Brain bloom

The ancient demon king was ultimately defeated. He lay silent in his daughter's arms, unable to utter any more words of protest.

It silently prepared everything its daughter would need for her journey to the human world...

Clothes, rings. He also wrote down everything she needed to know about traveling in a book and handed it to her. He casually mentioned the scenery associated with the four seasons and local customs—if she wanted to see beautiful sky views, then winged clouds would be the best choice.

She left the dark and boundless, yet all-too-familiar, realm of demons and arrived in the world where she was meant to live.

Amazed by the dazzling sunlight and the richness of colors, I wish to slowly wander to every corner of the world, becoming a traveler who stops and goes as he pleases.

It records every little detail of this new and wonderful world, and also follows the splendid or ordinary dawn every morning.

……

Having figured out what happened with the vow, Mori had a lot to say, but first and foremost, there was one crucial question—

"How much longer?" Mori asked. "I hope you know exactly how much time is left."

"If she doesn't experience any more battles from today onwards, it will probably take about three months. But don't forget, in your world, she wouldn't be able to resist those curses during battles, and that time would be greatly shortened."

She was stunned: "Then how could we possibly fulfill our agreement with her... It's too short."

Mori didn't think that much time was enough for the Land of Flowers to revive... and there would be no Winged Cloud. Before his wish was fulfilled, Wing's life would wither away.

“She probably knows,” the ancient demon king murmured.

What does she know?

"Knowing there wasn't enough time, and she wouldn't have the chance to see the beautiful scenery of your four seasons' cycle, she still made a contract with you, right?"

Mori stared blankly at it, unable to comprehend the meaning behind those words. Knowing full well it was impossible to complete, yet still signing the contract, wasting its last moments and life on this? Mori sighed softly; rationally, it was incomprehensible.

The ancient demon king closed his eyes and silently offered what he believed to be the explanation—

"I think she considers you all as trustworthy friends and is happy to be with you, so she used this excuse to stay by your side."

"...This girl, sigh. Ancient Demon King, you said you had a trump card."

"Yes, but it may not be effective."

"What is it?"

"When my soul dissipates, perhaps the curse will dissipate with it," it said sullenly.

Mori wasn't surprised; instead, she felt a pang of sadness that her suspicions had been confirmed. If it died, it would become the king of the demon realm, but it would also suffer immense loneliness. It would have to manage this once-great world in a place where it had no family.

In any case, this is a story without a perfect ending.

"Alright, that concludes my statement about my wish."

"I genuinely consider her a good partner and friend."

"Well, that's good." Although there was sadness in his voice, the Ancient Demon King still showed an expression that resembled a smile.

There was nothing left to say between them; Mori already knew the whole story. She had no interest in those sad memories filled with love and hate; she only cared about the fact that her hard-won friend was about to die.

The ancient demon king did not ask Morito if she could lend a hand, which Moritoto was relieved to know, because she did not want to admit that she was powerless.

It's time to return to reality.

"I really hate to break the frozen time, because then she could live forever." Its voice lowered slightly after saying this, "But let's break it anyway, it can't really be called living..."

It slowly flew back to its original spot, and Mori did the same, returning to Melia's side, both pretending that nothing had happened. The Ancient Demon King slowly extended its wings and retracted the domains that had spread throughout the world.

During this time, Mori shook his head, trying his best to recall what they had been talking about. "Eden Bank," "Nayin Cloud that records the words of God." After twenty generations of joys and sorrows, these words had become somewhat distant.

"...You!" Finally, Yuan's energetic voice rang out, signifying that the world had resumed its normal operation. "Did you stop time again?!"

"Alright, Yuan, since you're alright, I'll head back now."

Explain yourself!

“...Traces of magic at the level of a true god.”

As a high-ranking being who had stepped into the realm of demigods, Melia also sensed something amiss in an instant. She felt a sense of emptiness, as if a great deal of time had passed. Anxious, she first looked to her side, and thankfully, Sen Shi was smiling at her.

She felt relieved and asked quietly, "What just happened?"

"Melia, you must be good friends with Yuan," Mori said to her earnestly.

“Of course, Yuan is my dearest friend… Oh… I see.” Although Melia was surprised, she was smart enough to immediately discern the general outline of the matter from Mori’s eyes.

The ancient demon king landed back on Yuan's shoulder, gently patting her head in farewell.

It flew into the deep doorway and went to the realm of demons.

"Yuan, didn't you discover a rare mineral before? Was it the Nayin Cloud that recorded divine words?" Mori asked at just the right time, bringing them back to the main topic.

"Hmm, it is indeed a rare mineral. However, it is not Nayin Cloud, but a small pile of Rose Stone."

Volume 1, Chapter 171: Farewell to the Morning

"Finding a small pile of rose stones is enough to make you so happy? And you even erected a pillar of light to announce it to the world." Melia didn't hide her disappointment. She walked directly to Yuan's side, put her hands on Yuan's shoulders, sighed deeply, and shook her head.

"Huh...Isn't rose quartz very expensive? This is considered a rare mineral, isn't it?"

"That's true."

In Yuan's hometown, these strange little stones, capable of imbuing inorganic matter with souls, can be considered a form of currency equivalent to "souls." This is because some demon nobles can draw upon them power akin to that of higher souls.

Even Yuan would have done the same; if the mining rights to this cloud mine weren't held by Dandelion, she probably would have dug up a small piece to take back. There are many other races in the Demon Realm that have endured much hardship. If they were to secretly "accidentally" discover a small piece of rose stone, it could be used for trade, bringing some life to the entire race.

In the human world, rose quartz is also quite valuable.

Ke Yuan clearly didn't understand that this meant nothing to the Queen of the Chaos Lands. What she desired more was novel knowledge and information from the divine realm, not inexhaustible wealth.

“Rosestone, it’s such a hassle to deal with… By the way—does the Four Seasons need this? Dad—Sen Shi~~” Melia turned around and asked in an extremely affectionate tone.

"If I can exchange them for money, I should probably take them all."

"Okay, I'll go check the goods. Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

She noticed that Moritoki was distracted, and through her previous attitude, she vaguely guessed that Moritoki was troubled by her thoughts, so she took the initiative to take on these troublesome matters for her.

Curious, she asked, "Isn't Mori coming with us?"

"Ah."

For Mori, now was not the time to explore the world's natural ecology. Why were there rose stones on the thundercloud insects? Let's put that aside for now. She added softly:

"I have something I need to think about. You two go ahead. If you see Dandelion, please call her for me."

"You don't look very energetic, oh, I see. I understand. You stayed up all night at the night market, so you wanted to sneak in some sleep," Yuan said with a sly smile.

After she finished speaking, Melia reached out and took her hand. The two waved goodbye to Mori, chatting intimately about their memories of the night market, and slowly walked away together.

Meanwhile, Sen Shi chose a flat spot at the edge of the clouds and sat down, occasionally turning back to gaze at Yuan's retreating figure. After all, this girl now occupied most of her thoughts.

Mori had personally experienced the memories of the ancient demon king—no, his father—and his heart was also deeply filled with the profound melancholy from his father.

She wanted to help.

To say that one should not intervene and think it's none of one's business would be a lie. Mori desperately wanted to save her, and admitting that he wanted to do good was not something to be ashamed of.

But there's no guarantee we can save her life; it's a very complicated matter...

Offering help to someone is not simply about putting on a sincere and sympathetic face and vaguely saying things like "You can come to me if you need anything," "I'm right here for you," or "I will always support you."

At least... until an effective solution is devised, Mori has no face to utter these pale, empty words.

She thought about it carefully all morning, but still couldn't come up with a reliable answer... After thinking it over, killing the ancient demon king was the most feasible option—but this was by no means a path to salvation.

During this time, the girl, whose life was only three months long and whose life was as fleeting as a candle, remained unchanged.

Yuan Hui made a special trip back because of the extremely high quality of the rose quartz mine, and introduced the value of the rose quartz with a beaming smile.

As the person who facilitated the cloud mining deal, she also wanted to use this good news to ask Sen Shi, who seemed to have the most say, for a free meal at the winery. It seems she's become enamored with Dandelion's cooking.

Along the way, Mori sent Fukufu to find Dandelion, intending to have a proper talk with her. However, instead of doing anything productive, she hid away like Mori, covered in soft clouds, and slept peacefully for the entire morning under the clear, sunny sky…

Sen Shi had no choice but to continue racking his brains.

Finally, Dandelion and Melia reached a cooperation agreement on the mining of this mineral.

The extracted rosestone isn't sold directly; instead, it's used to create numerous golems imbued with souls using the magical techniques of the Chaos Lands. Over the next year, these luxurious golems, powered by rosestone, will efficiently mine this cloud mine.

For those who operate in all four seasons, this can create greater profits and also solve the difficulties of aerial mining.

For Melia, there was a greater chance of finding the Nayin Cloud, which she craved and which recorded the words of the gods.

In the end, it was definitely a win-win situation. Yuan was also very happy and afraid of being forgotten, so he stood up and said loudly, "I have inherited the wisdom and absolute fairness of the devil. I am here to witness and supervise this deal."

But Sen Shi remained silent, sitting to the side and watching, her face etched with lingering sorrow.

And so, the four of them searched for a while longer, but without much success. With everyone's stomachs rumbling, and Dandelion inviting the two of them to visit the winery, their journey above the clouds came to a quiet end.

……

Earlier—

The civilian port of Silvermoon City, used to transport passengers, was busier than ever before.

On a clear, sunny day, seagulls circled overhead, and the tides rose and fell. The noise of the crowd was equally deafening; travelers, weary from their journeys and carrying their luggage, stood casually near the harbor, waiting for their anticipated ship to set sail.

The sea breeze ruffled the hair of all colors, and beneath the strands, faces chatted about the world.

Those who proudly boast about every detail of the city are usually local residents of Silvermoon City. Travelers from other places are used to this and prefer to talk about other things.

However—when that voice rang out, everyone forgot to speak and turned their gazes to what was behind them.

A very strange group of people is approaching.

They appeared to be a group of defeated soldiers from the Holy Coffin Kingdom, most of them severely wounded and their armor disheveled, which was strange enough in itself. Yet they maintained a disciplined formation, each one seemingly bathed in divine light.

Their precise and synchronized footsteps are their rhythm.

The harmonious and devout singing praised the generous coffin bearers.

The arrival of this group singing hymns left all the passengers waiting for the ship completely bewildered. What was going on? Even in the capital of the Holy Coffin Kingdom, not even in front of a church, there was no ceremony as solemn as a holy ritual…

As the group approached, the blood and tears on their faces made them seem even more eerie.

A fellow traveler from the Kingdom of the Holy Coffin, deeply devout to the coffin bearers, was genuinely curious. Recognizing the leader as the melon-cutter, he mustered his courage, stepped forward, performed the sacred ritual, and humbly inquired—

"May the one who carries the coffin grant you victory in all your endeavors, Holy Knight who cuts the melon. But I don't understand why you would waste such a beautiful hymn in a foreign land? This should be offered in a church, to a statue..."

"A statue?" The melon cutter chuckled kindly. "It's no longer needed."