Chapter 362 - 361: For My Future, You Must Sacrifice, Shogun
"How’s the environment here? Isn’t it beautiful?"
Led by Raiden Ei, Durandal arrived at a beautiful place covered in cherry blossoms.
I never expected there to be such a beautiful place here, and even more, I never expected Raiden Ei, a shut-in, to know of such a wonderful spot. It’s a bit of a surprise.
Raiden Ei, who had just spread out the picnic blanket, noticed Durandal’s astonished gaze and smiled, saying, "In the past, my sister and I, along with others, used to come here for picnics. Don’t think I always stayed in Tenshukaku; I used to go out too."
"Others? Do you mean friends like Kuzuhara?"
"Hmm, did the Damselette tell you? Or did you see it from the sacred sakura tree?"
"From the sacred sakura tree, led by Raiden Makoto, I saw scenes of you all gathered together in the past."
Chiyuki, Mikoshi Chiyo, Kuzuhara, and other important friends—Raiden Ei was exceptionally good-tempered with these close companions.
The one named Mikoshi Chiyo once rested her head on Raiden Ei’s lap during a gathering, and Raiden Ei showed no complaints, which demonstrated how intimate their relationship was.
It’s just... that beloved friend, Mikoshi Chiyo, was also misunderstood due to the disaster back then, and her former friend eventually drew her sword against her, becoming her enemy.
In a way, this place is both Raiden Ei’s most important and most painful memory. After all, most of the friends who used to play here together are no longer around.
This is a place she wanted to avoid so much, so why did she bring herself here? To this place that causes her such pain?
Durandal watched Raiden Ei, puzzled. She still maintained her calm demeanor, showing no signs of abnormality. She sat there, opened her lunchbox, and arranged the food inside.
"And this, do you drink alcohol, Durandal?"
Raiden Ei took out the prepared drinking utensils and asked Durandal if she wanted to drink.
Durandal shook her head: "I don’t drink that kind of alcohol. I only drink the alcohol I bring myself, which is this."
Durandal took out the sweet wine and rice wine she carried with her, and even poured a cup for Raiden Ei, asking her to taste it.
Raiden Ei, who was initially a bit regretful, became curious when she heard that Durandal brought her own alcohol.
She took the cup Durandal offered, smelled the aroma of a different kind of alcohol than those produced in Inazuma, and took a small sip.
"This kind of alcohol... is different from what I’ve had before. But this sweet taste is quite nice."
Compared to the alcohol she used to drink, Durandal’s drink undoubtedly received Raiden Ei’s approval. Just as she likes sweets, this sweet alcohol was also very much to her liking.
"This is rice wine and sweet wine, brewed for me by the owner of the Angels Share in Mondstadt. His alcohol is quite good and trustworthy."
"I see. When we go back, I’ll have Sara contact people in related industries and have them try to produce this kind of alcohol as well."
This would add another item for her amusement. In the future, when others drink, she wouldn’t have to force herself to drink, and could still participate.
[Don’t be tempted by new food. Don’t forget the purpose of this operation.]
[I know, how could I forget something important?]
She actually almost forgot. If Raiden Shogun hadn’t reminded her, the next topic would probably have been entirely about alcohol.
She took a deep breath to calm herself down, observing Durandal while drinking rice wine. Seeing her attention focused on the cherry blossoms, not noticing her own abnormality, she finally relaxed.
To be honest, alcohol didn’t have much effect on her, let alone this kind of rice wine; the possibility of it making her drunk was even lower.
Gods are not immune to getting drunk. Look at that guy Venti; he often gets drunk, and that’s not faked, but genuinely drunk.
However, there’s no chance of getting Durandal drunk with alcohol. Not to mention this small amount of alcohol content, even if she were to soak in alcohol, it wouldn’t work; her physique doesn’t allow her to get drunk.
The reason she brought alcohol was to give her courage. Sometimes even Gods need alcohol for a little bravery, and Raiden Ei is no exception.
"Hey, Durandal. How did you meet Lumine and Shenhe?"
"...There was no special process. Lumine was found in the wild, and Shenhe was found while fleeing."
"Fleeing?"
Compared to the chance encounter with Lumine in the wild, the encounter with Shenhe caught Raiden Ei’s attention more because she said "fleeing." What did she want to flee from?
"Yes, fleeing. I don’t know if you’re aware, but when the incident occurred in Liyue before, Osial was released by the Fatui. During that disaster, an unknown God suddenly appeared and helped Liyue defeat the God Osial."
"I know about that. At the time, many in the Shogunate were paying attention to it. An unknown God appeared in Liyue, and she was very friendly towards Liyue, capable of defeating Osial, and even able to handle the energy after Osial’s death. The Shogun also paid attention."
At this point, Raiden Ei paused, looked at Durandal, and asked, "Could it be that this suddenly appearing God is...?"
"That’s right, it’s me."
As she spoke, a terrifying monster slowly emerged from behind the nearby cherry tree. It walked towards Durandal with a dreadful aura.
Raiden Ei stood up, ready to eliminate the monster, but the monster showed no hostility. It walked directly to Durandal’s side, like a pet, and stood motionless.
"This... This is?"
"This is my clone. When certain matters are not suitable for me to handle, I send her to deal with them for me. Her existence is very similar to the clone sent to the Plane of Euthymia to teach you, only the form of existence is different."
Alright, Raiden Ei basically understood what Durandal wanted to convey, but... this was Durandal’s clone? That means... "You can also transform like this? Or rather..."
"Yes, this is my original form. In the past, I always maintained this appearance. Because of my existence, countless lives were taken by me. My very existence was a disaster."
------------------------
I’ve posted 70+ Chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"