Brain bloom

Grandma Wolf blinked and tried to offer more enticement: "If you're still cold, I can call five extra-fluffy wolves to surround you. You can rub and knead them as you like... They'll be very well-behaved, I promise."

"...The relationship between the four seasons and nature is good, but...but not in this way."

"Alas."

Despite some shortcomings, the small deal was finally settled. For Sen Shi and Dandelion, having a comfortable place to stay for the night was good enough, and listening to interesting stories around the campfire was the icing on the cake.

As for the dandelion—she was already certain that the identity of the Four Seasons Master could keep this elderly girl in check, so she wasn't so worried and happily went along.

The journey went relatively smoothly, and under the guidance of the wolf pack, no monsters or troubles came to bother them.

Behind the girl, Mori glanced at her name box. Ever since hearing so much from the Ancient Demon King, she had gradually developed a resistance to this seemingly obvious thing. She felt that things weren't so simple.

[Level 81 - Bira, the Alpha Wolf of the Cedar Forest]

Surprisingly, she was quite strong. Her gaze fell downwards, and she saw a large tail hidden inside her red robe. It was black and white, possessing a noble coat color that didn't match that of a wolf, and its smoothness was exceptionally good.

"So you really are a wolf, not a human girl..."

"...Honorable One of the Four Seasons, if you wish me to return to my original form, stroking my tail and body is not impossible." The alpha wolf named Bira asked in a fairly respectful tone, but it was clearly a joke to ease the tension.

Mori Toki smiled and was about to politely refuse, but Dandelion readily agreed.

"Alright, as the princess of the Four Seasons, I allow you to become a wolf for me to knead. In return, I will teach you what to plant and how to plant it in this environment to ensure high yields year after year."

She spoke, but received no reply. A heavy silence hung in the air, until a pack of wolves led them to their den, at which point Bira whispered her answer—

"...Okay, pinch me however you want, as long as I can get enough to eat."

"And you still say I'm cheap..." Mori muttered under his breath.

"Ok?"

Sen Shi then said seriously, "What I mean is, if you believe in the coffin carriers, the country's welfare system will at least ensure you have enough to eat and wear. Those gold coins are real, and the country is incredibly powerful. As long as you're willing to put in some effort, or take on a role like a border guard, you'll definitely have meat at every meal."

"Wolves are solitary."

Pira had only this answer to this.

Upon hearing this, Mori looked around and saw about thirty wolves following innocently. Mori could only conclude that the alpha wolf didn't really like them...

The so-called wolf den is a natural cave, quite conspicuous on the hill. There are large icicles around it that have been frozen for who knows how long, and piles of white bones outside, making it look quite intimidating.

Mori noticed that the surrounding land had been cultivated, indicating that she had been starving.

Surprisingly, the wolf den didn't smell of wild beasts; instead, it was filled with a faint fruity aroma. Stepping inside, one would find a mat made from the hide of a powerful wild animal, along with some furniture typically used by humans, giving it a somewhat civilized feel.

Pira ordered his men to hunt, and they prepared both hares and birds from the forest to satisfy their guests.

"So……"

"Yes, what do you want to hear? History from that time? It's rare to see people interested in that."

"Perhaps you've just met too few people? Anyway... what was the world like back then? Or rather, what was the process of establishing the Holy Coffin Kingdom? And what about the first Pope..."

"So many problems."

"Um……"

Looking out from the wolf's den, the sun was setting, the last warmth had departed, and winter nights were about to descend. The long night would be spent by the campfire, but it would also be long, and Pira could say whatever she wanted.

While pouring energizing potions onto the ground, preparing to use magic to ignite an inextinguishable campfire, Mori spoke.

"Let's start with the first pope. Have you ever met her?"

“I saw him once from afar… Back then, the Holy Coffin Kingdom had just been established, and food was being distributed to everyone. He personally led ten cartloads of food to distribute to the poor. I was planning to do something bad, but he glared at me from a distance… Haha.”

What kind of person is she?

Pira thought for a moment, and Feiwu's expression became more sentimental: "It's as if he's a man who has endured hundreds of years of hardship."

Volume 1 #371 · This Shouldn't Be Like This

At that moment, everything Pira saw defied her common sense. It was simply unbelievable that people were distributing money and saving the starving…

Near this forest, poverty and hunger have always plagued the people of this land. Even outside of the dead of winter, there is rarely a suitable climate for human survival, let alone the various monsters that are born in such harsh conditions.

Bira was also a strong survivor of harsh conditions, but she loathed the frozen earth because it buried many dead. The bodies of the dead appeared intact, the flesh still vibrant, but if you tried to bite into it, the rock-hard texture would break your teeth.

If a wild beast loses its only weapon, its fate is nothing more than to sink into the frozen earth and remain silent with the cold winter.

At least—that's what Pira has known for the past forty years.

"But that man... he was actually distributing food."

"man?"

When the word appeared for the second time, Mori realized that its meaning seemed to overturn her understanding. She had personally witnessed and always believed that the beautiful figure she saw in the City of Clocks was her most devout and original believer. The surviving relics of the saint also seemed to say the same thing.

In any case, this trip was worthwhile.

Bira squinted, her face filled with longing.

"He brought a cartload of green beans. I don't know where they grow... but they would be delicious if cooked into porridge. Shovel some snow on top of the beans, light some firewood, cover the pot and simmer for half an afternoon, then add a handful of salt... a simple and delicious treat."

Dandelion and Sen Shi looked at each other, feeling that this wolf girl was not quite normal... Before, she had asked the Four Seasons Hermit to teach her how to farm.

"Are you a vegetarian?" Dandelion asked with a smile.

“Yes, a vegetarian diet is good for your health, especially… when you’re in the frozen wasteland, eating nothing but damned meat, with not a single leaf or blade of grass to eat… and then you get to eat a bowl of mung bean porridge.” Pira was proud of this.

Dandelion chuckled for a moment, then decided not to correct him; after all, it was their freedom. Sen Shi touched his nose, thinking that no wonder there was a faint fruity fragrance permeating the air.

"Tell us more about the first pope."

"That man was very strong, but he looked like he hadn't slept for three days, though his posture was very resolute." After rummaging through her memories, Pira continued, "He was very charismatic. Whether it was paying people to deliver coffins or punishing those who received an extra bowl of food, he could make people waver."

This image is definitely not right... It goes against the image of the girl Mori Toki knew.

"anything else?"

"Oh dear, I just remembered something." Bira slapped his thigh happily, and his wolf tail, which could no longer be hidden, swayed happily out of his red robe.

This reaction suggested that what she remembered was important. Mori's eyes immediately turned serious, but the secret he expected didn't arrive right away. Pira was holding out her hand, her eyes shining like a puppy learning to shake hands with its owner, begging for something.

"If you want to hear it, give me some food," she asked expectantly.

"...Didn't we agree that we'd teach you how to farm, and you'd tell us things?"

“My wolf cub caught a hibernating fat chicken. I won’t eat the meat, you can. And I smell the wheat on you, so this is a new deal.”

Sen unconsciously wiped his mouth. He had indeed enjoyed bread from the Demon Realm some time ago; the wolf's nose was truly sharp.

Helpless, she could only pull out a loaf of bread that she always carried with her as provisions: "The Demon Realm is currently without a master. You are so smart and good at trading, why don't you become the Demon King?"

"Hahaha, I'm just a small alpha wolf from a remote, impoverished area with thirty wolves under my command... Maybe I can give it a try when I'm a bit stronger." Bira wasn't joking; on the contrary, it revealed his lofty ambitions.

Mori had no interest in the ideals in her wolfish mind; he simply urged her to speak up sooner rather than later.

"Alright, that's how it is. The first Pope was no ordinary person!"

"...If it were simple, how could such a large country have been built?"

"Don't rush! He definitely has a lot of secrets. Here's the thing, I overheard an old man in the forest say that a long, long time ago, he had the chance to see the first Pope. At that time, he was poor and destitute, seemingly watching over something, and traveling around, searching for something..."

For Mori, this was rather interesting information. Before finding her money, the first Pope... if he really was the first Pope, he must have had his own life and goals to strive for.

“The key point is—” Pira’s pupils narrowed, revealing a sharp glint in them, “He always had a companion with him, who looked sickly.”

"Be specific?"

"I'm sorry, that's all I know."

Perhaps feeling that Bira's words were too lighthearted, Mori's gaze sharpened like a knife, carrying a hint of the intimidation instinctively born of a Four Seasons, wanting Bira to tell him everything. But aside from making the fur on Bira's tail stand on end in fright, she truly knew nothing more.

This made Sen Shi feel uneasy, like a tender sprout just breaking through the soil, eager to grow strong in the sunlight, only to be unfortunately trampled flat by a passing grizzly bear. But she still had a long way to go before reaching the capital, and there would always be a chance to understand, which somewhat comforted her.

"Wow, what a fat chicken."

Looking in the direction of the sound, Dandelion was astonished to see an innocent, fat chicken brought by a vicious wolf. This creature was no ordinary poultry; rather, it was a level 42 monster, looking about the size of a three-year-old child.

It was probably hibernating in its den when it was unfortunately snatched away by a wolf, but it didn't even realize it was there, still happily dozing off. Before Senshi could even feel grateful that it was still alive, Dandelion, who had taken the fat chicken, had already struck, granting it a peaceful and painless end.

"Just wait patiently, Mori. I'll take care of the cooking."

"Um……"

"By the way, lend me Fufu."

Grilling chicken around a campfire in the wilderness, of course, wouldn't be complete without the world's finest seasonings. Fufu, perhaps also hibernating, was quietly taken out by Sen Shi and handed to Dandelion.

"After becoming a sea god, it's a little hard to bear using it as salt..." she said sincerely.

"God's salt, that's a kind of enjoyment, what's there to be reluctant about?"

The dandelion dropped a seed to the ground, which sprouted into a large banana leaf. Using the unexpectedly tough banana leaf as a cutting board, it plucked the feathers, bled, and did it all in one swift motion. The dandelion, with its skillful hands, processed the food, then, after cutting open its belly, threw all the unusable entrails to the vicious wolf that had brought the fat chicken.

Suddenly, the dandelion seemed to remember something and looked worried.

"Mori Toki..."

"What? You want to talk to me about how to divide the chicken legs? How about one for each of us?"

"No, I just wanted to ask... do you still want the chicken butt?"

Mori wasn't the only one to react upon hearing the strange term "chicken butt."

Even Bira tilted her head, peeking at Mori with a puzzled look, muttering something like, "Could there be a hyena hiding under the skin of a Four Seasons Cultivator? It even likes to gnaw on its prey's rear end..."

Sen could only blush and wave her hand, actually, she didn't really like eating this either.

As the dazzling array of spices was prepared, they were stuffed into the plump chicken's belly. The true soul of barbecue, Fufu, awoke from its slumber at this moment, giving the chicken a thorough marinating. Watching more and more salt drip from Fufu, Morishi felt a pang of pity.

“Princess, put in less… Fu Fu is so pitiful. There’s no seawater around here to replenish its salt.” She hurriedly said.

"Of course I know how important Fufu is, but look—isn't its luster quite bright?"

Indeed—when the sapphire salt content is scarce, the deep blue luster within the sphere dims, and sometimes even shrinks. Conversely, when it is bright, it is as full and rich as an unparalleled sapphire, truly magnificent.

“So, I think Fufu might have gotten stronger,” Dandelion added.

"what?"

“Look—” Dandelion wiped her blood-covered hands with a leaf, picked up a few grains of salt and handed them to Mori. “The clarity of these crystals is truly a work of art. I’ve never seen such beautiful salt before, and we could never produce this much before.”

With some skepticism, Mori took a few salt crystals from Fukufu and played with them in his hand.