The next day, Mondstadt City became peaceful again, as if the previous events had never happened.
Miss Durandal left the hotel early in the morning, ignoring Lumine's and Shenhe's attempts to make her stay, deciding to spend the day alone.
Really, Lumine was just too much. It was one thing for her to do such things herself, but she even dragged Shenhe into it. What if she taught her bad habits?
As she was preparing to wander around, she encountered a talking couple near the fountain. Miss Durandal found this couple quite familiar; she seemed to have seen them somewhere before.
"Ah! It's Miss Durandal!"
The woman among them noticed Miss Durandal's arrival and excitedly came up to her.
"Long time no see! Miss Durandal. You still remember me, right? I'm Anna, you were the one who cured my illness back then."
Anna? Oh~ Miss Durandal remembered. This person was the reason she became the divine doctor of mondstadt. It was because she had cured her mysterious illness that so many people sought her out for treatment afterward.
She didn't expect to meet her here. Seeing her so healthy, her body had recovered very well.
"Hmm, how have you been lately? Now that your illness is cured, you don't have to stay at home anymore, do you?"
"Yes! After my body fully recovered, I planned to go to the Adventurer's Guild and register to become an official Adventurer there!"
In the past, due to her health, Anna could only stay at home and couldn't even go too far when going out, which was a torture for her.
Now that she had recovered her health, she wanted to go out and see the world, to properly appreciate the scenery of Mondstadt. While achieving this goal, she also wanted to ease some of the burden on her family.
In the past, because of her illness, her parents and her older brother Anthony had devoted too much time and effort. Now that she had recovered, she naturally wanted to do something for the family.
Becoming an Adventurer could both fulfill her wish and earn Mora through commissions, easing some of the family's pressure—a win-win situation!
Hmm, a good idea. However, becoming an Adventurer meant possibly encountering threats like Hilichurls when leaving the city. Would her family really feel at ease letting her become an Adventurer?
Miss Durandal looked at Anthony, who was standing beside her. Facing Miss Durandal's gaze, Anthony sighed; he was also very helpless.
However... he nodded. Although helpless, he had been convinced by Anna's actions.
Not only him, her brother, but even her parents had been convinced by Anna, after all, this was Mondstadt, the symbol of freedom.
Since Anna had such an idea, as her family, they should support her, as long as she paid attention to her own safety when adventuring outside.
"Don't look at Anna like this, she's actually very agile. Before, when I wasn't paying attention, she ran to the top of the windmill and even ran onto the hand of the statue of the seven. You can't tell she was a sick person before. With such growth speed, it would indeed be a pity if she didn't become an Adventurer."
Anthony really didn't know how to complain. He, as an older brother, had always been in good health, yet he couldn't do what Anna, who had only recently recovered, could do. If other acquaintances knew about this, he would surely be laughed at.
Miss Durandal nodded: "Since you're ready, then go for it. But, you must pay attention to safety. Even Hilichurls can be very dangerous in large numbers. Don't be reckless, understand?"
Facing her first patient, Miss Durandal patiently advised her.
As her savior, Anna naturally listened to Miss Durandal's instructions, saying that she would abide by them and asking Miss Durandal not to worry.
Bidding farewell to Anna and Anthony, Miss Durandal walked casually down the street. Occasionally, passersby would greet Miss Durandal.
As a hero who saved children, she was already one of Mondstadt City's foremost celebrities.
Under Miss Durandal's manipulation, the event of Miss Durandal single-handedly destroying the Fatui base was turned into a Knights of Favonius operation, while Miss Durandal's actions were to treat those children and restore them to health.
Among the children who were kidnapped, several were children from Mondstadt City. When they saw Miss Durandal, they would excitedly come over to greet her.
If they weren't called away by adults, they would probably cling to Miss Durandal for a long time, but... there were simply too many people coming to talk.
Facing so many people, Miss Durandal... Miss Durandal turned around and fled into a nearby alley.
When those people chased after her, they found that Miss Durandal had vanished without a trace, and they couldn't find any sign of her.
They should be proud, because they, without doing anything, had driven away the Apostle Miss Durandal. This was not something just anyone could do.
Having evaded the large crowd of residents, Miss Durandal returned to the fountain. She had originally intended to go to Angel's Share, but considering there might already be many drunkards there, she thought for a moment and looked towards the Cat's Tail Tavern not far away.
Miss Durandal usually went to Angel's Share, but most of the people there were rough men. Occasionally, she would go to other places; that place was only good for drinking and gathering information.
As the door opened, what greeted her eyes was a white cat lounging lazily on the edge of a bed.
Besides these white cats, there were other cats in the shop. They were all more or less doing their own things. They were all very well-behaved and didn't affect the shop's business.
As Miss Durandal entered, the cats in the shop seemed to sense something. They immediately stood up and rushed towards Miss Durandal.
The few customers in the shop witnessed this rare sight: Miss Durandal was surrounded by a large group of cats, who purred cutely around Miss Durandal, as if begging for her affection.
Many customers who came here had a certain cat-lover trait. Seeing the cats they had just been playing with being led away by someone else, they felt a bit sad for a moment.
However, seeing that the person they lost to was Miss Durandal, the emotional gap instantly disappeared, because they all knew that probably no one in Mondstadt City could beat her when it came to attracting small animals.
"Hehe~ I guessed you'd come. Every time the cats get excited, it's definitely because you've arrived."
At this moment, a well-dressed lady walked out from the back room. She looked at Miss Durandal, who was holding a cat, and let out a soft chuckle.
Margaret, the owner of the Cat's Tail Tavern, is a very gentle person; otherwise, her establishment wouldn't have so many adorable kittens.
"Miss Durandal! You're here!"
At the bar, a cute little one with cat ears was waving at Durandal.
Diona, the super popular bartender of the Cat's Tail Tavern, is Mondstadt's supernova in the wine industry. Thanks to her joining, the tavern's business has improved immeasurably.
She possesses a very special constitution: no matter the ingredients, anything that passes through her hands will ultimately transform into a delicious concoction.
This isn't a lie; Durandal once saw Diona combine a pair of strange ingredients and actually produce a decent drink.
At least Durandal, after tasting it, thought it was quite good. Such a person was simply born for the profession of a bartender.
But... she doesn't like alcohol. Calling herself the "Wine Industry Killer," she declares that she will destroy Mondstadt's wine industry and works tirelessly every day towards that goal.
However... the delicious concoctions she creates, one after another, not only fail to make people dislike alcohol but also make many people fall in love with the taste, wanting to savor it again.
Durandal nodded to Margaret, walked to the bar, sat down, and said, "The usual, give me a drink similar to rice wine."
"Ugh! Seriously, why would someone as gentle as Miss Durandal also like to drink, just like those drunkards?"
Diona grumbled, but her hands didn't stop moving. She skillfully mixed a drink for Durandal that was no less impressive than rice wine.
Yes, this is why Durandal comes to the Cat's Tail Tavern. She isn't interested in high-proof alcohol, and the sweet wines Diona mixes are superior to those at Angel's Share and more to her liking.
Most importantly, Durandal is more satisfied with the atmosphere here, so if she had to choose, she would choose the Cat's Tail Tavern.
"It seems you have something on your mind, which is why you've come to me, Miss Durandal."
Margaret sat beside Durandal, smiling, "The two people who are usually with you aren't around. What? Did you have a disagreement with them?"
When he was slacking off outside the shop, he often saw Durandal, Lumine, and Shenhe together, almost inseparable.
Today, she was alone and had even come here to drink. Had there been a disagreement? Was she trying to drown her sorrows?
Diona, who was mixing drinks, twitched her ears. She was also very curious about this topic.
"No, I just wanted to come here for a drink. There's no complicated reason," Durandal denied without hesitation.
But her denial essentially confirmed Margaret's statement was correct. It seemed something had indeed happened, but it wasn't a quarrel; she was simply avoiding those two.
Since nothing major had happened, then a good reception was all that was needed. With Durandal and Diona at the Cat's Tail Tavern today, who knew how much more the revenue would be than usual?
Oh, it's better not to do something that makes people dislike you, after all, no one wants to offend an exceptionally skilled doctor, right?
"Here you go, your sweet wine."
"Mm."
Taking the sweet wine, Durandal took a small sip, savoring the taste that spread in her mouth, and finally a small smile appeared on her face.
"Miss Durandal... are you feeling down?"
Diona carefully observed Durandal's expression and said, "If... if you're uncomfortable anywhere, you can tell me. Although I probably can't help you solve it, I can chat with you."
"...Then let's chat a little."
Compared to that strange person Lumine, Durandal felt more at ease with Diona, a girl who looked similar to Klee.
Plus, her cat ears made Durandal even more willing to choose her as her conversation partner.
Hearing Durandal's reply, Diona showed a cute smile and happily chatted with Durandal.
I originally wanted to switch to Liyue, but as I wrote, I still stayed in Mondstadt for a while longer.
Some characters have too few chapters; let's write more about their stories.
---------------------------------
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!