With Dvalin's help, Durandal smoothly headed towards the Golden Apple Archipelago.
From above, the full panorama below was clearly visible. On these islands, one area stood out: it was shrouded by a Hydro Element barrier, preventing anyone from seeing what was inside.
Everyone chose to land in this highly suspicious area. After Dvalin dropped them off, he flew away impatiently, not wanting to stay a moment longer.
"Dvalin is scared. So what exactly did you do to him to make him so afraid of you?"
"I just helped him clear the Abyssal toxins from his body. It's just that the method of cleansing was a bit rough, leaving him with a bad impression."
Just a bad impression? Paimon was skeptical. From the moment Dvalin was summoned until he flew away, he didn't dare to look at Durandal. There must be more to it than that.
They put those thoughts aside for now, as everyone was more focused on the suspicious Hydro Element energy shield.
"This is it! Great Demon King Dodoco must be in this place! Hehe~ Great Demon King Dodoco, Klee is here to catch you, surrender now!"
Klee stood with her hands on her hips in front of the energy shield, preparing to continue her taunts, when Acting Grand Master Jean stepped forward and pulled Klee back, looking at her helplessly.
"Klee, how can you be so sure Great Demon King Dodoco is inside? He might be somewhere else."
"No, Klee knows Great Demon King Dodoco is inside. Great Demon King Dodoco saw so many of us coming and got scared, so he hid."
"By the way... this trial should be prepared for Klee, right? If so many of us help, does it still count as passing the trial?"
With their current luxurious lineup, let alone Great Demon King Dodoco, even the Seven Archons or even the Heavenly Principles themselves probably wouldn't be able to stop them.
"That's not right, Paimon. The letter said a trial was prepared for Klee, but it didn't say Klee couldn't bring other companions, did it?"
"Well, it didn't say she *could* bring them either. You're trying to change the subject, Traveler."
Shenhe stepped forward to examine it, attempting to forcefully break the Hydro Element energy shield with her abilities, but failed.
It seems the person who set up this energy shield has some skill; their power is at least above Shenhe's.
"No use. It probably requires a specific method to deactivate it."
"In that case, we can only go and check the mechanism first. Since that mechanism appeared in such a place, it must be related to deactivating the Hydro Element energy shield."
Lumine has encountered at least eight hundred mechanisms, if not a thousand, and she has solved every puzzle. She believes this puzzle will be no different.
"No need for such trouble. Even without following the set rules, this energy shield can be undone."
This was the only clue at the moment, and they probably needed to search elsewhere for clues to deactivate this energy shield.
But Durandal didn't have that much time to deal with it. She prepared to forcibly break the energy shield to see what was inside.
Durandal reached out and touched the energy shield. Durandal's power collided with the power maintaining the shield. Because Durandal's power was greater, the energy shield quickly couldn't hold on and gradually disappeared.
At this moment, the scene inside the energy shield was revealed to everyone. When Klee saw what was inside, she let out an excited cry.
What was hidden inside the energy shield was not some great demon king, but a resort park themed around Dodoco.
No one expected such a scene beneath the energy shield. Besides Klee excitedly running forward to investigate, everyone else exchanged glances for a moment.
What... what's going on? Weren't they here to find Great Demon King Dodoco and defeat him? Why is the scene here completely different from what they imagined?
In the center of this camp, a very obvious gramophone was placed. As soon as Klee approached, the gramophone began to operate.
"Hehe~ Evil red girl, you have followed the instructions in my heart and arrived at this trial ground. You're right, I am the ruler of the Dodoco clan — Great Demon King Dodoco!"
"You must be looking for me now, aren't you? Wanting to find me to decide a winner? What admirable courage, I can't help but want to applaud you. But it's meaningless now, because... I am Alice, your mom, Klee."
"Huh? Mom! Mom is Great Demon King Dodoco?!"
Klee, who had been full of momentum, changed her expression upon hearing the true identity of Great Demon King Dodoco, becoming extremely excited.
Durandal couldn't help but glance at a nearby island, then quickly brought her gaze back, developing a strong curiosity about Klee's mother.
She truly was a cheerful person. Even without seeing her in person, her voice revealed what kind of person she was.
Moreover... isn't Alice the one who wrote "Teyvat Travel Guide"? She is a very famous figure in the Adventurers' Guild, a so-called Great Adventurer.
Such a cheerful voice doesn't sound like one a mother would typically have. It seems Klee's cheerfulness is largely inherited from her.
"Klee, and those who came here with Klee, hello. Isn't the Golden Apple Archipelago, with its mist dissipated, wonderful? Sunshine and beaches, this is a rare vacation paradise. There's no one else here, so you can enjoy the summer here. Temporarily set aside your usual worries and have a good time here."
"Are you looking for me now, Klee? Give up, I'm not with you. This is my invention, the [Alice Gramophone], specially used to convey Mom's love for you."
"It's a real pity that I can't meet you all, but I will watch over everyone as I always have. Even though we are in different places, I believe our hearts are connected."
"Miss Alice... so that's it, I should have thought of it. I was careless..."
Acting Grand Master Jean covered her forehead helplessly. She should have realized earlier that Alice was behind this. This was exactly the kind of thing Alice would do.
To give her daughter a perfect summer, she really put a lot of thought into it. However, if she was the one who created this, then there was no need to worry about any problems, and they could safely enjoy their vacation on this island.
"Thank you all for accompanying Klee here, Miss Jean, Miss Barbara, the mysterious Traveler, and little Paimon, as well as Miss Durandal, who has always looked after Klee."
"I hope you all have a wonderful vacation on this island. You must play to your heart's content here. Klee,"
The rest of the content was Alice's message to Klee. Everyone could feel Alice's immense love for Klee in the recording.
Everyone watched the scene with smiles. They had initially expected this trip to involve facing suspicious enemies, but it turned out to be this kind of development.
"Next, let's fully enjoy this island, Klee. How about we play together?"
"Mm! Hehehe~ Acting Grand Master Jean, you promised Klee you'd go fish blasting with her. You wouldn't lie and not keep your word, would you?"
"Oh, you... since I promised, then let's go together."
Makoto, I never thought that I, who always supervised Klee and prevented him from bombing fish, would one day accompany him to bomb fish.
Although it was frustrating, she had already promised Klee to do this with him, so she naturally wouldn't go back on her word.
Let Klee have a good time on this trip. With the annoyance of Great Demon King Dodoco gone, everyone can relax and enjoy themselves.
At this moment, on a nearby island, a figure stood there, watching them from afar.
"Oh my, I didn't expect them to arrive so quickly. I didn't expect them to violently break the barrier directly. Really, then all the mechanisms I left behind would be meaningless."
Although setting up those mechanisms wasn't difficult for her, she had spent a lot of thought preparing them, and they just directly destroyed the barrier, which was completely beyond her expectation.
According to her original plan, it would take them at least a few days from adventuring to breaking the barrier. She would use this time to leave the island and continue her adventure.
Although she also wanted to meet Klee, she still had things to deal with. She only came this time to give Klee a gift, hoping that he could happily spend this summer.
If it weren't for Durandal, everything would have developed as she expected. Now, with what she did, many surprises were instantly lost.
"However, to be able to break the barrier I set so easily, that Durandal is truly strong."
"Well, thank you for your evaluation. You must be Klee's mother, Alice."
The sudden voice made the mysterious person's body tremble. She turned around and saw Durandal appearing behind her at some point.
The person secretly observing Durandal and the others was Alice. She had no idea she would be discovered and was at a loss.
She turned around in disbelief, seeing that Durandal was clearly still there, discussing with everyone where to play next. How could there be another Durandal here?
"No need to look, it's just a small trick. I haven't told anyone else that you're here; only I know you're still here."
"I see, then thank you very much, Miss Durandal. I'm grateful you didn't reveal my presence here, otherwise Klee would definitely not let me leave and make me stay here to accompany him for a few more days."
"Isn't that good? You must also want to meet him, right? Klee also said he misses you very much when he chats with me."
From the phonograph Alice left behind, it could be heard that Alice doted on Klee very much, and she must also want to meet Klee.
If that's the case, why not stay and accompany him? Is there some unspoken difficulty here?
"Hmm~ there are still some things to deal with in the Outside the Dark Sea. I don't have much time this time; I must rush back quickly." "Outside the Dark Sea..."
It was another place she hadn't heard of. From the name, it seemed like a very dangerous place. It appeared that Alice was an Adventurer on the surface, but actually had other hidden identities.
"So, did you come to meet me alone this time because you have something to ask me? Haha~ No matter what you want to ask, it's no problem. As the Great Adventurer Alice, I will answer your questions properly."
Being almost omnipotent, she knew many things. At the same time, she had traveled to many places in Teyvat. She was confident she could answer any of Durandal's questions.
Of course, some secrets were excluded. Even she had some privacy she wasn't willing to tell others.
"No, I didn't come to ask you questions this time. I came to find you to thank you."
"Thank me? For what?" Alice asked, puzzled.
"Thank you for bringing Klee into this world, Alice."
At the mention of Klee, Durandal's eyes softened: "If Klee hadn't been born into this world, I... might not have found salvation."
"Oh dear~"
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