Led by the fox, Durandal arrived in front of a fox statue outside Konda Village.
In front of the fox statue, a Damselette wearing a fox mask and a miko outfit stood there, as if waiting for something.
When Durandal walked over, the other party turned around, bowed politely, and said, "Hello, my Lord. I apologize for disturbing you, but I have an immodest request that I hope you can help me with."
Oh? This fox was created by her? Its purpose was to lead me here to meet her?
Durandal narrowed her eyes, carefully observing the Damselette in front of her. She quickly understood her situation, and at the same time, the Damselette gave her a familiar feeling.
Had she seen her in the sacred sakura tree's consciousness space? No, that shouldn't be possible. If she had really seen her, Durandal was confident she would recognize her. The other party probably just resembled someone in Durandal's memory.
"This feeling... Could it be..."
Raiden Makoto seemed to realize something, looking at the Damselette with a hint of disbelief.
Noticing Raiden Makoto's reaction, Durandal relaxed her vigilance and refocused her gaze on the Damselette.
Although such requests are usually given to Lumine, given this Damselette's situation, if there are no surprises, it should be related to the problems of Mt. Yougou.
"Your purpose in finding me this time should be related to the anomaly on Mt. Yougou, right?"
Durandal walked towards the Damselette. Seeing Durandal approaching, the Damselette visibly took a few steps back in fear, then felt that doing so was too impolite, falling into a dilemma.
"You saw me gathering the energy in the air, and you're worried that you'll be absorbed by me in the same way, so you don't dare to get close to me, right?"
...Yes.
That's right. How could someone who could do such a thing not see her true identity?
Thinking of what Durandal might do next, the Damselette felt a bit bitter. She was also a product of defilement, not allowed to exist.
She would definitely suspect her, and to prevent her from harming Inazuma, she would absorb her here.
She had waited so long, only to finally meet someone she thought could eliminate the defilement, but instead, she faced this outcome.
The Damselette waited for a long time, but Durandal made no move.
"What are you spacing out for?"
Durandal said impatiently. She had waited here for a long time, and this person hadn't spoken. Spacing out while talking to someone else, did she have no manners?!
"Eh? My... my Lord... you... you're not going to do anything?"
"Do? What should I do?"
"You... don't you know my identity? As defilement, aren't you going to purify me?"
The Damselette looked at Durandal nervously, afraid that her words would remind Durandal and cause her to act immediately.
"Isn't that obvious? Do you think you can escape my eyes? As for eliminating you, I need to see what you want to do first. I also want to clean up that defilement, but I'm not sure how to do it."
Durandal looked at the Damselette with a hint of impatience and said, "Also, the question I just asked you, when are you going to answer? You came to me because of the anomaly on Mt. Yougou, right?"
"That..."
"Too slow! The answer!?"
"Yes! It's about the misunderstandings under the sacred sakura tree. I... I really want to ask for your help in dealing with the defilement under the sacred sakura tree."
The Damselette took a deep breath and continued, "I am Hanachirusato, a miko. The current situation of the misunderstandings is very serious, and I hope you can assist me in clearing that defilement. If that defilement isn't cleared soon, it will be too late."
This was very obvious. In just a few days, the defilement that Durandal had absorbed before reappeared, and there were even signs of it getting worse.
If that defilement wasn't dealt with soon, and it continued to accumulate, perhaps the entire Inazuma would face a catastrophe. What this catastrophe would be was still unclear, but from Hanachirusato's willingness to use her power to bring Durandal here, it was clear that she couldn't wait any longer.
"Since you came to me to deal with this matter, you should know my abilities. Just take me to that place and let me handle the defilement, wouldn't that be enough?"
Although there was a lot of defilement, with Durandal's abilities, absorbing all of it was not a problem. Was it necessary to follow the procedure?
"You do have such power, but I'm not sure if doing so would have any impact. If possible, I hope you can follow the normal procedures of the 'Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual', undoing the barriers before going to the final location."
The Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual has always been the fixed procedure for eliminating defilement. Hanachirusato couldn't guarantee what would happen if they went directly to eliminate the defilement, so for safety, it was better to follow the steps.
At this point, Hanachirusato paused and asked, "Can you... can you help me eliminate that defilement?"
...I can help you, but do you have something else you haven't told me? Compared to that defilement, I'm very curious about your story.
She was born into this world through the power of defilement, yet she wanted Durandal to clear that defilement.
Hanachirusato gave Durandal a familiar feeling. She should be related to someone who appeared in a certain memory of the sacred sakura tree, but Durandal had seen too many people and couldn't guess at once.
She really wanted to know about this person, even if there was no Reward, it didn't matter, just tell her the information.
...I'm sorry, my Lord. I, I can't tell you these things yet. I can promise that once you clear the defilement of the sacred sakura tree, I will tell you what you want to know.
Hanachirusato swallowed nervously. Would saying this displease Durandal? What if she was displeased and didn't help? What if she just forced it? She didn't have the strength to resist.
"You really can't tell me now? The more you act like this, the more curious I get. The more curious I get, the more unpredictable my actions become."
Woman, you have successfully attracted the attention of an Apostle.
Look around you. This place is some distance from Konda Village, and it's in the wilderness. Few people come here. Are you sure you won't just obey and tell me everything?
If Raiden Makoto wasn't watching nearby, Durandal wouldn't mind being a bad guy for once and properly teasing this disobedient miko.
"Very... very sorry, my Lord. But, please forgive me."
No, she couldn't agree so easily. She had to tell Durandal what she wanted to know in stages, otherwise, if she knew everything at once and then didn't help, what would she do?
"Alright then, let's put it aside for now. Once I've handled the problem, you'll fulfill my request, right?"
"You... you agreed?" Hanachirusato was overjoyed.
"Yes, I agreed. However, don't even think about escaping. No one can escape from me. If you dare to break your promise, even if you run to another corner of the continent of Teyvat, I will find you."
"Please rest assured, I will keep my promise. As long as the defilement can be cleared, I will have no regrets."
Durandal frowned. The amount of information contained in that sentence was not insignificant.
"Then, tell me what to do first. I will complete it as quickly as possible."
"Alright."
After their conversation, Hanachirusato first told Durandal to deal with the seal in Konda Village, and after the Konda Village seal was resolved, to go to the next place.
After giving these instructions, Hanachirusato disappeared, leaving only Durandal and the unseen Raiden Makoto.
"This miko... must be related to someone, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't show such an expression."
"I can't be sure; there are a few who give me such a familiar feeling. But... if it's related to a miko, then it can only be her."
Raiden Makoto said nostalgically, "Kuzuhara, could it be you?"
"Kuzuhara? The fox spirit devoured by the calamity?"
Kuzuhara, she was a white fox under the Raiden Shogun, possessing the Hakushin bloodline. She once traveled with the Raiden Shogun, protecting the people of Inazuma, and was revered as a divine fox in some places.
During the calamity, she fought against the dark calamity to protect Narukami Island until she was devoured by the calamity.
Durandal had seen that memory, and the image of the white-haired fox lady appeared in her mind, as she pondered their relationship.
Kuzuhara was devoured by the calamity. The defilement to be eliminated this time is somewhat related to the calamity, and Hanachirusato was born from the defilement. So... did she inherit something from the devoured Kuzuhara?
As an immortal fox who once acted with the Raiden Shogun, Kuzuhara was no ordinary being. Even if she was devoured by the calamity, she should not have been completely consumed.
Perhaps a strong will of Kuzuhara influenced the defilement, ultimately leading to Hanachirusato's birth.
Of course, these were just Durandal's conjectures. The true reason would need to be learned from Hanachirusato.
"I believe that after the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual is completely finished, she will tell us the truth."
"I hope so, but even if she doesn't want to say, I will make her reveal her secrets. No one can make me work for nothing."
Unless it's important people like Klee, she'll deal with everyone else without discussion.
"Tell me about your stories, then? Dealing with those barriers will take some time. During the time I'm dealing with them, tell me about your stories."
"Haven't you seen them in the memories stored in the sacred sakura tree? Do I need to tell you again specifically?"
"I've only seen some simple content. I haven't seen some interesting content. Can you tell me about it?"
"Of course, it was a lot of fun when we were all together. It's just a pity that we can't gather like before."
Sasayuri, Mikoshi Chiyo, and Kuzuhara seemed to wish to gather again like in the past, but... there was no longer any opportunity.
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