The time for the celebration banquet hadn't been set yet, but it wasn't something urgent. Besides, everyone was tired and should go back to rest.
The same was true for Stelle. Lumine strongly invited him to return to the Knights of Favonius's dormitory with her, but Stelle shook his head and refused.
He had to check on Amber's situation. Amber was returning today, so he should at least go see her.
Faced with Stelle's reason, Lumine could only nod and reluctantly give up.
And so...
"Stelle!" Amber directly pounced on him. If Stelle's stance hadn't been steady enough, he would have almost been knocked to the ground by the flying tackle.
"You're finally back..."
"Mhm, I'm back." Stelle's body had been very stiff just now, but after hearing Amber speak, he relaxed considerably.
He even reached out and gently stroked Amber's back, reassuring the Damselette.
He had originally been a bit worried about Amber being so close to him and having problems due to his constitution.
But it seemed, so far so good.
"I'm sorry, I got a little too excited." Amber finally reacted, reluctantly leaving Stelle's embrace.
She looked up at Stelle, checking on his condition.
As she looked, Amber's cheeks flushed, but she still didn't avert her gaze, only speaking to distract herself:
"I heard everything! You successfully defeated the Cryo Hilichurl Armor King, that's amazing!"
"It's nothing." Stelle smiled faintly. If Amber hadn't brought it up, he would have almost forgotten about that Cryo Hilichurl Armor King.
After all, compared to Dvalin, the Cryo Hilichurl Armor King was truly nothing.
"But, you only took one day to come back, right? What were you doing for the other two days?" Amber asked curiously.
"This..." Stelle didn't know whether to tell Amber about this matter for a moment.
"I suppose I helped resolve the Dragon Disaster?"
"Huh?!"
Stelle pulled Amber down to sit and slowly recounted what had happened these past two days.
Of course, he spoke very roughly and didn't reveal that Venti was Barbatos.
"Acting Grand Master Jean should announce the specifics later; you'll know then."
"So that's what happened... That's great, the Dragon Disaster was resolved smoothly, and Mondstadt can finally return to its former tranquility." Amber smiled happily.
"Oh right, Amber, I plan to rent a house outside to live in."
Amber's smile instantly stiffened.
"W-why? Is there something I did wrong?" Amber said nervously, her mind still wondering if she had made a mistake somewhere.
"No, no, Amber's home is great, it's just that I can't keep living off you for free, can I?" Stelle said quickly, seeing Amber's sad and upset expression.
"I don't mind." Amber pouted. Let alone such a small matter, Amber would be willing to support Stelle indefinitely.
"But I do mind. Besides, I've earned a sum of Mora during this time, and I've always wanted to spend it well." Stelle recalled the Mora he earned from completing tasks. He hadn't specifically calculated it, but it should be a considerable amount.
Moreover, Acting Grand Master Jean had also promised that the Knights of Favonius would give him and Lumine a certain amount of reward, so he imagined there would be another substantial income in the future.
"Besides, even if I move out, I'll still be in Mondstadt City. Amber can come visit me anytime if she wants to."
"Ugh..."
Amber didn't know how to advise him. Seeing his resolute attitude, she estimated that anything she said would be useless.
Besides, she and Star were not in a particularly intimate relationship for now, and she couldn't control where he wanted to live...
"Alright then, I'll definitely come find you often!" Amber made up her mind.
While he hadn't moved out yet, she wanted to get to know him better.
--------
"Sister, you're finally back!" Barbara stood up happily when she saw Jean walk into the room.
"Barbara? Why are you here? Where's Kaeya?" Jean looked at Barbara with some surprise.
Kaeya was nowhere to be seen in the office; only Barbara was sitting on the sofa.
She had asked Kaeya to cover for her for a day, but now, before closing time, he was already gone.
"I came to deliver some work reports from the Westwind Church for this period. As for Captain Kaeya... little Klee secretly snuck out of solitary confinement today, and Captain Kaeya was a bit worried, so he's following her."
"That Klee..." Recalling the troublesome little girl, Acting Grand Master Jean couldn't help but sigh, pressing her hand to her forehead.
"You've worked hard, Barbara."
"It's nothing, Sister, about that..." Barbara suddenly hesitated.
"What's wrong?"
"Did Sister go out with the Honorary Knight and Miss Star?" Barbara couldn't help but ask.
Kaeya had told her about this, but he hadn't specified what they went to do.
"Yes, that's right." Jean had no intention of hiding it from Barbara. She sat down beside Barbara and told her everything, except for Venti's identity.
"So that's how it is. Then, is Miss Star not injured?" Barbara asked with some concern.
"Star is fine..." Jean looked at her sister in confusion, seeming to wonder why she was so concerned about Star.
"Ah, well, I met Miss Star once before, and she seemed a bit unwell at the time, so I was a little worried." Barbara also noticed her sister's puzzled expression and quickly explained.
"I see. Don't worry, she looks very well and was a great contributor to this incident." Jean nodded, without much suspicion.
However, speaking of Star, she remembered the sordid thing she had done last night.
Her face instantly became troubled.
"Barbara, can the Westwind Church's confessional be used at night?"
"Eh? Of course, as long as it's not too late." Barbara looked at her sister with some surprise, wondering why she would ask such a question.
"Why are you asking this, Sister?"
"I... I have a friend who did something not so good to another friend of mine." Jean hesitated. Facing her sister, she decided to ask Barbara for her opinion on the matter.
"What kind of not-so-good thing?" Barbara seemed interested and intended to get to the bottom of it.
"It's just, at night, secretly..." Jean's cheeks were flushed. It was a bit shameful to talk about, and she didn't know how she could have done such a thing to Star back then.
"Ah?!" Barbara gasped, covering her mouth, almost thinking she had misheard.
"Does your friend, Sister, like the other person?"
"Sh-should be." Jean was slightly stunned by the question.
She had just thought of this question that had been overlooked before.
Did she do this because she had fallen for Star?
Otherwise, why would she do it so naturally, without any hesitation...
"Anyway, Barbara, what do you think of my friend?" Jean shook her head, deciding to put the question aside for now, and cautiously asked her sister for her opinion on the matter.
"Do you want to hear the truth, Sister?" Barbara hesitated, looking at her sister as she asked.
"Yes, of course."
"Your friend, Sister, is simply awful. How could she do such a thing?"
"Aw-awful?! Y-yes, I suppose so..."
Damn her.
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