Souls in Teyvat

"Jean, with the money this thing can get you, you wouldn't need to worry about food for a whole decade" I wryly explained to her.

"Really?!" she looked shocked. "Are you sure?".

"Sure sure" I affirmed while nodding. "Why do you think the merchants from Liyue keep coming?. And I got a lot more things like this one when the Captain gave them to me for free. Of course, I will give him a lot of money when I sell these things, but nobody here knows the value of these gems and weird things around".

"That could solve our money problem" mused Jean. "We only need someone to act as the intermediary between us and other nations, nobody here will spend money on them".

I guess she isn't being taught by that cunning Grandmaster for nothing.

"That's where I come in" I nodded, feeling excitement about the huge amount of money I was going to make. "I will start another business to sell these things".

She glanced at me with a narrowed look.

"Wouldn't leave us in the same condition we are in now?. Depending on an individual's goodwill as you put it?" she said with a frown.

"Who do you think I am?. I'm hurt by that, goddess of betrayal" I said with a hurt look.

"Sorry" she looked chastised, well, it's a normal concern.

"This business will be run by people from Mondstadt, but I will choose them as I don't want to be fooled or betrayed by the ones who will be running it. I will take 10% of the earnings" I said with a pondering look.

"10%?. That's almost nothing" said an astonished Jean. "The few merchants that arrived here told us that the usual was a 60-40 for them".

"The standard is around 30%, but I don't need that much money, and honestly you guys need help. But at least in the start, I will be the one to use this money" I added with a narrowed look. "I don't want an important guy here in the Knight to say 'It's our money, so I will use it to build a hot pool for the Knights to relax'".

"Nobody would do that!. The Knights are filled with admirable people" Jean looked scandalized.

"My business, my rules. And I will be the one to decide how trustworthy you guys are. I only know you and that sly man after all" I shrugged, not minding her reaction. "That 90% of the money will be kept safe, and nobody will use it unless it's a necessary thing. How will you rebuild the city if an earthquake destroys it?. But before making a substantial withdrawal, I will be notified. Again, I trust you and the actual Grandmaster, but a different guy may try to use their authority to do something weird".

"I agree, it sounds like a good idea" Jean said after thinking for a while. "How will you name your business?"

"JRK" I replied instantly.

"JRK?. What does it mean?" Jean looked at me curiously.

"Jean the Radiant Knight" I explained while nodding sagely.

"No!. I don't accept that!" she instantly denied.

"I do!" Varka came into the room. I knew he didn't leave, I could see his soul even through the wall after all. "From today on, the JRK or Jean the Radiant Knight business is established!"

"No!" Jean shouted with a blush. "I don't accept it!. You have no right to use my name for that!".

"Of course he does!" replied Varka with a smirk.

"Indeed" I added. "This is the city of Freedom, and I'm helping a lot of people with this, so I'm allowed".

"Please Kenshin, change the name" Jean was begging now. "How will people react to that?. They will laugh at me".

"Or they could adore you. They will be getting a lot of money from a business with your name after all" I said with a pointed look.

"I don't want fame, I'm happy helping the citizens of Mondstadt" she argued with a pleading look.

"Then suck it up, because you are helping a lot. Do you think I would care to do all this just because of the Captain?. I know nobody in this time except for him, a drunkard and you 2. Also, that bastard who punched me" I whispered that last one.

"But....." Jean looked defeated but realized something. "Are you doing it for me?".

"What gave you a clue?. The name?" I deadpanned. "You are the best friend I have here, who else?. As I said, I don't need money, and do you know how much of a pain starting a business is?"

I didn't do it exclusively for her, but she was my only 'deep' friend here, I only knew the Captain for a day after all. And I liked her honesty a lot, as much as a stiff girl she was.

Hearing what I said, she blushed a lot more, and quickly left the room in a burst of speed that made me amazed. Even Sara, the most athletic normal kid I knew wasn't able to move like that.

The little monsters in this nation didn't count.

'You are really shooting yourself in the foot' replied a resigned Guizhong.

'Are you still about that 'harem' thing?. I don't 'love' Jean if that's what you are thinking about. I decided!. I will make you leave that perverted sect and teach you the joys of being a 'no-harem' fan'.

'Please do so, and then remember your own words in a few years' she wryly said.

I'm not liking this, she isn't usually this meek. There must be something brewing underneath.

"Hahaha, that went good!" Varka laughed. "Nice, I will give you all the authority you need to start that business. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yes, if I'm starting a business, I will need a lawyer to help me with the bureaucracy and let me tell you that it's not a fun thing. I will need the best, so please contact one from Liyue" I stated my demand. "She is called Yanfei".

I didn't choose her because she avoided me last time. Believe me.

--------------------

After talking a few more things, I decided to take a stroll in the city.

Just peacefully walking around, no funny business.

I saw a man making out with his lover in the plaza, a woman blowing fire, a man on four legs imitating a cat.....the usual here.

"Hey!" a little girl with ash-coloured hair and golden eyes was carrying a box even bigger than me.

Really, a more insecure man would have felt his manliness hurt by this.

"That's all!" she shouted at the man in charge of the store.

"Thank you Noelle, you are a lifesaver" he said gratefully, handing her an ice cream.

"Thank you!" she said, eating it happily. "Yosh, a new day of training. I will be the best Knight of Favonius".

"You want to be a Knight of Favonius?" I approached and asked curiously.

"Who might you be?" she asked me while eating her ice cream, not looking taken aback by a stranger suddenly talking to her. Maybe it's because I was a kid, and the people here were a bit weird.

"Look at this!" I showed her the medal Varka gave me with a proud look. If the only thing this medal is going to give me is recognition, I will use it as much as I can.

"What's that?" she asked, still eating her ice cream.

Of course, nobody knew what this damn medal is. I feel scammed.

"The badge of an Honorary Knight of Favonius" I wryly said.

"Ooohhh!. Sir, are you a Knight?" she asked forgetting her ice cream with sparkling eyes.

"An Honorary one, but yes" I smiled.

"That's incredible!" she said, looking at the badge.

"Here, take it. I will need to have it back later" I said, handing her the badge.

She took it with trembling hands and a happy smile. She started manipulating it with curiosity and admiration.

"Why do you want to be a Knight?" I asked her once the hype passed.

"I want to help people, and always be ready to help whoever they need" she replied with a determined look.

"Is that why you were helping that man earlier?" I asked curiously. The only child I knew would do something like that was Yoimiya.

"Yes. I also clean, do the laundry and cook" she replied with an energetic voice.

"More than a Knight, you look like a maid" I replied without thinking deeply.

"What is a maid?" she asked curiously.

"Someone always ready to help, capable of doing everything, being proficient in them. And always looking composed, ready to never give up" I said looking emotional. A maid was a man's dream.

"Ooh, that sounds awesome" she answered with a dreamy look. "I want to be a maid!. But I also want to be a Knight..." she looked conflicted now.

"Why can't you be both?" I suggested. "A Knight when you are on duty, and a maid when you are not. Or even better!" I said with a look of realization.

"Even better?" she asked to me with expectation in her eyes.

"Why can't you be the Maid Knight?" I asked her with a look that expressed immense admiration.

"A Maid Knight....." she looked astonished by that notion.

Well, if a Knight was cool and a maid was a man's dream, a Maid Knight was something extremely appealing to a man's fantasy.

Of course, in my head, the actual Maid Knight was a grown woman with ample chest, not this squirt.

'Stop!. I don't want to see those images. I will be tainted!' Guizhong shouted.

'You are just jealous that, unlike my vivid fantasies, you have no boobs to be a Maid Knight'.

'Why would you need a big chest to be a Maid Knight?. Also, those clothes were useless, they didn't cover the important areas!'

'Just be thankful that I decided to leave her with some'.

'Stop!'.

'Guizhong, I'm starting to show some interest in girls, and yet I have to control myself because I have peeper with me at all times. Do you know how hard it's to control myself?'

'Stop!. I don't want to know anything about this!'

"I will do it sir!. I will be the Maid Knight of the Knights of Favonius" the little kid told me with a determined face.

"Good!. Know that even when I return to Inazuma, I will always support your dream" I said while nodding in approval. "I have a task for you as your temporary superior".

"Yes" she nodded seriously.

"What do you mean yes?. Sir, yes sir!. That's how you refer to a superior!" I said adopting an imposing demeanour.

"Sir, yes sir!" she looked serious about this.

"I am going to start a new business here, called the JRK. Do you know who Jean is?. A blonde Knight more or less my age" I asked her.

"Yes sir!. She is the future Grandmaster" Noelle replied in her firm posture.

I didn't know it was widespread knowledge, I thought people wouldn't know about Jean's training under Varka.

"The initials of the JRK stand for Jean the Radiant Knight" I revealed the horrifying truth to Noelle. At least for Jean it was.

"Ooh really?" Noelle asked me, the military behaviour being forgotten. Well, I had fun with it.

"Indeed, I chose that name to honour our everlasting friendship" I admitted.

"That's beautiful" she said with a dreamy look.

Beautiful?. I thought she would consider it amazing or admirable, but beautiful?.

"Indeed, but she is going to try to hide it" I said with a sad expression.

"Why would she do that?" a confused Noelle asked.

"Because she is too altruistic to associate her name with a business made exclusively to help Mondstadt, even if I will start it only for her" I twisted the truth a bit, but I need Noelle's cooperation.

"That's very admirable" said Noelle with a touched look. "Jean is a very good person, she told me that she would help me train when she had time".

"Indeed, that's why I can't accept that" I nodded in agreement. "She should reap the good things she is sowing, don't you agree?"

"Yes!" Noelle nodded energetically.

"That's why I want to ask you a favour" I admitted with a needy expression.

"Of course mister, how can I help?" she asked with an excited look.

"I want you to call for everybody and read a letter, where I will explain how good of a person Jean is" I said with a determined look. "People need to know how fortunate they are to have a good person like Jean around".

"Yes, I agree!" she shouted in excitement, ready to carry out my request. "I will read it now!".

"No, not yet. We will do this when the business is doing well so people can already know that this business is actively helping them. Don't you think that's better?" I asked her with a smile.

"Yes, but I don't want to wait. Jean is a good person..." she looked sad that she couldn't help her now. Kids can be impatient at times.

"Haha, yes, I understand that you want to help now. But you need to wait. It will take a month or so, so be patient okay?" I said patting her head. I needed time to escape, so reading that letter now was not a good thing, the JRK wasn't even established after all.

"Yes!" she nodded energetically.

"Noelle, we need to go home now!" a woman's voice sounded all over the city. How strong are her lungs?.

"Sorry mister, my mom is calling for me" Noelle apologized.

"Don't worry, go with her. My name is Kenshin and I live in the nearby hotel. Look for me if you need something okay?" I smiled at her, making her nod excitedly.

he then left running, and I could hear her speaking with her mother.

"Mom, you know what happened!?. I was helping uncle Tom with his boxes when....."

'You are messing up with the girl again. She is going to faint from shame' Guizhing sighed, used to my harmless pranks.

'Just think of it as me teaching her the malice of humans. This way she will never trust anybody again'.

'Why are you saying it as if it's a good thing?'