Brain bloom

Yuan asked curiously, "I also saw Man before."

Lord Balzac's eyelids twitched. Mori secretly gave Yuan a thumbs up under the table, but Yuan was genuinely puzzled as to why the other party would lie, without any other intention.

"May I ask who you are?" he asked Yuan.

This question made her puff out her chest: "Didn't we meet in the realm of demons just a few days ago? Who do you think is the demon sitting in the main seat, dozing off the whole time?"

“It’s just that the meeting was too boring,” Melia said with a laugh. “That’s why I said the price you’ll have to pay will be very high.”

Lord Balzac's hair stood on end; this little barbecue stall was probably more troublesome than a formidable castle.

He sighed, looked at Sen Shi, and slowly said, "Speaking of which, have you explored that ruin? Man told me that his seal was broken by a violent means..."

Melia was somewhat surprised: "Ruins?"

"I've explored it, and I personally dismantled that exaggerated seal," Mori replied calmly, sipping his drink.

“In any case, you made a mistake. You shouldn’t have explored that ruin… The seal is also a form of protection.” He looked at the departing Evil Mist and continued, “I guess you were lucky; no Evil Mist appeared in the ruin.”

"Wait, are the ruins you're talking about relics of a civilization located beneath the Earth's crust?" Melia asked earnestly.

"Hmm, is it related to the ominous mist we just encountered?"

"Yes... What we can confirm at present is that a very small number of ruins are autonomously emitting ominous mist."

This inside story greatly surprised both Sen Shi and Dandelion.

Lord Balzac pressed on: "Four Seasons One, what did you find in the ruins? Please set aside past grievances; the Evil Mist is a great danger facing the entire world, greater than hatred between nations and peoples."

"Nothing was found."

"I need the facts."

Mori hesitated for a moment, then said to him in a complicated tone, "I have... discovered some strange technological products? The structure and design are very similar to pseudo-technological products."

Lord Balzac's eyelids twitched again, and he fell silent. Sen Shi took in this reaction, sensing that there were many complex details behind it... Perhaps, this was also the intelligence needed for the restoration of the kingdom.

He was speechless for a few seconds before changing the subject.

"Getting back to the point, I will not protect the Four Seasons, because that would be tantamount to immediately breaking the contract. Perhaps the Holy Coffin Kingdom will forgive me, but... the Peda Empire will use this as an excuse to launch another attack on my island."

"If I had known you were weak, I wouldn't have expected you to protect them."

Melia scoffed, skewered the chicken butts, sprinkled on the seasoning and her own smile, and handed them to Yuan.

He quickly switched back to a powerful diplomatic tone: "Let's change it to a vulgar but reasonable price. Those nobles I just protected, there must be dozens of them, right? Give half of the taxes they pay to you each year to the Chaos Land."

"...Do you know how much income this is?"

"Seventy percent." She raised her price.

"...Queen of Demon Banshees, I have always considered you a distinguished guest of Silvermoon City."

"Yes, that's why I stepped in to help. Otherwise, you can remind them that they can still enjoy life because of whose help? If you disagree, I'll let the whole ship be destroyed in the Evil Fog first, even though the Evil Fog is gone?"

……

(P.S., I've released them all together... even though it's a bit late.)

Volume 1, Chapter 153: Night is Dying

This single word constitutes an extremely blatant threat, which doesn't even qualify as diplomatic language.

Mori was somewhat surprised. Although one doesn't necessarily need to pursue political rhetoric in such private settings, Melia's words were far too blunt.

She couldn't help but start to feel that her daughter was not actually the kind of queen who was the most elegant and always kind and amiable in the country, but more like a bandit leader... Perhaps the Chaotic Land under her leadership was just a place where hooligans gathered?

As Mori had anticipated, these impolite words annoyed Lord Balzac, who was on the other side of the negotiations. Although he didn't show it outwardly, his face remained as still as stone.

Let me do the math for you.

"Oh, how thoughtful. Do you want to make sure you know exactly what money you'll be paying me in the future?"

"On average, those who board the Night Market ship have families whose businesses generate nearly a thousand gold coins in profit each year. The nobles you just saved generate even more, including many large families with annual profits of several thousand gold coins. These taxes are the true foundation of Silvermoon City."

Melia looked at him coldly: "People who lie habitually are truly terrifying."

He continued, "In any case, if I were to give you that much, Silvermoon City would collapse—I refuse."

"Then let's trade technology for it, some minor techniques from pseudo-industry."

"This……"

Lord Balzac's expression changed for the first time, a hint of anger flashing across his face.

Melia twirled the wooden stick in her hand and casually made a request in a conversational tone: "What I've always been interested in is how your pseudo-scientific crafts burns crystallized spiritual energy?"

"...Why do you want to know this?"

"As you know, fire element is very useful when fighting against the Evil Mist. Our country has many mages with an abundance of spiritual energy crystals, so I wanted to use the stockpiled spiritual energy crystals as weapons. Unfortunately, I just can't ignite them."

Lord Balzac's gaze softened slightly: "This technology is one of the core elements of pseudo-science craftsmanship, but since it's for combating the Evil Mist, well, I agree."

"Okay, then let's exchange 20% of the tax revenue for this technology."

"At most, we can only offer 10%, and for a maximum of three years."

"Deal—with this condition: on each Silvermoon City tax day, the gold coins must be handed over to the Four Seasons. That's settled then. Go prepare the technology I need; I must have it before I return home."

Mori was chewing on a piece of barbecue smeared with chili oil when she suddenly noticed Melia pointing at her. She froze for a moment, stuck in a rather silly pose. She noticed Melia secretly giving her a sly smile, looking exceptionally happy.

Lord Balzac remained restrained throughout, nodded in acceptance, and then silently left.

The deck fell silent once more.

“We don’t want that money,” Dandelion said righteously. “Thank you for your kindness.”

"It's not for you, it's still my money. Since you live nearby, I'll leave it with you first," Melia chuckled.

"Oh..." Dandelion's face immediately turned bright red, as if the snow-white down on her head was about to be dyed red as well. Sen Shi patted his princess on the shoulder, offered a few words of comfort, and thought to himself that it was good that he hadn't said it first.

However, she had another question she wanted to ask—

What are you up to?

At first, she thought her daughter was just taking advantage of the situation. But seeing that her daughter wasn't obsessed with money, she became less sure. Melia must have something in mind... If Mori wasn't mistaken, the key was that technology.

“I really like the Night Market, I come here often.” Her voice was somewhat enigmatic.

"……What's the meaning?"

“I always have Daniel around to protect me, and I often wander around the Night Market Ship—we’re both very smart,” she said with a smile, her eyes seemingly expecting Mori to figure out the answer himself.

And coincidentally, these hints were already quite sufficient, and Sen Shi actually had some speculations.

"I thought the Demon Queen's fondness for night markets was just for the barbecue..."

"Well, but I prefer to enjoy a barbecue while admiring my own country."

"Can your Eerlong carry you?"

“That guy is a germaphobe; he doesn’t like the smell of barbecue oil on his scales.” She shrugged, her face full of regret.

Sen didn't ask any more questions; the answer was already obvious. It seemed that the transaction had given her the final piece of the puzzle.

She frequented the Night Market Ship, likely to secretly learn the craftsmanship and technology behind these airships. And the core technology she just requested is probably the final missing piece.

She wanted to build the same airship, perhaps for entertainment, perhaps for war. But in any case, Mori felt no fear, because this was her daughter, someone she could trust, just like Dandelion and Kaname.

At this moment, Yuan secretly opened a small passage to the Demon Realm under the table, intending to throw the chicken's rear end, which she couldn't bear to eat, into it. To ensure the plan's success, she spoke to attract attention:

"Little Melia, is the Evil Fog getting thicker again? Is it dangerous? How about we make a deal? I'll lend you a hundred high-level Balrogs to deal with it?"

"No, it's been much quieter lately."

"...Then what do you need their technology for?"

"To punish the devil who broke his promise—go ahead and throw as much as you want, I'll bake as much as you throw for you, since you said you'd eat it anyway."

"Ugh."

……

The Night Market Ship cannot return to Silvermoon City for the time being. Although the threat of the Evil Mist is gone, if it returns at night, the ghosts that roam at night will become a terrifying threat.

Those with physical disabilities received treatment and had parts replaced, while Lord Balzac comforted everyone in the cabins. Only a few dared to venture onto the deck to endure the arduous nights.

Time passed slowly—the Night Market Ship finally returned to the vicinity of Silvermoon City and was circling around, waiting for dawn.

All night, Yuan was in a daze because she had eaten chicken butts and thought they were delicious... She wondered if she had lost the right to be a devil.

Mori was very sleepy. After confirming that he had leveled up five times and that the loot was indeed the [Score of the Corpse Collector] he wanted, he dozed off on the table.

Only Dandelion and Melia were still full of energy. They faced each other and kept testing each other.

On the surface, everything appears harmonious, but beneath the surface, undercurrents are surging.

Melia wanted to know how far things had progressed in the relationship between Mori and Dandelion, and she also wanted to subtly probe whether she was really willing to sell Mori.

Dandelion wants to know if the two are really father and daughter. Also, she hopes to find out where Mori's nickname came from.

Just when they were both at their breaking point, fed up with the endless repetition of the same old things, and ready to get straight to the point, Yuan's mutterings reached their ears.

“…Oh, this is the mineral vein that Dad mentioned.”

She was staring blankly at the thick white cloud on the horizon, just as the night market bus was about to pass by.

Volume 1, Chapter 154: Nayin Cloud

Neither of them missed Yuan's mutterings, and they looked curiously in the direction she was looking. Since Yuan had already eaten one skewer, she wouldn't make any more excuses to secretly throw away the food.

Mineral veins in the air... Dandelion immediately thought of something.

Her poisoned wine was all bought up by the Ancient Demon King. The money used to buy it was a one-year mining right to a vein of minerals located east of Silvermoon City. Although the value was indeed equivalent, Dandelion found it troublesome and had been too busy lately to tell Sen Shi.

In this world, several types of minerals originate from clouds, and with luck, one might even encounter quite rare associated minerals. However, these suspended mineral veins are actually quite rare. Since this place is near Silvermoon City, and there's a large, seemingly soft cloud here, it's highly likely to be her mineral vein.

“Is this the mine you made a deal with me?” she asked.

"I need to take a look..."

She took out a clean handkerchief embroidered with something that looked like an owl, and first wiped the grime off her hands. Then she took out the book she always carried with her and quickly flipped through it.

She would occasionally look at the setting moon and stars to determine her direction before nodding in affirmation.