Paimon hovered in front of Mr. Guchen like his personal agent.
She puffed out her chest and boldly stated her demands:
"Um... We've received the Knights' sincere gratitude. But... isn't there any tangible reward?"
Behind her, Mr. Guchen pressed a hand to his forehead.
Sure enough, the bratty Paimon had emerged! Her true nature was showing!
Not that a greedy Paimon was necessarily a bad thing, but to voice it right at this moment... was just a little embarrassing!
Ignoring all that, Paimon kept her eyes sparkling as she looked at Acting Grand Master Jean—after all, Jean was the Acting Grand Master!
Jean answered sincerely:
"Of course there is a tangible reward."
Paimon squirmed with excitement:
"What is it? What is it?"
Taking a deep breath, Jean said solemnly:
"Mr. Guchen, as Acting Grand Master, on behalf of the Knights of Favonius, I confer upon you..."
Mr. Guchen listened intently.
Please don't let it be the Honorary Knight title from the original story; that sounded a bit lame.
"...the title of Holy Light Knight!"
Mr. Guchen froze, and Paimon was stunned as well.
Paimon was stunned because *that* was supposed to be the tangible reward?
Mr. Guchen froze because it was actually a legitimate titular knight rank!
Mind you, he wasn't even a member of the Knights of Favonius—was it really okay for him to be granted an official title?
Then again, the title of Holy Light Knight did suit him rather well.
He scratched his head, feeling a bit unsure:
"Acting Grand Master Jean, everyone... a titular knight..."
Unexpectedly, Venti put his foot down with the final word:
"I think it's very fitting! Being a titular knight is no big deal."
Kaeya offered a hearty smile:
"My, since the Anemo Archon himself says so, how could any of us object?"
Lisa smiled and nodded:
"I think it's fine, too."
Diluc kept his usual gloomy expression:
"Don't look at me, I'm not with the Knights."
Albedo spread his hands:
"Mr. Guchen has been a tremendous help to Mondstadt. It's no exaggeration to say he saved the city, so I think making a small exception is no big deal."
Finally, it was Jean's turn to sum it up.
She pressed a hand to her chest, looking very earnest:
"Everyone's thoughts are my own. Mr. Guchen, please accept the title of Holy Light Knight. From this day forward, you are a member of the Knights of Favonius—even if you aren't from Mondstadt, or even from this world."
Since everyone said so, and Jean was so sincere, Mr. Guchen couldn't say much more.
He nodded solemnly:
"Very well. Thank you all for your kindness. I will shamelessly accept the title of Holy Light Knight."
With that, a weight lifted from everyone's minds.
Everyone was delighted, and the office was filled with cheer, except for...
Paimon, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied, waved her hands:
"Wait, wait, wait! Excuse me, but I have to ask. Aside from this Holy Light Knight title, is there... any other reward?"
Mr. Guchen pressed a hand to his forehead again, feeling utterly mortified.
However, Paimon turned around and scolded him:
"Guchen, don't be so shy! You have to remember, this is our first day in Mondstadt, and we don't even have a single Mora to our name! We don't even know where we're sleeping tonight!"
Mr. Guchen froze.
Then he suffered a massive shock!
That's right!
Even though he had accomplished so many grand deeds and seemed terribly impressive, the most basic problem of survival hadn't been solved at all!
He had completely missed the mark!
As the saying goes, a man with money is a hero, while a penniless man is brought to his knees—not to mention he still had to feed Paimon!
And Paimon's appetite... well, everyone knew about that!
Abandoning all pretense of shame, Mr. Guchen stepped up and stood shoulder to shoulder with Paimon:
"Everyone, is there any more tangible reward?"
His stunt left everyone utterly speechless.
With a soft chuckle, Lisa couldn't help but laugh out loud:
"My, survival truly is a major issue. Jean, why don't you gauge the difficulty and importance of Mr. Guchen's help based on the Adventurers' Guild's commission standards? Then, based on those two factors, grant our Holy Light Knight adequate compensation. After all, we can't let one of our own suffer losses."
Hearing this, Mr. Guchen was ready to shout, "Sister Lisa, you truly understand me!"
Jean smiled without any objection, and right there at her desk, she did some calculating.
Moments later, Jean wrote out a reward voucher for eight million Mora on the spot!
Handing the voucher to Mr. Guchen, Jean advised him that he could take it to the financial department of the Knights of Favonius to cash it at any time.
As for his living arrangements, Mr. Guchen needn't worry either.
Jean added that titular knights of the order were all assigned housing, completely free of charge.
Just like that, Mr. Guchen had money, a house, and lacked nothing at all.
And that wasn't even all.
Seeing that evening was approaching, Jean and the others proposed that, to express their gratitude to Mr. Guchen and to celebrate the complete resolution of the disaster, everyone present should head over to Good Hunter and hold a banquet there!
"Yay! A banquet!"
That was Paimon's immediate reaction upon hearing the word "banquet."
Mr. Guchen had no reason to refuse.
It would be a great opportunity to bond with everyone, so he gladly set off with Paimon.
Just before everyone headed to Good Hunter for the banquet, Jean broadcasted the good news of the disaster's end to the entire city of Mondstadt!
At the same time, the Knights heavily publicized the hero Guchen, who had rendered immense assistance during the crisis and practically saved Mondstadt single-handedly.
Finally, the Knights highlighted the groundbreaking news that this traveler, Guchen, had been awarded the title of Holy Light Knight!
These announcements and news spread through Mondstadt like the wind.
The people of Mondstadt, naturally free-spirited and romantic, were overjoyed upon hearing the good news.
People raised their glasses in toast and celebration, expressing their heartfelt gratitude for Guchen's salvation and cheering for the birth of the Holy Light Knight.
As a result, by the time Guchen and Paimon followed the others toward Good Hunter, the streets and alleys were filled with sounds of jubilation.
Along the way, Mondstadt citizens who happened to run into them saw the members of the Knights walking together and hurried over to greet them and express their gratitude.
At the same time, they curiously asked which one of them was the newly minted Holy Light Knight.
Since Guchen and Paimon were the only strangers among the group, did they even need to ask who it was?
Consequently, countless people came over to inquire, and countless people got to know Guchen—he had truly and thoroughly made a name for himself!
Just how famous was he?
Anyway, when they arrived at Good Hunter to announce the banquet, the staff heard that the members of the Knights were holding a gathering—and that it featured the great hero who had saved Mondstadt—and they flatly refused to accept any payment, insisting on treating everyone to the utmost hospitality!
Feeling the extent of his own fame, Mr. Guchen couldn't help sighing inwardly.
Everything had truly changed.
The blonde protagonist of the original story was famous, sure, but surely not *this* famous, right?
At the very least, when he or she went to Good Hunter to eat, the restaurant wouldn't proactively waive the bill!
Tsk, thinking about it like this, why was he feeling so happy?