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[Genshin Impact] Chapter 241: Scent of Spring
🕑 Added 2024-08-25 15:30:01 +0000 UTC"All merchants sweet-talk their customers like this," Paimon said, crossing her arms and eyeing the chubby merchant in front of her with suspicion.
"Hey, I'm different from those people," Shitou waved his hand dismissively.
"If you don’t believe me, ask the old lady selling kites across the street. She'll tell you that my shop, Jade Mystery, has never had any trouble with customers."
"Hmph, if the goods are good, just take them out and let us see. We're looking for a batch of top-quality Noctilucous Jade," Paimon said, clearly misquoting an old saying but making her point clear.
"Alright, I won’t disappoint you!" Shitou immediately brought out a batch of recently acquired stones.
"These are samples from a newly mined batch of Noctilucous Jade from a quarry near Mingyun Village. Take a look—they're large and intact," the chubby merchant said, placing the stone on a cloth-covered table and pushing it toward Nolan and the others.
"For Noctilucous Jade, size and integrity aren’t necessarily the most important factors. Could you shave off a small piece for us to inspect?" Nolan picked up the stone and examined it closely before deciding to try Zhongli's recommended method.
"Oh? You folks seem to know your stuff," Shitou remarked, slightly surprised as he glanced at the group. "Of course, I can do that."
Based on his experience, these Noctilucous Jade stones were of excellent quality, and he doubted these young adventurers would notice anything amiss. So, he carefully shaved off a tiny piece, just enough to avoid any significant loss.
After all, Noctilucous Jade was a valuable stone used for night illumination, and he didn’t want to seem stingy!
"Is this a radish slice? It's so thin!" Paimon remarked with some disdain as she looked at the nearly transparent sliver of stone.
"Hehe, forgive me, forgive me. Noctilucous Jade is quite valuable, so I can't afford to give away too much," Shitou replied nonchalantly.
"Alright," Nolan chuckled, understanding that getting any sample at all was already fortunate. They couldn't ask for more.
According to the game’s plot, a slice of Noctilucous Jade this thin shouldn’t be exposed directly to a fire element; instead, it needed to be tested by boiling in water to assess its luminosity.
And that’s exactly what they did.
The process was simple, and there was no need to go through the hassle of traveling to the Hilichurl pot in Dadaupa Gorge as in the game. As adventurers, Lumine already had a cooking pot and water stored in her inventory.
They moved to a nearby corner, and with Nolan’s Delusion, they used a fire element to boil a pot of hot water. Paimon then placed the Noctilucous Jade slice into the water.
In just a short time, the stone began to emit a faint blue glow.
"It doesn’t seem too bright; this might not be of the highest quality," Lumine mused, pressing her pale fingers against her lower lip in thought.
"Let's ask the shopkeeper if he has any other batches of Noctilucous Jade," Nolan suggested, also finding the glow a bit dim.
Seeing that Nolan and the others were serious about purchasing a large quantity of Noctilucous Jade, Shitou agreed to their request.
This time, he shaved off a small piece from two other batches of Noctilucous Jade.
After thanking him, Nolan returned to the corner to test the brightness of the stones again, or more precisely, their affinity with the fire element.
In this test, he placed all three Noctilucous Jade slices into the pot simultaneously, making it easier to compare their luminosity.
"Bubbling!"
The water in the pot began to boil, and the Noctilucous Jade slices gradually emitted a faint blue light. Compared to the first piece, the second slice appeared even dimmer.
But the third slice of Noctilucous Jade was even brighter than the other two combined!
"This must be the one! The light it emits is as bright as a candle, so it has to be a high-quality Noctilucous Jade!" Paimon said, her tone tinged with excitement.
"Yeah, let's go ask the shopkeeper for more from the same batch," Nolan nodded in agreement.
Things went smoothly from there, and they managed to buy enough Noctilucous Jade from the chubby shopkeeper.
When he learned that the jade was for the Rite of Parting for the Geo Archon, he even gave them a 20% discount, though it still cost 160,000 Mora.
The shopkeeper initially wanted to give it to them for free, but Nolan and the others politely declined. They appreciated his generosity but couldn't accept such a large amount of Noctilucous Jade without paying.
So they settled on the discounted price.
Of course, this wasn’t Nolan and the others’ own money; it was funded by Childe, who, as always, spared no expense when it came to maintaining good relationships. It was said that Childe also sponsored other aspects of the Rite of Parting.
After handling the Noctilucous Jade, Nolan and his companions made their way to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
It wasn’t long after crossing the wooden arch bridge that they arrived, and at that moment, Zhongli had just returned after buying the Silk Flowers.
"Oh? It seems you’re ready as well," Zhongli remarked, nodding as he saw them carrying a box of Noctilucous Jade.
"That's right, we’ve got the high-quality Noctilucous Jade here. So, is there anything else we need to do?" Paimon asked with a smile.
"Yes, just leave the materials here. Someone from the parlor will take them to the jeweler to be crafted into the ceremonial items needed for the rite.
"Now, the only remaining task is to turn the Silk Flowers into Perfume," Zhongli calmly explained, pressing a finger to his chin.
"Perfume? Why do we need that?" Paimon asked, puzzled.
"It's for the offering to the gods," Zhongli briefly explained. "Among the people I know, none are skilled in making Perfume by hand, so I’ll need to trouble you to seek help from the ladies in the city who enjoy such crafts."
"Not surprising, coming from the consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. You seem to know a lot of wealthy people," Paimon said enviously, then spun halfway around in midair to look at Lumine.
"Speaking of which, you’re a girl too. Do you know how to make Perfume?" Paimon asked.
"I’m fine with cooking, but I’ve never tried making Perfume," Lumine replied, shaking her head as her golden hair swayed slightly. "What about you, Paimon?"
She smiled and looked at the small floating companion.
"Uh, Paimon don’t know either," Paimon admitted, rubbing the metal crown floating above her head, a little embarrassed.
"We don’t know many girls in Liyue Harbor. How about we ask Katheryne at the Adventurers' Guild?" Lumine suggested after thinking for a moment.
Nolan had no objections; making Perfume wasn’t exactly his forte.
However, he remembered that in the game’s storyline, they had asked Ying'er, who would become Timaeus's future girlfriend, to make it. He vaguely recalled that she was located on a street near the Adventurers' Guild, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find her.
(T/N: Lucky Timaeus Bastard!!)
“Alright, go ahead. Here are three types of Silk Flowers: ‘Golden House Bliss,’ ‘Mountain Shade Splendor,’ and ‘Ethereal Fairy Tides.’ You’ll need to use them to make three different kinds of Perfume,” Zhongli said, handing a wooden box containing the Silk Flowers to Nolan.
“Wow, I didn’t know there were so many types of Silk Flowers!” Paimon exclaimed in surprise.
“Heh, of course. It’s getting late now, so by the time you find someone to make the Perfume, it’ll likely be quite late.
“Come to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor with the Perfume tomorrow morning, and we’ll offer it to the Geo Archon at the Statues of The Seven outside the city.
“I can tell you more about the Silk Flowers on the way,” Zhongli said with a soft chuckle.
After leaving Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Lumine stored the Silk Flowers in her inventory, and she, Nolan, and Paimon headed to the Adventurers' Guild. However, they found Katheryne busy settling commissions for adventurers, leaving her unavailable at the moment.
While they were unsure whether to interrupt, Nolan noticed a woman standing next to the guild’s notice board, posting something. If he wasn’t mistaken, she seemed to be Lan, the Branch Master of the Liyue Adventurers' Guild.
“Paimon, it’s time to put your social skills to use,” Nolan said with a smile.
“Alright, alright, you really leave me no choice,” Paimon replied, looking both proud and resigned.
“Hello!” Paimon greeted Lan with a smile.
“What’s up, little one?” Lan asked, surprised to see such a cute, human-like little fairy in the city.
“Hehe, we wanted to ask if you know where we can get some Perfume made?” Paimon explained.
“Perfume? Sorry, I don’t use such things often, so I’m not really sure… But I can ask the other girls in the guild for you,” Lan replied, shaking her head at first.
However, seeing how polite the little fairy was, she was more than willing to offer further help.
Lan asked them to wait a moment and then went inside the Adventurers' Guild reception area. Apart from Katheryne, there were other staff members organizing commission forms and documents.
Soon, Lan returned with an answer, smiling as she said, “If you want someone to make Perfume, you can visit Ying'er at the Scent of Spring. According to the others, her handmade Perfume is quite popular with the girls, and many wealthy young ladies ask her for help with it.”
“Scent of Spring?” Paimon asked, looking puzzled, as she had never heard of the place before.
“Yes, it’s a porcelain shop on the street behind here. You should be able to find it if you look around,” Lan explained.
After hearing this, Nolan thought that while the process was slightly different, they still ended up finding Ying'er at the Scent of Spring, just like in the game.
He nodded and said to Lan, “Thank you. We’ll go look for it now.”
“Alright, good luck,” Lan replied with a smile.
With this lead, Nolan and his companions soon found Scent of Spring on the opposite street. It was a small shop with flower pots outside, giving off various subtle floral scents, making it easy to locate. Inside, a young woman was wiping dust off some porcelain that had been sitting for a while.
“Hello, are you Miss Ying'er?” Paimon asked, continuing her role as the “super diplomat” for Lumine.
“Oh? Has my name, Ying'er, become so well-known that even foreigners have heard of me?” Ying'er replied, surprised.
Nolan, with his Liyue-like appearance, didn’t look like a foreigner, but Lumine's golden hair was quite rare in Liyue, and as for the flying fairy(-type Pokémon hehe~) Paimon, Ying'er couldn’t determine her nationality.
“Yes, we’d like to ask for your help in making some Perfume. It’s for offering to the Geo Archon,” Lumine said with a smile, not denying the assumption.
When Ying'er heard that the Perfume was for the Geo Archon, who had passed away for unknown reasons, her expression turned slightly somber. “So, it’s for the Geo Archon? In that case, I won’t charge you for the labor.”
Although she wasn’t in the business of selling Perfume, her handmade Perfumes were well-known. Those who came to her were either buying porcelain or asking for help in making Perfume.
“No, no, that wouldn’t be right!
“We’re not just buying the Perfume for personal use to remember the Geo Archon.
“It’s for the ‘Rite of Parting,’ and we have a major sponsor, so there’s no need to save money on our behalf. Feel free to charge a higher price!” Paimon said, waving her hands with a smile.
“I see. But even so, as a citizen under the rule of the Geo Archon, it wouldn’t be right to take advantage of this situation. I’ll charge you half price,” Ying'er said, nodding in understanding.
“Alright, that’s fair. Here are the three types of Silk Flowers that need to be made into Perfume,” Lumine said as she took out the box of Silk Flowers Zhongli had bought from her inventory.
“‘Golden House Bliss,’ ‘Mountain Shade Splendor,’ and ‘Ethereal Fairy Tides’… These are all of excellent quality,” Ying'er said as she carefully examined the flowers, acknowledging their high quality.
Then, she joked, “But do you really need so many types of Perfume for the Geo Archon? Or are the extras meant for some special girl?”
As she said this, she looked at Nolan.
She had seen plenty of couples who came together to ask for help making Perfume, and her keen sense told her that this young man and the girl beside him had the atmosphere of a romantic relationship.
“Uh, that’s not it…”
Nolan was about to explain when he suddenly realized that he had never given Lumine or Fischl anything that represented his feelings—no gifts typically exchanged between couples.
Hmm, does this make me a bit of a failure as a boyfriend?
Back on Earth, he hadn’t even held a girl’s hand, and all the dating techniques he had learned were just theory.
Fortunately, after being transported to Teyvat, he awakened the innate talent “Entangling Affection.”
As Fischl and Lumine’s affection for him increased, even if he didn’t behave perfectly, they were incredibly understanding, allowing their relationship to flourish.
Still, he realized he had fallen short in some areas.
He hadn’t even given Fischl or Lumine a single gift to express his feelings. He’d have to find an opportunity to make it up to them—perhaps just like Ying'er suggested, with something as simple as a Perfume, as long as it conveyed his emotions.
But now, with preparations for the Rite of Parting underway, it didn’t seem like the right time.
He’d have to address this later.
“Heh, looks like I was right,” Ying'er said, nodding knowingly as she saw Nolan hesitate.
“Haha, Miss Ying'er makes a good point. I really should give some meaningful gifts to the girls who are willing to be with me.
“But these Perfumes are indeed meant for the Geo Archon. After the three are made, we’ll choose the one the Archon prefers to use for the Rite of Parting,” Nolan explained as he tried to nonchalantly reach for Lumine’s hand.
Sensing his intent, Lumine immediately crossed her arms, leaving him with no chance, and said:
“Hmph, idiot, who cares about your gifts!”
[Lumine Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 150 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (795/900)]
(End of Chapter)
