Brain bloom

……

Finally, the matter of having a child was postponed for the time being. Even Dandelion, who was obsessed with having a child, knew that everything had to wait until after the country was restored, and at least there would be a stable home before making these plans.

Fu Fu happened to fly over and, without caring that Sen Shi was there, raised a question—though the question came late.

"Sister Morishita asked me... oh no, I wanted to ask myself. Princess, what does it mean when someone kisses that fluffy thing on your head?"

"Hehe, are you here to celebrate? Alright, although it's the secret of the Four Seasons, I'll tell you since you've helped me so much—ah... I wish you were here too?"

"I've always been here, don't worry about me, keep going." Yuan lowered her head, scribbling on the book in her hands. "By the way, Princess, should I have listened to your secrets as Four Seasons People? But I do know about your plan to have two children..."

"Damn it, please keep this a secret!"

Yuan nodded, her expression surprisingly calm: "I won't lie, I can definitely keep it a secret. Can I hear it too?"

"...Okay, fine."

Dandelion blushed. Such a private matter had been seen by outsiders. She was extremely annoyed by her impulsive act, not to mention Sen Shi, who had long since turned into a red-hot iron.

If it weren't for Dandelion's tiny hand, still intimately entwined with her arm, Sen Shi would have long since turned and sprinted a hundred meters into the sea, sinking to the bottom and never to rise again. Only then could this shameful thing end.

"here."

Dandelion pointed to the dandelion above her head and spoke to Fufu and Yuan.

"These crests are all seeds, you should know that, right? There are also dandelions by the roadside. If you blow on them, these seeds will fly everywhere... If a being of the four seasons kisses our seeds, it means that it is offering the highest love."

Hearing this, Mori felt a mix of emotions, both sweet and bitter.

Dandelion was shy, and the two listeners were also a little shy, but they both wanted to keep listening.

Dandelion continued, “This supreme love represents ‘the willingness to become the soil for the seed’… So, after the country is restored, I will place the tiny dandelion seed on Mori’s head and draw nourishment from her soul. When the time is right, it will sprout and grow a feather.”

"...Feathers? Is this how the Four Seasons give birth?" Yuan asked, her face full of surprise.

"Yes, like the softest down feathers of a bird, that is the true seed that can grow through all four seasons."

"Is this related to the so-called Winged Cloud?" Yuan suddenly remembered the scenery she had been pursuing.

Volume 1, Chapter 104: Fu Fu Seems Quite Useful

"Just as you thought, Yiyun is indeed related to this... but the deeper things are a secret, and I'm sorry, I can't tell you."

"I can understand, but the Four Seasons One's... how should I put it? In short, it's very unexpected."

The way the Four Seasons reproduced not only surprised Yuan, but also seemed magical to Mori Toki—these were settings that had never been revealed in the game's time. Back then, players thought that you could create a Four Season by simply sticking a plant on your head.

But Mori was on the verge of collapse; she might have to accept the dandelion seeds...

Then, it would draw souls from the top of her head, eventually growing into a feather? That seemed to be the process. This was a scenario she couldn't imagine; if that were the case, then dandelions must also be born from feathers…

At this moment, Fu Fu also showed his interest, which was rare for him.

“Princess, a country should have many talented people, right? So that means the people of the Flower Kingdom have to let… let Sister Moritoki give birth to them?” Her voice grew softer and softer, as if she thought it was unimaginable—Moritoki’s face turned pale.

Is it really so?

However, the answer was different from what they expected. Dandelion burst into laughter: "Hahaha, no way! How could your Mori-shiki sister possibly give birth to so many little Shikis?"

"...Hmm? Then?"

"Put away your curiosity. In short, the country's population is not a problem, as long as the Winged Clouds can soar freely in the blue sky. So, this is not something you should worry about, right, Mori Toki?"

Although he didn't know why, Mori nodded silently.

She had experienced the highs and lows of life, and had even planned out the beautiful words she would say at the wedding, thinking that spending her life with Dandelion wouldn't be a problem. After all, she owed her something, and besides, it was Dandelion who gave Mori a second life.

As a result, this sweet and sour feeling only lasted for a short while before it was overwhelmed by the thought of having to give birth to dandelions.

Wait, it's just planting a dandelion seed on your head, right? In other words, no need to experience sex, no need to go through the process of getting pregnant, and no need to experience the pain of childbirth? That's barely acceptable—no, no, no, that's really not acceptable, it's a matter of male dignity.

Mori shook his head frantically, his face slapped by vines and long hair.

But she also realized that apart from her barren chest, there was nothing else about her body that connected her to men; she was no longer even human...

How tragic.

Summoned to another world to become a hero, with a lovely and considerate princess of a fallen kingdom by his side, although her nature may be somewhat dark, this should have been a wonderful experience... But because of a kiss... Mori gritted his teeth, feeling that he had lost something of the most important to him.

"Let's go back and talk about the wine, and the Winged Cloud's participation rights. What about Mori Toki?"

"...Me? I'll stay here. I can either enjoy the sea breeze or throw myself into the sea and commit suicide."

"I see. So we should break this seal as soon as possible? Indeed... I wonder if Man plans to come back. I understand."

Oh right, Mori realized then that there was a strange ruin in front of him, a huge threat... Compared to the birth of the Four Seasons, what was the ruin? What was the dangerous situation of the three major powers jointly opposing the Four Seasons?

"Then we'll head back now."

"Hmm... I'll leave Fufu here." Mori Toki barely had a shred of reason left, knowing what she had to do.

Fufu was very well-behaved and willingly crawled into the pocket of Senshi's shirt.

However, both Yuan and Dandelion noticed something: Sen seemed quite depressed for some reason. But they quickly realized that the powerful seal that Man had erected here would be a difficult task to break.

Therefore, even a powerful hero like Mori Toki is not immune to moments of despondency...

The dandelion felt deeply moved, for the Four Seasons faced the greatest existential crisis since the War of the Flowers. Kesen remained standing, gazing at the sea like a stone, unmoved—a testament to responsibility and unwavering resolve.

She felt powerless, so

"After we finish talking, I'll come and water Mori-shiki's plants and bring some food with me. Keep it up! Also, I'm really looking forward to the day when the little Shiki-shiki plants grow out."

"Good luck, Moritoki," Ima whispered.

Afterwards, they left this grand stage to the heroes and silently exited the stage side by side.

Hearing their footsteps fade into the distance, Mori Toki couldn't help but let out a long sigh. Fortunately, she still had plenty of time. At least before the Kingdom of Flowers was restored, she could still seriously consider how to avoid this outcome. For now, she should focus on the present situation.

She took out Fufu, felt its cold touch, and gave several instructions.

Fu Fu immediately dived into the sea and circled the pillar of light that Manli had erected to investigate before returning to tell him what he had seen and heard.

A circular magical mark, encircling the entrance to the ruins on the seabed, locked all space. It radiated light from the power of magic, so much so that mortal objects couldn't even touch the pillar of light, for it borrowed the laws of nature—a truly magnificent act.

Mori sat on the ground, biting his little finger, and decided to use the debt-collecting bow to knock on a door first.

Having drawn his beloved bow, Mori wondered if it could offer any help in dealing with the so-called laws of the world—but when the arrow was aimed at the pillar of light, the bow of debt collection remained completely unresponsive…

Mori tried other things, but no matter whether it was aimed at the ground, the sky, or the grass and trees by the roadside, it was just a piece of junk weapon with an attack power of 1.

This thing has always been confusing in its criteria for judging wealth, but at least now one rule has become clear: an enemy must at least have a soul.

She released the bowstring and let the arrow fly—unfortunately, it was limp and fell into the sea midway. She had to find another way; having made a promise, she had to keep it.

"Internal sabotage might not work, so we'll try to blast it open from the outside. Are we going to make a deal with the devil...? No, we can't waste Yuan's life. Find the Demon King? Forget it, the price might be too high. I'm going to switch to a higher-level account... never mind."

"Mori-neechan, what are you reading? Is it some new instruction for me?"

"No, ignore it, he's just talking to himself."

Senshi dusted off the dirt on his backside, stood up, boarded the small boat that Dandelion had made earlier, went out to sea, and slowly approached that direction.

"Since we can't break through from the inside, and we can't force it open from the outside... let's destroy this magical structure that borrows from the laws of nature, even though the conditions are harsh. Fu Fu Fu Fu, come here, tell me, how about I give you a title?"

"Hmm?" Fufu asked in confusion, wondering why Senshi-neechan's tone was suddenly so sweet.

"'The Salt Spirit of the Law of Destruction,' if my thinking is correct, you can do it."

"...What are you trying to trick me into doing now? Something terrible? I refuse."

Volume 1 #105: Fall and Whirlpool

"Don't be like that, it's not something scary, I won't let you take any risks," Mori said quickly, wondering what had happened to Fukufu that made him so cautious.

"Really?"

"Really. Listen to this, it's actually very simple. It doesn't require you to crash into that damn beam of light, but rather you need to get close to the seabed and then emit light."

"Really?"

"……real."

"Shall I go now?"

Mori didn't nod. Instead, he used the only nature magic he had learned, the Sapling Spell, to create a small miniature pine tree. After breaking off a branch and letting Fukufu hold it in his mouth, Mori burned the little pine tree and scattered the ashes on the boat.

Fufu chewed on a small tree branch that was much longer than herself, and said thoughtfully, "I understand, Sister Senshi wants me to draw something?"

"As expected of Fu Fu, you're unusually clever. Yes, go down into the sea and observe carefully, and restore that array pattern as accurately as possible."

“I remember.”

After saying that, it flew to the wood ash that it was using as drawing paper and used a small twig to draw a circle that was so perfect it was almost unbelievable. Sen was shocked; such a precise circle was very difficult to achieve.

In her mental knowledge base, the various difficulties in mastering magic were clearly recorded, and drawing a precise circle remained a challenge. Mori even planned to try creating a compass specifically for the future mass production of magic scrolls.

"Have you practiced drawing circles before?" she couldn't help but ask.

"No, because the circle is the benchmark and origin of the world... or more precisely, the three rings of the world, right? That's what the old men who have lived for a long time say. My body is different from yours; it doesn't tremble when it's not needed. It can be restored simply by retrieving memories."

"That's pretty impressive."

After speaking, Fufu's little tree branch meticulously recreated Man's magic circle with precise lines. It was so accurate that it seemed to truly possess power, even though Sen knew very well that without any spiritual energy infused into it, this thing was just a replica.

After finishing the drawing, Fufu spat out the small twig, and the brightness increased significantly, as if to express its pride.

"Look, it's here." Mori pointed to a spot outside the circle and gave the instruction.

"What does it mean?"

"The magical light particles formed this magical circle and made it effective. It's an extremely complete and rigorous system that doesn't allow even the slightest alteration—so, go and make the change."

Mori knew that Fukufu might not understand, but she still tried to explain it as clearly as possible—she wanted Fukufu to disguise herself as part of the magic circle in a specific location so that the entire magic would collapse.

After all, Fufu can emit light on its own.

She was pointing to the area right next to the outer edge of the circle. It looked ideal, but the challenge lay in possessing the same brightness and mental power as those magical light particles.

Mori had intended to spend an hour, or even longer, letting Fukufu try, but the little guy just said, "Ah, I understand," and went back into the sea, arriving at the place Mori had designated.

"Take it slow, try a few more times," Mori shouted to the seabed, wondering if Fukufu could hear him.

The sea in front of Morishita's house wasn't very clear, so she couldn't see what was happening below, and continuing to watch wouldn't help. Morishita sat on the boat, basking in the sun, while preparing the things she would need to explore the ruins further.