Brain bloom

"Excuse my intrusion, who are you?" Old man Fultz gleaned some clues from the scale of the conversation and the banshee's demeanor.

“In this situation, you should use honorifics, and this question is very embarrassing for you.”

“Banshee, this attitude… uh…” Gradually understanding her words, old man Fultz pondered her banshee horns, and his face turned pale. “It’s you! Could it be that you were recruited to protect Silvermoon City from the war?”

"I'm sorry to disappoint you. No, to be honest, I might be your enemy."

"Damn it."

Hearing this, Mori put down her pen, dried the ink on the several scrolls she had copied with the wind, and then rolled up the parchment. She took these scrolls to the living room, and Melia noticed Mori the moment she appeared.

She said something to conclude the conversation—

"Make plans early. If I were you, I'd run away as fast as I can. Lord Balzac is capable and shrewd, but he's obsessed with mythology and doesn't wholeheartedly serve his people. He's not worth following—I've heard the Chaos Land is a beautiful place."

"...We will seriously consider it."

Mori placed the two scrolls on the table, interrupting the conversation.

Before the other party could speak, Mori Shi presented what he wanted: "Here is the scroll you requested. As for the price... you're the owner of a general store, so you must have served a lot of customers from all over the world. You must have a lot of experience."

"What do you want to know? I'll tell you everything I know."

Are there any effective methods to deal with powerful curses?

He didn't ask Moritoki why he wanted to know this, but he still rattled off a whole bunch of things. He talked about the forbidden secrets of conservative magicians, the unique remedies of hidden races in the demon realm, herbs, and so on. Unfortunately, in the end, none of his stories gave Moritoki any inspiration.

The father and daughter took the magic scroll, thanked him repeatedly, and then slowly left. Unlike demons, Mori doesn't require a completely equal price; sometimes, doing good deeds itself can bring a profound sense of satisfaction.

Not long after, Fufu returned home.

He assured her that he had taken care of everything and that the old wildcat had agreed to tell Melia the inside story. Fukufu was indeed reliable, which made Mori feel that something good had finally happened.

Fu Fu transformed into a little girl, skillfully dressed herself, and happily prepared to read a novel. But on the way, she was snatched away by a dandelion and forcibly stripped naked because she was going to sprinkle salt on the grilled fish later.

"Melia... I'm wondering, can the Salt Fairy dispel the curse of the Ancient Demon King?"

"...You know what, at least it provides some relief. Salt sprites are a particularly auspicious kind of sprite."

This was something that suddenly came to Mori's mind, and he never expected it to actually be possible. Perhaps Melia and Yuen both knew it would work, but they never brought it up on their own initiative.

Mori immediately said, "Then let's lend Fukufu to Yuen."

"I've always seen this salt sprite as family to you Four Seasons People. You're willing to part with it?"

"I'm even more reluctant to give up my wish."

In Mori's eyes, if there was anything most beautiful in this world, besides Fukufuku, it would probably be this devilish little girl. Lending her to her would actually make Mori feel much more at ease. Because she vaguely foresaw that the curse on Nozomi might be impossible to remove.

Melia accepted Mori's offer on behalf of her best friend: "She'll be very happy, but she always follows the devil's law..."

"That's true... I wonder what the price will be."

"—Mori, winter's coming, haven't you prepared warm blankets yet? Sorry, I peeked into your room..."

It was as if she heard herself being talked about by the two of them, her apologetic voice and footsteps coming from the second floor.

"I've heard you're a great religious deity? I don't quite understand, but don't you ask your followers for winter supplies?"

"...Yuan, why are you suddenly concerned about how we'll get through the winter?" Mori asked Yuan, who was peeking out from the stairwell with only half her face showing.

"...cough cough, I'm afraid you'll freeze to death."

"Speak, what exactly do you want?"

Her face disappeared behind her, hiding beside the second-floor stairwell, finally giving her a semblance of the ancient Demon King, for her eyes, observing from the shadows, were remarkably clear—

"What I mean is... we're all partners, how about we help each other out? I told you before, there are very warm stones in the Demon Realm... they can dispel the winter chill, just give me a copper coin... if you could also lend me something else, I would be very grateful."

"Hey, don't be shy, just say what you want." Melia, her close friend, directly saw through her roundabout way of thinking, "We all know you're a good devil, you wouldn't trick anyone."

"Well... I'd like to borrow Salt Fairy for a little while, because I feel very comfortable with her, and I quite like her."

The smiles on Mori and Melia's faces gradually faded, because this was exactly what they had been talking about earlier.

Yuan must have already realized that Fufu could alleviate the curse, just like that night when she led the two of them to find Melia. During the journey, when she seemingly casually said "I like Fufu," one can only imagine how many thoughts were hidden in the depths of her words.

But only now has she mustered the courage to use this ridiculous method, simply to alleviate her suffering.

For Mori, the impending war that would shake two nations might be extremely cruel, but the suffering of the young girl before him was the most somber topic.

"Okay, Fufu likes you too."

"Then...then I'll go to the Balrog tribe's side and pick up some stones...I promise it'll keep me warm." Overjoyed, she ran downstairs.

Mori and Melia's expressions had not yet returned to normal. Although their facial features and faces were not similar at all, the expressions of surprise that emanated from the depths of their souls were extremely similar.

Not only because their souls are of the same lineage, but also because they both thought of the same place.

"Little Melia, do you know this stone?"

"I know, Father. It's the egg stone of the Balrog... A large amount of it was piled up in the Demon Realm. That's why it smells like sulfur. It's also the root cause of the high temperature and harsh ecology in that hellish place."

"Go and spread the fame of the Dawn Princess to the other side of the sea, so that it may become the faith of the pirates."

Okay.

Volume 1, Chapter 199: Uncle Wang

As soon as Mori uttered the title "Dawn Princess," Yuan stumbled and almost fell.

She was surprised. How did Mori know? Besides, she had always felt embarrassed by that weird name. She was just an orphan. How could she be associated with such a noble title as "princess"? Being called that to her face was truly shameful.

"My name is Wish... Who is Princess Dawn? I have no idea."

"May the Balrog's Eggstone be granted."

"Oh right, I'll take care of it right away."

"What I mean is, we might be asking for a bit too much."

Yuan hurriedly shook her head: "A small piece is enough to keep you warm. If we put more of these in the cabin, it'll feel like the middle of summer, and you two will be sweating all day. Then you'll have to come looking for me again, and I'll have to go through the trouble of opening the passage—"

Her best friend, Melia, interrupted her grumbling by affectionately poking Wish's cheek with her banshee horn with a smile.

"I hope you've done something good."

"What?"

"How come I didn't notice this? I guess it's because I'm afraid to make a deal with the devil, since I always feel guilty. But this time I really have to make a deal. I hope you'll contact the Ancient Demon King."

"...Why look for that lazybones?" Yuan was filled with questions.

“I’m very uneasy about you handling this kind of deal,” Melia said bluntly.

She was even more surprised: "It's just a small stone you picked up? Wait, little Melia, you told me before that the human empire, what was it called again, has very cold winters..."

Fortunately, I was not so oblivious as to be beyond redemption, and she realized what Mori and Melia wanted to do.

Moreover, he immediately thought of some consequences and expressed some disappointment.

"They can't fight? That's a bit of a shame. I wanted to see what it's like for humans to fight in groups... Well, since it's a matter of national importance, I'll call Dad over."

After saying that, she ran to the backyard, opened the passage, and left.

Meanwhile, Mori and Melia immediately began discussing the relevant issues.

Mori had already considered the possibility of war, as she still possessed a kind heart. The reason for the lack of a definitive conclusion was the difficulty in finding a good solution that could also be profitable.

Now, the blessing I've been hoping for has finally come true.

In the realm of demons, Balrogs, powerful species that hatch from eggs, have always held a high status. This is not only because they are inherently powerful, but also because their numbers have always been enormous.

Even if their eggshells are cracked, they will always carry the intense heat of the Flame Demon.

They were piled up like mountains for thousands of years, and the mutual scorching allowed this special temperature to persist for so long. These egg-shaped stones are completely useless in ordinary terms, and they are a cultural symbol of the Flame Demons, so no one has ever had the idea of ​​taking them for themselves.

But for the Pedda Empire, it was probably a luxury.

Mori was worried that this might turn into a story of the farmer and the snake.

"These stones can completely solve the winter in the Peda Empire, but if they save this crazy country, I'm afraid... they'll have the energy to do even crazier things? That's just my opinion."

"The one who delivers the coffin is a merciful true god, that's absolutely true. But it's an unnecessary worry, they still have the problem of the Evil Mist to solve. Secondly, the Peda Empire is always invading other countries because the winters are unbearable, they'd rather go out and fight."

"The Beast Season is truly terrifying..."

“If the Peda Empire is destroyed, the Beast Season and the Evil Mist will invade our continent. At that time, various independent city-states, the Holy Coffin Kingdom, and even our Chaos Land will suffer. But Father—the Peda Empire has a very bad relationship with the Seasonal Ones and the Holy Coffin Kingdom. Do you really want to lend a helping hand?”

Sen hesitated several times, but eventually nodded in agreement.

"Hmm, I think the Four Seasons have made too many enemies... and the revival of the Kingdom of Flowers also needs recognition and help. There are many mysteries in this world that I want to explore in detail, but fighting all the time gives me no chance. Let's keep things peaceful if we can."

"Then one last question, Dad, should we use the name of the god who carried the coffin as a miracle? Or do you want to keep a low profile and have me handle it?"

"...Give the reputation to Yuan, shall we?"

"Give a wish?" Melia was surprised. She had thought that the faith of the coffin bearers was going to spread to the Peda Empire.

But Mori had no obsession with the true God: "Accumulating these merits and the gratitude of an entire nation might be beneficial to her curse, right? Besides, it's a fact that she showed us this way."

……

The ancient demon king awoke from his slumber to find himself held in a pair of familiar small hands, being led towards a blindingly bright light. He was nocturnal, and frankly, he loathed the daytime of the human world.

But her daughter's grip was very tight, and she couldn't break free.

"Will? What are you taking me there for?"

"Doing business."

"Tell me, who fooled you?"

"No way! I'm here to do a big business deal with you. Someone wants Balrog's Eggstones, and a lot of them..."

The ancient Demon King almost flapped his wings and cursed, "How can you make a living off those things that are no different from garbage? If it weren't for these monstrous things, the Demon Realm, which was originally a beautiful place with clear waters and bright moonlight, wouldn't have become a barren wasteland."

But who actually wants this junk? My daughter has been scammed again.

"Oh, right, Dad. I saw the coffin bearers."

"Okay, okay, I know you've fallen for it again. You definitely didn't read my anti-fraud guide, right?"

"The one who delivered the coffin is real... It's the beautiful seasonal being I told you about, the one with the salt spirit who was so kind to me, Mori Toki. You saw her last time in the clouds."

The ancient demon king's beak was wide open, and its eyes were even wider.