Brain bloom

"Well... um... I do have a deep connection with your mother."

Mori was too embarrassed to explain, but what he actually wanted to do was go to her mother to discuss combat techniques and, incidentally, ask for equipment, even if his methods were a bit crude...

"That's all history now, let's talk about it later."

"Ok."

What followed was more important. Mori carefully considered his words before asking the question that mattered most to him—"I'm curious, who is your father? Because in my time, your mother should have been single..."

"This..."

Melia became a little shy. She was indeed straightforward and would express her joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness directly.

To answer, she first pushed the stall owner, who was roasting chicken butts, away. Then, with a flick of her fingers, she cast a barrier spell powerful enough to envelop the surrounding space, ensuring that only the three of them were qualified to hear the answer to the question.

"Please keep this a secret, and I hope so too. It's a secret of mine that I haven't told you before, please forgive me..."

"Ugh, I hate hearing secrets. There's always a price to pay for it to be equal... Well, I'm curious about little Melia's father too."

"The price? Just finish all ten skewers of chicken butts and add five plates of large intestines later. These are all delicacies."

"I...I agree."

After joking with her best friend, Melia looked at the dandelion again. Only after receiving her promise did she tell Mori the answer to the question.

Moreover, it was said in a tone full of pride and nostalgia—

“I am not a pure-blooded banshee, but a half-blood.”

"……oh?"

“My father was a human being, and the strongest man in the world! Even looking back through history, there is no one who can match him. Not even the so-called true gods, or the ancient beings of the demon realm, could defeat him!”

The answer to the question sounded like a child boasting.

"So strong? Are there really people like that?" This was a question shared by both Yuan and Dandelion.

Melia spoke again, even more vehemently than before, turning into a passionate and impassioned boast.

"He is a true master of combat, born only to fight and kill! He possesses powerful tools, armor, and weapons that I still cannot imagine. He has reached the pinnacle of magic, is an incredibly powerful archer, and is proficient in the use of all weapons in the world... even though he is a fool."

While Dandelion and Yuan were filled with curiosity, Mori tilted his head, feeling that something was off about the answer...

Human? Combat master? Born for battle?

Instantly, Mori's intuition planted a large flag in her heart. The curious wind made it flutter, and Mori knew very well that it was embroidered with two large characters: "Large Size".

“My father was a fool; he only remembered his own surname, Mori. Please remember that this is the surname of the strongest in history! I am fortunate to have inherited it; his and my mother’s blood flows in my veins, and my soul carries their legacy… Yes, I am working hard to not let all of this be disgraced.”

A certain seasonal follower finally understood why she always felt so fond of Melia…

Volume 1, Chapter 142: If You Have the Answer

Mori looked blank and was the quietest of the four.

She silently ate the chicken feet, and as usual, casually used wind magic to shape a dagger, then cut off the best-tasting tendon from the foot, dipped it in plenty of chili powder, and put it in her mouth. But even though the spiciness made her tongue complain, it couldn't calm Mori's heart.

large……

From any perspective, it can now be asserted that Melia's father is undoubtedly her biological father.

Her main account also came to the game world? And even got involved with the final dungeon boss? And then had a pretty daughter? None of this really matters. There's only one thing that can make her angry.

Who exactly, for what reason, and by what means, took away her hard-earned account?

The memory of that account, into which she had poured years of effort, starting from scratch and finally reaching its limit, was still vivid. She couldn't even remember how much resources and time she had invested in skills and equipment to increase damage by even the slightest bit…

If it perishes along with the world, that's fine.

But if someone were to steal it... Mori vowed that he would make them pay the price.

Given her pessimistic nature, it's quite possible that her soul was taken away by some conspiracy. Or perhaps, before being summoned by the dandelion, her soul was actually residing in the large vessel, but she simply forgot.

Sen was lost in thought and didn't notice that Melia was watching her. Her unconscious actions—picking out the tendon from a chicken claw and dipping it in chili—were constantly stirring Melia's heart.

She looks exactly like her father...

Suddenly, Mori looked up: "Meria, my dear... I mean, how is that human surnamed Mori, your father, doing now?"

“They have passed away, as has my mother.” In her reply, Melia forgot to display the haughtiness of a queen.

"He passed away... He actually passed away?"

Suppressing his anger, Sen asked again.

"How did your father die, and how did he meet your mother? Tell me everything now."

Her attitude was rude, but Melia still didn't feel the slightest bit disgusted.

Because an inexplicable intuition was tormenting her… Moritoki… that name also contained that word. With wavering resolve, Melia looked directly into Moritoki's eyes and slowly began to recount the stories from years past.

“My mother told me that my father was her suitor.”

"Huh? A suitor?"

Dandelion and others are willing to be bystanders and listen silently.

What Melia said was what she had heard from her succubus mother.

……

It was that powerful, unparalleled man, yet taciturn, who opened the courtyard gate and appeared before the lonely banshee.

They met more than once; every week, without fail, he would come to see her.

Each brief encounter was a silent clash of swords, a flurry of magic. The banshee, thinking in her own way, believed this was his way of expressing desire—a pure desire for conquest, a boast of his power, to subdue the proud and aloof banshee.

The banshee had had enough of loneliness, and this was the first time she had encountered someone stronger than herself.

But every time the succubus was defeated, he would stop and never hurt her again, showing his gentle side once more.

As a token of gratitude for being spared and to express her subtle affection, the banshee would present him with one of her treasures after the battle.

This went on for several weeks.

The night before they were supposed to meet, a night of flowing stars adorned the sky with a romantic scene. On that very night, he arrived at the courtyard as promised, but did not engage in battle as usual.

He simply stood at the doorway, reaching out as if to push open the courtyard gate, but hesitated for a long time.

……

Throughout this story, Melia had been secretly observing Mori's behavior. Sometimes her face would flush and her heart would race; other times she would clutch her head and shout something, as if she were cursing. Yet, occasionally, a hint of nostalgia would appear on her face—as if she had personally experienced everything.

"So that's how little Melia's parents got together? How barbaric."

"Mori, do you know them? They sound like they're from the same era as you."

"...Ah, I know, I know very well."

Because it was she herself who went to farm the Banshee every week to get equipment, but the boss she was farming seemed to have misunderstood everything.

She then asked Melia, "And then? After the night of the 'Starry Night,' your father must have become an empty shell without a soul, right? And whose soul crawled into it?"

"I didn't tell you that it's the loss of the soul."

Mori realized he had misspoke and quickly corrected himself: "...I was just guessing."

“My father did indeed lose his soul at that time. My mother was in great pain. After investigation, she found that his soul had been taken away by an irresistible fate. But before his soul was taken away, he still came to keep his promise, with a very firm love. So, my mother, who was deeply moved by this love, paid a huge price to do something for him.”

Her words abruptly stopped; Melia deliberately kept everyone in suspense, hoping to discern the glint in Sen's eyes.

Just like her father...

Melia suppressed her unease, ignoring the questions swirling in her mind, and calmly began to recount the ending of her parents' love story—

"The fate that my father's soul was entangled with was truly mysterious. Even when my mother used the 'Fate Reversal Magic,' she could only forcibly summon a small part of my father's soul."

"A part? Are you sure it's not someone else's soul?"

“Don’t joke around. Incompatible souls can’t enter other bodies,” Melia continued. “What’s summoned is a very, very pessimistic soul. It has nothing left but its own surname.”

"pessimistic……"

This word stirred endless ripples in Mori's heart.

“Yes, my father is an extremely pessimistic person. And you, Moritoshi, are you a pessimistic person?” Melia asked, her gaze so intense it seemed to burn Moritoshi.

"I……"

Sen fell silent.

She remembered clearly that she was a pessimistic person. Even when the world was about to be struck by a meteorite, she only accepted it with a melancholy attitude. Moreover, whatever she thought about or did, she would always anticipate the worst possible outcome.

But... is she really like that now?

No.

Even when he accepted the arduous and epic mission of restoring the nation, he encouraged Dandelion along the way and stayed by her side with an optimistic smile.

No matter what kind of strange equipment they make, even if the materials are scarce and there is no further preparation, they will just blindly rush into it.

Even after discovering underwater ruins and being accidentally drawn into them, she still dared to bravely go down to explore.

All of this is proof of optimism and self-confidence.

She wasn't the pessimistic person she claimed to be. Perhaps something was missing from her soul; what she lacked was that "pessimistic" part.

"—The father's soul is only a small part, and the mother doesn't know where the rest is either."

A sorrowful voice, emanating from Melia's bitter lips, brought Mori back to reality.

"This is what I've been searching for, it's incredibly precious to me, I'd give anything for it... So, if you have the answer, could you tell me?"

……

(P.S. Is it toxic? Is it toxic? It's not toxic, is it...?)

Volume 1, Chapter 143: Friends

It's clear that Melia's question came from the heart; she was eager to know the answer.

For her, the truth behind this was indeed of great significance, and Mori could imagine what kind of feelings she had.

If one day, a dearest relative who should have passed away and only exists in memories suddenly has a slim hope of reunion, then everyone would reach out and try to hold onto their beloved family member. Even if they couldn't hold on, they would still try to find out the truth.