Brain bloom

The staff has successfully transformed into a water-attribute item. From its appearance, each vine exudes a soft azure blue, as if everything in the ocean has been gathered here.

It also has an additional special effect that further increases the damage of water-attribute magic—and the increase is extremely high, almost equivalent to the highest-grade water-attribute gem. This low-level staff is now comparable to a level 70 water-attribute staff.

Moreover, there was another change to the staff—it was discovered by a dandelion.

She pinched her nose and said, "...Why do I feel like the staff is getting smellier and smellier? It's gone from fishy to salty fishy."

"After all, it's inlaid with salt sprites."

……

(Please vote with monthly tickets!!)

Volume 1 #023: The Unique Entanglement of the Four Seasons

Since his princess strongly protested the stench, Mori had no choice but to pry the salt sprite out of the hole and hurriedly put the staff back in his bag.

Dandelion muttered a complaint that sounded like "Our ancestor is so annoying," and used several wind spells to carry the irritating smell downstairs.

"...Now can you tell me? Why do you hide at night?" After being freed, the salt sprite circled around the two of them. "By the way, it was so crowded. You didn't assign me that little hole to live in, did you?"

Dandelion walked to the window, carefully checked that the nails were secure, and then cleared her throat.

"Then I'll tell you what the dangers of the night really are."

"Yes, I'm listening."

"They are ghosts, a group of inexplicable ghosts that appeared suddenly, like a natural phenomenon."

Mori Tokiya sat in the chair, listening intently to things he didn't know.

Dandelion continued, "Even the great writer Tokaji's Apple Pen couldn't describe what these things look like. They appear at night, sometimes in groups of three or five, sometimes only one or two, but they only appear in places where humans gather, that is, villages and towns."

"Ghosts, spirits?" The salt spirit stopped and deliberately moved closer to the silver ornament used for protection. "Do you live under the threat of ghosts?"

Dandelion blinked a few times, looked at Sen Shi for a few seconds, and then said to the exclaiming Salt Sprite, "Yes, the daytime is the world of the living, but the nighttime is the world of those indescribable ghosts."

"Won't they attack?" Mori asked at this moment.

"Actually, yes, they can. If any unlucky person were to come face to face with them at night, they would almost certainly die a horrible death. But if you stay indoors, you'd be fine. In short, this situation has been going on for ten years and has become one of the rules of how the world works."

As Dandelion said, it was almost like a natural phenomenon, and Mori found it inexplicable.

Thinking about this, Mori approached the window and pressed the Four Seasons's pointed ears against the wooden board, trying to hear if there were any ghosts wailing besides the eerie wind—but all she heard was silence; she heard nothing at all.

But the conversation inside the room did not stop, with the salt sprite continuing to ask questions.

"But why are those ghosts appearing?"

"Well, who knows?" Dandelion shrugged, smiling to indicate that she didn't quite understand either.

"Then...aren't you afraid? With such a threat right beside you, the night is so terrifying..."

"Of course they're afraid, so many powerful mages are researching these things, but it seems like there's not much progress."

Mori bit her slender index finger, her gaze shifting from her amber eyes to the thin legs encased in her skirt. But her thoughts were intensely focused; she was trying to figure out if it was related to the era of games she knew. Her intuition told her she seemed to have heard something similar before…

Where did you hear that name before?

Hidden side quests that are hard to trigger? In unimportant character dialogues? In the book obtained by opening "The Gravedigger's Legacy"? None of these seem to be the case... No matter how her thoughts soared, she couldn't grasp the key clues.

Unlike her deep thought, the strange topic in the room had come to an end.

When the dandelion introduced herself to her new companion, the salt spirit, she recounted her truly noble lineage. The salt spirit gasped in amazement when she mentioned her ambition to restore her kingdom. She didn't really grasp the concept of restoring a kingdom; she simply felt fortunate to have been taken in by such a powerful figure and to be able to live a carefree life from then on.

……

As night deepened, Mori lay anxiously in bed. The hotel's bedding, pillows, and mattress were all very comfortable, enveloping her still-uncomfortable petite body.

Being a girl born in all four seasons, sleeping is actually a bit inconvenient. For example, my long hair often gets pressed against my shoulders, and if I twist and turn in bed a few times, my hair easily gets tangled up.

There was another, more troublesome thing—a thick layer of strawberry vines grew on Mori's head. She was always worried that she might sleepwalk and tear them off or flatten them. So she could only curl up in the blankets in the most comfortable position possible, hugging her knees and waiting for the night to get deeper.

By then, when Dandelion is asleep, she can quietly open the wooden planks of the window to see what kind of ghost is wandering outside.

Unfortunately, this idea didn't come to fruition, because the dandelion quietly crept onto her bed.

When Dandelion's light body pressed against him, Mori felt very flustered, but Dandelion didn't actually do anything special—she just held Mori's hand, buried her face in the back of Mori's neck, and smelled the unique natural fragrance of the vines and the seasonal plants.

"Thank you for coming to keep me company," the dandelion whispered in her ear. "Thank you for reaching out to me and answering my call... Thank you for making me feel less alone."

Mori's lips curved into a smile as he grasped the hand in return, offering words of comfort to his fellow countrywoman who had suffered so much: "Princess, I may not be the hero you're looking for... but I will always be by your side, helping you achieve all your dreams. That's all I can promise."

Only now, filled with remorse, did Mori Toki make his first promise to the princess of the fallen kingdom, formally responding to her call.

"Thank you."

……

The next morning, Mori and Dandelion stayed wrapped up in the same bed, reluctant to get up—even though they were both awake. Their bodies remained intimately close, and strange noises occasionally escaped their lips.

They proved with facts that people from all four seasons should not share a bed.

Because the plants would get tangled up, like a ball of yarn that was hard to untangle. The two people's plants were intertwined, and then there were strands of hair of different colors getting in the way, making the situation even more complicated.

Therefore, neither of them could see the top of their heads, so they could only hug each other and slowly feel around with their hands, trying to untangle the trouble.

"Moritoki! Stop moving around, you're rubbing against me, it tickles!" After complaining, Dandelion hugged Moritoki even tighter.

"You're the one who should be using so much force, or you might tear off my leaves..."

"No way... really. Why are you a strawberry? With so many vines, you're wrapping my dandelion so tightly—twisting and turning. I know you're very flexible."

This was probably the most awkward moment in Mori's life, because the strong scent of the forest enveloped her, and with the slightest movement, she could touch the body of a girl wearing only pajamas. If she closed her eyes, she might feel like she was having sex in a grove.

"Hey salt spirit over there, stop watching and come help us get out of this mess!" Left with no other option, the dandelion cried out awkwardly.

Volume 1 #024 The Small Restaurant in the Morning

The salt sprite's spectating was discovered... It was simply curious why these two seasonal beings were doing such a strange thing, embracing each other. But since it had been summoned, it had no choice but to obey, transforming into human form and using its tiny hands to untangle the plants wrapped around their heads.

They then separated and straightened each other's pajamas.

Thankfully, the awkward morning was finally over. However, Morishi and Dandelion felt the atmosphere had become awkward—after all, the intimate contact in bed had given them a better understanding of each other's bodies, which might have increased their familiarity and intimacy... or it might have made the atmosphere stiff.

Fortunately, there was a third person in the room—a salt elf dressed in clothes. She maintained her girlish appearance, completely unaware of the atmosphere, silently anticipating her little wish.

When can I thank that person?

"Oh, right." Taking this opportunity, Dandelion, who was combing her hair, nodded and turned to Mori, who was doing the same thing. "We don't have any extra reservations today, so let's go out and have fun for a day? Then we can help the little guy find that noble young master."

"Okay, there are places I'd like to visit as well."

The things available in Frozen Bear Town are limited, and Morishi didn't find most of them appealing, having already acquired the ones that were convenient for him—but even so, Morishi still had something else he wanted to confirm.

For example, she knew that this town hid a heretical library where one could easily obtain high-level magic, though it would be a bit troublesome, but worth the trip. In addition, a special NPC lived in the town, a wise creature that had survived since ancient times—the Painted Wall—who would almost certainly be alive.

She wanted to verify history and understand what had happened in the world.

They watered each other and tended to each other's leaves, while also deciding on their route for the day. After washing up, they changed their clothes and prepared to head out with the Salt Fairy.

Hotels do not include breakfast or lunch, only dinner—this is an unwritten rule that is almost universal, because once night falls, hungry people have no chance to go out and find a restaurant.

Stepping out of the hotel, unlike the silence of the night, the town had regained its vibrant energy, and it was clear that people had become accustomed to living in this environment.

They chose a shop that looked clean and bought several stacks of pine nut tarts, as well as La Mancha cheese and hot milk. The salt elf didn't eat human food; it just sat there happily, observing the passing merchants and residents.

The two chatted idly about tips on leaf care for *Echeveria*, but the conversation gradually stalled. Because, no matter the food, the casual conversations of other diners at a restaurant always provided something interesting—

"Did you hear? Big news! A magic scroll with healing spells has appeared and has been registered on the auction board."

"Yes, I saw it when I came here too—it's already reached fifty gold coins, that's big news."

"That's right! I wonder who consigned it. I'm very curious how they managed to get something like this..."

"This proves that the seller has a very powerful background—possibly a high-ranking noble in the Holy Coffin Kingdom. Otherwise, how could they contact magicians who know healing magic to manufacture such contraband and sell it openly?"

“Indeed…healing has been monopolized for a long time, and I don’t think its appearance this time is a coincidence.”

Because the topic was about them, Mori listened intently. The rumors were completely different from what she had expected; they weren't accusing them of not appearing sooner to save the town, but rather something rather strange. Dandelion also glanced at the table of people; they were local merchants.

They continued talking, often interspersed with harsh curses and sighs.

"We just paid for peace with humiliation yesterday, and now this kind of thing appears today. Don't you think the timing is very delicate?"

“Indeed… something’s not right. Everyone knows the pretext for the war was that the Rain Wizard was slightly injured. If they handed over a healing scroll as compensation, that would certainly be enough. How could they possibly give them a pretext to start a war? How could we possibly lose so much in compensation?”

“I think this could be a retaliatory consignment.”

"What do you mean?"

"I suspect that the lord of Frozen Bear Town wanted to requisition the scroll for free to stop the war—but the seller didn't agree. It's also possible that the price wasn't agreed upon, for example, the seller asked for one hundred coins, which the lord thought was too expensive, and he could have stopped the war for free in other ways, such as by saving face."

"...So, you invited Balzac Mor, the lord of Silvermoon City?"

"Yes, that's an acquaintance of the lord."

"Sigh...now that you put it that way..."

"Although the Peda Empire is powerful, it's not far away across the sea. Even if everything falls apart and they want to attack us, they'll have to borrow the shipping lanes of the permanently neutral city first... The lord thinks Silvermoon City won't be able to borrow them—don't you think that's too arrogant of the lord?"

The conversation drifted further and further away. Listening to their chatter, Sen Shi and Dandelion almost forgot to chew their delicious food.

Anyone with a brain would know this is just idle chatter. But this situation was still something they hadn't anticipated...

Mori sincerely believed that this group's reasoning was utterly absurd. But it also illustrated another point—people harbored deep-seated resentment, and even something as trivial as this could be used as a pretext to attack the lord.

"Let's sell our consigned items as soon as we get a reasonable price and then leave quickly. It's too much trouble here," Dandelion said, wiping her mouth as she finished the last sip of hot milk.

"I thought you were going to say that the foundation here was unstable and that you wanted to take action right away."

"I'd like to, but I'm not that stupid. At least I can assess my own abilities."

“Okay, I agree with you—can we leave before tomorrow?” In fact, Mori had similar thoughts. After all, this was a city shrouded in the shadow of war, and who knew what problems might erupt. It was not advisable to stay any longer.

“Anytime is fine, after all, we don’t need to take a boat,” she promised confidently.

"Oh? Do you have any special channels?"

Dandelion beckoned to Sen Shi with her finger, gesturing for her to come closer, and then whispered, "The Kingdom of Flowers actually left behind some legacies, and I brought 'Tranquil Voyage' with me."

"That... small boat?"

Mori immediately remembered that in the game's storyline, the Kingdom of Flowers would occasionally lend players wondrous items, including this one—if Mori remembered correctly, it was a small paper boat.