"It's already noon, and I'm feeling a bit hungry. How about you two prepare lunch?"
Nolan sat up from his lying position, adjusting himself between Eula and Amber, rubbing his stomach as he spoke.
After spending so much time dealing with that raven, he was indeed feeling a little hungry.
"You're right! Cooking is also part of a maid's duty. Hehe, Eula, let's go prepare lunch!"
Amber's fair face lit up with a smile, eager to show off her skills in the kitchen.
"Ahem, Amber, I'll handle lunch by myself. As maids, one of us must always stay by the master's side to follow his instructions."
Eula, wearing long black silk gloves, gently curled her right hand into a fist and placed it near her lips as she lightly coughed.
As Amber's friend, she had accompanied her on patrols before and had personally witnessed just how disastrous Amber's cooking skills were.
Burnt meat was a common sight, and even something as simple as soup could result in billowing black smoke.
Anyone who didn't know better might think the city was under attack and that signal flares had been lit.
There was absolutely no way she was letting Amber into the kitchen—she would handle it herself.
"Hmm, that does make some sense."
Amber thought about it for a moment and realized Eula had a point.
A maid should always remain by the master's side to respond to his commands. After a moment of consideration, she nodded and said:
"Alright then, Eula, you go prepare lunch. I'll stay here and keep the Honorary Knight—cough, I mean, 'Master'—company!"
She even made a slight correction to how she addressed Nolan.
Seeing Amber didn't insist, Eula smiled and nodded before heading toward the kitchen.
Although she was the eldest daughter of the Lawrence family, she wasn't the type of noble lady who expected to be waited on hand and foot.
She had some experience in cooking, after all.
With Eula off to prepare lunch, Amber turned her attention to Nolan and flashed a bright smile.
"So, Master, would you like me to continue your massage?"
Looking at the cheerful and adorable Amber, Nolan smiled cunningly as an idea formed in his mind.
"After that long massage, I'm feeling much more relaxed. Before eating, I'd like to do some exercise—just to build up an appetite."
"Got it! I'll go get you a towel!"
Amber nodded in understanding. Exercise meant sweating, and as a maid, she had to be there to wipe his sweat and take care of any requests he had.
After Amber went to the bathroom to fetch a towel, Nolan led her to the "Gravity Training Ground" inside the Wonderland.
Calling it a "training ground" was a bit of an exaggeration—it was just an empty space without any equipment.
However, thanks to a small fragment of the "Floating Stone," which granted the area a controllable gravitational field, the space had the unique ability to adjust gravity. Not using it would be a waste.
A moderate-sized area had been left open behind the left wing of the house for this purpose. When practicing swordsmanship, adjusting gravity could significantly enhance training results.
Speaking of which, the general's favorability toward him had already reached level five, which was beyond the level of an ordinary friend.
As long as he didn't provoke her dislike, she wouldn't harbor any ill intentions toward him.
Later in the afternoon, when he assisted Ei in studying the power of time, he could invite her to the Gravity Training Ground to train Lumine in swordsmanship. That would speed up progress considerably.
And when it came time to learn the "Musou no Hitotachi," this would be the perfect place for training.
If the "Eternity" within the One Mind Pure Land discovered that time in the Wonderland was eternal and decided to stay, that would be even better!
After all, "the one closest to the water gets the moon first"—having her around would make increasing favorability much easier.
This had been his plan for a long time, and now was the perfect opportunity to put it into action!
"Hmm? There's nothing here. How are you going to train?"
Amber curiously looked at Nolan.
"Like this."
Nolan smiled lightly and began adjusting the gravity.
Starting at normal gravity, he gradually increased it—1.1 times, then 1.2 times...
"Huh? What's going on?"
Amber immediately noticed the change. Her body felt heavier, and even breathing became more difficult.
"I can control the gravity here, increasing it up to ten times. Just standing here is already a form of training—no equipment needed."
Nolan increased the gravity to 1.5 times but stopped when he noticed Amber struggling a little.
As a Vision wielder of considerable strength, Amber wouldn't have trouble with 1.5x gravity, but she still needed time to adjust. Sudden changes could put too much strain on the body.
"I see... That's amazing."
Amber took a few deep breaths, slowly adjusting to the weight.
"How about walking a couple of laps to get used to it? Once you're ready, I'll increase it again—I'm not even warmed up yet."
Nolan smiled.
Honestly, even at ten times gravity, he wouldn't have much trouble, and the training effect wouldn't be that significant.
His real reason for coming here was simple—once Amber got tired from walking and nearly collapsed, he could catch her at the perfect moment, letting her fall right into his arms!
A flawless plan, one that was natural and impossible for Amber to notice in advance.
"Alright! Let me get used to it first—I won't slow down your training!"
Amber patted her partially exposed, fair chest, full of confidence.
The current gravity didn't pose much of a problem for her. After walking for about another minute, she had already adapted with ease.
Seeing that Amber was handling it quite well, Nolan gradually increased the gravity again.
1.6 times… 1.7 times… 2 times!
At this level, Amber started to feel short of breath again and needed time to adjust.
"You should be fine, right? Just take your time and get used to it."
Nolan smiled as he spoke.
"Mm," Amber responded between breaths. The two-times gravity was definitely putting a strain on her, but it wasn't unbearable.
She just needed a little more time to adapt.
With that in mind, Amber began taking heavy steps, slowly walking across the training ground.
After about two minutes, she no longer felt exhausted and had fully adapted to the doubled gravity.
But after just a few more steps, she started feeling fatigued again—before she could even stay near Nolan and listen to his instructions, exhaustion was already creeping up on her.
It felt as if she had just gone through an intense battle, sweat continuously seeping out from her body.
"I think this level of gravity is enough for a warm-up. I'll just train like this for now."
Nolan picked up his Moonlight Heavy Sword and began practicing basic swings.
It was just some light exercise before a meal—there was no need to push himself too hard.
Besides, that wasn't his real goal.
As this thought crossed his mind, he glanced at Amber from the corner of his eye and noticed that she was gradually getting exhausted.
After all, under twice the normal gravity, just standing still was practically the same as continuously running.
Naturally, staying in this state for too long would lead to fatigue.
A few minutes later, Nolan noticed that Amber's shirt around her lower abdomen was soaked with sweat. It seemed like it was about time to take a break.
Pretending to be exhausted himself, he set down his Moonlight GreatSword, let out a small pant, and turned to the girl beside him.
"Phew… I'm beat. Amber, can you help me wipe the sweat off my forehead?"
"Sure, no problem."
Amber nodded and picked up the dry towel in her hands. Her legs, wrapped in white over-the-knee stockings, moved forward with noticeable heaviness as she walked up to Nolan.
Naturally, she started wiping from the top. Lifting her arms, she reached out with the towel toward Nolan's forehead.
However, after standing under twice the gravity for so long, Amber was already quite exhausted. The moment she raised her arms, she immediately felt an overwhelming weight dragging them down.
Holding the towel felt like lifting a dumbbell straight out in front of her—her arms started trembling.
Unable to hold on any longer, her arms slowly drooped down, completely drained of strength.
And as soon as she lowered them, the towel slipped from her grasp. Instinctively, she bent forward to pick it up.
But under the doubled gravity, Amber lost her balance. Her body tilted forward, and before she could react, she fell straight into Nolan's chest.
… What a great opportunity!
Feigning exhaustion, Nolan let himself stumble backward from the impact. His knees buckled, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around Amber as they both tumbled to the ground.
"Ah!" Amber yelped in surprise.
Before she knew it, she was lying in Nolan's arms, the two of them sprawled on the floor.
Soft and warm…
Nolan was thrilled inside but kept up the act of someone who had taken a painful fall.
"Hey, Honorary Knight, are you okay?" Amber asked with concern.
She braced herself against the ground, attempting to get up, only to realize that after staying under double gravity for so long, she was too weak to support herself.
She couldn't push herself up and had no choice but to remain pressed against Nolan.
"I'm fine, just out of strength right now. I can't get up," Nolan reassured her with a smile before attempting to push himself off the ground—only to continue pretending he was too weak to move.
With a helpless tone, he said, "Looks like we'll just have to lie here for a while and recover some energy before getting up."
"Phew, as long as you're okay. And… thanks for catching me!" Amber sighed in relief before thanking him sincerely.
[Amber Has Developed Good Feelings Toward You. Obtained 230 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.8 (600/800)]
Seeing the notification pop up on his status screen, Nolan couldn't help but smile. That little staged fall was totally worth it—he actually gained affection points!
Since neither of them could get up for the time being, Amber could only remain lying on top of Nolan.
Apart from the slight pressure on her chest, the real issue was how… intimate their position was.
After all, a girl lying on top of a guy like this—it was something only couples would do.
Realizing this, Amber's cheeks reddened slightly.
Nolan had no idea what Amber was thinking. He simply enjoyed the warmth and softness in his embrace.
Two minutes later, Amber felt that she had regained some strength, though not enough to push herself up completely. She looked at Nolan, who was far stronger than her, and asked:
"Have you recovered? Can you get up now?"
"Not yet, just a little more," Nolan shook his head.
In truth, he wasn't weak at all—he just didn't want to get up yet. He wanted to hold Amber a little longer.
"Oh…"
Amber instinctively nodded, but then a strange feeling crept up on her.
Wait a minute… She had already recovered a fair amount of strength, yet Nolan—who was way stronger than her—hadn't?
The more she thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.
Wasn't Nolan able to control the gravity in this place?
If that was the case, then why hadn't he adjusted it back to normal? That way, they wouldn't have fallen in the first place, and they wouldn't have to stay in this awkward position!
This guy… could he be doing this on purpose?
As soon as the thought crossed Amber's mind, she was almost certain—Nolan was deliberately not getting up!
And now that she thought about it, maybe that fall earlier was intentional too!
The reason? It was obvious.
After spending so much time with him, Amber knew full well that Nolan was a flirt.
With so many girls living in his Wonderland, and her own ability to travel between stars, there was no way she wouldn't be aware of it.
The only reason he was still lying there was because he wanted to take advantage of her!
Hmph, this shameless guy… I already know what you're up to…
Feeling the warmth of his body beneath her, Amber's cheeks flushed involuntarily.
If she were to date someone… it would probably be this guy, right?
They had known each other for a long time, and she did have a good impression of him.
Not to mention, he was incredibly strong and had made great contributions to Mondstadt as the Honorary Knight.
In every aspect, he was outstanding, and overall, they got along quite well.
If she were to choose a boyfriend, Nolan… didn't seem like a bad option.
This thought made Amber's mind a little restless.
So instead of exposing Nolan's little scheme, she simply remained lying on top of him, taking the moment to calm herself.
[Amber Has Developed Good Feelings Toward You. Obtained 320 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (120/900)]
Nolan was slightly surprised to see the affection notification pop up again.
Looking over at Amber, he found that she was staring at him too.
The moment their eyes met, she reacted like a startled bunny—her face turned red, and she quickly looked away.
Feeling her heartbeat suddenly accelerate, Nolan started to realize what was happening—Amber was beginning to feel that kind of way about him!
Looks like my charm isn't too bad after all…
Smiling slightly, he reached out with his right hand, feeling around the floor.
His fingers brushed against Amber's hand, and taking the opportunity, he quietly intertwined his fingers with hers.
He could instantly feel her heartbeat quicken again. She instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but when she didn't succeed, she simply gave up.
Amber said nothing.
Nolan also stayed silent, simply squeezing her hand gently, giving her time to process everything.
"Amber, where did you guys go?"
At that moment, Eula's voice echoed through the hall.
Amber, whose mind was already in disarray, was startled.
She instinctively tried to get up, only to forget that the doubled gravity was still in effect.
Halfway through, she lost her strength and fell back down—crashing right into Nolan again.
"Ah!"
Amber let out a yelp of pain.
Falling under two times the normal gravity wasn't light, even if she landed on Nolan, the impact still hurt.
Especially her chest, which was tightly wrapped in her maid outfit…
"Uh… Amber, are you okay?" Nolan asked with concern.
"I-I'm fine…" Amber wanted to rub the sore spot but quickly realized she was still lying on top of Nolan, making it impossible.
Frustrated, she snapped, "Damn it, you shameless guy, hurry up and turn the gravity back to normal!"
"…"
Nolan felt a bit embarrassed—seemed like Amber had completely seen through his little trick.
With a nod, he replied, "Alright, I'll fix it right away."
"You two… what are you secretly doing here?!"
Before he could even act, Eula followed Amber's voice and arrived at the training ground—only to be greeted by the sight of the two of them pressed up against each other!
---
(End of Chapter)
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