She washed her face, brushed her hair, and smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes. Bonanus walked downstairs at a leisurely pace. The moment she reached the bottom, the smell of alcohol hit her.
This inn was still the same. People came here to drink as much as ever, even in the morning. The two men with stories seemed to be gone, though.
Because of what happened last night with Venti, she had grown to dislike the smell of alcohol. That stench had kept her busy all night.
She walked up to the front desk, greeted the pretty attendant, and even snagged a few candies from her before heading out the door.
As soon as she stepped outside, she saw Noelle walking toward her. Noelle stood in a perfect maid's pose and smiled.
"Sister, where are we going today?"
"First, we need to find someone to process yesterday's meat. Then..." Bonanus put her hands on her hips and slowly explained the day's plans. There wasn't much, so she finished quickly.
Noelle nodded after hearing everything. She felt like she was going on a date with her sister. Would their relationship become even closer?
No, no. She must have been reading too many romance novels.
Wait, why was she getting so caught up in romance? Stop thinking nonsense!
It was all Senior Hafner's fault. Ever since he gave her that book with a smile, she couldn't stop daydreaming!
Senior Hafner was also a Knight of Favonius. He guarded the gate. The romance novel he gave Noelle was about women loving women.
When he handed it to her, he called it "necessary training." Just thinking about it made her blush.
Lost in her thoughts, Noelle shook her head vigorously. Bonanus was confused. Was something wrong with the girl? Did she not sleep well?
"Noelle, are you feeling unwell?" Bonanus asked, flicking her forehead lightly.
Startled like a frightened cat, Noelle looked like she might puff up.
"No, no! I wasn't thinking about anything inappropriate!" Noelle said in a panic, her face guilty.
"I'm so sorry!"
Bonanus: ????
A black question mark appeared in Bonanus's mind. Was the girl losing it? Why was she suddenly apologizing?
"Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything wrong." Bonanus gently touched Noelle's forehead. It wasn't hot, and it was very rosy. She wasn't sick.
How strange.
Realizing she had almost blurted out her thoughts, Noelle lowered her head, her face bright red. Why did she feel so guilty all of a sudden?
Bonanus didn't understand, but she didn't dwell on it. Noelle was probably like this because people had been bothering her again after she got back.
Fine. Looks like today would be another day of helping Noelle relax.
"Let's go. After we take care of our business, I'll take you shopping." Bonanus smiled, took Noelle's hand, and led her away from the inn.
First task of the day: process the meat.
---
Walking through the streets of Mondstadt
"Noelle, do you know where we can get the meat processed?" Bonanus asked curiously. She wasn't from Mondstadt, so she had no idea.
Noelle immediately looked up and answered, "Yes. A little further ahead, there's a butcher shop. The owner there will help, but it costs quite a bit of Mora."
"If we have time, we could also go to Springvale. They're all experts at processing meat there. Real seasoned hunters."
Bonanus nodded as Noelle explained. Too bad she didn't feel like leaving the city today. Staying in Mondstadt was fine.
Springvale had many cats, and she would love to pet them. But leaving the city felt like too much trouble.
Besides, Diona was right here in Mondstadt. If she got on her good side, touching her ears would be easy.
That tsundere cat. Hehe.
She was probably at Cat's Tail Tavern right now, mixing her worst drinks.
Hehe, cute kitty. Drool.
She would add another stop to today's schedule. After finishing her business, she could go to Cat's Tail Tavern and pet some cats to satisfy her craving.
"By the way, Noelle, do you like cats?"
Bonanus asked curiously. She needed to confirm. If Noelle was allergic to cats like Venti, that would be a problem.
"I love them. Cats are very cute." Noelle smiled. She often helped stray cats, and they all liked her very much.
"Good. I was worried you didn't like them. We'll go to Cat's Tail Tavern later." Bonanus nodded happily.
"Yes! I'm looking forward to it!" Noelle's eyes sparkled. Cats were soft and adorable, though their shedding was hard to clean.
But Cat's Tail Tavern was for drinking. She didn't want to drink. She heard people there loved playing Genius Invokation TCG. She could try that.
"Also, Sister, would you come with me to the book stall later?" Noelle asked, hoping her sister would agree.
"Of course. Don't worry, I'll go with you." Bonanus nodded. She had been bored lately. She could buy a few books to read.
She wondered what types they had. Based on Inazuma's light novels, there were probably many kinds.
At the very least, there would be isekai, fantasy, and horror. The quality would be good. Yae Publishing House was very strict.
They arrived at the butcher shop.
The owner was a big, burly man who looked very fierce, like a bandit. But his personality was very gentle.
"Yo! Noelle, what brings you here today?" The butcher seemed to know Noelle. The moment he saw her, he broke into a wide grin.
"Hello, Mr. Aaron. I was hoping you could process some meat for us. You're very skilled at this, aren't you?" Noelle smiled.
"Of course. I may not be good at much else, but this is my specialty. Noelle, you've helped me so many times. I'll do it for free." Aaron laughed loudly.
"Really? But there are three wild boars. That must be a lot of work!" Noelle looked surprised. She thought paying would be better.
"No trouble at all. You've helped me so much. I'd be embarrassed to take your money." Aaron waved his hand. Three wild boars were a lot, but he could handle them.
"Thank you very much." Noelle nodded. She looked back at Bonanus and smiled meaningfully.
Wait, that was it? They just got it for free? Bonanus hadn't even processed what happened. They really got it for free. Noelle was way more reliable than her.
She gave Noelle a thumbs up, pulled the three wild boars out of her space, and dropped them on the butcher shop floor.
Before Aaron could even react, she thanked him and dragged Noelle out of the shop, leaving the stunned owner behind.
What was that? How did that skinny girl suddenly produce three wild boars? That was amazing.
Time to get to work. Let's do this.
---
Leaving the butcher shop
"That went pretty smoothly! Having you around is great, Noelle." Bonanus nodded.
"Hehe, thank you for the compliment." Noelle's smile never left her face. Bonanus could tell it wasn't fake.
She had been ready to pay, but the owner was so generous. Free stuff was great. Though technically, she was freeloading off Noelle's connections.
"Let's go. Next stop." Bonanus pointed ahead. Processing three wild boars would take a long time, so they didn't need to wait there.
Just as they were about to leave, Kaeya happened to be passing by. He called out to them with a mysterious smile.
"Yo, you're here too? Lucky me. I get to see you both again."