Brain bloom

"As long as it exists, that's fine."

Sen Shi silently pressed down a gold coin.

The stall owner pursed his lips, impressed by the glittering gold coins. He then began processing the items from the Senshi Point. After this brief interlude, the surrounding crowd returned to its lively state, though people still occasionally glanced over.

Sen noticed something: most stalls were gradually attracting customers, but the one she was sitting at remained completely deserted. She pricked up her ears, trying to discern the whispers amidst the noise and wind—

"That little girl is so beautiful, so she's from the Chaos Land."

"I can't tell what race she is. Is she also a banshee?"

"They actually ordered something that the Queen likes. It's clear they have a very high status. Otherwise... they would have died. What an offense!"

"They must be confidants, otherwise they wouldn't have the guts to order these evil, devilish ingredients! I really don't know how these monsters have tongues that can eat such things."

Evil ingredients… Mori forced a wry smile. A closer look revealed that most of the surrounding stalls only sold meat.

Nobody orders offal or slightly dirty parts, but there are plenty of strange and unusual ingredients... There's even a stall that's showing off iron cages and auctioning off a few small bats inside.

I sat down next to Mori.

"As expected of Mori, always so courageous." After saying that, she also tried to order a beer. "Don't worry, I don't dare to eat those evil ingredients, just give me grilled beef."

"Okay." The stall owner breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Dandelion, carrying three large plates of roasted feathers in her left hand and a large glass of beer in her right, also sat down on the other side of Sen Shi, ignoring the gazes of the crowd. She had already gotten the food she wanted, so of course she wanted to stay close to the person she liked.

"Sen Shi, how about we wash your mouth with Fu Fu when we get back?"

"...These ingredients are actually quite normal."

“I can understand, after all, we are not a pure and innocent race.”

Dandelion, her face beaming with happiness, chewed on the "feathers" that had been roasted to a charred black mass, swallowed them, and then continued:

“But you can’t be so blatant. Don’t you know, this stall is specifically for the Demon Queen. She has extremely picky tastes and always eats strange ingredients. But Silvermoon City set up this stall out of respect.”

"……No wonder."

“As I told you before, and the ones you just ordered, are all considered ‘devilish ingredients’ because they are favored by the Queen of the Demons and Banshees.”

This was the first time Yuan had heard these inside stories. She was still somewhat unhappy when she learned that her own race had been used as an insulting metaphor.

Sen Shi didn't care anymore; since the die was cast, he might as well just enjoy the food at the night market.

The stall owner, after all, provided food for the Demon Queen, so his skills were superb. He put on white gloves imbued with purifying magic, first applying vegetable oil to the iron plate in front of Yuan to heat it up, and then taking the opportunity to heat the charcoal stove.

Next, two wooden cups were filled with beer one after another. Just as the foam was about to overflow, the vendor used a wooden stick to scrape off the excess foam, leaving only a full cup of beer.

"Ice or room temperature?" he asked.

"ice."

"...I want it iced too."

The stall owner picked up two ice magic crystals and tossed them in before serving them to the two women. The sizzling iron plate and charcoal stove were now at the perfect temperature, so he placed the finest beef ribs on the plate and poured over the black pepper and his secret sauce.

The oil and high temperature collided, releasing a fragrance.

Meanwhile, the stall owner tossed marinated chicken feet and pig ears onto the grill to roast slowly, sprinkling chili powder and other seasonings from time to time. Beef tongue, however, was a bit more difficult; after a moment's thought, he cut the meat into cubes, skewered them, and grilled them on a separate grill.

The intensely rich aroma was amplified by the flames, and Mori's face was filled with anticipation.

The stall owner, who had created such delicious food, was serious to the point of being somewhat melancholic. Every now and then, he would recite prayers about the coffin bearer, hoping that God would forgive his actions. Whenever this happened, Mori would silently mutter to himself, "If it doesn't taste good, then it won't be forgiven."

Yuan's grilled meat was cooked to perfection. She took a small sip of beer and then began cutting and stuffing meat into her mouth. As her cheeks puffed out, she would always say things like, "So tender, the juices and fat are so delicious," plain and unartistic remarks.

A smile speaks louder than a thousand words.

While she was chewing, she took out a book and started writing and drawing on it.

"No garlic?" Mori glanced at it and said.

The stall owner couldn't help but reply: "Garlic wards off evil spirits. You didn't tell me to add salt, so you should understand that. Those things affect the taste of evil food. Don't you people from the Chaotic Land love this kind of evil taste?"

"Haha, let's just say that's how it is."

At this moment, Yuan, who should have been enjoying her meal, put away her book and noticed something: half of the meat that should have remained on her plate was missing. Yuan immediately grabbed a knife, looking fierce, and questioned Mori and Dandelion:

"Even if we're partners, you can't... steal from my plate, can you two?"

"What?"

"I haven't even finished what's on my own plate, why would I steal yours?"

"Then, can someone tell me? Where is my meat?" Yuan's anger was immediately apparent, because the empty plate had been turned into powder out of thin air by these words.

But Yuan's anger was soothed in the next moment when a pair of extremely beautiful hands embraced her intimately from behind.

Although they are both arms, they are fundamentally different from the hands of ordinary women, in a way that is hard to understand. The beauty of the lines themselves, combined with the softness of the skin and the gorgeous fingers, made Mori forget how to look away.

"Thank you for the treat, your meat is delicious." The owner of the hand spoke leisurely, her voice sweet and dreamlike, yet tinged with the languidness unique to young girls.

"...Little Melia! I can smell the meat on your breath!"

Volume 1 #139 - The start was too bad.

Everyone knew the meaning behind the name that was invoked. It represented the Queen of the Chaos Lands, perhaps the most powerful being of our time—the Demon Queen Banshee—who had come here.

Everyone was tempted, but no one was foolish enough to show it on their face.

Mori, too, pretended not to care and silently took a sip of her beer. But inwardly, she thought to herself, "I never expected the Demon Queen to have such beautiful hands; I thought she was one of those demons made of lava and obsidian..."

Dandelion remained calm, simply straightening her back, tucking her hair behind her ears, and trying her best to appear as noble as a princess. Next came her task: to engage in political negotiations with the Demon Queen, hoping she would offer her assistance.

“For a devil who has never seen the world, you have pretty good taste, I suppose,” Melia said.

"Give me back my meat."

"Then I'll order you another one."

The voice came from lips as red as midsummer.

But before showing her face to others, Melia buried her face in Yuan's hair, and even her embrace tightened. Then, mumbled words slowly flowed out through Yuan's hair.

"The smell of sulfur from the demon realm, hmm, that's your smell."

"Little Melia, if you keep doing this I'm going to get angry. There are other people here." Yuan seemed quite familiar with this way of interacting. Although she was a little embarrassed, she didn't put up a strong resistance.

"I'm just expressing my love for you. It's not easy for us to meet in this world, and I want to spend as much time as possible with you before your life ends—my dearest friend."

Melia's voice was as faint as a wisp of smoke, almost imperceptible, as if she were hiding her sadness.

Yuan, however, didn't seem to care and gently patted Melia's hand: "Then have something to eat with me first."

"I'll listen to you."

She reluctantly left Yuan, revealing her figure and face—as if emerging from a cocoon in bottomless darkness. For some reason, this touched Mori Toki deeply.

Very beautiful.

Melia's eyes were tinged with an elegant pale purple, and her deep blue hair peeked out from under her hat.

She appeared even smaller than Sen Shi. Two faint dimples on her face gave her a unique beauty that combined all three: radiance, majesty, and cuteness.

But the two silver-white horns on her head and the uniquely textured pair of brown wings on her back prove that she is an extremely powerful banshee.

Sen was so engrossed in watching that he momentarily forgot his own habits. It took him a moment to remember to investigate the other person.

[Level 100 - Demon Queen Melia Sen]

As expected, she's at max level... and this presence, comparable to that full moon, truly befits her status as the Queen of the Chaos Lands. Just as Mori was thinking this, her gaze was locked onto by Melia's eyes.

"Were you looking at me just now?" the question rang out.

"Uh……"

This was an unexpected question… Mori managed to remain calm. She had been quite prepared; after all, anything could happen when dealing with such an important figure. Then, she adopted a composed yet assertive attitude to defend herself:

"...If this has troubled you, then I apologize. But please understand that I was merely paying homage to the legendary Queen of Demons and Banshees."

"I'm not that petty, but your gaze just now made me uncomfortable." After saying that, she sat down opposite Yuan, without any attendants by her side, but no one dared to approach her.

Her aura changed abruptly, as if icicles were scattered all around. Even a distance of just half an inch would turn someone into mincemeat.

"Never mind if I asked."

"Thank you."

Mori's impression of her changed somewhat; she was much younger than he had imagined, looking about the same age as Dandelion. Moreover, he had thought she was the kind of aloof, high-and-mighty ice queen, but she turned out to be more like an egocentric young girl.

Even under the watchful eyes of everyone, she shamelessly ate the leftover meat from her best friend's plate. Yet, despite this, her dignity remained completely intact.

While Sen was secretly admiring her, Melia yawned again, disregarding her image.

You can clearly see a thin line of drool trailing from her tiny, white teeth... Although it's a rather indecent pose, Mori still finds it cute... That's a really strange thought.

Mori also noticed some other things.

The area was permeated with traces of spatial magic, so much so that customers at other stalls didn't even notice them. Otherwise, given Melia's distinguished status, she would surely have attracted countless stares.

After everyone had taken their seats, Dandelion spoke up: "I am Dandelion from the Kingdom of Flowers."

“I know, I am the Queen of the Chaos Lands, just call me Melia.”

Just as Dandelion was about to continue the conversation, the unsuspecting stall owner finished grilling the wicked ingredients from the forest and was about to hand them over.

But halfway through—Melia happily accepted it.

She added a few words of praise: "Your eye for detail is getting better and better, and your timing for preparation is just right. It saves me from a long wait, and the beef tongue is a great choice."

“Uh… Demon Queen, please forgive me, you’ve misunderstood! These… were ordered by that guest over there.” He pointed to Mori.

Melia's hand holding the plate and Mori's hand suspended in the air both froze at the same time, and they both showed very similar stunned expressions.

The start was unsuccessful, and the atmosphere was quite awkward.

Even Dandelion, who had intended to discuss serious matters, swallowed hard, because the words stuck in her throat turned into breath, leaking out of her mouth in a "whoosh" sound, and were not words at all.

At this moment, the only one who remains calm is Yuan.

She first cleared her throat, trying to ease the atmosphere, after all, she was the one who brought in this meeting, and being responsible after-sales service is a devil's virtue.

"Well, this is actually easy to solve. How about this? Little Melia, you and I will switch seats... How about you and Mori share a plate?"

The awkwardness level in the air rose.