"Speaking of which, Durandal has been in Mondstadt for a long time, right? You must have experienced the Archon War, right? Do you know the other Seven Archons?"
After finishing their tea, as the three left Stone Gate to continue their journey, Paimon suddenly thought of something and asked.
As a powerful God, Durandal must have been noticed by other Gods, right? Since she was noticed, she should have met them at least once.
Durandal shook her head: "No, the only God I know is Barbatos. I've always stayed in Mondstadt, so I haven't been to other places, and I haven't met any Gods from other places."
Durandal could be called a homebody. This kind of homebody isn't someone who stays in a small room, but someone who stays in a certain area completely, not coming out or meeting anyone.
Unless Venti actively sought out Durandal, she would never leave Cape Oath. Even when she occasionally came out, she would hide from others, so how could she possibly meet the Seven Archons?
"You haven't met them? What a pity. I thought you might have met other Gods, and then you could help the Traveler identify the God she's looking for."
"Not all Gods serve indefinitely. Barbatos told me that among the original Seven Archons, only she and the Geo Archon remain. The other Gods have all been replaced. So even if I knew the Seven Archons in the past, it doesn't mean I know the current Seven Archons."
Lumine, who had been a bit regretful, curiously asked, "Gods can be replaced? They don't serve forever?"
Although she had lost many memories, the Gods she knew in other worlds always existed. Why would the Gods in this world be replaced?
"I don't know, Barbatos didn't tell me about that either. If you're interested, you can ask the Geo Archon when you meet him. As the God who has lived the longest, he should be much more reliable than Barbatos."
Lumine and Paimon nodded. During their time with Venti, they had fully realized how unreliable this Anemo Archon was.
If he didn't have the identity of a God, he probably would have died from laziness due to his advanced stage of 'slacking-off cancer.'
This Geo Archon must be very formidable. Unlike Venti, the slacking Anemo Archon, he appears once a year to guide the future development of Liyue. He must be more reliable than Venti.
"But how do we strike up a conversation with him? Even if we see him at the Rite of Descension, there will surely be many people attending the ceremony. As foreigners, we probably won't have a chance to talk to him, right?"
"Hmm, you're right. We need to think about this carefully."
Paimon's worry was not unfounded. How could a lofty God be easily approached? He wasn't like Venti, who transformed into a Bard and could be met on the street if you were lucky.
Without a plan, even successfully participating in the Rite of Descension wouldn't lead to a conversation.
"Leave the matter of striking up a conversation to me."
While Lumine and Paimon were pondering, Durandal spoke: "You'll have little chance, but I'm different. I think... if I, as a God, appear in Liyue, he can't just ignore it."
Even without using her power, with a God's insight, how could he not see her true form?
At that time, the other party would surely find her through some means, and then Lumine could meet him.
"Really? That's great, thank you, Durandal."
Lumine excitedly hugged Durandal, constantly stroking her head to express her joy.
Such intimate contact made Durandal very uncomfortable. She noticed that in the past few days, Lumine seemed to be making intimate contact with her intentionally or unintentionally.
When they were on the road, Lumine often tentatively tried to hold her hand, and even when she refused, Lumine wouldn't give up the chance to hold hands.
Eventually, Durandal gave up struggling and allowed Lumine to hold her hand when they were on the road and there were no troubles.
Is this person... plotting something? She always felt that Lumine specifically wanted to touch her, but... why?
Durandal knew that boys would try their best to find opportunities for physical contact with girls, but both she and Lumine were girls. What was there for girls to touch each other? She didn't quite understand what this person was trying to do.
However... this feeling was really strange. Durandal couldn't quite bear it and pushed her away, then walked back a few steps, creating a safe distance between them.
"Don't come any closer, talk to me from that spot, Lumine. If you mess around again, I'll give you a memorable lesson."
"Hehehe~ Sorry, Durandal. I was just too happy, so I couldn't help myself."
Lumine playfully stuck out her tongue, but she had used this excuse too many times in the past few days, and Durandal no longer believed her as she had before.
If Lumine dared to mess around like that again, she was prepared to let Lumine experience the same treatment that only Venti had enjoyed.
At least Lumine understood the principle of knowing when to stop; doing too much would be counterproductive.
Anyway, they still had a very long journey ahead, so there was no need to rush. Slow boiling water can cook a frog, and she believed that Durandal would slowly get used to her in their future interactions.
"Oh, by the way, when you talked to those two just now, did you find out anything?"
After Lumine went to talk to those two people just now, they got up and left, seemingly afraid of being pestered by them and not wanting to stay there any longer.
"No, they didn't even tell us their names. They just said they were employees of Minghua Bank and the second daughter of the shopkeeper. When we asked where they were going, they refused to disclose it, citing inconvenience."
This was normal, but it felt strange that they didn't say anything at all. Even a vague address, like going to Mondstadt, Sumeru, or Inazuma, would have been fine. Saying nothing at all was too cautious, wasn't it?
Were they going to do something that would be exposed just by mentioning the place name? Or were they simply unwilling to let others know where they might be going?
Paimon stroked her chin: "They seem to be plotting something. So suspicious. They said they were the second daughter of a bank, but how come they don't have any travel money? And the person accompanying her is an employee. What kind of business can they do like this?"
As Paimon said that, Lumine seemed to catch some details, her brows furrowed.
She had an idea, but it was just an idea. The specific situation would only be known after investigation.
However, this had nothing to do with what she needed to do now. They should hurry to Liyue and meet the Geo Archon first; other matters could be explored later.
"It's getting dark soon. We should find a place to rest. We can travel again tomorrow."
Unbeknownst to them, the sky had already darkened, and night was about to fall. Night was not a good time for traveling.
Although Durandal was with them, essentially no monsters could harass them, but after a full day of travel, Lumine and Paimon were both very tired. Appropriate rest would be beneficial for traveling the next day.
Durandal nodded, preparing to look for a suitable resting place nearby.
Before she could start looking, Lumine noticed something, shaking Durandal's hand and pointing in the distance.
"There! Look there, Durandal."
It was an inn built on a huge rock pillar, visible from afar.
"Oh~ I didn't expect an inn to be built in that place. How impressive."
Building a tea stall by the roadside was rare but not difficult; it only required a little money.
But building an inn on such a large rock pillar was not so simple; at least the financial resources required would be beyond what ordinary people could afford.
The owner who built this must be a very capable person. When merchant caravans passed by, they would surely come here to rest. It must be said that the owner had a really good business mind.
"Let's rest there today, shall we? What do you think?"
After several consecutive days of camping outdoors, Lumine and Paimon had had enough. They wanted to stay in a warm room and lie on a soft bed.
Durandal had no objections; for her, sleeping anywhere was the same, but Lumine was different.
Judging from her eyes, she definitely wanted to stay there. She had been traveling and eliminating monsters for the past few days and was indeed tired, so she should get some good rest.
Durandal nodded in agreement with the idea. Lumine and Paimon cheered happily, eagerly taking Durandal's hand and walking towards the inn.
Only upon getting closer did they truly grasp the immense size of the inn. Looking up from below, one could understand its sheer scale. The workers capable of building this were truly extraordinary.
There were two ways to go up: one was to take the stairs, and the other was to take the elevator next to it, which was more convenient.
Durandal and her companions originally intended to take the elevator, but Lumine noticed a man sighing in front of the stairs. Her treasure-hunting intuition suddenly flared up; she felt this man might give her Primogems.
At this moment, Durandal also sensed something, her gaze turning to a certain spot in the distance.
"You two go on ahead, Lumine."
Durandal suddenly said, "I want to look around nearby for new seasonings that I can use when cooking. You two go ahead and get a room; I'll be back very soon."
"Okay! I understand. Be careful, Durandal," Paimon habitually cautioned her.
Durandal looked at Paimon with an unreadable expression. Did this person know who she was telling to be careful?
Paimon also realized her concern was unnecessary, awkwardly scratching her head, wanting to say something to make amends.
"Mm, I understand."
To Paimon's surprise, Durandal nodded in agreement with Paimon's caution, then turned and walked in another direction.
Paimon was caught off guard by Durandal's response. Lumine, however, seemed to understand something and covered her mouth, chuckling softly.
It seems Durandal really likes this kind of natural relationship. Did Paimon just do her a big favor?
Durandal, having left the vicinity of Wangshu Inn, arrived at a sparsely populated area. In a hidden corner, she saw a Beautiful Youth half-kneeling on the ground in pain, black mist constantly rising from his body.
The other party seemed to sense someone's arrival and with difficulty, raised his head.
"God..."
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