In the evening, Durandal and Hu Tao parted ways, and Durandal headed to Sea Moon Pavilion to meet Lumine.
When she arrived at Sea Moon Pavilion following directions from passersby, Lumine and Paimon were already waiting at the entrance.
"Ah! She's here! She's here! Hey~ We're over here, Durandal!"
Paimon spotted Durandal walking towards Sea Moon Pavilion from afar and excitedly waved her right hand, indicating their location.
Lumine saw Durandal arriving on time for their appointment and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She had been quite worried that Durandal wouldn't come, so it was great that her worries hadn't come true.
"Hey, hey, where did you go today? Did you see anything fun? Tell me!"
She and Lumine had spent the entire day familiarizing themselves with the Adventurers' Guild in Liyue and also completed some commissions there.
By the time they had mostly finished their tasks, it was already getting dark, and they had no time to properly explore.
"I went to the Northland Bank. Do you want to go there to read?"
Durandal pulled out a book she had just bought today—"Records of the Archon's Travels," which clearly was about the Geo Archon.
Paimon immediately lost interest. With so much time to explore Liyue Harbor, why did she have to go to the Northland Bank? What was so fun about those books?
"Since we're here to find the Geo Archon, we need to understand the situation. Although Mondstadt's library also has relevant records, the books here in Liyue have more specific descriptions."
Durandal patted the book in her hand and continued, "According to records, during every Rite of Descension, the Geo Archon appears in the form of a half-dragon, half-qilin. This is the most specific description. When the Rite of Descension begins, if the creature that appears matches this description, then it's the Geo Archon."
"Oh~ Half-dragon, half-qilin. So, completely different from Dvalin, right? Wait, strictly speaking, can Dvalin even be considered a dragon?"
It wasn't that Paimon was being difficult, but Dvalin resembled a creature that lived in the sea. As for what creature, she certainly wouldn't tell you that it looked a lot like a sea slug.
"Anyway, once the Rite of Descension begins, we'll get to see the Geo Archon's true form. Before that, let's get familiar with Liyue. We might have to live here for a while, and occasionally go back to Mondstadt to check in."
She had already promised everyone she would attend the Windblume Festival in Mondstadt, so she couldn't be absent. There were also many things to do in Liyue, so the next location would probably take some time to open up.
"Hmm, that's true. Let's find a hotel to stay in first. It won't do without a place to stay."
Paimon nodded in agreement. Nothing was more important than a place to stay. No... there was also food.
"Um... Durandal."
After a long hesitation, Lumine finally mustered the courage to speak to Durandal.
Durandal didn't speak. She watched Lumine, wanting to see what Lumine was going to say to her.
"Well, when Paimon and I were completing a commission today, we passed a small stall selling hair accessories. I thought one of the flower hairpins there would suit you very well, so I bought it."
Lumine took out a purple flower hairpin from her person. Its color was very suitable for Durandal, and the flowers used as material were ones Durandal had never seen before.
Durandal was attracted by the hairpin. She didn't choose to take it but looked at Lumine, wanting to hear her reason for choosing this hairpin for her.
"Well, Miss Durandal is very beautiful, but I still feel like something is missing. You see, I usually wear a hair accessory on my head, like this one."
Lumine pointed to the hair accessory on her hair, which, combined with her short golden hair, made her look even better.
"I thought you could also add something, so I chose a flower hair accessory that I think suits you very well. I hope you like it."
Durandal touched her hair. Generally, Gothic Lolita dresses come with fixed hair accessories, but Miss Durandal didn't have any, though this didn't detract from her charm.
She was somewhat persuaded by Lumine. Although she didn't care how much prettier she would become because of this hair accessory, it was a gift Lumine had specially prepared for her, which made its meaning different.
Her displeasure with Lumine's behavior during the day gradually dissipated with this hair accessory.
She wanted to take the hair accessory, but Lumine dodged Miss Durandal's hand, making Miss Durandal wonder what she was trying to do.
"Let me help you put it on. I want to have that right, may I?"
Durandal nodded, took a few steps forward to stand in front of Lumine, and slightly lowered her head, placing it before Lumine.
Lumine quickly found a good spot on the side and easily placed the accessory there.
Durandal couldn't see herself at that moment, but Lumine and Paimon could admire a different Durandal than usual. Just a simple hair accessory had brought about a huge change in her.
"Wow! Traveler's choice was really great. This hair accessory really suits her."
Paimon clapped her small hands happily, and Lumine nodded with satisfaction: "I knew it, you suit it very well, Miss Durandal."
Durandal carefully touched the hair accessory on her head. She looked at Lumine, then at the Millelith guarding the entrance of the Sea Moon Pavilion. Their gazes were even more fervent than before, which proved that Paimon and Lumine weren't lying.
Does this hair accessory really suit her? Probably. This feeling is quite nice.
Durandal showed a slight smile, and that was exactly what Lumine wanted to see.
"What is the name of this flower?"
Durandal was very curious about what kind of flower this accessory was made of. It was a flower she had never seen before, and she was very curious.
"Iris."
"Iris... I see."
A name she hadn't heard before, but it sounded quite famous from the name.
Lumine carefully observed Durandal, and only when she found no abnormalities did she breathe a sigh of relief.
In fact, the reason she chose an iris hairpin as a gift, besides it suiting Durandal, was also due to its flower language.
But Durandal didn't know the flower language of the iris, and it seemed no one in this world knew about it either. Now there was no need to worry about things being exposed prematurely.
Hehehe~ The flower language isn't suitable to tell Durandal yet. When they become close friends in the future, she will tell Durandal the secret, which will maximize its effect.
The iris hair accessory made Durandal forgive Lumine's actions during the day. The three of them waited for Keqing at the entrance, sharing the day's experiences.
Durandal recounted her meeting with Xiangling and also informed Lumine of Xiangling's invitation to them.
As expected, upon hearing Xiangling invite them to stay temporarily, Lumine was visibly moved, her excitement impossible to hide.
But after seeing Miss Durandal's increasingly cold gaze, Lumine put away her little thoughts, stating righteously that she couldn't possibly trouble her friends and it would be better to find a place to stay herself.
Speaking of which, they had been waiting here for quite a while. Why was there still no sign from Keqing? What was she doing? Had no one informed her?
"I'm sorry, I kept you waiting."
Just as Durandal was getting a bit impatient, Keqing finally arrived, belatedly.
"My apologies, there have been too many things to do recently. I originally thought I'd finish work by evening, but then more came in, and I only just finished everything with the help of others."
As the Rite of Descension approached, the Liyue Qixing had countless more documents to process than usual. Even with the help of a reliable secretary, there were still many documents left for them.
When Keqing learned that Lumine and Durandal had arrived, she worked at full speed and had just finished dealing with all the issues.
"Uwaah~ How tiring! The work of the Liyue Qixing. Can't you leave things for tomorrow? Anyway, the original tasks are already completed, so couldn't the later ones just be finished tomorrow?"
"No! Today's matters are done today. Tomorrow there will be tomorrow's documents to process. How can they be handled separately?"
Keqing rejected Paimon's suggestion without hesitation. Her personality was just like that. She even felt that the daily working hours were insufficient. To better develop Liyue Harbor, daily working hours should be extended.
To achieve this goal, she had submitted proposals several times, hoping to extend daily working hours by several hours, but each time she was rejected for various different reasons.
But she hadn't given up. She believed that as long as she persevered, she would definitely achieve her goal.
"Uwaah~ Another workaholic just like Acting Grand Master Jean."
Paimon hid behind Lumine in fear. Working overtime herself, doing 996 wasn't enough; she also wanted to drag others into working overtime and doing 996 with her. Such a person was too terrifying.
One should know that Jean only overworked herself, while Keqing wanted to include everyone else.
The most helpless thing was that those people couldn't say anything, because Keqing had already taken the lead in implementing this. The only thing they could do was complain and hope that the other members of the Liyue Qixing wouldn't be like Keqing.
"Alright, let's first solve your accommodation problem. While dealing with work, I also sent people to investigate the currently vacant rooms in Liyue Harbor. There happen to be a few hotels with reasonable prices and good locations. I've already excluded the hotels with poor locations and bad reviews for you. Those hotels have also agreed to reserve a room for you to choose from."
"Uwaah~ You can do so many things while being so busy. You're amazing, Keqing."
She already had so much main work, yet she could still find time to investigate so much useful information. She was truly reliable.
"It's nothing, I've long been used to this work efficiency. Alright, let's go quickly. Don't keep those shopkeepers waiting."
Just as everyone was about to leave, they saw a middle-aged man dressed as a butler walking towards them, his gaze primarily on Miss Durandal.
"Excuse me, are you Miss Durandal, the divine doctor of mondstadt?"
"Hmm? The divine doctor of mondstadt? Durandal?"
Keqing blinked blankly, like a cat, staring dazedly at the expressionless Durandal.
By the way, Lumine had introduced Miss Durandal's name to her when they chatted at the General Affairs Department, but she hadn't connected Miss Durandal with the trending divine doctor of mondstadt. She was actually the same person as the rumored divine doctor.
"She is. What's wrong? Do you have something for Miss Durandal?"
Paimon saw that Durandal didn't want to deal with the other party, so he helped her ask the butler the reason for seeking Durandal.
"That's wonderful! When I received the news, I was worried it might be a false report. It's truly excellent that you could come to Liyue."
The butler said delightedly, "My Young Master Chen suddenly contracted a strange illness. At first, he was just weak, then his limbs started turning black, and now he's bedridden. If this continues, his life might be in danger. To cure Young Master Chen's illness, Old Master Chen sought many doctors, but none could help. Even geomancers were invited, but still, no solution. You are our last hope. Please, you must come to the Chen family to examine Young Master Chen's condition. My Old Master Chen will surely reward you handsomely."
Everyone's gaze focused on Miss Durandal. Lumine and Paimon, who understood the situation, knew that Miss Durandal could easily handle this illness, but Keqing didn't know, so she wasn't sure if Miss Durandal could handle such a strange illness.
Durandal pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Lead the way."
"Alright! Please follow me."