Outside Mondstadt, on the road to Springvale.
Nolan and Rosaria had come through the city gates, following the newly paved road.
Along the way, many bicycles and cars sped past.
Some of them were driven by Knights of Favonius, the vehicles marked with the Order's crest as they patrolled. Adventurers traveling back and forth, as well as hunters bringing their game to the city for sale, also made use of cargo trucks.
Clearly, Mondstadt's road system was becoming well-developed, greatly improving the efficiency of the city's operations.
"The Church's pilgrimage will probably follow this road as well. With the Knights of Favonius patrolling in cars, there shouldn't be much danger to worry about."
High in the air, Nolan said this to Rosaria beside him.
"It's indeed much better than before."
Rosaria glanced at the car bearing the Knights' emblem and gave a small nod of agreement.
In the past, patrols by the Knights of Favonius were all done on foot.
From Mondstadt to Springvale and back took nearly a full day. In other words, a single squad could only patrol the route once per day.
The efficiency was far too low. With so many monsters outside the city, even half a day without patrols meant long gaps.
If the Knights had just passed through and then townsfolk were attacked by monsters right after, there was little hope for timely rescue.
To compensate, they had been forced to assign more manpower.
But now, with vehicles, everything was different. One squad could maintain the same patrol frequency as before, and the freed-up manpower could be allocated to other tasks serving Mondstadt's citizens.
This meant situations where Captain Jean herself had to step in for small matters due to manpower shortages would no longer arise—though, of course, part of that had been Jean's own desire to lead by example.
Nolan thought about this to himself.
"Even so, for the pilgrimage's safety, scouting is still necessary. And at spots where danger might appear, we'll need to place things to drive monsters away."
Rosaria pulled several small sachets from her Vision.
"What are those?"
Nolan sniffed, finding no scent, and asked curiously.
"They're special pouches the sisters devised after observing hilichurls, slimes, and other common monsters. Eventually, they identified certain odors those creatures despise.
"By combining plants that release those odors, we made these sachets. Humans can't smell it, but monsters can. It nauseates them, so they usually won't come near."
Rosaria explained calmly.
"Oh, so during the pilgrimage, if the sisters carry a few, they should be safe from monster attacks, right?"
Nolan felt the pouches sounded quite useful.
If adventurers carried them, wouldn't they also avoid monsters while traveling?
"Don't overestimate them. The scent only lingers for about ten meters. Carrying them on your person doesn't guarantee safety.
"By the time monsters get close enough to smell it, they may just endure the nausea rather than let go of their prey. At most, it weakens them a little, but nothing more."
Rosaria shook her head.
That was why the sachets needed to be hung along the pilgrimage route ahead of time. Monsters would catch the scent early, retreating long before the procession arrived.
"I see. Then let's go down and find places to hang them."
Nolan nodded in understanding.
"Mm." Rosaria had already intended the same.
And so, along the road to Springvale, the two of them placed one monster-repelling sachet every few hundred meters.
Once monsters wandered close to the road, the scent would reach them and they would usually flee, so there was no need to worry about them gathering nearby.
Flying along, the two quickly arrived at Springvale. On the way, they found no potential dangers, and the special monster-repelling sachets had already been placed.
That completed the route from Mondstadt to Springvale.
Next was the path from Springvale to Windrise. A portion of this overlapped with the previous road, so fewer sachets were needed.
When they reached the great tree at Windrise, they also found no hidden threats.
After all, this area was close to Mondstadt itself, with many people about. Monsters didn't dare to be too rampant here. The road ahead to Starsnatch Cliff, however, might prove far more dangerous.
On the way, Nolan and Rosaria spotted two hilichurl camps. They tried tossing the special sachets from above into the encampments.
Before long, they saw the hilichurls gagging and retching, fleeing without even bothering to take the food cooking over their fires.
It was clear the sachets worked extremely well within their scent range.
To make hilichurls abandon their food and run—that was impressive!
Nolan was pleasantly surprised. If they weren't too difficult to produce, perhaps the "Sweet Flower Merchant Association" could partner with the Church of Favonius to sell them. There would surely be a market.
At the very least, adventurers would probably like to carry a few.
After setting up the repellant sachets along the route, only Starsnatch Cliff remained. Once placed there, the task would be complete and they could return.
But when Nolan and Rosaria reached the cliff, they spotted a familiar figure clad in green.
"Well, if it isn't Nolan. Oh? And the aloof Sister Rosaria too. What a coincidence—are you two here on a date?"
Venti grinned as he spoke.
"Hmph. If you want your lips frozen shut, just say so." Arms crossed, Rosaria lifted a hand, ice condensing in her palm.
Clearly, she had little patience for the bard's shameless teasing.
"Ehe~" Venti winked.
Nolan gave him a speechless look and asked, "Not drinking at the tavern? What brings you here?"
"As expected, you know me best. But aside from drinking, it's good to step out sometimes—catch the wind, meet a friend or two."
Venti laughed with his hands on his hips.
Nolan guessed that "friend" meant Dvalin. Extending his spiritual senses, he indeed detected a dense aura of Anemo in the vicinity—likely left behind by the dragon.
As if recalling something, Nolan smiled and said, "Speaking of which, I have a little 'product' you might be interested in. Want to hear about it?"
"Oh? Could it be some fine vintage?" Seeing Nolan's expression, Venti looked a little expectant.
"No, but I think both you and your friend will find it appealing."
Nolan shook his head.
(End of Chapter)
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