What? Durandal?
I thought it wouldn't take long to recover.
Just like when I had transformed into a Herrscher at Herta Space Station, or into Bronie aboard the train.
Each time, it had only lasted a matter of minutes.
But this time, Ling had been kidnapped, and I had shrunk while Bai Lu and Kafka were chatting. Now, after a whole day, things were gradually becoming hazy, yet I still hadn't changed back.
Everyone, don't complain about the time or weather. It's necessary for the plot. I don't know whether it gets dark in the Luofu or what time that happens, but for the sake of the plot, I'll just have to set it this way.
"Could Aha be behind this again?"
At that thought, Kiana suddenly remembered that she still had two chances to contact Aha for help. Wasting one on asking questions felt like a huge loss.
"Forget it. I'll see if I can change back tomorrow. If not, I'll waste one chance. Being so powerless is rather troublesome."
Fortunately, she could still use the power of the Pathstriders.
"Haha, I win!"
A pleasant voice came from nearby.
Following the voice, Kiana arrived at its source and discovered four people gathered together, playing cards.
Even just looking at one person's silhouette, Kiana could tell with certainty that it was Qing Que.
As for the other three, Kiana didn't know who they were, but judging by their clothes, they were probably "civil servants" belonging to various departments of the Luofu.
Kiana checked the time. Although the sky was already growing dim, it wasn't time to get off work yet.
So had she caught four people slacking off and playing cards during work?
Kiana lowered her footsteps and came to Qing Que's side.
Luckily, this wasn't a proper mahjong table, but merely a pavilion for visitors to rest and linger in. That made it convenient for Kiana to watch their match.
Meanwhile, March 7th and Stelle, who had spent the entire day running around aimlessly after Diting, also returned to the hotel.
After telling Uncle Yang about what had happened that day, March 7th noticed that his expression had once again become extremely strange.
Why does it feel like I've been seeing this expression a lot lately?
When Kiana had first arrived, and said something like, "Although I'm this and that, I can be your father," Ouyang had always worn this exact expression.
"Durandal? Give me a moment to process this."
First Himeko, then Kiana, and then Bronya and Seele. During the final battle in Belobog, what Kiana and Stelle had said had even reminded Ouyang of a certain person who had been given the title of Savior.
According to Kiana, on this journey, he might even meet that "old friend" of his. And now they were telling him that Durandal had appeared too.
Fine, fine, so this was how things were going to be after all these years.
The Honkai was still after him, huh?
Fine, fine, so this was the game they were playing.
Looking at Ouyang, who was already showing signs of madness, March 7th suddenly felt a little frightened.
But Himeko wasn't here now, and neither was Pom-Pom.
Kiana had been kidnapped too.
March 7th realized that she had nowhere to hide. She couldn't exactly hide behind the child who had only just been born, could she?
"What happened to Uncle Yang?"
"Who knows? Could it be because we went to watch Guinaifen and Sushang perform without inviting him?"
But when Ouyang heard Sushang's name, the last string holding him together nearly snapped as well.
"Uncle Yang seems really scary right now. I'd better go outside for some air."
"Yeah. I'll go back to my room and rest."
March 7th left the hotel and wandered around the streets, while Stelle returned to her room.
She looked at the message sent by an unfamiliar contact.
The Greatest Hacker: Durandal is Kiana. She just shrank and wants to cause trouble.
Stelle: Huh? Who are you? How do you know? Why are you telling me?
But after she sent the message, all she received was a red exclamation mark and a line of text.
The Greatest Hacker: Friend verification required.
Stelle really wanted to jump into the screen, find the other person's location through the network, and appear in front of them.
Then she would grab a baseball bat and press it against their head.
"You're the type who only says half of what you mean? All you cryptic people and people who stop halfway through talking can go to hell!"
But this group message was still rather important. March 7th wasn't around, so Stelle went downstairs and found Ouyang.
By then, Ouyang had already adjusted his mindset. It was only Durandal and Sushang. What kind of great storms had he not witnessed?
So what if a few more appeared?
Even if it was Otto...
All right, he really couldn't handle that one.
"Uncle Yang, look at this."
Ouyang took the phone Stelle handed him and carefully read the brief message on it.
His originally furrowed brows suddenly relaxed a little.
"So that's how it is. Then, Stelle, forward this message to March 7th as well. It might help put her at ease. At least we can confirm that Kiana is safe. Perhaps she just wants to have some fun."
But soon, another account sent over an image.
Ouyang had just been about to close the message window and return the phone to Stelle when he accidentally tapped the new message. An image appeared before them.
The White-haired Ball of Fluff Is a Liar, It's All Knives and Not Sweet at All: image.jpg
When they opened it, it showed the scene from when the group had met.
They didn't know where the other person had taken the picture, but they had perfectly avoided capturing any of the pedestrians nearby.
In the photo, March 7th was holding a pink sack and quietly standing behind Kiana.
Moreover, judging by her expression, March 7th's smile reminded Ouyang of someone.
The brows Ouyang had just relaxed knitted together again.
"Forget it. We'd better not tell March 7th about this. I'm afraid she'll get kidnapped too."
Ouyang was genuinely worried that if March 7th found out, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep that night.
She might even walk straight out the door with the sack.
And the next day, a squad of Cloud-to-Guard might show up to check her water meter.
Back in the pavilion, Qing Que still hadn't noticed Kiana standing beside her.
It was hard to say whether Kiana had a low presence and excellent concealment skills,
or whether Qing Que was simply too focused on playing cards.
Only a few tiles remained in the pile. If another round passed without anyone winning, the game would end.
Five tiles, four, three.
At last, it was Qing Que's turn, and only one tile remained in the pile.
Kiana discovered that all four players had already completed their hands and were waiting for Qing Que to draw the final tile. Would Qing Que win with the last draw, or would she deal into someone else's hand?
Or would all four fail to win, starting a new round? Was it called a draw? She had played too many different games and had forgotten a lot of the terminology.
"Green Dragon, Green Dragon, Green Dragon!"
When Qing Que drew the final tile, she kept muttering under her breath. Her eyes were tightly shut, and she held her last tiles against her chest like a devout believer.
At that moment, footsteps came from behind.
Kiana turned around and saw the familiar figure she had met just yesterday. Wearing a strange smile, she walked step by step to Kiana's side.
Could it be that I have attracted a "mom"?
"Green Dragon! I win! Last-tile draw!"
The final tile was revealed, and it was indeed the Green Dragon Qing Que needed.
Qing Que immediately beamed with delight. She slapped the Green Dragon onto the table, pushing the tiles in front of her forward as well.
A full flush with a pair of Green Dragons.
Seeing the strange expressions on the faces of the three players opposite her, Qing Que merely assumed they were depressed because she had won with such a large hand.
But then a familiar voice came from behind her.
"Oh? Green Dragon, is it? A last-tile draw, is it?"
"Qing Que!"
"Here!"
Hearing that familiar voice, Qing Que forgot everything else. She immediately rose from her seat and straightened her body.
She had already thought of how to explain why she had been slacking off and playing cards, and why she had appeared here during work hours.
"Supreme Diviner, I really wasn't slacking off. I was doing this for work. Yes, for work!"
"Oh? Then I would like to hear what kind of work requires you to sneak off here and play cards during working hours."
"Ah..."
"Supreme Diviner, I was actually doing this for the sake of the Luofu's stability."
"Look, I've finished my work. During my free time, I remembered how the Fox Clan's ears suddenly changed yesterday, so I was investigating the cause. See? My card players—ah, no, the three colleagues I invited—are all young members of the Fox Clan."
"Qing Que, do you think I will believe that?"
"Supreme Diviner..."
Qing Que tried to beg for mercy, but Fu Xuan simply leaped up, grabbed her, and prepared to take her back to work overtime.
Alas, Qing Que was good in every way except that she loved slacking off too much.
She was clearly a newcomer, yet her work was more efficient and rigorous than that of veterans who had worked for decades.
Fu Xuan had even considered passing the position of Supreme Diviner in the Divination Department to Qing Que after she became general, letting her take over.
But Qing Que slacked off every day, and during every assessment, she barely scraped by with a passing score.
It gave Fu Xuan a massive headache.
As a result, Fu Xuan had to go to Shence Manor every day to supervise General Jing Yuan and make sure he didn't slack off, then find Qing Que before the end of work to catch her slacking off.
"Ugh, I'm exhausted!"
The three card players Qing Que had found exchanged glances. Seeing that Supreme Diviner Fu had no intention of dealing with them, they decided to slip away.
After all, it was still working hours. They didn't want to drag themselves into this as well.
"Eh? Who's this child?"
She had been too busy catching Qing Que slacking off, while Qing Que's attention had been focused on the game and Fu Xuan. It wasn't until the three card players had left that she noticed a little girl standing behind her for some reason.
"Qing Que, do you know this child?"
"No. Didn't she come with Supreme Diviner Fu?"
Fu Xuan was about to ask, but Qing Que had already stepped in front of Kiana and crouched down.
"Little girl, what's your name?"
"My name is... Durandal. Nice to meet you, big sisters."
Kiana had originally intended to give her real name, but with Fu Xuan here, she might make some connection. So Kiana used the name of the Durandal persona once again.
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