Durandal's deeds spread, and she, who had cured incurable diseases, was regarded as a lifeline by many.
Initially, some people thought it was just a joke, a rumor fabricated to gain attention or scam money.
But as the story spread wider and Durandal treated more and more people, those skeptics couldn't sit still and flocked to Mondstadt to find Durandal, hoping she could cure their illnesses.
Among them were many who had traveled from other places, many of whom were at their wit's end, traveling thousands of miles to find Durandal for one last attempt.
Durandal's story, which had originally received no attention, thus spread, even more widely than Lumine's reputation for resisting Stormterror Durin and helping him regain his sanity.
Ultimately, Durandal, unable to bear it, could only retreat to Cape Oath, where she spent a few peaceful days with the little ones.
On this day, Venti once again came to find Durandal. This time, he held a wine glass, looking very happy, probably having had a drink on the way.
He happily hugged Durandal. Just now, Dvalin's problem had been successfully resolved. With their cooperation, everyone 'defeated' Dvalin. Jean, in the name of the Knights of Favonius, explained Dvalin's situation to the people of Mondstadt, making them understand that he was not an evil dragon, but the Dragon of the East Wind.
He became like that because he inhaled toxic blood while resisting Stormterror Durin, and gradually transformed in torment.
The citizens, understanding all the facts, suddenly realized and felt ashamed of their actions.
Dvalin became like this because he was protecting Mondstadt at the time.
Mondstadt at that time was not like it is now, with excellent talents like Jean. At that time, Mondstadt had no effective means to counter Stormterror Durin (Durandal was observing, ready to act if needed).
At this critical moment, Dvalin intervened and put Stormterror Durin into a deep sleep in Dragonspine. He also fell into a slumber due to the toxic blood.
As the people he guarded, they should have trusted Dvalin. Instead, they mistakenly believed Dvalin was an evil dragon, coming to destroy Mondstadt, and even proposed to eliminate him.
Currently, Dvalin has been granted freedom by Venti. He no longer needs to be fixated on the mission Venti once bestowed upon him; he can live freely according to his own will.
On such a happy day, Venti naturally wanted to drink to celebrate. Coincidentally, Diluc also announced free drinks today to celebrate, allowing him to drink to his heart's content.
"You smell terrible, Barbatos. Stay away from me."
Durandal pushed Venti away with a hint of disdain. The person reeked of alcohol, and even the small animals that usually approached Venti ran away because of the smell.
"Don't be so cold, I only drank so much because I was happy."
"Even if it wasn't because you were happy, hearing about free drinks, you probably wouldn't have controlled yourself, would you?"
She had already understood Venti's situation through her intelligence network, knowing about the limited-time free Angel's Share; he couldn't deceive her.
Venti chuckled foolishly, completely unashamed of being exposed. He even blinked cutely, making an "ehe" sound, which made Durandal want to pinch his cheek.
"Don't pinch! I'm here to fulfill my promise and bring you wine."
Venti handed Durandal the wine he brought. It was dandelion wine he had secretly taken on his way over, his favorite wine. Last time, due to lack of money, he could only buy it in bulk and drink it alone.
Now that he had the chance, he definitely wanted Durandal to taste it too, to make her understand the charm of wine.
Durandal took a sip, tasted it, then handed the cup back to Venti and shook her head.
"I don't like this taste; you drink it yourself."
"Eh? Don't... don't like it? Seriously, I really don't understand your taste. It's clearly delicious."
Venti complained. Even without the desire to eat, one should still have the ability to appreciate, right? Couldn't she distinguish between good and bad tastes?
Venti sat beside Durandal, slowly sipping the wine in his cup, enjoying the feeling of the breeze caressing their faces together.
"You've been going to Mondstadt a lot lately. What? Have you accepted that feeling?"
"...I just received an invitation to go and see. Occasionally, people who need toxins absorbed also come to me. It's just... too many people have come recently, and I don't want to be surrounded by so many people, so I came back."
Venti nodded. He also knew about Durandal's recent activities in Mondstadt, understanding that she helped those people absorb toxins from their bodies.
Not just ordinary toxins, Durandal could even absorb some curses, which led more people to seek her out.
"Why do you help those people? You're not a member of the Knights of Favonius, nor are you a doctor. You have no obligation to do this. You know this, yet you still do it. Why?"
There was no need to help those people, yet Durandal still did. These past few days, she had helped many people, solving problems that had plagued them for years. Why did she do these things?
"I indeed have no obligation. I do these things purely based on my mood."
Durandal hugged a small rabbit that ran up to her, placed it on her lap, and while stroking its fur, said: "I also refuse some people. I don't treat the illnesses of the Fatui, nor do I treat the illnesses of people who make me uncomfortable. I only help those whose eyes show a strong desire to live."
Agalu, the female village chief she met in the Village of Doubt, when she was corroded by the plague, her eyes held a desire to live just like those who came to her.
Durandal couldn't refuse such people, so she acted. She didn't need these people to do anything for her; she only needed them to live well and cherish their lives.
Poor people should live well, while wealthy people are asked to help the less fortunate. This was Lumine's suggestion to her.
Different people should have different payment methods. Not taking money from the poor is right, but not taking it from the rich is inappropriate.
Durandal helped them cure illnesses that couldn't be cured no matter how much money was spent. What's wrong with asking them to share some money to help the poor?
If they don't help, it doesn't matter. It just means that if they encounter another illness next time, Durandal won't treat them and will let them solve it themselves.
Although Lumine lost some memories during these years of sealing, she didn't forget these simple truths. The Regrators are the most afraid of death; otherwise, they wouldn't spend heavily on so much medical equipment and get to know various skilled doctors.
Why do they do this? Isn't it just to save their lives when needed?
Currently, Durandal is the only one who can treat these major problems, right? If they still don't grasp her goodwill, then it's necessary to question how these people acquired their wealth. Where are their brains?
Venti smiled at Durandal, unable to resist leaning closer, but Durandal pushed his face away with her hand, annoyed, "What are you doing? Didn't I say not to lean over?"
"Hehe~ I'm just happy, happy that I can know such a good friend. Just bear with me, okay?"
Venti put his wine aside, wrapped his arms around Durandal, and laughed, "Do you know how many people your actions have saved? Do you know how many people you've brought hope to?"
"Saving... hope... I just did what I wanted to do."
"This might not mean much to you, but it's different for the families you've healed. Besides their desire to live, you chose to treat them, and their repeated thanks to you, isn't that right?"
Almost everyone heale d would say thank you to Durandal, and the gratitude in that thank you made Durandal feel warm inside, making her want to do more.
What brings the most satisfaction to a doctor? Besides successfully saving a patient, another thing is receiving the patient's gratitude.
Don't underestimate that small "thank you"; for those doctors, that little bit of appreciation makes a day's hard work worthwhile.
"Perhaps... it's because of that reason. It's just... too much gratitude makes me a bit overwhelmed."
She had previously faced negative treatment like indifference, so facing so much gratitude for the first time left Durandal at a loss for what to do.
"Then you'd better be mentally prepared. The more people who know about you, the more people will come looking for you. Then more and more people will thank you. If you don't get used to it beforehand, you'll just have to flee in a panic every time."
Venti took a sip of wine and laughed, "Oh my, I didn't expect the powerful Apostle Durandal to be so weak. That's really funny."
"You... your provocation is too obvious."
She poked Venti's head with her hand. Such a deliberate act was too obvious. Did he think she didn't even know what such behavior meant? She wasn't that foolish.
He was right; she really needed to get used to this situation. Otherwise, fleeing in a panic and hiding here every time would indeed be embarrassing.
"By the way, Durandal. If someone comes to you for treatment in the future and tries to force you to help for various reasons because you won't treat them, you need to calm down and handle it, okay?"
Venti had seen many cases of doctors being morally blackmailed, and given Durandal's situation, he would definitely encounter it in the future.
He was a bit worried that Durandal wouldn't be able to stand such people and would act impulsively, so he warned her in advance.
"I know what I should do, Barbatos. No one can force me, not even the Seven Gods."
What Durandal couldn't stand was being forced by others. She could be soft, but she would never be pushed around. Trying to force her to comply through moral blackmail?
Hmph, we'll see who ends up worse then. She might not be good with common sense, but in this regard, she had too much experience.