“Letter Writing of the Academy’s Greatest Mind!”
Pastel gripped the stationery and began to scribble with a quill.
Swish, swish, swish, swish.
“Whoa!”
“To my beloved Melissa Camarot.
It’s been a long time since I shared news. It’s been ages since we last talked, and I’m so thrilled to bring you some good news, especially since I know you must have been lonely in my absence.
During the vacation, I plan to visit the Camarot estate and mansion to deepen our friendship. I’m already excited about how wonderful it will be to spend time together and create memories. You must be looking forward to it too.
Of course, I want to make sure I don’t interfere with your busy schedule. Please let me know a time that works for you, and I’ll arrange my visit accordingly.
Wishing health to you and your family, and counting down the days until we meet again.
Sincerely, your friend, Pastel Love Craft.”
The quill was set down.
Pastel, with narrowed eyes and a cool demeanor, reviewed the letter’s content and admired it to herself.
“Perfect!”
The very essence of a noble lady.
“Am I, perhaps, a natural-born noble?”
“Perfect! Perfect!”
Holding the stationery, Pastel twirled around.
A million-point letter.
“Melissa will be so moved by this letter that she’ll open up her farm for free without any explanation!”
Then, I’ll secretly dig up some funds and use it for our guild—perfect!
“Give it to me.”
The Demon Lord reached out.
“Hehe!”
Pastel puffed up with confidence.
“Even if your gloomy mind tries to judge my masterpiece, the truth won’t change!”
She held the letter high.
“A million-point letter~!”
Oh yeah.
“Right.”
The Demon Lord snatched away the letter she was holding high.
“Ah!”
That was my million-point letter!
“Hmm. The first sentence is incorrect. When did you and she become best friends?”
“Since we first met! The very moment I did this!”
Pastel squinted her eyes.
“Friend Beam~!”
Level 999 Friend Ray!
“This is why, this is why!”
Pastel dashed to the opposite side. Pretending to be hit by the friend beam.
“Melissa, ahhh! Pastel’s friend beam is so amazing! I can’t recover! I have to become her friend right now!”
“That doesn’t match my memory. Didn’t it start with a sparring match where one side only ran away?”
“What? That can’t be! How can my and the Demon Lord’s memories have discrepancies? Isn’t it your memory that’s faulty?”
In that moment, Pastel suddenly realized an enormous truth. Her eyes widened.
“Could it be… Dementia…?”
Whoa.
Ahhh.
Such a painfully realistic word.
No sense of guilt whatsoever in this absurdity.
Pastel trembled with guilt.
“T-That’s alright! It’s a natural occurrence for someone of your age! But I still like you, my lord!”
The rolled-up letter smacked the girl’s head.
Ouch.
“Don’t indulge in your own delusions.”
Huh?
The Demon Lord pulled out a new piece of stationery.
“I’ll edit it for you, so rewrite it all.”
“That can’t be! It’s a million-point letter! Sure, my mention of us being friends might differ just a smidge from reality, but the rest was written perfectly!”
Just a tiny bit different!
“I see. Then I’ll just write it myself.”
Whaaaat?
It seems that society’s customs and culture couldn’t accept the super ultra extraordinary Pastel.
The Demon Lord rewrote the letter.
The letter was swiftly dispatched by airship.
Pastel hopped onto the airship heading to the Camarot estate.
“Let’s see if I can arrive faster than the letter!”
“Of course, but you can’t arrive before the letter.”
Whoa, incredible fact!
“What’s so amazing about that?”
There was no direct airship from Sky Island to the Camarot estate.
Instead, she took an airship to a midway point, then transferred to another airship heading to Camarot.
Three flight switches?
Ahhh.
A schedule she couldn’t even bear to imagine.
But it was her schedule.
She even received a response letter along the way and changed airships three times.
Pastel became a worn-out mess from the intense travel schedule. She slumped weakly against the airship railing, her pink hair flapping like laundry hung out to dry.
Ahh.
Overexerted Pastel…
Overexerted Pastel…
The Demon Lord sighed and patted her back.
“You should have eaten in moderation. How could you possibly finish an entire roast pig by yourself?”
“Ugh, I could have done it… If only my stomach were a bit stronger, I wouldn’t have an upset stomach and would have digested everything!”
Wait, what?
Pastel realized it wasn’t the travel schedule wearing her out; it was overeating!
It wasn’t overexerted Pastel; it was just the gluttonous Pastel!
Whoa, incredible fact!
Pastel hung limply against the railing, shocked.
Her pink eyes sparkled.
Then she drooped again.
I ate too much…
Hehe.
The Demon Lord patted her back.
“Trying to shift your mindset might help a bit. Look over there. You can see the Great Forest.”
He pointed a finger towards the distance.
A long castle wall extended down to the ground. Beyond it, an endlessly vast forest was revealed.
The forest was huge and dense. Trees that easily surpassed the height of the castle wall filled the ecosystem as if it were completely normal.
“That’s the Great Forest, an area deemed uncolonizable. It remains one of the last frontiers for the Empire, which has conquered all nations.”
“Wow!”
Pastel’s eyes sparkled.
“Give me a telescope! Telescope! Telescope!”
As she shook the Demon Lord vigorously, a telescope landed in her hands. She peered through it at the Great Forest.
“Wow! It’s totally dense! The trees look sturdy, and the undergrowth is lush! Colonization would be impossible there!”
Seems like no one could live there.
“That’s true, but there are bigger factors at play. Hmm, look over there.”
She pointed the telescope following his finger.
Out of the forest came a red wild boar.
Oink, oink.
“That’s a fire wild boar.”
“Oh, that’s an adorable name.”
Looks like it would be friends with a roasted pig.
“You can also call it a wild boar.”
Suddenly not cute at all.
“I’ll still call it a fire wild boar.”
Pastel observed her oinky friend.
The fire wild boar wandered out of the woods curiously and charged towards the castle wall.
The soldiers atop the wall sprang into action. Cannons were aimed, and fire was unleashed. Shells flew, hitting the wild boar. As the magic circle activated, an explosion erupted.
“Oinky friend!”
It turned into roasted pork!
Pastel’s stomach and the roasted pig were best friends!
Ahhh.
As the flames died down, a somewhat okay wild boar emerged, bleeding from its head. The boar let out a ghastly roar and charged at the castle wall.
Bam!
The house-sized boar collided with the wall, creating a thunderous noise. The sound reached even the airship in the sky.
Ahhh?
Are you a friend of the white sand who lived in the sewer?
The cannons fired in succession. Explosions surrounded the wild boar, shaking the air around.
Thanks to the continued flight of the airship, they couldn’t see what happened next.
“The Camarot family has long protected the southern border. They maintain a significant military presence and possess excellent military experience. Due to the nature of the border, they don’t usually concern themselves with central politics, but they’re always on watch during disputes over the imperial throne.”
What kind of villains are we for planning to seize the farmland of such a household and declare ‘delicious apples’ also?
Pastel trembled.
“A-Are we going to dig up the apple farm of the southern commander?!”
Seizing their ancestral apple farm and now carrying the grudge of having only just returned it?
“That’s right.”
Not denying it at all!
Ahhh.
The airship docked at the harbor, which was under the control of soldiers. It felt like a precious guest was arriving.
Pastel stumbled off the ship, and the soldiers conducted themselves with proper decorum.
A noblewoman wearing a sorceress robe approached them, accompanied by her retainers.
Count Camarot smiled warmly.
“Was your trip comfortable, marchioness?”
Such a casual voice.
Pastel trembled like a rabbit before a wolf.
“I-I was comfortable.”
The aspiring treasure hunter averted her gaze aimlessly.
Past the back of the Count, she caught sight of Melissa, who seemed different and uncertain.
Help me, Melissa.
We were on good terms, right?
For the sake of our memories, please say something nice to your mother.
The apple orchard was in chaos. The apple trees, growing haphazardly without regard for yield or quality, presented a disordered picture as though untouched by human hands.
But because of that, it looked like a forest filled with apple trees. A natural fragrance that didn’t quite suit a family that stood against the Great Forest.
In the midst of nature, there stood a wooden table, sparsely set. Various apple dishes were displayed on the welcoming table.
Pastel’s cheeks flushed. She took a big bite of an apple pie.
The crispy pie crunched. The savory smell of butter burst out. Sweet and tangy apples approached to envelop the richness.
Whoa.
Pastel was astonished.
The taste made her want to change the farm’s ownership…!
For once, she almost understood the wicked actions of Craft.
“You couldn’t possibly still hold a grudge over just one farm.”
The Count chuckled gently.
“Back then, the ownership of this farm was ceded because His Majesty the Emperor, unwilling to sit back and watch us get involved in the power struggle, had Craft warned us.”
“I see!”
Pastel nodded vigorously, jam smeared across her bowl.
“Thank you for understanding! No wonder the first moment I saw the Count, your face was so noble! I could tell right away that you were such a broad-minded person!”
She gave two thumbs up.
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
The Count smiled even more warmly. He then drank some apple wine, setting down the empty glass on the table.
Pastel suddenly flinched.
Huh?
It felt like an adult’s smile? As though he was thinking he’d allow a child like her to be excused for now.
Hehe, just a misunderstanding, right~.
I mustn’t doubt someone so kind~.
The Count turned his head toward the seat next to him, where Melissa was continuously fidgeting.
After a moment’s thought, the Count turned back to Pastel.
“You mentioned you’ve come to develop a friendship with my daughter, right?”
“Of course! While I’m the one who’s been pursuing her unilaterally, she’s my best friend!”
Declaring their friendship in front of the parents.
Friends acknowledged by the parents.
Oh yeah.
“Naturally, visiting a friend’s house during vacation is a given!”
The aspiring treasure hunter proudly declared. Then, without realizing it, she glanced suspiciously over the apple orchard and was startled.
Whoa.
A primal instinct surfaced…!
I didn’t think about anything at all…!
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