Brain bloom

There was definitely a different feeling than before; they even carried an aura of holiness. Fortunately, the ancient Demon King had kindly explained some basic knowledge about true gods, which allowed Sen to make a reasonable deduction.

Perhaps, the faith that should have flowed into Fufu's body began to converge normally.

Fufu is a flawed and still humble sea god, and the power of faith will first repair and enrich its body. But right now, Fufu is not a spirit constructed by faith, nor a noble entity; its body is merely a salt spirit… In other words, faith can probably only continuously transform into salt…

If it were when Mori Toki was first summoned, this would have been a business so profitable it could have supported the restoration of the kingdom. But now, Mori Toki has no interest in making money off Fukufu.

As for restoring her body—Sen tried to conceive a plan: once Fukufu absorbed enough faith power and restored the full form of the sea god, she might still maintain this salt spirit body that she had obtained by chance. But at that time, it would no longer be a small ball of light, but a goddess made of salt.

It sounds as salty as ever.

But it's at least better than Senshi.

"...Sigh, where did my faith go...?"

Right now, the only good thing is that salt production has increased dramatically, from a few grains a day to a continuous supply. While Sen was pondering this, Dandelion and Fufu had already thoroughly marinated the whole fat chicken, skewered it, and roasted it by the fire.

As the fat sensed the heat of the flames, it began to dance beneath the chicken skin, the sizzling sound a testament to its movement. Simultaneously, the fat seeped into the tender chicken meat, allowing the meat's aroma to slowly develop.

"Hmph, how annoying." Not everyone likes the strong aroma of barbecue. Bira covered her nose and said, "The smell of barbecue is polluting my wolf den."

"They'll just dissipate with a breath of magic," Mori said.

"If you can't blow them away, I'll hold a grudge against you for life."

Sen Shi smiled and didn't take it seriously: "Before we eat, I'd like to hear something else."

"Um... what do you want to ask?"

"By the way, tell me how the Holy Coffin Kingdom was established and grew to its current size. It must have been full of hardships and suffering, and many stories."

But Pira responded to this question with obvious disgust, even with anger in her voice.

“Foolish carnivore, I am merely a border resident. This place is now the very edge of the Holy Coffin Kingdom, and a few years ago it wasn't even under their control. You may have misunderstood; I am not a proper resident of the Holy Coffin Kingdom…”

"……Too."

"Hmph, it's good that you know you're wrong. Let me tell you, the development of the Holy Coffin Kingdom is very strange." Pira's tone softened a lot. "Generally, countries develop their territory by relying on military power. They expand for the sake of expansion, plundering land and wealth. There aren't many other reasons."

Is that so? Mori asked herself. She wasn't a native of this world. Even though she had learned a lot from the so-called games, she still didn't understand the wars in this world, or the affairs of humanity.

However, on the other hand, Dandelion nodded without refuting, which probably proved this point.

Pira continued—

"But the Holy Coffin Kingdom is different. It also expands, and at a terrifying speed... but it doesn't expand for the sake of expansion, nor does it seem like the hypocritical nonsense of gaining more territory to feed more people."

"……you mean?"

"This country is simply spreading its so-called religion, making everyone in every place believe in the coffin bearers. The same religion creates a sense of symbiosis among the believers, thus connecting their territories… This was the initial stage—"

Initially, the Holy Coffin Kingdom consolidated its power, established its foundation, and founded holy sites before beginning its formal expansion. This process is the strange part; the first Pope seemed perpetually unsatisfied with the number of believers, constantly seeking to acquire more and thus opening up new territories.

This wasn't particularly new or interesting to Mori, or even something that could be called strange. In her world, religion was always a huge and unavoidable theme, exerting a profound influence at all times and in all places.

I just flipped through the fat chicken's dandelions and then chimed in with great interest.

"Foolish wolf, the foundation of a nation is its population, and religion is a powerful tool for attracting people. It's not surprising that a large population strengthens itself, develops the nation, and continuously enriches the power of the first pope. Perhaps you don't understand humanity's desire for power."

"No—it's because you didn't experience that era, nor did you witness the rise and fall of many small countries, so I find it difficult to explain to you. This strangeness is quite peculiar..."

Pira deliberated for a long time before arranging words into sentences to express her current meaning.

"In short, the first pope valued faith more than anything else. He seemed to have no ambition whatsoever, and the state was just something dispensable. The only thing he did was... to spread the name of the coffin bearers, and the number of believers seemed never to be enough."

Sen Shi remained silent, her gaze fixed intently on the roast chicken, but her mind was elsewhere. Lost in a world of tangled thoughts, she pondered why she hadn't felt the immense power of faith throughout.

Or rather, her divine status was always like a useless commodity, having little effect on combat.

why

Volume 1, #372: The Food Storage Box

Lost in thought about these troubling matters, Sen Shi didn't notice that Fu Fu and Dandelion had reached an agreement. The little guy, covered in the smell of fish and chicken fat, sighed and ran out of the gradually warming wolf den. It planned to rub itself in the snow to clean itself up.

"Senji..."

She remained silent, her thoughts still wandering.

The dandelion called out again, "Senshi? What are you thinking about?"

"Oh... I was thinking about the issue of divinity." After being gently shaken, Mori looked up and replied, "It feels a bit strange... even our Fukufu can use a little bit of faith to produce salt, so why am I useless?"

Dandelion paused for a moment, then carefully considered the line of thought Sen Shi had given her, and gradually felt a sense of unease. The so-called true gods, throughout the vast expanse of history, have all left their divine names deeply etched in some place in the world, and are always accompanied by willful and almost omnipotent power.

As for Mori...

Dandelion suddenly paused again—

"Shouldn't you know the answer to this question? The divine status is yours."

"...Well, I'm just not quite sure, that's why I'm thinking about it."

"Wait a minute, something's not right." Dandelion's narrowed eyes were full of doubt. "Aren't you supposed to be very strong? Super strong, so why do you say your divine power is useless? What ocean, what flying city, you blasted them all to dust with a single shot. Still not satisfied? Are you showing off how powerful you are?"

"Well, the truth is quite complicated..." Perhaps her thoughts were too busy, and Morishi accidentally revealed her vulnerable side. Fortunately, Dandelion didn't ask any questions and just thought Morishi was being smug.

At this moment, Bira, who was covering herself with her red robe, twitched her ears slightly: "So, you mean that the little ball that just flew away, and you, are both true gods?"

Of course she didn't believe it; a true god isn't something you can find everywhere like cabbage.

Dandelion waved her hand: "We're just putting on a play, don't worry about it. We're going to the capital of the Holy Coffin Kingdom to perform for those important people."

This reminded Sen Shi once again that there were still people in the capital who could answer her questions... It all depended on whether those holy remains could be successfully collected. She stretched, cleared her mind, and decided not to think about it too much for the time being.

After leaving behind the words "I'm going to change my clothes," Mori went deep into the wolf's den.

Bira and her tribe piled up many things deep in their lair, such as weapons, equipment, and personal belongings obtained from humans. These things were of poor quality, mostly used by low-level bandits, though there were some good items, but none of them caught Senshi's eye.

It seems that this pack of wolves has been hunting humans for a long time.

In the blood-soaked changing room, Mori skillfully put on and took off her clothes. She could wear the straw hat later, but the dress was definitely out of the question… Just as she changed into the thick, warm clothes, she suddenly caught a whiff of a refreshing and pleasant scent.

She immediately followed the aroma, which didn't belong to roast chicken. There, to her surprise, she discovered a treasure chest quietly displayed deep within the wolf's den, filled with various kinds of fruit. Indeed, she had been able to smell this aroma since entering the area.

But they were fresh and plump, which didn't seem like they came from winter, which was a bit strange.

"What are these fruits?" Mori asked softly.

Her voice echoed and resonated within the narrow wolf den, easily reaching the campfire and into Bira's ears.

"—These are my food reserves, please, spare them."

"Oh……"

"Mori, what did you find?"

"Lots of fruit."

“Bring them over together, the roast chicken is just cooked, it’ll cut the grease.” She said with a smile, which drew Pira’s dissatisfaction and strong protest, but to her it was just a passing breeze.

Mori still had some compassion and didn't empty the entire treasure chest, only picking up a few rare pears to bring. This small loss should be acceptable to Bira; besides, their stomachs are small, and they couldn't finish it all anyway. Mori hadn't tasted this crisp, refreshing fruit in a long time.

"I never expected that fruit could grow in this godforsaken place in the dead of winter."

“...Obviously not. I worked so hard to prepare all of that before winter,” Pira complained. “If it weren’t for today’s good harvest and all the gold coins I got, I would have been relying on these fruits to get through the winter.”

Upon hearing this, Mori's hand, which was peeling the fruit, paused. So... does this mean that these fruits have been preserved until now? In such a perfect state... Perhaps it was due to his aversion to preservatives from his previous life that Mori's appetite for fruit had diminished considerably.

"What kind of magic do you use to preserve things so effectively?" Dandelion was also very curious.

"That treasure chest? That's all I have. That treasure chest is amazing. It seems to ignore the flow of time outside. Things put in it are like they're frozen... I use it to keep my fruit fresh."

A treasure chest? And a treasure...

The previous events made some connections in Mori's mind: "Right, when we first met, when you lured the bandits and then killed them, those guys also said it was for the treasure..."

“Yes, that’s the same thing.” Pira was quite frank. “Think about it, this godforsaken place is all frozen ground, and all I can do is use my brains to make sure everyone has enough to eat. So, I spread the word that there’s treasure here to lure greedy humans.”

What happened next was probably just as Mori and the others witnessed today. A mysterious and alluring girl in red stirred up human greed, then led them to the brink of death. Clearly, this wolf was not stupid.

"So the treasure is fake?" Dandelion asked, slicing up a fat chicken with a disappointed look on her face.

"...But what about this treasure chest with the power of time?"

Bira remained impassive, slowly extending the girl's delicate white hand from beneath her red robe. Her allure seemed overwhelming, but her drooling smile ruined everything. Needless to say, she wanted even more reward.

After snorting, Dandelion twisted the chicken's head off with his bare hands and handed it to her.

Is that enough?

“…Ugh, I hate greasy things.” Since she had encountered a hard rock that she couldn’t crack, Bira could only obediently submit. “As for the treasure, I don’t know if it’s true or not… It’s just a rumor that has been circulating in the tundra for a long time. But there is indeed a very mysterious place, and that’s where I got my treasure chest.”

As he handed a fragrant chicken leg to Sen, Dandelion secretly gave him a look. It was a greed no different from that of a robber, yet also possessed the unique thirst for knowledge of an adventurer.

"Don't go."

"What's the reason?"

“We’ll soon be rich enough, and we won’t be short of treasures either. Whatever you want, I can make it myself.” Sen Shi shook his head repeatedly. “Besides, don’t forget we have more important things to do, like reuniting with Yuan as soon as possible.”

Volume 1 #373 Wolf Inn (If the content is repeated, refresh this chapter)

Mori thought that such a reason would not be enough to convince Dandelion. But after listening, she simply nodded and agreed to Mori's idea.

Their subtle exchange did not escape Bira's keen wolf eyes. For centuries, she had slain countless weaklings harboring dreams of treasure, witnessed countless greedy eyes, yet now she was astonished that these Seasonal Beings could so easily relinquish wealth and avoid the risks…

Overcoming desires at any time signifies a strong soul. If that's the case, perhaps the Four Seasons, this race that lives so close to nature, aren't as terrible as their ancestors have rumored?

While she was pondering, Sen Shi, munching on a chicken leg, whispered to Dandelion—

“So, once Yuan wakes up, we’ll bring her along to explore. Princess, think about it, if even a herbivorous wolf can get such a magical treasure chest, that place is probably very dangerous if we explore it further. We also have Yuan’s life on our shoulders.”

“…Hmm, Sen Shi makes a good point.” Dandelion nodded, agreeing.

They don't need to take on any extra risks now. Although Bira used that treasure chest as a preservation box, it contained genuine time-related power, which is quite rare. Mori had dealt with it before and knew its depth; once you get involved, there are always many other things behind it.

such as--

The mysterious and elusive tomb keeper, and the clock city he left behind; the cosmic testing ground constructed by the primordial god; the divine power accumulated over millennia by the ancient demon king…

Neither of them is easy to mess with.

Although she had no choice, Mori was well aware of her own limitations. She wouldn't easily take the princess to dangerous places; she could only silently memorize this location and explore it again when the time was right. Actually, she was quite interested in the treasure chest…