"Alright, don't be angry anymore. She's told you so many things, you should at least try to understand her actions."
"Understand? I can't. She could have chosen other ways to achieve this goal, but she chose the worst one. No matter what her goal is, I cannot accept it."
Ashtal's goal was indeed good, but her way of protecting her own people was to sacrifice the people of other nations? This, she could not accept.
In her opinion, Ashtal was like taking a multiple-choice test, choosing to sacrifice her own people or choosing to sacrifice the people of other nations, and she chose the latter, choosing to sacrifice more people.
Why? Because those people had no connection to her. Even if she felt ashamed, they were not her people, so it was still within an acceptable range.
She would eventually accept all the sins? That sounds good, but would those who lost their lives because of the Fatui be able to return? Would they be able to rest in peace?
No! There are still many Children undergoing Fatui experiments. They are locked in the Fatui's experimental bases set up in various places. No one cares about their wails, and they will never be saved until their dying breath.
Unacceptable, Durandal cannot accept such things. Those Children are living, breathing lives!
They should be like the Children of Mondstadt or Liyue, playing happily on the streets with Children their age, learning knowledge in schools with other Children, and becoming useful people in the future.
They clearly have so many brilliant and dazzling futures, just to be overshadowed by Ashtal's single phrase, "These are all necessary sacrifices"? What a joke.
"No matter what she says, I will not change my actions. I will stop all of the Fatui's plans. I will kill all Harbingers who do not value life. For those who do not cherish life, I... am not Durandal, but the black plague!"
Even if she changed a lot, this identity would not change. But she would not use this power casually; she would use it to protect those she cherished, to harm those who did not value life, and to harm the wicked who harmed others.
Venti showed a helpless smile. He did not continue speaking. Everyone saw what the Fatui did, and Durandal only became so hostile towards them after witnessing countless of their evils.
Forget it. As long as she doesn't walk around Snezhnaya in her black plague state, Venti can still accept it. This is his last bit of gentleness; pushing it further would not be appropriate.
"Alright, alright. Enough of this. Let's go back quickly. Lumine and the others should be waiting for us. If we don't go back soon, she'll probably scold us again."
Venti, not wanting to continue the topic, took Durandal's hand and bid farewell to this long-unseen place.
"Let's come back to see these little ones when we have time later. First, let's put Lumine at ease. If we don't hurry, she'll probably misunderstand again."
"Misunderstand what?" Allowing Venti to hold her hand, Durandal followed behind him, saying, "What do you think she'll misunderstand, Venti?"
"Uh... apparently, nothing at all."
Misunderstand their relationship? But they already have that kind of relationship, so what's there to misunderstand?
At most, they would think she broke her promise and went somewhere private to cuddle with Durandal, but before she came to find Ashtal, she did cuddle with Durandal, so she had indeed broken her promise.
"Alright, nothing happened. But you don't want her to wait too long for us, do you? Let's go meet up with her quickly."
"...Mm."
Anyway, it's better to meet up with a few people she likes first to dilute the unpleasantness caused by Ashtal just now.
Although he said to go back quickly, Venti did not use the power of wind to move fast, but walked back little by little like an ordinary person, only returning to Mondstadt city when it was completely dark, and saw a displeased Lumine.
"It's so late. Did the person you went to see talk to you for that long?"
"No choice. Besides chatting, they also did other things, so it took a little longer. Please be understanding."
"Hmm~"
Lumine hummed softly, carefully scrutinizing their expressions, and only after finding no abnormalities did she slowly lower her guard and check Durandal for any lingering traces.
Lingering traces? That refers to areas like the neck. If they really did something, it would be easy for unusual things to appear in these places.
"You two seem to have something to do. Did you receive a commission from the Adventurers' Guild and are preparing to go investigate something?"
"It is indeed a commission from the Adventurers' Guild, but there's no need to go outside the city; the commission can be completed within the city."
This time, they only had a very simple commission: to visit a certain family and check on their situation.
According to the Adventurers' Guild's records, that family only had a little girl left. Her parents were both members of the Knights of Favonius, but they died during a mission.
The members of the Knights of Favonius took great care of this descendant of the Knights of Favonius, and people often brought things to visit her.
However, she seemed to have shut herself in the house due to the death of her parents, doing nothing else except for essential eating and drinking.
This worried the members of the Knights of Favonius, but considering that she became this way because of her parents' death, they didn't want to make her too sad, so they tried their best to bring things to visit her, hoping she could slowly emerge from her grief.
But recently, when the Knights of Favonius went to her home, they found that she didn't respond. They initially thought something had happened to her and were about to break down the door when a note was slipped through the crack, saying something like she needed some time to clear her head and not to look for her for a while.
Some time had passed since the last visit, and the Knights of Favonius were extremely busy with the Windblume Festival, so they had no choice but to entrust the Adventurers' Guild, hoping they could find a suitable person to help check on the situation.
After much consideration, Katheryne decided Lumine was very suitable for this task, as Lumine had taken care of quite a few children. If it were she, there should be a way to build a good relationship with her.
"I see. Then let's go together to take a look. After we handle this matter, we'll go to dinner, how about that?"
Venti couldn't rest assured until the safety of that girl was confirmed, and he believed the others felt the same way.
The group thus journeyed together to a residential area in Mondstadt, stopping in front of a house, which was the target location.
This was a two-story house, a bit too large for a single girl. It was unclear how she managed to live here alone.
Lumine, Shenhe, Paimon, and Venti were all thinking about the girl's situation, but Durandal was frowning deeply. She wondered if it was her imagination, but she always felt a familiar aura inside the house.
Due to the long passage of time, Durandal couldn't be sure if this feeling was correct; the detailed situation could only be confirmed when she met the girl.
Lumine first politely knocked on the door: "Hello, is this Tina's house? I am Lumine from the Adventurers' Guild. Are you home?"
After waiting for a long time, there was no answer from inside the house, which made Lumine a little worried. Could something bad have happened?
"Don't worry, the wind inside the house tells me that the person inside is fine. She's probably sleeping, or just lying in bed and not responding to you. There's no need to worry that something has happened to her."
Durandal nodded. In her perception, there was still a life sign inside the house. If something truly unexpected had happened to her, then all she would be able to sense would probably be some kind of foul smell.
Hearing the assurance from these two The Experts, Lumine breathed a slight sigh of relief. It was good that the person was fine; she certainly didn't want anything to happen to that innocent little girl.
It's just... what should she do next? The Adventurers' Guild's mission was for her to check on the girl's situation, but she couldn't even get inside. How was she supposed to check?
But if she forced her way in, wouldn't that be impolite? What if the girl mistook her for a bad person? Boo hoo hoo~ What on earth should she do?
"Let me try."
Durandal suddenly said, "Let me call out; maybe it will work."
"Durandal? Will it really work?"
If the person was determined not to meet anyone, then no matter who it was, they wouldn't open the door. What was Durandal thinking?
"I have an idea. I'm not sure if this conjecture is correct, but let me try it."
Durandal shook her head, not intending to explain much, and walked directly to the door and knocked.
"I know you can hear my voice. Although I've long known you like to stay cooped up in one place, I didn't expect you to hide from the water to the bed."
Huh? What is she saying? Listening to her words, it sounds like she knows this girl. What exactly happened?
Lumine and the others exchanged confused glances, unsure what Durandal meant by those words.
"You must have heard rumors about me, right? Durandal. Or rather, the black plague Durandal. Yes, the Apostle with the evil blood you're thinking of. Aren't you going to come out and meet me, old friend?"
After speaking, Durandal made no other movements, simply standing at the doorway, quietly awaiting the development of events.
Although very faint, everyone heard a very light footsteps approaching.
A moment later, the door opened, and a young girl appeared in the doorway, her Zhanblue pupils fixed on Durandal.
"I thought it was just a namesake, but I didn't expect you to come to this world too, Durandal."
"I also didn't expect you to come here in this form, Lotes."
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!