"Ah! I don't even know how to judge their situation. From Miss Glory's perspective, waiting for her lover for so many years only to find that he was too cowardly to enter the city gates and even lied to her... it does seem like his fault! But looking at it from Mr. Godwin's side, he seems to have his own reasons."
After learning their story, Sucrose had been in low spirits.
"We can't judge their rights or wrongs. Even if Godwin made mistakes, it should be handled by the Knights according to their regulations. What we can do is help Glory see the world again."
"Ah!" Sucrose suddenly covered her mouth, a bit flustered. "But I'm also a member of the Knights! If I don't report this, would I be punished too?"
"No," Shen Qin replied firmly. "It's possible some members of the Knights already know about his situation but haven't said anything."
Of course, he was referring to Kaeya.
Godwin had lingered outside Mondstadt for such a long time. There was no way someone as sharp as Kaeya wouldn't have investigated him. As for why he hadn't arrested him, Shen Qin could only guess.
Shen Qin led Sucrose back to the alchemy workshop. They planned to begin their research immediately so they could restore Glory's vision as soon as possible.
"About the research plan..." Shen Qin began as he opened the door, but Sucrose gasped and stepped back several paces, startled by something ahead of him.
Turning around, Shen Qin saw a pale, ghostly face less than ten centimeters from his own. Lifeless eyes stared straight at him.
His face turned white as he stumbled backward, only steadying himself when Sucrose caught his back.
But upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a life-sized wooden board tied to the door frame with two ropes. The board had a crookedly painted figure resembling Shen Qin.
Klee suddenly jumped out from behind the board, looking smug at having scared him, but quickly put on a pout. "Brother Shen is so mean! You went out to play without taking Klee!"
"So it was you, Klee!" Shen Qin patted his chest in relief.
"Ah, Sister Sucrose is here too!" Klee noticed Sucrose and waved happily.
It was now clear that the frightful painting was Klee's handiwork.
"Klee, you nearly scared me to death..."
"Hehe, I only wanted to scare Brother Shen! Who told you to sneak off to have fun without me? I waited here all day, and you didn't come back!" Klee pouted, clearly feeling wronged.
Shen Qin's place had become Klee's daily hangout. While the other Knights were busy with their duties, Shen Qin was one of the few who had the time to keep her company.
"Alright, alright, my bad. I left in a rush this morning and forgot to tell you. But we weren't out playing—we were looking for something. Remember I told you yesterday? I'm searching for a specific alchemy material."
『 Shen Qin used Head Pat Technique 』
『 It's very effective!!! 』
"Fine! I'll forgive you this time!" Klee rubbed her head against his palm, satisfied.
Since it was already late, the three of them went out for dinner. Shen Qin tried to send Klee back to the Knights, but she refused, insisting on staying with him, even if he didn't play with her.
Shen Qin had no choice but to bring her back to the workshop, where he and Sucrose dove into their research.
While sketching his bionic prosthetic designs, Shen Qin explained his ideas to Sucrose. By the time he finished the schematics for joints and synthetic skin, it was already 10 PM.
Sucrose left with a stack of designs to study, planning to develop the muscle systems that would fill out the prosthetics' physical structure.
Looking around the workshop, Shen Qin noticed Klee asleep on a nearby table.
He pinched her cheek, but she merely smacked her lips in her sleep without waking.
Carrying her towards the bed, he returned to find a drawing on the table where she had been. It depicted a little red-clad girl holding a grilled fish, surrounded by her friends: the one-eyed Kaeya, the golden-haired Jean, Amber with her bunny ears, and even Diluc with his fiery red hair—labeled as "weird."
Every friend she knew was there.
Shen Qin smiled and carefully tucked the drawing into a drawer.
His energy felt renewed!
While Sucrose worked on the muscle system, Shen Qin focused on crafting Glory's special prosthetic.
He decided against replacing her real eyes with bionic ones. Glory's eyes were intact, just blind. Removing them would require surgery, causing unnecessary harm.
Instead, he planned to design a special visor that could capture images through a scanning component. These images would be converted into neural signals via virtual nerve technology and transmitted to her brain, allowing her to "see."
During the visor's development, he would also establish a comprehensive neural system for all bionic prosthetics. Once combined with Sucrose's physical structure, the prosthetics would be nearly complete.
By 1 AM, Sucrose couldn't stay awake and went to sleep in the guestroom. Shen Qin worked until 3 AM before heading to bed. When he woke at 10 AM, Sucrose had already resumed her research, and he quickly joined her.
Klee watched the two work tirelessly and, though exasperated, sighed and decided not to disturb them. Instead, she quietly brought them meals three times a day.
Diluc visited once, intending to discuss Shen Qin's dividends, but Klee stopped him at the door.
"Brother Shen Qin and Sister Sucrose are working on a new invention! Don't disturb them!" Klee said, hands on her hips.
"Oh? He's collaborating with Miss Sucrose? This must be another big invention! Klee, do you know what they're making?" Diluc tried to glean some information.
"Klee doesn't know!" she replied, blinking innocently.
In truth, after observing for days, Klee had a general idea—they were making prosthetics to help people with missing limbs return to normal life.
Unable to get any new information, Diluc left without a fuss. If Shen Qin needed collaborators, he would certainly approach the Knights or Dawn Winery, as their previous partnership on the gliding boards had been successful.
After ten days of seclusion, Shen Qin finally completed the visor. Sucrose, though slightly behind, was dragged out for a break.
"Come on, it's time to witness a miracle."