Brain bloom

Fu Fu did as instructed. Mori Shi placed all her hopes on the little one; if she didn't bring back good news, she might really have to send herself to her grave. Just as Mori Shi sat in the corner, silently awaiting the result—

"Excuse me, are you... waiting for someone?" A sincere-sounding voice made Mori look up.

He was a merchant-looking man with a mustache. His well-built body was wrapped in a long robe made of high-quality brocade. His appearance also gave off a solid and reliable impression. It was easy to see that he was a vegetable merchant who sold vegetables in this market, and one who was well-regarded.

"Who are you?" Mori asked, unintentionally feeling that the other person could be trusted.

"I have no ill intentions. I'm just here to deliver a message. The person you're waiting for is over there, and they're looking forward to seeing you."

"You are... from the Holy Coffin Kingdom?"

A sense of peace washed over Mori, and the other person nodded without batting an eye, a smile appearing on their face.

"May the one who delivered the coffin bless me; I've finally delivered the message. But the other party is very anxious and hopes you can come immediately... Something unexpected happened, so I can't come to see you directly." As he finished speaking, he pointed into the distance, in a direction far from the market.

It seems that the pilgrimage group from the Kingdom of the Holy Coffin has arrived?

Although Mori was somewhat unsure, he inexplicably felt that he could trust the other party... Yes, that must be it.

I feel much more at ease now; this is a good thing.

As she was thinking this, before she could even answer, she suddenly felt a cool breeze brush against her face. The breeze seemed to be coming from above, and as she looked up slightly, she saw flying creatures resembling seagulls circling overhead.

"What's wrong?"

"...I see, it's alright."

Sen Shi breathed a sigh of relief. It took her a moment to realize that she had snapped out of her daze. Considering her previous inexplicable trust in the businessman, she was certain that the man before her was no good.

I almost fell for their trap.

The merchant urged, "Please come with me as soon as possible; the people of the Holy Coffin Kingdom are eager to see you."

"Ah."

[Level 89 - The Trickster - Bart]

Sen pretended to follow, observing silently from behind. Sure enough, the name box had already revealed the other party's identity.

This method isn't quite at the level of an illusion, just a certain degree of deception... It's not magic, it looks like some kind of special technique? Trickery, a very interesting little trick, truly thrilling.

She immediately began to analyze why this person had come. Perhaps the Holy Coffin Kingdom was testing her? Or perhaps... it was from another force. Sen Shi remembered clearly that they had offended more than just the Holy Coffin Kingdom.

We'll have to test which possibility is more likely.

“In fact, I had already foreseen that the Holy Coffin Kingdom would send many people to see me.” Mori Toki put on airs, and with an arrogant attitude.

"of course."

"Tell me, who are the people waiting for me?"

"I'm sorry, I'm just a messenger and I don't know who they are."

"Oh."

It's obvious that this person has been using ambiguous answers to confuse the questions. Moreover, he has concealed his identity and strength, and is a high-ranking individual.

Sen Shi didn't sense the slightest bit of respect from him, and it didn't seem like he was there to invite a true god. So... he must be from the Peda Empire, and in that case, his purpose was self-evident.

She was following the other person, heading north along a secluded forest path, a rugged old mountain trail that used to lead to the fishermen's wharf. But since the land had been given to the Four Seasons, even the path had been abandoned, turning into a desolate and secluded place.

Separated from the bustling market by only a line, it harbors hidden dangers.

Mori wouldn't be foolish enough to follow, because she wasn't sure about the level of danger. Even if Fufu said that Melia was flying in the sky and might notice these dangers, they should still go back to the winery first... The key question was, where exactly were the people from the Holy Coffin Kingdom?

She stopped, clutching a scroll of advanced magic in her hand, preparing to cast a spell and then run away.

Just then—Fufu suddenly landed back on her shoulder.

"Sister Morishita, I saw a ship docked at our little pier. There were also many people from the Holy Coffin Kingdom surrounding it... And also, I saw the princess with a woman from the Holy Coffin Kingdom."

"...What did you say?" Mori was stunned.

"What's wrong? Let's hurry up, it's almost over, those people have been waiting for you for a long time." The man leading the way turned around and said with a frown.

“And they’re still looking for you; they’re already on their way,” Fu Fu added.

Sen's face turned deathly pale.

She took the wrong turn...

Fufu's cruel bad news continued: "When the princess saw me, she asked where you were, and I told her."

These words were like an electric drill, forcibly piercing Sen Shi's ear canal. She had almost forgotten how to speak and could only stammer out questions.

"Her...attitude...I mean, how was she when she mentioned me? Was she smiling? Was she the same as usual? Or..."

"The princess seems very strange, like someone killing a fish while cooking, cold and cruel."

"What's wrong? What are you muttering to yourself? Please don't make things difficult for me, we're almost there... Wait—the magic scroll in your hand... What's going on? I'm just telling the truth, there are many people waiting for you, don't misunderstand."

Not a single word he said reached Mori's ears.

Because she knew that she could no longer hide her identity.

She misjudged the route and failed to stop the troublesome group of visitors.

Ultimately, I was too arrogant back then. I took advantage of the confidence I had when I was being praised to let them come to the winery to find me... All sorts of regrets and fears took root in my heart and quickly grew into a big tree, filling my entire heart to the brim.

What follows... might be terrible.

"...Go? If not—never mind." Seeing that Mori was still hesitant, the man made a hasty decision. He waved his hand and tore off his disguise, revealing himself to be dressed as a high-level mage.

Not only that, but suddenly a murderous aura filled the air, and more than ten figures emerged from the depths of the forest. These guys were all extremely well hidden, undoubtedly seasoned veterans, and each was well-equipped and calm.

Even if their prey doesn't fall into a deeper trap as expected, they still know how to swallow their complaints when they act hastily.

But these ambushers immediately adopted a confident demeanor. This petite and seemingly frail Four Seasons Girl was clearly terrified, standing frozen in place as if struck by lightning.

One of the men, with fiery red hair, stepped forward and aimed a uniquely designed longbow at Mori. He was about to say something before making a move, because he still retained a sliver of kindness; this was not a fair fight, and the feeling of bullying the weak was never pleasant.

However, Mori Toki also pulled out a bow.

"You also use a bow? But don't struggle, the man in front of you is one of the top three archers in the world."

Volume 1, Chapter 186: Each Other

However, Mori Toki only raised the bow for a moment before quickly putting it back down.

During this process, she even forgot to nock an arrow, a move that appeared to those around her as a sign of fear, which amused all her enemies.

Since it seemed certain, the adventurer's captain spoke up—

"You've accepted your fate of dying here, that's good. Let you know who controls your destiny. Remember, we are hired by the Peda Empire, we are adventurers—"

"High-level magic!" a woman's exclamation interrupted him. "It's a magic scroll!"

"……what?"

Soon, an even more piercing sound rang out, drowning out his shouts. It was the cry of hundreds of fiery red birds. Their melodious cries often foreshadowed death.

A hundred firebirds suddenly awoke from the scroll that the forest had activated.

Then, they rushed towards the ambushers.

The number of firebirds far exceeded theirs, and their attacks were extremely scattered yet powerful.

Faced with this sudden high-level magic, even these veterans had to adopt a defensive stance and were unable to immediately annihilate the enemy.

Only the leader remained calm and continued to shoot the arrow.

He believed it was merely the prey's last struggle, and that his arrow was enough to resolve the situation. After releasing the bowstring, he turned to the attacking firebird and hastily fired many ice arrows to defend himself. The scene was chaotic, but still within a controllable range.

But his arrow failed to pierce Mori's skull.

Instead, it was shattered by a bolt of lightning that struck from the sky.

Mori's face was dazed, as if her soul had flown away from her body. She didn't care who had helped her; she simply mechanically took out the second scroll, activated it, and discarded it. She took out the third scroll, activated it, and discarded it.

These were her only three scrolls left, hastily made when she couldn't sleep. The rest had been given to Dandelion, so that if she were powerless to help, the magic scrolls she had carved could protect her princess.

However, this is like handing ammunition to the enemy, telling them not to hold back and to bombard them with bullets.

The more Mori thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt, and he was on the verge of tears, not knowing how to explain himself later... What kind of situation is this!

Meanwhile, all the enemies around her, entangled by the firebirds, were roaring and wailing, their filthy words irritating her... She really wanted a quiet environment to think things through!

With that thought in mind, she gathered a modified explosive arrow, in which three elements coexisted, in her hand. This was a powerful weapon she had developed some time ago, but hadn't had a chance to use until now.

The arrow was in a very unstable state, like a grenade with the bolt pulled; if it wasn't thrown away quickly, it would hurt the user.

Sen instinctively hung it on the bowstring, the string as full as a full moon.

Without the slightest hesitation, they fired one shot after another at this group of unexpectedly wealthy people.

As a result, innocent soil, trees, flowers, and grass were all blown away.

Within the powerful shockwave, one could almost see limbs flying everywhere, flesh crushed into mud, and blood splattering like rain.

“Hahaha, die, all of you.” She sobbed, then silently fired another arrow, her lonely voice still whispering, “How am I supposed to explain this? I really didn’t mean it… that money… sigh.”

She silently gazed at the earth-shattering spectacle, lost in thought about her own affairs.

The enemy's resistance was minimal.

"...Attention everyone, this Four Seasons Being has gone mad, his power is beyond imagination—"

"Defense! Defense! How many are still alive? Damn it—another arrow."

"Nine... That arrow struck Azer, he... he was clearly the strongest guardian warrior in our team, yet he was turned into mincemeat in an instant!"

"Use defensive magic!"

These experienced warriors felt a fear they hadn't experienced in a long time. The first three waves of firebirds were manageable, but then these strange arrows... every time they were fired, even if they were dodged, they would instantly explode around them.

And its power is unbelievable!

Trees and human bones would shatter into dust in the frenzied explosion, then be blown into the sky. Only several seconds later would they transform into a terrifying downpour, pelting back down to the ground.

"Sister Morishita, why are you crying?"

"Fufu, what should I do? I really didn't mean to..."

After saying that, she casually fired another arrow. Her mental energy was running low, but she took out a wine bottle and gulped down a lot of it, preparing for her next attack.

Another explosion rang out, and they witnessed their comrade's gruesome death once more. Just moments before, he had been a living, breathing person, clamoring about how he would dismember this Four Seasons Girl; now, he was nothing more than a shapeless pile of mud…