“Whoa….”
After finishing her work, Pastel sprawled over the massive chick. Her pink hair covered the chick’s feathers.
She had roughly completed the aftermath of the cult suppression.
After managing the casualties and prisoners from the battle with the cult, Melissa verified the insider knight members she had organized and approved them posthumously.
To investigate what the cult had done at the holy site, she decided to call in the academy’s research team.
While more details would take time to iron out, it was something the operational staff would handle for now.
At the beginning, the clueless Pastel didn’t know anything at all.
“Powerful Pastel, sprightly sprightly Pastel.”
But right now, not so sprightly.
While power is nice, having to work aside from the tangled family issues isn’t really my vibe.
Isn’t there an automatic task processing system? Even if there is, being responsible while sitting is a different matter.
“Squawk.”
She waved her hand, smelling the scent of chick feathers.
“Chicken smell.”
—Peep?!
The baby bird shivered. It seemed shocked that it was on par with chicken.
Looks like I accidentally made a harsh remark.
“Sorry, baby bird friend. I let my true feelings slip because I’m tired. You’ve always smelled like chicken.”
—Peep?!
The baby bird’s beak dropped in shock.
“Oops! Really sorry!”
Pastel, feeling a bit guilty, hastily came down.
“By the way, have you found your parents? With how intense the battle was, I don’t know if they could tell friend from foe. Your parents didn’t know you all had betrayed the cult.”
—Peep.
The baby bird pointed its wings somewhere. Over at one of the floating islands, a mother bird was scolding two baby birds together. One of them tried to sneak away but got pecked.
“Wow. You guys are doing well for yourselves! What a relief.”
—Peep~!
The baby bird strutted.
“Only a second kidnapping, though.”
—Peep.
Pastel patted the baby bird.
“Come on! Hurry up! You can’t be the only one missing out right now! Parents are precious!”
—Peep!
The baby bird flapped away. The mother bird watched her offspring flying over and seemed frustrated with the slow pace, flying ahead to grab it. The baby bird, caught by the nape, struggled.
—Biyah!
Realizing, late into the thought, that it was now in a scolding situation like the other baby birds.
“Don’t get into trouble~!”
Pastel waved her hands. Then, smiling while watching the baby bird get scolded, she helplessly dropped her hands.
Ugh.
“It’s time for some good food and a warm place to sleep.”
Friends are great, but today my mind isn’t clear enough to not mess up while talking.
But I don’t want to be alone either…
『It would be good to enjoy a bath first.』
The demon lord walked out of the white building at the holy site. It seemed like he was rolling up his suit sleeves to avoid getting wet as if preparing for a bath.
“Ah! Demon Lord!”
Pastel’s expression brightened.
『If it were the usual routine, I would have taken a bath right after the battle, but I only had a moment for washing my face and a quick shower, so you must be quite tired.』
He deliberately didn’t mention Dad.
“That’s true! No wonder I felt wiped out!”
The demon briefly looked her over but didn’t say much.
They arrived at a spacious bath. The dimly lit indoor area had an open ceiling from which artificial moonlight poured down. Looking up, the ceiling of the cave sparkled like stars.
“Wow!”
Such a perfect bath vibe!
As Pastel dipped her hand into the water, she felt a slightly warm temperature. The leaves swayed with the waves. When she scooped some water and smelled it, it had a refreshing forest scent.
Was the demon lord the one who sprinkled this? She watched a leaf gently float down from the ceiling. Around the hole were lush branches and bushes spread out.
Wow, a bath with natural fragrances automatically dropping?
Super ultra top-notch!
“Demon Lord! Demon Lord! This place is super ultra top-notch!”
Probably worth more than sky island real estate!
Her hands brushed against the water playfully.
“Because of that, the forest scent is doubled!”
『Yes. The towels are over here. The clothes you can change into are here. The magic circle is adjusted for the temple, so it might feel unfamiliar, but it won’t be much different, so you can use it intuitively.』
The red eyes surveyed the bath.
『And there’s nothing more. Take your time enjoying it. If you get hungry, come out. I’ll prepare something.』
Having vaguely explained, the demon turned his body. Pastel flinched, as she had been too busy playing around to listen.
“Ah, wait a moment!”
Her small hand reached out.
The demon tilted his head, looking puzzled.
The pink eyes looked slightly downcast.
“Well…”
Her hesitant voice trailed off.
“Please don’t leave me alone right now.”
Her wet fingers wriggled. Water droplets flowed down her hand and fell.
The pink-toned girl looked down at that and then, with a bright expression, gazed at the demon.
“Of course! Preparing food is important! If it’s a dish that takes a while, then what can you do? It’ll be delicious!”
The demon let out a small sigh.
Then he turned away.
Ah.
She relaxed her hand.
“I’ll bring a chair.”
“Ah!”
The girl’s expression brightened again.
“Okay!”
Pastel, with a strange expression, held up the bath product. The elegant glass bottle contained high-end skin care that was out of reach for commoners.
“Where did this come from?”
Why does the holy site have something like this?
『What is there was taken from the knight order’s luggage.』
The demon, sitting with his back turned, wiggled his crossed legs.
『There are many different types.』
“Did you come to visit?”
Craft instinctively uttered this.
The knight order’s original purpose must have been to raid ruins, but their luggage was packed for nobles’ outings?
Eww.
Pastel seriously contemplated restructuring and merging the knight order, shuddering.
“Whoa!”
Relax, relax!
No work talk……
Pastel’s expression turned serious for another reason.
“Given that this is something brought into the holy site by the knight order, it sounds very dangerous! The righteous student council will check!”
Oh yeah.
She popped the lid off the bath product. The affluent knight member’s taste seemed refined, with a subtle floral scent that was not tacky. It would go well with the bath’s natural forest fragrance.
“Hiding its intentions, the smell is nice, so it’s something I’ll need to try myself to see if it’s safe or not!”
Lulu lulu~!
She tipped the bath product into the bath. The transparent liquid poured in like glug glug glug.
『This scent… it’d be nice to apply lightly after bathing. It’s a lotion made for skin moisturizing…』
The demon paused, taken aback by the sound of water.
『What on earth is going on…?』
Oing.
Pastel glanced down at the now fully poured bath product. The unmixed transparent lotion floated around.
Rolling her eyes, she pointed at the lotion.
“It wants to be friends with the bathwater!”
And it really did!
『What did you just do?』
“It’s a friendship-creating project! I totally didn’t mess up. My smart brain heard the request and went, whoosh! Ah! They’ve got the perfect compatibility to get along! Popular Pastel needs to help!”
She pointed at the lotion.
“Look! Instant besties!”
The oily components floated on the water like buddies.
Pastel watched the shimmering oil in rainbow shades, glancing back at the demon’s back. She slightly bent over. Her hands quickly stirred up the water.
Splish splash!
Pretending to ignore it, she hurriedly got up again. She pointed back.
“Look!”
The bath product was now harmonizing with the water.
Oh wow.
“Totally best friends!”
Is this what my brain was so confident about?
Total genius.
『You didn’t, did you just pour lotion in? How much did you pour?』
“Friends! Here I come~!”
Pastel tossed the empty glass bottle aside and jumped into the water. Plop. The warm heat rushed through her body instantly. Her heated breath escaped.
“Wow! Wow!”
Perfect temperature control.
In the whole world, there’s no one who can prep bathwater just the way Pastel likes it, except for the demon lord! Including Pastel!
She flipped over, grabbing the edge of the tub, splashing the water with both legs.
Splash splash!
“Demon Lord! Demon Lord! Aren’t you washing up too?!”
The demon shifted his position to sit.
『When it comes to swords, returning to a fixed state is not mandatory. Right now, since we’re at the holy site, I can’t even do that.』
Thinking back, he probably couldn’t wash up during the time he was locked in prison, huh?
Heeey.
“So the scent of soap I smell from you is from when you were sealed?”
『Hmm?』
The demon sniffed the scent of his clothes.
『I’m not sure. Do I smell like something?』
“It’s a good scent, so it’s okay!”
That’s the kind of person who keeps telling me to tidy up my bedding after all.
Poo Poo.
She sat neatly in the tub.
“Demon Lord! Demon Lord!”
『You don’t have to call me.』
Saying this with a sigh.
“Demon Lord! Demon Lord!”
『Yes.』
But now that Pastel called, she found she had nothing to say.
Just called to call.
With a blank stare, she lifted her head. The constellations twinkled from the high cave ceiling.
Aha!
She turned to look at the demon.
“Please tell me about love stories!”
The demon went blank.
『Why does it come to that?』
Because! Because!
“It’s because I’m at an age where I’m interested in love!”
『Don’t say that with your own mouth.』
Hehe.
“Anyway! With that appearance, it can’t be that you’ve never experienced love! If you haven’t, stories about unrequited love are fine!”
Though it’s a bit awkward to say, according to my dad, the demon lord had a crush on my mom and failed, right?
The demon lord who lost to such a father.
Whoa.
A bit of a guilty pleasure…!
Demon Lord, hang in there!
Even though you’ve already lost!
The demon rubbed his face with one hand.
『I see what kind of story you’re hoping for.』
“I didn’t say mom!”
『You just did.』
Whoa, shock.
The demon changed his sitting posture. He switched legs and crossed them again.
『Love, huh. I don’t know what kind of feelings come up, but it’s probably better not to do it now. Think it over again.』
Is that perhaps advice drawn from experience?
『Choosing a partner isn’t a light matter. You need to consider various conditions, so it’s better to calmly contemplate it, at least from the point you’re not a minor anymore.』
The demon rubbed his chin.
『Hmm. That’s true. Don’t even think about it for the next few years. From what I’ve seen, there’s no one around you that suits you anyway.』
At the sudden lecture, Pastel looked blank.
Then her expression turned bright.
“Please share love stories!”
『Sigh.』
The demon, who was trying to change the subject, rested his face in his hands.
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