At Cape Oath, Durandal was flipping through the cooking insights Xiangling had given her. It contained a lot of useful content, as well as some strange parts.
She skipped over the strange parts for now; there were many normal sections that could be used as reference. However, some of the seasonings mentioned were from Liyue, and couldn't be found in Mondstadt.
Hmm~ It seems she'll have to look for merchants from Liyue in Mondstadt. Perhaps they'll bring some seasonings with them, though she didn't know the price.
She didn't have much Mora. If there was really no other way, she could only sell the things she had kept out of boredom. Many of those old items were hundreds of years old, so she believed they could fetch a good price.
Just then, a bird flew towards Durandal, landing on her shoulder and affectionately rubbing against Durandal's cheek.
Gently stroking the bird on her shoulder, Durandal looked into the distance. Rosaria was jogging towards her.
"Rosaria? Why are you suddenly coming to find me? What happened?"
"It's mainly the Fatui. Although they've been somewhat more well-behaved lately because of what Lady Durandal did, once they figured out how to control the illness, they started acting again."
"Acting? In their current state, they can still act?"
This question piqued Durandal's interest. The Fatui were poisoned by a toxin she personally created; while not incurable, it wasn't easy to control. How did those Fatui find a way to control it?
It was one thing to finally get the illness under control, but they were still planning to act? How important was this mission to make them continue operating with such bodies?
Rosaria also didn't know what those Fatui were thinking, but under her covert observation, the Fatui had indeed resumed their activities.
However, due to their injuries and illness, they were easier to capture than before. In just a few days, she and Diluc each caught one, and interrogated them separately.
But their mouths were very tight, and no useful intelligence could be extracted. In the end, she could only "erase" their memories and dump them somewhere outside Mondstadt City.
"I suspect it must be a very important mission. Otherwise, they wouldn't still refuse to leave, even knowing that danger lurks in Mondstadt."
Even if they were to take most of the Fatui away, they would still leave a few Fatui diplomats. But those diplomats couldn't stir up any trouble; Kaeya could handle them perfectly.
The most important thing now was to figure out what those people wanted to do. Could it be that they wanted to secretly guide monsters to attack Mondstadt City?
This wasn't impossible. In the past, the Fatui had used such methods to strengthen their influence in certain nations. No one could guarantee they wouldn't continue to do so.
However, even if most of Mondstadt's fighting force had been taken away by Grand Master Varka, the remaining people were not comparable to monsters. Not to mention that Dvalin's problem had already been resolved, and with the existence of a super-expert like Durandal secretly, this plan had no possibility of being implemented.
So, were they eyeing something? Hmm~ This is the most likely possibility, but what exactly in Mondstadt could they be interested in? Rosaria thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out.
Eventually, she came to Durandal, telling her about her discoveries during this period, hoping she could spot the problem.
It turned out she was overthinking. Durandal wasn't someone who liked to play tricks like Hulder. She also understood that the Fatui were secretly planning something, but she didn't know the specific details.
These people... are really annoying. She had already given so many warnings and almost eliminated The Lady. Did they think she wouldn't do anything to them again out of respect for the Cryo Archon?
...I understand. I'll go to Snezhnaya in a moment.
Durandal put away the cooking insights in her hand, preparing to go to Snezhnaya to have a good talk with the Cryo Archon and tell her to properly manage her people.
Rosaria hadn't expected Durandal to be so decisive and didn't react for a moment. As Durandal was about to set off, she came to her senses and quickly stopped her.
"Wait... wait a minute, Lady Durandal. Did you just say you're going to Snezhnaya? And to find their God?"
"Yes. With my abilities, it shouldn't take much time to get from here to Snezhnaya. Even if their Queen doesn't want to meet, I can force her out with my abilities."
The Fatui had seriously affected her daily life, and she couldn't continue to sit idly by. She had to take action.
First, she would go to their BOSS, the Cryo Archon, for a good talk. She believed that through "communication," he would seriously consider her suggestions.
Hmm~ This idea seems pretty good, but why did Rosaria feel that Durandal was going there to cause trouble?
"Calm... calm down, Durandal. I know you're doing this to drive away the Fatui, but directly attacking another country will only cause bigger trouble."
Because she was too agitated, Rosaria grabbed Durandal's shoulder and explained, "Although Durandal, strictly speaking, cannot represent Mondstadt, she will certainly be used by those with ulterior motives. Even the Abyss might jump in and get involved. At that point, Mondstadt will fall into a chaos more terrifying than the present."
"Once a state of war is declared, Mondstadt's daily life will be completely disrupted, and other countries will also cease their dealings with Mondstadt because of this. A series of terrible effects will continuously occur, so please do not do this."
Durandal was suppressed by Rosaria's aura, and she nodded in a daze, promising Rosaria that she would not go looking for trouble with Snezhnaya.
However, it's truly troublesome. Because there are more things to consider, her actions have become hesitant. Once this situation becomes serious, it's very easy to be coerced into doing anything.
ε=('ο｀*))) Ah~ It's better to be simple like her, not needing to be responsible for the people like the Seven Archons.
It's just... Durandal frowned. She suddenly felt that her presence in Mondstadt might be perceived by other Archons as siding with Venti, and thus they would naturally consider them to be in cahoots.
That Venti fellow... he shouldn't be thinking of using her, right? With his lazy personality, he shouldn't have such ulterior motives.
Forget it, don't think about those messy things. Now that I don't need to go to Snezhnaya to find trouble, I'll focus my attention on those Fatui.
Some time has passed since The Lady was taken away. She has a high probability of having the toxins in her body eliminated with the help of the Snezhnaya Queen, and perhaps she's already on her way back to Mondstadt.
If the Fatui really plan to do something, it will definitely be when The Lady returns to Mondstadt. Although Durandal doesn't think much of her, The Lady is an Harbinger after all, and she does have some strength.
Currently, the most urgent matter is to keep an eye on the Fatui. If they really have any actions, they should tell her. If it's too serious, Durandal will not stand idly by.
With this assurance, Rosaria felt relieved and left Cape Oath with the bird.
After Rosaria left for a while, Durandal reached to her side and pulled a Slime out of the ground, a Hydro one at that.
Then she aimed at a certain area to her right, and threw something. A few seconds later, she heard an "Ouch!" of pain, followed by a green figure falling to the ground.
"...Have you heard enough, peeping Tom Barbatos?"
"What peeping Tom? It's just that when I came over, you happened to be chatting. To avoid disturbing you, I hid. I did this for your own good, how could it be peeping?"
Venti rubbed his sore butt and complained.
Upon seeing Durandal staring intently at him, the aggrieved look on his face immediately disappeared, replaced by a fawning smile as he clung to her, but Durandal pushed him away.
"You basically heard our conversation just now, didn't you? You must have noticed the Fatui's actions in Mondstadt City, too, right?"
"Yes, I know. Although my strength is not what it once was, I am still the Anemo Archon. I can still manage this much."
Even if he didn't deliberately pay attention to the Fatui, the spirits in the wind would tell him these things, so the Fatui had no secrets from him.
If that's the case, why isn't Venti doing anything? He clearly knows what the Fatui are after, so why doesn't he have any defensive preparations? He's still slacking off as before.
"What exactly do you want to do, Barbatos?"
Durandal asked, "Could it be... that the Fatui's actions are with your tacit approval? Or rather, have you secretly planned something?"
Even if she was unwilling to believe that someone as lazy as Venti would secretly plan something, Durandal, having been tricked before, dared not let her guard down and had to find out.
Facing Durandal's inquiry, Venti uncharacteristically put away the smile on his face, lay down on the grass next to Durandal, and looked at the white clouds in the sky.
"You... don't need to worry about this, Durandal."
"Barbatos!"
"Just consider it my plea, Durandal. I can guarantee that nothing will happen next that affects Mondstadt, no one will be hurt, and nothing will be destroyed. This is a promise from Barbatos, the Anemo Archon. Can you trust me?"
"If that's the case, why don't you tell me the reason? Wouldn't that put me more at ease?"
"...Alright, I'll reveal a little to you."
After much thought, he decided to tell Durandal part of the situation, otherwise, if someone like her caused a ruckus, it would be very dangerous.
As expected, after hearing his explanation, Durandal's brows furrowed tightly. This was the first time Venti had seen such an expression on Durandal's face.
"You... never mind. I promise you I won't interfere with your plans, but... this is on the premise that nothing happens to displease me, understand?"
"Don't worry, if something really happens, you can step in and stop it."
Venti leaned in, and seeing that Durandal didn't push him away, a smile returned to his face.
Durandal gave this unreliable Archon an exasperated look, wondering if their plan would actually succeed.
If not, or if it wasn't enough, she... might have to intervene.
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