[Cheat] Chapter 129: Noelle

Zephyr said, “My name is Lumine.”

Lumine gave a silent cry of protest—how dare he run around using her name like that?!

“What a lovely name, cutie. I heard you came from another world?” Lisa asked sweetly.

Zephyr nodded.

Paimon gasped, “Eh? Miss Lisa, you're not surprised or skeptical about that at all?”

“Hmm, not really,” Lisa replied casually. “Visitors from another world aren’t exactly common, but they do exist. It's just that most people don’t know about them. Luckily, I’m not most people.”

Suddenly, Lisa leaned in with interest. “By the way, cutie, can I take a look at your Vision?”

“My Vision? Uh… I don’t have one.”

“You don’t?”

That genuinely caught Lisa’s attention. “But I heard you’ve used Anemo powers before.”

“I can use elemental powers… but I don’t have a Vision.”

Lisa's eyes immediately lit up like she was looking at a rare species. “No Vision, but you can use elemental powers… and you’re from another world. Cutie, you’re getting more and more fascinating.”

“What… what are you trying to do?”

Zephyr instinctively backed away. Was this 1000 Elemental Mastery, 14k Overload damage woman thinking some unholy thoughts about him?

Let it be known, he had already decided to dedicate himself to the noble five-star Pyro Hu Tao!

Don’t ask why. Let’s just say—he had loved and lost.

“Don’t look so nervous, cutie I’m not going to eat you” Lisa purred.

Zephyr blurted out, “Sorry, my noble five-star Pyro queen just gave me a task—I need to go now!”

“Tasks never end, you know. Why not stay a bit and… chat with me?”

Good heavens, the classic line.

“Next time, I promise!” he shouted and darted away.

Watching him flee, Lisa leaned against the doorframe, arms folded, and smirked. “Such a cute little knight. I’m getting more and more interested in you.”

Unlike many others in Teyvat, Lisa's journey to obtaining a Vision was nothing short of legendary. While most others earned their Visions through endless effort and desperate yearning, Lisa had simply thought, “Hmm, this thing seems useful,” and then… poof, she got one.

After receiving her Vision, Lisa did indeed gain the knowledge she sought—but she also discovered the hidden, ominous truths behind that knowledge. The gods, for reasons unknown, gave people the key to change everything… but never disclosed the price.

It made Lisa wary of the truth. The Vision hanging from her neck felt less like a gift and more like a sweetly scented abyss, always lingering.

So occasionally, Lisa would share her insights with people she found interesting. Maybe, deep down, she was hoping someone would one day uncover the truth behind the Visions.

And now… such a person might have appeared.

…

After leaving, Zephyr suddenly remembered—he hadn't done his daily round of “100,000 Whys.” So, he opened his inventory and began.

> Q: Why do mosquitoes like people who wear dark-colored clothing?

“…How would I know that? I didn’t even know mosquitoes preferred dark clothes.”

> Answer:

Mosquitoes prefer dim light. They dislike both complete darkness and intense brightness. Due to differences in species, some mosquitoes, like the Aedes, are active in daylight, while Culex and Anopheles are active around dusk or dawn. Regardless, they all tend to avoid strong light. Dark-colored clothes such as navy, brown, or black reflect less light, making them more suitable for the mosquitoes’ preferences. Light-colored clothing reflects more light and can repel them. Thus, people wearing darker clothes are more likely to get bitten.

“Learned something new—leveled up my brain cheese.” With that out of the way, Zephyr arrived at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlorcough, no, the Branch Hall of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

“You’re finally here!” Hu Tao puffed her cheeks in annoyance.

He wasn’t joking when he said Hu Tao had something for him—she had actually contacted him earlier.

Zephyr said, “Hey, not my fault! It’s Paimon’s—she insisted on exploring the Knights of Favonius’ second floor, and that got me yelled at by Jean.”

Paimon: ???

“You’re the one who wanted to go upstairs!”

Hu Tao sighed. “I can’t tell if you two get along or not. Sometimes you’re so sticky you’re practically glued together, and other times you bicker like rivals.”

Paimon huffed, “Traveler and Paimon get along great! But with this guy? Ugh, he always makes Paimon mad!”

“Hey! Lumine and I have a good relationship too!”

So… who was the real problem?

Zephyr and Paimon slowly turned their eyes to Lumine. (T/N: Huh, How???)

Lumine’s eyelid twitched. Why me? I’m speechless.

Hu Tao clapped her hands. “Alright, enough. Let’s get back to work. Just one more week of prep and we’ll be ready to open.”

“A whole week of work?!”

Why was he doing chores in real life and doing them in-game?! Was this some tragic multi-layered suffering?

“Oh? Got a problem with the noble five-star Pyro?” Paimon gloated.

“Hah! I’m still a noble five-star Anemo! I’m not scared of her. Besides, you’re just a one-star sidekick. What are you bragging about?”

“Paimon is not one-star! Paimon is a noble six-star Archon!”

“I believe you. Almost.”

“Ugh!!”

That afternoon was full of busywork. Even Paimon didn’t escape, flitting up and down between floors to deliver things.

“Traveler, Paimon don’t think this is sustainable…”

“Paimon, your thoughts?”

“Paimon think… we should run.”

“If we run, we’ll probably get beaten up tonight by the noble five-star Pyro.”

“No worries. Just call in your four-star Pyro from home and have her battle it out.”

“Seriously? She’s just a four-star Pyro! How’s she supposed to fight a five-star with top-tier artifacts?!”

“Uh…”

Paimon took a deep breath. “At times like this, Paimon think it’s time we tested that Mondstadt rumor.”

“What rumor?”

“They say… if you shout ‘Noelle!’ in Mondstadt, a magical maid will appear to help.”

Zephyr’s face turned odd. “You’re seriously calling Noelle over to help with your chores? You good with that?”

“W-Well… Paimon is thinking about you! Isn’t this a great way to trick—uh, I mean contract a free character for your team? Paimon is doing it for your sake!”

“When you put it that way…” Zephyr inhaled deeply.

“Noelle!”

“I’m here.”

A figure suddenly plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ground and leaving a crater. From the dust emerged a young girl in a full maid’s armored outfit.

“May I ask—are you the one who called for me?”

“P-p-p…”

Paimon stared at the hole in the ground, trembling and tongue-tied in shock.

***