Chapter 54 Recuperating

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Volume 4 of the Mondstadt Chapter, Final Chapter: Honorary Knight.
Inside a medical ward at the Favonius Cathedral in Mondstadt, Chen stood quietly by the window, gazing outside. His vacant stare clearly indicated that he was not admiring the scenery, but rather lost in deep thought.
Nearly half a month had passed since that great battle against the Abyss Order. Chen was not entirely sure what had happened afterward, because as massive amounts of abyssal energy surged into his body at the time, he had suffered severe erosion, and his consciousness had gradually blurred.
Until he completely passed out, he still hadn't felt any response from his sealed powers. Evidently, he had been too presumptuous, and in the end, he was only reaping what he had sown!
Even so, Chen knew that if given another choice, he probably would have done the same thing again.
He remembered someone once telling him, "If you love playing the hero so much, you're going to suffer a huge loss sooner or later."
Unfortunately, after all these years, he still hadn't listened to the advice, nor had he managed to correct this fatal "flaw."
However, none of these were the reasons for his absent-mindedness at the moment. What truly concerned him was that just before losing consciousness, he seemed to have vaguely caught sight of a familiar figure.
He wasn't sure if that was just an illusion generated under those circumstances, much like the flickering lantern of impending death. The moment he saw her, he had completely lost consciousness, leaving him no time for a second look.
When he woke up again, he was already in the infirmary of the Favonius Cathedral.
According to the nun who took care of him, Barbara, he had been unconscious for a full seven days and more. Seven days ago, Acting Grand Master Jean herself had brought him to the Favonius Church and asked Barbara to help treat him.
Later, Barbara had someone notify Jean and the others of his awakening. When everyone came to visit him, Chen learned from them what had happened after he passed out.
At that time, everyone worked together to restrain Dvalin, making it easier for Chen to act. Then, before everyone's eyes, the abyssal energy on the Stormterror Dvalin grew less and less, while correspondingly, the abyssal energy on Chen grew more and more, eventually wrapping around his entire body.
As time passed, under Chen's extraction and treatment and the soothing sound of Venti's lyre, Dvalin slowly regained his senses. Realizing that Chen was saving him, he cooperated, gritting his teeth to endure the bone-marrow-sucking pain as he lay flat on the ground without struggling anymore.
Until the very end, the Wind Dragon completely returned to normal, but Chen, who had been severely eroded by the Abyss, rolled off the dragon's back directly, crashed onto the ground, and completely passed out.
The people present were extremely anxious, but even Venti, the Anemo Archon, was helpless in the face of Chen's condition at that time.
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Just as everyone planned to bring Chen back to the City of Mondstadt first and figure out a solution later, at that critical moment, a mysterious figure draped in a black robe descended upon the Starsnatch Cliff.
Seeing the unconscious Chen, she immediately wanted to approach. But facing this unidentified and suddenly appearing mysterious person, everyone was naturally extremely vigilant and stepped forward to block her path.
However, the mysterious person's strength was terrifyingly high, and the power she wielded was extremely peculiar—neither elemental energy nor abyssal energy.
She clearly had no intention of entangling with the crowd and acted mercilessly upon moving, directly and forcefully suppressing everyone, including Venti. Afterward, she walked up to Chen. Amidst everyone's anxious gazes, she simply knelt down and pressed her hand against Chen's chest.
Soon, under the incredulous gazes of everyone, the bizarre abyssal energy that had permeated Chen's entire body vanished bit by bit just like that.
Having finished all this, the person showed no intention of conversing with the group. After gazing at Chen for a little longer, she turned around and left directly.
Later, after Venti's inspection and confirmation, the abyssal energy on Chen had indeed vanished. Only then did everyone heave a sigh of relief.
Afterwards, following a round of discussion, the group still couldn't figure out who the mysterious black-robed person was, so they had to temporarily set the matter aside and plan to bring the unconscious Chen back to Mondstadt for treatment.
On the return journey, they encountered Charles's team, who had failed to make it to Starsnatch Cliff in time for reinforcements. As it turned out, they had been intercepted by the Fatui.
Anfurious, Jean and her companions immediately took action, joining forces with Charles and the others to rout that faction of the Fatui on the spot.
As for why the Fatui intercepted Charles and his group, Jean and the others could easily figure it out.
Long before, the Knights of Favonius had sensed from certain clues that the Fatui seemed to be plotting powers related to the Anemo Archon. Whether it was stealing the Holy Lyre der Himmel or proposing to hunt down the Wind Dragon, both actions served this exact purpose.
Earlier, when collecting the tears of the dragon, due to the tight schedule, their actions could not be deliberately concealed. Clearly, not only the Abyss Order had noticed their movements, but the Fatui had also caught wind of it.
Although the Fatui, like the Abyss Order, did not know their specific plan, from the facts that they were collecting dragon tears and urgently mobilizing troops, they could deduce that an operation against the Wind Dragon was underway.
Regardless of whether they intended to save the Wind Dragon or subjugate Stormterror, it was inevitable for the informed Fatui to meddle and obstruct them. For only if their side failed and Mondstadt perpetually failed to resolve the dragon calamity would the Fatui have sufficient justification to take action against the Wind Dragon.
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Recalling the past, the young man by the window looked up at the blue sky dotted with drifting white clouds, his thoughts drifting afar.
"Xi, is that you?" the young man murmured softly, destined to receive no reply.
"Knock, knock!" At that moment, a sudden knock on the door sounded.
"Please come in," Chen recovered his wits and said.
"Clack."
Following the sound of the door pushing open, Chen turned back to see two lovely maidens walking in. Chen was not surprised by their arrival, as these two came to see him every single day.
Walking in front, wearing a pristine clerical outfit with light golden hair, was the healing priestess Barbara. Perhaps because she knew he was a patient personally brought by Jean, this young priestess placed extraordinary importance on him, coming over personally every morning, noon, and evening to check on his condition.
As for the other girl, dressed in a unique outfit combining armor and a skirt, she was the little maid specifically arranged by Jean to take care of his daily life—Noelle.
Taking advantage of the days he spent recovering from his injuries, Chen had requested Jean for permission to peruse some ancient texts and archives of the Knights of Favonius, and she had agreed.
Consequently, Chen had met Noelle in the Knights' library, who happened to be reading there as well. At the time, Chen, who was not yet very familiar with the library's book distribution, had asked her to help find a book, and the enthusiastic little maid agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Later, when Jean came to the library to visit him, she happened to see the two of them chatting animatedly. Realizing that Chen's daily needs required care during his recuperation and not wanting to constantly trouble Barbara, she assigned Noelle the task of taking care of the "great hero who saved Mondstadt."
And thus, Noelle had become his exclusive maid during this period...
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