Because his perception ability had been enhanced by Arkz, Amu could sense that someone was watching him even while asleep.
Sensing no hostility, Amu had intended to pretend he hadn't noticed and continue sleeping, but he discovered the two people were actually circling around him, scrutinizing him up and down as if he were some kind of treasure.
Amu could only reluctantly wake up.
Ellin's mother pointed at the Patrol Team badge on Amu's chest and whispered, "Ellin, look, this little fellow is even a member of the Patrol Team."
Ellin had heard of the Patrol Team before. Because Mondstadt was vast and sparsely populated, although the Knights of Favonius were powerful, they couldn't cover every aspect, which is why the system of the Patrol Team developed.
In human settlements far from Mondstadt City, even if a monster attack truly occurred, the Knights of Favonius couldn't arrive in time. To prevent such tragedies from happening,
The Knights of Favonius would dispatch an experienced Knight to be stationed there, then select local personnel to form a Patrol Team. After training by the Knight, such a Patrol Team would be sufficient to resolve most difficulties encountered by these settlements.
For problems that even the Patrol Team struggled to solve, they could also serve to stall for time, allowing the people from the Knights of Favonius to arrive promptly.
And to ensure the Patrol Team could operate normally, the Knights of Favonius would also pay salaries to the Patrol Team members, so the Patrol Team was considered a semi-official organization. Many people also successfully joined the Knights of Favonius through assessment based on their status as Patrol Team members each year.
Ellin: "They can actually join the Patrol Team? That's amazing."
Hearing Ellin's praise, Amu immediately stopped pretending to sleep. He excitedly jumped down from the wooden rack and expressed his thanks to the two.
Amu waved his hand and called over a wooden puppet subordinate to take over his post. The job of'Scarecrow' couldn't be vacant, otherwise, it would be disastrous if the crops in the farm were eaten by crows.
Compared to the slacking Amu, this newly appointed scarecrow was extremely dedicated, immediately driving away any crows as soon as their presence was detected.
Ordinary scarecrows could only fool mindless birds. Some clever birds, like crows, could distinguish the difference between a scarecrow and a real person and were not afraid of scarecrows at all. Therefore, dealing with such birds required manual chasing.
To thank Ellin for her praise, Amu decided to act as a guide and lead the two to tour the farm.
Perhaps compared to Arkz, the owner of the farm, the wooden puppets like Amu were more familiar with the farm. They knew better than Arkz where it was interesting and where it was fun.
Following Amu, Ellin and her mother watered the tender green sprouts together, weeded, caught grasshoppers, and caught frogs together, and even dug for treasure together in the farm.
The secret that there was treasure buried in the farm's soil was discovered by Amu. Yesterday, while Arkz was out completing commissions, the bored Amu was wandering around the farm and discovered that treasures were actually buried under the soil where earthworms moved.
These treasures included stones with strange patterns, bones with odd appearances, broken daggers, strange masks, and mysterious seeds...
When Arkz discovered that none of the treasures Amu dug up were valuable, he told Amu to just toss them into a box for now.
Under Amu's guidance, Ellin and her mother excitedly began their treasure hunting journey.
Because earthworms' colors were very close to the soil, it was very difficult to discover the treasure without sufficient eyesight or luck.
Fortunately, they had the treasure-hunting expert Amu present, so finding the earthworm markings that indicated buried treasure was not a problem at all. Digging up the treasure, however, was like opening a treasure chest—only with very good luck could one dig up something useful; most discoveries were worthless souvenirs.
Ellin's mother dug up a strange mask, and Ellin dug up a broken dagger.
Although they didn't look valuable, both of them were very happy.
After asking Arkz, Amu happily told the two that they could take these items back as souvenirs.
Time flew by quickly, and the treasure hunting journey was about to end because Arkz had already prepared lunch. The enticing aroma began to spread across the farm, making the already hungry Ellin and her mother extremely excited.
Over at the guest cabin, Herman diligently drank the last cup of lemon black tea. Although the tea was delicious, he really couldn't handle drinking so much.
Originally, this pot of tea was enough for all eight members of the Patrol Team to enjoy completely, so the quantity was naturally not small, but Herman alone drank more than half the pot. If it weren't for the fact that this tea wouldn't enter the stomach until the body was repaired, Herman would have thrown up long ago.
After drinking so much, the effect was quite gratifying.
The injury on Herman's arm had mostly healed, and his strength had recovered to seventy to eighty percent of his peak, making taking down a Mitachurl no problem.
Herman, as a father, couldn't be fooled by Ellin's little thoughts. Ellin wanted to find Wagner at Schulz's Blacksmith Shop to buy a weapon. Herman had intended to go and buy it for his daughter Ellin, but the price Wagner quoted was too expensive; he couldn't afford it.
Herman hadn't saved much of the money he earned from selling the Cold Blade, as he spent most of it at the tavern. Now that his strength had recovered so much, Herman planned to return to his old profession and accept some commissions from the Adventurers Guild to earn money to buy that sword back for his daughter Ellin.
It just so happened that Ellin's birthday was approaching, so he could treat it as Ellin's birthday gift.
Despite drinking so much tea, his stomach felt empty, which made Herman marvel at the tea's miraculous nature.
Touching his stomach and smelling the aroma of food wafting in the air, Herman's stomach began to rumble. Lunchtime was approaching, and he started looking forward to it.
Arkz's culinary skills, inherited from his time as a Traveler, were so good that even Xiangling would have to admit defeat; the taste went without saying.
"Stir-fried Sliced Meat."
"Cold Cut Platter."
"White Sauce Stewed Vegetables."
"Matsutake Stuffed Meat Rolls."
"Boiled Black-backed Perch."
...
Under Arkz's exquisite cooking skills, every dish, from the chewy wild boar meat to the delicious perch, looked like a work of art, extremely tempting. The rich aroma filled the air, making one's appetite surge uncontrollably.
Arkz warmly entertained the Ellin family for the meal.
"Everyone, don't be polite, start eating. Eat more, don't hold back."
Hearing this, the few people could no longer suppress their inner excitement and rushed toward the delicacies on the table with their forks.
Spearing a piece of meat and taking a bite, it was perfect in color, aroma, and taste. Every mouthful was an ultimate temptation to the taste buds, making people intoxicated and unable to stop.
To cater to the tastes of Ellin's family, Arkz had specially prepared a table full of Mondstadt cuisine. Seeing the three of them wolfing down the food, it seemed to suit their palates very well.
Seeing them eat so happily, Arkz's appetite was also stimulated, and he joined the fray of snatching food.
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