"Um… Miss Durandal. If you just want me to taste your cooking, you don't have to tie me up. I'll cooperate obediently."
As one of the Seven Archons, the God of Wind, worshipped by the people of Mondstadt, she was currently tied to a wooden stake.
In front of her was Durandal, who was doing something; she was looking at the contents of the cookbook while adding something to the pot.
Barbatos knew very well that Durandal wanted her to taste the food, and she was willing to do it, but why did she tie her up? Did she not trust her cooking, and to prevent her from escaping, she used this method?
Just kidding, she was only tied with a rope. If she wanted to, she could turn into a little elf and fly away; how could she be restrained?
She just felt that Durandal's cooking seemed better than expected, so she decided to stay. It was definitely not because she was worried about Durandal retaliating later, definitely not.
"Hey, Durandal. Why did you suddenly want to learn how to cook? Didn't you say you don't need to eat?"
"…"
Durandal didn't answer, but silently added salt to the pot, then stirred it with a spoon, and then, regardless of whether the soup was hot or not, went directly to Barbatos, forced her mouth open, and prepared to forcefully pour it in.
"Stop! Don't do that! Too much! Too much! I can't drink it all at once! And it's so hot, it's scalding!"
Isn't this a taste test? Why did it feel like Durandal was torturing her?
She heard that when some people interrogate information, they would bring incredibly unpalatable things in front of the prisoner. If they didn't cooperate, they would force the food down, which could both allow them to eat and recover strength, and also punish them.
Although Durandal's cooking was slightly lacking because it was her first time, her cooking was definitely not unpalatable; at least, Barbatos's evaluation was passing.
At Barbatos's strong request, Durandal released her, letting her hold the bowl and drink the soup while waiting for her to prepare other dishes.
Barbatos sat obediently watching Durandal. Besides taking care of small animals and plants, it was her first time seeing Durandal so seriously committed to something.
It seemed she genuinely wanted to cook well; it wasn't a sudden whim, nor was it a prank aimed at her.
Why did she suddenly want to learn to cook? Durandal certainly wouldn't tell Barbatos, but Barbatos knew the reason for her actions.
"Do you want to know how to make other fish dishes? Those dishes won't be written in a cookbook. If you want to learn, I can teach you."
Barbatos smiled, "You don't want to just make one dish for that Children, do you? Besides ordinary grilled fish, there's also Mondstadt grilled fish, and dishes from Liyue. I can teach you all of these."
As one of the longest-existing Archons, even though she usually slacked off, she still had some experience in cooking.
Even if she wasn't a master chef, she could still guide Durandal. With her experience, teaching Durandal to cook would definitely not be a problem.
Oh, right! If the Bard doesn't have much business in the future, she could open a cooking class to teach others how to cook. She should get Mora for that, right? And she could exchange it for wine. It sounds pretty good.
Durandal stopped and asked, "You know Klee?"
"Of course, when I'm in Mondstadt City, I've heard about her. Rumor has it she's Mondstadt City's strongest fighter, the 'Spark Knight' Klee."
"Then how do you know I'm learning to cook for her?" Durandal slowly approached Barbatos, "Are you monitoring me? You didn't go do your duties; you've been hiding and watching my interactions with Klee?"
She had already warned this fellow not to slack off, but instead of being lazy, she came to monitor her? Is she asking for a beating?
"No, no! I definitely wasn't monitoring you, so please don't give me such a terrifying look, okay?"
Barbatos retreated a few steps in fear. She didn't have any strange hobbies, and she believed Durandal wasn't a bad person, so she certainly didn't specifically monitor her every move.
Under Barbatos's assurance, Durandal calmed down, but if she wasn't monitoring her, how did she know about this?
"It's the wind. The wind permeating Mondstadt City told me these things."
Barbatos extended her right hand, and wind continuously gathered in her hand. As the God of Wind, she could hear the voices of the Anemo spirits.
It was through this that she knew Durandal had been spending time with Klee recently. She was very touched that her old friend had emerged from her den at Cape Oath.
If she didn't hide her identity as the God of Wind in front of people, she would surely praise Klee for what she had done.
"How does it feel to have someone by your side? Isn't it so bad?"
"…Is this really okay, Barbatos?"
Durandal silently walked back to the pot, stirring its contents as she asked, "Is what I'm doing… truly right?"
"Having come this far, do you still feel you're unworthy of happiness?"
Barbatos came to Durandal's side, patted her shoulder, and said, "Don't dwell in past sorrows. You are no longer the black plague. You are just Durandal, a female. Just remember that."
"A female? A human? Can someone like me truly be called a human?"
Durandal reached out her hand, and a dense mist condensed in it. It was a mist containing countless plagues. If an ordinary person touched it, their body would begin to dissolve, eventually turning into a puddle of thick liquid.
What if she had a human appearance? Her inner self was still a monster, a monster that could take others' lives at any moment.
"Hey, Barbatos. Why didn't you expel me from Mondstadt back then? With your strength at the time, it would have been easy to expel me from Mondstadt and send me to the outer seas, right?"
Most of the Gods who caused chaos on the continent of Teyvat were driven to the outer seas. Durandal had been prepared at that time, but Barbatos did nothing.
She allowed herself to stay in Mondstadt, allowed herself to make a home in the secluded place of Cape Oath, and allowed her to have a place to belong here.
Why? As the God of Wind, who protected Mondstadt, she should have expelled her, a dangerous element. Why did she allow her to stay here? She couldn't understand.
"Why would I drive you to the outer seas? You're not one of those Gods who wanted to destroy Teyvat. I know very well that during that chaotic era, you secretly protected humanity, didn't you?"
The God of Wind at the time was also very busy. While she was changing Mondstadt's environment, Gods still lurked there, most of them evil, and some even fed on humans.
Several times, Gods noticed human settlements and wanted to attack them. Before they reached the settlements, Durandal stood in front of them, killing most of the Gods. Some Gods, seeing they couldn't defeat Durandal, could only flee in shame.
A large part of Barbatos's ability to drive those Gods out of the Archon War was due to Durandal, because they all knew that Mondstadt had a God of Poison who stood with humanity, and her poison was so potent that even they couldn't withstand it.
The Seven Archons all loved humanity. Durandal could secretly do so much for humanity, and Barbatos understood that she was good.
Even if her abilities seemed very evil, it didn't change the fact that she was kind. Since she was kind, why would she drive her away? In fact, she owed Durandal many favors.
"Aren't you worried I'll harm Mondstadt?"
"No worries. Look around you. These are your works from over the years. This can be considered the most beautiful place in Mondstadt."
Even her favorite Cecilia flowers couldn't compare to the flower field cultivated by Durandal.
Not just the flower field, this was also a paradise for small animals. How could someone who did such things harm Mondstadt?
"So, don't always say you're unworthy or undeserving. Even if you made mistakes in the past, you have a chance to atone. As long as you make amends in the future, that's enough. There's no need to be so stubborn."
"Atonement… making amends… right? I understand."
How could she atone? Durandal wasn't sure. It wasn't the Archon War period now, and most of her abilities were useless.
She would think about it for a while. Her atonement would be long-term; it couldn't be repaid all at once.
"Mm! It's good that you've thought it through. So, as the first step of your atonement, help me get some wine…"
"I refuse."
Durandal refused Barbatos's request and picked up an Apple from the ground nearby, throwing it at her face.
Barbatos caught the thrown Apple and took a bite: "Why refuse? Aren't you going to atone? Then satisfy my request."
"No, I will atone, but I won't help others for no reason. Especially someone like you; if I agree to even a small thing, you'll get carried away."
She knew exactly what kind of person Barbatos was. She absolutely couldn't give her a good attitude, otherwise she would quickly get carried away.
"Of course not, what kind of image do I have in your heart anyway?"
"Slacking off? Drunkard? Do you have any objections to these two assessments?"
"...Eh heh~"
"Hmph."
Whenever he encountered a difficult question, he would maliciously act cute. This guy only had this one trick.
However, she still had some use. Since she knew about dishes from other regions, he would let her teach him a few tricks so he could better entertain Klee.
"What? You want to learn? Since you want to learn, then pay the tuition. I don't need much, just give me some wine. How about it? Isn't it a very good deal?"
"Eh? Why are you picking up the spoon? Why are you coming over? You...wait a minute, I was just joking. We are friends, how could I ask for things from a friend? I'll teach you for free, I'll teach you for free, isn't that enough?!"
"Don't come over!?"