In the evening, when Durandal returned from Mt. Aocang, Venti, Shenhe, Lumine, and Paimon had already returned.
Shenhe anxiously awaited Durandal's return. As soon as she saw Durandal appear in the living room, she eagerly walked over.
Lumine and Venti couldn't help but laugh at the nervous Shenhe. Lumine had already heard Shenhe's worries on the way back. Recalling what Cloud Retainer had told her about Ganyu when they met before, she understood that Shenhe's concerns were valid.
That adeptus's way of conversing was very interesting; you could often hear many interesting things from her, provided that the protagonist of her topic wasn't yourself. Otherwise, you would surely wish you could rush up and grab her bird's beak to make her shut up.
"Durandal, um... did you meet someone when you went out alone today?"
"Hmm? You know I met Cloud Retainer today?"
It's over.
Shenhe, who had still held a little hope, felt her heart sink when she heard this.
She hadn't expected her daytime premonition to be right; Durandal... had actually gone to meet her master.
Durandal had been out for an entire day today. During this time, she must have talked about something with Cloud Retainer, and given the latter's personality, she would definitely bring up stories about her or Ganyu's childhood as a topic.
Shenhe suddenly had a strong urge. She wanted to take the calamity's bane that her master had given her, immediately run back to Mt. Aocang, and stew her directly into soup for everyone to eat.
Durandal looked at Shenhe, who was slumped on the ground, in confusion. She had only said she met Cloud Retainer, so why did Shenhe look so devastated?
"What's wrong with you? What happened?"
"No... nothing, just suddenly felt a bit weak in the legs, probably from meditating for too long."
With Durandal's help, Shenhe stood up again, adjusted her mindset, and grasping at the last glimmer of hope, asked.
"Then... what did you and master talk about? What did she want to see you for? Can you tell me?"
"There's nothing that can't be said. It was mainly to thank me for taking care of you. When you returned last time, she noticed your changes during this period. Although she mostly stays in her cave dwelling, she is still very worried about you and comes out to check from time to time."
"Master..."
Hearing that Cloud Retainer was so worried about her, Shenhe murmured, touched.
It's just... when master occasionally came to see her, did she notice her hiding in the shadows, secretly observing Durandal?
There were a few times before when she secretly followed Durandal. She wondered if Cloud Retainer had seen these secretive actions.
"Besides these, we talked about many other things. She told me a lot about you, the old you… you were very cute."
Shenhe's body trembled. She should have been scared hearing Cloud Retainer and Durandal talk about her childhood, but hearing Durandal's evaluation, she suddenly felt… it wasn't entirely unacceptable.
"Cu… cute? Really?"
"Yes, she showed me what you looked like when you were little. She didn't even use a Kamera; she could draw you as a child purely through her drawing skills. That adeptus is quite impressive."
Perhaps due to designing mechanism blueprints, Cloud Retainer's drawing skills were excellent. Even while drunk, she could still draw Shenhe as a child.
How to put it? Durandal could only compare her to girls like Klee, Qiqi, and Diona. Compared to them, Shenhe as a child was indeed very endearing.
Hearing Durandal's assessment, Shenhe's cheeks flushed, and her heart swelled with joy. Her initial worries instantly vanished, replaced by a sweet feeling.
It was just a simple comment. In the past, people had also called Shenhe beautiful, and the adepti who taught her adeptal arts and spear fighting had praised her intelligence.
Shenhe had never reacted to these compliments, at most offering a simple thank you.
But with Durandal, an uncontrollable joy surged through her heart, making it impossible to suppress the smile on her face.
Lumine, who had been ready to watch the drama unfold, scratched her head in confusion. It should have been an embarrassing situation, so why had Shenhe suddenly gone quiet?
Watching Shenhe bend down to let Durandal pat her head, Lumine keenly sensed that something was off. An idea sparked in her mind but was quickly dismissed.
Regardless, she should keep an eye on Venti first. She wouldn't be staying here for too long; after the Lantern Rite Festival, she would return to Mondstadt, and then she wouldn't have to worry about her.
At night, Lumine, as usual, left Paimon to sleep in their room and took her pillow to Durandal's room.
She had figured it out: going to Venti's room would be a mutual destruction… no, that method wouldn't pose any threat to Durandal.
Since it had no effect, she might as well come directly to Durandal's room. That way, she could solve the problem at its root and get a good night's sleep herself.
Thinking this, Lumine happily opened Durandal's door… only to see Venti and Shenhe already there, sitting around a table with Durandal, playing something.
She was instantly stunned. How were these two here? And by the looks of them, they had clearly been here for a while.
"Oh? Ah, you're here, Lumine. We've been waiting for you."
Venti smiled and waved at Lumine, signaling her to come quickly and join them.
"What… what are you playing? It looks interesting."
"This is a new toy Shenhe and I saw on the street while shopping. It seems to have just come out recently and is quite fun. Do you want to play with us?"
"…Alright."
How could she say no? If she didn't join, she'd just sit on the sidelines watching their interaction, and Lumine didn't want to be an outsider.
And indeed, this toy was quite interesting. It was said to be just a beta version, with the official release still in development, but it already had a very high degree of completion.
Set in Liyue Harbor, players take on various roles, move by rolling dice, and upon reaching designated spots, draw random event cards to determine whether they receive a buff or a debuff.
Lumine, who had been grumbling inwardly, gradually shifted her focus to the game.
Her luck was genuinely good. Despite playing for the first time, she easily became the best among them.
"Ah, this is…"
It was Shenhe's turn. She picked up a random event card nearby, read it briefly, and her eyes widened.
Venti looked at Shenhe in confusion, curiously leaned over, and read the card's content aloud: "Marriage Event: The player closest to you becomes your partner. After becoming partners, assets are shared…"
Becoming partners had many benefits, and of course, some downsides, but that wasn't the most important thing. The important thing was being able to become partners with other players.
Now, the player closest to Shenhe's piece was… Shenhe surveyed the distances of the other pieces from hers.
Lumine was in another area, and Venti was currently hospitalized due to Lumine's deliberate targeting. So… the player closest to her was… "It's me."
Durandal calculated and reached a conclusion.
It was just an in-game status, but upon receiving Durandal's affirmation, Shenhe's heartbeat quickened, and even her breathing became hurried.
Lumine, who was busy accumulating properties on the other side, couldn't hold back when she heard about a marriage event.
"How is there even marriage! I've never heard of such a thing!"
"We played a few times before you arrived. The marriage event never came up then. This is the first time this card has been drawn."
Each time an event card was drawn, it was put back and reshuffled, so it was quite common not to draw the marriage event card in a single game, as there was only one such card.
For Shenhe to draw it was, in a way, quite lucky, and the target was Durandal. This luck… was unparalleled.
Venti found the marriage certificate card among the game's accessories, handed one to Durandal and one to Shenhe, and laughed, "Congratulations, Shenhe. With Durandal, your chances of winning are even greater."
"…Mm."
Taking the card from Venti, Shenhe placed it over her chest, a wide smile on her face.
Venti wasn't jealous. After all, it was just an in-game matter. This time, Shenhe was lucky enough to draw it; next time, it might be her turn. There was nothing to envy.
"Waaah~" Lumine pouted, looking at the properties she owned. Her assets were currently the highest, and her winning probability was also the highest, but… she couldn't be happy.
"Waaah~ I also want… I also want to marry Durandal. Why wasn't it me who drew this?"
Wasn't her luck good this round? Why? Why was it like this? She should be happy, but why couldn't she feel any joy?
"Oh, you don't have to be so disappointed, Lumine. I just took a quick look, and besides the marriage event, there's also a death event. If that event is triggered, the marriage status can be dissolved, and then you'll have a chance."
"Death event?"
Can a game with such an event really be sold? By the way, if this event happened, would Durandal be considered… widowed?
Although it was tempting, wouldn't that be bad for Shenhe?
Never mind, it was just a game. She'd take it one step at a time. It was far from over; she'd see how it developed.
Completely engrossed in the game, Lumine didn't notice Shenhe secretly reaching out and holding Durandal's hand, who was sitting next to her.
Durandal glanced at Shenhe, saw her unusually gentle gaze, and turned her head away, gripping Shenhe's hand as well.
And so, their hands were tightly intertwined, a situation even Venti didn't notice.
---------------------------------
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!