The library was brightly lit and quiet.
Amber was stopped by Wyratt when she came out of the Acting Grand Master's Office, hearing that a young Liyue man was looking for her and was now waiting inside the library.
Knowing who it was, Amber stepped into the library with her knee-high white boots on.
Looking around the second floor, there was no sign of anyone.
Her twitching rabbit ears picked up faint sounds of pages turning from below.
Contact between moderate heels and the floor resembled melodious notes. Reaching the wooden stairs she indeed spotted Nolan at a corner downstairs.
At this moment, he seemed to be concentrating on reading and did not notice Amber's approach.
Amber quietly smirked hiding behind bookshelves, soundlessly sneaking around the youth's back.
Stretching out her right hand, she was trying to scare him.
Immersed in reading, Nolan temporarily forgot his purpose here at the headquarters. Just then a sweet floral fragrance entered his nose, breaking his concentration.
This fragrance was not unfamiliar to Nolan, it seemed to be Amber's scent.
Could it be that she came over?
Thinking this way Nolan naturally turned his head back, when suddenly a white palm poked his cheek.
Soft and tender, slightly warm.
"Uh..." Amber flinched for a moment then withdrew her hand and hid it behind her back, laughed a little awkwardly, and said, "Originally I wanted to tap your shoulder to scare you, but I didn't expect you to turn back."
Of course, Nolan thought nothing of it, but he still flirted:
"It's fine. It's the first time I've seen the lively and enthusiastic Miss Amber like this. Hmm. Such a difficult look, haha."
"Hey, you!.."
"Oh, forget it. Sir Wyratt said you were looking for me outside, what's the matter?"
Knowing each other for about a month, they were rather familiar. Just joking around. Amber swiftly smoothed her expression and got to the point.
"Oh right. Remember I borrowed Mora from you before? Here to return it."
Nolan pulled over a coin pouch tied at his waist, inside were Mora of varying denominations, totaling exactly thirty-five thousand Mora.
After all, he didn't have any inventory system like games to stow it in, he could only use the pouches like ordinary folks.
"Huh? No need!" Amber was slightly surprised and didn't think that Nolan was here to return the money. At that time, She said it was borrowed back then, but in fact, in her mind she didn't plan on asking it back, "You still need Mora in your life right now, so just keep it for now."
"That won't do. I earn a steady income hunting now. Can't owe your money without returning it."
Nolan grabbed Amber's wrist and firmly stuffed the Mora into her palm.
"...Mm. Fine then." Amber revealed a smile without further refusal.
[Amber Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 50 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.2 (10/200)]
A prompt sounded in Nolan's mind. Amber's affection for him rose to Lv. 2.
This Should be a relatively slightly close relationship.
Previously, when he met in the Whispering Woods, he was considered a new acquaintance, and the occasional encounters over the course of a month had raised his favorability a few times.
Now due to Nolan's insistence on principle again, he earned more of Amber's Affection.
After a short period of time, Nolan came to understand affection degree's mechanics.
Generally, for most people, affection for an unfamiliar person comes from their first impressions.
Just like Nolan meeting Amber. He wasn't some egregious villain either. Kindhearted Amber discovered someone needing help, so her initial impression wasn't bad, some fondness was normal.
After getting acquainted, if not a one-sided relationship then they occasionally or often meet, then the two will naturally become familiar with each other. No Need to do anything, with the deepening of mutual understanding, affection will naturally increase.
Of course, the premise is that Nolan must not conduct himself in ways Amber disliked throughout this natural process.
Nolan guessed Amber still saw him in an understanding phase. Over time and contact, he didn't require conscious effort. Amber would regard him as a friend sooner or later.
However, that was it. Obtaining her Archon's empowerment absolutely demanded exceeding mere friendship.
Nolan needed to actively look for opportunities to contact Amber, and sooner or later their relationship would evolve in quality.
As an ordinary man, he just needed to socialize ordinarily. Not to show too much rush, or be gain Amber's disfavor, then it would be a waste of effort.
After Amber stored the Mora, her attention was drawn by the book on the table. Curiously she asked:
"You wanna learn Favonius Swordsmanship?"
"Yep. In the future, I plan on traveling Teyvat and becoming a powerful adventurer in the future. You can't do it with only a little bit of archery."
Nolan spoke more happily about her future direction.
"Nice aspirations." Amber nodded. Sitting by on a chair she said, "It's a pity that I'm not too good at swordsmanship, or else I could teach you... Well, there's a training ground behind the Knights' Headquarters with all sorts of implements, so you can go there if you're practicing swordsmanship."
"Great, I was just wondering where I could train!"
The training ground behind the Knights' Headquarters, Nolan was too familiar with it, it was the place Where a young girl named Eillin often requested the Traveler's guidance on swiftly destroying wooden poles.
"By the way, to thank Miss Amber for helping me, I would like to invite you to the 'Good Hunter' restaurant for dinner. You shouldn't have eaten dinner at this time, right?"
Nolan said as he looked at Amber with a sincere gaze.
This invitation was reasonable, after all, Amber did help him a lot, so buying a dinner was not wrong. Plus meals were rare chances to raise affection, can't miss it.
"Giving help to those in need is the duty of a Knight of Favonius. How can I ask for something in return? Forget the dinner..."
Amber shook her head and refused.
"Actually, I still have something I want to ask for your help. And I heard long ago Good Hunter's Sticky Honey Roast and Spicy Stew are delicious. Why don't we talk about it over dinner?"
Nolan unleashed his anti-Amber Noble Phantasm flawlessly.
"Sticky Honey Roast and Spicy Stew!" Amber's fair-skinned neck twitched imperceptibly, her gaze brightened a bit, and then she said without haste, "Since you need my help, there's no other way, let's go now."
[Amber Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 50 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.2 (60/200)]
"Mm, let me return this book first."
Nolan smiled as he placed the «Favonius Swordsmanship - Fundamentals», which he could not register to borrow for the time being, back on the bookshelf in's original location.
Sure enough, eating and giving gifts are techniques to raise affection. Almost Lv.3 now, should be friends already right? Feeling rather close by this point.
He entered the Headquarters still during sunset moments. By the time they departed night had fallen, curtaining the skies with darkness.
(End of Chapter)
To be continued...