"Why did you follow along? Has the Adventurers' Guild commission been completed?"
On the way to Dragonspine, Durandal looked at the people following behind him and asked.
"Those things can be done later. We haven't been to Dragonspine before, and we're a little curious about what's inside."
Paimon flew a few circles around Durandal. Originally, he and Lumine were planning to go to the Adventurers' Guild, but upon hearing the news that Durandal was preparing to go to Dragonspine, they abandoned the idea of going to the Adventurers' Guild and decided to go with him.
"There's nothing interesting in Dragonspine. On the contrary, it's much more dangerous than outside."
"Do you think we're the kind of people who are afraid of danger? Don't underestimate us too much; we're not afraid at all."
After saying that, Paimon looked at Lumine behind him: "You agree, right, Traveler?"
"I have no problem, but... Paimon, are you really not afraid?"
"Wh... what's wrong? Why are you suddenly saying that? I... how could I be afraid?"
"Oh? Is that so? Then if you encounter Hilichurls or any other danger, don't come running to us for help, okay?"
"Are you... are you going to abandon me, Traveler?"
Paimon looked at Lumine incredulously, his expression like that of an abandoned girl, tears almost welling up.
Despite his pitiful appearance, Lumine showed no signs of softening. This wasn't the first time Paimon had used this tactic; he was already immune to it.
"Let's stop this discussion here. If you insist on coming up the mountain with me, it's not impossible, but... are you going like that?"
Durandal looked at Lumine and Paimon's clothes, and he had to admit they were really thin, completely unlike what one would wear to Dragonspine.
He himself was fine; neither extreme heat nor severe cold had any effect on him. Shenhe, on the other hand, due to his Vision, was not much affected by the cold. For details, one could refer to Eula, who enjoyed bathing in the lakes of Dragonspine.
Lumine and Paimon took a look and realized that they were indeed dressed a bit lightly. Would it really be okay to go to Dragonspine like this?
"No... no problem! It's just a little cold, it's nothing!"
Is that really true? I hope they don't get so cold they get a runny nose later. This kind of behavior, where one insists on saving face, is not good.
Near Dragonspine, Durandal and his companions arrived at the camp set up by Adventurers here. Besides Adventurers planning to explore Dragonspine, there were also researchers specializing in studying Dragonspine.
One could even see people forging equipment and making delicious food. The small camp could be said to have everything.
"Oh~ so many people. Are they all here to adventure in Dragonspine? It seems Dragonspine isn't as dangerous as I imagined."
"It's just that they haven't truly experienced danger. Both the Adventurers' Guild and the Knights of Favonius organize personnel for rescue when necessary. But even so, some people still don't make it back."
At this point, Durandal pointed to a spot not far away, where a small boy stood alone, gazing at Dragonspine, seemingly waiting for someone to return.
Needless to say, it must be someone very close, but for him to come here personally to wait, it can only mean that the person who entered Dragonspine is likely in grave danger.
"Eh? Is that... is that Sucrose?"
Not wanting to continue the topic, Paimon noticed a familiar figure not far away, head bowed, deep in thought.
Sucrose, an alchemist Lumine and Paimon met in Mondstadt, is a relatively introverted girl who isn't good at conversing with others.
But when the conversation turns to alchemy, which she loves, she becomes very enthusiastic, and they've received a lot of help from her regarding alchemy.
Paimon eagerly flew towards Sucrose, and the others followed behind Paimon.
"Oh! Sucrose, why are you back in Dragonspine? Are you also preparing to explore Dragonspine?"
"Ah! It's... it's Paimon. Please... please don't scare me when I'm thinking about my research report."
"Huh? Scare you? I was just saying hello. But you just looked like you were standing there blankly."
"No... that's not it at all. I was naming the newly developed quadruple-sized sweet flower seeds, not spacing out."
"Quadruple-sized sweet flower seeds? Will the sweetness also quadruple? Sounds like it would be delicious."
sweet flowers could already be used as sugar, so if the sweetness quadrupled, wouldn't that be quadruple the happiness?
"If that were the case, the sugar you absorb would also be four times the original amount. If you eat too much of this stuff, you'll become chubby."
Miss Durandal, who arrived a step later, heard Paimon's words, pinched Paimon's belly through her clothes, and said.
"However, you don't have to worry about us disliking you if you get fat. After all... if emergency food isn't a bit plump, it won't be enough for a few of us to eat."
Miss Durandal's attitude towards Paimon was no longer as it was at the very beginning, but she often heard Lumine call Paimon emergency food, so she occasionally used that term herself, teasing her.
"Hey (#`O′)! How come you're also calling Paimon emergency food, just like Traveler! I've said it so many times, Paimon is not emergency food!"
"Hmm, I'll pretend to listen seriously."
"It is serious! Do you think it's fake!? Hey, Traveler, don't just laugh! It's all because of you that Miss Durandal treats Paimon this way!"
Paimon puffed out her cheeks, looking adorably angry, and this cheerful scene made Sucrose unable to help but laugh out loud.
"You... you're Miss Durandal? Ah! I remember now, the rumors say Miss Durandal has a good relationship with you all, and she left Mondstadt a while ago to travel with you."
Even Sucrose, a 'shut-in' who often stays indoors for research, had learned about Miss Durandal through various channels.
This was her first time meeting Miss Durandal, the person rumored to be able to cure any illness. She was even more beautiful and elegant than imagined.
"Hmm? Is something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Noticing Sucrose observing her, Miss Durandal tilted her head, looking at Sucrose in confusion.
"No... nothing, it's just my first time meeting Miss Durandal. The rumored Miss Durandal is very impressive, so I couldn't help but observe a bit."
"Oh? Observe me? What did you observe then?"
Miss Durandal looked at Sucrose curiously. Could she see something different about herself? Was this girl also a rather special type?
"No... no... nothing, I'm very sorry, I was rude."
Sucrose apologized, her cheeks flushed. With her personality, she couldn't possibly say something like, "You're even more beautiful than the rumors say"; she was too shy.
"Why did you come all the way here? Don't you usually do research in the city? It's rare to see you in other places."
Seeing the topic getting a bit strange, Paimon quickly pulled the conversation back, asking the reason for her visit.
"It's like this, Mr. Timaeus and I are helping Albedo organize experimental data. After he saw Albedo's research data, he became disheartened and went elsewhere to clear his head."
"Disheartened? Because of seeing the research data? Why? Was there something bad in it?"
"It's not like that. It's because the content is too profound compared to what we understand. Mr. Timaeus felt disheartened thinking that after researching for so long, he still couldn't figure out things Albedo came up with casually."
Although he was happy to have such an amazing person as his teacher, no matter what he did, he couldn't close the gap with the other party. Thinking about what a failure he was, his mood would turn bad.
Hmm? Wait a minute? Albedo? Albedo? Stand
"I remember... Klee often told me about someone named Albedo. This person takes great care of her. Could it be... could it be the one you're talking about?"
Among Klee's "good people list," Miss Durandal had heard of Albedo, and he was the one mentioned with the most gratitude.
Before she and Klee met, he had already taken considerable care of Klee, not only with daily matters but also offering many suggestions regarding bombs.
"Huh? Yes, Klee occasionally comes to the workshop to find us. She's very clever, and sometimes even offers different insights, helping us a lot."
Miss Durandal nodded, her gaze towards Sucrose becoming much kinder. In her opinion, anyone who had taken care of Klee could be called a "good person," and these people deserved help.
"Have you entered Dragonspine since coming from the city? Do you know the situation inside?"
"Very... very rarely. Besides some necessary matters, Albedo generally doesn't let Mr. Timaeus and me go inside. He says it's very dangerous and tells us to try not to get close."
"So, he's currently alone in Dragonspine? Carrying out his activities, is that what you mean?"
"Huh? Yes... yes. Excuse me, do you need Albedo's help with something?"
Miss Durandal shook her head. Her main purpose for coming to Dragonspine this time was to observe the movements of the Fatui stationed there. According to Rosaria, the Fatui's activities in Dragonspine were becoming increasingly active.
She didn't know what they had discovered, and her visit to Dragonspine this time was to figure out the Fatui's objective there.
This alchemist, who had been researching in Dragonspine, might be able to provide some useful clues.
She also wanted to see if he knew anything else, for example... about Durin, who died in Dragonspine. Was his reason for staying in Dragonspine to research Durin?
"It seems... I need to meet this Albedo."
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