"The last day, and nothing happened. That's truly wonderful."
At a viewing platform in Liyue Harbor, Durandal brought Lumine and her companions here, ready to welcome the final program of the Lantern Rite Festival.
Today, Durandal finally understood that the model made in the image of Exquisite Heavenly Luminary was called a mingxiao lantern. Since it was a lantern... it must be flown into the sky.
She wondered how such a large model would be made to fly into the sky. If it just flew into the sky like a lanterns, it would be a bit too uninteresting.
"The Lantern Rite Festival is almost over, and tomorrow I should probably leave and return to Mondstadt," Venti said with some regret.
These past few days could be said to be her happiest time; not only did she confirm their relationship, but she also obtained the most important thing.
Although Durandal was still very stubborn, claiming nothing had happened, from the change in her attitude towards Venti, it was clear that she also understood that the relationship between them was no longer that of old friends.
Lumine looked at Venti in surprise. She had thought Venti would choose to join their team because of Durandal, and she had already prepared for a long-term campaign, but she didn't expect Venti to leave.
"Don't you want to stay, Venti?"
"I do, of course I do. If I could, I'd love to travel around with you all. But... I can't. I must return to Mondstadt to prevent anything bad from happening while you're away."
As the Anemo God, she couldn't abandon the people she was supposed to protect. Although she always emphasized freedom and usually lived very freely, this responsibility... was one she had to uphold.
Lumine understood Venti's meaning and, thinking of the Abyss and the Fatui's actions, felt it was very necessary for Venti to return to Mondstadt to secretly protect it.
Although during Dvalin's time, she slacked off the entire time, and Dvalin's problem had already been solved by Durandal, she merely cooperated with Venti and Dvalin to put on a show for the residents of Mondstadt.
But in the face of a real crisis, Venti would definitely take action herself. Although she always emphasized that she was the weakest among all the Gods, she was still a God after all, and couldn't always be so unreliable.
"Hehe~ Although I can't travel with you, you should come back often to visit. Soon after this Lantern Rite Festival is Mondstadt's Windblume Festival, so don't forget to come and participate in that festival too."
"Mm, I'll go back. I haven't found a way to Inazuma yet, so it'll probably be a while longer."
During this time, Lumine had been searching for a way to Inazuma, as ordinary ships were not an option.
Currently, Inazuma was enforcing the Vision Hunt Decree and was in a state of sakoku, with thunderous storms in the waters near Inazuma.
Without special means, trying to approach Inazuma was impossible; ships would easily be wrecked and lives lost.
Durandal said she could take Lumine into Inazuma without worrying about those troublesome things, but after much consideration, Lumine decided to enter through normal channels.
She was a Traveler, and experiencing the joy of the journey was a very important part of it. If she let Durandal help her because of a small difficulty, she would lose the fun of traveling.
Since she couldn't go to Inazuma for now, she would explore Liyue and Mondstadt thoroughly, taking this time to improve herself. Although she had no intention of offending the Raiden Shogun of Inazuma, she, who enforced the Vision Hunt Decree and the sakoku decree, was probably not a very amicable God.
Without relying on Durandal, it would be better for her to improve her strength a bit more before going to Inazuma. Although she couldn't be an opponent to the Seven Archons, she could still put up a slight resistance.
Currently, the powers of the Anemo element and Geo element could be used very well. The Geo element's ability to "lighten the weight of objects" was also effectively in progress, allowing her to temporarily float in the air when combined with the Anemo element.
With these abilities, and then gaining the Electro Element in Inazuma, Lumine could very coolly fly into the sky and majestically shout at her enemies:
"By thunder—shatter the darkness!"
Just thinking about it felt incredibly exciting. If she could also meet that idiot Aether, she could let him taste her power.
Durandal quietly watched Venti. She didn't speak the entire time, only observing her with her eyes.
Although she had only been here for a few days this time, which was incomparable to their thousands of years, these few days held very important significance for her.
Noticing Durandal's gaze, Venti showed a gentle look.
"Just come to Mondstadt often to see me, and... you also left me this, didn't you?"
Venti slightly pulled down her collar, revealing a necklace hidden beneath her clothes. This was given to her by Durandal; besides being able to contact her, it could also deploy a shield to protect her when Venti was in danger.
At that time, Venti had only told Durandal that she wanted a small creature like Diko, but Durandal refused her.
She thought she wouldn't be able to get a communication device, but before she could be sad for too long, Durandal threw this necklace to her.
Hehe~ As expected, you're not good at showing your tenderness. Actually, you can't bear to part with me, can you?
"Hmph! I just don't want to see you make a fool of yourself again. You had something important stolen last time; that kind of thing won't be allowed to happen again."
The last time referred to The Lady stealing the Gnosis. Although she deliberately let The Lady steal it, Durandal still kept thinking about it.
Next time she saw The Lady, no matter what happened, Durandal would kill her, and even the Tsaritsa's reappearance wouldn't stop her.
There was still some time until the mingxiao lantern was released, and the group chatted and laughed, mainly with Lumine initiating topics.
During the Lantern Rite Festival, she went out the most, encountered the most things, and her experiences, after being embellished by Paimon, became very interesting.
"Oh, by the way, Durandal. When we went out today, we also met Xiao. We originally wanted to invite him to participate in the Lantern Rite Festival, but he said he didn't want to appear in crowded places."
Today, when they went to Wangshu Inn, they met Xiao who was resting on the rooftop.
Thinking of how he had always diligently eliminated demons in Liyue Harbor, Lumine couldn't help but invite him to participate in the Lantern Rite Festival.
But no matter what she said, Xiao had no intention of participating.
Not only did he not participate, but he also commented that the Lantern Rite Festival was a festival where humans threw various garbage into the sea, leaving Lumine and Paimon speechless.
That statement... was somewhat true, but couldn't he not just focus on that and consider the festive atmosphere?
"Can you find a way to make him come and watch this program? Today is the last day; if he doesn't participate, he won't have another chance."
"Yes, yes, he works so hard normally, he should rest a bit. He said demons appear frequently during festivals, but he's already been busy for many days, it's time for him to rest."
Lumine and Paimon couldn't persuade the stubborn Xiao, so they could only look at Durandal, hoping she could help.
Durandal didn't expect them to mention Xiao's name here. Thinking of that adeptus who had always diligently eliminated demons, compared to a certain retired and slacking Archon, he really needed a good rest.
"Xiao? Do you mean the Conqueror of Demons? He is indeed a respectable person."
Shenhe, who had been cultivating with Cloud Retainer, had naturally met Xiao. In the past, the Conqueror of Demons had always been unsmiling.
But recently, when she met him, he felt much more relaxed. Perhaps it was because he had met someone, or perhaps Durandal had helped him clear the archon residue that had plagued him for many years, making him feel much better.
If it was him, he really needed a good rest. Although he himself thought he didn't need rest, this wouldn't do.
"...I understand."
Since so many people thought he needed a good rest, she would help out and force this stubborn guy to take a good break.
"So what do we do now? Go to Wangshu Inn to find him? Will we be too late? And, we can't even be sure he's at Wangshu Inn."
Although Wangshu Inn was a place where Xiao often rested, no one could guarantee that he was currently at Wangshu Inn.
And would it be too late to run over now? It was already this time, should they give up?
"No need for such trouble. With his ability, he should be able to do it."
Durandal shook her head. She had a more convenient method. If Xiao's ability was truly as powerful as she imagined, he should be able to do it.
Under everyone's curious gazes, Durandal spoke to the empty space beside her.
"Are you there, Xiao?"
As soon as her voice fell, everyone heard a "boom," and a figure suddenly appeared on the viewing platform.
"Are you looking for me?"
"Woah! So... so amazing!"
Paimon's eyes widened, looking at Xiao in disbelief.
Durandal had barely spoken, and Xiao appeared before her. This speed was simply too fast.
Lumine was also very surprised. Thinking back, when she had interacted with Xiao before, he had also said that if she needed him, she could call his name, and the wind would carry her voice to his ears, and he would come immediately.
She had thought he was just saying it casually, but she didn't expect him to actually be able to do it.
Xiao was somewhat surprised to see that everyone here was familiar, but he quickly recovered, nodded to them, and finally looked at Durandal.
Durandal stood up and walked over to Xiao. He had some archon residue condensed on him, but it was much better than last time. However, for ordinary people, it was still a very dangerous amount.
"I called you here this time because I want you to participate in the Lantern Rite Festival. And also to help you eliminate the archon residue on your body."
"Lantern Rite Festival? No, I don't have..."
"This is a trade. I'll help you deal with the archon residue on your body, and you grant me one reasonable request. Is asking you to participate in the Lantern Rite Festival an unreasonable thing?"
Xiao was stunned by this statement. Was the request to participate in the Lantern Rite Festival unreasonable? Of course not, it was just that he wasn't interested in such festivals, and even if he didn't stay here, he could still see lanternss everywhere from other places.
But Durandal used the reason of eliminating the archon residue to make him agree. This... how could he refuse?
"Come on, Xiao. Look, we have Almond Tofu here, stay and eat with us."
Paimon pointed at the Almond Tofu on the table. Whether it was prepared in advance or not, they had prepared this dish early on.
The moment he saw the Almond Tofu, Xiao's defenses finally crumbled.
"...Alright, I'll stay."
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