"It's done. I've just tasted it, and it meets my expectations. If you feel uncomfortable after drinking it, remember to take a deep breath. I will record all observed results and data."
Inside Albedo's camp, Lumine looked at the potion Albedo had prepared for her with a complicated expression.
At this moment, Durandal was sitting aside, reviewing Albedo's records. Regarding Lumine drinking the potion, she merely glanced at it casually and didn't pay much attention.
Hmm~ If she's acting so calmly, then it probably means this potion has no problems.
Even if there were problems, Albedo couldn't do anything. Even if it were poisonous, they had someone here who specialized in handling poison. Albedo was still thousands of years too early to play with poison in front of her.
Picking up the potion, and looking at the still-swirling liquid, Lumine closed her eyes and gulped down the liquid inside.
Immediately, a burning sensation surged, and Lumine felt as if a fire was burning inside her body, but it didn't harm her internal organs.
"Are you... are you alright? Traveler. If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, you must say it, don't hold it in."
Lumine clutched her chest, waved her hand at Paimon, signaling that she was fine and not to worry too much.
After a while, Lumine finally felt a little better. Clenching her chest, she said dryly, "You actually drank something like this?"
"What's going on? Didn't you just say you'd tried it? Why does Traveler have that expression?"
Paimon had also watched Albedo make the potion and saw him drink a little without any unusual reactions. Why was it so bad for Lumine?
"This reaction is very normal. Among the results I predicted, this is the most common one. This potion infuses elemental power into the body. Under normal circumstances, there will be a slight rejection reaction. But if the internal element flow is fine, there will only be temporary discomfort, with no other effects."
"So... this is a potion that will make you very uncomfortable when you drink it. But you drank it even knowing that, and you drank it expressionlessly."
Didn't he worry about something going wrong and causing irreversible effects on himself? This kind of research... a small mistake could lead to very big problems.
Just like when Sucrose is researching, she occasionally causes explosions because the dosage is slightly too much.
But those explosions are within a controllable range. Albedo's kind of reaction occurs inside the body, and the body's interior is very fragile. What if organs fail?
"Although it sounds arrogant, I am confident that this potion will not harm me. Moreover, it would be too much if I gave it to you to drink without personally testing if it had any problems, wouldn't it?"
That's true. Lumine's frustration lessened a bit, at least this guy wasn't targeting her.
"I apologize. You came to ask me questions, yet I made you accompany me in an experiment."
Albedo glanced at Durandal. His every move now had to be made without her having too strong a reaction.
The reason he dared to let Lumine help him with the experiment was that he had let her read his precious research materials.
The reason he had to do this was that Lumine was not from this world. For an outsider like Lumine, she could help him verify his previous hypotheses.
"It's alright. Although they were all strange experiments, you didn't harm us. And... I also gained something."
Lumine looked at the weapon Albedo had just taken out—a cursed Sword, the Festering Desire.
It was discovered by the Knights of Favonius among stolen goods confiscated from the Treasure Hoarders. Due to its age, it had been gathering dust in a warehouse until Albedo found it.
Because it had no use, the Knights of Favonius didn't pay much attention to Albedo taking out this Sword.
Due to the curse, ordinary people couldn't use this Sword. Currently, only Lumine and Durandal could use it well.
The Festering Desire had no effect on Lumine. When facing Durandal, it was as docile as a cat, not daring to be presumptuous.
This was Lumine's Reward for cooperating with his experiment. Although she already had the Divine Artifact Durandal gave her, who wouldn't want more of such good things? Maybe it could be used in the future?
For example, she could use dual blades, holding different elements in each hand, and making them react with each other, which would be awesome.
(The Indestructible: Think about it, first hit with Water and then with Ice, repeating this to achieve perpetual motion.)
Such a Reward was not easily obtained, and Lumine was very cooperative with Albedo's experiments, allowing him to complete his observation diary of her as an otherworldly person.
Incidentally, she also let him study the energy on the weapon after Lumine purified it. The Humus Power within it was not simple; it was related to a certain large entity slumbering in Dragonspine.
"The content is very useful, not just conceptual but truly practical. It seems you've done a lot of research on it."
At this moment, Durandal had finished reading Albedo's research notes. She had to admit he was truly a genius; they contained what Durandal needed.
If he were in another world, he would definitely become an excellent Scholar, the kind who could become world-renowned.
"As an exchange for letting me see these materials, I can help you with one thing. But this must be within my acceptable limits, understand?"
"That's enough. To gain a promise from you is more effective than any previous research."
Durandal's request was not harsh; Albedo found it very reasonable, even feeling that he had profited from it.
If it were Durandal, with her power, she could definitely stop him if he ever lost control in the future, preventing him from causing disaster.
Returning the materials to Albedo, Durandal came to Lumine's side. Seeing that Lumine had not yet recovered from the potion, she reached out and touched Lumine's chest, absorbing all the discomfort from her body.
"You really are... willing to do such dangerous things for a little benefit. What if something goes wrong? Do you want this to be the end of your journey?"
"Hehe~ Isn't it because you're here?"
Lumine smiled and grabbed Durandal's hand placed on her chest, saying, "You also saw that the potion had no problems, that's why you didn't act, isn't that right?"
"Don't say it as if you understand me so well, alright? I was just looking at the documents earlier and didn't have time to pay attention to you."
"Yes~ Yes~ I don't understand Lady Durandal at all. Lady Durandal didn't pay attention to me just now. Is that okay?"
"Honestly... because of you, I don't know how many sighs I've let out. You really like to cause trouble for people."
[But you don't dislike him causing you trouble.]
Shenhe, with her mouth bound by a black silk scarf, sat by and watched this scene, thinking to herself.
Because Shenhe had spoken out of turn earlier, Durandal punished her by not allowing her to speak for a while. To be absolute, she took out a silk scarf and tied Shenhe's mouth.
Durandal occasionally wore this silk scarf, but it was a bit too flashy. Plus, she already had the iris headdress Lumine gave her, so she didn't need that item anymore.
Shenhe had no complaints. She sat there quietly like a fairy, and aside from the strange sight of a silk scarf tied over her mouth, there was nothing wrong.
But she wasn't as calm as she appeared. Although Durandal didn't often use this silk scarf, she hadn't washed it, because her belongings didn't get dirty like ordinary clothes.
So what problem did this cause? It caused the silk scarf to carry Durandal's scent.
Then another question arose: what was Durandal's scent? Even Durandal herself didn't know, but Shenhe was now experiencing it very clearly.
The reason she appeared calm was that she was focusing all her attention on the scent of the silk scarf. To prevent others from noticing anything amiss, she tried her best to appear calm, which is why she was so quiet.
Oh, she wasn't entirely focused on the silk scarf. She also observed Durandal's movements, constantly commenting internally, which is why the previous sentence came about.
"How are things on your end? Did you get what you wanted?"
"Yes, I got it. I have to say, he possesses great wisdom. The things he wrote gave me a lot of inspiration."
Although Albedo wrote only conjectures in those materials, those conjectures were based on evidence. It was just that he couldn't freely control Humus Power and couldn't conduct research, so they remained conjectures.
But Durandal was different. She had excellent conditions. Having absorbed the life force of Stormterror Durin, she could freely use this Humus Power.
The power to demonize monsters and make them stronger—this was probably one of the Fatui's objectives in Dragonspine.
However, Stormterror Durin's heart was not a simple thing. Even if its special properties were discovered, it couldn't be taken away.
If a specialized research institute were set up in Dragonspine, the Knights of Favonius would certainly notice, which is why there had been no action.
With Albedo's theoretical foundation, Durandal wanted to try combining that Humus Power with her own power to see if she could create something more interesting.
If successful, Klee's Diko could be upgraded, and she wouldn't have to worry about Klee's safety anymore.
"That's good. Next, I still have to help Albedo with some things, and I might have to leave for a bit. You and Shenhe wait for me here, we'll be right back."
"Go ahead, be careful."
"Got it. Durandal, you've been getting a bit naggy lately."
[It's not that she's getting naggy, but that when she's with you, she talks more.]
Like a narrator, Shenhe explained again in her mind.
Durandal seemed to see through Shenhe's thoughts and looked at her meaningfully. Shenhe couldn't bear such a gaze and turned her eyes away.
When Lumine and Paimon went out with Albedo for an experiment, Durandal untied Shenhe's silk scarf and looked at her expressionlessly.
"It seems... you have no idea what you did wrong, Shenhe."
"...I'm sorry."
"This isn't something an apology can fix. Before they return, I'm going to teach you a lesson."
There happened to be an empty blackboard here, so Durandal could teach Shenhe some common sense she needed to pay attention to.
Hmm, Durandal, who lacked common sense herself, was going to teach others common sense they needed to pay attention to. The thought alone was amusing.
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