Brain bloom

"I've looked at it, but it's no use. They're all incompetent fools who can't even detect the curse itself, yet they keep trying to sell me holy water..." The old wildcat mocked and cursed a few times, but the foul language was of no use, and he could only sigh.

"This……"

Dandelion was somewhat discouraged, because her expertise lay in matters of the body, and she had originally thought that she could easily do someone a favor by using the unique herbal formula of the Kingdom of Flowers... Unfortunately, she was powerless in the face of this unknown curse.

Helpless, she and the old stray cat placed their last hope on Mori, who remained unresponsive.

"Does Moritoki know what that is?"

“I roughly know—may I ask where your mother went?” Mori asked.

The old stray cat shared her story without reservation: "Three days ago, my family made a fairly big deal. Because everyone was very busy at the time, and the buyer was of high status and needed to be treated with caution, my mother went out to deliver the goods herself. Not long after she returned, she fell into a deep sleep and never woke up again, her life force steadily fading away."

She felt uneasy listening to the old stray cat's sighs. In fact, she had already figured out the problem shortly after entering the room.

It is indeed a curse, a curse of the devil.

A similar situation existed in the gaming era, a series of unexpected events frequently encountered in the main storyline, which players thoroughly disliked. NPCs would inevitably approach the protagonist, demanding they gather a certain amount of materials, find someone to make an antidote, and so on – it was incredibly annoying.

"Could it be that your trading partners are messengers of the devil? And the highest-level kind at that... Now that we know each other inside and out, Old Man Wildcat, is your family selling souls to the devil?"

“A messenger of the devil?” He was shocked and shook his head repeatedly like a windmill. “We have never had anything to do with those things. I swear to the coffin bearers.”

"Don't swear to me. Anyway, the good news is that your mother can be saved. It's that power of those annoying bastards, a curse called 'Sanctuary'."

The full name is "The body is the last refuge of the soul." This curse forces the soul to shrink deep into the body, reaching a vegetative state, and slowly dies from loss of vitality. In the end, the soul will leave the body and be accepted by those demons.

Mori explained with disgust, and his words brought a chilling silence to the room.

“There’s still hope.” She walked up to the old cat and spoke in a cheerful voice, breaking the silence. “It requires quite a few things, but this town should be able to gather them all. If you want to save her, go and collect them as soon as possible.”

But the old stray cat didn't react with any excitement.

Aren't you going to save them?

"Uh..." The old wildcat touched its face, asking incredulously, "You're not kidding me, are you? After getting involved with the devil... can the soul escape?"

"Huh? I don't know what makes you so weak? But the world is vast, and history is very long. As far as I know, even the most powerful demons have been chopped up like cabbages by humans countless times."

The words had barely left his lips when the old wildcat, startled and trembling, lost even the slightest trace of its former dignity. Gong Ying wore a bitter expression, for Sen Shi had uttered blasphemous words.

"Mori, such disrespectful words may invite the devil's curse."

"Such reckless words... will bring bad luck..."

"A curse? Misfortune? Hasn't it already come? If you want to see her die tomorrow, then I have nothing to say."

Mori's words were quite right; at least they touched the old stray cat's heart. He stared blankly at his sleeping mother cat, his unease gradually fading, replaced by determination.

“Indeed…it has already come, why should I still be afraid? I am truly foolish.”

Then, gritting his teeth, he spat out a vicious sentence from his throat.

"The rats should have killed the Rain Wizard. To hell with the Peda Empire! Their envoy was actually a messenger of the devil."

……

(Actually, I didn't mean to cut the chapter out of context. I was really desperate. No matter how I cut it, it just didn't flow naturally. Please don't tear up the ticket.)

Volume 1 #031 - Chapter Titles Are Hard to Come Up With

He had made his point clear; each vicious curse proved that the one trading slaves with this family of stray cats was none other than the Rain Wizard, who brought the shadow of war.

He is the devil's messenger, and only in this way can the old wildcat's mother be brought into this near-death state called "Sanctuary".

The devil—this kind of being has always been extremely elusive.

No one knows where they come from; they are only occasionally seen wandering in the night and shadows. Demons always crave souls, for they are the source of their power... but no one knows what they need that power for.

A very small minority believe that the devil is generous and patient.

By making a pact with humanity, the devil would bestow a few drops of his immense power upon them. Then, he would patiently wait for humanity to enjoy a lifetime of happiness with this power before welcoming the souls who had fulfilled the pact—even though not all souls would safely reach the devil's hands.

Occasionally, they will also choose agents in the world to spread the name of the devil's generosity to deceive the innocent and gain more power—the rain wizard seems to be such a role.

Sen Shi had a very shallow impression of the Rain Wizard himself, having only seen him from afar.

She had dealt with plenty of devil's messengers in the game, but she never expected that in this other world, she would also need to do such troublesome things to save people...

"If you're going to save her, do it quickly. Stop yelling, kitty," she warned.

“I...I know...I’m sorry, I was too angry—what can save my mother?” The old wildcat’s tone was soft as she handed over paper and pen, looking timidly at Mori, afraid that her only hope would also be extinguished.

"These are needed—"

After speaking, Mori hastily wrote down the required materials. She also tried to recall where she could find all of these things; perhaps she could gather them all at that chaotic free market? But times have changed; maybe some things have become rare commodities?

The old stray cat glanced at it quickly: "Is this all? I thought there was something particularly rare... Fortunately, I think we can gather everything. I'll send someone over right away."

"Oh... well, then thank you for running the errand."

"...No, no, no, it's me who's troubling you."

Mori was particularly happy. In the past, when players encountered the messenger of the devil in the main storyline, they would always complain about their bad luck because they had to run around the map several times to collect materials, which was really disgusting. But now, as long as you sit back and cross your legs, there will be labor to get things done. That makes sense.

The old wildcat continued to curse. He pushed open the door and went out, ordering someone to find a fast-running slave to procure the materials. He then summoned another servant and said, "Go and call the lord here. Tell her I'm not renting slaves to her anymore. I have something important to discuss with her."

"You're not renting it anymore!?"

Even through the door, Morishi and Dandelion could hear the uproar from the group—after all, it was cheap slaves maintaining order in the town, and if you were to be serious, Old Wildcat's words could be defined as treason.

To avoid suspicion, Dandelion and Mori didn't say anything. They were only staying to help out of kindness, and would leave town as soon as they finished dealing with this small problem.

There was a commotion outside, footsteps creaking on the wooden planks. Sen Shi stroked her aged cat, trying to maintain a detached and rational mindset. She didn't forget to use her eyes to remind her princess not to think about those high-risk things.

“My dear princess, don’t even think about it. There’s no chance for us here.”

"Hmm, why?" Dandelion asked, puzzled. "Can't we expose the Rain Wizard? There's a devil behind him. If that's exposed, all the powers in the Western Continent will turn against the Peda Empire. Once the world is in turmoil, we should have an opportunity..."

Just as Sen Shi guessed, Dandelion had already begun to look for opportunities to restore its kingdom in these events that it had been accidentally involved in.

“I know what you mean, but… this isn’t the best opportunity, after all, it involves the devil.” Mori frankly stated his thoughts, “We don’t have the resources to stand firm in this turmoil right now. We need a period of peace to allow us to accumulate strength. I’m a rational person, what if one of the devils I know appears…”

She didn't continue speaking, but instead squeezed Dandelion's hand.

"Princess, please be patient and wait a little longer."

"Okay, I'll listen to you." She didn't argue further, her eyes filled with boundless trust as she gazed at Sen Shi.

Mori's understanding of the world is far from sufficient. He also knows that there are things he can't afford to mess with for the time being, which are hidden deep within the world and are all extremely dangerous.

After arranging everything, the old stray cat pushed open the door and returned, continuing to stay by his mother's bedside.

"Gentlemen, all my cash is in your pockets..." he said dejectedly.

“Those gold coins will come in handy, that’s why we stayed.”

“I know, I mean if it really works out, I’ll give you some reward in addition to cash. Wildcat is never stingy.”

They both breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, the cat hadn't come to complain. After sitting there for about a minute longer, Mori felt the atmosphere was a bit uncomfortable, so she tried asking, "By the way, old cat, do you have a library?"

“Yes—oh, I see, I’m bored. The library is in the second room next to this one, it’s full of current books that Mother likes.” He pointed in that direction and then continued to sit by the bedside, engrossed in his work.

Having escaped the unpleasant atmosphere, the two had just left the room when they saw a certain wildcat with a cross-dressing fetish, who had been standing at the door the whole time. Upon seeing them, the wildcat visibly shrank back, his face turning bright red.

"...Sigh, everyone has their own interests. We've already promised to keep it a secret, so don't worry. Go inside and spend time with your family. Don't dwell on those little things."

Dandelion felt both angry and helpless. After speaking to the wildcat, she followed Mori's footsteps.

……

The library is very deep, with thick, almost overwhelming books that have a musty smell permeating every corner, but it is very clean.

Mori picked up a travelogue with illustrated maps and sat down on a pile of books to read. His focused expression made Dandelion speechless; she hadn't expected Mori to actually be there to read, not just find an excuse to be alone with her…

Dandelion sat down by the door, looking bored, ready to while away the time in meditation.

"What do you think? Should we also quit our jobs and move to Silvermoon City?"

"I'm not afraid of war, I just feel that I'm doing quite well here."

"I think so too, but don't you find it terrifying that things have happened one after another? First, the young lady died, and then the old master fell into a coma... Now we'll see what happens to the young master and the master... That's what I'm afraid of."

Volume 1 #032 The Eldest Daughter of the Kuroneko Family

Outside the door, guards from somewhere were talking in faint voices.

The Four Seasons's pointed ears were very sharp, and the words naturally reached Dandelion's ears. At first glance, it sounded like servants gossiping about their master, which was quite amusing. The princess, who had been neglected by Mori, suddenly became interested and pressed her ear directly against the door.

"Stop talking, I really don't want to hear about the young lady's affairs anymore... really!"

"Let's move to Silvermoon City. Even though it's located at the center of the world's conflict, it's still very safe. Ever since the young lady died, I really don't dare to live on this land anymore."

"Who isn't? I saw it with my own eyes, Miss... Sigh, sigh!"

Dandelion's heart was itching with curiosity. She never expected that this family had lost their eldest daughter, and there was a hidden story behind it.

She was very concerned about this. Why were the guards reacting this way? The death of the young lady they were supposed to serve had made them so panicked? Judging from their tone, these people were originally very loyal and well-treated—but because of this incident, they now wanted to escape Frozen Bear Town.

Something must have happened that would cause fear.

Is it the devil? Or is it some kind of retribution?

The deeper Dandelion pondered, the more unsettled she became. But she couldn't just ask the old stray cat; that would be rubbing salt into her wounds…

"Ugh... Mori-shiki." She had no choice but to turn to her hero for help, wanting to gossip about this with her.

"exist."

Mori replied casually without looking up, his eyes still fixed on the books, but he already had more than one in his hands.

"I want to ask, do you have the ability to manipulate people's hearts..."

"—Fufu, come out for a second." Sen Shi suddenly frowned, interrupting Dandelion, and called out the Salt Sprite that had been in his pocket. "Turn into a servant and help me hold this book... I need to compare it with other books at the same time, and I don't have enough hands."

"Why didn't you ask me for help?" Dandelion felt that Mori was being too polite, but she suppressed her displeasure and asked again, "Mori, among the magic you know, is there any that can manipulate people's minds—"

Suddenly, a flash of azure light forced Dandelion to swallow her words. Fufu had transformed back into the little girl she had been looking for, skillfully putting on the clothes Sen had kept, and obediently following instructions.

She held a book for Morishita, who had one in each hand, and two more were lying on the ground.

Her only pair of eyes looked up and down, the amber color in them lively, as if it had come alive—but it wasn't the gleam of joy, but rather shock…or perhaps fear. Mori had read something unbelievable in the books of this era.

Dandelion deliberately cleared her throat before speaking for the third time: "Senshi, I'd like to ask you something—"