Cool morning sunlight slipped through the window, painting the room in silent light and shadow.
Inanna was awake.
She curled at the bed’s head, chin on her knees, arms hugging her legs like a cub seeking safety.
She lingered on last night’s dream fragments—the grand ball, the icy grip, the chilling voids under pink hair.
Puffshrooms had rushed forward, blocking the woman, sealing the door.
The dream ended like a play with no climax, lost in chaos.
Inanna didn’t understand. Her mother’s memory was faint but warm, stroking her hair when she cried.
Why was her dream mother so terrifying?
Clutching Knight Puffshroom No. 3, rubbing it for comfort, Inanna regained her spirit.
“Miss Inanna, Mr. Edin awaits outside,” a maid called softly.
Today was the city wall’s completion ceremony. As nominal lord, Inanna had to attend.
Hugging her Knight Puffshroom, she left the mansion. Edin, in fine noble attire, joined her to the north gate.
The gate buzzed with people. For many, this city’s rise held their sweat, and this ceremony was their pride.
Farr stood atop the towering wall, his amplified voice delivering a rousing speech, met with waves of cheers.
Everyone soaked in the fervor, but Inanna found the ceremony long and dull.
Good thing she didn’t need to speak—just stand there, endorsing Farr’s new role as interim city lord.
Farr’s contributions to the city were clear, though Inanna thought Puffshrooms deserved more credit. Still, a Puffshroom couldn’t be lord.
Inanna wouldn’t govern—she didn’t want to—so Farr was the best fit.
Eric had already gotten Duke Alama’s approval for this.
It was “interim” because a guild branch head doubling as city lord was unprecedented.
A branch head turning a town into a city in under a year? Unheard of.
In peacetime, the higher-ups might summon Farr, grant a noble title, and replace him as branch head.
But in wartime, swapping him out risked supply chain hiccups—not ideal.
So, formalities were delayed. Farr held both roles, overseeing as “interim city lord.”
At the speech’s end, Farr announced the city’s name—Mushroom Capital!
He’d wanted something elegant, like “Bodeclay,” meaning “land of plenty.”
But Inanna’s offhand “Mushroom Capital sounds nice” settled it, thanks to Lin Jun’s whisper to Pink Puffshroom.
To Farr, the name didn’t matter compared to the duke’s daughter’s support. As long as it wasn’t absurd like “Demon Capital,” he was fine.
Farr explained “Mushroom Capital’s” meanings, closing to roaring cheers.
The crowd dispersed, and guards took posts at the gate.
From now on, newcomers faced checks, registration, and entry taxes—Mushroom Capital ran by city rules!
Magic arrays lagged a month or two behind, though.
A traveling merchant handed over his guild papers and ID. After scrutiny and an entry fee, he entered the fabled city where “even streams float mushrooms.”
Leading his horse, he scanned shop signs, muttering, “Puffshroom Home… Puffshroom Home… No rush to connect, but I need the spot.”
That night, Pink Puffshroom had a nightmare.
Humans lit blazing fires, turning mushroom fields to ash.
Puffshroom Masters drove enslaved Puffshrooms, attacking the Mushroom Garden.
Garden Puffshrooms fought back, clashing fiercely at the stair entrance.
Inanna tried to stop the humans or aid the Puffshrooms, but they held her back, pushing her into a mushroom hut to hide.
Explosions, clashing weapons, and angry shouts pounded her ears.
In her dream, she couldn’t fathom why. Mushrooms saved humans from hunger, Puffshrooms showed only kindness—why destroy them?
The battle quieted. She stepped out, finding her Knight Puffshroom gone from the door.
Searching frantically, she found it at the stair’s bloody battlefield, still atop a pile of Puffshroom and human corpses, unresponsive.
Tears flowed. She rushed forward, hugging its limp body, sobbing.
She woke suddenly.
Her familiar room, not the Mushroom Garden. Sensing Knight Puffshroom No. 3, still clear and safe in her arms.
“A dream… just a dream.” Inanna hugged it tighter, tears sliding down.
The “mother” dream’s scary face hadn’t fazed her much—not a true nightmare, just odd.
But this? A real nightmare. Her heart still ached.
Since dreaming of her mother, things had turned strange.
She recalled Eric’s warning: tell him if nightmares hit.
She thought of her mother and the Dreambloom’s effects. Fear gripped her.
Was this a sickness?
Would she, like her mother, weaken in endless nightmares and die young?
Inanna didn’t want to die. She loved this life, wanted to stay with Puffshrooms forever.
She should tell Eric… but he’d take her back to the duke’s mansion.
Worse, if it was a sickness, it might be incurable! Her mother died despite everything.
“What do I do…” Inanna clung to her Knight, seeking comfort.
Later, as Lin Jun tested Sunstone light on a comatose Little Blue, Pink Puffshroom’s pitiful plea came through: “Boss… I-I might be dying!”
(End of Chapter)
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