As expected, her newfound diet has been taking a rather unfortunate side effect. With these new findings, she needs to find a way to fix things up, and keep this knowledge from her friends at the same time. Luckily, Ellin is there to give her a perfect excuse.


AN: No beta we die like hilichurls.


"Oh, oh my."

◤Maestra? Is something wrong?◢

"N-Nothing! Don't come in here! I can handle it."

◤Maestra, if something is wrong, I can help. I have over a hundred functions-◢

"No need! I have everything under control. Please wait for me, I will be out soon."

◤...If Maestra says so.◢

Noelle could hear it in her tone that Cookie wanted to say more, but she knew that there was no way her Maestra was letting her into the bathroom this time.

Not with her most recent discovery.

'Oh dear, what am I to do?'

Her eyes were glued to the weighing scale she was standing on. Mind-boggled by the number.

How could she have been so foolish?! How could she have thought that her most recent actions, or more importantly, her recent dietary habits would bear no fruit in the future?!

Noelle screamed internally. She felt very, very frustrated. Mostly at herself.

She needed to do something about this, and quick-

◤Maestra, I do not know what is wrong in there, and I apologize, but I must assist. You may chastise me at a later time.◢

No, don't!

Before Noelle could do anything about it, Cookie had opened the door to the bathroom and witnessed Noelle's predicament in its entirety.

"So… now you see it."

◤If by 'it' you mean Maestra Noelle standing on a weighing scale in her pajamas, then yes I do see it.◢

"My greatest shame."

◤...I do not compute.◢

Noelle whimpered. "Can't you see?" she gestured on the scale. More specifically, the number present. "I, Noelle, have gained weight!"

Cookie's light spun yellow. If she could stare blankly at someone, she would no doubt give Noelle the stare a hundred times over.

◤Maestra… the increase is insignificant-◢

"It will be significant given time!" she exclaimed, she crouched, still standing on the scale, and covered her face. She was devastated. "How could I have been so irresponsible?"

◤Irresponsible? How?◢

Noelle glared at her stomach. "I've been eating Miss Sara's new salad just like my regular one. It's delicious, and she made it for me specifically, so I always finished it. Sometimes she would offer me a second serving."

◤I do not think that is the problem. You were always taking second servings of the Satisfying Salad from time to time as well.◢

Noelle nodded. "Yes, you're right. The fault lies with me. It slipped my mind that with a change of diet comes with a degree of exercise, and muscle building," she whimpered once more as she put the scale back under the sink. "I was so naive. You pretty much ate your fill that one day every week, Noelle! How could you not have thought that it would build up?"

◤That day… you mean-◢

"Yes, that dreaded day…" Noelle sighed. "The cheat day."

What was once a one-time occasion quickly became a tradition. The one day in a week that the chefs in the Knights of Favonius Headquarters became Michelin was something that Hertha dubbed the 'Cheat Day'.

Once a week, the knights would gather up at the mess hall, eat together, share stories, and bond. There would be no alcoholic beverages allowed, though Narukami Water was still permitted, and root beer would be available at the very least.

At Hertha's behest, and to some degree, Noelle's own free will, the maid had eaten her fill every cheat day, to her companion's joy. It made her feel nice to make people happy, and if they were happy when she ate a lot, they eat a lot she would do. That's what she told herself, at least.

The truth was that she really did want to eat the food available during those days. Who wouldn't? But she couldn't get herself to admit it. Years of denial, self-discipline, and perhaps a twinge of pride made her reluctant to say that she wasn't just doing it for them.

Though from the looks that her companions gave her as she told them her excuse, it looked like the only one who was convinced of her own lie was Noelle.

"Oh no… what am I going to do…" she paced around the pristine bathroom.

◤Maestra, I'm sure that no one will think, or see any less of you. Do not be concerned about-◢

"Will my clothes fit after a week? Do I have to tailor all of my uniforms again?" she gasped. "What about my martial arts? My form? What am I if I can't be of service?!"

◤Oh.◢

Somehow, in some way, it made Cookie feel better that her Maestra wasn't concerned about what others thought of her looks, that she wasn't concerned over her weight for vanity.

To Cookie, her Maestra was the most beautiful, kind, and inspiring person. Anyone who talked bad about her would exchange a few words with her robotic limb, after she notified the knights, of course.

Even now, while undergoing what she saw as a serious personal crisis, as Cookie thought it wasn't that big of a problem, she still wanted to support her Maestra.

Why?

Because she was an honest-to-barbatos Roomba. And if nothing else, she held pride in her ability to clean up a mess.

"Oh, I know!" Noelle put a fist down on her thumb. "I can start exercising now. Master Jean did say I'm mostly free today aside from the usual cleaning."

◤In that case, I can research an exercise set focusing on weight loss for Maestra to follow.◢

Noelle smiled. Cookie was happy that her Maestra had gotten out of her funk now. "Thanks, but maybe you could research something for muscle gain?"

◤I can, yes.◢

"Great," they went out of the bathroom as Noelle closed the door behind her. "I have a set of exercises I follow as well, but I think you'll do a better job at it, considering how much information you have access to. Just… make sure it's for the average person. Not a sumo wrestler from Inazuma?"

◤Affirmative. I also doubt that you are what passes for an average person. However, what brought up this sumo wrestler?◢

Noelle awkwardly chuckled. "No reason, just… wanted to point it out, is all."

◤If Maestra says so.◢

Noelle sighed. As long as Cookie knew what to do, she wasn't worried.

Knock Knock

"Hello? Noelle, are you in there? I need some help."

Noelle raised an eyebrow. "Ellin?"

"Yeah, it's me, can I come in?"

◤No other lifeforms detected. I will open the door for Maestra Ellin.◢

First of all, since when did Cookie have some kind of radar function?

Noelle's eyes widened, and second-

"Oh hey, you must be the Cookie I've heard so much about, so glad to finally meet you."

◤The feeling is mutual, Maestra Ellin.◢

"Anyway, hey, Noelle- whoa."

-She was still in her pajamas. Red suddenly started creeping up her face up to the tip of her ears.

The two stared at each other, frozen. Until Ellin slowly nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

"Nice pajamas. Covers the whole body, white with red rose patterns all around, and that cute face," she winked.

"10/10, would like to wear some myself."


After a bit of a ruckus caused were all three present were involved in some way, the trio had now settled down. With Cookie, on the floor adjacent to them, Ellin and Noelle sat beside each other atop the end of her bed.

Of course, compared to a few moments ago, Noelle was now fully clothed in her usual attire.

Not that it caused Ellin to forget the earlier sight, much to Noelle's dismay.

"Now, now, don't be like that. You were adorable!"

"T-Thank you but that's not the point! I wasn't prepared to receive guests."

"Aw come on, I'm not a guest, I'm a friend," Ellin told her. "You don't have to be prepared to receive me. I don't mind at all."

"Still…"

"Trust me, you caused me no discomfort."

Noelle sighed in relief. "That's… that eases me. Thank you."

"You're welcome. And thank you as well, that was quite the sight for sore eyes," she chuckled. "I wish I had a kamera with me."

"Ellin!"

The tip of the maid's ears had gone red. She tried her best to pull off something similar to giving her a glare or a stink-eye.

"Noelle, girl, you have better luck scaring off a scarecrow with that look on your face. Right now you look like a hamster."

"Well… you look- you are…" Noelle groaned and put her hands up in surrender. "I can't. I can't do it."

"Wow, never imagined Noelle was that dedicated and kind not even to manage a single insult."

◤Maestra… is Maestra.◢ Cookie interjected.

Ellin pinched the bridge of her nose. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

Never before had she seen or heard of anyone that couldn't even manage to utter a single insult, or what she saw as an insult.

Not that that was a bad thing… but she had heard that Noelle was often asked to do the work of others. Of course, with Noelle being Noelle, she did as she was told without a fuss, and with a smile.

She knew that the knights would scold Noelle for it, and they would scold whoever asked the maid a lot more, but Noelle never knew what she did wrong.

"Hey, Cookie."

◤Maestra Ellin?◢

"Come here for a second." Ellin beckoned Cookie to come closer. The Roomba did as she was told, seeing as there was no harm in it.

Ellin put a finger on her mouth. Cookie caught the signal immediately. ◤Yes? Miss Ellin?◢ she whispered.

"Don't you think Noelle is a bit… I don't know, too kind?"

◤I do not understand the direction of this conversation but yes, Maestra Noelle is very kind.◢

Ellin sweatdropped. She didn't know where she was going with this. "Nevermind."

In the background, Noelle raised an eyebrow. "Is there something I should know about?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all," she cleared her throat. "Anyway, Noelle!" she turned to her side to face the maid.n

"Y-Yes?"

"Back to what I came here for. I need your help."

Noelle sat up straight. "Anything. What must I do?"

She shook her head. "You're not doing anything for me. The thing I need your help with ultimately needs my own effort."

"This sounds like a very high task. Please, tell me everything about-"

"Please help me get stronger!"

Ellin put her hands together in front of her and bowed.

Noelle blinked.

"What?"

"You heard me. I need help with my training," she sighed. "As I am now, I haven't seen much improvement in weeks."

"I see… results cannot be gained in a day, yes, but do not see noticeable improvement in… how many weeks?"

"Three weeks now, twenty-six days."

"That's close to four weeks, I see now why you've come to me but… why come to me?" Noelle tilted her head.

Ellin raised an eyebrow. "Because you're my friend. You're the only one I can trust with this."

"I- T-Thank you," Noelle felt flattered. She had answered without missing a beat. "Still, surely the other knights could have better advice?"

"I mean, sure, they could. But I don't want them to know this. I want them to see my results, the process is… well, a bit shameful, being honest with you." she sheepishly scratched the back of her head.

"I see," somehow, Noelle understood the feeling. Like Ellin, she too was an aspiring Knight. She underwent many hardships behind closed doors to maintain her professional and dutiful image, lest she risk her spot at a promotion.

Not to mention Ellin considered Noelle to be such a good friend that she shared something that even she herself would never share with anyone. Ellin had shared her insecurities, and faults by admitting just one thing.

Words were cheap, and actions spoke louder, yet what Ellin had just done was an act to speak out her frustrations to what she considered a dear friend.

Noelle's eyes widened, then, they narrowed as they glowed in determination. Golden orbs shining brighter than any jade.

This determination, this sudden urge to repay the favor, to repay her trust in her with her dedication in full!

The power of friendship had surged within her!

"In that case, we have no time to waste. Come! Show me your training grounds."

"H-Hey! Wait! Why are you going out already? Do you even know where it is?! Hey! Noelle!"

Cookie watched as Noelle had gone out of the room in a rush, with Ellin rushing right after her after a moment.

All the while, she thought to herself about what had just happened. It was too fast for her processors to, well, process.

"Cookie! Come on!" she could hear Noelle's voice in the distance.

◤I am on my way!◢

As he turned the door and made sure to lock it behind him, he realized that Noelle had taken the keys as soon as she had left. Cookie was baffled, and possibly a bit impressed as she hadn't even seen her Maestra take the keys.

Truly, her Maestra was an amazing person.


"It sounds like you've plateaued," Noelle concluded.

Ellin hunched over on a weapon rack. "I see, understandable have a nice day~" she had a dopey look on her face as she simply watched the lake from outside of the wall. "What does that mean~?"

◤According to definition, the state of being Plateaued is defined as reaching a state wherein there is little to no change or improvement after a certain time of repetitive activities.◢

"In other words-"

"In other words I'm doomed!" she leaned onto the maid next to her, put her head on Noelle's shoulders, and stared blankly at the blue sky. "I knew it. I'm never becoming a knight."

Noelle frowned. "Don't say that!" she let out with more heat than she intended. "There is a simple fix to this!"

"Is there? I haven't been improving in weeks now. I'm not sure what else there is to do."

◤Well, Maestra Ellin, I suspect it has more involvement with what you decided to not do.◢

Ellin raised an eyebrow. "You mean I lacked to take something into account?"

◤Precisely. A person plateau when their habits and training reach an equilibrium. For example, a person wanting to lose weight suddenly finds themselves at the same weight for weeks. It's becoming the calories they burn, are equal to the calories they gain per day. The principle is the same in this regard.◢ Cookie told them.

Noelle nodded. "In other words, the fix for your predicament is simple, yet difficult at the same time," she narrowed her eyes at the weights, the training dummies, and the wooden practice swords. "We need to gradually increase your training."

"I-Increase?" she looked baffled. "I thought after I'd hit the max level of training available I would just need to farm it all day."

Noelle titled her head. She blinked. "What?"

Ellin looked like a deer in a carriage's lights. "Nothing. Just a bit of an inside joke," she cleared her throat. "Anyway, you were saying something about increasing my training?"

Noelle nodded. "Correct. Strength, muscle, cardio, all of that. We'll have to gradually increase your training little by little," she smiled. "It's not much, but it's honest work. And most importantly, it works."

"I... I see. By avoiding discomfort, I blocked my way to progress," she smacked herself on the forehead. "Stupid Ellin!"

"No need to be so hard on yourself, Ellin. It happens to everyone."

She raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Really? Even to you?"

"Of course, why would it not?"

"Because you're... you!"

Noelle titled her head. Again, she didn't understand. "Because I'm... me? I'm afraid I don't understand."

Right, Noelle didn't know how people outside of the knights regarded her. "Nevermind. But still, I can't imagine you going through this."

"You must believe me. I did too. In fact, I was more frustrated than you in this regard that it took Master Varka's intervention." she spoke with a strained smile as if remembering that memory caused her some kind of pain. Though she seemed more embarrassed if nothing else.

"Really? Did you gradually increase your training set too?" She couldn't deny that she was interested in knowing how the wondermaid was before she was the wondermaid.

There were many stories about how Noelle came to be. A young girl like her, having strength that many men had dreamed of, and a vision to boot.

Some stories told that Noelle was born from an asteroid said to have been sent to Teyvat from Rex Lapis himself. Other stories had her parents be extraterrestrials that went to Teyvat for safety.

Come to think of it, all of the stories in the grapevine were about in general consensus that Noelle was superhuman. They all thanked how kind she was. If she had been on the other side of the law, things could get nasty.

Yet, Ellin knew that Noelle was just as normal as any of them. She was a young girl, just like her. Aspiring to become a knight, just like her. Though unlike her, she knew that Nele had gone through more pain, after that incident.

"You could say I increased my training, in a way."

"In a way?"

She nodded. "Master Varka told me that increasing the difficulty doesn't necessarily have to mean your equipment, it could also be what's on you. Such as weights, hindrance equipment, and such."

"Oh, I never thought about that."

"Neither had I, at the time. I never realized how significant the change was, though."

"That big of a difference?"

Noelle sighed. "Very," she scratched her cheek and smiled sheepishly. "After the first five kilometers, I felt like I couldn't go any further. And that was with only a few weights on my back."

Ellin nodded. "Ah, I see. I guess anyone would feel that way after- wait," wide-eyed, she turned to look at Noelle, mechanically turning her head, an empty smile on her face. It looks like Cookie felt the same too.

"Five kilometers?!"

◤Five Kilometers?!◤

Noelle recoiled slightly from surprise. "Y-Yes?"

"Uh… Noelle, can I ask what kind of training you were given, and who gave it to you?"

◤I would like to know the audacity- I mean, who this person is.◢

Ellin caught Cookie's slip, Noelle didn't, but Ellin didn't comment on it further.

"Oh, a hundred push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and a ten-kilometer run every day was what Master Varka gave me."

Ellin's eyes widened. "It was Master Varka?! And what is with that set?!" that was outrageous!

Noelle shrugged. "Master Varka thought I could handle it, and I could. So I did."

Ellin's mind was all but spiraling from all of this information. Her eyes were spirals at this point.

◤That cannot be safe to perform at that age, Maestra Noelle.◢

"Yes. Many at the time thought it would be too much for me. Though, I did it anyway."

If Cookie could groan, she would have. ◤Maestra, that is not the point-◢

"I want to do that."

Maid and Roomba turned towards Ellin, who was shuffling her hands in front of her, before standing straight with resolute eyes.

"Do what?"

◤Maestra Ellin, I strongly advise you to reconsider.◢

Ellin shook her head. "If Noelle did it, then I can too. Will you be willing to be my coach?"

"O-Of course! I would love to!" she beamed, but then she adopted a thoughtful pose with her arms crossed and a finger to her chin. "Though, are you certain about this? This will undoubtedly be harder than your current level."

Ellin gulped, but she didn't shy away. Noelle gave her points for that. She gave Noelle a nervous smile, but behind the nervousness hid a determination that could match Noelle's.

She too, was serious about becoming someone worthy of Master jean's attention one day, after she had become someone worthy of becoming a knight.

"Sure. I already expect it to be hard. Besides, no pain, no gain, right?"


It was a good day. Joyce thought.

He woke up early today. He got himself some coffee earlier, and it was freshly brewed too. Not too sweet, maybe a little bitter, and it was just right to him.

A few hours later and he was sure he would be busy once again. Helping out the townsfolk most likely.

The job of a knight these days involved basic errands to wherever and whoever. It was how the Knights of Favonius were without most of their forces as well as Master Varka.

It was peaceful, very peaceful to the point of boredom. But that was a good thing. Boredom was good. Action meant people were in danger. And though his heart yearned for battle just like most of the knights, he thought about the greater good.

The safety of the populace, and the ensuring peace and harmony of the Mondstadt. That was his priority. Everything else, was simply his wants.

Now, to enjoy another sip of his hot beverage-

"Come on! You can do it! Just a few more kilometers and you'll hit a third of our goal!"

"Really? Just a third?!"

"Do you perhaps want to stop, Miss Ellin?"

"N-No! Never, Noelle!"

"That's the spirit! I'll be right behind you!"

Joyce carefully and shakily put his cup of coffee down. Eyes wide, cold sweat ran down his body as he saw Ellin and Noelle running side by side around Mondstadt as a form of training.

Though from the looks of it, and from what he could hear, it didn't look like any kind of training. Which was why he was so nervous.

"Why…"

It was supposed to go along with Master Varka! Why did it stick with her? Unless-

She had been doing the Training every day without fail. You could hear the capitalizations on that word. That particular word alongside the capitalization had brought back images of a titan of a man, hurling boulders as if they were pebbles in random directions for fun with a smile on his face, laughing all the while when he was being chastised by Master Jean.

With a heavy heart, a shaking hand, and wide eyes, he held his head. Thoughts ran through his head as fast as a mile a minute in the empty room.

Yet, there was one thought that dominated every other in his mind.

'Why, why is that damned training method still alive?!'