Brain bloom

"The attendant to the gods is not here!"

"...Huh, isn't he here? That's strange."

There is only one rose.

"Yes, there is a rose. It is said that the first pope always carried it with him. However, a rose should have a soul and often wander in that place... I go there often and I can see her."

"……What?

Volume 1, Chapter 382: The Craftsman

Hearing Mori's reaction, B, on the other side of the picture frame, panicked, worried that she might have said something wrong. But after carefully observing Mori's expression, she found only surprise and doubt, not anger or blame.

So B continued trying to speak—

"You went to the top of the tower, but didn't you see the attendants?"

"No, don't even mention ghosts or souls, there's not even a single hair on it."

Aside from a coffin of unknown origin and a shrine that had been abandoned for who knows how long, the place was utterly desolate. Mori patted the picture frame, intending to use it to warn B on the other end, urging her to provide a proper explanation.

"Are you afraid to see me, Miss Attendant?"

"...No way, that's strange. When I went to chat with her before, she even asked me to send a jewelry craftsman over to help her choose some jewelry or something."

"Since it's a soul, how should it dress itself?"

"I don't know either..."

B's bewildered little face suddenly turned serious. It turned out that someone had found her outside the picture frame. Mori brought the picture frame to her ear and vaguely heard a respectful voice saying something like, "The top-secret mission has been accomplished. Everything you needed has been quietly delivered."

B nodded in satisfaction, offered a few serious compliments, and then turned back to Mori with a softer expression.

“My God, the task you asked us to do has been completed.”

"Oh? What do I need you to do..."

"Haha, I didn't expect that someone as noble as you, a true god, would still like to joke as always. It's about the things you specifically asked us to collect before. The relics left by the first pope to guard the country's major cathedrals."

Mori's eyes lit up. So, she had collected everything? She had been thinking of going back to Dandelion after meeting the attendant and asking if she wanted to change her socks. But since wearing knee-high socks in the dead of winter was a bit cold, she was still thinking of a reason.

Now it's all good, saving me a lot of trouble.

"So... you want it now? Um, I don't mean to offend you, but I'm just offering a small suggestion from a mortal's perspective. Since these sacred objects have been moved out, churches in various places have lost their objects of suppression. It would be best if you could use them up as soon as possible and return them properly."

After thinking about it for a while, Sen Shi thought the suggestion was alright.

She decided not to go down, thinking it would be convenient to do things at the top of this secluded tower: "Could you please bring the things to me? You can also come and take a look around. Could you please call Miss Attendant to see me?"

"learn!"

……

After a ten-minute wait, the efficient B arrived at the top of the tower.

The nature of this place was unusual, so she couldn't ask for help. She simply carried the entire cabinet on her back by herself, and to avoid collisions and accidents, she even took off her upper body silver helmet, leaving only her close-fitting white clothes.

The ornately carved wooden cabinet, disproportionate to his size, made the kingdom's strongest knight look like a laborer helping someone move house.

"...Huh, she's really not here. I can't sense her presence."

"Why is the cabinet so big?"

"Because I packed all the bones in... Oh no, please forgive me, First Pope, it wasn't packed. Your bones are not leftovers to be packed up and taken away."

Mumbled apologies, finally placing the cabinet in front of Morishita, then respectfully stepped aside to stand guard for the true god. Her eyes shone with anticipation, for gathering the relics of the first pope was truly unprecedented.

The first pope issued a ban, so for a century no one dared to touch these sacred objects.

These objects are also the most sacred relics in churches, and unparalleled symbols in the hearts of believers. If the name of the coffin bearers had not been invoked, believers in various places would not have agreed, even if the current Pope himself had gone.

Until a few months ago, the true God appeared and personally called upon the first Pope, who was mistaken for a thief.

"Um, there's one more thing."

"speak."

"These relics were actually brought to the capital by the archbishops of various churches and their followers. They are now gathered below, coming to you on a pilgrimage."

Mori walked to the window and looked down through the extremely pure crystal. She saw that there were many more believers on the ground than yesterday, as if an anthill had been disturbed. But she felt okay, after all, she was used to it.

"What a powerful country! So many people have nothing better to do than pray, and the people still have enough to eat..."

"It is your blessing."

Suddenly, Sen Shi's tone turned much colder: "Then it shouldn't matter if I use the power of some countries, right?"

B stood frozen, wondering if he had misheard, because Mori's tone now sounded like that of a worldly person trying to incite war. Was this some kind of test? Deliberately trying to shake the hearts of believers?

"After the Kingdom of Flowers is established, I need you to immediately gather some reliable knights and mages, the stronger the better. They will become my strength and do things for me."

“That’s no problem… but, what exactly do you want?” Her heart pounded, filled with curiosity and trepidation.

But Sen's face was more somber than ever: "Don't ask, that's not an answer I can give."

She had made up her mind that she would use all the power of the nation to prevent herself from being sown by dandelions. After the Kingdom of Flowers was restored, Mori would have done all she could, and then she could nestle in the fervor of her followers, build a large castle, and live a leisurely life.

To become the queen of dandelions? Impossible, it's a matter of dignity. The other way around is fine, but dandelions obviously won't accept it.

It's time to orchestrate some undercurrents and prepare for resistance against the Dandelion Queen.

"Alright, this matter is top secret."

"...I...I understand."

Mori nodded in satisfaction, then used candy to appease B: "Your sword, you took it from the treasury, right? It's called Sunset Glow, it can cut through the blue sky... Hmm, I forged it myself a long time ago, it's one of my most treasured possessions."

"...What?! With his own hands...it was actually with his own hands..."

"Make good use of it. It belongs to you, and I won't take it back."

After speaking, Mori wiped her sweat, feeling that she was becoming more and more proficient. She hadn't said so much on purpose; she had just been figuring out how to open the large cabinet, and it would have been awkward if she hadn't said something along the way.

To prevent problems during transport, they added too many magical traps and strange mechanisms, which was a real headache. In the end, they had to use brute force to open it; after all, it was all bones inside, so it wouldn't break easily.

As each crystal box broke free from the darkness and appeared before them, an incredibly rich divine power emanated from them, its scale no less expansive than that of the Mori Shinjin transformation.

Mori gazed at the skeletons radiating power—

"Something's not right about these bones."

"what do you mean?"

She didn't answer immediately, but instead untied her bag and took out the three items she always carried with her. Then she tried her best to piece them together with the skeleton inside, making the flawless crystal boxes fit snugly against each other.

The sheer awe caused by the gathering of these sacred objects left B completely overwhelmed, as if she had drunk ten bottles of fine wine. But the intoxication didn't last long; she used her own eyes to understand the meaning of what her true god had said.

Yes, something's wrong with these bones.

According to the prevailing tradition, the remains were sanctified after the death of the first pope. They were separated and placed in special crystal boxes, which were then kept hidden deep within churches throughout the world.

but--

After Mori personally pieced together the remains, he ended up with two corpses.

One of them was male, with robust bones and a complete physique. It had two arms, one on each side, and two legs, one on each side. It also contained seven parts in total: ribs, vertebrae, and the head that had initially come looking for Mori.

The other body was female, which was very familiar to Mori. Apart from her arms, legs, ribs, and spine, she was missing her head.

But thirteen cathedrals, thirteen sets of remains—that's all there is...

"B, you guys didn't even try?"

"This...it's not building blocks, how could we dare..."

"So you didn't investigate or record anything, and didn't notice anything wrong?"

B was speechless, because that was the truth, and they had never questioned it. As for the fact that they could gather two people, she wouldn't have believed it even if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes.

Each of the thirteen cathedrals is different, and not every one of them places the bones in the most conspicuous place.

Some are kept in the sanctuary, accessible only to the archbishop. But these archbishops often remain secluded in the church, either praying or answering questions from the faithful. Lacking any real motive for suspicion, they would not discuss such matters even if they met.

Moreover, this country is relatively young and hasn't had enough time to expose too many problems.

"It's missing a head..."

"Could it be that someone is hiding it?"

"That's all the churches?"

"Yes……"

"strangeness……"

Gazing at the bones that had once helped him and adventured alongside him, Mori thought of the one in the Clockwork City. She had once considered him the first Pope, and it seemed that her silence back then was not out of shame.

After pondering for a while, Mori decided to put on the title and see if the bones would work their magic.

As the divine power spread throughout the world, aside from the believers gathered below who were so excited they seemed to be losing consciousness, there was no other reaction. In his true godlike state, Mori picked up the skeleton (the woman's), opened the crystal box, and touched and rubbed it: "I've come to see you. You're all gathered now, you can come out and chat again..."

Unfortunately, the bones remained silent, and this silence defined what remains of all.

B was extremely nervous, because Mori's every word and action clearly indicated that he intended to forcibly summon the first Pope. The thought of meeting the founder of the nation made her heart pound in her chest.

"Isn't the condition that all the parts are complete? Or... is it that a skull is missing?"

The lack of feedback left Mori feeling somewhat disappointed. The feeling of having come this far, yet still falling short, was unpleasant.

"Sister Morishita." At that moment, Fufu popped out of her pocket.

"What's wrong? If you don't have enough salt, go to the kitchen and ask for some. While you're at it, help me see what the head chef looks like; I need to give him a bonus."

"No, I don't lack salt now. After all, I am the sea god, and faith is like salt! Although there is still very little faith among us..."

"Good, good, good, may you be blessed."

"I came out to tell Mori-shiki-nee that I feel this corpse looks familiar."

"...What?" Mori immediately cupped Fukufu in his hands. "Which corpse? How are you familiar with it?"

Fufu flew away and landed next to the male corpse: "This is the one. It's probably the true memory of the Sea God that remains. I think I know this guy... We're both members of the Rose Garden... Hmm, that should be it."

"He must be very reliable," was the first thought that came to Mori's mind. No matter what, Fukufu was always quite reliable.

If that's the case... the Rose Garden is the abode of many true gods, and Fu Fu is one of them, so that's understandable. But was his follower, the first pope, also one of them? That's quite intriguing. If he himself is a true god, why would he need to fabricate a coffin bearer?