Chapter 24: Chapter 23: Noelle, Maid Imouto.

"Okay, okay very funny," Emmy said as she gave a pointed look to the boys, "You guys got us, you were planning this huh."

"How uncouth! To display such a distasteful joy in the shock of others," Fischl said but smiled, forcefully, "Being struck by heavens lightning was quite a scare wouldn't you say."

"Well it is tradition," Ansgar said, "I also got this treatment when I came to visit for the first time."

"Who knew that Harlin's little sister would be a maid," Andre shook his head, a smile on his face.

"I wasn't like you guys, you overreacted," Aries said dryly, crossing his arms, "I for one, kept calm."

"I remember somebody stepping back in shock that time, who was it?" Sebastian started as Aries pursed his lips, "Wasn't that you?"

"That was one time!"

"The fact that it came from a stone like you makes it all the sweeter."

Emmy interjected before they could get into a fight of some kind, "Alright stop we got stuff to do remember? Hello, Noelle is Harlin inside or...?" Emmy asked, she couldn't see him inside.

"Big Brother is inside the room right now, I'll show you inside in the meantime," Noelle stepped back and gestured toward the inside of the house, "Come in please."

Emmy and the others filed inside the house orderly, placing all the gifts on a table before they went to sit on the various furniture in another room.

Emmy sat in the middle of Fischl and Sebastian. She watched as the twins Sat on the opposite coach and the unfortunate Ansgar who was seated between them. Emmy wanted to laugh.

"Would you all like any drinks for now," Noelle asked and they shook their heads, nodding she continued, "I'll be in the kitchen then, call if you need anything?"

Noelle walked into the kitchen after she said her piece, likely going to make the finishing touches on the dinner. Emmy sighed and then looked at all the boys in front of her and asked the burning question.

"So, what was all of that about?"

"She wants to join the knights of Favonius, so she practices like this," Sebastian said, "She'll make a great knight I'm sure."

"Hmm, so art though to mention the parchment of theater to us? For how could the giant collide with that of the rose?"

The boys descended into silence silently looking at Emmy to translate, but Sebastian beat her to it.

"She asked how they met," Sebastian said, but other than him there was another.

One that was unexpected.

"She asked about how they met," Aries said at the same time as Sebastian.

They all looked at him strangely, not expecting him to understand and speak up like that. Aries closed his eyes and didn't speak again, prompting them to remove their gazes from him.

"Well... that was something, so yeah do you guys know?" Emmy asked, ignoring what just happened.

'She couldn't be his biological sister right? Or is that grey and lavender hair color just what their parents had?' Emmy thought.

"I think we should just wait for her to tell Boss no? I don't think she would be that averse to it." Sebastian said as he looked at Emmy, his chin resting on his palm.

"She told me when I asked her so it wasn't a problem for me," Ansgar said, cracking his neck.

Andre nodded, "She was kind and soft-spoken when she told me." They looked at him weirdly, so he corrected himself, "She was more than usual."

"Fine then, I guess I'll wait," Emmy said, cracking her fingers, "So what are we going to do in the meantime."

Everyone shrugged and they descended into silence. Fischl looked at Ansgar and saw that he looked like her wanted to say something. Just as she was about to speak, the star of the show arrived.

Harlin was here. He didn't come quietly.

"Hello everybody! I would like to thank you for coming to celebrate my birthday today!" Harlin was quite loud but not to an extreme.

His voice had more of an underlying force beneath it, Emmy noted.

"Boss! You're here, I'm so glad you could come."

"I wouldn't be a good boss if I didn't come," Emmy closed her eyes with a small smile, "Though you look quite good in such clothes it suits you."

Harlin was dressed in the same garb as the other boys but the thing that stood out was the unique design of the buttons and his tie. They were crisscrossed with small circles within them and in those circles were grey diamond shapes.

They were a small teddy bear in his pockets as well.

"I'm flattered honestly," Harlin said scratching his head.

"Who made the teddy bear? Was it you or..." Emmy asked and looked at the kitchen at the last bit.

"It was her," Harlin said as he looked toward the kitchen with a fond smile surfacing on his face, "I like this little sister of mine."

"Hmm... Family is nice," Emmy said, reminiscing of the times she had with her parents.

They would come back someday and at that time she would like to show them how much she had grown. They started an animated conversation now that Harlin was with them. Mostly about the suit that Harlin had on him.

"Man lucky, it looks so good on you," Ansgar said scanning the suit, he seemed like an expert.

"Stop fantasizing about clothes," Sebastian stopped him before he could go on a tirade, "It's not the time."

"I can't imagine having such good luck to have such a nice little sister," Aries spoke, looking at his brother, smiling he said, "I was stuck with this guy instead, the heavens are unjust."

"Nobody asked to be stuck with you either," Andre pouted, crossing his arms, "Hah~ I was stuck with such a stone, aren't I the one who should be crying right now."

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"Couldn't relate," Emmy said, with Fischl and Sebastian nodding, "Must be nice."

"Hmph! To have one to journey the endless universe with is a blessing granted by the divine might of eternal darkness," Fischl said as she crossed her arms.

"I'd say it may be a bit stressful," Sebastian rationalized, "I mean look at those two."

"It's probably the sign of a healthy relationship more than anything else," Emmy reasoned.

They continued to talk about all sorts of things until a pleasant aroma took over their senses. They all looked at each other for a while, but it was mostly everyone except Harlin, who looked used to it. It didn't wipe the smirk off of his face though.

"Ah, it seems that she is about done now." Harlin said, looking at all of them and lounging on the chair, he continued, "Imagine eating such delicious food every day, you all couldn't imagine it right?"

Emmy wanted to wipe that smile off his face, but since it was his birthday she would let him off.

For now.

The group watched as Noelle came over with a large cake, carrying it with visibly no effort as if the cake was just a feather. Emmy was confused at the display of strength of such a tiny girl but attributed it to her being Harlin's sister.

'If she was his sister, well... biologically.' Emmy thought, squinting her eyes.

It wouldn't be weird for them to both be monstrous. Him with his [Constitution] and her with [Strength].

"Do you need any help?" Emmy asked as she looked at the girl who went back into the kitchen.

Noelle stopped saying, "No thank you, I'll be with you all shortly."

Emmy blinked as she looked at the little girl coming back with more and more food. Eventually, she stood up to remove the gifts from the table for her to have a larger amount of space.

"Thank you," Noelle said, bowing.

"Your welcome," Emmy wanted to pat her head but settled for her shoulder instead.

The table was set and everyone began to eat, Noelle included. They sat virtually anywhere, on the coaches or the table since it didn't have much space. Emmy tasted like pastry and felt her mouth explode into a flurry of colorful senses.

"The crunchiness of the bread is perfectly evened out by the internal heat and fluffiness of the bread," Emmy praised stroking her chin, "Splendid work!"

"I never knew the boss was a foodie," Andre said as he ate his third serving of pasta.

"I dabble."

The others kept quiet as they ate and they finished rather quickly at that. They gathered all the dishes and placed them in the kitchen. It was time to eat the cake and do the cake ritual.

Emmy watched as Harlin closed his eyes and said his wishes, they waited for a minute before he opened his eyes and started cutting the cake.

****

Harlin took a piece of the cake before saying, "Be civilized, don't fight over it." He went to sit down on one of the couches and watched as the others started taking their share.

He shook his head and took a bite, his eyes closed in joy. He opened his eyes and looked at the cake, then turned away before he did a double take.

The cake was already gone!

'These beasts,' Harlin snorted as he watch Andre and the other boys, take large pieces. Emmy, the girl who he called his boss shamelessly had the biggest piece and she even smiled at him, chewing as she did so. Rubbing it in his face.

Outrageous!

****

Emmy watched in satisfaction as Harlin gashed his teeth in frustration before sighing in defeat. In truth they hadn't eaten all the cake but had hidden the other pieces, all of them agreed that they were quite miffed at his boasting.

So, they got back at him.

She looked toward Noelle who was alone and sneakily walked up to her, placing her half-finished cake on the table. She followed the girl as she walked into the kitchen and touched her shoulder.

"Eep!" Noelle jumped sending her plate in the air and Emmy hurriedly caught it.

Thankfully everything on it was still attached to it when she did. She looked at the girl, who now seemed very much like a rabbit, Emmy couldn't help but feel like bullying her but she held in her primal urges.

"Ah, sorry for scaring you I just wanted to ask you a question," Emmy asked taking a step back from the girl.

"Yes, are you perhaps Emmy?" Noelle asked, touching her fingers together.

"Yes."

"I... would like to thank you for saving my brother and his friends, I'll answer your question as payment. It isn't much compared to that but please accept," Noelle bowed.

"Uh... don't worry about it, I just wanted to ask if he is your brother," Emmy asked, "Also you don't need to bow."

"Biologically no, but in our hearts, we treat each other as brother and sister."

Emmy leaned against the wall in the kitchen, she saw Fischl sneaking around in the corner of her eye. She smiled.

"Well, it all started when I was walking down the streets of Mondstadt..."

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