Brain bloom

The traveler was quite satisfied with Mori's answer, put away the book and pen, and seemed eager to go and read it. If she had just left, Mori and Dandelion would have felt a little more at ease, but they remained standing there, watching the two of them.

Mori took a deep breath, thinking that what was bound to happen had finally happened. It was both laughable and frustrating; as a demon, she had to go through all this pretense... It would have been much more satisfying to just start fighting. She held the salt sprite in her hand, ready to embed it into her staff and toss it to the dandelion at any moment.

“One more question,” Travel asked again.

"Speak up, don't waste your time."

Ask whatever you want.

Both Sen Shi and Dandelion spoke coldly.

"Oh? You're in a hurry? Sorry, sorry." The traveler nodded, then quickly increased his pace, "Since you're also from out of town, you must be very knowledgeable... Do you know about the four seasons?"

"Are you referring to the Four Seasons, whose nation was destroyed and whose race was wiped out? If you want to know, go look it up in a history book."

"Well, I'm not referring to history. There should be living survivors... It seems you don't know either. Sorry to bother you, thank you for stopping to answer my question."

These ambiguous words made Mori, who was originally prepared for battle, feel strange again.

Was it really just a chance encounter, rather than a deliberate arrangement by the devil? Or was the devil using his prey for amusement? But... this doesn't seem like what devils like to do; they're always very straightforward.

"I'm fine now, let's say goodbye like this."

"Uh... then goodbye?" Mori asked, full of doubt.

"Ah."

The traveler strode out in a flash, then turned back to look at Mori with concern.

"Thank you again for the information, and for your generosity... You are the only person I have ever met who can answer questions without asking for payment."

"...No, you're welcome."

She really left and never looked back.

Startled, the two Seasons Travelers stood rooted to the spot for a long time, watching the traveler's figure recede into the distance. They were filled with anxiety. Had he really just left like that? Wouldn't he come back for a surprise attack? Something wasn't right…

Until the traveler's figure disappeared on the horizon, no further danger occurred.

They both shared the same thought—it was utterly inexplicable.

They jogged towards the closest point to the sea, not caring whether it was a suitable time to dock or whether they had enough food; they just wanted to get on the boat and leave as quickly as possible. But along the way, they still occasionally exchanged a few words:

"Mori, do you think she's a devil?"

"I am 100% sure."

"I think so too... but why does it look like a human?"

"Only the devil knows."

"This is a bit strange."

Led by the salt sprite, the two of them ran towards the sea via a steep path. There were many reefs and things washed ashore by the waves, but the water was deep enough to get them out of the boat.

Sen took a few deep breaths, his tone resolute.

“We’ll discuss this further when we get back. Let’s leave as soon as possible. We were just lucky they didn’t recognize us. The devil is looking for the Four Seasons, which isn’t good news—wait, could it be a kind devil trying to help you? Aren’t the Four Seasons on good terms with them?”

"How could that be? If we wanted to help, we would have come long ago." Dandelion's expression turned indifferent. "Tu Mi went to ask many old friends for help, but they all refused outright."

Just as Mori was about to reply, her eyes inadvertently discovered that the two of them weren't the only ones trying to escape.

"...Is that the Rain Wizard?"

……

(Don't even mention killing the hostage; that would really hurt the author.)

Volume 1 #040 - Let's Do It Ourselves

Sen was 100% certain that he had encountered the Rain Wizard.

After all, Mori could easily confirm his name, rank, and other such information with a single glance.

The Rain Wizard's clothes were torn in several places, and bandages were visible on his shoulders. He was no longer the spirited man he had been that day; his face was full of bitterness as he pulled hard on the rope with his thin, wiry magician frame, seemingly preparing something.

He looked like he had just gone on a flight.

The dandelion also spotted him, its eyes widening in surprise.

"...Shh!"

She covered her mouth with one hand and covered Mori's mouth with the other. Mori's hands were not idle either; he grabbed the salt spirit who was leading the way, making sure not to make a sound.

Perhaps the sounds of the sea breeze and seagulls drowned out the noise, and the Rain Wizard didn't realize that others had also arrived. Not to mention, his every move had been seen by others.

They looked around, chose a few rocks to hide behind, their boots submerged in the shallow water, and their eyes peered through the gaps to observe.

Mori calmly took out paper and pen from his bag to convey the message.

"Shouldn't he be hiding in town? What's he doing here?"

Dandelion quickly wrote a reply:

“Rain Wizard is a powerful magician. The magic system of the Peda Empire is a bit strange. He must have sensed the danger, so he used some kind of unique magic to escape here. By the way, Sen Shi’s handwriting is really ugly. Hehe, I’ve finally found your weakness.”

Sen Shi looked helpless; she really hadn't studied this. Although her head contained words and language, she was, after all, a transmigrator, and what she wrote was just a clumsy imitation, lacking the soul of words.

In short, the Rain Wizard must have fled here.

Sen noticed that there were not only reefs, but also a rather secluded natural cave that could accommodate boats. The Rain Wizard was dragging a small boat out of the cave—but that wasn't all; there were also many strange bones and other oddities from different years inside.

Perhaps it was not a coincidence that the salt spirit led us here.

Thinking this, Mori asked in a low voice, "Fukufuku, did you know this thing was here, which is why you brought us here?"

Fufu knew it had to be quiet, so it flew to Senshi's little pointed ear and hung there, speaking in a voice barely above a whisper:

"Yes, I'm very familiar with this coastline. I often see humans doing things here: killing, dismembering, eating and drinking, singing, doing strange things like 'bang bang bang' and 'harder,' or trading something. I think this is what humans call a port. Since we're setting sail, of course we'll come to the port."

Mori silently filtered out those strange-sounding things and quietly used this place as a stronghold for the villains.

So, did the Rain Wizard prepare an escape plan here? That makes sense; an evil character like him who deals with demons would always have multiple options.

Now that they've run into each other, they face a choice: ignore it or fight?

Dandelion tugged at Sen Shi's sleeve, both excited and worried. Her lips were moving slightly, as if she had a lot to say right now—but Dandelion restrained herself, picked up her pen, and wrote her thoughts down on the paper with all her might.

"Kill him."

"He bears a large part of the blame for the War of the Flowers."

“I don’t care what trouble killing him will bring. This is the first time in my life I’ve had the chance to vent my anger… Our compatriots in the earth have not yet found peace…”

She wanted to write more, but the lines of writing had already cut through the parchment, and even the quill pen was bent in Dandelion's hands.

And so—Mori took her trembling hand and accepted the order.

"You don't need to explain 'why do it' to me, just tell me 'do it'."

Just do it.

Sen immediately took out two things from his bag: first, his debt-collecting bow; second, the stinking staff. Fortunately, they were by the sea, and the stench of the rotting seawater masked it.

To achieve optimal combat effectiveness, Mori naturally prepared the staff for Dandelion.

She searched for a while for the salt sprite that should have been beside her, only to find it had wandered into the sea. Mori reached out and scooped it up, then casually tucked it into the socket of her staff.

The salt sprite probably drank too much seawater; when it was stuffed in, it made a small "whoosh" sound and spat out a little seawater, apparently squeezing it out.

Dandelion took the staff, gritting her teeth and ignoring the smell. She had rested all night, and then, under Sen Shi's pressure, drank several bottles of blue potion in the morning, leaving her with exceptionally high mental energy.

She looked at Mori expectantly, her eyes asking herself what to do.

But at this moment, Mori's eyelids were closed, her calm demeanor concealing a burning rage, her mental energy concentrated on the fingers of her right hand. Azure-blue mental energy solidified into a form, and she obtained an arrow. An ice-attribute magical arrow; it was precisely because she could create something like this that Mori hadn't bothered with a physical arrow.

Sen Shi took a few deep breaths, treating the rain wizard, who was busy getting the small boat into the water, as a human-shaped BOSS.

There's no room for hesitation or pretense; this is a world where the strong prey on the weak.

She cast a healing spell on herself to calm her mind, otherwise she might have revealed her murderous intent—her mind remained calm under the influence of the healing spell—but the arrow was already nocked on the bow, aimed at the Rain Wizard from afar.

Unaware of the situation, the Rain Wizard continued to hurl the most offensive insults at the lord of Frozen Bear Town, and frequently looked anxiously toward the western sea, as if waiting for something—however, Sen Shi didn't think he could wait for anything but death.

As she aimed at the Rain Wizard and drew her bowstring taut, the bow in her hand responded instantly.

"The other party actually possesses substantial assets? The coffin bearer is furious! The attack power of the debt collection bow has been greatly enhanced."

Its attack power jumped from an initial 1 to 1121.

Mori was stunned. Over a thousand? That's a number only a fully upgraded weapon can have, second only to those legendary weapons that have reached the endgame... Unbelievable, unbelievable.

She cast a second healing spell on herself to stay calm, thinking to herself that this bow was truly a wonderful thing. Putting aside dealing with monsters, taking down someone like the Rain Wizard, who had amassed an immeasurable fortune, would be an absolute breeze.

However, Sen Shi made several extra preparations, briefly instructing Dandelion that if he failed, she should use her strongest high-level water magic to blast it. Being near the sea, high-level water magic could be greatly enhanced.

"Well, but I haven't learned it." The princess blinked, looking completely innocent.

Left with no other choice, Mori took the salt spirit off again and told her to use the strongest natural magic.

"There's not much soil here, so we can't use our strongest abilities."

"...Never mind, I'll do it myself."

Sen snapped the second innocent quill pen in half, used the third healing spell on himself, and then focused intently on the Rain Wizard.

Thankfully, this guy cooperated and sat on the boat without moving, preventing him from running away...

……

(I didn't expect so many people to want to read the side stories of the old book...)

After reading everyone's speculations, thank you all for being willing to use your brains to think about the plot. It's really amazing. Some of your speculations are already quite accurate. I have to admit that the author's imagination is actually not as big as yours—although we still haven't really guessed it.

Great news! Looks like I can avoid extra chapters and crossdressing... But does that mean I'll have to write side stories for my old book? Okay, that'll happen.

Volume 1 #041: It's Your Fault Again

Given Mori's level, even with this bow, he wouldn't normally have a chance to kill someone like the Rain Wizard—but Mori did.

Her current profession is a hunter, a profession that mainly relies on bows and arrows for combat, and the biggest factor affecting damage is agility.

Before her death, Sen Shi not only had an incredibly powerful main account, but she was also a pure pay-to-win player, which is why she was able to give her low-level alt accounts many master-level life skills—in fact, these life skills were the main means of increasing agility.