『Looks like we’re all set.』
The demon scraped the bottom of the pot with a ladle, sticky purple dye bubbling up like melted rubber.
『Glass bottle.』
“Yes.”
Elly, nervously glancing at the demon, handed over a glass bottle. As the ladle tipped, the dye splashed inside, steaming hot.
『If you keep preparing the dye, it’ll cool down quickly.』
“Wow!”
Pastel stared at the steaming glass bottle with sparkling eyes.
“Dye dye dye!”
What a demon!
Nothing’s impossible for you!
Hehe.
Pastel giggled and poked the demon’s side.
“Demon Lord! Demon Lord! Where did this dye recipe come from?!”
The demon, pouring cleaning solution into the chilled pot, looked a bit annoyed.
『It’s a dye recipe passed down in the Craft Family. The hair color is too distinct, making disguise difficult, so I created a recipe suited to the bloodline. It might not align with the latest alchemical trends, but old methods can still shine.』
“Wow, wow!”
A Craft Family recipe!
But how does the Demon Lord know that?
Clueless in love, Pastel was baffled!
“How did you find out?!”
Checking for any leaks as the head of the Craft Family was crucial!
Not asking because of a crush!
Elly, fanning the glass bottle awkwardly, shot a shocked glance. How could she ask such a rude question?
The demon pretended not to hear and scraped the bottom again. The purple dye mixed with the clear cleaning solution.
Pastel leaned over the pot, staring right at the demon’s face. The pink eyes sparkled.
The demon ignored her and continued working the ladle.
The pink eyes sparkled even brighter.
Sparkle sparkle.
With a sigh, the demon gathered the pink hair that threatened to touch the cleaning solution.
『What are you curious about?』
“Demon Lord knowing Craft Family recipes! This is a leak of information! I can’t just stand by as the head of the family!”
『Just tell me straight.』
“What happened between you and my mom?!”
Whoa, whoa!
Pastel’s heart fluttered with teenage excitement over the romance.
Only it’s unrequited love!
The more unrequited it is, the more she wants to hear…!
The red eyes looked somewhat annoyed.
『It’s nothing. When infiltrating the cult, pink is too noticeable, so I listened for and made the recipe.』
“Ugh.”
Pastel covered her mouth in shock.
“Just the two of you infiltrating…!”
What’s this?!
『What do you mean just the two of us? There was the Crown Prince and the Gentleman too. It was a serious situation at the time; nothing like what you imagined happened.』
The demon scraped the pot fiercely. It somehow seemed like an emotional gesture.
Oh no~.
Was this too much for unrequited love?
Demon Lord, what now!
This is terrible!
Pastel couldn’t help but smile from the excitement.
Hehe.
Elly awkwardly stared at the demon. As she fiddled with the glass bottle and checked the dye’s temperature, she cautiously spoke.
“Are you, by any chance, Demon Lord Demonius?”
The demon didn’t bother responding.
Instead, Pastel’s eyes widened.
“How did you know?!”
Elly is super smart!
Elly seemed slightly flustered.
“I just can tell when I see.”
No way!
This was supposed to be a secret!
The story of a fallen girl freeing the great demon is leaking like this!
That’s the kind of thing you only read in fairy tales!
Pastel was in an “Oh no!” state.
“Demon Lord! Demon Lord! What should we do?! Is it time for irreversible measures?!”
That was the last thing she wanted to do!
“Huh?”
Elly flinched.
『Don’t talk about such things in front of the person involved. It’s rude.』
The demon sighed.
『From the moment you started calling me Demon Lord outside, it was a given you’d be caught. People probably already know.』
A slightly pale Elly added.
“Melissa might suspect too. The way she treats him is very different from how she treats a servant. It feels cautious and as if she’s trying to pretend she doesn’t know.”
Smart Elly used her friend ranking as a shield.
It worked like a charm; Pastel was immediately shocked.
“Even Melissa?!”
That makes irreversible measures unthinkable! Not that she was considering them anyway!
Pastel suddenly hesitated as something clicked in her mind.
Wait, does this mean they found out about her not studying and cheating too?
Cold sweat broke out.
She rapidly retraced her memories to see if Melissa had even suspected the genius, genius Pastel existed.
Never happened. Rather, there were glances observing how far this clever Pastel would push her greed.
Phew.
The model student Melissa never considered Pastel might have cheated.
Looks like all her efforts helped her reputation a lot?
That’s why you should live kindly!
『It should be cool enough now. Young Craft, come sit here.』
“Yes!”
Pastel skipped over to a wooden chair. Swinging her legs, the demon approached, glass bottle in hand. A butter knife took a small scoop of the purple dye.
『Stick out your hand.』
“Why my hand?”
Pastel offered her hand. The dye smeared lightly on the back.
『Alchemy deals with delicate balances. If you’re using it on a person, you need to check for any reactions. Especially on sensitive skin.』
“Got it!”
『I mentioned it while teaching you about alchemical toxicity last time.』
Ugh.
She totally forgot.
While waiting for a reaction on her hand, the demon glanced around the alchemy room’s floor. Then, like cat hair shedding, he picked up a strand of pink hair that was lying around.
The hair was dropped into the glass bottle. Stirring it with the butter knife, the dyed strands swayed. They glittered mysteriously in the sunlight.
“Wow!”
So pretty!
Her ancestors created this dye recipe, truly classy! Even if the intention is to maintain a charming appearance to deceive!
『Seems there are no issues with the performance.』
Elly, who had been sitting quietly, peeked over.
“Isn’t this pretty noticeable? I haven’t heard that the Craft Family has disguised themselves with dye, but a demon who digs into Craft Family history would surely notice.”
『No problem. This recipe is only passed down to the head and the final heir. There are different recipes for each color, and once a color is used, it’s discarded so that subsequent generations won’t get caught due to historical records.』
“Thorough! If they managed to live a decent life with that effort.”
Elly seemed slightly drained.
“But being noticeable in itself is different from being thorough, isn’t it? How odd.”
『The Craft folks assume they should be recognized for their appearance, finding it rather enjoyable, so they wouldn’t want to give it up.』
“If their mindset allowed them to live a decent life, that’d be something.”
『Exactly.』
The demon and Elly found common ground in slandering the Craft family.
The current head didn’t know how to respond, so he pretended not to hear.
“Wow! Purple, purple!”
After dyeing her hair, someone who didn’t know Pastel wouldn’t think she was a Craft with her characteristic pink hair; it was a perfect disguise.
Pastel greeted the smuggling airship at the dock. The shouts of the crew echoed as countless cargoes were unloaded.
“Economic freedom! Economic freedom!”
Living the gem life!
Grace High Merchant beamed with pride.
“Having a former knight under my command has drastically reduced operational losses. Rumor has it that pirates approaching the airship have decreased significantly. It was more effective than expected.”
“Wow! That’s great!”
After all, no one would want to mess with a Craft Family that has practically become a state-owned enterprise on Sky Island!
Grace High Merchant opened a folding fan.
“If the safety of this expedition gets around among mercenaries, it will be easier to hire soldiers. Your Grace, what do you think about increasing our forces?”
“Sounds good! Let’s expand our airship fleet and borrow funds for a larger scale!”
He could also borrow the Academy’s airship owned by the Sky Island government temporarily, and the revenues coming in this half of the year could be borrowed before it gets classified in next year’s budget.
Might as well talk to President Horace!
“Sounds like an excellent plan.”
Grace High Merchant was pleased.
The folding fan fluttered gently.
“By the way, have you resolved any friction with the royal family? I’m sure you handled it well, but as the head of the family, I can’t help but worry.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
What royal family?
Pastel tilted her head.
Grace High Merchant looked taken aback.
“You disrupted the imperial plans to keep the demon realm in check and seized the railway extension rights for just one gold coin.”
“Huh? That was the Empire Bank, not the royal family.”
“But the royal family moved that Empire Bank, didn’t they?”
“Come on.”
Pastel waved her hand dismissively.
“How can the royal family manipulate a bank that needs to be separate from the government? That would cause credit collapse and a bank run! Your Grace, that’s just a silly joke!”
That’s common sense!
Such foolish jokes wouldn’t work on clever Pastel!
Hahaha!
Grace High Merchant turned pale.
“That’s true in principle, but the royal family hasn’t respected the market like that until now.”
Uh oh?
Huh?
Suddenly, a commotion arose at the dock.
Turning her head, Pastel saw an incredibly flashy, fast airship soaring in from the horizon.
Grace High Merchant gasped.
“Is that a royal airship?”
Oh no?
Pastel soon stood face to face with a messenger.
No matter how she looked at it, a knight in black armor that looked like part of the royal knight order unfolded a message.
“Pastel Love Craft, heed this! Emperor mandates that you come to the palace at once!”
Aaaah!
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