Brain bloom

“Four Seasons, this path is blocked. You cannot make the fruit grow before she dies.”

"...Theoretically, that's true, but even using my divine essence won't work? It can clearly accelerate plant growth, and it's effective on my leaves too."

"I roughly know what your divine status is, but the fruits of a true god cannot be accelerated."

Mori's heart sank to the bottom.

The eyes on the cover seemed to gleam with a mocking light, making Mori feel even more distressed. She didn't believe this was the end, so she continued to struggle.

"How about adding salt spirits to delay the curse? That should slow it down... giving the plants time to grow."

"The result will still disappoint you."

"……Why?"

"The process is complicated; all you want is the answer. Listen carefully. Over thousands of years, I have acquired much knowledge of the Seasonal Beings and the devil, so I can arrive at this definite answer. The Seasonal Beings themselves are not a benevolent species. Although their fruit can heal pain, it does not mean it is a benevolent thing. Don't forget this, darkness."

The ancient demon king, equally unable to accept this, suddenly uttered a low voice.

"Could you be wrong? The Book of Wisdom."

“I have never given a wrong answer. Throughout history, I have only answered questions that I understand and am confident about. But there are always questioners who start to question my wisdom because my answer does not meet their expectations... Every time this happens, I feel angry.”

The ancient demon king seems to have angered this book of wisdom.

Centered on the book, the air in the room was restless and uneasy, as if a force emanating from forbidden knowledge was roaring. This force was by no means weak, as if it were contending with an ancient dragon. Sen Shi felt worried and took a few steps back towards the door, just in case.

However, it didn't escalate into a fight. After venting its anger, the book immediately backed down before the Ancient Demon King could respond.

"Well, it seems pointless for me to be angry in front of you two true gods... I just hope you can respect knowledge. Truth often hurts people, but truth itself is not wrong. Please don't take your anger out on me... okay?"

"Okay... I really hope you're wrong. Oh well, I'll just go back to sleeping and passing the time."

The ancient demon king once again experienced the pain of shattered hope. The pair of ear feathers on its head curled up into its own feathers, no longer standing proudly. It slowly retreated, giving the stage for questioning to Mori.

However, Mori wanted more than that; the next question concerned her most important aspect. She had to ask it in a way that the ancient demon king couldn't see.

"What is your question, Four Seasons?" the Book of Wisdom asked.

“I came to see you once before,” Mori Toki said.

"Yes, back then your soul resided in a human body, I remember that."

Mori took out a blank book he had prepared, wrote his questions on it with a pen, and showed them to the book. If the Ancient Demon King still found out, then Mori would be helpless.

Do you think I was strong back then?

“Extremely powerful.” The other party understood Mori's intention, and words appeared on the paper, the book itself providing the answer. “You’ve come here just to show off your power? Is it to…bully this lonely book?”

"...I don't know how to explain it. In that era, there must have been many souls from other worlds, occupying all sorts of bodies, living and leaving their mark on this world. How should I put it, treat it all as a kind of quantifiable game...that's probably it."

Sen Shi's pen moved slowly and paused; she was pondering what words to use, a question that was rather strange in itself...

"Are you aware of these people's existence?"

"This problem... will come at a great cost." The book spoke deliberately, its words revealing a deep unease.

"I have enough knowledge to pay for it."

Mori Toki was quite confident, because knowledge from another world must be invaluable.

“Alright, the answer is—'I know.'” The words appeared before Morishige’s eyes, engraved on white paper in lead black, “But those souls are nothing more than…projections from the virtual world.”

"...A projection of the virtual world?"

"This involves the true God and knowledge that is too ancient for me to give you more answers. I can only tell you that these so-called souls have not truly left a trace in this world. After all, they are just... playmates."

Mori couldn't understand the explanation. Although she could understand each word of this otherworldly language, this was the first time she had encountered such a situation, and she couldn't understand it when they were put together.

What message are these words trying to convey?

A virtual world? A fictional world digitized, isn't that just a game world...?

Moreover, did these players' souls truly leave no trace?

Playmates—whose playmates?

Mori felt his mind was boiling, but even working at such a high speed, he still couldn't understand it...

This overturned her common sense and understanding. She turned to the Book of Wisdom for help, hoping that it could provide more answers, but as if in fear of something, the Book of Wisdom immediately distanced itself from her.

"I can no longer give answers; this is an area I am not qualified to be involved in."

What does "virtual world" mean?

"I do not know."

"Whose playmate? Mine?"

"I do not know."

Are you kidding me?

"Absolutely not."

"It's completely useless."

The Book of Wisdom remained silent for a moment, then spoke reluctantly: "This answer should be sufficient for you. Don't take it out on me; instead, accept the answer. Are there any other questions?"

"Have."

Since he couldn't figure out this problem, Mori silently made a mental note of it and raised other questions first.

However, the Book of Wisdom was faster than her—

"Let's deal with other issues later. I've reached the limit of how I use knowledge, and it's time to talk about the consequences... Don't glare at me like that. You know the eyes on the cover are drawn on, right? Glaring at me won't do any good. I need time to recover..."

"Give me an honest answer." Mori gripped the staff in his hand and slammed it heavily onto the ground with the end. "Otherwise, I'll tear you to pieces. I swear, no matter what the consequences of tearing you apart are, I will do it."

"Great and beautiful God of the Four Seasons, please ask me a question. I can barely answer one of your questions, provided that it does not involve the true God or any obscure or difficult topics."

Volume 1, Chapter 204: Mathematical Formulas Don't Work

Mori has a lot of things she wants to understand. Besides being a gamer, she also has a strong interest in Eden Bank, the Soul of Travel, and the existence of the underworld.

Even the origins of the Four Seasons themselves lingered in her mind, a difficult question to explore.

Although this book covers a wide range of knowledge, it probably can't answer these questions...

Mori had indeed investigated this matter; just inquiring about the "Eden Bank" had yielded a price that Mori still couldn't understand. Therefore, the price required for these equally challenging problems was undoubtedly heavy.

She wasn't sure if she could afford it, so it was best not to act rashly.

It's a small matter if you don't pay your debts, but I'm afraid the Book of Wisdom will forcefully demand them back. In the end, I'll just have to tear the book up. Losing this book that seems to know a lot of inside information would be a huge loss.

After much thought, she used this last opportunity to ask a conservative but useful question.

"What is something in the world called 'primordial evil'?" she wrote.

"...This is a very simple question, you definitely know the answer."

“I think so too, it’s the Four Seasons One, right?” Mori Toki offered his deduction.

No matter how you look at it, this is the answer.

First, the Four Seasons are an ancient species, existing alongside the Demon Realm even during the "Dark Ages," where they were the dominant beings. Considering their various actions, it's impossible to deny their involvement in the existence of this evil species.

The price offered by the ancient demon king at that time, "purification of primordial evil," was probably intended for the Four Seasons.

She finally confirmed her suspicions.

"No, how can the Primal Evil, a man-made evil, be compared to the Four Seasons?"

"Uh... I guessed wrong?"

"Hmm, what a clumsy question. You also have this scent, so you must have come into direct contact with it at point of contact. The so-called primordial evil is the 'evil mist' created by some unknown person. You know that, yet you still ask me..."

"...That thing?" Mori felt a wave of disappointment.

“Yes, it’s nothing else. But you’re a Four Seasons Being, so you should be very familiar with it, right? After all, in history, Four Seasons Beings have also wielded this primal evil and attempted to destroy the world… although they didn’t succeed.”

"I'm a kind-hearted seasonal person! I didn't know anything about this!" Mori Toki explained, blushing.

The Book of Wisdom chuckled, "There's no such thing as a being who can experience all four seasons."

"Didn't I hear that the Calamity Mist is something that has only appeared in recent years?"

"It was just dormant for a long time and only recently revived; it has always existed."

"……I see."

Sen felt a wave of loneliness, and he had never been as sad as he was today.

Not only was his time-travel journey shrouded in mystery, resulting in minimal gains, but most importantly, he had inadvertently become some kind of terrifying villain without even realizing it—what kind of situation was this…?

"Is it over?"

The Book of Wisdom let out a few sleepy yawns.

"If you have any more questions, please don't come to me. Your questions are all very complicated, and I'm worried you won't be willing to pay the price..."

"When will you be able to answer again? I guarantee the price will be right."

Having received the promise from the true god, the Book of Wisdom felt somewhat relieved: "I don't know when you will awaken, but I will have the devil inform you when that time comes."

"Sure, as soon as possible."

"Alright, let's calculate the price—according to the rules, the questioner must leave behind an equal amount of knowledge. Ancient Demon King, you too."

"I'm tired of listening to your cryptic gesturing. Now that the matter is settled, let's settle the accounts as soon as possible." The ancient demon king was still immersed in the despair of his daughter's impending death and didn't care about anything else. "Open it up, I will leave behind the knowledge."

The Book of Wisdom opened with a click, revealing pages filled with blank paper. Beside it lay a clean pen.

The process of paying the price is self-evident.

The ancient demon king slowly stepped forward, leaving behind its price. It held a pen in its mouth and hastily wrote a long string of words. Although Sen Shi couldn't see them clearly, he knew it had left behind knowledge commensurate with the weight of the question.

After reading it, the book of wisdom seemed somewhat unsatisfactory.

"Let's get real! I have absolutely no interest in how many feathers an owl has, and nobody would ask that kind of question... Is that what you call knowledge?"

"I can't control that. The price has already been paid. This is the equivalent price I, as a devil, have determined. Do you dare to deny it?"

"...Then you can go now, next one."

The Book of Wisdom yielded once again, knowing it could not deceive the ancient demon king.