Brain bloom

"What do you say?"

“I said, this is the trial for the heir to the Kingdom of Flowers.”

Mori nodded, surprised that he hadn't misheard; that's exactly what Dandelion had said.

Mori stood frozen in front of her lodging, located right in the center. She stared blankly at the pristine two-story house, hastily erected during the conference by a group of magicians and craftsmen, then crammed with as much furniture as possible. She'd even forgotten that she was feeling sleepy and planning to take a beauty nap.

The term "Trial of Successor" was not entirely unfamiliar to Sen Shi.

She had already heard quite a bit about it before. For example, in the Holy Coffin Kingdom beneath her feet, the succession of a secular king required a proper rebellion, and the traveling merchant she had encountered earlier was a prince from another country, who was undergoing a trial to become the heir.

Mori fell into deep thought. Perhaps, in the human world, the change of royal power in these countries was always accompanied by strange and unusual trials...

Does the land of flowers also follow the same tradition?

"I thought Mori had already guessed it... I didn't expect he really didn't know?"

Should I have guessed?

Dandelion chuckled, stepped forward, and opened the door. The all-natural materials and the air filled with the scent of nature soothed them. Dandelion then continued their previous conversation with a teasingly polite tone—

"Hmph, Strawberry, you are, after all, a powerful Four Seasons Master, and a great hero of the Poppy Queen's heyday. Otherwise, you wouldn't have answered our call. So, I think it's strange that you don't know."

"I truly find it hard to believe that the destruction of the Kingdom of Flowers was due to this reason."

Speaking of the summoning, Mori was filled with guilt at that time, believing from the bottom of her heart that everything was her fault. This was somewhat related to Dandelion's sorrowful expression at the time, and also to the vanished rose...

Sighing, Mori asked, "If that's the only reason, why did you keep it from me? You could have just told me from the beginning..."

"Well... cough, it's complicated." She curled up a dandelion leaf with her fingers, playing with it lightly to hide her embarrassment.

"Because they didn't trust me at the time?"

"No... it's just because I don't want to lose face in front of my ancestors."

Dandelion entered the room, turned on her fluorescent light, coughed, and began to whisper in the room.

"Tu Mi was there to assist and protect me, so she didn't go to the nightmares with everyone else. After all, I was still very young then. We settled in Silvermoon City and developed slowly... um, that..."

"It's not shameful to fail; restoring a country is no easy task."

"It didn't work out... We lacked everything, and we couldn't rely too much on the power of the Tumi. First of all, we needed to make money. With the talent of the Four Seasons, I wanted to grow something to sell... Haha, but I accidentally got into brewing wine and tending the fields, and... neglected the restoration of the kingdom."

"Is this some kind of joke by Shiki-zuri?" Mori thought. Was she serious? Or was there something else going on? Or perhaps...

“Princess, you don’t actually want to complete the trial.” This was the intuition of Mori Toki.

“…Hmm.” Her cheerful expression, which had been laughing, gradually faded as Mori spoke. “At the time, I really didn’t want to complete this trial, nor did I want to inherit this country, because I hated myself.”

"why?"

Her fingers loosened the leaves and slowly climbed up the fuzzy dandelion, gently stroking it: "Since more than a hundred years ago, the seal of each subsequent queen has been weaker than that of the previous one... I fear this, and I hate myself for always harboring malice."

"...The seal is weakening?"

"Yes, that's the reason. But Tu Mi didn't agree. The country needed to be revived, so before she perished, she gave me a choice... that was the fate magic of the Kingdom of Flowers."

Sen Shi sat on the wooden chair, placed Fu Fu on the table to light up the surroundings, and listened quietly to the dandelion's explanation.

She said, "It's a 50/50 chance. If I summon the culprit who destroyed the country, I can vent my malice by killing him and then focus on restoring the country. If I summon the hero who can restore the country, then I can slowly entrust all this responsibility to that hero."

Sen Shi was puzzled, wondering how he could have almost been eliminated at the very beginning.

However, she did understand one thing: judging from Dandelion's nonchalant tone, even the soul of Tu Mi could be revived along with countless "deceased" compatriots through some means after the restoration of the country.

No wonder, in the end, the dandelion said to the rose, "Death is never the end."

"Hey, I didn't expect the result of the magic of fate to be so intriguing." Dandelion, now smiling again, immediately teased, "You're both a hateful coffin bearer and my cutest little strawberry, what a contradiction."

"Indeed," Mori did not deny.

"In any case, I kept it from you back then because I was afraid of losing face. I didn't have the courage to face my own soul, and I knew I would be laughed at by the heroes. But things are different now. I can speak frankly and take on the responsibility."

Sen looked at her; the dandelion at this moment was somewhat different from before.

Not some flower growing wildly in a greenhouse, but a dandelion with strong vitality growing along wild paths and trails, by the roadside where people come and go: "You have already refused to accept the throne of the Kingdom of Flowers, telling me that responsibility must be borne by oneself, and I will show you."

"Huh?" What did she say about refusing?

The dandelion mustered all the courage in its soul, clenched its fist, and said:

"After the restoration of the kingdom, I will formally crown you with the flower crown symbolizing 'Queen' and carefully conceive your child. At that time, please rest assured and nurture our little baby at home. Of course, we will also use the power of the true God to protect our country."

"Damn it! So that's what it is."

"Haha, I understand your excitement, but don't get too excited, because we haven't restored our country yet."

After covering her mouth and chuckling for a while, Dandelion said in a joking tone.

"Anyway, thank you, Mori. For guiding me here, bringing me to the point where I'm just one step away from restoring my kingdom... It feels a bit strange, but it's all done... Sigh, I thought I'd be leading an army into battle, or breaking the seal and unleashing calamity on the holy land, but thinking about it, it seems like I just ate, drank, and traveled along the way..."

"...After all, you summoned the Coffin Bringer."

"Ah, that's true. Yeah, I should go take a shower and go to bed. We'll talk again tomorrow."

A sly glint flashed in Mori's eyes: "By the way, I need to meet with the so-called servants of the gods tomorrow, ask about the first pope, and also find the tomb keeper... Or, why don't you go and talk to those people from the Holy Coffin Kingdom about the specifics of restoring the kingdom?"

"good idea."

……

The next day.

Mori woke up early in the morning in her exceptionally large and comfortable bed. The ceiling was unfamiliar, but then she thought, this godforsaken place is her own country; there's no place more reassuring than this. As long as she didn't think about what Dandelion had said yesterday, everything would be alright.

She looked up and placed the pocket watch on the bedside table, which she had just repaired, and Shan Xiaoxiao's figure popped out from it.

"Good morning, Morishi-neechan, it's 7:41 a.m.... You've slept for a little over eight hours."

"Shan, good morning. By the way, how is Yuan doing?"

"Everything is fine. I hope my sister is resting well too. There shouldn't be any accidents."

"Hmm, maybe we can help her today."

After giving a sweet smile, Mori wiped away her drool, thinking how useful this alarm clock was. Just then—a voice that hadn't been heard for the past few days started chattering on the bedside table.

"Mori-shiki-nee!! I...I seem to be a true god! Just like Mori-shiki-nee, right!"

"Yeah, you just realized that?" Mori couldn't help but smile.

Fufu, which had been dormant for a long time, seemed to have returned to normal today. Sen Shi could vaguely understand that Fufu's divine status had become stable, and the faith power it had recently gained was enough to support its normal activities.

While explaining what had happened recently to Fufu, Mori took off his pajamas and slowly changed his clothes.

She habitually glanced at her own figure, indulging in self-admiration for half a minute, before slowly getting dressed and casually washing the flowers and plants on her head with water magic. The cluster of flower buds hidden among the leaves grew fuller and fuller, and Mori cherished them dearly.

Fu Fu still couldn't quite accept reality, and seemed to be venting her excess energy by flying back and forth between the inside and outside of the window.

A few seconds later—"Mori-neechan, there are a lot of people outside."

"Oh?"

Mori glanced out and saw that about ten meters away, circles of people were gathered outside, praying devoutly and reciting scriptures, as if they were on a daily pilgrimage. This was not surprising; that's what religion is all about.

Those who can enter this area are the highest-ranking members of the religion, the most devout followers. She looked out the window with satisfaction, nodding occasionally, enjoying the feeling of being worshipped.

"Sister Morishita." For some reason, Shan spoke in a trembling tone, "Um, actually you talked a lot in your sleep."

"what?"

"He was probably having a nightmare. Every now and then, he would mutter some gibberish that was hard to understand, and he was quite loud... Someone overheard him and thought it was a divine revelation, so he immediately announced it... That's why a crowd gathered around him."

"So, they came to listen to me talk in my sleep."

"Um……"

That's just how religion is... Mori could only console himself with that thought, then don the title and unleash wave after wave of divine power to forcibly drive them away with his will.

……

A dozen minutes later, after having a delicious breakfast, Mori took the two elves, dressed himself up in a very majestic manner, and stepped out the door.

At the very center of the Holy Coffin Kingdom stands this glazed tower, which is also Mori's destination. Mori has already learned from the believers that there is a huge treasure trove inside the tower, which still preserves the original shape of the wealth Mori scattered and arranged in the form of SB.

To be honest, she really wanted to open it and take a look.

In the end, he could only sigh a few times, feeling both amused and exasperated, as he stood across the door of the treasure vault.

She needed to go to the highest level and see the attendant who had never shown himself since the coffin bearers appeared. This was a position that remained detached from worldly affairs, and Mori knew that her religion had three leaders: the Pope, the Guardian of Chaos Blade, and the attendant.

However, while the other two had been seen multiple times, this one's presence was extremely faint.

Climbing the tower wasn't difficult; there were no towering, spiraling staircases to torment anyone. Instead, there were structures crafted with art and magic, functioning similarly to an elevator. Inside the tower, besides the treasury used to store valuables, there were several other floors, which, according to what Mori had inquired about, were used to store important books.

As she looked down at the ground receding into the rusty elevator, she couldn't help but ponder how lonely it must be for a servant to pray to the coffin bearers in such a desolate place, yet never receive a response.

Mori wanted to respond to the person praying.

This is probably one of the reasons that drove her feet.

The elevator stopped, and the silver doors opened. She had reached the top floor of the tower, an entire floor that had been opened up, offering a vast and open view under the azure sky, which made Mori feel quite comfortable.

In the center, she saw a shrine and a prayer altar, which were not finely made, but rather somewhat rough.

And the attendants to the gods? Are they somewhere sleeping in, pretending to pray day and night while actually just eating and sleeping? Mori couldn't help but think that way; if she were to spend her whole life praying here, she would definitely do the same. And with piles of libraries downstairs, it wasn't too boring.

Anyway, God doesn't answer prayers...

Mori walked a few steps nearby and called out a few times, "I received your prayers," but no one responded. There were no attendants here... Disappointed, Mori noticed something.

Crafted entirely from some kind of flawless, gigantic gemstone, it seemed to contain some kind of transparent crystal; the two colors intertwined, creating a dreamlike effect. As Mori drew closer, a chill ran through him, for this was a coffin containing the dead…

A servant of the gods?

still is……

She mustered her courage and went over—calling out Fufu and Shan to encourage her. Thankfully, she didn't see any bones.

Inside the coffin, a rose lay quietly.

Each petal is as red as the setting sun, layered upon layer to create this rose. It retains the appearance of being in full bloom, extremely beautiful, as if you could smell the fragrance of the rose if you got too close.

"...How could that be?"

Where is the attendant? Why is there a rose here? If it were in the sacred land of the Land of Flowers, a rose resting peacefully would not be surprising to Mori, for it would be a mark left by the Rose Queen. But here, in the Kingdom of the Holy Coffin, there is also a rose?

She hurriedly pulled a communication device from her bag and contacted B.