126 Chapter 126: Negative Affection (2-in-1 Chapter)

Not far from the Mondstadt Cathedral, the colossal statue of the Anemo Archon stood prominently in the square.

As Nolan and the others paused to discuss the plan, a gentle breeze swept through. Lumine's white dress revealed her snow-white back, and the ribbons attached to it fluttered provocatively, occasionally brushing against nearby young adventurers.

Observing Lumine lost in thought, completely unaware of their presence, Nolan's lips twitched slightly as he caught the mischievous ribbons.

"Not a bad plan young adventurer. It can get us the lyre and clear our relationship while helping the Knights. But how do we disguise ourselves as the Fatui?" Venti mused, looking down at the ground and stroking his chin.

"That's right, that's right, Paimon was wondering about that too," Paimon said as his starry eyes looked at Nolan and nodded his head.

Under the diagonally cut hem of her skirt, her legs wrapped in knee-high boots were revealed, and the golden pattern on them looked like it possessed a radiant glow as Lumine lifted her head, took the ribbons from Nolan, and said:

"I have a strong dislike for the Fatui. If you can thwart their plots then, by all means, do as you please, I will cooperate fully."

[Lumine Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 120 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.4 (15/400)]

The first encounter Lumine had with the Fatui was when a female diplomat from their envoy had aggressively confronted Acting Grand Master Jean to embarrass her, and wanting to take over the defense of Mondstadt City and even kill Dvalin.

This left Lumine with no positive feelings towards the Fatui.

"No need to be so serious. After all, as honorary knights, helping the Knights is our duty,"

Nolan looked at the Affection prompt that popped up on the character panel and smiled before continuing to explain:

"In fact, it's very simple to do this. I defeated a fatui debt agent a long time ago and interrogated him and learned about their 'stealth assassination technique.'

"As long as I sneak in and take the Holy Lyre der Himmel while making the guards believe someone invisible is taking it, they'll naturally suspect the Fatui first.

"The theft of Mondstadt's greatest treasure will provide ample reason for the Knights to demand an explanation from them."

Stealth techniques like this aren't common. If they don't suspect the Fatui, who else would they suspect?

After all, the Knights' trouble stemmed from their failure to handle the storm, giving the Fatui an excuse to make various unreasonable demands.

Because even though they knew that the Fatui had problems, as an explicitly diplomatic mission, the Knights were obligated to take responsibility for their safety.

"That makes sense. At least until we retrieve the Holy Lyre der Himmel, the Knights will keep a close eye on them and won't be able to meddle in how Mondstadt deals with Stormterror," Paimon, sometimes quite clever, quickly understood the reasoning after a moment's thought.

"But then, we won't be able to act together with you," Lumine, her fair cheeks turned towards him, her amber eyes showing a hint of concern, as she said.

Mondstadt Cathedral, as the place where the Holy Lyre der Himmel was kept, would surely have strong and numerous guards, if they were caught while invisible, they would have to rely on Grand Master Master Jean to bail them out.

That would be too embarrassing.

"So, when I move, just provide support nearby. If things look bad, hurry up and rescue me!" Nolan was not arrogant, and Lumine's reasoning made sense.

"Uh-huh, now that the plan is clear, let's set the action time for the afternoon. Around six in the afternoon, most of the guards will be off duty, making it safer to act," Venti said with a smile, nodding.

"Alright."

Nolan of course had no objections. In the game's plot, Lumine always acted when most guards were off duty.

But because of the appearance of the Fatui, who had ideas about the Holy Lyre der Himmel, she was discovered by the guards who were left behind. In the end, not only did she fail to obtain the Holy Lyre der Himmel, but she also ended up being wanted, while the Fatui member involved walked away scot-free.

So, during the operation, they must be vigilant in case that a member from the Fatui appears. Surely, the one sent to steal the Holy Lyre der Himmel won't be weak.

If she manages to take it away, it would be a disgrace to me as a transmigrator who is supposed to have foresight.

There was still some time before the operation. Nolan accompanied Lumine and the others to take a look at the inn, but the price of 8,000 Mora per day was still a bit expensive.

She still needed to keep some savings for travel expenses on her journey to find her brother.

After searching for a while longer without finding anything satisfactory, Paimon floated in the air with her hands hanging down, looking exhausted as she sighed, "Could it be that those innkeepers deliberately raised the prices because they see us as outsiders, trying to rip us off?"

"Oh, when it comes to the prices of Mondstadt inns, this wandering bard here knows a thing or two. 8,000 is already considered cheap. After all, Mondstadt City is the most prosperous city in Mondstadt, with many traveling merchants. If it weren't for the storm, the inn prices might have been even higher," Venti explained based on his observations and experiences.

"So that's how it is." Paimon looked pitifully at the golden-haired girl with white flowers on her head. "Traveler, you must make more money. I don't want to sleep on the streets."

Lumine, with her hands pressed against her soft waist covered by white long sleeves, looked at her with a helpless expression and said, "Why should I be the only one making money? Why don't you go?"

"Hehe, that's because I'm currently working as your tour guide. Your payment is responsible for supporting me!" Paimon replied with a slight smile on her snow-white face.

"How about in a few days, I take you to the Adventurers' Guild to register as adventurers? With your strength, completing some difficult commissions shouldn't be a problem, and those commissions pay handsomely!" Nolan suggested.

"Well, it seems we have no choice. Otherwise..."

Otherwise, the little Mora in her hand would be gone in just a few days, Lumine thought silently to herself.

"By the way, didn't you say you live near the Val Berry Street? Is your house big? Can we bother you for a few days, hehe."

Paimon's gaze shifted to Nolan.

"Oh? Me? It's not impossible" Nolan pondered a moment. He rented a small independent courtyard of Eula's house. Besides the living room, kitchen, and bathroom on the first floor, there were three rooms on the second floor. He lived in one, and used one as a study, leaving one vacant.

Considering that he was also a tenant, renting out the vacant room would seem a bit opportunistic. But simply letting friends stay for free wouldn't be too much trouble.

Moreover, being close to Lumine would surely make it easier to gain affection, so this was a good thing.

"Um, never mind, I won't trouble you. I can't afford even a few days at an inn." Lumine clasped her hands together and held them against her upper abdomen, lifting her chest wrapped in the dress slightly.

She pondered for a moment, feeling that even though they were friends, she shouldn't trouble them too much. What if conflicts arose?

"Yeah, if possible, it's more convenient to rent a place by yourself," Nolan nodded indifferently. Affection was something that depended on personal emotional changes. Rushing it would only lead to dislike.

In the end, Lumine and Paimon chose the inn that initially cost 8,000 mora. After comparing, they felt it offered the best value for money.

Mondstadt Cathedral.

With Lumine and Paimon's accommodation settled, time slowly passed until it was finally six o'clock in the afternoon.

Nolan sneaked inside the cathedral alone avoiding the crowds, his sneak assassination technique had a level 4, using it once could maintain optical invisibility for ten minutes.

But this time was barely enough for him to sneak in and retrieve the Holy Lyre der Himmel. There was a high chance he would be exposed when leaving.

So, he needed to rest and recover his spirit and stamina consumed by stealth. And with his [Abundant Life] specialty, it wouldn't take too long for him to recover.

"Move forward a bit and go down through the semicircular stone door in front," Venti's voice blended with the light breeze, echoing in Nolan's ears. Although Nolan had seen the game's plot, he only vaguely remembered the specific location of the Holy Lyre der Himmel after entering the stone door.

Therefore, he still needed Venti's guidance to quickly and accurately find it, which was quite simple for the Anemo Archon.

In a state of stealth, Nolan easily evaded the nun's scrutiny and slipped into the semi-circular stone door in the middle of the cathedral, then descended the winding stone steps.

At this moment, a Knight of Favonius approached. Nolan paused, holding his breath against the wall.

Out of curiosity, he activated his Golden "Eye of Judgment" to take a look at the knight.

[Level: Seventeen]

This level of strength should be average among Mondstadt Knights.

After the sound of footsteps slowly faded away, he continued down the stairs and arrived at a spacious platform located at the highest point of the entire basement. There were steps on both sides leading further down.

"Look forward from here. The room at the far end is where the Holy Lyre der Himmel is stored," Venti's voice echoed in Nolan's ear again, reminding him that the Holy Lyre der Himmel seemed to be kept there.

With limited time in stealth, although most of the guards had finished work, there were still some on duty before the shift change. So, he had to act quickly.

"Go down the stairs on the left, then walk along the wall. There was a patrolling Knight just now, creating a short gap in time. Go quickly!"

Nolan heard Venti's instructions and didn't hesitate. At the fastest speed that wouldn't produce any footsteps, he ran down.

There were many cabinets storing documents and items in the basement. Without stealth, he might need to use them to evade the guards' eyes and ears, but it wasn't necessary now.

He walked boldly down the middle of the path, making no sound. The guards completely ignored him.

In less than two minutes, Nolan arrived at the large room dedicated to the Holy Lyre der Himmel, much faster than he had expected. As long as he quickly grabbed the holy lyre, he would have enough time to escape without needing to use stealth a second time.

"Hurry up and get the lyre!" Venti's urging voice sounded. "Others are rushing here. They're coming fast!"

Hearing Venti's words, Nolan, who hadn't stopped his feet, immediately exerted force, his ears suddenly losing all the various sounds they had been able to pick up.

The next moment,

He moved at an extremely fast speed, his body appearing in front of the Holy Lyre der Himmel as if teleporting. He grabbed it in his hand, and then the various sounds in the basement slowly reached him.

The most intense of these was the sound of air being sliced apart coming from behind.

Nolan didn't have time to dodge. He turned around, intending to block with his hand, but immediately realized he was still holding the Holy Lyre der Himmel. His hand paused for a moment, and then a purple leg kicked him in the abdomen.

The powerful impact sent him flying like a rocket, "bang" crashing into the wall, even breaking his stealth state.

Fortunately, during the flight, Nolan had stored the Holy Lyre der Himmel in the dark red Delusion hanging on his neck, and didn't bump into it, so it wasn't damaged by the impact.

"Cough, cough." He coughed lightly, spitting out some saliva.

Thanks to his strong physique, even with such a blow, he only suffered superficial injuries, which wasn't a big problem for the time being.

"Heh. A stealth skill and a special Delusion. It seems that Inspector General Heston left you quite a bit of information recently. You and that Rose Witch suddenly wiped out one of our bases in Mondstadt. It really troubled our 'Lady' a bit~ I was standing next to her at the time, feeling like my hair was going to be signed off."

A voice came, and what appeared in Nolan's sight was a woman wearing a tight purple jumpsuit, with a purple cloak hood draped over it. Her eyes were covered with an eyepatch, the corners of her mouth were raised in a smile, and a purple Delusion was pinned to her chest.

[Electro Cicin Mage Has Negative Feelings Towards You, Obtained -300 Affection Points, Current Affection Level Lv.1 (-300/100)]

Sure enough, she appeared—the Fatui Electro Cicin Mage who stole the Traveler's Holy Lyre der Himmel in the game plot.

Possibly because she was a female, Nolan his innate talent seemed to take effect on her as well.

Since Nolan didn't know her name, the character panel simply showed Electro Cicin Mage, which was the game's surrogate for this type of dressed Fatui Members of Fatui Cicin Mages group.

Unfortunately, she was an enemy, so negative feelings arose. This was the first time he had received negative Affection points.

Fortunately, she was an enemy. Otherwise, he didn't know how long it would take to return to positive numbers.

"Hand over that lyre, I don't want to delay any longer because of your resistance!"

The Electro Cicin Mage didn't want to stay here any longer. If she was discovered by the Mondstadt Knights and blocked at the exit, she wouldn't be able to escape either.

Silently, Nolan glanced at her with his golden 'Eye of Judgments', and all of a sudden the Cicin Mage's strength and weaknesses were marked out from her body.

[Level: Forty-six]

There were no other hidden injuries or various defects. The weaknesses of humans were the head and the heart. There was nothing more to say.

"Sorry, if you want the Holy Lyre der Himmel, you'll have to try and snatch it." Nolan stood up, took out the Dull Blade from the improved version of the Delusion, and smiled.

To be honest, with such a disparity in strength, Nolan could only barely delay. It would be difficult to win, but as long as he could stall, there wouldn't be a problem.

When he could use stealth again, he would just disappear.

After all, if the Electro Cicin Mage hadn't used a surprise attack just now, she might not have been able to hit him while he was stealthily and seriously hidden.

(End of Chapter)

Word Count: 2.5K

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