The elves Durandal knew were different from Klee; they were dark elves, with dark skin, while Klee's skin was fair.
Why did she know about dark elves? It wasn't that she understood them; she had only seen them a few times.
She had been teleported by a dimensional rift to a dark elf village called Neopre, where the dark elves living there became infected with a terrifying plague because of her arrival.
Although the dark elves had good physical constitutions, they still couldn't resist the corrosion of the plague and eventually turned into horrifying, neither-human-nor-ghost monsters.
The moment she saw Klee, she remembered the dark elves who had turned into monsters because of her appearance.
Even though she could now control her power well, and even if she had close contact with humans, they would not be corroded by her aura and turn into a puddle of pus.
But she still didn't want to contact humans, because… she didn't want the events of the Village of Pain to repeat.
She released her hand from Klee's ear and said, "This is not a place you can enter. This time is fine, but don't come back next time, understood?"
"Eh? Why can't Klee come in? Is this big sister's home?"
Shy Klee asked, rubbing her ears.
"Yes, this is my living area. Ordinary humans are forbidden from entering, whether they are commoners or people from the Knights of Favonius."
"Then… then big sister, do you live here alone? Don't you feel lonely?"
Although Klee always liked to run out and play by herself, she really enjoyed being with everyone in the Knights of Favonius.
Not only that, she also had many good friends, and she loved the time she spent with them. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to live alone.
Durandal was stumped by Klee's question. Was she lonely? Perhaps. In the past, due to her constitution, she had no relatives or friends.
Her very existence was a mistake, her existence was evil, so who would want to be with an existence like her? Even those few who were also called Apostles ostracized her.
However, she had gotten used to it, because no matter what she thought or did, there was no way to change the situation.
Since that was the case, why bother thinking about it? Everything was meaningless, wasn't it?
"I'm not like you. I don't feel lonely."
Klee looked Durandal up and down. It was the first time Durandal had been stared at like this by an ordinary person, and she was a little uncomfortable. Previously, only existences of the God level dared to look at her that way. This was the first time an ordinary existence like Klee dared to stare at her so uninhibitedly.
"Really? You really don't feel lonely?"
"Why do you think I would feel lonely? I… am not human like you."
"Because… Klee doesn't like being alone. If possible, Klee would rather have someone play with her. Big sister, you always stay in this place, doing nothing, having no friends. Don't you really get bored?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because… they are with me." Durandal walked to a bunch of flowers, gently touching them as she spoke.
Not just the flowers, even the little bird that had been standing on a branch flew over at this moment, perched on her shoulder, and chirped at Klee.
Oh oh oh~ So amazing! Klee's eyes widened in surprise, unable to believe that someone could be so close to a little bird.
"Big sister, do you like flowers very much?"
"No, I don't like them."
"Eh? Then… then why did you go to so much trouble to plant so many flowers?"
Klee was even more confused. She always felt that Durandal's words were contradictory. Could she be lying to her because she was a Children?
"I don't like flowers. What I like… is life."
When she came to this world, the first thing she fell in love with was this green grassland, and the flowers blooming on it.
This… this was a color she had never seen before. In the past, everywhere she went would become desolate. This beautiful green, this green that symbolized life, was a color she had never seen.
She liked this color, especially the flowers that symbolized life. So she spent some time making various flowers bloom here, and she lived among these flowers, enjoying this unique sense of achievement.
Klee was not yet old enough to understand the meaning of this sentence, but upon hearing Durandal say it, Klee felt like crying.
She felt a strong sadness from Durandal, but Durandal's gaze and tone showed no change. Perhaps… she had already become numb.
After all, in her opinion, only death was her best destination.
The thing that granted her life took away everything that originally belonged to her.
Now, to be able to be reborn in this world in this form, she… was already very satisfied. What did it matter if she could only stay in this small place forever?
When she was transported to Notonmar and the Village of Pain, in order not to expand the scope of the impact, she stayed put and did not move.
Now she could walk freely in this place, doing what she liked freely. What was there for her to be dissatisfied with?
Life? Klee didn't understand these things. Although small animals were cute, and she liked them very much, she couldn't understand Durandal's thoughts.
She only knew one thing: Durandal lived alone here and had no friends.
As soon as she thought of this, Klee couldn't sit still. A naive Children like her couldn't bear to see others lonely; she wanted to do something.
With her small mind, the only thing she could think of was to pull the other person to play with her.
Thinking of this, Klee took a few steps forward and grabbed Durandal's small hand.
This action startled Durandal. Even that slacker Barbatos would at most just get close to her. This was the first time someone had actively held her hand.
Her first reaction was to shake it off. With her ability, even if suppressed to the lowest degree, she wouldn't be unable to shake off a Children's hand.
Looking at her hand that had been shaken off, Klee looked at Durandal with some grievance: "Do… do you dislike Klee, big sister?"
"No, I don't."
Compared to those heroes, she disliked those hypocritical guys. The thing they liked to do most was to use a pretense of justice to take away others' right to live.
Klee had no malice; she possessed the innocence of a Children. She didn't dislike such a person.
It's just… don't come near me. Even if I no longer actively spread disease, no longer actively spread plague, still, don't come near me.
I… I will harm you. In the future, even my own aura might cause her deep poisoning. She… didn't want to harm anyone who showed her kindness.
"Since you don't dislike Klee, then let's play together, okay? Klee knows many fun places. Klee can take big sister to blast fish. Klee tells you, grilled fish is so delicious! Every time Klee comes out of solitary confinement, the thing she misses most is grilled fish."
"No need for food."
"Eh? No… no need for food? Doesn't big sister get hungry?"
"No."
"Heh~ That's too bad. Hmm? Wait a minute, not needing to eat doesn't mean you can't eat, right?"
Hmm? Durandal thought about it. It seemed… that was indeed the case.
In the past, she certainly didn't need to eat, but after having a human appearance, Durandal had never tried human food.
She merely acted according to her past behavioral guidelines, and hadn't learned to live like a human.
But… why should she specifically learn? No matter what she became, she was Durandal. Whether now or in the future, this situation would not change.
"That's what it means."
Hearing Durandal say this, Klee showed an extremely bright smile: "Since that's the case, how about Klee takes big sister to try grilled fish? It's very delicious, big sister, you'll definitely like it."
"…Why should I go with you to taste that kind of thing?"
Are you kidding? She was Durandal, the black plague. Although she didn't like this title, she was different from humans. Why should she taste human food?
Klee looked at Durandal in confusion and asked, "Big sister, do you have something important to do?"
"No."
"Then you can't leave this place?"
"There's no such restriction."
"Then why don't you come out and explore with me? Anyway, there's nothing else to do."
"You have a point, but why should I go with you?"
She was quite content staying here. Although there were no other people, the small animals here would keep her company, so she wasn't bored. Was it necessary to go out with her?
"Because… Klee wants to go out and play with big sister."
Klee grabbed Durandal's hand again, looking at her pitifully: "Please, please, come out and play with Klee."
"…Is this how you interact with people you just met?"
Is this elf a bit too familiar? Does she talk to every stranger like this?
"Of course not. Everyone in the Knights of Favonius often tells Klee to be careful of bad people. Klee is a good Children and listens to everyone."
"If that's the case, then why…"
"Because Klee can tell that big sister is a good person. Since big sister is a good person, there's nothing to worry about."
"Good person…heh."
What a harsh word. She never thought that Durandal would one day be called that.
She really wanted to tell Klee that she was a terrifying existence capable of bringing disaster to Mondstadt in an instant, and that in the past, she had indirectly killed countless Gods.
Such an evil existence, and she actually considered her a good person? How naive was she to say such a thing?
"Wuwu~ Did Klee say something wrong?"
Durandal shook her head: "Nothing."
She didn't dislike the elf in front of her. Although she disturbed her peace, she… didn't dislike this faint liveliness.
"Let's go. Anyway, there's nothing to do."
Let her see what this elf wanted to take her to do. She was curious to what extent this goodwill could go.
Klee's eyes lit up. She grinned, took Durandal's hand, and eagerly ran in the direction they had come from.
Durandal was led by Klee's hand. She quietly watched Klee's small hand. This elf had held her hand again.
"Although very faint, it's... very warm."