The city gates were already busy with merchants arriving from the other regions, adventurers preparing to head out on commissions, and guards casually watching the steady flow of travelers.
Henry stood outside his shop for a moment, enjoying the cool morning air while observing the activity around the plaza. His gaze drifted toward the main road leading to the city gates when a small, very familiar figure suddenly caught his attention.
Klee was running across the plaza with incredible enthusiasm, her small boots tapping rapidly against the stone road. The brown backpack she always carried bounced behind her with every step, making it clear that she was heading somewhere with great determination.
Henry raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"Looks like someone escaped the confinement room again."
"Klee! Wait!" he called out.
The little girl reacted immediately. She attempted to stop herself, but her sudden braking turned into a rather comical scene as her small arms flailed wildly while she struggled to slow down. After a few unsteady steps she finally managed to stop in front of Henry, looking up at him with wide eyes.
"Oh! Hello, Big Brother Henry!" Klee greeted him cheerfully. "Why did you call Klee?"
Henry chuckled softly at her innocent expression before reaching into his inventory space.
"I actually wanted to give you something."
A moment later, a small bicycle appeared in his hands.
This bicycle was different from the others Henry had made before. He had customized this one himself, carefully designing it with Klee in mind. The frame was painted a bright, vibrant red, and small decorative designs resembling Dodoco had been painted along the sides.
Klee stared at it in stunned silence for a moment.
Then her eyes sparkled.
"Is this… for Klee, Big Brother?!" she squealed excitedly.
Her excitement quickly shifted to hesitation, however, and she clasped her hands behind her back.
"But… how can I accept it?" she asked, looking up at Henry with her large round eyes.
Henry simply smiled.
"It's yours now. You don't need to give me anything in return."
However, Klee was already shaking her head.
"No, no! Klee must give Big Brother something too!"
She quickly removed her backpack from her shoulders and set it on the ground before digging through it with both hands. After a moment she pulled out two bright red Dodoco and proudly held them out toward him.
"Big Brother, this is for you!" she said happily.
Henry froze.
For a split second, his mind screamed at him that accepting explosives from Klee was probably a terrible idea.
But when he looked down at the little girl's hopeful face, he realized there was absolutely no way she would accept a refusal.
Suppressing a sigh, Henry carefully accepted the Dodocos and quickly placed them inside his system space before anything unexpected could happen.
Honestly… this gift is ridiculously powerful against monsters, he admitted inwardly.
"Thank you, Klee," he said with a warm smile as he gently patted her head.
Klee immediately blushed shyly at the praise.
"Big Brother Henry," she said after a moment, glancing back at the bicycle, "can you teach Klee how to ride it?"
"Of course," Henry replied. "But there's someone else who also wants to learn. Can you wait here at the shop while I bring her?"
"Yes, Big Brother!"
Klee happily waited outside the café while Henry went to fetch Lisa.
When he returned a short while later, Lisa was walking beside him with her usual elegant grace.
"Oh my," she said the moment she spotted Klee. "I didn't realize you were out of your room today."
Klee's face immediately paled.
"Miss Lisa, please don't tell Jean!" she pleaded quickly. "Klee will behave very well!"
Lisa placed a finger to her lips and gave the child a playful smile.
"Well, that depends on how well you behave today."
The three of them spent the rest of the morning practicing with the bicycles near the quieter roads outside the main plaza. Teaching both Lisa and Klee at the same time turned out to be far more entertaining than Henry had expected.
Klee, despite her small size, showed surprising enthusiasm and determination, although she occasionally lost her balance and ended up tumbling into the grass. Lisa, on the other hand, learned much faster but clearly enjoyed teasing Henry whenever he had to steady her from behind.
Over the next several days, their small training sessions became something of a routine. Whenever Henry had time in the afternoon, he would meet Lisa and Klee to practice riding together.
During one such session, as Klee happily pedaled in wide circles nearby, Henry glanced toward Lisa thoughtfully.
"Lisa, do you know where Klee's mother is?" he asked.
Lisa nodded.
"Her mother is Alice," she replied. "She's an old acquaintance of mine, though she rarely stays in one place for long. Alice travels constantly, exploring the world and researching all sorts of unusual things. Because of that, she left Klee under the care of the Knights of Favonius."
Henry tilted his head slightly.
"Alice… wait, is that the same acquaintance you mentioned last week? The one who introduces new concepts and inventions from outside the usual traditions?"
Lisa smiled knowingly.
"The very same."
Before Henry could say anything else, Klee suddenly skidded to a stop beside them.
"Big Brother Henry!" she said excitedly. "Were you talking about Klee's mom?"
Henry chuckled.
"Yes, we were."
Klee puffed out her chest proudly.
"Then Klee will tell Mom that you are her big brother!" she declared. "And that you gave Klee a wonderful gift! Maybe Mom will give you a gift too!"
Henry laughed and gently ruffled her hair.
"Being Klee's big brother is already a big deal," he said.
Klee giggled happily.
By this point, Henry had accumulated enough funds to finally move forward with the next phase of his plans for Mondstadt.
His café had been performing well, but he had already begun envisioning something far larger—something that could serve as both a restaurant and a gathering place within the city.
With that goal in mind, Henry went to visit Jean one evening.
"Jean," he said after greeting her, "I'm looking to purchase another piece of land inside the city. Preferably somewhere near the gates."
Jean considered the request briefly before standing.
"Come with me," she said.
The two of them walked through Mondstadt's streets until they reached an open area not far from the main gate. There, between several existing buildings, lay a large empty plot of land that had not yet been developed.
Jean gestured toward it.
"This area is currently unused."
Henry studied the location carefully. The proximity to the city gates meant a constant flow of travelers and adventurers would pass by.
It was perfect.
"This will do," he said. "I'll take it."
Jean raised an eyebrow.
"What exactly are you planning to build, Henry?"
Henry only smiled mysteriously.
"It's a surprise."
Jean sighed but agreed to finalize the purchase. The two of them returned to the Knights of Favonius headquarters to complete the necessary paperwork.
Once the land was officially his, Henry headed straight to the Adventurers' Guild to post a construction commission.
Several days later, Katheryne contacted him through one of the stray children she often used.
"Henry, some builders have responded to your commission," she said when he arrived.
A tall man stepped forward from the group waiting nearby.
"I am Korg," he introduced himself. "Head Mason. These are my men."
Henry shook his hand before reaching into his system space and pulling out a rolled blueprint.
"Here, This is the design."
Korg carefully unfolded the paper and stared at it with growing fascination. The building layout was unlike anything he had seen before.
"There is something else," Henry said. "This structure will not be built entirely from stone and wood."
The builders exchanged confused looks as Wood and stone were the primary construction material used throughout Teyvat.
Henry reached into his inventory again and produced a rectangular red brick.
"You will use these instead of stone for much of the structure," he explained.
He then provided detailed instructions on a new binding material known as cement, explaining the method required to produce it. Along with the blueprint, he also handed Korg a thick book describing modern construction principles, which he had received from Orianna.
Although the concepts were unfamiliar, the underlying craftsmanship was still masonry work, something the builders already understood well as they already had experience of masonry.
For the next month, the group focused entirely on studying the new materials and techniques Henry had introduced. They experimented with mixtures of cement, sand, and gravel, learning how to produce strong concrete structures reinforced with steel bars.
The builders practiced creating reinforced concrete foundations, columns, beams, and floor slabs. They also learned how brick walls could serve as non-load-bearing partitions while the reinforced structure carried the building's weight.
To ensure the methods worked correctly, they even constructed a small test outhouse outside mondstadt city as a trial project. When the structure held perfectly, the builders' confidence grew rapidly.
Only then did the real construction begin.
Henry visited the site almost every day to supervise the work and guide the builders using the knowledge given by Orianna. Although the masons were skilled craftsmen, the new methods required careful precision.
The blueprint Henry had designed called for a large two-story restaurant supported by reinforced concrete—a structure far more advanced than the typical stone and wooden buildings found throughout Mondstadt.
If everything went according to plan, the new building would become something the city had never seen before.
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