Enkanomiya, the Serpent's Bowels.
Hearing Kokomi agree, Nolan took two steps forward, leaned slightly toward her side, and slipped one arm under her knees and the other around her back, lifting her into a bridal carry.
His palms pressed against her arm and thigh. Even through her sleeves and the white thigh-high socks, he could still feel the softness beneath.
Her side pressed snugly against his chest; warmth radiated through their clothing.
Almost instinctively, he held her a little tighter, wanting to take in more of her gentle warmth.
"Mm-hm, don't… don't hold me so tightly."
Sangonomiya Kokomi felt his body heat, and her pale cheeks bloomed with a soft blush. She instinctively turned her gaze away toward the mist beyond.
But the tightening of his grip made the inside of her arm press against her side and chest, pinching slightly—it stung a little.
"Ah—sorry." Nolan gave an awkward laugh.
"…Forget it, I'll forgive you."
Kokomi didn't turn her lightly flushed face back toward him. Her eyes stayed fixed on the thick fog ahead, as though searching for whatever unknown creatures might lurk within.
Ugh… being carried like this by a boy feels so embarrassing. If I had known, I should have asked him to hold my hand instead—he could still have protected me that way.
Her heart was overwhelmed by shyness.
[Sangonomiya Kokomi Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 320 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (470/900).]
Seeing the notification on her character panel pop up, Nolan smiled faintly, then summoned the Wind Glider. With a burst of anemo currents, he soared upward.
The skirt of Kokomi's dress, flowing like a mermaid's tail, was caught by the updraft and fluttered upward like ribbons, sliding between the snowy thighs wrapped in her white socks.
Just as it reached her knees, the arm he used to hold her stopped the fabric from slipping any higher.
Holding the soft girl in his arms, Nolan flew toward the Dainichi Mikoshi.
Looking down through the fog, it seemed as though there was a bottomless abyss below, infinite in its depth.
But when he probed with spiritual sense, he found it was only seventy to eighty meters down: a massive lake, the destination of all Enkanomiya's rivers and streams.
That lake was teeming with deep-sea Bathysmal Vishaps, rays of various colors, and other aquatic monsters.
This was likely the most densely populated habitat in all of Enkanomiya.
No wonder the mist here was so thick—an entire lake beneath them meant endless water vapor rising to form fog.
Before long, Nolan, still carrying Kokomi, reached the skies above the Dainichi Mikoshi. From here, he could see that all the buildings on the island were grand and monumental in style.
The paved stone floors and stairways were broken in many places. Even in this ruin, countless monsters wandered the grounds.
Looking carefully, he even noticed lingering souls drifting about.
He remembered that the people who once lived here were citizens of the Byakuyakoku. These lingering shades were all that remained of them.
Whether due to the special nature of Enkanomiya, or to the unusual strength of those people, it was remarkable that their souls endured long after their bodies had perished.
But Nolan was here only to help Kokomi collect the Coral Branch of the Dainichi Mikoshi.
He had no plans to delve into Enkanomiya's secrets. After all, he'd already explored them thoroughly in the game; reality was likely much the same.
Still, he recalled one particular case—an Abyss Lector who had disguised himself as an ordinary person and infiltrated Enkanomiya under the alias "Enjou."
In the game, the Traveler had mistaken him for an envoy sent by Watatsumi. In the end, though, he revealed himself as an Abyss Lector—a particularly insufferable one at that.
The Traveler felt tricked and promptly beat him to a pulp.
That Lector had come seeking an ancient book titled Before Sun and Moon.
The book recorded an age long before the Dainichi Mikoshi was built.
The Dainichi Mikoshi was an artificial mechanism capable of regulating day and night—thus "Sun and Moon." The book Before Sun and Moon recorded the era before its construction.
In those times, Enkanomiya was still part of the surface, connected to the continent itself.
Teyvat had not yet seen the appearance of gods. Humanity across the land all belonged to one unified civilization.
The reason "Enjou" sought the book was to prove that the gods and Celestia—"the Heavenly Principles"—were outsiders.
The Abyss Order sought this truth to justify their war against Celestia.
If they could claim to be expelling invaders, declaring that "outsiders" had no right to rule Teyvat, their cause would sound just.
The Abyss Order was the remnant of Khaenri'ah. Under Lumine's brother's leadership, their goals were to restore their fallen nation and exact vengeance on Celestia.
That was why they clashed with both the Seven Archons and Celestia.
But outwardly, they could not say as much.
Though the Abyss Order was infamous throughout Teyvat, launching an unprovoked assault on Celestia might draw resentment even from outsiders.
With a "righteous cause," however, even if no one aided them, no one would interfere either.
And if they did one day succeed in restoring Khaenri'ah, they would still need to build trade and diplomacy with other nations.
But with the Abyss Order's reputation, few would dare approach them.
Thus having a legitimate justification for their actions was vital.
Even if they meant to overthrow Celestia only to replace it themselves, people would need a reason to submit.
Just like in the old days—when emperors were overthrown, it was always under the charge of corruption and tyranny. Without such a pretext, a new ruler's legitimacy would be questioned, and secret resistance would fester until their throne fell.
Thinking of "Enjou" again, Nolan grew cautious. He feared that man might already be stirring up trouble here. Enkanomiya lay directly beneath Watatsumi—if anything happened, the Sangonomiya itself could be endangered.
He resolved to search for the Abyss Lector. If he found him, he would restrain him first, let him do whatever else he wanted here later.
Through "Enjou," he might also glean what the Abyss Order was plotting, so he could stop his "brother-in-law" from taking things too far.
Because, in the end, Nolan preferred peace where he lived.
And if Aether got himself destroyed while fighting Celestia… Lumine would surely be heartbroken.
If he could stop it, Nolan would naturally stop it.
"Let's go down and take a look. According to the records, the Coral Branch should be somewhere around here."
Nestled in his arms, Sangonomiya Kokomi lifted her gaze toward the radiant glow of the Dainichi Mikoshi and spoke softly to him.
"Mm." Nolan nodded.
He dispelled the wind currents supporting them, and the two slowly began to descend. At the same time, he extended his spiritual sense outward—while searching for the Coral Branch, he also looked for traces of Enjou, that Abyss Lector.
They soon landed on the ground. As Nolan set Kokomi down, his spiritual sense detected faint elemental fluctuations beneath the surface.
If he recalled correctly, that should be where the Bathysmal Vishap herd gathered in the game.
Normally, one would need to use the lift beneath the mechanism that operated the Dainichi Mikoshi to descend—but that required solving several puzzles first.
Nolan, however, didn't need to bother with all that. He could simply phase through space.
He explained the discovery of elemental activity underground to Kokomi and asked if she wanted to check it out.
"Oh?" Kokomi's expression revealed her surprise. "So there's a space beneath us as well? The Coral Branch may well be down there. After all, something meant to suppress Bathysmal Vishaps wouldn't be placed somewhere so conspicuous."
Indeed—if it were too obvious, any wanderer who stumbled into Enkanomiya might snatch it away.
Unfortunately, the records left behind were vague. They only mentioned that it was near the central Dainichi Mikoshi, without clarifying whether it was above or below.
If the location had been clear, this wouldn't have been such a hassle.
But since nothing was found above, the likelihood it was below was high. Kokomi nodded in agreement—worth investigating.
"Then… hold my hand."
Nolan smiled and extended his hand to her.
"You…" Kokomi already guessed he was merely using this as an excuse to hold hands. Still, she didn't call him out on it, and simply smiled as she placed her hand in his.
The warmth of his grip gave her a profound sense of security—something especially precious in the lonely, desolate atmosphere of Enkanomiya.
[Sangonomiya Kokomi Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 330 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.9 (800/900).]
Nolan squeezed her hand, and the next instant, the two vanished from where they stood.
When they reappeared, they had passed through layers of stone and emerged above a submerged platform.
Once again, Nolan naturally gathered Kokomi into his arms. This time, however, instead of carrying her in a bridal style, he held her seated on one arm while his other hand supported her waist.
Kokomi's pale face was tinged pink as she steadied herself against his shoulder. She barely had time to feel embarrassed before her attention was drawn by the elemental surges below.
"Wretched sewer-born lizards, taste the searing grace of flame!"
On the waterlogged platform stood a tall, crimson-clad Abyss Lector. With hands lifted as if cradling the void itself, a blazing fireball appeared above its head.
It hurled the orb forward.
In front of the crimson Lector, two colossal Bathysmal Vishaps—one icy blue, the other violet—stood with their tails crossed together.
A massive sphere of ice laced with crackling lightning instantly formed and shot forth to meet the fireball.
Boom!
Fire clashed with thunder, causing an Overloaded reaction, followed by Melting as it struck the ice.
The explosion burst outward, unleashing waves of scalding steam.
From midair, Nolan glanced at Kokomi. She parted her lips slightly, as if about to call out in alarm.
Though they were high above and far from the battle, his golden Eye of Judgment revealed the truth: the Abyss Lector was level 93, while both Vishaps were level 90.
The strongest—by far—was the Abyss Lector.
If Kokomi made a sound, they might notice her presence, and the combatants could well decide to turn on them too.
Nolan wasn't afraid, but he wanted to see why the Lector was fighting the Vishaps in the first place.
He quickly wrapped them in a shield of invisible spiritual force, warding off the aftermath of the blast.
At the same time, his instinct was to cover Kokomi's mouth so she wouldn't call out.
But then he realized—his hands had been holding her all day, her clothes had brushed through dust and mist. To press his hand over her lips directly… it felt unhygienic.
And with her about to speak—his habits took over.
Without thinking, he leaned in.
"…"
Kokomi's soft lips were sealed completely. The words she was about to utter vanished down her throat.
Even if she wanted to say something, she couldn't anymore. Her mind went blank, utterly unprepared for Nolan suddenly kissing her.
Though she had already accepted his feelings, and though their actions had quietly grown more intimate… a kiss still came far too suddenly.
Her porcelain-white face turned crimson in an instant.
The brilliant strategist who could remain calm in the chaos of war was, in this moment, thrown into disarray by something as simple as a kiss.
"You—you, what are you doing?!"
Kokomi tore her lips free, covering her face in embarrassed frustration.
But with the shield around them, her voice could not carry outwards. Nolan no longer needed to stop her. Slightly abashed, he cleared his throat.
"Ahem… sorry. Honestly, I just wanted to stop you from speaking. But your lips were right there, so close… I instinctively leaned in."
"Uuuh~"
Mortified, Kokomi buried her face against his shoulder, clutching his collar tightly as though she hadn't heard a word of his excuse.
[Sangonomiya Kokomi Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 380 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.10 (Max).]
At that moment, a new notification appeared on his panel.
[Through sincerity and tireless effort, you have bound yourself to a destiny once unconnected with your own. From this day forth, the girl's star of fate shall shine with yours. Ability acquired: Priestess of Watatsumi.]
The affection skill followed:
[Priestess of Watatsumi: When activated, gain unique buffs depending on the water type you are in. Warm water: greatly increases healing speed. Cold water: accelerates the fading of negative effects. Icy water: speeds cultivation. Freshwater and saltwater… Buff strength is equal to the sum of both users' levels. Buffs may be shared with allies in the same body of water, and different buffs may coexist simultaneously.]
(End of Chapter)