Take Ellin's mother, for example. This morning when Ellin's mother went grocery shopping, everyone praised her for looking younger and more beautiful. Even her usual close friends became warmer towards her, trying every way to find out what brand of skincare products she was using.
Since Ellin chose this path, the only thing her parents could do was support her.
The next day.
"Beep beep!"
"Ah— —!!!"
A scream shattered the quiet of the early morning. Ellin rushed into the washroom in her pajamas to wash her face. After tidying herself up like a whirlwind, Ellin changed into her usual clothes, grabbed her sword, and dashed out.
Herman calmly walked out of the room and glanced at the clock. Eight o'clock sharp. No wonder Ellin was in such a hurry.
Herman poured himself a glass of water, but before he could take two sips, his wife snatched it away. Helplessly, he could only look at his wife with doting affection.
Herman: "It seems Ellin rested very well last night. I thought she wouldn't be able to get out of bed this morning due to muscle soreness."
Ellin's mother: "Judging by the full-bodied sound of her voice, your worries were unnecessary. You should worry more about how to apologize to the neighbors she woke up."
Just as the couple was teasing each other, Ellin rushed back.
"Bang— —!!!"
"Dad, where did you put the clothes I brought back yesterday? Those are Freya's clothes, and I need to return them to her today."
Ellin said while rushing into the room, taking out a set of spare clothes from her wardrobe. Today's training volume would certainly not be less than yesterday's, and the clothes she wore would definitely get dirty, so she needed to bring an extra set.
When Ellin came out with her clothes, Herman handed her a bag containing Siegfrieda's clothes that he had washed.
Ellin's mother: "So scatterbrained! Good thing your father helped wash your clothes yesterday, otherwise, let's see how you would return them today."
Herman: "Be careful on the road."
Ellin grabbed the clothes and sprinted out, responding as she ran: "Got it."
Just as Ellin was hurrying towards Springvale Farm, Amu and Siegfrieda were treasure hunting inside the farm.
Respecting Amu's request for more rest from yesterday, Siegfrieda deliberately woke up a little later, only getting up at seven o'clock to find Amu at Springvale Farm.
If she could, Siegfrieda also wanted to sleep until dawn, but who told her that as a holy body of a great glutton, she ate too much? All the Mora she earned through hard work running errands every day was spent on food, yet she still woke up hungry around five every morning.
Waking up hungry meant she had to find something to eat, and this habit led Siegfrieda to develop a routine of waking up early every day.
When Siegfrieda woke up two hours later than usual to find Amu at Springvale Farm, Amu, who had just gotten off work at five in the morning, had only rested for a short while before she woke him up.
Amu, still groggy, looked at Siegfrieda and said, "It's a good thing I told you to come later yesterday. Otherwise, me getting off work at five in the morning and you starting work at five in the morning would be seamless. Even if I were a wooden dummy, I'd drop dead from exhaustion."
To get a little more rest, Amu decided to find something for Siegfrieda to do so she wouldn't come looking for him to work all day.
Amu pointed to the large expanse of uncultivated land within the farm: "Freya, do you want to know the farm's secret?"
Siegfrieda paused for a moment and asked, "The farm's secret? Should I know about it?"
It seemed she had caught the chattiness of her teammates in the Patrol Team, as Amu's words also became more frequent.
Amu said: "Of course. Arkz didn't require secrecy."
"Hey~, do you know? There's treasure buried underground on the farm, right under the ground where there are lots of earthworm-shaped things. You might dig up some strange items. Don't you want to try your luck?"
"If you dig up anything valuable, Arkz said he would buy it at a high price."
"Really!!!" Hearing this news, Siegfrieda's eyes turned into the shape of Mora symbols. Excitedly, she picked up a hoe and began searching for the farm's treasure.
Watching Siegfrieda walk away, Amu secretly smiled. He could finally get some proper rest.
Arkz, who witnessed all this, just shook his head and let them be. Even if they really dug up treasures, they wouldn't need them. At worst, he could spend Mora to buy them back later.
Rather, if Freya could actually dig up something good, that would be something worth being happy about.
Arkz looked at the almost mature carrots in the farm and immediately used Dendro Elemental Power to hasten their ripening again, making these carrots grow big and strong, rich in nutrients, and especially delicious.
According to the system's detection, these carrots would be fully mature in another two hours at most, and then they could be harvested.
Just as Freya was immersed in treasure hunting, Ellin finally rushed over.
Ellin, having run the whole way, panted as she pushed open the farm gate and said loudly, "Uncle Arkz, I'm sorry I'm late."
The massive noise woke up Amu, who was sound asleep. Looking at the sun in the sky, Amu still felt a bit drowsy, but he still got up. After all, he had promised Freya he would work for her, and he, Amu, was someone who kept his promises.
However, when Amu stood up and searched the farm for Siegfrieda's figure, he was surprised to find her diligently digging a spot where treasure was buried with a hoe. The beautiful Damselette was completely filthy, like a mud monkey, covered in sticky soil.
What surprised Amu the most was the pile of 'treasure' next to Freya, which resembled a small mountain.
Looking at Ellin, whose expression was as tense as a student caught by the head teacher for being late to class, Arkz smiled faintly: "You trained so hard yesterday; it's normal that you couldn't get out of bed today."
Arkz turned and pointed to the carrot patch in front of him: "Besides, I have to be busy harvesting these carrots this morning. You go train at the training ground over there by yourself first."
"I'll continue guiding your training after I'm done."
Ellin looked at the large patch of carrots in front of Arkz. Rows upon rows of lush green carrot tops stretched across the field, weaving into an emerald carpet.
"Wow—! With such a large patch of carrots, how long will it take to harvest all of them?"
Arkz waved his hand, and a large group of wooden figures appeared behind him. He pointed at these wooden figures and said, "With their help, it won't take long."
Ellin looked at the wooden figures behind Arkz and thought with shock: "The speed at which these wooden figures appeared just now was so fast that even I, a reserve member of the Knights of Favonius, couldn't react. If this many wooden figures attacked together, even the Knights of Favonius with the same number of people might not necessarily win."
"Barbatos above, just how powerful is Uncle Arkz's strength!"
Compared to ordinary humans, the biggest advantage of the wooden figures is that they do not fear and completely obey Arkz's commands. Even if they are facing a blazing fire pit, they will jump in without hesitation under Arkz's direction.
It was unimaginable how much chaos would be caused in Mondstadt if Arkz commanded these wooden figures to cause destruction in Mondstadt.
Ellin shook her head, tossing the distracting thoughts out of her mind. Looking at the tender carrot patch before her, she was eager to try: "Uncle Arkz, why don't I help you harvest these carrots? I have great strength."
"You've helped me so much; let me repay you once."
"Besides, this can also be considered part of my training."
Arkz looked at Ellin's serious expression and mused, "That actually makes a lot of sense."
Ellin's words reminded him. Integrating training into daily labor, much like the Turtle Hermit training Goku and Krillin in Dragon Ball, could simultaneously improve strength and make his own work easier—it was a good idea.
Thinking of this, Arkz nodded in agreement: "Ellin, your idea is really great. It gave me a lot of inspiration."
Ellin asked, slightly stunned: "Eh! Really?"
At this moment, Ellin didn't know that her casual remark would lead her through what could be called a hellish period of high-intensity training in the coming days. However, this experience also laid a solid foundation for her future career as the Vice-Captain of the Knights of Favonius and the next successor to Jean.
Arkz nodded, his expression serious: "I still need to refine the training plan. I'll tell you tomorrow. Besides that, I also need to prepare some specialized training equipment."
Ellin: "Then I'll trouble you, Uncle Arkz. If there is anything you need me for, please just say so. I will definitely work hard."
Arkz looked at the almost mature carrot patch before him, feeling involuntarily excited. This was the first time he was welcoming his own harvest.
Arkz looked at Ellin and said, "Ellin, these carrots still need about an hour to mature. You should go rest on the side first."
"Don't rush to exercise right away. Constant training isn't good for the body. Truly effective training also requires balancing work and rest, so go wander around the farm casually first, and come back to find me after an hour."
"Balancing work and rest." Ellin nodded firmly. Although she didn't quite understand it, since Arkz said so, there must be a reason. As his disciple, Ellin believed she just needed to comply.
Ellin was, after all, a sixteen-year-old Damselette. Although her demeanor usually appeared very steady, that was merely due to her admiration for her idol. Despite mimicking the conduct of her idol, Captain Jean in every word and action, Ellin was essentially still a playful child.
Upon hearing that she could play freely around the farm, Ellin immediately bolted off like an untamed wild horse towards Amu and Siegfrieda.
Ellin cheerfully greeted Siegfrieda and Amu: "Freya, Amu, good morning! What are you two doing?"
"It should be getting late. Aren't you two going to work?"
Amu immediately stopped digging, held his head, and cried out: "That's right! Freya! Aren't we working today?"
Siegfrieda put down the hoe in her hand and sighed, explaining: "Without promotion, where would we get any work?"
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