Pastel inspected the round bread. The somewhat hard and rough surface caught her eye.
It looked like a giant cookie.
If only I could spread some whipped cream and put strawberries on top, it should turn into a cake, but with the state of this bread…?
“Is anyone inside~?”
When she knocked on it, a dull sound echoed. Crumbs—maybe flour—flew everywhere.
“Wow!”
A real cookie!
“Well, here we are.”
Melissa muttered gloomily.
“Too much flour made a rough and dry dough. Since it was baked as is, it’s practically a flour bake.”
What a brainy statement!
Pastel jumped!
As the commotion in the kitchen grew, Elshire, who was peeking in, looked at Melissa.
“You didn’t dry it out?”
“I did… Too much flour and sugar aren’t good, you know. Not to mention the taste. Sugar becomes liquid in the oven environment. If you add too much, the dough turns sticky and ends up being clay bake instead of fluffy bread.”
“Clay bake.”
Elshire muttered, looking down at the finished clay bake. Thanks to the excessive flour, it looked like clay bake mixed with too much sand.
“Yep, clay bake.”
Her gaze returned to Pastel, a reprimand for what she had made despite hearing this explanation.
Pastel suddenly felt wronged.
“What’s wrong? It’s not a bad result!”
Though she heard Melissa’s explanation.
Too much flour makes it dry and too much sugar makes it sticky, so if those two create a fantastic synergy, I could make a super ultra cool cake!
She thought that, only to bake crumbly and sticky clay, but this could still turn out okay!
Pastel picked up Cookie Friend.
“Cookie Friend! Don’t feel down about such harsh criticism! You’re not finished yet! You’re a flower that hasn’t fully bloomed!”
Like how Pastel spends her mornings with the Demon Lord’s help, the original appearance is more than half about decoration.
The cookie hasn’t even been fully decorated with whipped cream yet!
“I’ll make this a congratulatory cake?”
Melissa gasped.
“No matter who the recipient is, it doesn’t sound like a good choice. I’ve heard even commoners don’t eat such rough bread these days, especially not for a celebration.”
Totally disregarding Cookie Friend!
Even though Cookie Friend looked like it was not bread at all, how delicious could it be like bread!
And, and…
A cookie topped with whipped cream?
Totally major!
Pastel’s confidence surged.
“Great inventions go through ups and downs! The moment you call for a challenge, a strange invention is a foreseen future!”
Not afraid at all!
Rather, her heart was beating wildly!
“Should a congratulatory cake have its ups and downs?”
“Nope! This is a congratulatory cookie, a giant whipped cream cookie!”
Yes, yes!
“I see you gave up on the cake.”
“Now that I think about it, it’s more similar to a cookie recipe than a cake, isn’t it?”
Ignoring their words, they prepared the whipped cream. Since it wasn’t a cake anyway, she dolloped it on in large drops.
“Done!”
Pastel lifted the giant cookie.
“A giant whipped cream cookie!”
There were ups and downs, but she completed it!
It would be the cake the Demon Lord never got to make!
She placed it on a plate and went back to the Demon.
“Demon Lord! Demon Lord!”
“Hm?”
The Demon, sitting in a chair reading a book, turned to look.
“Check this out!”
As she turned the plate, the large drop of whipped cream spun with it.
“A giant whipped cream cookie!”
“Oh?”
The Demon accepted it.
“You worked hard. A cookie, huh? Good thinking. It’s easier for a beginner to make cookies than cakes. Good call.”
“Try it! Try it!”
“Alright.”
The plate was placed on the table. The Demon used a knife to slice the cookie. Cookie pieces were formed. With elegant movements, the knife scooped up the giant whipped cream and placed it on the pieces. The whipped cream entered the Demon’s mouth.
The first cookie gift.
Thump-thump, heart racing.
What did Pastel’s first cookie taste like?
The Demon closed its eyes to savor it.
Then leisurely said.
“I can taste the flour.”
Uh-oh.
“Hey, student council friends! I’ve been waiting for you!”
Pastel burst in without knocking. The chaotic stack of papers that hadn’t been organized caught her eye.
A boy with dark circles under his eyes was rummaging through the papers and looked back.
“Pastel!”
His face brightened up.
“Yep! I’m Pastel! Hi, Dustin!”
She waved her hand as she entered.
Elly isn’t here. Must be out at work.
She placed a paper bag on the table.
“Want to share a cookie? It’s homemade by the Southern Warlord.”
She must have been so captivated by the giant whipped cream cookie to show off right away!
“Ah, thanks! But is it okay for me to eat something made by Camelot?”
“It’s fine! Want to try cookies made by the Northern Warlord? They just added a single raisin on the dough perfected by the Southern one!”
It may seem it was just a single raisin, but that’s when the phrase ‘the finishing touch’ comes into play!
It’s a cookie touched by the inexperienced hands of a noble lady!
Melissa didn’t laugh at Bellamont’s dreadful baking skills and had lent her the hard-to-make dough, showing the progress in their relationship!
So proud.
“Uh-oh.”
Dustin, who seemed bewildered as if he’d never received a cookie gift from a girl, was handed a cookie while Pastel sat at the head of the table.
“Ahhh.”
He slouched.
“I think I’m more suited for management than hands-on work. I feel much more at ease. You seem more suited for hands-on work, don’t you, Dustin?”
“Uh-huh.”
As Dustin inspected the cookie, he looked perplexed.
“Make sure you eat while listening! When I greeted friends on the way here, the atmosphere felt a bit chaotic?”
After a few days of being absent from campus, was he finally happy to see Pastel? It felt different.
Everyone seemed to be cautious, trying not to upset the mood of the powerful ones.
“I knew it! Aah! I’m going to have to go through Craft’s unfairness again! I didn’t even do anything! I can feel it shouting, so I rushed right over!”
“About that.”
Dustin carefully set aside the cookie bag. The seriousness replaced the dark circles on his face.
“Is it right to push for Professor Horace as the acting dean? No one else.”
It was strange to see them face each other seriously, so Pastel tilted her head.
“Right? Senior Horace is the greatest contributor to normalizing the academy and is personally close.”
Could it be something serious?
Is the righteous plan to hastily pick an acting dean through professors’ votes facing a problem?
She straightened her posture.
“Did senior betray you?”
As they prepared for the election, did he get blinded by power after gaining support from many professors and decide to go against Pastel?
It wouldn’t be a good decision in terms of gains, but what if…?
“No. In fact, he wants to talk about business privately and asked me to let him know as soon as you return.”
Oh, I see.
“Then, is another professor stepping in as a competitor? Maybe Professor Carlo?”
She had suspicions about him colluding with the Radical Demon and had already instructed surveillance, but was that not working out?
“That professor has gone missing.”
He ran away.
It must have been pressure from their one-on-one warning on the day of the terror. While they could openly manage the situation during the warning, it could be a double-edged sword. The students’ safety was more important than capturing the suspect.
“Then who?”
“Professor Marius.”
Professor Marius?
Pastel racked her brain.
Marius, Marius.
It sounded familiar yet unfamiliar.
Her pink eyes sparkled.
Not a clue!
Who are you…?
“He has strong support from some professors. Senior Horace wouldn’t be able to proceed with a majority vote among the faculty without trouble due to the mess it could cause for future academy affairs.”
What’s that all about?
Could it really be that strong financial backing gained him strong support?
Just how much money does he have?!
So envious, no, no!
“More importantly, the problem is that it’s been rumored that Professor Marius’s participation reflects Craft’s intentions. So everyone is adopting a wait-and-see attitude.”
“Why suddenly me? I’m not that rich! No, no! I don’t know him!”
“That would be the case. If he becomes the dean, the policies he’ll implement…”
Dustin hesitated. His gaze briefly drifted to the empty space before returning.
“The expulsion of all demons from Sky Island.”
Pastel froze.
Huh?
Exclusion of all demons, from the Sky Island.
“Since it was the demons who caused this terror.”
Her pink eyes turned towards the empty space. It was the spot where the girl Dustin had looked away from was sitting.
“Where did Elly go?”
Dustin rubbed his face.
“She’s on leave.”
Looking around, she saw the disorganized stacks of papers. Administrative documents left unattended without proper sorting.
“Sorry, I couldn’t manage it on my own.”
Pastel felt a chill run through her chest at this unsettling sensation.
This isn’t just a trivial trouble. If she can’t resolve it, she’ll have to give up her popular title.
“Uh, where does Elly live?”
“The Demon Realm, I’d guess.”
That’s totally far for clarification.
She felt Dustin’s gaze on her.
Pastel shot up.
“I, I’m innocent!”
Dustin nodded.
“Elly didn’t say much. She was overloaded with work and said she’d take a break anyway, so she took a leave.”
Aaaaah!
Pastel clutched her head.
She may be well-liked, but that doesn’t mean she’s naive enough to take everything at face value!
“Get the current status organized and report!”
I’m going to clean this up!
With the title of popularity on the line…!
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