A commission

Cat's Tail Tavern.

After her touching reunion with Little Prince, Margaret steadied the round black hat he had nearly rubbed off her head and sincerely thanked Noelle.

Noelle shyly brushed the hair beside her ear.

"It's only what I should do, Miss Margaret. Please don't think anything of it."

"Now that I think about it, I don't know how many times I've troubled little Noelle over my missing cats. I'll have to find a chance to thank you properly."

Margaret held Little Prince in one arm as she pondered.

"No, there's no need! How could I accept payment for such little things?" Noelle hastily refused, then said, "Miss Margaret, someone else needs my help, so I'll be going now."

"Huh? Noelle, don't leave so quickly!" Margaret called after her.

Noelle was warmhearted and eager to help others, yet she struggled to handle their warmth in return. Her personality was both contradictory and endearing.

Following her out of the Cat's Tail Tavern, Li Qiuzhi smiled and said to Noelle:

"You certainly live up to your reputation as the maid who can do anything, Noelle. Everyone in Mondstadt knows what you've done. It would be hard not to know you."

"I'm not nearly as amazing as you make me sound. But if there's anything you need, just leave it to me. Anything at all!"

Noelle shyly lowered her head and fidgeted with her skirt, then spoke again with renewed enthusiasm.

Doing her utmost to be there for everyone who needed help-that was what Noelle expected of herself.

If someone called her name without hesitation when they ran into trouble, it would make her happy.

[Noelle has grown fond of you. Gained 60 Friendship points. Current Friendship level: Lv.1 (60/100)]

Li Qiuzhi froze briefly at the increase in Friendship. They had only just met, yet her Friendship toward him had already risen by 60 points. Was it because she felt acknowledged?

Sure enough, although she seemed shy on the outside, praise from others still made her happy deep down.

"Um, Noelle, here's the thing... I'm a new Adventurer with the Adventurers' Guild. I'd like to take a commission to clear out monsters in the wilderness that threaten people passing through, but I'm worried I won't be able to handle it alone. So I was hoping you could be my teammate."

Li Qiuzhi explained his wish to team up with Noelle.

"Oh, I see." Noelle thought for a moment, then nodded. "Clearing out dangerous monsters is something I should do too. I can go with you now."

As a maid of the Knights, she had plenty to do, such as cleaning the main hall, but she had finished all that earlier. After helping Miss Margaret find Little Prince, she had nothing else left to do.

So teaming up with Li Qiuzhi for an adventure wouldn't interfere with anything.

"Really? That's great!" Li Qiuzhi said excitedly. "Then let's go see Katheryne and take a commission."

"All right."

Li Qiuzhi brought Noelle to the Adventurers' Guild. After hearing Katheryne say, "Ad astra abyssosque!" once again, he asked:

"Miss Katheryne, I'd like to take a commission to clear out monsters."

"Of course. Will you be going alone, or teaming up with Miss Noelle?"

Katheryne had also noticed Noelle a short distance behind Li Qiuzhi. She knew Noelle's helpful nature well, and having two people clear out the monsters would be considerably safer.

"Yes, this is my first commission, so I've asked Miss Noelle to help look after me."

Li Qiuzhi said this openly, without any embarrassment.

"In that case, one of the Guild's investigators discovered that quite a few Hydro Slimes have appeared in a small lake beside the road toward the Temple of the Thousand Winds. To prevent them from attacking passersby, please go and clear them out."

Katheryne took out a commission sheet containing detailed information and handed it to Li Qiuzhi.

These Slimes weren't particularly strong, and with Noelle there, the danger would be minimal. It was quite a suitable task for this new Adventurer.

Katheryne did put some thought into the commissions she offered.

Generally, she wouldn't let Adventurers accept commissions beyond their abilities.

Li Qiuzhi read it carefully. The commission sheet specified the route, the approximate number of monsters they would face, and a reward of eighty thousand Mora.

Considering that even a glass of juice cost five hundred Mora, the reward was probably standard for this type of commission.

High risk really did mean high reward.

After leaving the Adventurers' Guild and passing through the city gates, Li Qiuzhi and Noelle now had a long trek on foot to their destination near the Temple of the Thousand Winds.

It would take quite some time.

During his month as a hunter, Li Qiuzhi had already tried using those Teleport Waypoint devices. Sure enough, he couldn't use them.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been traveling in such a primitive way, even if that was how most people in Teyvat got around.

Now, he sorely missed the days when he could reach his destination with a click in the game.

Beside him, Noelle's over-the-knee armored boots made a rhythmic, rather pleasant metallic clinking as she walked. Li Qiuzhi suddenly noticed that her hands were empty. She didn't seem to have brought a weapon!

Apparently, he had grown so used to weapons appearing out of thin air in the game that he hadn't noticed the issue right away.

Could people really do that in reality too? Unable to contain his curiosity, Li Qiuzhi asked:

"Noelle, where's your weapon?"

"My weapon? I stored it inside my Vision," Noelle answered, her soft lips parting slightly.

"Your Vision?!" Li Qiuzhi looked at her in surprise. "Aren't Visions external organs that channel elemental power? You can store weapons in them too?"

Noelle lowered her head and thought for a moment before explaining:

"It's actually a very simple trick for anyone with a Vision. You just wrap your weapon in your own elemental energy, and you can store it inside along with that energy. Taking it out is as simple as releasing elemental energy."

"That's incredibly convenient." Li Qiuzhi touched the hunting bow on his back and sighed enviously.

He remembered watching a cutscene featuring Eula once. In one scene, she had put away her greatsword after defeating an enemy, making it vanish into thin air.

If she had stored it inside her Vision, then that mechanic made perfect sense. At least it explained why ordinary people couldn't do the same.

The angle of the sunlight grew a little steeper, and the air became slightly warmer.

Even on the main road, the two of them had to stay alert. After all, out in the wilderness, a monster could appear at any moment. Roaming bands of Hilichurls, for instance, often robbed passing merchant caravans.

Before long, Li Qiuzhi and Noelle finally approached the commission site.

Li Qiuzhi's eyes lit up. From a distance, he spotted Hydro Slimes the color of clear lake water, bouncing around what seemed to be something in their midst.

"Help! Help! Noelle, please come help me!"

A woman's cries for help came from ahead, her voice nearly hoarse from screaming. It seemed the Hydro Slimes had ganged up on her.

"Oh no, someone's in danger!"

Clad in her maid-style armor, Noelle immediately channeled her Vision's power. An ornate greatsword appeared in her hand, and she hurriedly charged forward.