“Does your arm hurt or something?”
Pastel worriedly looked at Elshire, who continued to turn the steering wheel without saying to stop.
Elshire shook her hands. “This is nothing compared to my usual training.”
Our Elshire is so strong!
“So you enjoyed turning the steering wheel after all!”
I didn’t follow your orders or anything!
I should suggest it again next time!
Elshire gazed blankly. “I wasn’t looking at it like that…”
Pastel poked Elshire’s side. “You’re just like silly Pastel!”
Boo boo boo.
What a totally embarrassing comparison!
“Haha!”
Pastel laughed, then suddenly halted.
Huh.
I am definitely not in a position to laugh as a comparison!
“Ahhh! I really am silly Pastel after all!”
She clutched her pink hair.
I can’t deny it anymore!
I have to accept the reality of being silly while reminiscing about my glorious past as Genius Genius Pastel!
Elshire looked confused. “Why are you suddenly like this?”
But was there ever a time when I was Genius Genius Pastel?
Hmm?
After some contemplation, Pastel calmed down.
Honestly, nothing had really changed.
“Craft…?”
Elshire looked at her in confusion.
“Ah, Elshire! Oh right! Let’s go! No matter how incompetent the Knight Order is, it’s not good to be too leisurely!”
She tightened her bag straps and rushed out of the warehouse toward the deck.
The blonde girl on lookout turned around. “Really, no one is coming. Is this what you call judgment?”
“It’s about operational efficiency.”
Pastel looked around the temporary docking area. The makeshift docking station made of wood was deserted, but there were signs that people had been there. A lonely beer mug was resting on a box.
“Operational efficiency?”
“After all, there aren’t any thieves who can sneak past the patrols and invade the ruins, so it’s more efficient to allocate the guarding personnel to the ruin expedition.”
I don’t agree, but it’s not an incomprehensible decision.
“But we just invaded!”
“We were able to bypass all the airship patrols by examining internal documents!”
Pastel’s expression turned serious.
“The Cult is probably doing the same.”
I wonder what their purpose is.
“Anyway, let’s disembark! Let’s go!”
As she ran toward the rope ladder, Melissa hurriedly reached out her hand.
“I’ll carry my own bag.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Mage!”
It was quite heavy since it was packed for camping too.
Once they all disembarked, the airship began to drift away from the dock on its own. It had been programmed to return once the dock was empty again. Automated navigation is truly amazing.
“Let’s set sail!”
Oops, was that too loud?
She called out again in a softer voice. “Let’s set sail~.”
Although she shouted, they still needed to move quite a distance to actually enter the ruins.
“Ughhh.”
As Pastel climbed the wooden ladder, she trembled.
The ladder stretched endlessly upward through the rocky crevices beneath the Sky Island. While defensively cautious of whatever might be up there, she muttered in an appropriate voice.
“Have you guys heard? A totally scary horror story.”
Pastel began her tale like someone sharing scary stories at a pajama party.
“They say this is actually not the entrance to the ruins! Because, because…”
She was just setting the mood and didn’t actually expect any real replies, but a reflexive response came from below.
“This ruin became exposed when the underside of the Sky Island broke apart. It’s not a big problem if you call it an entrance, but technically it’s a hole in the wall of a gigantic ruin. Isn’t that right, Pastel?”
Melissa, climbing the ladder, looked pleased. She was like a top student proud of answering immediately.
Ugh.
Pastel hadn’t really wanted a response, so she didn’t appreciate it. After some thought, she ignored it and continued her own line.
“The reason this isn’t the entrance is that this part was uncovered after the underside of the Sky Island fell!”
“Yes. Just as I said.”
Ughhhh!
“They say the underside broke and fell! The Sky Island was actually crumbling!”
Shudder shudder.
“That’s right. Compare it to investigations from a hundred years ago and you can clearly see it has shrunk in size. Someday, the Sky Island will no longer be a place where people can live.”
Melissa added.
“Sometime in about a thousand years.”
From the ladder below, Elshire muttered blankly.
“That’s still a long way off.”
“Ughhh! They say it’s falling…!”
Pastel was engulfed in fear all by herself.
Shudder shudder.
After a while of climbing that seemingly endless ladder, they finally reached a stone wall wide enough for a person to pass through. It was the entrance to the ruins.
“S-so that’s why we couldn’t find it until now…”
Melissa panted, trembling as she caught her breath. Sweat trickled down her golden hair.
“Are you okay?”
Pastel looked at her with concern.
Melissa wiped her sweat with a handkerchief.
“I’m so sorry. Even though I’m the only one not carrying a bag, I’m like this. I need more training.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Elshire agreed while rubbing her own arm.
Melissa shot a glance at them. Yet she had nothing to refute as if she agreed.
“Don’t be too hard on Elshire. As a mage, it’s only natural to struggle. Plus, this ladder is really high.”
Pastel looked down the ladder. The deep crevice of rock revealed a tiny, dusty temporary dock far below.
Ughhh, how many floors is this?
100 floors?
200 floors?
If I were to fall, I doubt they could even retrieve the body.
At this point, it’s impressive that Melissa, as a mage, managed to climb this. How diligent must she have been about her stamina training?
Elshire turned her shoulder and looked at her strangely.
“Aren’t you struggling?”
Me?
“I’m fine because I’m a genius!”
The proud response earned her a blank stare in return.
“Melissa’s tired too, so let’s take a short break.”
“I’d love to say I’m fine, but that would be rude. I’ll gratefully take a rest.”
She set down her bag. Once the two girls sat down to rest, Pastel stepped away and approached the stone wall.
The smooth wall was cracked from the ravages of time, yet it still retained a luxurious appearance.
“I can feel the divinity here.”
The demon lord found it interesting.
“Of course, there would be no one else but the gods who could create something like this.”
Hee.
Pastel whispered softly.
“Is this place a holy site?”
Invasion of a holy site with the Demon Lord.
What a thrilling feeling of betrayal.
“Don’t get your hopes up too high. After the age of the Bible ended, the gods began to neglect places like this. It won’t be truly holy. Did they say that monsters inhabit this place?”
But at least it’s a holy site!
Pastel pressed her thumping heart. She approached the crack in the wall cautiously.
Leaning in, her pink hair flowed down.
A wide corridor was visible on either side. Torches hung like in dungeons, creating a mysterious atmosphere.
Pastel completely entered and examined the torches. The torches burned clay mixed with gem powder instead of coal.
Did the Knight Order set these up?
“This is great news. It should be easy to discern the territory of the Knight Order.”
If they were going to investigate the Knights, they could search the torch-lit areas, and if they were going to camp, they could do so in the corners where the torches have long since gone out.
“The Cult wouldn’t have boldly established an area like this. Finding it would have been quite the hassle.”
Puh puh.
“I have my ideas too.”
“Oh really?”
That’s something the demon lord can handle!
Oh yeah!
“Good luck with that.”
“Yes! I’ll cheer hard for you!”
You can do it, Demon Lord!
The demon paused.
“Why are you cheering for me…?”
It sounded like a voice foreseeing the future.
Fighting! Fighting!
After resting for a while, they moved again.
“These torches have identification numbers. If everyone jots them down, we can restore the search route of the Knight Order.”
“Wow, can I count on you?”
“I’ll also draw a map while I’m at it. Could you please take out my quill pen and parchment from my bag? I brought sturdy parchment just in case, not just paper.”
As they strolled through the clean corridor, recently cleared of monsters by the Knight Order, Melissa diligently worked on the map.
“This torch’s magic contains notes. It’s not too difficult to decrypt, so I’ll try to interpret it. It mentions that the vampire bats are rampant, so be cautious. But since there don’t seem to be any bats around now, I guess they were cleared out.”
Wow wow.
Melissa is not just good at studying; she’s also superb in practice!
So, to become the successor of a military faction, do you need to rack up that much practical experience?
Ugh, I don’t want to do that.
“Melissa, can I count on you?”
“Huh? I’m doing it right now.”
Enjoying her connections, Pastel turned to the other girl. Elshire, who was examining the blood stains of the vampire bats, looked puzzled.
Her pink eyes sparkled.
“Hey, hey, Elshire, can you do anything?”
If a faction from the South is doing this well, the Northern faction should be able to do something too, right?!
She conveyed her excitement a millionfold.
Thump thump.
Elshire looked flustered.
“Me? I…”
Her silver eyes glanced around. They looked at the walls, then at the torches, and then back down at the blood stains.
After a moment’s hesitation, she confidently declared.
“I can catch bats.”
Pastel was stunned.
“I can do that too.”
An awkward silence followed.
Elshire looked flustered again. She glanced at the walls, then at the torches, and then back at the blood stains.
Then her gaze wandered around until it stopped at the bag she was carrying. After considering it for a moment, she finally said proudly.
“I can carry bags.”
That was truly a confident statement!
Pastel was stunned again.
“I can do that too…”
Oh really.
Pastel’s pink eyes whirled.
Now that she thought about it, it seemed she might not know how to do it.
Pastel discreetly slipped off her bags and handed them to someone who could carry them instead.
“Elshire, can I count on you?”
“Huh?”
Elshire, who had unknowingly received the bags, was now piled up with them.
“Umm…?”
With her silver eyes blinking blankly.
Pastel couldn’t help but wipe her forehead in relief.
“Phew.”
That makes sense! It makes total sense!
Bags just weren’t her thing!
There was someone matching the skillset!
As Melissa finished drawing the map, she turned around, looking utterly dumbfounded.
“What are you two doing…?”
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