Brain bloom

The tears of knowledge that have accumulated over the years are enough for her to have a good swim in.

"Take as much as you want."

"I won't stand on ceremony."

Mori thought for a moment, then searched his entire body and found several large containers. He had two empty bottles of the energy potion he'd finished and hadn't had time to replenish. Since they were free, he figured he might as well take some; he could use them for any equipment he needed later.

This is a versatile material.

Just as Senshi finished filling a bottle and was marveling at its ridiculously high quality, Huanlong spoke up leisurely, his voice full of the characteristics of a resident of the Demon Realm.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"...The mission was indeed triggered."

"A mission? No, it's just a small request. If you and Yuan are friends, could you please bring her something for me?"

"Okay, I'm leaving this place to go find her."

The dragon hesitated for a while, then stretched out its thinnest claw and rummaged through its mountain of treasures. Whenever it misjudged the weight and bent a gold or silver object, it would let out a regretful sigh, but it would continue its search.

Finally, the claw hooked something out.

It appeared to be a painting, carefully framed in a simple frame, and looked quite old. However, Sen Shi couldn't make out what it depicted, because some kind of spatial magic was covering its surface.

"This is?"

"A gift for Yuan... a record of the scenery she most wanted to see."

"dawn?"

"To be precise, it was the most beautiful dawn in the world, unparalleled in its kind. It was secretly recorded by the God of Art who governs painting, but because it touched a taboo, the painting was sealed away forever."

A painting created by the hand of a true god, the most beautiful dawn... but it violated a taboo? Mori suddenly thought of something.

"The Winged Clouds of the Four Seasons?"

"Yes, after this true god left this painting, he was punished by the Four Seasons for peeking at Wing Clouds... But I won't go into details, that's another story, I'll tell you another time. Anyway, this is my gift to Wish."

"Since it's so important, why don't you hand it to her yourself?" Mori thought for a moment and then persuaded, "I'm taking the Tears of Knowledge with me to see them. She happens to be in the Demon Realm, so you can come with me."

"No need, I don't want to see her putting on a brave face and pretending that nothing's wrong. You can just pass it on for me. Besides, she knows how to appreciate this painting, so don't worry about making a wasted trip."

When the painting was pushed toward Sen by the claws, the latter carefully placed it into his bag.

Unfortunately, even when faced with the Four Seasons, the painting did not reveal its true form. What would Winged Clouds be like? Mori Toki had no way of knowing, but it must have been very beautiful for a true god to risk everything to secretly depict it.

Having filled his cup with enough tears of knowledge, Mori prepared to leave.

But before leaving, for the sake of the dragons' dignity, she told them the story of the poor phantom dragon from Silvermoon City. The ancient phantom dragon would occasionally let out long sighs, as if a human were witnessing their own embarrassment. Eventually, it became so embarrassed that it buried its head under its claws.

"So, why don't you go and help this junior phantom dragon..."

"Utterly shameful... I really want to kill this dragon... Sigh, helping is a given, it's a matter of face for the entire Phantom Dragon race!"

A sorrowful voice emanated from within the dragon's claws.

Mori was delighted because she had a deep connection with the phantom dragon. Once its intelligence recovered to a passing level, she could recruit it as combat power. Phantom dragons have a high potential and can be raised as long-term pets... It was truly a good deal.

After finishing these tasks, she bid farewell to the ancient dragon and left the lair.

Standing beneath the gloomy and chaotic sky of the Demon Realm, she stared blankly at the boundless desolation.

There was no other way but to use a ritual to summon the demons and bring forth the ancient demon king...

Just as she was about to take action, a thunderclap struck in the distance, causing the space to tremble slightly. Immediately afterward, two figures passed overhead and happened to see Mori Toki as well.

One of them, with curly gray hair, wore a simple black crown and a majestic royal robe.

His entourage appeared to be dressed as high-ranking magicians, but their bodies were ethereal and otherworldly.

Mori tried to hide, but it was too late.

"Who is that? Rain Wizard, do you know him? There are actually humans wandering in the Demon Realm."

“Your Majesty Aureliano, I think… this is not human, but a being of the four seasons.”

Volume 1 #207: The Gathered Negotiation Table

As luck would have it, Sen Shi bumped into the Rain Wizard as soon as he stepped out... What a small world! It was obvious they were there to make a deal; they were rather late, hoping the country could survive the harsh winter.

Sen Shi would probably never forget the Rain Wizard's somewhat aged face, which always seemed to be shrouded in gloom.

Because this was the first person she killed, and the impression was so profound that it could never be erased—that's how it should have been.

On that secluded shore, the awful feeling of that arrow she fired at the Rain Wizard still lingered. But at least, at the time, she thought she had truly killed him... She never imagined that this wretched creature would survive to this day.

Its soul has become so faint, yet it is still alive, and even exudes a strong aura of danger...

"Rain Wizard, it's been a long time. I really regret not burning your body back then. I'm relieved to see you're healthy, even though it's a little bland."

"...Four Seasons, it's been a long time. Thank you for your careless actions back then." The Rain Wizard smiled in response, but his smile was pure.

As for the person beside the Rain Wizard, he was clearly no weakling; he was none other than the monarch of the entire Peda Empire.

Mori instinctively drew his staff and longbow, a chill running down his spine, but excitement was gradually eroding his reason. Who was this enemy? The ruler of a nation! Even in a sorrowful land that had suffered so much, he was still far beyond the reach of ordinary wealthy nobles.

She's never afraid of any rich man; shooting the king would certainly be interesting.

Before his rationality was overwhelmed, Mori slowly remembered that this was not the time to fight.

"Is war interesting? Otherwise, why are you so fond of it?"

"The Four Seasons..."

Although the Rain Wizard's expression was strange, he actually had no intention of making a move. He and the king beside him, known as His Majesty Aureliano, landed on the land in front of Mori.

The two sides kept their distance, and Mori, relying on his debt-collecting bow, was not afraid at all.

The brief standoff continued. But a few seconds later, Aureliano spoke with an aura capable of shattering boulders, easily shattering the silence.

"I forgive your rudeness."

"……what?"

"Furthermore, I will also teach you, young Four Seasons Master, that next time you will not forget to bow to the ruler of a country."

"Really? I thought your crown was just an ornament. I wonder where this little old man came from who's pretending to be a king." Mori was quite displeased and decided to retort.

"Those whose motherland has been destroyed naturally do not understand the weight of the crown, and it is normal that they cannot distinguish it."

"Then I wish your country can get through this winter, since every year it's been a struggle to make ends meet."

"We came here precisely for this matter. The Dawn Princess of the Demon Realm and the Queen of the Chaos Land both seem to be kind, so they intend to make a deal with our country. The result will be the eternal dispelling of winter and the season of beasts. Are you regretful that you can no longer see the Peda Empire littered with corpses?"

Sen Shi thought to himself that it was quite interesting to exchange insults with the King; it was a fun experience... It was just a pity that he was relying on his mouth instead of his keyboard now, otherwise he could have crushed his opponent in every way.

There were two people on the other end, and she didn't know when her tongue might slip. To avoid embarrassing the Four Seasons group, she simply ended this farcical encounter—

"I was the one who proposed that deal."

"You?" The Rain Wizard was surprised.

"You?" Aureliano replied in the same way.

"Yes, otherwise I wouldn't be here. I was on my way to see Princess Dawn. By the way, you should be glad that the adventurers you hired were all weak, and that I was able to survive and make this deal happen."

"Do you know the contents of the deal? Offending the Queen of Demons and Banshees would be disastrous."

"—She did not offend me." Suddenly, an extremely powerful voice descended from the other side of the sky to the earth, "Moreover, what she said is true, and you should thank this Seasonal Being."

"The Demon Queen?" Aureliano gazed into the distance.

"Could this be a dishonest deal?" The Rain Wizard was much more wary. "You tricked us into coming here with such a deal in order to stop the war? The Demon Realm is clearly an absolutely neutral zone... How could you break that treaty?"

"I have no such plans. You can rest assured that the deal is real," Mori said calmly.

"If I really want to stop the war, I have a more direct way."

As they spoke, their imposing aura gradually drew closer.

In the north, shrouded in dark clouds, a slender hand with five fingers parted the space and, using some unknown method, traversed a thousand miles in a single step, stepping into the land where the two from the Peda Empire and the Four Seasons were facing off.

Melia stood beside Mori, her aura even stronger than before.

She finally had a good opportunity to show herself in front of her father, so she seized it tightly.

“In name, this deal is a gift from Princess Dawn to you, that’s true. But the truth is that the Four Seasons are tired of fighting with you, so what you have to pay is not just this fuel cost, but something much more to compensate for your foolishness.”

“Queen of the Demons and Banshees, let’s talk about the rest at the negotiating table,” Aureliano said.

"very good."

She clasped her hands together, and using some unknown power, twisted the space around the four of them, directly transporting them to the market that Sen had visited once before. There were buildings, and demons, monsters, all sorts of creatures, and souls coming and going.

It was very lively.

The negotiating table, often used in the human world for holding emergency meetings, stands at the highest point here.

Several people were already seated at the negotiating table.

B, representing the Kingdom of the Holy Coffin, was resting with his eyes closed, his hand on his divinely bestowed sword, completely unaware that the true god had arrived.

Opposite them, a huge monster shrouded in scorching heat sat in a specially made seat. It seemed to be a high-ranking member of the Flame Demon Clan who sold egg stones, but it appeared somewhat restless.

The main seat—as is customary—is reserved for important figures from the realm of demons.

But something was a little strange today. The person in the seat was a very beautiful human girl, but she was holding a sharp-eyed owl. When the girl and the owl saw Mori, one raised a hand and the other raised a wing, both greeting her.

"Sen Shi, Princess Dandelion is very angry that you ran away to the Demon Realm without washing the dishes."

"Listen carefully, don't hand over what that ancient phantom dragon gave you right away... I'll talk to you about it in detail later."

After greeting Mori and Won, Mori glared back at the Ancient Demon King. The owl, who had been watching the whole thing, immediately looked away guiltily, pretending not to know anything.

Aureliano took his seat with a puzzled look on his face, while the Rain Wizard stood warily behind him.

Melia sat upright next to Yuan and immediately took on the responsibility of chairing the meeting.

"Now that everyone's here, we can start discussing this big deal—to the Four Seasons' representatives, are you planning to stand the whole time? That's fine, but there's an empty seat next to me..."

Volume 1, Chapter 208: The Root Cause

Under everyone's gaze, Mori couldn't refuse, and under the pressure of these stares, he sat down next to Melia.