Brain bloom

"Little Melia, there's an ironclad rule in the devil's world: those who are opportunistic and go too far will be punished by heaven." Yuan, who had been listening in, felt that this was not an equal exchange, so she poured cold water on the idea.

"Divine retribution? Then I'll crush it."

After speaking proudly, Melia held her head high, as if she wanted to pierce the sky with the sharp horns on the banshee's head.

She actually wanted to punch a hole in the ceiling so she could go straight to her father's room, and she wondered if her father would praise her for it.

Just as she was feeling sentimental about her hard-won family, Dandelion tickled her face with a tuft of hair.

What about those who live in all four seasons?

"Don't forget, you are the princess of the Four Seasons, and this is a negotiation. You must offer enough to gain my protection."

"Then..." For some reason, Dandelion's voice became much lower, "I'll get rid of the ghosts that roam the Chaos Land at night and give you back the night—how about it?"

"...Can you do it?" Melia was secretly astonished.

“If you provide enough resources, I can do this for you. There have been similar natural disasters in history, and the ancestors of the Four Seasons have left behind solutions. We Four Seasons are kind and simple enough to extend a helping hand to our allies.”

"...Aren't the protectors of the four seasons enough?"

"Not enough—how about this, you agree to unconditionally and fully support our restoration of the country, and from now on never to have designs on Sen Shi again, how about this deal?"

Dandelion had long seen her as a huge threat, and now she couldn't help but offer her sweetest bargaining chip in an attempt to resolve the future troubles.

Unfortunately, the other party did not agree.

Melia pondered for a few seconds, then shook her head and made up a random excuse to refuse.

"Never mind then. We can't go out at night. The birth rate in the Chaos Land has increased a lot, which can make the country strong quickly. Besides, I really need Mori's power."

"Tsk."

Afterwards, Melia said she needed to use Dandelion's cabin to handle state affairs and hoped the two of them could have some peace and quiet.

Yuan, who had always been curious about how the dandelion had brought the grapevines back to life, pestered her, and the two of them walked together toward the grapevine field.

As they left, Melia silently relayed an order to the higher-ups of the Chaos Lands.

"Top priority: Investigate history to find out the era in which ghosts appeared but were dealt with by the Four Seasons, and the specific information at that time."

But suddenly, just as she put down her pen, an infiltrator from Silvermoon City reported an urgent new situation—

"The Holy Coffin Kingdom's elite expeditionary force is marching toward the lair of the Four Seasons."

"...Is this huge destabilizing factor finally about to take effect? ​​This is troublesome." Melia muttered, feeling an extreme headache.

Volume 1, Page 179: Grafting

"Princess Dandelion, why do you grow grapes without seeds?"

"This is a very complicated problem."

Dandelion placed the dream grape branch, which she had painstakingly brought back, in the sunlight to observe it. In the afternoon sunlight, Dandelion saw every node on its surface and the transition of its colors.

It has fully recovered and is ready for planting.

After all, this is the unique soil nurtured by the Four Seasons, which has greedily absorbed vitality from it for a long time. It's like thawing someone frozen in ancient times and then giving them new life.

"Grapes are seed plants, but the high-quality varieties that can be used for winemaking are basically hybrids. And these grapes have a troublesome characteristic: even if you plant the seeds in the soil and cultivate them, they cannot become the original high-quality varieties."

"Oh...so we need to use another method?"

"Yes, to maintain the stability of quality, we usually rely on cutting, layering, or the grafting method that I'm about to use."

"I don't quite understand."

Dandelion, as if it were only natural, set the stems aside for the moment. First, she put on her work gloves, sun hat, and insect repellent clothing. Almost everyone in the Four Seasons area is a skilled gardener; it's their proud tradition.

Next, the dandelion used a little plant magic.

Suddenly, a small sprout emerged from the soil, gradually growing until it blossomed. This magic was originally used to quickly improve the vegetation environment or for targeted pollination, but it can also be used to send messages.

This flower, created from dandelion seeds, is emitting a strong fragrance.

It easily attracted a large number of butterflies, bees, and other small insects. Once they came into contact with the pollen, they would lose their consciousness and become things that the spellcaster could control.

Dandelion picked a bee, then waved it away, sending it deep into the hills and forests near the winery to find a poor tree spirit. At the time, Tu Mi hadn't dealt with this pitiful tree spirit, not only because she regularly obtained its branches, but also because of situations like today.

It's important to know that grafting grapes requires rootstock.

While waiting, Dandelion introduced herself to Yuan: "The grape in my hand is the most miraculous grape variety in the world. It is neither a white grape nor the most widely used red grape for winemaking, but a transparent and spotless variety."

"don't know."

"The wine produced is so transparent that it's unbelievable, and you can't see it unless you look at it from a specific angle. But the taste is gentle and sweet... Well, that's all just my guess based on legends. Anyway, its taste is absolutely amazing."

Slowly, as Dandelion enthusiastically shared her knowledge of wine, a rumbling sound came from the ground, as if a giant had stomped on the earth. Dandelion knew without looking up that the tree spirit had arrived.

The guy was still covered in charcoal black, with a fierce expression.

It was still shaken after almost being turned into a scarecrow by dandelions last time, so it didn't dare get too close this time. It just hid on the edge of the winery, mixed in with the other trees, and pretended that it wasn't a tree spirit.

"You've arrived?" Dandelion amplified her voice with her palm. "Don't be so polite, come in quickly."

"...What do you want with me?"

"Let's make a deal. Hey, don't be so scared. I won't turn you into a scarecrow again. Your soul is free."

As they spoke, Dandelion and Yuan approached together, Dandelion flashing an extremely kind smile. Yuan, on the other hand, observed curiously, thinking that this tree spirit was pitch black, more like those evil tree spirits from the demon realm... but weaker.

Perhaps it was a hybrid left behind by a powerful evil tree spirit that secretly came to the human world.

The tree spirit found Dandelion acting strangely today, seemingly less powerful than before. It possessed an innate, extremely keen sense of spiritual energy, allowing it to gauge the approximate strength of its opponent. This was also the reason it had survived for years, preying on passersby.

Last time, the clothes and socks she wore made her much stronger... but not this time.

It secretly sharpened the branch, calculating whether it could kill its opponent with a single blow. First, it would entangle her body with a multitude of vines, then pierce her throat with a sharp, highly venomous branch, to avenge all the years of offering branches and enduring beatings…

However, the tree spirit spotted another person beside the dandelion.

How terrifying...

It instantly abandoned the idea and trembled weakly. The dead bark covering its body, and the insects and birds in the branches, all sensed the danger and flew away. It was terrified beyond measure, completely unable to understand why this human could be so terrifying…

"Hello, tree spirit," Yuan greeted with a smile.

"...Spare me, I'll do anything you want." The tree demon cursed inwardly. How did this ridiculous Four Seasons Princess suddenly find herself clinging to such a powerful figure?

Upon hearing its attitude, the dandelion immediately smiled happily, grabbed the tree spirit's branch, and led it back to the winery. Right near the cabin, on the best open space.

"You, take root," the dandelion instructed it.

Although it didn't understand why, the tree spirit did as it was told, taking root in the earth. Abundant nutrients and vitality surged through its roots, and the tree spirit exclaimed in amazement at how fertile this land was; it was truly a miracle…

"Okay, don't move."

Dandelion took out a small knife and was observing where to make the cut.

"...Can tree spirits also be grafted?"

"For those who follow the seasons, it's possible. Although normally, the rootstock for grafting grapes should generally be grapes that are easier to grow... But we, the Four Seasons Cultivators, have some secret methods that allow us to perform all kinds of grafting. Moreover, the tree spirit itself has an excellent affinity for any plant."

"Wait, you...you want to use me as rootstock...to graft your grapes?"

"Yeah, otherwise why would I have asked you to come here?"

Having said that, Dandelion had already made her cut. Amidst the tree demon's loud curses, her knife swung across the best-growing branch, carving a sharp point.

Then, the dandelion used some strange natural magic to transform the surroundings into an ambiguous, viscous soup-like state, added some energizing potion, and mixed in a small yellow flower from its corolla.

Dandelion carefully made a fresh cut on the grape branch before grafting it onto it.

She wiped the sweat from her brow, satisfied with the grapes absorbing nutrients; the grafting was a success.

"Once it grows up, you can go back, and you won't need to offer it branches anymore. But before it grows up, you must give it enough nutrition, protect it from pests and diseases, and not let it get even the slightest bit damaged. Otherwise, you will be the scarecrow of the Four Seasons forever."

“I…I want to kill—…Oh, okay.”

It endured it; compared to losing its freedom for a short time, its life was more important.

Volume 1 #180: It's Not Time Yet

On the slightly uneven wooden table, two sheets of paper lay side by side.

Melia was using the small bowls and cups she hadn't had time to clean up after lunch to weigh them down. Otherwise, the light pieces of paper would have been blown away by the wind blowing in through the wide-open window.

This may seem like just an ordinary corner of daily life, but it is not. What is recorded on the paper is information related to the structure of the human world.

—"It is speculated that the members of the group that hunted down the Four Seasons and brought back the sacred relic are roughly as follows:"

The leader is the holder of the Holy Letter B. In addition, all members of the Hurricane Eye Holy War Team, the chief to the seventh seat of the Ten Colors Palace Magicians, all members of the Deep Purple Coffin Bearers, and the Blessing Singers, a total of thirty-two people, have been urgently mobilized.

Furthermore, there is reason to believe that they all possess the strongest sacred armor.

Based on the eyewitness report from another person, Melia felt that the composition of this expeditionary force was almost entirely accurate.

The messages were all highly reliable, urgent reports from her most elite spies stationed in Silvermoon City and the Kingdom of Holy Coffins. She had finally managed to find two sheets of paper in the house to write down these messages, but now she was starting to regret it.

If she hadn't known the composition of this expeditionary force, she might have been more confident in showing herself...

She tapped on the table, muttering anxiously to herself.

"Calm down... Damn it, it's still not working. If I were to confront them head-on, my weaponry would be insufficient... Even my reputation wouldn't be of much use against fanatical religious followers."

She seriously felt that this time she should run away even more.

The mixed forces dispatched by the Holy Coffin Kingdom could easily destroy a small city-state with just a small squad drawn from them. They were also equipped with mages skilled in healing magic, and their equipment and consumables were of no expense; this force was truly terrifying.

Not to mention the team leader... Melia knew very well that she was a formidable enemy who could face her head-on.

However, amidst her headache, Melia was puzzled. How much confidence did her father have to steal… no, that word didn't do him justice. Melia corrected herself inwardly—how could he use such incredible skill to plunder someone's sacred relic?

After that, he was still able to go back to his room and continue sleeping soundly, which was truly astonishing.

The other Four Seasons One was similar, chatting and laughing as she planted grapes outside... However, Melia didn't admire Dandelion; she only felt that Dandelion trusted Mori wholeheartedly.

Faced with such immense danger, the Four Seasons' reaction was far too indifferent.

"Does she have some trump card?" she wondered, as she approached the window and looked at the dandelion that was nourishing the grapes, and the wish beside it.

"—Melia?"

"Oh, Dad?" She turned around in surprise and delight. "Good morning."