Noelle

Night had fallen, but Mondstadt's streets were still bustling.

Standing quietly, Katheryne patiently explained:

"Monsters often appear in the wilderness, and the Guild's investigators gather information about them every day. It's impossible to clear them all out.

"Only monsters the Guild judges to be a threat to residents become the targets of commissions for adventurers to eliminate.

"So there are quite a few monster-clearing commissions, too."

Hearing this, Li Qiuzhi grew a little excited. It seemed he wouldn't run out of monsters to fight in the future.

"However, as a new adventurer, you shouldn't take on overly dangerous commissions alone," Katheryne said with concern and a hint of helplessness.

She had seen far too many new adventurers overestimate their strength, only to return battered and bedraggled.

Li Qiuzhi understood that, of course. With his current strength, he could only handle ordinary monsters on their own.

Anything that posed a threat to residents probably wouldn't be just a single Slime or Hilichurl. There might well be quite a few of them.

If only someone could hold the monsters off and let him deal damage with his bow from the rear.

Li Qiuzhi indulged in a little wishful thinking.

Wait! That might actually be possible.

He thought of the character who had been indispensable to his party when the game first launched, someone who practically changed how the game was played-the all-purpose maid, Noelle!

Everyone knew it.

Noelle was a kind girl even more helpful than Amber. In Mondstadt, even if you had the most trivial little problem, she would be eager to take care of it for you.

It was as though helping others was her real job.

As the holder of a Geo Vision, Noelle's greatest strength was her outstanding defense. Once her shield was up, she was invincible. If he could get her help, why would Li Qiuzhi ever worry about earning Experience Points?

It was getting late, and he had asked everything he needed to, so Li Qiuzhi decided to head back.

Tomorrow, he would find Noelle and see whether she had time. Given her personality, she would surely be happy to help him. Then he could return to the Adventurers' Guild and accept a commission to clear out monsters.

Although this felt a little like taking advantage of Noelle, it also had to do with his talent, "Intertwined affection." To make use of it, he would have to get to know more girls.

Asking Noelle for help would also give him an opportunity to meet her and get acquainted.

Back in his cramped temporary room at the aid shelter, Li Qiuzhi thought about the things he needed to do soon. First was moving out of the shelter, which would have to wait until he heard from Amber.

Next was inviting Noelle to team up with him, complete commissions, clear out monsters, and farm Experience Points. That was the most important thing, and he would start tomorrow.

As for settling the score with the Treasure Hoarders, that could wait. He wasn't strong enough yet, and there was no point courting death.

Li Qiuzhi lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. As he slept, it was as though the clock had been wound forward. Tick, tock-morning had arrived.

After waking up and quickly washing, Li Qiuzhi bought a soft cream bun from a bakery on a nearby street for breakfast. Once he finished eating, he practiced Hunter's Archery as a little after-meal exercise to help his digestion.

Seeing that he was a little closer to Lv. 3, Li Qiuzhi nodded in satisfaction.

It was about time to invite Noelle. She should be at the Knights' headquarters now, shouldn't she? As a maid, she probably had floors to clean and such. He would check there first.

As for shouting Noelle's name at the sky and using the "Noelle summoning technique," that was out of the question. He still had some dignity.

After a long walk, he arrived at the Knights of Favonius headquarters.

He greeted the two Knights of Favonius at the entrance and asked whether Noelle was there, only to learn that she had gone to help Miss Margaret, the owner of the Cat's Tail Tavern, find her missing cat.

Ugh, what bad luck.

But then another idea came to him. Since Noelle was out looking for the cat, why not go ahead to the Cat's Tail Tavern and wait? After all, once she found it, she would bring it back there.

That was a pretty good idea. Before leaving the headquarters, Li Qiuzhi visited the library and borrowed the two books from last night, "Favonius Swordsmanship: Fundamentals" and "Favonius Archery: Basics."

Those two books would be enough for now. If he only wanted to get started, it probably wouldn't take very long.

While checking out the books, Li Qiuzhi finally met Lisa, the librarian. Just as he remembered, she was an elegant, intellectual lady.

Yet even this early in the morning, she looked languid and utterly uninterested. Could she really work properly in that state?

Li Qiuzhi silently grumbled to himself.

Not daring to bother her any further, Li Qiuzhi left the headquarters after borrowing the books and hurried toward the Cat's Tail Tavern, just in case he missed Noelle.

The Cat's Tail Tavern had relatively few customers in the morning. Li Qiuzhi found a seat at one of the outdoor tables.

To avoid looking too awkward, he ordered a glass of nonalcoholic fruit juice, which cost him over 500 Mora.

While waiting for Noelle, he opened "Favonius Archery: Basics" and began reading. Since he already knew Hunter's Archery, getting started with another form of archery would clearly be easier than learning swordsmanship from scratch.

"Favonius Archery: Basics" was very different from the Hunter's Archery Li Qiuzhi had learned. It was much more standardized and systematic, but also very basic, lacking the stealth and flexibility that were Hunter's Archery's strengths.

Precisely because it covered the basics, however, it was easy to pick up and well suited to filling the gaps in Li Qiuzhi's fundamentals.

After all, he had only studied Hunter's Archery under Draff for a little over a month. He had never received systematic, standardized training in basic archery. Without a solid foundation, using Hunter's Archery always felt a little awkward.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed. After reading the thin book several times, Li Qiuzhi felt he had memorized its key points. With a little practice, he could probably get started.

That was another advantage of knowing Hunter's Archery. Studying the simpler, more fundamental "Favonius Archery: Basics" felt like surveying the subject from higher ground.

Suddenly, distinctly loud footsteps slowly approached.

Li Qiuzhi looked toward the sound. Noelle was walking down from the fountain toward the Cat's Tail Tavern, dressed in maid-style armor that gave off a particularly reassuring air. She held a black cat in her arms, stroking its head with her white metal-gloved right hand.

In the black cat's placid gaze, Li Qiuzhi sensed a certain despair, as though it had given up on life.

He almost laughed aloud.

When Noelle drew closer, Li Qiuzhi took a deep breath, stood up, and greeted her:

"Hello, Miss Noelle. There's something I'd like to ask for your help with."

"Huh? Do you know me?"

Holding the little black cat, Noelle initially looked puzzled. Then, hearing the rest of Li Qiuzhi's words, she flushed with obvious embarrassment and hurriedly waved both hands:

"A-ask for my help? There's no need to be so formal. If someone needs help, it's only right that I lend a hand."

"Ah!" Before Li Qiuzhi could answer, Noelle suddenly cried out in surprise.

The cat she had just painstakingly found and caught jumped down when she loosened her hold. It was about to make another escape, but Li Qiuzhi reacted quickly and snatched it up.

"Meow, meow, meow!"

The black cat flailed its legs wildly in midair.

"Phew, thank goodness it didn't get away." Looking relieved, Noelle patted her chest.

Hearing the cat's cries, Miss Margaret, the owner of the Cat's Tail Tavern, hurried outside. She took the black cat from Li Qiuzhi and affectionately rubbed her face against it, saying:

"Wonderful! Little Prince, you're finally back. You ran so far away-you have no idea how worried I was."

Noelle really was that eager to help! (Dear readers, feel free to share and leave a comment~)