Brain bloom

"Willing?" Mori looked up and saw Melia's sad face.

"Yes, she will die soon. It's beyond her control... killed by her own adoptive father, the Ancient Demon King. I have been searching for a way to save her, but to no avail."

"This……"

"Let's skip this sad topic. My second biggest regret has taken a turn for the better... Aunt Mori, it's okay if you don't admit it. I plan to invite you to visit the Chaos Land and see my country."

Melia smiled and turned to look up at the stars in the sky.

She wanted to boast to her father, to tell them that she had grown up, accomplished something great, and could now take care of her parents.

"I... I'm not going. I don't know what you're thinking, but your dad and I are just friends."

Melia looked very happy: "Then come back with me and prove it. I have a way of figuring it out—and actually, you and I both know the truth. Don't underestimate the banshee's intuition and eyes."

"The key point is! I'm a girl! I can't be your father at all."

In a moment of crisis, Mori revealed his trump card.

This is a tragic statement; once uttered, it's as if fate is forever branded with the identity of a woman… How pitiful. Even more tragically, this statement had no effect.

Melia smiled, revealing her sharp teeth: "Isn't that even better?"

For the first time in his life, Mori felt so desperate.

Before she could continue struggling, Melia did something that puzzled Mori: she stood on the edge of the boat, facing the howling wind. It was as if one more step would send her plummeting to her death. Mori instinctively reached out to grab her, to stop her from doing something so dangerous.

"My father was always so taciturn, but he liked to grill some strange foods. Thanks to that, I also fell in love with that weird taste... I'm very good at grilling, so that my father can praise me when he comes back from his trip."

She raised her hand and beckoned to the distant E'long with her finger, urging it to come closer. But before E'long returned, it continued speaking to Sen Shi—

"He never praised me, not even until his death."

She glanced sideways at Sen.

Under Mori's same gaze, the elegant night illuminated Melia's beauty. She needed no sunlight to enhance her presence; even in the dim light, she radiated a captivating glow.

That was a radiance from the depths of the soul.

"Will you praise me? All I want is a compliment like that..."

"I……"

The dragon came at her summons, its massive body swaying, each flap of its wings shattering the clouds below. Its fangs were clearly visible, as if it wanted to devour the entire ship.

It came to take Senshi to the Land of Chaos.

But halfway through, the E'long ignored Melia's waving finger and instead looked towards the other side of the starry night, its scales pulsating with brownish-red spiritual energy. Sen Shi knew that this was a state of combat readiness; this was the true terrifying aspect of the E'long.

Melia looked in the same direction, her rage as intense as a summer flower.

"What on earth is bothering me at this time?"

"There are enemies... Oh, thank goodness." Mori murmured, thinking that he was finally saved.

Volume 1, Chapter 145: The Silent Arrival of the Calamity Fog

The Night Market was originally an airship built by Silvermoon City for combat, but because the human world lost its nights, it was transformed into something for certain nobles to enjoy the night under pressure.

Since peace has already arrived, why not use it to make some money? This was also Silvermoon City's idea. Over time, the name Night Market became fixed, and the original plan to install fake weapons never came to fruition; instead, it became seating to accommodate more customers.

Nobles are not usually stingy with their taxes, but that doesn't mean they are a kind bunch.

The most important requirement is to ensure the safety of the night market bus.

The safe route for the Night Market was finally determined at a considerable cost.

The goal was to capture the most beautiful scenery while avoiding the ominous fog from the north. It was also to steer clear of various floating plates and the powerful races inhabiting the clouds, and to refrain from encountering the eerie natural phenomena emanating from even higher altitudes.

But today, this shipping route has encountered problems.

Aside from Erlong and Melia, the first to discover this was Lord Balzac, who was sitting in the government office on the ship's roof, handling matters while drinking bitter wine.

A thick head of golden hair, like that of a lion, framed his domineering face, but his eyes revealed a profound wisdom.

As the world's number one adventurer, his intuition always allows him to detect danger instantly, no matter where he is—even if it's just a tiny detail.

"This is...the sky above the northern grasslands, the concentration of evil energy in the air shouldn't be this high..." He put down his pen and documents, muttering to himself as he sniffed out the minute changes in the air.

Then consider the region where this place is located: the north.

A highly dangerous word made him immediately stand up and shout towards the door: "Return! It might be the Evil Fog!"

Outside, the captain, enjoying a hand-rolled cigarette under the starry night, was a fraction of a second too late to hear the shout. The word startled him, and he quickly dropped the cigarette, but burned his hand in the process, making him several seconds too late. Only then did he stagger towards the control room.

But it was all too late.

A thick fog, indistinguishable from chaos, had silently crept up to the ship. But it was invisible and colorless; only a very few people could detect it, and by then it was too late.

At this very moment, the deck is still bustling with activity—

The auction of juvenile vampires is nearing its end. This is the most exciting activity of the night market, as skewered juvenile vampires are an extremely rare delicacy.

They always treat it as the highlight of the auction.

Inside the cage, the bats were more restless than usual, as if they sensed danger. But both the seller and the customers were so engrossed in their appetites and the glittering gold coins that no one paid any attention to the food's reaction.

On the other side—

"Look, he really is the father of the Demon Queen Banshee."

"...Why? I still can't figure it out."

Dandelion and Wish, hiding in the shadows, were still quietly watching the family reunion.

Dandelion calmly explained, "I think I've already told you, haven't I? Mori is a hero from history whom we summoned."

Yuan nodded and continued to listen to Dandelion.

"But at that time, we discovered that there were some problems with the summoning... Mori's soul was incomplete. We initially thought it was a magic failure, but it turned out that it was not a failure, but rather that something was always missing."

"...So that's what you thought of?"

“Yes, because the timing matches up. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have thought of this… It seems that the missing part was summoned by Melia’s mother.”

When it was summoned, the strawberry vines in the forest were healthy, which was enough to prove that the soul was also healthy, so Dandelion never took the details of the soul's incompleteness seriously.

After all, she felt that a great hero must carry many burdens. The absence of a soul is like a scar on the body. And today has indeed proven that this scar on the soul does indeed have a special story…

And in this story, there's a daughter... It's so heartwarming, so heartwarming that Dandelion, clutching her staff, trembled with indignation.

"However, why does Mori Toki have another body, and a human one at that..." Yu asked.

"I don't know either." Dandelion pouted, still looking dejected.

Suddenly, Yuan's expression turned extremely serious: "—Princess, did you feel it?"

“I can sense it, they’re about to recognize each other… Can I make a deal with you? Please kill Melia.”

“When it’s not a joke, Princess… seems to be Evil Mist.”

Upon hearing this dangerous word, the dandelion looked back like a startled snake, but there was no trace of that conspicuous leaden-gray mist anywhere.

But Dandelion remained vigilant. She then realized that the dandelions above her were sharp as needles, already poised for battle. This wasn't directed at Melia, but rather at another kind of danger lurking in the air.

Where is the Calamity Mist?

"They've already climbed onto the boat."

"That can't be right, why can't I see it?"

Before Yuan could offer any speculation, they heard a scream. Yuan stopped hiding and waved away the shadowy figure that was covering her.

Standing at the edge of the boat, the high and mighty Melia was startled by the sudden appearance of the two people. If it weren't for the frantic flapping of her small wings, she probably would have fallen overboard. She steadied herself, still shaken, and glared at her dearest friend—

"You! Were you eavesdropping?!"

"Little Melia, it's Evil Mist."

Melia immediately jumped back onto the deck, shielding the dizzy Morishi behind her, but bumped into Dandelion in the process.

They exchanged subtle glances, both with the same goal—to protect Mori, who appeared to be drunk.

“…You are stronger than me and can provide her with greater security.” Dandelion yielded; she had no intention of making such a childish move, because Mori Toki herself was more important.

"I promise."

"Waaah... Dandelion, I want to eat..." Mori made a whimpering sound, as soft as cotton.

"I'm here, Mori. What would you like to eat?"

"I'm dizzy... I want to eat you."

"It seems that the ominous mist has devoured something extremely terrifying, which is why it has lost its original color."

She had been observing the activity on deck and had already made considerable inferences about the enemy, so she was reminding her three companions.

"A terrifying monster. This is troublesome. It was able to climb onto the ship so silently, which means that its level is also quite terrifying."

However, the three of them remained silent, seemingly uninterested in the enemy's true identity.

Looking back with concern, she found them huddled together, discussing what to eat. It didn't seem like they were taking care of Moritoki. It was more like they were discussing "you eat half, I'll eat half," and Moritoki was powerless to resist.

"you……"

She felt mentally exhausted; perhaps she should go back to the Demon Realm and get some sleep.

……

(PS.)

The second update might be very late.

Also, regarding the update issue this month, there are still some unpaid chapters from July that haven't been made up. We'll consider a new bounty after that...

The current plan is two updates per day until the reward is paid off... Future rewards will no longer be based on a minimum of one update, but rather a minimum of two updates. However, I haven't decided on the reward conditions yet, we'll see...)

Volume 1 #146 · Thank you for your generosity

Just now, Mori seemed to have said something that Melia found hard to understand. He spoke to Dandelion in an extremely intimate, even yearning tone, saying he wanted to eat her…

Although Melia inherited her emotional intelligence and IQ from her parents, miraculously they were not low.

Naturally, the concept of "eating" can be interpreted in many ways... At this critical juncture, even she, the Demon Queen, needs to be wary of the approaching Evil Mist, yet these two Seasonal Beings are flirting right in front of her?!