"It's quite interesting. What do we do next?"
"Next, I'll demonstrate to you and then give you some guidance."
Lumine, who was originally chatting happily with Mona, squinted at Durandal and Shenhe walking in front. Durandal didn't know why, but she suddenly became interested in the immortal arts and exorcism abilities that Shenhe possessed, and asked her to teach her a few tricks.
It was generally difficult for people who had not systematically studied it to get started, but who was Durandal? Her Talents were not something that humans could compare to. Under Shenhe's surprised gaze, she easily reproduced the moves that Shenhe had demonstrated to her.
Durandal's knowledge was also not something that ordinary people could compare to. Back when she was being attacked, Durandal had also seen a burly man who called himself an exorcist come to attack her. The incantations he used were not interesting.
It's just that compared to using incantations to attack her, this burly man seemed to prefer using the Buddhist beads on his back to attack her, which made people wonder if his exorcism methods were authentic.
Shenhe initially just wanted to teach Durandal a few spells, but she didn't expect Durandal to be so helpful. Not only did she easily learn the abilities, but she also gave Shenhe very useful experience based on her own experience, making her more and more attentive.
In the end, Shenhe even directly grabbed Durandal's hand from behind, and then Durandal used the method of sensing with her consciousness, just like a close-fitting teaching of tennis communication, the two were very intimately close together.
This was originally a good thing. Durandal and Shenhe had a good relationship, which was something they both knew.
But Lumine couldn't be happy looking at this friendly scene; she always felt that Durandal wasn't asking about Shenhe's abilities out of interest, but for some other reason.
"Hey, Traveler. If you keep staring like that, your eyes are going to pop out."
Paimon couldn't stand it anymore and flew to Lumine's side, gesturing for her not to be so obvious. Even a fool could tell what Lumine was thinking now.
"I... I can't help it, Paimon. Every time I try to shift my attention, whatever they're doing over there naturally draws our eyes. Honestly... honestly, why am I not the main character there!?"
Lumine clenched her fists. The last incident was one thing; that was due to insufficient friendship, plus Shenhe and Durandal had spent a few days together and had developed a bit of friendship.
Moreover, Durandal could also handle Shenhe's problems, so it was reasonable for Shenhe to become dependent on Durandal.
But... but for you two to do this in front of me every day is too much. Haven't you considered my feelings?
"You brought this upon yourself. Don't you understand why they're doing this here?"
"Why? What reason? Paimon, do you know something?"
ε=(´ο｀*))) Alas~ Paimon sighed deeply. She didn't understand why Lumine always seemed oblivious to things happening to her.
Lumine's emotional intelligence was quite high when dealing with others, so why did it drop offline at this moment?
"Hey, do you know something, Paimon? You might as well explain it to me. What do you mean by not saying anything?"
"Figure out your own business. Traveler is a dummy, the silliest fool."
Leaving Lumine bewildered and confused, Paimon went to play with Klee, ignoring this vexing Traveler.
She should ask him how it feels to see his capable subordinate still working hard to eliminate evil from Liyue Harbor while he drinks tea and listens to opera.
On the way to Mondstadt, as Lumine pondered what she had done wrong, several Treasure Hoarders appeared ahead, blocking the road.
Facing these newly recruited Treasure Hoarders, before anyone else could act, Durandal unleashed an ability she had just learned from Shenhe, throwing out a talisman.
The talisman stopped in the middle of the Treasure Hoarders, and a red array spread out from it as the center. The Treasure Hoarders in the center felt their bodies become several times heavier, making movement difficult.
Durandal threw another talisman, which landed on one of the Treasure Hoarders.
They had realized these talismans were not simple and tried to tear them off, but the moment he touched the talisman, a thunderbolt struck from the sky, hitting not only this Treasure Hoarder but also affecting several nearby Treasure Hoarders.
Shenhe watched this scene blankly from the side, trying to recall her recent teaching. Did she... teach Durandal these moves? She had no recollection at all.
"...It's quite interesting, but I still prefer the feeling of fighting with weapons."
It seemed her idea was correct; the exorcist techniques she saw there could also be used here. Combined with some of the spell theory Shenhe had just taught, achieving this level was quite easy.
And it didn't require a Vision as an aid; as long as the magic power was used well, this level could be achieved.
The Treasure Hoarders ultimately gained nothing. After a painful lesson, their Treasure Hoarders' insignias were scattered on the ground, and they themselves scurried away.
Lumine stepped forward to pick up the dropped insignias, while Shenhe grabbed Durandal's hand, looking at her with a hint of expectation.
"Those moves just now... can you teach them to me?"
"Yes, it's slightly different from what you've been learning, but I'll explain the principles to you."
Durandal couldn't explain much, as she was also speaking on impulse, without any theoretical basis.
It was like a naturally powerful hero, when asked how to unleash a powerful attack, simply saying: "Just place the sword at your waist, then concentrate all your power into the sword, and finally swing it out fiercely. See, isn't it simple?"
Simple? It certainly sounds very simple.
But how do you do it? Do you know? No. Who knows? No one knows.
Except for the hero, no one else understood how to achieve that level. Durandal's situation was somewhat similar to this hero.
Fortunately, Durandal could share that feeling. By sharing the sensation of casting spells, she could help Shenhe understand how those moves were performed.
Next, there was another close and intimate contact. Lumine finally couldn't take it anymore; she decided to do something.
In the evening, everyone decided to rest for the night instead of continuing their journey, planning to move again tomorrow.
At this time, Lumine took out the Serenitea Pot that Grandma Ping had prepared for her, first taking some precautions outside to prevent the Serenitea Pot from being discovered by monsters or passersby.
After doing all this, everyone entered the Serenitea Pot. Looking at the large house in front of them and the vast land around, everyone was stunned into silence for a moment.
Mona looked at this blessed realm, tears involuntarily flowing from her eyes: "How... how envious. Is this an immortal's magic treasure?"
Such a small item could contain such a beautiful piece of land. She wanted one too, so she could stay home and research astrology.
Although the outside was empty, the interior decoration was very well done. Everything that should be there was there. It seemed Lumine had already prepared to move in before they entered.
That night, as Durandal lay in bed sleeping, the room door was opened without exception.
Only this time, it wasn't Shenhe or Klee who entered, but a very familiar short-haired Damselette with golden hair—Lumine.
She hugged her pillow and cautiously entered the room, tiptoeing to the bed, pulling back a corner of the quilt, and preparing to lie down, only to see Durandal looking at her with wide eyes.
Hmm~ This was also expected, but every time Lumine saw Durandal staring at her with open eyes, she couldn't help but panic.
"It's late. Why aren't you going to sleep and coming to my room? Are you trying to switch rooms?"
"No... no. Uh... I just wanted to talk to you about something. Am I disturbing you?"
At this moment, she should have added something like, "If I'm disturbing you, then I'll leave," but she omitted this sentence and quickly climbed onto the bed, sitting beside Durandal.
This was a small test of Durandal's bottom line. If Lumine saw Durandal show even a hint of displeasure, she would stop her actions.
But even as she sat beside Durandal, Durandal showed no sign of displeasure, which made Lumine relax.
Although Durandal was angry about some of her actions, she didn't dislike her and was willing to let her get close. That was enough.
"...Where's Klee? What's Shenhe doing?"
"I sent Paimon to accompany Klee. When I came over just now, I saw they were already asleep. Shenhe is currently in her room researching the moves you told her about today to understand them."
The two people most likely to visit Durandal tonight wouldn't be coming. As for what Mona was doing? She was already asleep in her room, completely unguarded.
Tonight, it was just the two of them, and they weren't planning to rest so early, so they decided to chat for a bit.
"When do you plan to end your journey in Liyue and head to the next nation? Where is your next destination?"
"Inazuma. Zhongli recommended I go there. However, Inazuma is currently under the sakoku decree, and the seas near Inazuma are experiencing severe storms. It's impossible to get there by ordinary means. Until we find a way, let's stay in Mondstadt and Liyue for a while. Mondstadt has the Windblume Festival coming up, and Liyue has the Lantern Rite Festival waiting for us. We're not in a hurry to go to the next nation."
"...Aren't you going to look for your brother?"
"There's no rush in this short amount of time, is there?"
She had also figured it out. Finding her brother was indeed a very important matter, but what good would rushing do? Would it speed up the search? No.
Zhongli once said, "Every journey will eventually reach its end; there's no need to rush." And she couldn't rush even if she wanted to. Since that was the case, it was better to enjoy the present and live well with her companions.
"You… you'll stay with me, right, Durandal? Even if the journey pauses for now… you'll still be by my side, right?"
"Wasn't that agreed upon from the very beginning? I will always watch over you, until the end of your journey."
"…Mm!"
-----------------------
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!"