"The black plague? I've never heard of that. Where did you hear it?"
Lisa truly hadn't heard this title. It sounded very powerful and evil, seemingly the title of a God.
But she had read many books and knew a lot about Gods, yet among the Gods she knew, the title "black plague" had never appeared.
Why would Jean suddenly ask her if she had heard this title? Could it be… "Could your disappearance during this time be related to this black plague?"
Jean nodded: "Yes, that day when I was patrolling Cape Oath, I was ambushed by an Abyss Mage. I was poisoned by their trap, and while I couldn't resist, I was saved by someone. She called me a 'human' and referred to herself as the 'black plague'."
"Oh? This is interesting. Usually, only Gods or the Adepti of Liyue refer to humans that way. When did such an existence appear in Mondstadt?"
Lisa was successfully intrigued by Jean. Don't let her daily presence in the library, seemingly lazy and languid, deceive you; she was still full of curiosity for new things.
"Can you describe her appearance in detail? Since you called her a person, she should have specific features, right?"
"Yes, her appearance is…"
Jean briefly told Lisa Durandal's features. After listening to Jean's account, Lisa immediately thought of a rumor that had appeared in Mondstadt.
A mysterious girl, said to frequently appear in Cape Oath, was once spotted by Knights of Favonius on patrol. They thought she was a naughty Children from the city who had snuck out at night, but when they prepared to approach her, she suddenly vanished.
Besides this rumor, there were also reports of Adventurers receiving help, but the number of people who experienced it was too small, so its accuracy was questionable.
Now that even Jean had been helped, Lisa could basically confirm that this matter was true.
But… Lisa's mood became serious. One must know that Gods were not benevolent beings; they could bring about great disasters, and a single misstep could even lead to the destruction of a nation. They were terrifying existences.
Currently, Grand Master Varka had taken away most of Mondstadt's fighting force. With Mondstadt's current combat power, could it withstand a God?
No, even if Grand Master Varka were still here, would Mondstadt be able to resist a God's attack? It would probably be difficult even with the Anemo God present.
And the name "black plague" sounded terrifying. If her thoughts were correct, and the other party's ability was to control plagues, then… Mondstadt would face its greatest disaster.
"Don't worry, Lisa. The situation is probably not as bad as you imagine."
As a close friend with whom she often had afternoon tea, Jean immediately saw what Lisa was worried about and said.
"Based on my observations these past few days, that person should not be dangerous. You can trust her."
"Why are you so certain? This is no joke, Jean. As the Acting Grand Master, you need to think carefully."
"I've thought it through, Lisa. If she were truly evil, then she wouldn't be deeply trusted by animals."
Lisa looked at Jean in confusion: "Trusted by… animals?"
Jean nodded: "Yes, trusted by small animals. I saw with my own eyes rabbits, deer, and small birds resting beside her, and some even lying on her, sleeping peacefully. This… is not the treatment an evil God would enjoy."
Lisa was somewhat disbelieving: "Resting on her? That's indeed a very convincing statement, but it can't be fully confirmed. But it's also possible her identity is not what we think; she's not a God, but some other existence?"
Durandal's identity became even more mysterious. If possible, she really wanted to go to Cape Oath immediately to investigate, but considering that this action might provoke the other party, she decided against it.
"Let's leave this matter here for now. When you have time, search for related books in the library. Since she's in Mondstadt, there might be records about her. The black plague and Durandal are two clues; investigate them thoroughly."
"I understand, leave it to me."
Lisa gave Jean a look that said, "You can rest assured," winked charmingly with her right eye, and turned to leave the room.
Jean sat back down, preparing to work, when she suddenly thought of a very important question.
"Where did Klee go?"
— — — — — — — —
"Da da da~"
A mischievous and adorable elf walked with an arrogant gait along the road near Starfell Lake. She carried a large backpack, her face full of smiles.
"Hehe~ Acting Grand Master Jean isn't here these past few days, so Klee can go out and play freely. Today, Klee wants to eat delicious grilled fish, and blow up all of them."
Starfell Lake was her favorite place to fish bomb. Every time, she could bomb many fish here, and they tasted so good grilled.
Although doing this always resulted in her being caught by Acting Grand Master Jean and put in solitary confinement, grilled fish was truly delicious, so being confined for a day was worth it. It was also a good opportunity to research new types of bombs in the quiet environment of the confinement room.
Unfortunately, there weren't enough bomb materials, otherwise she could have bombed to her heart's content this time.
"Eh? Where are the fish? Why are all the fish in the lake gone?"
When Klee arrived at Starfell Lake, just as she was about to fish bomb, she found no trace of fish in the lake, which was very strange.
Usually, she could see a few leisurely fish swimming in the lake, so why couldn't she see any today?
Confused, Klee began to walk around the lake, but she walked a full circle and found no trace of fish, which left her puzzled.
Could it be… Klee had bombed all the fish? Were the remaining small fish not grown yet and needed more time before they would come out?
"Wuwu~ It seems I won't be eating grilled fish today. In that case, I'll go somewhere a little further and see the scenery elsewhere."
Her dejection came and went quickly. With a new goal, Klee quickly left the scene, disappearing without a trace.
When she left, the fish in Starfell Lake finally swam out. They had hidden on the other side of the lake when they spotted Klee.
In the middle of Starfell Lake was a small piece of land, where a statue of the seven stood.
They had dodged Klee's eyes by blocking her line of sight. When she was circling the lake earlier, they were also circling, thus avoiding a crisis.
However… they might escape the first day but not the fifteenth. Who knew if they could avoid him again like today when this troublemaker came next time.
Klee, having left Starfell Lake, walked happily, occasionally running after butterflies she saw flying, her childlike nature unwilling to stop for a moment.
Occasionally seeing a lizard crawling on the ground, Klee would also pick it up. In her opinion, these lizards, if ground into powder, could be used as materials for making bombs, making them very useful.
Not only that, all the surrounding materials could become ingredients. Don't let her small size fool you; she was actually very smart. Otherwise, how could she have researched so many materials?
"Wow~ This place is so beautiful! When did Cape Oath have such a pretty place?"
Klee, walking aimlessly, unknowingly arrived at a place full of blooming flowers. Her eyes sparkled as she looked around, eagerly running over, laughing as she ran.
Besides the flowers, there were also many small animals here. These small animals fled the moment they saw Klee.
Klee chased them, laughing as she ran, but she didn't pay attention to the ground and accidentally fell.
Her backpack also fell to the ground because of this, and the jumpy dumpty inside rolled several times on the ground.
Fortunately, these bombs needed to be activated by the Pyro element. Unless they were roasted over fire, or activated by a Pyro Vision, they wouldn't explode, making them very safe… probably.
Recalling her past masterpieces, Klee really couldn't associate her jumpy dumpty with safety.
"But this place is really beautiful. It must be very comfortable to take a nap here."
"Hehehe~ If there was a lake here too, Klee could blast fish and make delicious grilled fish."
Klee lay comfortably on the grass, her backpack rolling beside her on the ground, enjoying this rare treasure she had found.
"It's decided! From now on, this will be Klee's secret base!"
This place is so secluded, Acting Grand Master Jean definitely won't notice it. If I research bombs here, Acting Grand Master Jean surely won't find out, right?
Klee was very satisfied with her plan, but before she could be happy for too long, she noticed someone secretly observing her from a distance.
She was startled, thinking it was someone from the Knights of Favonius who had noticed her.
But when she stood up from the ground and looked towards that spot again, she found that the figure was gone.
Did I see it wrong? Rubbing her eyes, Klee looked at that area again.
Ah! I saw it! This time, it was closer, close enough to clearly see the other person's appearance.
Wuwuwu~ She looks a little older than me. Is this big sister from Mondstadt too? I don't think I've ever seen her before.
Klee wanted to say hello, but in the blink of an eye, the other person disappeared again, leaving Klee full of questions.
"Are you looking for me?"
"Woah!"
The voice from behind startled Klee into a cute yelp. She quickly turned around and saw that the big sister who had suddenly appeared was the same person she had just seen.
"Wuwu~ H-hello, big sister. Are you from Mondstadt?"
"…"
The girl didn't answer Klee's question. Her gaze was fixed on Klee's pointed ears.
She knew very well that these ears were a symbol of a certain race, and only that race possessed such ears.
She couldn't help but gently stroke Klee's ears. Although she didn't use much force, this slightly sensitive spot still made Klee whimper.
"Big… big sister?"
"Elf."