With the poison thoroughly purified and the misunderstanding resolved, the Stormterror crisis had finally been put to rest. The Knights of Favonius and everyone involved were overjoyed—they wouldn't have to raise their blades against Mondstadt's former guardian.
However, for reasons of his own, Su Mo did not release Stormterror from the ice. Instead, he refroze the previously thawed section around his neck, restoring him to the exact state he was in before. Once all was settled, Jean invited Su Mo, Lumine, Paimon, and Venti back to the Knights of Favonius headquarters.
When they arrived, Kaeya personally carried out three barrels of dandelion wine and placed them before Venti. "This is the Knights of Favonius' gift of gratitude!"
"Oh!" Venti's eyes sparkled as he hugged the barrels tightly. "You guys are quite generous!" After all, this was no cheap wine.
"Haha! It's all coming from the public funds anyway," Kaeya laughed cheerfully. "Besides, one barrel is an official gift from the Knights of Favonius. The other two were privately donated by a certain winery owner after hearing about your heroic deeds."
Although the identity of that particular winery owner was supposed to remain hidden, everyone present—except for Paimon and Lumine—could easily guess who it was.
Diluc—who else could it be?
"Woah!" Paimon flew around the barrels in surprise. "That means two of these barrels are ours too, right?!" True to her penny-pinching nature, she immediately caught on to the implication. Even if she didn't particularly enjoy alcohol, she definitely didn't want to hand over her share to that drunkard Venti.
"That's... technically correct," Kaeya said after a moment of hesitation, nodding at Paimon. "But, under Mondstadt's regulations, minors aren't allowed to drink." He then leaned in and whispered, "Of course, if it's done in private, the Knights of Favonius won't interfere." Judging by the way he said it, he had clearly sneaked a few drinks back in his younger days.
"Kaeya-senpai!" Amber, standing nearby, frowned disapprovingly after hearing that. "You can't encourage underage drinking!" Then she turned to Su Mo, her eyes full of admiration. "Mr. Su Mo would never do such a thing, right?" Clearly, she held deep respect for the hero who had frozen Stormterror and defeated the Fatui.
"Uh..." Su Mo hesitated, struggling to withstand Amber's pure, trusting gaze. "Of course. I'll stop anyone underage from drinking," he nodded, making a promise he felt obligated to uphold. After all, Lumine was well past the age of majority, and Paimon—despite appearances—definitely wasn't as young as she looked. The two of them could legally drink.
Klee and Diona, on the other hand, were undeniably just children. But honestly... Su Mo didn't think he'd ever be the type to get them drunk —Probably.
After receiving the Dandelion Wine, and to prevent Venti from making a sneaky getaway with it, Paimon immediately stashed the two barrels meant for them into her inventory. At that moment, Jean, now properly dressed in her formal uniform, approached Su Mo and Lumine with a serious expression.
"On behalf of the Knights of Favonius and the people of Mondstadt," she said with sincere formality, "I want to thank both of you for your heroic contributions." "If you would allow it, we would like to express our gratitude by conferring upon you—the title of Honorary Knight of the Knights of Favonius!" Ah, here it was—the quest reward.
"Honorary Knight?" Paimon blinked in confusion. "That sounds really impressive!"
"To put it simply," Kaeya chimed in, "an Honorary Knight enjoys the same respect and status as a formal knight." "Though during times of crisis, you'll be expected to help Mondstadt weather its storms." Basically, it was a job in name only—just hold the title and enjoy the perks. Actual work would only come up during emergencies. It sounded like a very relaxed position.
But—
"What's the pay like?" Su Mo suddenly asked. "Surely this isn't just free labor, right?" He had no desire to become a glorified errand boy like in the game. Hearing that, Jean looked momentarily flustered.
Honorary knighthood had always been regarded as a great honor in Mondstadt—something many longed for. Refusals were nearly unheard of, and no one had ever bluntly asked about the salary. But this situation was different.
Given the sheer power Su Mo and Lumine had demonstrated, it wasn't clear who was getting the better end of this deal. So, Jean didn't take offense. Instead, she patiently explained:
"Honorary Knights receive a salary on par with a squad captain."
"All equipment and weapons can be supplied and maintained by the Knights' logistics division."
"And aside from aiding Mondstadt in times of peril, there are no binding obligations."
In other words, it wasn't an empty title—they'd actually be well compensated. And that salary... actually sounded quite good. Su Mo's first thought was— Damn it, HoYoverse! They really nerfed Jean in the game! Where were all these benefits then?!
"This sounds... pretty nice." With that kind of income, they wouldn't even need to take commissions from the Adventurers' Guild anymore. A squad captain's salary was no small amount—it put him on par with the likes of Kaeya and Eula. Way above someone like Amber, who was just a scout. And the best part? No regular work hours. It sounded almost too good to be true.
"Are you going to accept it?" Lumine asked, noticing the interest in his voice. She was clearly tempted herself. And if Su Mo accepted, she would gladly do the same without hesitation. Jean, Amber, Venti, and the others looked over as well, hopeful expressions on their faces. They were all clearly eager to have someone as powerful as Su Mo on their side.
But...
"..." Su Mo hesitated. Wandering across the seven nations, collecting the elements' sigils—that also sounded like a worthwhile path. But the problem was, he still didn't fully understand the positions of the Seven Archons. All of them had participated in the downfall of the Khaenri'ah civilization. Sure, there was definitely a deeper story behind it, and these days, it seemed like each Archon was subtly resisting Celestia's control.
But what exactly had they done back then? Without knowing that, Su Mo wasn't sure it was wise to align himself with the power structures of the Seven Nations just yet. Becoming an Honorary Knight would merely lighten his financial burden. And for Su Mo, money was never something he considered particularly important.
At most, the benefits included Barbara's trust, Noelle's admiration...
Hmm...
That didn't sound bad at all, actually?
Just then, Jean—seeing his hesitation—delivered the final blow. "I also heard that the two heroes don't have a place to stay yet." "Regardless of whether Mr. Su Mo accepts the title or not, I would be happy, in a personal capacity, to gift both of you a house." As the eldest daughter of the prestigious Gunnhildr family, Jean made this offer without hesitation.
Damn it. So this is the power of rich people? Su Mo suddenly felt he no longer wanted to struggle.
"I accept!" he declared immediately. A company that offers a high salary, no fixed hours, and provides housing. Where else could you find that? You'd be insane to pass it up!
"Then I'll accept too!" Lumine said quickly after seeing Su Mo's decision. "We're going to have our own place to live!" Paimon cheered happily. The two heroes had accepted Jean's offer—just as everyone had hoped.
Jean and the others immediately broke into smiles.
At that moment, something else occurred to Su Mo.
"Right, I have one more small request," he said.
"Please, go ahead!" Jean responded warmly—her tone noticeably more familiar now that Su Mo had accepted the Honorary Knight title.
"I've dabbled in alchemy for a while and have always been curious about Mondstadt's own alchemical arts," Su Mo explained. "If possible, I'd like to meet the alchemists of the Knights of Favonius."
He hadn't forgotten his real goal—to master the art of Creation and push alchemy into the domain reserved for the gods.
"Alchemy..." Jean was a little surprised. She hadn't expected that someone as powerful as the new Honorary Knight would also be interested in the field of alchemy.
However, she quickly agreed. "No problem! I'll speak to Albedo and Sucrose. In addition, our library also holds a wealth of alchemical knowledge. If you're interested, you're welcome to study there any time!"
Much of the content in the library was actually restricted to internal personnel, but as an Honorary Knight, Su Mo naturally had access to these materials. Jean was quite generous on that front.
With the alchemy matter settled, Jean and Barbara led Su Mo, Lumine, and Paimon to their new residence.