Brain bloom

"It's too wasteful to exchange it for money, let's give it to my princess instead."

……

(That's all for now... It's past midnight, and tomorrow it'll be past midnight again... I need to kill all the lazy cancer cells in my body.)

Volume 1 #056: The Salt Sprite's Experiences

For Fufu, watching over the house is actually an interesting thing, and she is very willing to do it.

It was her first time crossing the strait to the other side, so she was full of curiosity about everything here. Not to mention, the open and refreshing natural environment, and—being by the sea.

She is a spirit of nature, without the clichéd demands of intelligent beings. As long as she can drink her fill of seawater and enjoy the sound of the waves and the sea breeze, that makes Fufu happy.

She felt comfortable as the sea breeze caressed her, as if she were licking the four seasons.

Since all of this could be provided, she was happy to help the person who provided it.

Fufu had already dressed as the princess had instructed and was using her human form to guard the winery. She had only recently acquired a soul and was no different from a typical child, curious about everything. Although she was ordered to watch over the winery, she actually wandered around aimlessly.

Whenever she passed by those lush green grapevines, she always thought of reaching out to pick a leaf and taste it, but it was just a thought.

The brewery wasn't far from her residence, but it was all locked up and not very interesting, so she just wandered around the neighborhood. She chased butterflies, caught some cute-looking little insects, and chased away seagulls that wanted to stop and rest—all of this was fun for Fufu.

Next, she came to a field that wasn't planted with grapes but had fertile soil, since the princess had specifically instructed that this place be well protected.

Before leaving, the princess placed a grapevine with a strange fragrance into the soil, saying that it should first absorb the power of nature to gain the vitality to create new life and improve its compatibility with the soil.

Fu Fu didn't quite understand, but she knew she had to protect the grapevine.

"Ok?"

An unusual noise interrupted her rest.

She looked into the distance and spotted a strange little animal. It looked a bit like a wild boar, but it was very small and its back was covered with stone quills. It might be a porcupine.

Although Fufu's mind is not yet fully developed, she was sublimated from nature and has spent an extremely long time in the sea, so she has some understanding of the things in nature.

Therefore, she smelled a repulsive odor emanating from this strange wild boar.

The smell of ominous fog.

Starting in recent years, the leaden-gray fog that has been unknowingly spreading over the sea has always brought disaster and danger.

Fu Fu stood up, not caring where this guy came from, and prepared to attack.

The salt sprite wasn't good at fighting, and her attack methods were quite limited, mainly consisting of pushing away undigested seawater. She didn't know how she had learned this skill, but she often used it to cut through rocks on the seabed, so it did have some offensive power.

The illusion was broken—Fufu's clothes fluttered down, the cute little girl from before had vanished, and the azure salt sprites danced in the air.

The strange porcupine was sniffing around, exuding a ferocious aura. It had clearly found something and was beginning to follow the scent, inching closer to the place where Dandelion had entrusted Fufu with protection—its target was the grapevine.

Realizing the danger, Fufu stopped observing and gathered all the seawater he had drunk that morning, then shot it out.

Like a long spear, it cuts through the air and pierces towards the porcupine.

This attack was Fufu's best effort, but the opponent was too agile, and the shot missed, only piercing one of the porcupine's legs.

But it wasn't a real spear; it was seawater, and it didn't pin it to the spot.

As the force of the seawater subsided, the porcupine roared angrily. It was a scream, but it wasn't the sound of a pig, or even an animal—it sounded like a strange stone hitting glass.

It was furious, completely disregarding how much lead-gray blood was flowing from the wound, and instead set its sights on Fufu.

But before Fufu could escape, it attacked—all the quills on the porcupine's back shot out wildly, hitting Fufu at an astonishing speed.

"Ugh, it hurts so much."

When stabbed, Fu Fu didn't feel pain, but her body felt heavier.

Those dense, long spines now grow on Fufu's body—it looks like a comical sea urchin.

Unable to shake off the quills, Fufu slowly flew towards the sea, vowing to replenish her water supply before returning to kill it. But when she finished drinking and flew back, the bald porcupine had vanished, as if it had never existed—even the traces of blood had been severed midway.

Only Fufu's thorns prove that the guy was once there.

……

Not long after the porcupine incident, another group of people arrived, and they all looked to be quite strong.

Fu Fu was afraid of being exposed, and since she couldn't transform into a human while wearing the thorns, she could only hide behind the wall and observe the group of people.

The leader was a paladin-like figure, surrounded by equally formidable men. They were escorting a chest, constantly on guard. Upon reaching the winery entrance, the paladin loudly demanded—

"Is anyone home? We've brought watermelons."

silence.

He repeated it again, this time in an even louder voice.

Still no one answered.

Fu Fu was very worried, fearing that these people would do bad things while no one was home, and she didn't know what to do.

One of the knight's attendants spoke to him: "Honorable Slayer, perhaps no one is here? But this is, after all, 'that one's' private territory, and we'd better not do anything rash."

“Yes, I know. Even though the other country has been destroyed, we must continue to maintain the utmost respect... We are all sinners of war, and there is no point in arguing about that. Besides, Lord Balzac would always remind me of this every year when he invited me to cut watermelons... And don’t forget, that incredibly terrifying harvest priest has not yet disappeared.”

"In that case..."

"Don't be rude, just put the watermelon at the door." He waved his hand and instructed his men to do so.

Then he drew his silver sword and, with a very devout gesture, applied holy water to it, causing the sword to gleam. Fufu was terrified and almost couldn't resist rushing out. But the sword didn't harm anyone; instead, he raised it and danced it around the box.

Each time the sword tip is swung, it sprinkles holy water like threads on the ground, which then condenses into letters.

That was just a message:

"Your Highness, Princess Dandelion, the watermelon has been delivered. Respectfully presented by the one who cut it. P.S.: I look forward to next year. I don't believe you can still pick the sweetest watermelon, even if you have been doing so for several years in a row."

After completing these tasks, the group finally left.

Fu Fu went up to see what was in the box, but a bug got there first—but just as the bug tried to enter, it was purified into dust by the words around the box.

This seems to be the reason they were able to leave with confidence.

Volume 1 #057: Wine

Sen bought a map before returning to the winery with the eagerly anticipating Dandelion, who was all smiles the whole way.

Upon arriving at the winery entrance, they both instinctively took off their hats, revealing the plants that had been neglected all day.

From a distance, the winery appeared perfectly fine; the staff was still hanging safely on the roof, neither blown away by the wind nor snatched away by seagulls. The only slightly strange thing was that Fufu might have evolved, turning into a deep blue sea urchin ball…

Also, the watermelons have arrived.

Led by the sea urchin Fufu, the two discovered a high-end box containing watermelons. Dandelion immediately sensed danger and stopped herself from going forward.

She knew very well that this was the special holy power of the Holy Coffin Kingdom, and touching it directly without dispelling its effects would harm her. The inscription left behind contained precisely this power. The other party hadn't written it with malicious intent; it was merely a minor provocation, nothing serious.

"...Do they know you're a princess?" Mori Toki also noticed a line of text around him.

"Actually, this is no secret. I own a winery here, and those in power all know that. After all, the war reparations were a conclusion reached at a joint conference."

"This is a huge risk..."

"Well, let's not talk about this anymore, it's kind of sad."

Now all she had to do was open the box, and Dandelion knew how. She looked down for her oak staff, her hands rummaging inside her clothes.

"squeak--"

Suddenly, a squeaking sound came from the box opening. She looked up in a panic and saw that it was Mori who had opened the box.

Half a watermelon was perfectly intact and securely held inside. Besides it, there were several bright yellow gold coins, presumably the proceeds from the auction of the other half of the watermelon.

Mori's calm demeanor surprised Dandelion. She didn't glance at the watermelon at all, but hurriedly looked Mori over to see if he was injured—but there wasn't a single blemish on his skin, let alone any injury.

Moreover, the surrounding text dimmed, then turned into ordinary water, seeping back into the floor tiles.

"The freshness hasn't changed at all, that's interesting." Morishi picked up the watermelon, quite surprised. "Hmm, it would be wonderful to eat this in the summer."

"Aren't you hurt?"

"You mean Fufu almost poked me just now?" She smiled, put down the watermelon, pushed away the sea urchin-shaped Fufu, and continued, "It's okay, I didn't poke you."

"Hmm, okay."

But Dandelion's heart was filled with unease; that powerful holy energy was utterly insignificant to Sen Shi...

After they returned to their home with their suitcases, Mori stared at Fukufu, feeling that this was the question he should ask.

"I'm curious, how did our salt jar end up like this?"

Fu Fu was given the chance to cry and immediately began to recount her ordeal.

Meanwhile, Sen Shi hastily cut two pieces of wood to make chopsticks, using them to hold Fu Fu, who looked very prickly. The two women helped her remove the quills while discussing what had happened. What was that porcupine? That was interesting, considering there wasn't even any blood on the ground when they returned.

Sen Shi didn't know, because there was no such monster in the game era. Instead, she wanted to ask what that Evil Mist was.

Dandelion wasn't sure either, only saying that they might have come to steal grapes.

Château Four Seasons is located right by the sea, nestled between valleys, where strange animals often come out to steal grapes. However, the vineyards recently harvested their grapes, and the new ones haven't even ripened yet, so it's unlikely they're here to steal them.

But they quickly realized it wasn't a large-scale planting, but the single vine they had brought back. The most beautiful grape variety in the world… at least that's what dandelions describe it as.

“Should we buy some slaves or hire some people to guard it? You value that grapevine, right?” Mori suggested. Their manpower was simply too insufficient, making it difficult to maintain a normal life for the winery.

"Hmm, it's a bit troublesome. After all, Silvermoon City doesn't have a slave market, otherwise I would really be willing to do this."

After some discussion, it was decided that this troublesome problem would have to be put on hold for the time being.

Dandelion will be staying at the winery recently to research the budding of the grapevines, so she can protect the winery during the day. The main concern is the night, which is when most monsters appear.

"I'll do it." After the thorns were removed from her body, Fu Fu said, trembling. "I'll take good care of the house tonight. If there's any danger, I'll call you... as long as... as long as there's no... ghost."

"It's alright, there are no ghosts here, it's outside the realm of magic."

Dandelion patted her chest and assured everyone that this was her home and she hadn't suffered the "nightmare come true" ordeal.

So the winery matter was temporarily settled, and the two of them stopped discussing it or thinking further about what the porcupine might be.

……

After Sen returned to his room, Dandelion went to the backyard—a place filled with countless blooming flowers, their colors dazzlingly rich. But she wasn't there to admire the flowers; she reached out and carefully turned over the soil.