"Venti! I trusted you so much! I trusted you so much! And this is how you treat me?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"No! You know very well! You're probably laughing maniacally in your heart, aren't you! As the first one to achieve the goal, you must be very happy, right!"
...Since you've figured it out, there's no need for me to pretend anymore. You're right, I am very happy. I've been laughing so hard these past few days.
"Venti!!"
When Venti bid farewell to Zhongli and returned to the villa, she was met with Lumine's interrogation.
She was so happy about Venti's arrival, and she had given Venti her complete trust. But what happened? This is how she repaid her trust!
While she was happily completing commissions outside, this guy actually snuck into her home and succeeded! And she only found out about it after so long.
And even after the truth was exposed, she showed no remorse, directly admitting her feelings. How could she tolerate that?
Lumine immediately rushed up and got into a fight with Venti. The two wrestled on the ground like children, completely unlike adults.
As the other party involved in this matter, Durandal did not intervene much in their affairs.
She hadn't done anything wrong; at least, in her opinion, she hadn't done anything at all. Although her relationship with Venti had become intimate, due to her personality, she hadn't responded to Venti's words.
Currently, it was all Venti's own assumption that their relationship had developed to the point of being lovers... Of course, in a sense, it was indeed not wrong to describe them that way.
Don't let their fierce fighting fool you; in reality, they didn't use any abilities other than brute force. They just looked like they were fighting fiercely.
"Why? Venti. Why is this happening? You should be able to tell, right?"
Because Durandal was present, Lumine didn't directly express her thoughts. She couldn't very well say that she had set her sights on Durandal the moment she met her.
"Why should there be a 'why'? I'd like to ask you, do you understand my situation with Durandal? She and I have known each other for thousands of years. Before she entered human society, I was the one who accompanied her. Do you think you can compare to such a long-standing friendship?"
Hmph! What 'curve overtaking'? It was merely an emotional outburst.
In the past, because no one intervened, they both thought their feelings for each other were just friendship. Due to jealousy, Venti deeply realized that her feelings for Durandal had changed and had been brewing for a long time.
Lumine was clearly the newcomer, yet she came to ask her why? Venti had simply taken what she deserved; what was wrong with that?
Lumine, who was still fuming, heard Venti's answer and was momentarily at a loss for how to retort.
She had forgotten about this. Compared to the time she had traveled with Durandal, the friendship between Durandal and Venti was undoubtedly something she couldn't match.
Neither now nor in the future would she be able to surpass that friendship.
But... she didn't want to lose! She didn't want to admit her defeat just like that!
"So what if the friendship is deep?! What matters now is feelings! I'm telling you, childhood sweethearts can't win against 'fated encounters.' Although you've reached the goal before me, in the future, the one who wins will only be me!"
Hmph! History has already proven that the 'fated encounter' type often becomes the ultimate winner!
She had only temporarily lost to Venti. She believed that the one who would win in the future would definitely be herself! This much would not change.
"Oh? Then I'd like to see how you plan to win."
'Fated encounter' and 'childhood sweetheart'? These terms seemed to be from Inazuma; she wasn't very familiar with them.
Childhood sweethearts probably referred to those who had spent a long time together, like her and Durandal. 'Fated encounter' referred to girls who appeared suddenly, like Lumine.
The reason childhood sweethearts lost to 'fated encounters' was because the former had spent too much time together and were too familiar, making it difficult for romantic feelings to develop.
The latter, due to their unfamiliarity, would gradually become attracted to each other during their interactions, eventually developing a better relationship.
Lumine's words were not strictly wrong, but she hadn't considered one thing: Durandal was not like ordinary humans.
Furthermore, the time they had spent together was incomparable to what humans could achieve. Could someone who hadn't even been with her for a year surpass thousands of years of companionship? What a joke!
Lumine and Venti's gazes collided. Their relationship hadn't deteriorated because of this incident, but to become the winner, they had to become rivals.
On the other side, Durandal and Shenhe were quietly drinking tea, completely ignoring Lumine and Venti.
Even Paimon, who was initially very worried, gradually relaxed due to their behavior and joined the tea-drinking group.
Durandal didn't plan to pay attention to Lumine and Venti, those two boisterous individuals, but Shenhe quietly listened to their exchanges, her eyes constantly flickering.
She didn't understand many things, but... in this matter, she clearly understood what several people meant.
Not just those two, Shenhe also wouldn't admit defeat.
——————
At night, when everyone was preparing for bed, Lumine, hugging a pillow, came to Venti's room, blocking Venti who was about to go to Durandal's room.
"It's so late, why aren't you sleeping and coming to my place? Traveler."
"To check on you, and to make sure you're staying in your room and not sneaking off to another room to sleep."
Lumine hugged her pillow, her beautiful eyes fixed on Venti.
"To prevent you from sneaking off when I'm not looking, I'll be staying here tonight."
To prevent Venti from sneaking off again, Lumine decided to stick with Venti tonight, giving her no opportunity.
"Why do such troublesome things? Wouldn't it be better for the two of us to go to Durandal's room together?"
Since she didn't trust her, wouldn't it be better to go to Durandal's room together?
Anyway, her bed was so big that even a few more people wouldn't make it crowded. Was it necessary to come to her room to block her?
...Your plan is good, but have you considered how Durandal would react if we both appeared in her room at the same time?
"Hmm~ Given Durandal's personality, she'd probably kick us out."
Venti quickly came to a conclusion. Even if she didn't kick them out initially, Durandal would definitely be unable to resist throwing them out of the room when they started arguing later.
She really would do such a thing. Venti had personally experienced being swallowed, so being thrown out of a room was a small matter she would definitely do.
"Exactly, that's why coming to your room is the right choice. It's the best option."
Venti silently stared at Lumine for a while, then sighed deeply.
"You got me. It seems I won't be able to sleep with Durandal for a while. What a pity."
This statement didn't cause Lumine too much DMG, because she had done such things too, so there was nothing to be envious of.
"Since you plan to stay in my room, I'll give you a heads-up. Tonight, I plan to write some new poems, so I might rest a little later."
"It's fine! I'll keep an eye on you until you fall asleep."
Hmph! Trying to sneak off to find Durandal while she's asleep? She wouldn't let Venti's scheme succeed!
"Is that so? You're really serious. Let me tell you in advance, the poems I'm going to write this time will include some of my recent feelings. Among them... are some things I did with Durandal."
Saying that, Venti extended her index finger to her lips and winked her right eye at Lumine: "I happen to need an audience. Would you be willing to take on that role?"
Although her words were very much in her usual style, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this guy was planning to show off to her about what she and Durandal had been doing recently.
Her actions were exactly the same as what Durandal had done when explaining to her during the day. She really... she really wanted to beat up this Anemo Archon!
Suppressing her urge to explode, Lumine had a big '#' mark above her head and said with a forced smile,
"Please... let me be your audience, and let me thoroughly understand what has happened between you two recently!!!"
It seemed that these two would be sleeping very late tonight.
On the other side, Durandal, who was resting in her room, was drinking tea and pondering the events of the past few days.
She had to admit, although she had fallen into Venti's trap and their relationship had progressed somewhat coercively, she had indeed experienced a different kind of feeling these past few days.
Is this what the male and female protagonists in books feel? Is this what Venti said... the feeling of being in love? Is this feeling... love?
Venti didn't understand. Although it had only been a few days, she had experienced many unfamiliar feelings.
Although they were strange, each time they made her heart race and her face feel unusually warm, but... she didn't dislike this feeling.
"What are they doing now?"
Durandal looked towards the door. She had thought Lumine and Venti would both come to visit her room, but she waited for a long time and no one came.
Had something happened? Or were they planning something?
As Durandal pondered, a gentle knock came from the door.
Thinking that they had indeed come, Durandal got up, ready to see who had arrived first, or if they had come together.
Opening the door, it was neither Lumine nor Venti who appeared before her, but Shenhe, who had been very quiet during the day.
"Shenhe?"
"I'm not disturbing you, am I, Durandal?"
Shenhe secretly peeked into the room a few times. After not seeing Lumine or Venti, she let out a sigh of relief.
Durandal shook her head, looked at the pillow in Shenhe's arms, and asked, "What's this?"
"Tonight... can I sleep with you?"
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