Brain bloom

For example, she could make some potions or magic scrolls. To this end, she rummaged through her baggage, trying to find the empty potion bottles she had saved through thrift to make some potions on the spot.

It's unclear when the people from Silvermoon City will arrive, but as long as there's hope, with Dandelion dressed in her four-piece robe set, and with the formidable Aisalia by her side, they're more than capable of venturing deep into the ruins. Whatever lies below, they can explore before Silvermoon City; after all, the pretense of politeness has already been laid bare.

As for Sen Shi herself? She smirked. If the Debt-Collecting Bow didn't work, her only skill was low-level healing. In other words, the once-powerful player had become a support character with very little healing output.

Thinking about all this, she mixed the crushed plants and water into a glass bottle and shook it—why did even the person shake?

Realizing something was wrong, she looked up and discovered that the sea was tilting.

It wasn't just a slight sway; a violent shaking suddenly struck, as if the sea had been tilted to one side.

"W-What happened..."

Man is back? It doesn't seem so. Mori is terrified on the ship, which could sink at any moment, not knowing what will happen next.

Suddenly, she heard a piercing cracking sound. The pillar of light shattered, like a glass breaking. Something was wrong.

The sea whipped up a raging whirlpool, tearing at Mori and her small boat. They were no match for it and were swallowed up by the whirlpool.

When Sen Shi swallowed a mouthful of seawater, only one thought crossed his mind: Fu Fu messed up.

The taste of seawater was nauseating, and the strawberry leaves, soaked in seawater, also caused indescribable discomfort.

If it weren't for this, she could at least try to use some magic to protect herself. But her mind was tormented, and she could only let the current lead her, with fish, ship debris, and other things in the sea sinking to the deepest part with her.

No one can resist it.

Through his barely open eyes, Senshi saw a crack on the seabed amidst the bubbles and debris.

It seems the ruins won't be able to be explored, which is a bit of a shame.

"Dandelion..."

But before Mori could succumb to her pessimistic mindset and close her eyes to await death, she was pulled by a small, cold hand and sank to the bottom of the sea.

……

When he opened his eyes again, Mori felt a bone-chilling cold. And... his physical condition wasn't good. His head was dizzy, as if he had a fever, but it felt more like he had touched the threshold of death.

She remembered when she was first summoned by the dandelion, her body was so weak that even moving was difficult. But now it was even worse than then, reminding Mori of the miserable situation she was in before she died when she contracted an infectious disease, was recuperating alone at home, and had a fever of 40 degrees Celsius in the middle of the night.

Mori murmured, "Am I dead again? Or... is death not the end in this world?"

No one responded.

It was pitch black all around. Even with the keen eyes of a Seasons Seer, one could only barely make out that the place was cramped and oppressive. The air was murky, and breathing was relatively normal, though very dry. It felt as if one were lying on steps…steps? Was this inside the ruins?

"Oh, Morishi-neechan." A very familiar voice broke the silence, coming from below and echoing.

"Fufu? You're there?" Sen Shi asked with difficulty.

"exist."

A little girl radiating a silver-blue light appeared before Mori. It was Fukufuku, transformed into a little girl, naked and glowing, almost like a mold of salt.

Volume 1 #106 - Pull it out!

Mori didn't ask her if she was cold being naked; after all, she was a salt spirit, usually appearing naked and being touched by anyone. Besides, at that moment, the light emanating from Fukufuku's body cast a holy glow on her private parts, so Mori didn't have any other thoughts.

She asked the most important question: "I'm still alive... right?"

Perhaps because of the fever, she couldn't feel any sense of being alive.

"Alive".

"That's good."

"Luckily, Morishige's face is relatively small, otherwise it would be troublesome... In that case, the princess would be very sad." Fufu's voice sounded tired, but her face lit up with joy because of Morishige's awakening.

"You said I have a small face? What do you mean?"

"That's why I was able to get you into the ruins successfully, otherwise you would have drowned."

"……Thanks."

It's probably because its fingers are small that it was able to squeeze into the crack. In that situation, it was the only way to survive.

Mori didn't dwell on Fukufu's mistake in breaking the seal; now wasn't the time to think about that—this was inside the ruins, that eerie and inexplicable ruins. Even though it was beneath the sea, it was filled with breathable air.

It was oppressive, and you could almost smell the scent of death.

Despite having a full team, she was the only one to step inside. And in such terrible condition, she could die at any moment. Mori stopped her despair, closed her eyes, and focused her mental energy to try and survive.

"Sister Morishita, you're not going to die, are you?"

"Probably not. As long as no monsters appear in this godforsaken place, it seems safe here. The situation isn't too bad, don't worry."

“But your leaves…” Fufu said timidly, “have withered.”

"Withered..."

Mori's spirits sank to rock bottom; hearing the doctor announce that terminal cancer was nothing more than this.

But this was inevitable, after all, they had been tormented in the sea for so long, which was a weakness of the Four Seasons.

What should she do? She wasn't sure how to handle the situation, but a voice inside her whispered—pull them out. Just like when your arm is bleeding, you instinctively cover the wound; it's an instinctive reaction.

"Fufu. If I run into trouble later, please be prepared to go find dandelions."

"...Well, I'll try my best."

Next, Mori used up the mental energy he had painstakingly gathered, transforming it into a weak healing spell, which he cast on himself. A comfortable feeling spread throughout his body, but it didn't do much good.

After regaining some strength, Mori touched the leaf on his head.

Because of recent upgrades, the strawberry bushes have sprouted several new shoots, and these shoots are still healthy. The problem lies with the older leaves; one of them, even its roots, has started to wither.

Sen gritted his teeth and decided to follow his instincts—he uprooted it completely.

Its roots weren't particularly strong, but when it was pulled out, there was a soul-crushing pain that made Mori cry out. But after it was pulled out, his body felt an unprecedented sense of comfort.

It's akin to a sense of liberation, a liberation from constraints.

By the light of Fufu, Senshi saw that the pulled-out leaves were withered and ugly, and some of them had turned black.

Withered branches and leaves of the four seasons

"……Material?"

The item information suddenly appeared, which surprised her greatly. She hadn't expected that the rotten leaves that had fallen off her body were actually props.

After further investigation, she obtained more information—

[Item Description: The branches and leaves, having lost their purifying properties for some reason, have withered, but contain an alarming amount of toxins.]

Not only that, but many creative ideas for crafting equipment also popped into her head, all requiring this kind of thing. Without exception, they were all poison-based weapons, which terrified her when she thought about them.

After carefully putting the item away, Mori quickly wiped his hands on his clothes, afraid that his skin might absorb the toxins. However, there was also good news: having removed the rotten leaves, his condition was improving.

The absence of the withered branch didn't affect anything; on the contrary, her body was emitting a joyful and comfortable sensation. She thought, "The Four Seasons Race is indeed strange."

"Fufu, thank you for taking care of me." Sen Shi hadn't forgotten the little guy.

"You're welcome... Well, then I'll let go. Be careful not to fall," she said.

"let go?"

Mori noticed that Fukufu was sitting at the top of the steps, and that she was holding onto her clothes to prevent Mori from falling while unconscious. The steps beneath her were made of an unknown material, but the slope was so steep that there was no space to lie down and sleep.

Mori felt a surge of warmth in her heart. She hadn't expected that Fufu had been taking care of her while she was unconscious... She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but it must have been a long time, long enough that even the Salt Spirit felt tired.

"Thank you!"

"Hehe, you're welcome."

Fufu then released her tired little hand, transformed back into a salt sprite, and wobbled to the ground.

……

Outside the ruins, Man did not bring a large army after leaving, and neither Silvermoon City, the Peda Empire, nor the Holy Coffin Kingdom disturbed this place.

Instead, there was a feeling of undercurrents beneath the surface, but in any case, it was already the next morning.

The morning light streamed into the wooden cabin, illuminating every dew-kissed flower, a favorite of the seasons, making them shimmer and sparkle. In late autumn, it was another rare, beautiful day. Unfortunately, no one wanted to admire the flowers, nor did anyone have the inclination.

Dandelion was in the room wearing pajamas, with a serious expression.

But she hadn't just woken up; she hadn't slept all night.

She had long been used to this feeling; the sleepless nights since losing her country had already tormented her.

But today is different—Mori didn't come back, and neither did Fukufu.

While Mori was at the small dock to break the seal, Dandelion and Yuan finalized their wine deal, cleared up all misunderstandings, and excitedly cooked together, planning to treat Mori and cheer him on.

But when they arrived with the lunchbox, they found the sea was unusually turbulent, and they couldn't find her anywhere.

The pillar of light erected by Man has dissipated, so she must have succeeded. This is an extraordinary feat, worthy of celebration. Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone could bravely venture deeper into the ruins to explore together? Even Yuan has expressed his willingness to go down and take the risk.

But the most important person, Mori, was not there. Even though Fuku was with him, not a single word of news came back.

She didn't know whether the current situation was a blessing or a curse.

He comforted Dandelion, saying that Mori had gone down alone, and that the place must be very dangerous, but Mori was strong enough to handle it. He did this to prevent the only remaining princess of the Four Seasons from being put in danger.

Dandelion reluctantly accepted this explanation, but her deep worry and helplessness kept her awake all night until the next morning.

She stood by the window, bathed in the morning light, a glass of tart white wine to perk her up. She hadn't taken a sip, only hoping that familiar, deep blue hue would knock on the windowpane and tell her—

It is safe in the forest.

Image: "I am an illustrator", Location: "Images/224600-77941.jpg"

Volume 1 #Illustrated Short Stories, Part 2

This chapter is free and is not part of the main text.

The dandelion illustrations are quite beautiful; I've been looking at them while writing lately. But naturally, they've also experienced many twists and turns, and there are many complex and poignant stories.

First, when Yueya went to commission an artist, the artist said that he had learned some new patterns that would improve the quality of the artwork, so he shyly asked Yueya for a higher price.

It was a hundred yuan more than usual. Yueya looked at her Alipay balance and felt a pang of sadness, but she still agreed. Then they entered the usual discussion phase.

Image: "", Location: "Images/233235-47815.jpg"