"Hehehe~ I'm sorry, Sister Durandal. I said I'd take you to play, but Klee slept all day."
In the evening, at the bridge in front of Mondstadt, Klee shyly scratched her head, looking apologetically at Durandal.
She had originally planned to take Durandal to other places after eating the grilled fish, but after eating, sleepiness overtook her, and she couldn't help but fall asleep.
Wuwu~ It must be because she slept too little last night. But Sister Durandal's lap is so soft and comfortable.
"Such a big place cannot be explored in one day. You don't need to apologize, Elf. I was... very happy today."
"Hehehe~ That's good. Klee was worried Sister Durandal might be bored."
Klee giggled and held Durandal's hand, wanting to take Durandal into Mondstadt, but Durandal didn't move. No matter how Klee pulled her, she didn't take a single step this time.
"Sister Durandal?"
"I won't go in."
Compared to crowded places, Durandal was more comfortable in less populated environments. She wasn't ready yet.
Klee bit her finger with some regret. She had originally wanted to introduce Durandal to others, but it seemed this plan couldn't be realized.
"Klee understands. If Sister Durandal can't come, then Klee will come to play with you! As long as Acting Grand Master Jean doesn't ground Klee, Klee will come to find Sister Durandal."
"...Whatever you want."
Even if she didn't allow Klee to come find her, Klee probably wouldn't listen anyway.
Instead of wasting words like yesterday, it was better to let her do whatever she wanted, and Durandal would just be a little more careful.
Getting the answer she wanted, Klee nodded contentedly, preparing to bid Durandal farewell.
"Oh, right, Sister Durandal. Uh... could you please not call Klee an Elf? Just calling Klee by her name is fine. Aren't we friends?"
"..."
Durandal didn't answer. She watched the nervous Klee, hesitated repeatedly, then nodded.
"I understand, Elf."
"Wuwuwu~"
Klee puffed out her cheeks angrily. She said she agreed, but still used that address.
Looking at Klee's puffed-up cheeks, Durandal paused, realizing the problem with her previous words, and then deliberated.
"Klee..."
"Mm! Sister Durandal!"
Klee's bright smile returned, a smile like the sun, making Durandal unable to resist touching Klee's hat.
Durandal watched Klee walk into Mondstadt. She waved back like Klee, and only after Klee disappeared did she turn and leave.
She subtly glanced to her side, not paying much attention, and as she walked, her body transformed into a wisp of black smoke and vanished from the spot.
Not long after Durandal left, a tall woman with dark circles under her eyes emerged from behind a tree, her gaze fixed intently on the spot where Durandal had just stood.
She was Rosaria, a nun of the Church of Favonius.
Although she disliked praying, her attire didn't look like a nun's at all, and she even mispronounced Barbatos's name, her nun identity was undeniable.
Today, she had just completed an outdoor mission and was about to go to Angel's Share for a few drinks when she saw Klee appear at the gates of Mondstadt with an unfamiliar girl.
She habitually hid to observe and quickly noticed something was off about this girl.
Not only that, but the girl also noticed her hiding, which made her break out in a cold sweat.
Just looking in her direction caused her body to have a stress response, like a prey animal seeing a predator, incredibly terrifying.
Who was she? Why was she with Klee? These questions appeared in her mind.
Could she become a threat to Mondstadt? If she was a threat, was there a way to deal with her?
Rosaria thought a lot but ultimately couldn't come to a conclusion. It seemed this would become another long-term mission. Hopefully, no problems would arise.
Durandal, after leaving Mondstadt, did not immediately return to Cape Oath. She arrived at Windrise, where the largest tree stood, with a statue of the seven similar to the one at Starfell Lake.
Durandal was naturally not there to worship. She noticed some flowers placed in front of the statue of the seven, and some leftover Apple cores under the tree.
Looking up, Durandal saw a familiar figure lying on a tree branch, sound asleep with a bottle reeking of alcohol in her hand.
"This fellow..."
Didn't she say she was going to deal with Dvalin's matter? Seeing how hard she worked yesterday, Durandal thought she was finally serious about getting things done, but she didn't expect her to give up after just one day.
She looked around and noticed several Slime Condensatess leisurely moving their bodies.
The Slime Condensatess, out for a stroll, were completely unaware that disaster was about to strike, still moving leisurely.
Soon, they felt someone approaching. Just as they became alert, they saw Durandal staring at them expressionlessly.
Just one look scared them stiff. They usually only bullied adventurers; they had never encountered such a terrifying person.
If they were hot-tempered Pyro Slimes, they might do something, but what ATK could these Slime Condensatess, who only spit bubbles and ram people with their bodies, have?
Durandal casually picked up a Slime Condensates, weighed it slightly, then aimed at Barbatos on the tree branch and threw it without hesitation.
With a 'whoosh', the Slime Condensates's soft body accurately hit Barbatos's face.
Although the Slime's body was soft, Durandal's strength was considerable. She deliberately used 'a little' force to throw it, precisely because of its softness.
Barbatos, in her sleep, felt a hard smack on her face, then screamed and fell from the tree, landing heavily on the ground.
"Ouch! Who on earth is disturbing someone's sleep? No common decency at all."
Barbatos rubbed her butt and stood up from the ground, wanting to see which fellow had disturbed her sleep. She was determined to use the Anemo to make that person understand how to respect others.
Then she saw Durandal standing not far away, a Slime being bounced up and down like a basketball, its watery big eyes clearly showing a crying expression.
"Du... Durandal? Why are you here? No, you actually came out of Cape Oath?"
Shocked! Barbatos had seen Durandal come out of Cape Oath before, but those were rare occasions. What was she out for this time?
"Barbatos, why are you here?"
Holding the Slime Condensates, Durandal looked expressionlessly at Barbatos, who was sprawled on the ground.
"Didn't you go to solve Dvalin's problem? Why are you here drinking and slacking off? Is this how you do things?"
"Oh, I am dealing with things properly, really. It's just that Dvalin ran off somewhere today. No matter how I played my music, Dvalin didn't respond to me. So... I had to find something to do."
Although a god, she also needed income. To get money for wine, she could only go perform and earn a little cash.
But business was bad today. When she arrived at Windrise feeling dejected, she found that the statue of the seven had offerings from a nun today.
She unhesitatingly tasted these offerings. Although it was just Apples and Apple cider, she was already very satisfied.
Durandal listened to Barbatos's words expressionlessly, internally complaining that she really shouldn't have believed she would get serious about work.
"Didn't you say that once Dvalin is corrupted, he will become a weapon and bring disaster to Mondstadt?"
"I did say that, but the toxins in Dvalin's body have improved after yesterday's absorption. A few more times, and it will reach a manageable level. So... a little slacking off isn't a big deal, right?"
This fellow... Durandal couldn't take it anymore. She threw the Slime Condensates in her arms at Barbatos.
The Slime Condensates hit Barbatos again at an extremely fast speed, then bounced back into Durandal's hand due to the force.
The Slime Condensates, which had just returned, was thrown out again, repeating this process. Barbatos endured the very soft impacts.
There was no other way. Durandal couldn't use her own abilities to deal with Barbatos, otherwise, the Anemo God would fall here.
Aside from violent physical punishment, only smashing her with Slimes could serve as a punishment.
"Ah! Ouch! No, it doesn't hurt that much. But this feeling is very unpleasant. Spare me, Durandal!"
Barbatos was thrown around, scrambling with her hands over her head, begging for mercy. She also knew that what she had just said was too annoying. If she had maintained a proper degree, Durandal wouldn't have gotten angry.
But because she was drinking, she didn't grasp Durandal's bottom line, so she suffered the consequences.
Just one Slime Condensates wasn't enough, so Durandal dual-wielded Slime Condensatess, throwing them precisely at Barbatos from left and right. No matter how the other party dodged, the Slime Condensatess would accurately hit her.
Once, she even had good luck and dodged, but the collision between the Slime Condensatess changed their direction, causing Barbatos, who would have otherwise dodged, to be hit again.
"Ricochet? Since when did you know this technique?"
Durandal didn't answer. She grabbed the very innocent Slimes and continued her actions.
Don't let Barbatos's miserable state fool you; she was perfectly fine. Don't underestimate the Anemo God; even if her power was nowhere near her peak, she wouldn't be hurt by mere Slimes.
She was just cooperating with Durandal, wanting to earn her forgiveness by taking a beating, after all, it was indeed her fault this time; she had been too lazy.
Also, Durandal's attitude seemed quite good, otherwise, she wouldn't be doing so many actions.
In the past, even when she was angry, she would at most just ignore her. When had she ever thrown balls at people?
However, she was happy to see this change. It would be best if there were more, so that she wouldn't be as sad as before.
"Ah! Don't spray water! You guys! My clothes are wet, completely soaked!"
Although relieved, she still had to solve the immediate problem. What was wrong with these Slime Condensatess? She hadn't heard that they leaked water!