"Hiss, that hurts... well, of course, it does."
Nolan didn't actually feel much pain from Sucrose's bite, given his current physical strength, it wasn't enough to hurt him.
However, he still pretended.
Smiling, he gently stroked Sucrose's fluffy ears again, then leaned in and lightly bit the tip of her ear in return, before asking:
"So, would you be willing to be my girlfriend?"
Wanting to take responsibility—wasn't that just another way of asking to become a couple?
Sucrose felt the warmth of her ear being gently held between his lips, and her cheeks flushed as red as a tomato.
This time, though, her ears only twitched a little in response. She gripped Nolan's clothes tighter, burying her face in his neck, and gave a shy, almost inaudible nod.
She softly murmured, "Mhm."
[Sucrose Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 450 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (16/900)]
After agreeing to be his girlfriend, Sucrose's affection for Nolan skyrocketed.
Nolan, overjoyed, held her in his arms for a long time. Though they didn't exchange many words, the unspoken feelings between them were deeply felt.
After about half an hour, Sucrose finally calmed down and returned to a somewhat normal state.
But the way she looked at Nolan now carried a hint of adorable shyness.
Her knees, which had been bent for quite some time, still felt a bit numb. She leaned on Nolan for support, and after standing for a moment, the discomfort gradually faded.
"Do you want me to massage your legs?" Nolan asked with a smile as he looked at Sucrose.
"Ah, n-no need," she stammered.
Although they were now a couple, Sucrose's shy and bashful nature wasn't something that would change so quickly.
"Don't be shy. This is something couples should do for each other," Nolan replied with a gentle shake of his head. He took Sucrose's hand and guided her to sit on a chair by the lab bench.
He then knelt slightly, lifted her legs, and removed her white ankle boots, letting her feet, wrapped in semi-transparent black stockings, rest lightly on his knees.
"W-Wait, it's just a simple massage. Why did you take off my shoes?" Sucrose's hands fidgeted nervously on her lap, lightly tugging at her stockings as her fingers pressed into her soft thighs.
Her flushed face turned aside, unable to look directly at him.
"Everything deserves your full effort, even a massage," Nolan replied seriously.
With that, he began gently massaging her ankles, feeling the smooth texture of the stockings as they slipped under his fingertips. His movements were slow and careful, ensuring she felt comfortable.
Truthfully, Sucrose wanted to tell him that her legs were no longer numb, and the massage wasn't really necessary.
But seeing how much Nolan seemed to enjoy it, she remained silent, waiting quietly for him to finish while idly glancing at the Wind Dragon's scale in her hand.
She placed it on the lab bench.
Looking at it, alongside two other biological materials, she realized that this would open up three new research topics.
The last experiment, involving a Windchime Bird egg, had given her many new ideas, even though she hadn't yet succeeded in hatching it.
If she could unlock the mysteries of the Stromterror's scale…
Could her progress in "Bio-Alchemy" possibly lead her to create fantastical creatures that don't exist in Teyvat?
After all, creating a wonderland of creatures had always been her dream in studying Bio-Alchemy.
However, for now, she stored everything safely in her Vision, as there was still the "Topical Healing Ointment" project she hadn't finished yet.
As she thought about this, her gaze drifted to the corner of the lab bench, where the little white mouse she had applied the healing ointment to was resting.
She wanted to check if the mouse's wound had healed.
Sucrose reached out to pull the experimental tray holding the little white mouse closer, but her arm wasn't long enough to reach it. Just as she was about to stand up, a semi-transparent tentacle nudged the tray towards her.
Pushing up her glasses, she pursed her lips and glanced at Nolan, who was still diligently massaging her calves.
Do all boys have such embarrassing hobbies?
Sucrose sighed silently and refocused on the little mouse. It still hadn't woken up after suffering a spiritual attack, but the wound on its forelimb had healed.
"Hm? What's this?"
Sucrose noticed something sprouting from the fur around the mouse's forelimb, resembling the early growth of a Silkgrass seedling.
But there hadn't been anything like this during the experiment earlier.
Could it have blown in from outside? Sucrose was a bit puzzled.
In Teyvat, Silkgrass was just a common weed. It could grow anywhere with soil, and its seeds were so small that they could easily be carried by the wind. They often stuck to animals' fur, spreading that way.
As a bio-alchemist, Sucrose naturally had Silkgrass in her lab. So it was possible the seed had either blown in from outside or floated onto the mouse from within the lab.
But the more important question wasn't how it got there—it was why it sprouted in the mouse's fur, and in just about an hour.
It didn't take much thought for her scholarly instincts to point directly to the healing ointment she had accidentally created.
Could it be that the ointment not only healed wounds but also had other unexpected effects?
To verify her suspicion, Sucrose spoke to Nolan, "Adventurer, my legs feel much better now. You can stop—I have work to do."
"Alright," Nolan replied, reluctantly giving her calf one last gentle squeeze before helping her put her ankle boots back on.
Her legs feel just as nice as Lumine's and Fischl's, the rascal mused to himself.
Unaware of Nolan's wandering thoughts, Sucrose placed the little mouse back in its cage, then fetched a regular Sweet Flower seed and a Sweet Flower seed five times its normal size from the plant-growing section of her lab.
She had created the oversized seed through bio-alchemy, but for some reason, it couldn't germinate on its own.
This time, she wanted to see if the healing ointment could help both the regular seed and the oversized one sprout. If it worked, the Knights could promote the five-times-larger Sweet Flower to Mondstadt's farmers.
A larger Sweet Flower would produce much more sugar, offering greater returns than the regular ones. Farmers would generate more income, and Mondstadt's economy would naturally grow stronger.
Improving crops was one of Sucrose's duties as an alchemist in the Knights of Favonius, aside from her personal research. Otherwise, the Knights wouldn't provide her with a lab and funding just for her experiments.
Nolan stood curiously beside her, watching as she carefully applied the green healing ointment to the two seeds.
At first, nothing happened.
The two of them observed for about fifteen minutes.
Then, with a simultaneous crack, like the sound of a newborn chick breaking free from its eggshell, both the small and large seeds began to sprout.
---
(End of Chapter)
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