"Oh wow! It's so lively, Traveler. I didn't expect there to be so many interesting programs, it's really great."
"Yes, there are more programs than I imagined. It seems we'll have things to do for the next few days."
The Lantern Rite Festival finally arrived, and Lumine, with Paimon, walked down the streets of Liyue Harbor, watching the bustling crowds and marveling at the liveliness of Liyue Harbor, while also looking for interesting activities.
They left early in the morning, found vendors selling lanternss, and from them, found the one with the highest purchase price. After selling all the lanternss they made, they were ready to go out and have fun.
Hehe~ You wouldn't think Lumine planned to sell these lanternss herself, would you? She wouldn't do such a foolish thing.
The money used to track Aether did need to be deducted from the lanternss, but she also wanted to participate in this Lantern Rite Festival properly, so she left the selling work to the professionals.
While Lumine and Paimon were happily discussing ahead, the atmosphere among the three behind them seemed a bit strange.
Shenhe looked dangerously at Venti, who was holding Durandal's wrist. Although Durandal had already helped her remove the 'Lonely Star' fate, Shenhe continuously emitted a terrifying killing intent, making one wonder if Durandal hadn't properly handled the fate, causing it to relapse.
"That looks delicious, let's go buy something to eat."
"No."
"That looks fun, shall we go play together?"
"No."
"Oh oh! It looks like someone is holding a concert there. Shall we go listen to other people's performances?"
"Don't want to."
"Hey, why are you like this? This isn't the attitude for a festival. Now is the time to be happy and immerse yourself in the atmosphere. If you don't want to experience anything, how can you immerse yourself?"
"If you have an opinion, then go with Lumine and Paimon. With them, you should be able to satisfy your desire for activity."
"No way, if it's not with you, what's the point?"
"..."
The above conversation has had countless similar versions, and it has been like this all this time.
Although they were very close before, they have obviously become even closer recently, and to an extent that is a bit unsettling.
What happened without her knowledge? She always felt like she had missed something very important.
Shenhe was very annoyed. She knew she should not have experienced the feeling of being Frozen in time, but rather stayed by Durandal's side during this period, so this wouldn't have happened.
And... why does she still look fine? Didn't she notice the abnormality in these two people?
She's usually so smart, why is she being foolish about this? This is the one thing you shouldn't be foolish about! Look back at the interaction between those two!
Venti pulled Durandal to a stall, a shooting game. According to the rules, you could get a certain level of prize by hitting a certain number of targets.
Venti's weapon was a bow and arrow, so this game was Children's play for him, the kind where he could hit a hundred out of a hundred even with his eyes closed.
Venti didn't make it too difficult for the boss, deliberately missing a few shots in the middle, which made the boss's face look a little better.
Finally, he got a very ordinary small bear from the prizes and put the bear into Durandal's arms.
"How is it? Do you like this doll? I originally wanted to give you the pig doll next to it, but I felt it wasn't suitable, so I gave you the bear doll."
For some reason, she inexplicably felt that the pig doll was unusually compatible with Durandal, but fearing Durandal would get angry and send her to Lumine, she chose this doll for her.
"... A Children's toy, why would you give me something like this?"
Durandal just glanced at it a few times and lost interest. This kind of thing was similar to what she usually gave to those little brats. Did this fellow think she would be interested in something like this?
"Hehe~ I just wanted to give you something. You know me. I don't have much Mora on me, so I can't give you anything too good. I can only start with small gifts like this."
Venti lowered his head shyly. He knew he shouldn't have spent all the Mora he earned on wine before. If he had saved a little, he could have bought something nice for Durandal.
He still loved drinking, but now, in this most beloved activity, Durandal had taken the place originally held by wine.
Although Venti was ashamed, Durandal was not a materialistic person, or rather, she was not interested in expensive things, otherwise she wouldn't have kept the iris hair accessory Lumine had given her.
Durandal did not refuse this simple gift. She put the doll away, as she couldn't possibly walk around the street holding it.
Seeing Durandal accept his gift, Venti's face once again beamed with a joyful smile.
At this moment, Venti noticed the iris hair ornament on Durandal's head, and his hat also had a Cecilia flower hair ornament.
He didn't have much to say before, but given their current relationship, Venti wanted to try something couple-like, and a simple hair ornament shouldn't be a problem.
"Any thoughts on changing your hair ornament? How about one like mine, a Cecilia flower?"
Venti showed Durandal the hair ornament on his head. It was his favorite Cecilia flower. If possible... he also hoped Durandal could use this flower as decoration.
Durandal hesitated for a moment, touching the iris hair ornament on her head. This flower, under her power, had already become a part of her body.
Last time when her great scythe turned into a great claw, while her clothes changed, even the iris hair ornament underwent some slight changes.
Venti's request was not excessive, but after considering it, Durandal rejected Venti's proposal.
"This is the first thing that fellow gave me. I don't want to just replace it."
That fellow... Oh, it's Lumine. If it's her, then there's nothing that can be done.
If it weren't for her taking a shortcut, Lumine would probably be the one with the most progress right now, and it was understandable that Durandal would cherish the hair ornament she gave her.
It's okay. Although he couldn't wear the same hair ornament, Venti wasn't disappointed. Anyway, he had already accomplished what everyone else wanted to accomplish. He was the winner.
Thinking this, Venti, with a winner's smile, grabbed Durandal's hand and followed Lumine and Paimon.
The first day of the Lantern Rite Festival was very lively. Besides the people gathered to enjoy the festival, there were also those hidden among them who wanted to cause trouble.
As they passed through an area where goods were stacked, carrying the snacks they had bought, Lumine keenly noticed someone sneaking around there, not at all like a staff member.
Alert, she immediately called over a Millelith patrolling nearby, asking whose belongings were stacked there and whether that person was responsible for inspecting the items.
"These are not goods stored by merchants. This area holds important items that will be used tonight. Usually, there are Millelith guarding it, and ordinary people cannot enter."
Something was wrong, very wrong! Logically, there should have been Millelith guarding the goods here, so why wasn't the Millelith on duty to be seen?
"This cup of water has a problem."
Durandal noticed an inconspicuous cup of water placed in the corner. Although it looked similar to ordinary water, Durandal clearly felt that it was mixed with other ingredients.
"This seems to be... a laxative?"
Durandal was all too familiar with laxatives. Back when she was researching a Virus to deal with the Fatui, she had studied laxatives very carefully.
Although the laxative contained here was slightly different from what she had bought before, the general effect was the same: to make people have diarrhea.
"In other words, someone deliberately put a laxative in the water the Millelith drank, planning to sneak in and steal things when he left to use the restroom!"
Paimon quickly helped the Millelith understand the situation. Hearing this possibility, the Millelith couldn't sit still and immediately rushed over, running towards the suspicious person who was still fumbling around.
The other party was very cautious. As soon as he heard a sound, he turned and ran, not even looking at who was coming. It was clear he was a habitual offender.
Although the Millelith tried hard to chase, the person's speed was too fast. The distance between the Millelith and him gradually widened, and it looked like he was about to get away.
Seeing this, Lumine wanted to go help with the chase, but Venti stopped him.
"Don't panic, with us here, nothing will happen."
Just kidding, with Durandal and Venti here, if this person could still escape, then his escape ability would be even stronger than a God.
"Look, the wind is picking up."
Suddenly, an unusual gust of wind blew, and the person fleeing was blinded by a flying flyer, causing him to lose his sense of direction.
By the time he took the flyer off his face, Durandal had already arrived in front of him. Under his terrified gaze, the other party pressed his face, pinning him firmly to the ground.
When did Durandal pass by them? No one noticed this, but the person was caught, and everyone was happy.
A familiar coin fell from the person's body. Anyone who had dealt with the Treasure Hoarders knew that this was a coin every Treasure Hoarder member carried.
This person was a member of the Treasure Hoarders, and this incident was probably related to them.
When Durandal handed the coin to the Millelith, the other party also realized the problem and his eyes became serious.
At this important time of the Lantern Rite Festival, the presence of Treasure Hoarders here was not good news.
"Does that mean... there's work to do?"
Lumine's eyes lit up. She had already seen acceptable tasks, and tasks assigned during such an important time usually had good rewards.
Seeing Lumine's excited expression, Durandal knew that they would most likely not be able to enjoy the festival properly today.
Although Lumine could complete the commission alone, this time it was different from ordinary Adventurers' Guild commissions; she had to stay by her side.
Thinking this, Durandal couldn't help but look at Venti. Facing her gaze, Venti smiled gently.
"Let's go take a look together. I also want to see how you usually travel."
"As long as you are by my side, anything is possible."
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