She had been careless. Durandal forgot that Diko was a life form born from the magic orb she had condensed. Even if she cut off its ability to communicate with her, it could still find her location through its connection to her.
Durandal instinctively wanted to leave Mt. Aocang, but upon seeing Klee's tears as she ran towards her, the thought of leaving vanished.
This Children was crying? Crying because of her? All this sadness, was it all her doing?
"Sister Durandal!"
Just like usual, Klee threw herself into Durandal's arms with force. Only this time, she wasn't smiling as usual; her face was covered in tears, and she had cried herself into a little mess.
Durandal hugged Klee tightly, looking at her crying, and gently stroked her hair.
Her beautiful hat had fallen to the ground from running. That hat must have been quite important to her, right?
But this little darling didn't care about any of that. She clung tightly to Durandal, afraid that she would escape from her side like last time, afraid that it would truly be as Durandal said, with no possibility of meeting again.
"You still found me, Klee. Really... I should have run away, but why, when I see you cry, do I no longer want to leave, only wanting to stay and comfort you?"
The only thing this plan didn't account for was what would happen after she was found.
Durandal had anticipated that Klee would be sad because of her departure, but that was only a short-term thing. In her mind, after the initial period passed, Klee would gradually return to normal and become that little sun again.
But her current state was terrible. It was clear she hadn't rested well during this time.
Why? It must be because of her. Her departure had caused Klee too much grief, and combined with her constant search for Durandal, she hadn't been able to rest properly.
Of course, the biggest flaw was Diko. The very thing she had prepared for Klee to keep her from being lonely had become Klee's greatest helper in finding her.
But when she gave Diko to Klee, she never expected something like this to happen so quickly. Truly... it was impossible to guard against.
But... she was happy. Even though she knew she shouldn't have been found, when Klee found her, she couldn't help but feel joy.
Perhaps... deep down, she also wished to be found. She was truly strange; she had already decided to leave, yet such thoughts still lingered in her heart.
Could it be that spending too much time with Lumine, that strange fellow, had made her strange as well?
"Durandal, Klee missed you so much, so, so much."
"Yes, I missed you too, Klee."
"Liar! If you really missed Klee, why didn't you respond to Klee! Diko could contact Durandal, and Klee called out to Durandal every day, so why didn't you respond to Klee?"
During this time, Klee had contacted Durandal every day through Diko, but Durandal never responded to her calls.
"Because when I hear your voice, I soften, so much so that I can't help but want to go find you. So, before you contacted me, I cut off the connection."
As Diko's creator, Durandal still had this privilege; it was quite simple to just cut off contact with Klee.
Just as Durandal said, she was worried that if she heard Klee's voice, she would soften and agree to meet her.
"Since you had such worries, why didn't you come to find Klee?"
"Because... because you saw my original form, that ugly form. I... am not what you think. This current appearance is just how I look when I transform into a human. That is my true form, just like the villains you see in those picture books. I... am also a villain, and a very, very bad one at that, a great demon king who has taken countless lives."
Although she had told Klee about her abilities and how many lives she had taken, it was all under the premise of not revealing her original form.
Through her studies during this time, she understood that humans are sensory creatures; even if someone is evil, if they are beautiful, people will still be drawn to them.
Durandal had received many evaluations during this time, and they were all very high. In Mondstadt, she received evaluations no less than Mondstadt's idol, Barbara.
In Liyue Harbor, she received evaluations no less than those beautiful Damselettes like Keqing and Xiangling.
Her human form was indeed quite good, but... her original form was a complete monster, the kind whose appearance alone could classify her as a villain.
If people saw her like that, they would naturally be disillusioned, thinking that the Durandal they always liked was actually a great demon king.
"Seeing me in that form, you must hate me, right?"
"...Mm, Klee hates it."
Sure enough, just as she imagined, Klee indeed hated that form of... "But what Klee hates is not that form of Durandal. What Klee hates is the Durandal who completely misunderstands Klee's feelings, who blindly believes Klee would hate Durandal."
This sentence was a bit complicated. Durandal pondered for a moment before she understood Klee's words. She... didn't hate herself in her black plague state?
But... what did that last sentence mean? Hating herself for thinking Klee would hate her? Eh? Eh? When did human language become so complicated?
"So... you still hate me?"
"Mm! I hate you the most! Why did you leave without saying a word? And before leaving, you said such an awful thing like we would never meet again. That Durandal is the most hateful, it's too much!"
After saying that, Klee couldn't help but gently punch Durandal a few times with her small pink fists.
Hm? You ask why she punched her gently? Because she couldn't bear to. Although she felt very wronged and wanted to vent, she really couldn't bring herself to hurt Durandal.
Durandal endured Klee's few small pink punches, and looking at Klee, who was once again nestled in her arms, she was filled with mixed emotions.
In her opinion, once she reverted to her black plague form, she would lose everything she originally had and become her former self again.
But she didn't expect that not only did she not lose anything, but she was actively sought out. This feeling was indescribable, making her instinctively reach out and embrace this little Children.
Klee, nestled in Durandal's arms, felt Durandal's trembling hands. She looked up at Durandal's familiar, doting gaze, and some of the hurt in her heart dissipated.
"I'm sorry, Klee. Actually... I was also very scared, afraid that you would hate me and fear me like others. I... I just didn't want to see that kind of look in your eyes, that's why I didn't dare to meet you."
She had experienced too many hostile gazes, including the terrified and fearful looks of her victims, and the determined eyes of the Adventurers who sought to defeat her.
What Durandal found most unacceptable were those fearful gazes. If such a look appeared on Klee, Durandal couldn't imagine what a blow that would be.
She was afraid of that happening, so she ran away before it did, even cutting off all means of contact, just to prevent such a thing from occurring.
"Durandal..."
Klee was very surprised. Durandal had always seemed composed, as if nothing could make her nervous.
This was the first time she had seen Durandal act like this. So... Durandal could also have such expressions?
Thinking that Durandal was like this because of her, Klee couldn't help but show a big smile.
Indeed... Durandal cared about her, but it was precisely because she cared too much that she chose to run away.
Honestly... she always said that she was causing her trouble, but she never expected that a Durandal like this would also have a day when she caused trouble for others.
But thinking of Durandal's constant care for her, Klee quickly forgave Durandal. Just as Durandal usually comforted her, she gently patted her back, soothing Durandal's emotions.
"Don't worry, Durandal. No matter what happens, Klee will never hate you."
"...Idiot."
Honestly, she had just done something similar to Klee not long ago, and she didn't expect their positions to swap so quickly, with her now being comforted by Klee.
Although the fact that she, a dignified Apostle, was being comforted would be mocked by many if it got out, this feeling was really not bad; she didn't dislike it.
Not far away, Lumine and Paimon, who had caught up, watched this scene quietly. After seeing Durandal successfully convinced by Klee, both of their faces showed brilliant smiles.
Indeed, the success rate would be higher if Klee did this. If she had done it herself, while it wouldn't be impossible to succeed, it certainly wouldn't be as smooth as Klee made it.
"That's settled then. After a little more chatting, Durandal will come back. There are quite a few people waiting for her return in Liyue Harbor right now, and the Seven Stars of Liyue owe her a huge favor."
As the hero who defeated Osial this time, Durandal's contributions were undeniably immense. As the administrators of Liyue Harbor, Ningguang, Keqing, and the other Seven Stars of Liyue all had a lot to say to her.
It was just that she had disappeared after the battle, so they could only put this favor on hold and discuss how to repay it properly when they met again in the future.
Just then, a new set of footsteps approached. Lumine looked in the direction of the sound, and her eyes instantly widened.
The newcomer looked at the scene of Durandal and Klee embracing with some confusion, then, realizing what was happening, spoke up.
"Durandal? Is that..."
Durandal released Klee and looked at the newcomer, saying, "You're here, Shenhe."
-----------------------
To read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can follow and support me on Patreon.
I'll be posting early chapters there so you can always stay ahead and never miss any new content.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"