Level 97 now—what an achievement!
But only a little over 10,000 EXP left... It'd take a bit of time to level up again. Still, "Sword God" was active in the Spiral Abyss, which had tons of monsters, so it shouldn't take too long.
Nolan thought to himself with joy.
Getting a bit mischievous, he tugged at Jean's uniform, exposing her snow-white, soft belly, and reached his hand inside.
"You! Don't push your luck!"
With a sharp slap, Jean slammed her pen onto the desk, grabbed the wandering hand inside her clothes, and stood up, shoving Nolan toward the window behind them.
"Hey, hey, hey! Jean, you're not thinking of pushing me out the window, are you? What if I fall and get hurt?!"
Nolan protested with a reluctant expression, leaning back against her in an attempt to stop this "domestic dispute."
"I told you not to bother me while I'm working in the Knights' headquarters."
Jean grabbed his hands and used Anemo power to swing open the window, forcing Nolan up onto the ledge.
If anyone saw this, what would happen to my reputation as both Grand Master and the Knights' honor?! This damn idiot... she thought, annoyed.
"Wait, I was wrong! I won't bother you anymore! Don't push!"
Nolan's stomach was already pressing against the windowsill as he desperately begged for mercy.
"Too late," Jean said flatly. If he had only hugged her, she wouldn't have cared. But now, some proper punishment was in order.
With a gentle push, she sent Nolan tumbling out the window, then promptly shut it behind him and clapped her hands clean before calmly sitting back down to resume her work.
Thud!
Nolan crashed onto the grassy lawn beside the Knights' building, landing flat on his back. He stared up at the now-closed window and chuckled helplessly.
Well, I guess Jean's fed up with me… but even her anger is kinda cute.
Just as he was about to get up, he heard soft footsteps rustling across the lawn.
The first thing to enter his field of vision: the underside of a rose-colored skirt. Just above it, over-the-knee white armor boots. Emerging from the top were thighs encased in sheer black tights.
Through the semi-transparent fabric, he could faintly make out a pink-and-white pair of panties adorned with a butterfly bow in the front.
Noelle gently pressed down her skirt and knelt beside him, tilting her head and asking curiously,
"Mr. Adventurer, why are you lying here?"
"Uhh… Noelle?"
Nolan hurriedly sat up, worried she might notice where his eyes had strayed and ruin his image as the esteemed "Adventurer."
He cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject:
"Haha, I accidentally annoyed Acting Grand Master Jean and got tossed out. By the way, where's Barbara?"
Earlier, when he teleported the girls back, he had asked them to wait nearby.
"I was with Miss Barbara in the library," Noelle replied sweetly, "and then we saw Miss Lisa organizing the books, so we offered to help her. She should still be in the library. I came out to dry a cloth and just happened to see you lying here."
"I see. Let's head over then."
Nolan nodded and stood up.
Noelle straightened up as well and followed him into the library. It was quite full of readers at the moment.
They both kept quiet and moved through the left corridor, where they spotted Barbara standing on a wooden ladder, wiping down a bookshelf with a cloth.
Lisa stood nearby with her arms folded under her chest, watching with a relaxed expression. When she heard footsteps, she turned and smiled upon seeing Nolan and Noelle.
She smiled and said:
"Just now, I heard from the two girls that our little adventurer secretly took them all the way to Liyue for a date, hmm?
"My, my, and you didn't even invite your big sister. How heartbreaking~"
"…"
Nolan paused mid-step, surprised by Lisa's opening line, but responded with a smile:
"We just discovered some hidden domains over there, so I brought Noelle and Barbara along to explore. Besides, weren't you busy with work?"
After speaking, he looked up slightly at Barbara and said:
"Speaking of work, organizing the library should be your job, right? Why's Barbara doing it?"
"Because they kindly offered to help. How could your big sister bear to refuse their goodwill~"
Lisa's fair face under her pointed witch's hat showed a hint of a sly smile, clearly finding an excuse for her own laziness.
Standing on the stepladder, Barbara had just finished wiping the last part of the shelf and let out a breath of relief when she overheard their conversation.
Wanting to clear up any misunderstanding that might make Honorary Knight Nolan think Lisa was shirking her duties, she quickly explained:
"Just now I saw that Miss Lisa was wearing high heels and it would be hard for her to climb the ladder, so I offered—ah!"
Before she could finish, her body leaned outward just slightly too far, causing her to lose her balance and fall off the ladder.
Though the ladder was only about two meters tall and a fall wouldn't have been serious—at worst, a sore bottom—there was no way Nolan could just watch Barbara get hurt.
So he quickly stepped forward and caught her.
Her delicate body fell into his arms. His right hand supported her back wrapped in her off-shoulder dress, while his left arm cradled her legs, snugly encased in white pantyhose.
His arm was gently pressed between her soft calves and the back of her thighs. Even through the tights, he could feel her body's gentle warmth.
"…Phew, thank you."
Barbara, eyes closed and spared from any impact pain, opened her gentle eyes and realized it was Nolan who caught her.
Her fair cheeks flushed ever so slightly, and she whispered a soft thank you, then seemed to shyly gaze at the butterfly bow on her chest.
She even forgot to ask him to put her down.
[Barbara Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 220 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.8 (600/800)]
Seeing the prompt pop up on his character panel, Nolan was quietly thrilled—Level 9 wasn't far off.
He smiled and gently set Barbara down, playfully saying:
"No need to thank me. It really was nothing."
"…Mhm."
Barbara still seemed lost in her bashful daze, replying in a voice as soft as a whisper.
"Whew, that scared me. Good thing Mr. Adventurer reacted so fast."
Noelle, relieved to see Barbara safe, gently patted her chest and sighed.
"Next time, don't get distracted on the ladder. If little Barbara gets hurt, Jean will dock my pay."
Lisa placed her hand on Barbara's head, ruffling her hair as she chuckled.
"Alright, since we're done here in the library, I'm going to take Noelle and Barbara to go hunt down a certain drunkard bard who took my money and did nothing."
Nolan briefly explained to Lisa how he'd paid Venti for secret domain information.
"Hehe, I see."
Lisa gave him a mischievous glance.
It was obvious she saw through his little scheme to spend more time with both Noelle and Barbara.
(End of Chapter)
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