Seeing that Himeko had also developed affection for him, Nolan could not help but feel even happier. On the surface, however, he calmly said a few modest and humble words.
With the Stellaron successfully sealed, Cocolia, under Nolan's instruction, had no choice but to thank them and prepared to host the Astral Express crew with the highest level of hospitality Belobog could offer.
Under normal circumstances, Nolan and the others had helped resolve the Stellaron problem that threatened the entire world, so no matter how grand the reception was, it would have been deserved.
However, Cocolia had originally stood on the side of the Stellaron. At this moment she was furious. If not for the Command Seal forcibly restraining her behavior, she would have already exploded in rage on the spot.
Although Cocolia proposed receiving them with the highest honors, Himeko and the others believed they had merely done a trivial task within their ability.
It was not something that warranted any special celebration, so they asked Cocolia to simply treat them as ordinary guests.
Considering that Belobog had already struggled greatly just to survive on this planet, some matters were better left to pass quietly. There was no need to disturb the stability of what was already a relatively peaceful city.
Therefore, Nolan instructed Cocolia to follow Himeko's suggestion. While the "highest honors" would be unnecessary and their achievements would not be publicized, they would still receive the treatment of distinguished guests.
For example, they were free to visit anywhere in Belobog, could request an audience with the Supreme Guardian at any time, and any expenses within Belobog could be reasonably reimbursed to some extent.
Faced with such goodwill, Himeko and the others could not refuse and ultimately accepted. It also made it easier for them to explore the planet.
After accepting the Supreme Guardian's gratitude, Himeko asked Nolan to first take her back to the Astral Express to store the sealed Stellaron, planning to explore Jarilo-VI more thoroughly afterward.
Nolan naturally had no reason to refuse. He teleported with Himeko back to the train, then returned again by himself.
At this time, Stelle, March 7th, and Welt had already gone outside to explore the city. Nolan did not follow them for the moment and instead went to find Cocolia again.
The council hall was empty now. The anger she felt toward Nolan was clearly written on her face. With the Stellaron taken away, Cocolia had lost her hope of creating a "new world."
"Oh? The Stellaron has already been sealed, yet you're still affected. Is it because its power still lingers within you?"
Nolan looked at Cocolia. He had assumed that once the Stellaron was gone she would return to normal. It seemed things were not so simple.
But for him it was not a big problem. A simple purification with Divine Maiden's Purity would do the trick.
After all, it would not be right for Belobog's Supreme Guardian to remain under the influence of the Stellaron.
Speaking of which, judging from Belobog's current situation, it might actually be possible to let the Sweet Flower Merchant Association develop here. With elemental technology, the place could certainly improve greatly.
Jarilo-VI could also serve as the chamber's first step toward expansion beyond Teyvat.
After all, over the past few days, Sserkal, Nahida, and the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata had successfully integrated the Metafield space into the Akasha system. Now, no matter which dimension someone was in, as long as they possessed a Deep Dive Device, they could log in.
This meant the Akasha system could now collect faith in justice without being restricted by its original coverage range.
Under those circumstances, the more people who logged into what was now called the Akasha Metafield, the better. Both the Sea of Quanta and the interstellar society needed to be developed.
Jarilo-VI had not yet reestablished contact with the outside world, which meant there would be no competitors for now. The Sweet Flower Merchant Association could expand freely.
With the Supreme Guardian helping to promote it, the chamber's development here would encounter little resistance. Therefore, restoring Cocolia to normal was necessary.
Of course, Nolan would not simply watch a person who had originally been normal fall down the wrong path because of the Stellaron's influence. If he could save her, he naturally would.
Before Cocolia could speak, Nolan stepped in front of her and granted her the ability Divine Maiden's Purity.
It purified all negative conditions and easily removed the Stellaron's lingering influence on her body and mind.
As the Stellaron's power was cleansed, the anger on Cocolia's face visibly softened. She closed her eyes, as if recalling something.
After a long while, she slowly opened them again.
"It seems my will was not firm enough after all. In the end, I was still tempted by the Stellaron."
As Cocolia reflected on the memories of the past few years, it felt like watching a movie where a stranger was playing herself. It was both unfamiliar and strangely familiar.
Under the Stellaron's influence, she had personally shut down research on it, allowed the Fragmentum to erode people's living space, and even hoped that once the Fragmentum swallowed all of Belobog, everyone would descend into a "new world."
Ridiculous.
If everyone became monsters, what kind of new world would that even be?
"How do you feel?" Nolan asked after seeing her calm down significantly.
"It feels like waking up from a dream. Thank you, visitor from beyond the sky."
Cocolia expressed her gratitude to Nolan.
[Cocolia Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You. Obtained 920 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.4 (320/400)]
Looking at the notification on his character panel, Nolan was not surprised. After helping her so much, any normal person would develop goodwill toward him.
After thinking for a moment, he asked:
"So now that you've recovered, what are your plans going forward?"
"I plan to correct some of the mistakes I made over these past years, and then abdicate. I am no longer suitable to continue serving as the Supreme Guardian."
Having awakened from the Stellaron's influence, Cocolia felt deep guilt toward Belobog.
She did not believe she was still qualified to remain as the Supreme Guardian. However, she also could not leave the mess she had created unresolved.
She needed to clean it up herself before stepping down.
She could not leave such a disaster for the next Guardian to handle.
"Abdicate? And to whom?" Nolan raised an eyebrow. He had actually wanted to discuss cooperation between Belobog and the Sweet Flower Merchant Association with her.
"My adopted daughter. For many years I have been training her to become the next Supreme Guardian. She is still somewhat inexperienced now, but after taking the position and gaining practical experience for some time, she will be fully capable."
Cocolia did not hide this from Nolan.
"Hmm? Your daughter wouldn't happen to be named Bronya, would she?"
The fact that Cocolia really had a daughter made Nolan curious.
"You've met her?"
Cocolia was also a little surprised that this visitor from beyond the sky knew her name.
So it really is her…
While surprised, Nolan also felt that it made perfect sense somehow. At the same time, he was curious to see whether this Bronya looked similar to the Bronya from Honkai Impact 3rd.
If Cocolia believed she was capable of succeeding the Supreme Guardian, she must already be an adult.
If she really resembled the Bronya from Honkai Impact 3rd, then if he brought Silver Wolf here one day, people might even mistake her for a long-lost younger sister.
While letting his thoughts wander, Nolan shook his head and said:
"No, I haven't met her."
He did not hide anything either. He mentioned that on another planet he had met someone who looked exactly like her, and that person also had an adopted daughter named Bronya.
Cocolia could not help but sigh at how wondrous the universe was.
"However, I hope you don't step down too soon. I'd like to discuss a cooperation with you."
Nolan explained his plan to develop the Sweet Flower Merchant Association here.
"That works perfectly. I can let my daughter take responsibility for this matter. When she completes it successfully, it will be the right time for her to take over as the Supreme Guardian. By then, the people of Belobog will likely recognize her as well."
Naturally, Cocolia had no reason to refuse something that could help Belobog.
"That sounds good too."
Nolan agreed with the idea. He planned to talk with Ningguang later and have her arrange the relevant matters when she had time.
After helping Cocolia remove the Stellaron's lingering influence and discussing cooperation, some time had passed. Nolan then went to find Stelle and March 7th.
At this moment, they were strolling around the Administrative District with Welt under Gepard's escort. Nolan quickly went over and joined them.
By evening, the group rented several rooms at the Goethe Hotel in the Administrative District. After all, they would need quite some time to explore this planet.
They could not keep troubling Nolan to ferry them back and forth to the Astral Express every time.
Night fell, and Belobog was brightly illuminated.
After having dinner at the Goethe Hotel, everyone returned to their rooms to rest. When Nolan returned to his rented room, he left the Sword God of Lumine behind in case someone came looking for him, then returned to the Wonderland Space.
The time difference between Jarilo-VI and Teyvat was less than half an hour, so when he returned to the Wonderland Space it was roughly the same time.
Soon, Stelle also came back. After spending almost the entire day with her and March 7th, their affection toward him had increased quite a bit:
[March 7th's Current Affection Level Toward You: Lv.7 (695/700)]
[Stelle's Current Affection Level Toward You: Lv.9 (721/900)]
Stelle now only needed a little over a hundred more affection points to reach the maximum level, which would take roughly three hours. If he spent some time with her tonight, it should be enough.
Maybe he could play some games with her?
While Nolan was thinking about how to spend time with Stelle, he suddenly heard her say:
"We walked around outside all day. I'm going to take a shower first."
"Me too. Shall we go together?" Nolan replied calmly.
"Sure."
Stelle did not think anything was strange. After all, she had often seen Nolan bathing together with the other girls. At those times she usually stayed behind playing games with Fischl and the others, so she had never joined them.
The two soon went upstairs to the changing room. Without any concern for who might be watching, Stelle began taking off her clothes.
First her coat and short boots, then her white top and leather skirt.
Before long, she was left wearing only her undergarments and white triangle underwear.
Seeing this, Nolan coughed lightly and reminded her:
"There's a difference between men and women. You shouldn't be this casual in front of others."
"I know that. But it should be fine with you, right? I often see you bathing with everyone anyway."
Stelle reached behind her to unfasten her undergarment and set it aside, then looked at Nolan and reached toward him.
"You should hurry and take yours off too. I want to see what the difference between us is."
"Wait, wait, let me do it myself."
Nolan stopped her. Being touched all over by a girl like that felt a bit strange to him.
Soon, Nolan changed out of his clothes and prepared to head toward the hot spring pool. Suddenly, Stelle bent down, supporting herself on her knees as she leaned closer, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"So this is the difference between us? But what's it for?"
"What's it for? Want to see for yourself?" Nolan raised an eyebrow with a faint smile.
"Oh? Sure."
Stelle did not think much about it and nodded instinctively. Because she was standing very close, their lips brushed together.
Soon after, she felt the back of her head being held as her mouth was gently opened. Her eyes widened, and she instinctively crouched down, holding onto Nolan for balance.
More than ten minutes later, Stelle began to feel uncomfortable and lightly tapped him to signal that he should let her go. After a while, Nolan finally did.
Stelle coughed softly and sat down on the floor, wiping the corner of her mouth as she looked at him in confusion.
"What was that for?"
"Weren't you curious? That was just preparation. Now comes the part where it really serves its purpose."
Nolan crouched down, gently holding Stelle's fair ankle and lifting her legs. Because of the shift in her center of gravity, she had no choice but to lie back on the floor.
Her pale calves and thighs pressed together as her legs bent upward against her body, then parted to the sides.
Soon afterward, her gaze grew hazy, and her lips parted slightly as she breathed softly.
After quite some time, Nolan suddenly saw a notification appear on the character panel:
[Stelle Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You. Obtained 820 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.10 (Max)]
As expected, while they were together, Stelle's remaining affection points were quickly filled.
Feeling delighted, Nolan became even more affectionate with her. Soon another notification appeared:
[Through sincere feelings and persistent effort, your destiny has become deeply intertwined with that of someone who once had no connection with you. From now on, the girl's star will shine together with yours. Ability obtained: Galactic Baseballer.]
Oh? Baseballer?
Stelle's weapon was indeed a baseball bat.
Holding Stelle in his arms, Nolan carried her toward the hot spring pool while examining the information about the newly obtained skill:
[ Galactic Baseballer:
Rule Break: When this trait is activated, your attacks can nullify any rule or power. If the rule or power is continuous in nature, it can be broken for up to "the sum of both parties' levels" seconds.
Team Core: When acting together with others, you can receive the power of your teammates. The maximum number of teammates whose power can be borrowed is "the sum of both parties' levels."
Desperate Turnaround: When placed in a desperate situation, you automatically gain an ability capable of turning the tide. The number of such abilities is limited to "the sum of both parties' levels." ]
Three effects?
Breaking rules and powers, gaining buffs from teammates, and even turning the tide in desperate situations…
Nolan carried Stelle into the hot spring pool and let her sit astride him. As he absorbed the information about the skill, he could not help but marvel at how absurdly powerful it was.
Especially the final effect, Desperate Turnaround.
Wasn't that basically the ability to never lose no matter what?
All Nolan could say was that abilities like this were always welcome.
(End of Chapter)
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