Brain bloom

Looking at her entire body, the only possible place for Morishita to have breasts was her head. If not, could it be that her experience points were used to enlarge her breasts? She made sure no one was around, then secretly touched her adorably curved chest, only to look disappointed, as the size remained unchanged.

The answer to the question may lie in external factors.

As a seasoned gamer, Mori knew a thing or two. If nothing unexpected happened, some powerful entity was residing within her, lurking and absorbing every bit of experience she gained, and then one day, it would resurface—whether it was friend or foe was unknown.

Thinking about it this way, the problem becomes much simpler.

What else was shooting at the ship with her? Just the debt-collecting bow, of course.

Mori took out the weapon he used to haunt the rich, examined it carefully, and found that something was indeed amiss. The most important material for the bow, the wood, was rather strange.

Between the wood grain, there were now faint reddish streaks. She initially thought they were inherent to the material itself, but witnessing firsthand how the reduced photosynthesis had actually added extremely fine lines to the wood grain.

"Something's wrong with this bow."

If you don't observe it carefully from different angles under sunlight, you really won't notice it. Sen Shi's interest was greatly piqued, and he immediately sat down cross-legged with a serious expression, placing the bow on his knees.

“Tell me, what are you?” she asked seriously.

"..."

“If you can understand me, find a way to make me feel it,” she asked sternly.

"Huh, did I disturb you?" Suddenly, a soft voice that Moritoki felt nostalgic for rang out, startling Moritoki, who was engrossed in chatting with Yumi, and made her jump.

Could there be a girl living inside this bow? But a quick glance revealed otherwise.

"...What? It's a wish."

The response she received wasn't the bow of debt collection, but a wish that suddenly appeared with wisps of black mist. A few weeds near her boots, touched by the mist, instantly met their end, turning into faint dust and vanishing in the wind.

"I've heard that in the human world, there are some particularly lonely people who find solace in objects."

Yuan walked towards Senshi with light, delicate steps, trying to understand his self-talk in her own way.

“You Four Seasons Ones must be very lonely after losing all your compatriots, right? You can only cry to your companions... You are a great archer, but you and your bow could not save your homeland... I understand this feeling, it must be lonely and tragic.”

"Sorry, I was just talking to myself."

"Yes, I understand."

Feeling extremely embarrassed, Mori silently put away his debt-collecting bow, thinking he would confirm the matter later. For now, he had to properly entertain the devilish lady who had come to visit.

"Don't worry, I'm a sensible person. I won't comfort a strong person, because she can get through the pain on her own." After saying that, Yuan gave Sen Shi an encouraging look, raising her thumb.

"That's good..."

I walked up to Mori, leaned against the apple tree, and gazed at the clear blue sky through the gaps in the leaves.

She slowly spoke, "Mori, have you gotten the answer I wanted?"

"That's something my princess is in charge of. I think she already has an idea. Let me take you to see her."

"...Hmm, no rush, let's talk about the next thing first. Father was very satisfied with that bottle of wine, and after learning that you now run a winery, he wanted to place an order to buy more similar wines. I'm late because I brought something of equal value."

“Great, my princess will be very happy.”

Mori's eyes lit up; this was truly an unexpected delight.

This Miss Yuan really always manages to bring surprises, whether she's a devil or a demon. As long as she's cute and makes deals easily, she's a good girl, and Yuan has both.

"After drinking that bottle of wine, Dad praised it for a long time, saying he hadn't experienced the sweetness of near-death in a long time. It seemed to get drunk as soon as it drank it, rolling around on the ground, its feathers falling all over the place. It was the first time I had ever seen it make a fool of itself, haha, and it even praised the Four Seasons."

"Of course, the craft of brewing wine from dandelions is remarkable."

"Yes, Dad said that the Four Seasons still makes it fearful as always."

After saying that, Yuan revealed a genuine smile, radiating a warmth akin to familial affection.

"Furthermore, as a devil who believes in reciprocity, Father does not accept gifts. But as a token of gratitude for the wine, he asked me to bring two pieces of news related to you."

……

(P.S., I got caught by the editor, and they're putting this lousy book on the shelves on Friday...)

Volume 1 #091: I Might Have Found It

The words that Mori said beside her shoulder piqued her interest.

Two pieces of news? She and her princess were peacefully staying in the winery, preparing to quietly develop their business, upgrade their skills, and water the plants. Under such peaceful circumstances, what news could possibly be related to the Four Seasons?

"It's related to your enemies." Yuan said earnestly.

"Are you referring to the Peda Empire and the Holy Coffin Kingdom?"

"Hmm—Mori, you killed the Rain Wizard, didn't you?"

Mori neither nodded nor denied, but pondered the implications in her heart. The Rain Wizard was unaware that Mori had shot her through the head with an arrow, a scene that remained vividly in her mind.

But the process was very clean. Perhaps after that, the people of Frozen Bear Town took the body back. Perhaps a few people would guess that she was the one who killed the person, but they would never know that she was a Four Seasons Person. Instead, they would think that she was from the Holy Coffin Kingdom.

After all, Mori provided some things to fight against the devil, which easily leads one to think of that sacred religious country.

Then—I'd like to continue:

"The Rain Wizard doesn't die so easily. That country had a long-term pact with my father, and the Rain Wizard is still alive—"

A sharp glint unconsciously appeared in Sen Shi's eyes.

“That’s not what I meant.” Yuan quickly waved her hand. “Don’t look at me like that, Mori. Neither Dad nor I are going to settle scores with you. After all, worldly affairs are none of our business.”

"You were summoned by the Rain Wizard."

“Yes, the contract between Father and the Peda Empire is very complicated... Anyway, I want to tell you that the Rain Wizard is not dead. His soul can still exist in this world, and your existence and actions have been exposed.”

Mori Toki outwardly feigned calmness, but she tended to believe Yuan's words, so inwardly she was filled with turmoil. Had she not realized that merely destroying the enemy's body wasn't enough to completely kill them...? She should have realized that sooner.

Leaving the bodies behind was intended to incite greater global unrest so they could reap the benefits; it seems their foresight was far from comprehensive.

What should have been a clean and efficient matter was ruined by the other party's cleverness. This famous envoy of the empire really did his job well... Sen Shi knew what this meant. Once the Rain Wizard revealed the matter of the Four Seasons, that easily angered and traditionally powerful empire would inevitably retaliate.

Their situation is dangerous, but things are not without hope.

She looked at Yuan and said softly, "Although it's very sorry to say this, you devils are very annoying, so..."

"Ugh, those damned Holy Coffin Kingdoms are spreading rumors about us everywhere."

"In short, the world hates you. And the fact that the Peda Empire has a deal with you has been made public... Now, all forces that hate the devil will be its enemies."

The Peda Empire will face conquests from all sides, especially from the Holy Coffin Kingdom, which will give them an opportunity to fish in troubled waters. Even if the existence and intentions of the Seasonal Ones are exposed, as long as they live peacefully in the permanently neutral Silvermoon City, they should not encounter too much trouble.

This was Mori's assessment of the situation, but this sense of reassurance only lasted a short while.

Yuan added, "Generally speaking, the Holy Coffin Kingdom, which utterly despises demons, is about to declare war, after all, it's a very good excuse to eliminate the demon's messengers or something... But I also bring another piece of news: the Holy Coffin Kingdom's mind is elsewhere."

"What do you mean?"

"The Holy Coffin Kingdom has no intention of starting a war for the time being, because a sacred relic that can be considered the foundation of the nation has been lost. At present, their leaders are prioritizing this matter and have no intention of preparing for war."

"...Lost? Why...at this critical moment?" Mori's face darkened.

Since the Holy Coffin Kingdom will not intervene to restrain the Peda Empire for the time being, the latter has a chance to catch its breath, and its anger will most likely be vented on the person who killed the Rain Wizard.

He picked a green apple, took a bite, and frowned at its unripeness before continuing:

"The Holy Coffin Kingdom has some clues about the location of the sacred relic and is preparing to demand it through political means, but at the same time, it has also assembled an extremely powerful team, ready to demand it by force."

"It seems that what's been lost must be very important."

"Yes, after all, it is the skull of the first Pope, the father of the Holy Coffin Kingdom."

"Wow, this really is an important thing." She crossed her arms, thinking that this so-called first pope was the lucky person who found her nine hundred million gold coins. She was once again annoyed by her own ignorance. "Where is that skull?"

"It's a pity that Dad didn't investigate this matter, because the power of that sacred object is extraordinary. The cost of investigation would be too high, and then the deal would not be fair."

"Okay, it's none of our business anyway. Anyway, thank you for telling me all this; it's very important information."

We must prepare to face the Peda Empire… Mori gritted her teeth, deciding not to waste a single moment. During the chat, she basked in the sun for a long time, and her level had reached 25, allowing her to use the staff, Sea God's Gift.

She immediately set the shaped ruby ​​into the setting, activating the staff's special effect and transforming it into a fire-attribute staff based on the gem's properties. Now she needed to inscribe a magic scroll to sell, accumulate as much money as possible, secure a backup plan, and then increase her combat power.

Seeing her hurried manner, Yuan said with some regret, "Are you busy? I wanted to talk to you about selling wine."

"Please discuss the business matters with my princess. She's the one running the winery, so I don't know much about it. I need to go home now to copy a magic scroll. The princess should be at the small dock by now."

"Then I'll eat another apple before I go. It's sour and astringent, but it's delicious."

"Pick as much as you want to eat."

After saying that, Sen Shi went into the house to prepare for inscribing advanced magic. The highest grade parchment, a pen made of matte black crystal, the blood of an old bull with a blue tail and white horns, and a staff were all ready.

Among the advanced offensive magic of the Mori Society, there is only one called Flame Bird Hundred Cries. She has investigated and found that similar magic scrolls are sold for prices comparable to healing spells.

However, even with master-level magic inscription skills, there's still a chance of failure when attempting to inscribe advanced magic. Mori knew that every detail had to be perfect. For example, when drawing the Barahbrot Third Rank Array, the brushstrokes couldn't be even slightly crooked.

To stabilize the parchment, she looked around for a heavy object to weigh it down—and then she saw the crystal box casually placed in the corner, and the skull inside.

"I wish..." Her voice trembled.

"what's wrong?"

"I think I've found the sacred relic of the Holy Coffin Kingdom. Come and see, is this it?"

Volume 1 #092 Troublesome Matters

With a skeptical heart, Mori picked up the crystal box. For some reason, a sense of familiarity washed over him, a cool sensation mingling with the crystal's coolness, settling in his palms and spreading throughout his body. It had to be said, there was indeed a touch of sacredness about it.

At least on the surface, it posed no danger and was as quiet as a snowy winter night.

Just then, hearing Mori's call, Ima pushed open the back door and came in, immediately spotting what Mori was holding. She stood there stunned for a few seconds, then blinked several times, remaining silent for nearly ten seconds before finally uttering her first thought.

“As expected of the Four Seasons Master…” In Yuan’s tone and eyes, there was nothing but respect. “His methods are truly shrewd.”

"I knew it..."

Moritoshi roughly understood what was going on; what he and Genryu had seen back then was clearly this thing. Moritoshi couldn't help but curse inwardly; all he did was make something for Dandelion, and how did it cause such a series of troubles?

"The skull of the first pope... is right in front of me."

I wanted to get a few steps closer to see it up close—but my boots seemed to be stuck in the mud, and I couldn't move forward even half a step.

She had even greater respect for the Four Seasons race.

"That's for sure, such a strong... utterly repulsive smell. There are probably very few things in the world that I hate this much. Hmm, so you guys stole this stuff. Well done!"