Chapter 418 - 417: Must take the initiative!

"I was wrong, I was truly wrong. I shouldn’t have forgotten about Lady Durandal’s existence just because of dandelion wine. Please forgive me, forgive me."

Venti knelt on the ground, apologizing to Durandal in agony. The scene was so tragic that one might have thought Venti had been robbed while busking earlier in the day; he was truly miserable.

Facing such a Venti, Durandal looked at him without mercy. Usually, she would outwardly show disdain but inwardly care for Venti, but this time she was unmoved. She simply took out a pre-prepared bottle of dandelion wine from her backpack, placed it in front of him, and then took Shenhe’s hand and left the room.

Venti knelt on the ground, distraught, looking at the dandelion wine in front of him. His body’s natural reaction made him pick up the glass and take a sip.

It was still that familiar taste, but what used to make him linger now only left bitterness. It was all his fault, he regretted it deeply.

How did that saying go? Bitter wine down the throat, heart aches. Although his situation wasn’t as severe as that, he was in agony.

Lumine and Paimon kept clicking their tongues nearby. Lumine never thought she would have a day to watch a show. She knew that usually, others watched her spectacle, but she never expected to watch others’ spectacle for a change.

"What exactly happened? Why did Durandal leave you out? Did you do something Durandal dislikes?"

Lumine was very curious. Durandal and Venti had a very good relationship. Usually, no matter how much Venti challenged Durandal’s bottom line, Durandal would basically forgive him after a slight punishment.

Even if she didn’t forgive him, at most she would leave him alone for a few hours. This was the first time she had left him alone for several days. What on earth happened?

"It’s my fault, it’s all my fault. I got caught in the trap of free drinks and forgot about Durandal."

Venti wiped away tears from the corner of his eyes, explaining the reason he had investigated while drinking the dandelion wine that made him bitter [?].

That day, they were at the Angels Share, and he became overly excited due to Ningguang’s announcement of free drinks, causing him to momentarily forget about Durandal’s presence.

Durandal was also someone easily affected. She had specifically come to accompany him, but he treated her this way. Durandal, unable to tolerate it, wanted to punish him, to let him experience the taste Lumine usually felt.

So... so this is how bitter it is? Venti somewhat understood Lumine, but understanding was understanding, he didn’t want to personally experience this feeling!

"Ah~ I see. I really don’t know what to say about you. If Durandal didn’t come looking for you, whatever you wanted to do would be fine. But Durandal finally got to be with you, intending to spend time together. Yet, you cast her aside because of Ningguang’s free drinks. Isn’t that clearly telling Durandal that your position isn’t as important as wine?"

"That’s not true! In my heart, Durandal’s place can never be compensated by dandelion wine!"

That intoxicating feeling was something wine couldn’t compare to. Even if more delicious wines appeared in the future, Venti didn’t believe they could surpass Durandal.

"But the fact is, you chose to neglect Durandal because you could [drink]. Her main purpose for coming back this time was to spend quality time with you. After all, we’re usually in other nations, and it takes a long time to return to Mondstadt. But you acted this way, tsk tsk~"

Lumine shook her head, full of regret; Venti was already beyond saving, and she could only pray for her anger to subside.

Paimon, who had been silent, looked at Lumine, who was acting like a life mentor, with a subtle gaze. Sure enough, she was very perceptive when it came to other people’s affairs, but incredibly slow when it came to her own.

Paimon used to be anxious, but now she didn’t care. Let things happen as they may; she had given up, already set up a chair, and was ready to watch the show.

"No, merely waiting is useless. That will only make Durandal more uncomfortable and less willing to talk to me. I must take drastic measures; I must take the initiative."

Based on Venti’s understanding of Durandal, if she did nothing now, Durandal probably wouldn’t even acknowledge her when Durandal and Lumine set off again.

She had to be proactive, just like when she confessed her feelings. She had to do something to earn Durandal’s forgiveness.

Thinking of this, Venti hurried back to her room, took out a portion of Mora from her savings, and, under Lumine’s bewildered gaze, opened the window and jumped out.

Lumine and Paimon quickly ran over. When they looked out the window, they only saw a green shadow disappearing around the street corner.

Lumine scratched her head, wondering what was wrong with Venti. One moment she looked distraught, the next she was incredibly excited. What was she planning to do?

On the other side, Durandal brought Shenhe to the alchemy station. Albedo was in Mondstadt today, currently guiding Sucrose on alchemy knowledge.

Abe Shao was also there, guiding Timaeus. They were teaching the two separately. Although they had the same face, their teaching methods were noticeably different.

Albedo’s guidance was gentle, while Abe Shao’s guidance was stricter.

Abe Shao was also in the learning stage, but Abe Shao had the same Talents as Albedo, progressing very quickly in alchemy knowledge. Guiding an apprentice like Timaeus was no problem.

After waiting a short while, once their teaching work concluded, Durandal stepped forward to greet them.

"It seems your integration into Mondstadt is going well. You’re already capable of being a teacher."

"It’s you!"

Hearing Durandal’s voice, Abe Shao jumped in fright, instinctively wanting to hide behind Albedo. But with Sucrose and Timaeus present, Abe Shao, not wanting to lose face in front of them, could only force himself to stand still, feigning nonchalance.

"What? Do you have an opinion on my guidance? If you’re better than me, you can teach him in my place."

"No, I’m not interested in alchemy. If your experiments result in any major accidents, you can come to me, and I can cure you."

After observing Abe Shao briefly, Durandal turned her gaze to Sucrose and Timaeus, asking, "How is he to you? Has he done anything bad?"

"Hey, what do you mean by that?"

This person... even if she had to ask, she should at least do it where he couldn’t see. What was the meaning of asking these things in front of him?

Albedo patted Abe Shao’s shoulder, signaling him not to get too agitated. Even if he got agitated here, it wouldn’t help; he couldn’t beat her.

Sucrose raised her eyes, revealing a shy smile: "No, Teacher Abe Shao has helped us a lot, just like Mr. Albedo. Whenever I have something I don’t understand, Teacher Abe Shao always answers my questions. Although he’s stricter, it’s a teacher’s teaching method, and I can understand it."

"Teacher? Why do you call him teacher?"

"Well... originally, I wanted to call him ’Mister,’ but he said he didn’t want the same title as Mr. Albedo, so we changed it to ’teacher.’ But it’s nothing, after all, Teacher Abe Shao is indeed guiding me, and I’m very happy to have another teacher guiding me in alchemy."

Heh, so that’s how it is. He doesn’t want a similar title to Albedo, even caring about such small details.

Durandal looked at Abe Shao. Abe Shao immediately turned his head away, ignoring her.

"Then what about you? Your treatment shouldn’t be as good as Sucrose’s, right?"

"Ahaha~ I’m ashamed to say, I’m quite slow. Unlike Sucrose, who understands immediately, I always need the teacher to explain things several times."

Timaeus scratched his head a little sheepishly: "So even when the teacher scolds me, even if he’s angry, he’ll still guide me until I understand."

Although his temper was a bit short, his intentions were good. It seemed he was also integrating well into Mondstadt’s life.

"Don’t look at me with that kind of gaze. If you have something to say, just say it directly, without that expression."

That kind of gaze? Sucrose and Timaeus looked at Durandal in confusion, finding that she still had her usual calm expression, showing no strong emotions.

At least to them, Durandal showed no expression. Why would Abe Shao say such a thing? Could he possibly discern other expressions from Durandal?

Durandal stared at Abe Shao for a while, ultimately deciding not to waste her breath. His instruction could be left to Albedo. She only needed to stay in the background, serving as the ultimate contingency.

After a few final instructions, Durandal left with Shenhe, leaving Abe Shao muttering "incomprehensible" to himself.

He had initially thought Durandal was here to cause trouble, but she only made him nervous for a moment before leaving.

What’s the deal? Is it fun to scare people like this? If you’ve got guts... if you’ve got guts, don’t come over! What kind of hero scares people!

"Alright, she’s already gone. You don’t need to be so noisy anymore."

Albedo patted Abe Shao’s shoulder, comforting him: "Although she didn’t say anything to you, I can confirm that she already trusts you to some extent. You don’t have to worry about scary monsters suddenly appearing nearby like before; she won’t do that anymore."

"...Hmph, who knows what she’s really thinking. Right now, I can’t even relax when I sleep."

Abe Shao snorted softly. He had truly been tormented during this time, having to stay vigilant even when sleeping, fearing that when he opened his eyes, he would see a monster standing by his bed, opening its bloody maw at him.

However... since Albedo had already said so, he would try to relax a bit. Recently, due to poor sleep quality, his mood had been quite irritable. He would get a good rest tonight and try to recover his state.

At this moment, in the commercial district of Mondstadt, Venti was looking for items needed for her plan, but after walking around, she couldn’t find anything suitable.

Finally, at the gift shop, she saw something quite good. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately rushed in.

"Boss! How much is this item?"

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