"Oh my~ Why call me over suddenly, and then tie my eyes? Is this a surprise for me?"
The next day, Durandal suddenly found Venti, who had just finished playing. Before Venti could even count the Mora she had just earned, Durandal took her hand and led her to a secluded spot. She then blindfolded Venti with a black cloth and sealed off the wind around her, preventing her from sensing her surroundings.
Venti wasn't flustered by the deprivation of her sight. In her opinion, this was Durandal or everyone else trying to give her a surprise, which was why they used this method.
"Don't speak. Just follow me obediently. If I find you secretly using the wind to sense your surroundings, I'll spend this Windblume Festival with Lumine and the others, and you can just go drink."
"No, no, no~ I'll be good and listen, alright? I won't make a move until you allow me to take off the blindfold."
Even without sight, Venti could imagine Durandal's current expression. Through imagination, she could picture many expressions Durandal had never shown, such as shyness... Wait a minute, she seemed to have shown a shy expression before, when that plan succeeded.
Although very subtle, it was, strictly speaking, indeed shyness. The thought of a shy Durandal leading her by the hand made her exceptionally happy.
"Just a heads-up, even if you blindfold me, I can still roughly determine the direction based on memory. I'm not just ordinarily familiar with Mondstadt's terrain. Limiting my perception of the Wind can't completely stop me."
Hmph hmph~ She was the God of Wind. In the past, when she caused trouble and was chased by Mondstadt's residents, she ran around the entire city several times.
This included secretly eating offerings prepared by the nuns of the Cathedral of Favonius, and causing mischief at Angel's Share, being chased by various drunkards sent out by Diluc's tempting offers.
Well~ Although none of them were good things, these experiences made her very familiar with Mondstadt's layout. This was something Durandal hadn't anticipated; she clearly panicked for a moment, but quickly calmed down and pinched Venti's hand, signaling her not to cause trouble.
Venti chuckled a few times. Was this her first advantage in her skirmishes with Durandal? People thought she only slacked off, but she could also surprise people.
Soon, Durandal led Venti to their destination. She untied the black cloth from Venti's eyes, allowing her to regain her sight.
"This… this is the 'gift' I prepared for you. Since the Windblume Festival belongs to the God of Wind, it's acceptable for me to give you something, right?"
"This… this is?"
Now it was Venti's turn to be surprised. Why? Because Durandal had led her to a house.
What did this mean? Were Lumine and the others waiting inside? Was she brought here to attend a party?
Without much explanation, Durandal took a key from her person and handed it to Venti. It was the key to this house.
Venti looked at the key in her hand, gradually understanding something. She looked at Durandal with a mix of anticipation and trepidation, pointing at the key in her hand, unable to speak.
"Mm, it's just as you think. From today on, this will be our home."
Durandal was silent for a moment, then continued, "For you, even sleeping outdoors is safe, but that's not a home after all. With your personality, all the Mora you earn would be spent on drinking, never saved to buy a house. I happen to have some spare money, and since it's just sitting there, I might as well use it for something. When I'm not in Mondstadt, you can also help me look after the house, help me… Ugh!"
A firm, powerful hug interrupted Durandal's subsequent words. Venti hugged Durandal tightly; she was so moved that tears welled up.
This person… even at a time like this, still said such things. She clearly made this decision for Venti, and even though she already said it was their home, she still spoke so many sarcastic remarks to maintain her facade.
This dishonest demeanor was truly… too adorable.
Venti released Durandal, wiped away her tears, and looked at Durandal, who had turned her head away, seemingly a bit embarrassed, and laughed.
"Thank you, Durandal. However, the Windblume Festival is for giving windblumes. This can't be considered a windblume. So you still owe me a windblume; remember to make it up later."
"That's too much trouble. Can I just pick one for you from my flower field? After all, even Mondstadters don't have an accurate definition of what a windblume is. Whatever flower I give you should be fine, right?"
"That won't do. It must be carefully prepared. At least consider it; otherwise, there's no sincerity at all."
By bickering, Venti successfully diverted Durandal's attention. Venti took Durandal's hand, and the two of them together used the key to open the main door and enter their home.
— — — — — — — — — —
In the evening, Lumine returned to Mondstadt after completing a commission. As she was about to return to the inn to rest, she heard the rooftop waiter say that Durandal had checked out of the room.
Her first thought was "Huh?", her second thought was "Did Durandal run off with someone?", and then she quickly dismissed that idea.
With a puzzled feeling, Lumine had just left the inn when she encountered a group of Mondstadt children. They had been entrusted by Durandal to stay there and guide Lumine and the others to the house.
They were all children who had been treated by Durandal and were easily bribed with a few candies. They readily agreed to Durandal's request and waited for Lumine's arrival.
With the children leading the way, Lumine and the others quickly arrived at their new home. The one who opened the door for them was Venti, who was now wearing casual clothes and smilingly welcomed their arrival.
"Welcome, welcome. You've finally arrived. I was worried about what would happen if you were any later."
"Venti, what exactly is going on?"
Why did Durandal suddenly check them out of their inn room? Why did those children lead them here? Why was Venti here?
So many questions left her completely bewildered. What exactly were these people doing behind her back?
Paimon was also very curious, but what she noticed first was the aroma of food wafting from the house.
"(╯▽╰) So fragrant~ This is the smell of dinner! Durandal must be preparing dinner for us!"
Paimon flew in impatiently. Lumine and Shenhe also entered the house at Venti's call. The kitchen and living room were connected, and as soon as they entered, they saw Durandal wearing an apron and cooking in the kitchen.
Hmm~ She had a very wifely aura, and she was a young wife at that, the kind that would get taken by the Knights of Favonius for tea.
For some reason, every time Lumine saw Durandal wearing an apron, her mind conjured images of her wearing *only* an apron. She wondered if this dream would ever come true.
"Durandal is still cooking right now. Until she's done, I'll answer your questions. First, you must want to know why Durandal checked out of the inn room, right? The answer is this."
Venti spread her arms, gesturing to the house: "From now on, this will be your base in Mondstadt. In a moment, I'll give you a key, and you can come back to rest anytime."
"Wait a minute, according to what I know, you definitely don't have enough Mora to buy this three-story house, right?"
Based on Lumine's understanding of Venti, even if the Bard had all of Mondstadt's residents watching her performances and everyone tipped her, she would still spend all the money on drinking, never on buying a house, especially not a large one like this.
Even renting it was impossible. The only possibility was that someone else bought this house.
Thinking of this, Lumine's gaze fell on Durandal, who was in the kitchen tasting soup. Watching her gently push back the long hair from her forehead, Lumine's expression became exceptionally complex.
How wonderful, Durandal had unknowingly acquired the 'wife' attribute, with every movement full of domestic virtue.
It's just that the target of this domestic virtue didn't seem to be herself, but someone else.
Looking at the smiling Venti and the quiet Shenhe sitting to the side, Lumine felt like everyone around her was a spy, and only Paimon, the foodie, could be trusted.
Lumine questioned Venti with her eyes, asking if Durandal had bought this house for her. Venti didn't answer, maintaining her usual cheerful smile.
"The Windblume Festival is coming soon. How do you plan to spend this holiday?"
"We'll spend it as we normally would. Besides our usual commissions, we'll see if there's anything else we can do."
"Hehe~ In that case, you might have a lot less to do. During the Windblume Festival, the Adventurers' Guild's commissions will drastically decrease, and it will be very difficult for you to find things to do as you normally would."
"What about you?" Paimon asked, eating a small pastry placed on the table, "What are you planning to do? Still performing under the statue?"
"No, no, no, this time I'm planning something different. As you know, the Windblume Festival is also a lovers' festival. As an experienced Bard, I plan to teach others how to write an excellent love poem. As long as someone comes to me, I can charge tuition."
"Experienced? Love poems? Do you have a lot of relationship experience, Venti?"
Paimon's voice was a little louder due to surprise, and it happened to reach Durandal, who was cooking in the kitchen.
With a loud bang, the cutting board was split in half by Durandal's knife, along with the very innocent fish.
Because of the exaggerated movement, fish blood splattered on Durandal's face, and combined with the blood-stained knife in her hand, it instantly gave off a horror movie vibe.
"Ahaha~ Look at you, must one have extensive romantic experience to be experienced? I am Mondstadt's most excellent Bard. Bards often sing of heroes' stories, and also of lovers' stories. I've told so many stories, that experience is enough for me to handle this."
Venti wiped the cold sweat from his brow, only sighing in relief when he heard the normal chopping sounds coming from the kitchen.
Almost, almost touched on a bad topic. This little Children couldn't have intentionally asked such a question, could he?
"How about it? You'll definitely be at a loss that day. Why not come and learn from me how to write a love poem to give to the most important person?"
The most important person—Lumine and Shenhe simultaneously looked towards Durandal in the kitchen.
This was a good suggestion. Combined with the windblume they had prepared earlier, there was now one more thing to do for this Windblume Festival.
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