was no match for Acting Grand Master Jean.
Now, she was also inferior to Ryan.
Ryan's protective sword, due to his male body, was even more aggressive.
It was a completely different feeling from fighting Acting Grand Master Jean.
"From being trampled by me, have you become a person of revenge?" Eula's lips curled slightly, "An eye for an eye!"
"Glacial Wavelength!"
"Judgment!"
"Shatter!"
The sword danced, it was Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst without using Vision power.
Such Martial Skill possessed inherent profoundness and swiftness.
Ryan's body flew out.
The two competed, like elegant dancers, fierce lion cubs, and dueling lone wolves.
Time ended,
Both bodies had several red marks,
An unexpected draw.
"Next time, if you grow stronger, I'll have to use my Vision!" Eula brushed back her hair, not caring about the marks on her body, and threw aside her greatsword.
"I'm going to take a bath!"
"In the next few days, I'll be on a mission and won't be returning to Mondstadt!"
"Don't miss me!"
Ryan swung his sword, and the wooden sword plunged into the wooden box.
"Vision?"
He thought about this divinely bestowed item, power that transcended Mortals.
The chances of winning... weren't great!
In the future, would he still have to endure being trampled?
He hadn't won once yet.
How cunning!
"Noelle, let's go!" Ryan applied medicine to his wounds and changed his clothes.
Noelle, who had been in a daze, reacted, "Eh—ah—"
"Ryan!"
Looking at Ryan, who was about to walk out the door, she quickly followed.
It was time to part again.
"Thank you, I really liked today's story!" Noelle's armor glowed, "I'm going back to the Knights of Favonius. I'll come find you again tomorrow."
"Eh?" Ryan looked at the Damselette, "I thought you'd stay at Ann's house tonight and continue to supervise me?"
"Me, sneaking out the window in the middle of the night, is one of Mondstadt's great scourges!"
"You... you sneak out the window in the middle of the night?" Noelle was dizzy, "A Darknight Hero?"
Ryan coughed.
"You flatter me too much!"
"Alright! I'm not teasing you anymore, you should go back!"
Noelle asked with a question mark, "Were you just teasing me?"
"No!" Ryan said exasperatedly, "I'll call you a carriage!"
"Knights of Favonius Headquarters! Watch the road carefully, safety first." Ryan took out Mora and said to the coachman.
It was pitch black, he didn't want any accidents.
Noelle, back at the Knights of Favonius, went to see Acting Grand Master Jean and cleaned the Knights of Favonius Dormitory.
She then went into the library and took out her notebook.
"The meaning of chores, the meaning of being a maid, the dream of becoming a Knight..."
Holding her notebook, she went to the great square in the Upper City, looked up at the tall statue of Barbatos, and prayed softly.
As if by a ghost, she entered the Cathedral again and went to the cemetery in the back.
She stood in silence for a long time.
I swear to be kind to the weak, I swear to bravely resist tyranny, I swear to fight all wrongs, I swear to fight for the unarmed...
The vows of Arthur and his Knights echoed in Noelle's mind.
They became a deep imprint.
"Humility, Honesty, Mercy, Valor, Justice, Sacrifice, Honor, Soul—the eight virtues..."
Back in the dormitory, she carved the virtues and sins inside her gauntlets, as a warning.
"The Knight King's virtues came from Merlin's teachings, and hers came from Ryan."
She looked out the window, her gaze going towards the wilderness.
Demonic Beasts, Stormterror, Demonic Beasts, and the White Dragon.
She gently swung her greatsword.
"I can do it!"
"I will learn all the virtues and strictly demand myself to become the best Knight."
Virtues and spirit engraved in her heart, Rock Element condensed into a golden "Sword in the Stone."
"Official Knight selection..."
"Anemo God! Please witness my vow!"
Tiny golden specks of light shone in the room, and the Vision at her waist glowed like the sun.
"I have always followed..."
Vow, will, power, driving the sublimation of body and Soul.
Noelle was so resolute.
The sword to defeat the White Dragon.
A land of ideals that protects everything.
A scabbard that won't get hurt or bleed.
"Attack, protect, heal..."
"I can do it!"
"Everything Arthur has, I have too!"
"I will become the Knight who protects Mondstadt and repels Stormterror!"
"...The vow guides me..."
Golden light, anciently shining upon the dormitory.
Silent power displayed its immense might.
Is this how the story... is written?