Chapter 100

In the afternoon, at the Knights of Favonius headquarters, the sound of scribbling and the flipping of pages echoed through Jean's office. Sunlight filtered through the window, lighting up the entire room. Jean, with her quill in hand, was focused on reviewing each document, while Lisa sipped tea and flipped through a book by the bookshelf.

Knock, knock, knock!

Three knocks sounded on the door. Jean stopped writing and looked up, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Come in," she said.

"Acting Grand Master Jean, we're back!" Klee, riding atop Beibei, waved excitedly as she entered the room. "Master Jean, Klee missed you so much!"

"Klee!" Seeing Klee at the door, Jean immediately stood up, hurried over, and scooped her into her arms. Holding Klee up, she checked her from head to toe. Jean then gently asked, "Klee, are you hurt this time?"

"Nope!" Klee shook her little head, her short legs dangling in the air. She looked innocently at Jean and said in a small voice, "Master Jean, can you put Klee down?"

"Oh my, isn't this our little Hiroshi?" Lisa called from behind Jean. She waved towards Hiroshi, who stood by the door, and with a smile, she said, "Care to tell me all about the godly war world mission you had? Big sis here is very curious, you know."

Lisa's emerald eyes scanned Hiroshi with interest. Resting her chin on her hand, she chuckled. "After all, it seems like our dear Hiroshi has become even more... enticing in just a short time."

"If you're interested, I'll tell you all about it later." Hiroshi nodded towards Lisa and then looked at Jean, who had just placed Klee back on the ground. "It's good to see you again, Acting Grand Master Jean."

Jean smiled, petting Beibei, who was rubbing against her leg. "In my memory, we just saw each other a few days ago. Was this mission successful?"

"It went well. We had some bumps along the way, but everything turned out fine." Hiroshi walked up beside Jean and watched her petting Beibei, smiling. "This time, I've come to invite you and everyone in the Knights to my and Ruri's engagement ceremony."

"What?" Jean looked up, surprised. Klee tugged at Hiroshi's shirt, pointing to herself, and asked, "Aren't we here to ask Master Jean for permission to go to Liyue?"

Hiroshi laughed, patting Klee's head, then crouched down to ruffle her round cheeks. "Requesting leave for Klee is one of the reasons, too."

"Oh." Klee blinked and held onto Hiroshi's hand, asking curiously, "Brother Hiroshi, what's an engagement ceremony?"

"Well..." Hiroshi stood up, holding Klee's hand. He looked up at the sky through the window, smiling. "It's a promise to marry your Sister Ruri, a binding contract of love."

"I get it!" Klee beamed at Hiroshi. "Like how my parents were, right? Then does that mean Klee will have a new little sister in the future?"

"That's still a bit far off," Hiroshi replied with a chuckle.

Jean, still processing, looked at Hiroshi in disbelief. "Are you really getting engaged, Hiroshi?"

Hiroshi nodded, smiling sheepishly. "Yes, it's the day after tomorrow. Since Ruri is from another world, her parents can't attend, so we plan to hold separate ceremonies in both worlds."

Jean nodded thoughtfully and then said, "Congratulations, Hiroshi. I'm sure Lord Barbatos will bless both you and Ruri."

Hiroshi's smile froze momentarily, and he let out a nervous laugh. "Uh... yes, thank you. So, it's set for August 3rd. I'll leave the invitations for Kaeya and Amber here, and could you please hand them to them when they return?"

He then pointed at Klee. "There's one more thing. The Geo Archon invited us to attend this year's Rite of Descension in Liyue on August 15th. I want to take Klee with me; is that alright, Jean?"

Jean looked down at Klee, whose face was filled with anticipation, then back at Hiroshi. She nodded. "Alright, as long as you're with her, I feel reassured."

"Yay!" Klee jumped up, throwing her arms around Jean, and exclaimed, "Thank you, Master Jean!"

Jean stroked Klee's head gently and said, "Just remember, Klee, if I hear about a giant explosion in Liyue, or about a little girl fishing with bombs at Liyue Harbor, or if a mountain suddenly disappears, you know what will happen, right?"

Klee stiffened, and she slowly loosened her grip, looking at Jean with a pout. "I understand, Master Jean."

Jean nodded, crouching to brush Klee's cheek lightly. "And remember, no getting hurt, okay?"

Hiroshi took out several invitation cards and placed them on Jean's desk. He then walked over to Lisa and handed her one.

"Here's your invitation." Lisa took it with a smile and glanced at it. She looked back up at Hiroshi. "I'll be there, of course. Oh, by the way..."

Seeming to remember something, Lisa called towards the door, "Noelle!"

After a few moments, hurried footsteps echoed from outside the room, followed by the door creaking open. A young woman in a maid-knight uniform, her white hair tied back neatly, stepped inside. She bowed respectfully to Jean before turning to Lisa, her emerald eyes sneaking a glance at Hiroshi.

"Miss Lisa, is there something you need?" Noelle asked earnestly.

Lisa gestured towards Hiroshi and smiled. "Noelle, haven't you always wanted to learn about knightly training methods from the Honorary Knight? Well, Hiroshi here is holding his engagement ceremony on the 3rd, and you could help with the preparations."

Noelle's eyes sparkled, and Lisa winked. "This way, you can ask Hiroshi all the questions you want, and observe his techniques up close. So, Noelle, do you want to take on this task?"

"Yes! I accept!" Noelle exclaimed, her red rose-adorned armor trembling slightly. She turned to Hiroshi, her face filled with hope. "Honorary Knight, may I take on this responsibility?"

Noelle bowed deeply before Hiroshi, her voice solemn. "As a maid of the Knights of Favonius and a trainee knight, I will give my all to complete the task you assign to me."

Seeing Noelle bowing, Hiroshi glanced at Lisa and then back at Noelle. He smiled warmly. "I'll be in your care, then. Thank you, Noelle."

Standing straight again, Noelle beamed brightly. "Leave it to me! Anything at all, I will handle it!"