Brain bloom

"I've experienced the night in the human world."

"……what?"

"There are many nights filled with ghosts, it's terrifying."

"you……"

"But I can't tell you any more. I made a promise with Princess Dandelion that I can't tell anyone else."

The ancient demon king, nestled in his daughter's arms, looked up at the familiar face. From the simple title "Dandelion Princess," he instantly understood everything. As an ancient demon who had lived through the era before the Four Seasons, he easily grasped the situation.

It was both amused and exasperated; its own daughter was truly terrible at keeping secrets...

"dark……"

"Huh? How did you know?!"

"Darkness...that makes sense. No wonder it only happens in places where humans gather, and at night...hehe. So what did you see?"

Now that the secret had been exposed, Yuan had no choice but to recount everything she had seen.

The ancient demon king would occasionally offer his opinions, such as, "The Four Seasons are truly a lonely race," or "Princess Dandelion is about to succeed." But when it heard that the inhabitants of the darkness had given it flowers, it became nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"Those who give flowers to others in all four seasons, this...this..."

The ancient demon king hastily broke free from his daughter's grasp, ignoring her complaints, and spread his broad wings, adorned with dark feathers, flying into her room. He easily spotted the flowers in the vase.

Immediately afterwards, the ancient demon king ran back outside with a solemn expression.

"What's wrong?"

"The Four Seasons are a very special race. When they give flowers to others, it is indeed an expression of intimacy and a sign that they consider you a friend... But there is another possibility, which is the language of flowers!"

"The meaning of flowers?"

"Damn it... what the hell is the name of this flower? And what does it mean? Who can remember it?"

Having explained this, it hurried off to another place. Seeing its father flapping his wings and walking away, it waved its little hand, saying, "Daddy, I'm going out too."

Although Yuan was also curious, she knew they could still communicate in the human world, so she planned to search for Mori while waiting for her father's explanation. Wasting too much time here and delaying important matters would be unfair to Melia.

Yuan also left the realm of demons and returned to Silver Ring City, slowly walking towards the venue of the banquet.

……

After leaving, the ancient demon king hurriedly arrived at the residence of one of his high-ranking demon nobles—

A gloomy garden surrounds the castle, half shrouded in shadow and the other half in unfathomable darkness. Countless sorrowful, imprisoned souls gather here, unable to leave until their demise. Numerous monsters also lurk in the shadows, observing the ruler of the demon realm.

It found a window and immediately flew into the house.

The grotesque lump of flesh, dressed as a maid, was treated with the highest level of courtesy.

"The master is studying the arrangements you made and is unable to come out to greet us at the moment."

"It's alright, I'm going to the library, I can go by myself."

"learn."

Deep within the mansion, it traversed rugged paths with ease, reaching the entrance to the library. This place held most of the world's knowledge, but was also fraught with danger, one of the wonders of the demon realm.

The last time the coffin bearers came here to borrow knowledge, they were accompanied by the ancient king of demons.

Push open the door—

The oil lamp flickered, casting a dim, yellowish shadow in the small, square wooden room. The book, seemingly omniscient, floated before them. The eerie eye on its cover stared directly at the visitor.

"I hope you can ask some valuable questions. But don't forget, the more valuable the questions, the more knowledge you must leave behind before you leave."

Books make sounds that can be understood; this is also a rule of this library.

The ancient demon king didn't have time for its nonsense today, and simply stared at it intently: "You should know the flower language of the Four Seasons, right?"

“I understand that this is not much information until the Kingdom of Flowers falls into silence.”

"That's good."

The ancient demon king immediately began to describe it, listing all the flowers he wished to receive. Because his description was concise and accurate, the book quickly arrived at the answer—

"What you're talking about is the Casablanca flower. This variety originated from the now-desolate Rose Garden and doesn't belong to this world."

What is the meaning of flowers?

"An undying love."

The Ancient Demon King looked at him strangely: "Could it be that he's secretly in love with someone? Otherwise, why would he receive something like this..."

Just as it was muttering to itself, the book spoke again: "But this flower has more than one meaning, and it is also given different meanings based on the number of flowers."

"I remember... I received five flowers."

"die."

It added—

"If Princess Dawn receives five Casablanca flowers from the Four Seasons, it means the Four Seasons are issuing a warning that she carries the scent of death."

Volume 1 #310 Asking for Directions is Such a Trouble

The Chaos Lands are located on the most expansive continent in the human world. Even though this place was once a barren and ferocious land, it has gradually been filled with natural greenery by most highly skilled magicians.

But the borders of the Chaos Lands are not like that, because years of fighting have left the lands beyond the borders nearly barren.

Since the establishment of the nation, the Chaos Lands have expanded continuously until they encountered a large amount of resistance from the Evil Mist, at which point they stopped their expansion and determined their borders based on the outcome of their battles with the Evil Mist.

today--

The demon leader, who had been bestowed with glory by the Queen and had always shouldered the heavy responsibility of guarding the border, fell silent as he looked at the desolate land.

"Pass down the order to maintain the wartime rotation system, while simultaneously increasing vigilance," he told his adjutant.

"Chief, why?"

"Before you swing your sword forcefully, you must retract it and raise it high before you can strike. The same applies to Evil Mist. Moreover, now that the Queen is leading a large army on an expedition, you must have some sense of crisis, otherwise how will you take over my position?"

“I understand that, but I believe that the Evil Mist is concentrated in one place, which is precisely the reason for the Queen’s expedition. Now, our impregnable border provides no reason for the Evil Mist to appear.”

As the two discussed their opinions, a faint mist began to rise from somewhere in the distance.

Their expressions changed drastically, both realizing the answer to the problem. That was the source of the ominous mist; clearly, something was wrong. Without another word, the adjutant immediately left to sound the alarm, while the leader shouldered his weapon, intending to confront the enemy alone.

The leader had a vague feeling that this time the ominous fog was a lighter color...

He had seen those steam-powered machines before, and witnessed how they billowed out white steam. Now, this rising mist was like the last vestiges of white steam being squeezed out, faint and scarce.

It didn't last long; the ominous mist stopped flowing from the gushing point.

"What's going on? Could it be that this outflow point, which has been gushing out for over ten years, has finally stopped?"

Filled with doubt, he leaped off the border wall, only to be even more astonished. Some very blurry figures appeared within the exceptionally thin, ominous mist. They didn't seem like devoured puppets, but rather like souls…

As a sharp blade under the Queen's command, the leader immediately connected it to the latest intelligence circulating among the higher-ups.

Ruins, the soul of travel...

It seems that for some unknown reason, the residents of the outpost finally came out and showed themselves. But soon, the figure walked away into the distance and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving only the last of the ominous mists, which wanted to harass the defenses of the Chaos Land.

“Delaying time, or perhaps a cover.” His gaze was somber as he astutely deduced the truth. “Just as the main force of the Evil Mist was summoned there, are even these ancient relics in the ruins going there…?”

……

Such things happen all over the world.

More than a dozen similar ruins are scattered throughout the world, all of them exhaling all the ominous mist, leaving not a single drop. But those faint figures all rushed towards the island nation called 1848.

Today, they truly live up to their name, becoming the soul of travel.

But only a few people know what they will do with the sea god after arriving at their destination.

Every nation and independent city-state was weakened by the Holy Coffin Kingdom's recruitment of mages, and even the inferior Evil Mist extracted at the end had an impact on many places.

For example, in Silver Ring City, the elite guards set out early in the morning using the streets of the city to deal with this ominous fog.

I wish I didn't know these things, and I didn't care much about them.

"Where did Sen Shi go...? Princess Dandelion is no longer needed."

She looked at the map in her hand. Although the paper was rough and of poor quality, and it was drawn uniformly using hundreds of pens manipulated by low-level magic, it was at least generally fine.

As a tourist city, maps of Silver Ring City are readily available at low prices. But for a pretty girl like her, they simply gave her one for free.

“It ran away from Princess Dandelion,” Fufu said.

"Probably not... By the way, the banquet is being held in the castle... the lord's castle... Oh, yes, it's on the cliffs by the sea."

She and Fufu finally found a definite target.

Before Yuan could even speak, with just a glance, Fufu had already flown away. As a salt spirit saturated with seawater, its speed was unparalleled. Go see Sister Senshi and tell her what's happening; of course, it should be done as soon as possible.

Of course, all of this is predicated on her being present.

It was no longer morning; it was nearing noon. The castle, devoid of yesterday's lively auction, was now bustling with activity.

Fufu stopped in the bushes by the door, then quickly transformed into a human and got dressed.

The castle's security wouldn't be simple. Although Fufu was confident in his speed, he was also afraid of being stopped and mistaken for a bad guy. So he simply transformed into a girl's appearance and went to ask her openly and honestly.

Fu Fu arrived at the door, looked up, and asked the bewildered guard—

"Excuse me, have all the guests from yesterday's event left?"

"Little sister, who are you?"

The guard removed his helmet, revealing a fierce face covered in scars and stubble. But Fu Fu was cute, squatting down with his tiger-bear-like figure, even smiling broadly.

"I am one of the guests' maids, because there is an emergency..."

"Oh? Which guest are you looking for?"

"A girl with blue hair, fair skin, and a pretty face..." Fufu was racking her brains, desperately trying to figure out how to describe Senshi-nee's appearance without mentioning the type of plant on her head.

The guard clapped his hands: "Oh, that blue-haired one? I know him. He left this morning accompanied by the city lord and the prince. He seems to be of very high status..."

"Huh? Where did they go?"