After finishing the interview with Charlotte, Nolan looked at her excited expression and couldn't help feeling quite pleased himself.
Just like that—so effortlessly—he had raised Charlotte's affection for him to Level 7. It seemed the combination of the title "Prince of Fontaine" and the specialty "Beloved by Maidens" was working very well.
Nolan thought for a moment, then began assigning an attribute to the title he had just obtained.
With so much Spirituality saved up, letting it sit there unused was simply wasteful.
With twice the normal Spirituality expenditure, a faint spiritual glow appeared over the title. Soon, a new affix emerged—one that removed the limitation where the bonus affection only applied to Fontainians.
Yes—Nolan had purposely spent double Spirituality to guarantee a restriction-removal type affix.
So obtaining the desired effect was easy.
With this, gaining affection from other girls would now give him an additional boost, allowing their affection to reach max level even faster—and in turn letting him unlock their affection-based skills earlier.
After Poisson Town was safely placed down and Charlotte's interview was complete, Navia came over and pulled him and Lumine—currently wielding Geo—along to repair some damaged areas.
After all, even if they placed the entire town as gently as possible, with a town this large there would inevitably be some shaking. And even that small tremor was enough to collapse houses that had long been in disrepair.
Only then did they realize Poisson Town had been lifted together with a thick chunk of ground underneath. So when laid atop the construction site, the whole town sat much higher.
If they didn't deal with this, getting up onto the town would become quite troublesome.
The best way, naturally, was to dig the construction site a bit deeper so the town could settle downward, making its ground level match the surrounding area—or even stick out just a bit. Both were fine.
This way, they didn't have to worry about an unstable foundation. And the soil dug out could be used to fill in the crater where the town originally sat. Very convenient.
And the only one who could handle this kind of massive adjustment in a short time was, of course, Nolan. He never left loose ends for others to clean up. So he raised Poisson Town again, let the Sword God of Lumine hollow out the area beneath, and gently set it down once more.
Looking at how perfectly the town now blended with the surrounding terrain, Nolan couldn't help praising himself—worthy of being me; did a great job this time.
Because of him, a project that would have taken months, maybe over a year, was completed in less than half a day.
The townsfolk enthusiastically insisted that Nolan and the others stay for a celebration feast.
Naturally, Nolan wouldn't refuse such goodwill—while Paimon's eyes sparkled at the mention of a feast.
By the time they left Poisson Town, it was already past noon.
As for the payment for this commission—given the financial situation of both the Spina di Rosula and Poisson Town, they realistically couldn't pay anything close to what this job was worth. And Nolan had taken the job mainly to boost Navia's affection anyway, so he hadn't planned to take any commission fee.
But Lady Navia was insistent—absolutely had to pay something.
So Nolan compromised and asked them to help collect Primogems, saying that future Primogems they gathered could serve as compensation.
An exchange of commission for commission, mutual help—that was enough.
This way he wouldn't drain the Spina di Rosula's funds all at once and stall Poisson Town's economic recovery.
Navia, of course, understood he was looking out for them. And it was also the best arrangement for both the Spina di Rosula and the town.
So while accepting it joyfully, she also developed a bit more affection for him:
[Navia Has Developed Good Feelings Toward You. Obtained 450 Affection Points.
Current Affection Level: Lv.6 (100/600)]
After saying goodbye to Navia and leaving Poisson Town behind, Nolan no longer had any pressing matters. He planned to return to the Wonderland Space and tell the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and the others about the "Mechanical Empire Logistics Base" he found on the gas planet.
He wanted them to study it when they had time—the massive stores of metallic hydrogen needed to be processed as soon as possible.
Leaving it sitting there would be far too wasteful.
After he shared his plan with Lumine and Paimon, they admitted they were also curious about the place. They'd go explore as well once everyone was ready.
But for now, they still wanted to continue adventuring in Fontaine, so Nolan returned to the Wonderland Space alone.
The hall was buzzing with activity—Fischl and Yoimiya were playing Genius Invokation TCG, while Hu Tao and Yun Jin watched intently. The match seemed fierce.
Nolan didn't disturb them and headed upstairs.
As expected, he found the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata in the library. Her long, pure-white hair draped down, lightly covering the snowy-white back revealed through her dress.
As her soul recovered, her appearance was slowly returning to that of a mature, gentle lady.
Last time, she hadn't recovered enough to resume cultivation. Now… she should be ready, right? Nolan wondered as he approached.
She was sitting at the table near the wall, studying the new interstellar knowledge from the "Akasha Interconnect Network." She glanced up briefly at Nolan, then looked back at the projection interface and parted her soft lips:
"Why—did you make another new discovery?"
The Greater Lord often asked Nolan to share what he saw out in the cosmic civilizations. As the God of Wisdom, she was naturally curious about all things unknown.
And judging from his expression, he had indeed found quite a bit.
"Mm. This time I'll need you all to go take a look."
Nolan sat beside her, slipped an arm around her waist, and rested his chin lightly on her shoulder.
"Oh? What happened?"
Feeling her shoulder itch slightly, Rukkhadevata shot him a displeased glance.
Through the soft fabric he stroked her abdomen, his lips brushing the tip of her long, pointed ear before he finally spoke, voice slow and low:
"It's a rather ancient mechanical ruin."
As he described the situation in detail, his hands never stopped roaming over the soft fabric of her dress, kneading and caressing as he talked.
A crimson blush flared across the Dendro Archon's fair cheeks, but she paid no mind to Nolan's hands roving across her body—she only listened to his words in silence.
Several minutes passed before, at last, Nolan finished what he had to say. The Dendro Archon could finally endure no more; she slapped his hand away, tugged at the neckline of her dress that had slipped aside to reveal a generous expanse of snowy skin, and spoke gently:
"A rear logistics base left behind by an empire that once stirred up a cosmic-level disaster, huh… That does sound interesting. When Xianyun and the others return in a bit, let's go have a look."
By "the others," Rukkhadevata meant the scholarly girls of their circle: Xianyun, Lisa, Mona, Sucrose, and Guizhong as well, though Guizhong happened to reside here in the paradise space, so there was no need for her to wait for everyone else to come back from work.
"So, in the meantime… Would you like to train with me?"
Nolan's hands, just brushed aside, slipped again to the Dendro Archon's thighs and gently began to knead.
"...Mm. There are indeed some kinds of knowledge that require practical experience; I'll try it with you." Her cheeks were tinged pink, but the Dendro Archon strove to maintain an air of composure as she replied.
She turned to plant a kiss on Nolan's lips, taking the initiative herself.
Until now, with her soul still recovering, she hadn't had intimate moments with Nolan; instead, she'd spent her days in this wonderland space watching him entwine himself with other girls.
But after so long, just watching, she'd learned plenty.
Savoring the softness of her lips, Nolan gathered Rukkhadevata into his arms, settling her onto his lap while his left hand journeyed down her thigh to caress her fair calf.
He kneaded the soft swell of her calf, then teasingly lifted the hem of her dress, exposing more and more of her snowy, slender legs.
When her skirt was bunched up to her lower belly, the intricately-patterned panties hugging her hips came into view as well.
Nolan's hands continued to roam—stroking the silky-white expanse of thigh, fingertips sometimes brushing against the cottony softness of those lacy panties.
"Mm…" Rukkhadevata murmured with uncertainty as she kissed him, shifting her body and drawing her knees up, pressing her legs together.
This meant it wasn't so easy for Nolan to reach beneath her panties; his right hand switched to caress her hips instead, moving back and forth over the curves of her bottom.
Meanwhile, his left hand tugged the side of her dress down little by little, freeing her snow-pale chest from every last bit of fabric's restraint.
One hand replaced the clothing, covering and kneading her breast; the other slipped into the panties, gently kneading the swell of her bottom.
A few minutes later, sensing Rukkhadevata's breath growing uneven, Nolan got up and guided her to lean facedown across the desk, heaving up her left leg to rest atop it.
Rukkhadevata knew all too well what was coming. Her cheek pressed against the cool surface, hands gripping the bunched skirt at her sides.
Nolan, seeing she was ready, lightly tugged down those white patterned panties.
Half an hour later, he gathered her into his arms to straddle him, her back pressed against the wall.
Time passed; she supported herself on the bookshelf, with Nolan standing behind her. Another half hour went by, and finally, she was slumped in his lap, resting breathlessly against his shoulder.
[Rukkhadevata Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You. Obtained 480 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv. 10 (MAX)]
Noticing the prompt popping up in his character panel, Nolan felt genuinely delighted; that last bit of affection had finally reached its peak!
As he hugged Rukkhadevata, taking a brief rest, another prompt appeared:
[Thanks to your sincere heart and tireless effort, your fate—once never to be intertwined—is now deeply linked. From now on, the girl's star of destiny will shine with yours. New ability acquired: Lord of Trees.]
As expected, maxing out her affection had earned him a new special skill.
Lord of Trees sounded like a tree-related skill, not surprising, since the Dendro Archon was the embodiment of the World Tree itself—of course her affection skill would relate to trees and plants.
With curiosity, he opened up the favor skill to check its full description:
[Lord of Trees: Can connect with plants, inheriting the abilities of the connected species. Can also draw vitality from plants to heal all wounds, and may share received damage with the connected flora. You may connect with up to ("sum of your and her levels") plants at once.]
Gain the traits of plants by connecting with them? If he could link to the World Tree, would that mean he'd get its powers?
That sounded plenty useful.
The universe was vast, surely hiding flora even greater than Teyvat's World Tree—what if one had the power to destroy a universe? Would linking with such a plant grant him the same power?
Wait! Suddenly, Nolan recalled something.
Would the Imaginary Tree count as a plant? Nolan wondered in amazement.
He'd encountered the concept when searching information on the "Genius Club" through the Galactic Peace Network—the very first member, Zandar One Kuwabara, had referred to this theory: the "Imaginary Tree" hypothesis.
This was a cosmological theory widely accepted among today's galactic scholars.
The "Imaginary Tree" theory described all alternate worlds in all time and space as branches of a vast tree. Every limb represented a form of worldly existence; every petal or leaf, the moments those worlds left upon the fabric of time.
The crown drew in unclaimed Imaginary Energy to fuel its growth, so the Imaginary Tree was ever-changing: new shoots sprouting as new worlds formed, leaves falling as worlds faded to ruin.
In the limitless branching of this cosmic tree, unending creations and endings unfolded.
If the Imaginary Tree counted as a plant, and if his maxed-out affection skill let him connect to it, wouldn't that basically grant him dominion over the cosmos?!
Nolan couldn't help but be shaken by this idea.
Though, honestly, it seemed a bit unrealistic—after all, even if the Imaginary Tree really was a plant and could be linked to,
The energy level of the universe was simply inconceivable.
Even if every conscious and inanimate entity in the universe—Aeon included—had all their energy pooled together, it still might not match the cosmos itself.
Because all those things existed within the universe, while the universe contained untold worlds within itself.
And, just as with the other affection skills, this one only worked on targets whose level was no higher than the sum of his and Rukkhadevata's.
The two of them together barely added up to two hundred thirty; the Imaginary Tree, as the universe itself, wouldn't likely be that low-level.
And the cosmos was always drawing in Imaginary Energy and growing without end. Unless there were some way to halt its growth, there shouldn't be any lifeform whose level could keep pace with the universe.
Still, in theory, Nolan had a shot.
What if the Imaginary Tree's level was only 99, and each level after that spanned an unimaginably vast gap—where getting just one more would take infinite time?
Meanwhile, Nolan and the Dendro Archon leveled up fast at first; if each separately reached 50, never mind 51 (which would take forever), but together their total surpassed 99, they could theoretically link to the Imaginary Tree anyway. That, he realized, was the true strength of the affection skill.
After all, humans often said the bonds between people exceeded the universe itself; it seemed only right for a skill acquired through affection to wield such power.
The notion struck Nolan as unintentionally funny.
(End of Chapter)
RedX43's Note:
➤ Want More? Get up to +25 Extra Chapters on Patreon!
➤ [email protected]/RedX43
➤ +400 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!
➤ Thanks for reading! 🙌