Swish swish swish.
Pastel fiddled with the bag resting on the saddle. The strap loosened, and a white gem broom was grasped in her hands.
She raised the broom high.
“Broom friend~!”
Faster than a bicycle!
Ready!
She tucked it between her legs. Focusing on the gem inside the broom, it lifted into the air.
She pointed at the black train, which had already gone quite far.
“I don’t know what kind of wicked sorcery you’ve used to have better technology than our guild, but your speed is nowhere near enough to escape these great hands of Governor Pastel!”
Pastel tightened her grip on the broom.
“Yahap-!”
With a battle cry, the broom began to fly slowly.
Whoa, a bit slow.
“Come on, broom friend! You can do it!”
Getting used to the broom after a long time, she began to accelerate a little. Her pink hair was blown back by the wind and fluttered wildly.
“Good! Chase! Chase!”
The wind wrapped around her body.
“Pastel! You dropped your sword!”
Melissa shouted from behind.
Huh?
Looking back, a thrown demon sword was spinning through the air. The sharp blade glinted.
“Whoa!”
If you throw a sword like this…!
Pastel was about to be assassinated by her best friend!
She flailed her arms and accidentally caught the sword perfectly. Her face turned blank.
Oh dear.
She stared vacantly at the demon sword in her hands.
Actually, I was quite athletic.
Hehe.
She waved her arm at Melissa.
“Thanks!”
But why did she throw me a sword?
Does that mean she expects me to use it?
Gulp.
Pastel froze for a moment.
Am I really going to fight bad people right now?
No, no, I was planning to go argue (verbally) but not to fight (life or death)!
Fighting is a bit…
Looking down at Melissa on the ground, she was smiling gently, waving and starting a conversation with the staff. It seemed like she was planning to investigate the situation while leaving the train tracking and battling to Pastel.
Ugh.
Suddenly, Pastel felt a strong desire to investigate the situation herself. It would be great if Melissa could handle the train tracking.
But Melissa didn’t seem to have that in mind.
She glanced down at the Demon Lord.
The Demon Lord shook his fist in an encouraging manner and guided the neglected horse friend Pastel had left just sitting there to the stable.
Ahh.
Helping out the horse friend is nice but that wasn’t what I was expecting!
Pastel hesitated as she looked back at the train that had already gotten quite far.
They’re bad people stealing from someone else’s business, but do I really need to fight them physically?
The business world is supposed to be gentlemanly. Unlike the back alleys where guns are drawn and knives are pulled at the slightest provocation, this place is where you calculate profit and loss with a cold mind while deciding the other’s doom, no matter how much they beg.
Ugh, the more I think about it, the scarier it gets.
It feels like calculating profit and loss while aiming a gun!
Ahh.
Pastel began to feel very reluctant to go and fidgeted until she came up with a plausible safety measure. She looked down at the Demon Lord.
“Demon Lord! Could you throw me the Emperor’s sword? Oh! Please be gentle! Gently throw it to me!”
The Demon Lord, who was about to enter the stable, looked up and reached for the bag. A magnificent sword was pulled out and thrown into the sky. Unlike when Melissa threw it, this sword soared without spinning. The hilt faced her perfectly for easy grabbing.
“Wow.”
Pastel caught it without fear.
Is this the difference in skill levels between a mage and a swordsman? I can’t help but respect the Demon Lord.
She strapped the demon sword to her waist and held the Emperor’s sword in her hands. The tip of the sword aimed at the distant train.
“I heard that there are subversive elements cooperating with the Demon King! Subjects must comply with Governor Pastel’s investigation!”
Pastel felt emboldened by the Emperor’s authority.
It suddenly occurred to her that she had the duty to seize that train and thoroughly inspect the technology within!
Ugh, that makes sense.
Since it’s highly likely a secret matter related to the Demon King’s subordinates, if they possess suspicious technology, they must be thoroughly investigated!
Loyalty to follow the Emperor’s decree surged within her.
“Chase! Chase!”
The white broom accelerated.
#
“It’s pink, right?”
The cult member said,looking pale.
“Why is Craft, which should still be at the harbor, all the way over here? Aren’t we busted?!”
“Shut up! I’m trying to think!”
The team leader frowned, deep in thought.
It was a given that Governor Craft would visit the Demon Realm. The cult had also decided to respond accordingly.
However, they didn’t expect the governor to move almost immediately without setting up a provincial office in the Sky Island – shouldn’t they at least build the office first?! – so the response was somewhat delayed.
When urgent news came from the Sky Island and the governor’s airship arrived in the Demon Realm, they hurriedly erased the traces of the cult from places that could be seen by the governor, but the timing just didn’t align.
Thus, with the cargo they couldn’t remove, they rushed the train into operation…
As if they had been waiting, Governor Craft was already waiting at the station. The troops were nowhere to be seen, but that didn’t mean they could be trusted.
“What do we do?! Do we fight?! I heard they have at least Semi-Knight-level abilities and are hiding their true powers?!”
“Just shut up!”
The team leader glared at the operating room.
There was a simple wooden box locked with a padlock. It looked ordinary, but inside it was packed with various sealing magic circles.
As long as the governor didn’t find out about the artificial spirit, they would be fine.
The countless goods filling the cargo hold would likely lead to some of the cult facilities being traced back if confiscated, but that wasn’t as critical. The cult, which traded with the evil god, had bigger fish to fry.
The evil god wanted to arrive in this world, and the cult, having desires, had to fulfill those requests.
The specifics were a bit of a mystery to the team leader, but the artificial spirits were crucial to that plan.
The artificial spirits, created with soul power extracted from the evil god’s transmission device, could boost its location signal that was previously inadequate. They would clearly point out this world’s position to the evil god.
“They’re coming! They’re faster than us!”
A cult member cried out from the operating room window.
The panicking cult member heard this and freaked out.
“Are we fighting?! Are we fighting?! Are we going to fight?!”
Another cult member grabbed a gun.
“Ignore it! We’re just innocent…”
The team leader hurriedly tucked the wooden box into his clothes. He then flinched when he saw a cult member rushing to the window and pulling the gun.
“You idiot! What are you doing?!”
She’s the high priest’s daughter! What kind of crazy thing is this!
The leader’s punch hit the gun-wielding cult member.
“Ouch! Why are you hitting me?!”
The fallen cult member protested. The team leader was furious at this useless behavior but gritted his teeth to endure it.
This fool didn’t know that Governor Craft was the high priest’s daughter or that the order was to accept her if she ever came to convert, so it’s not entirely their fault.
The cult member wiped their lips.
“Geez, my lip is bleeding. Why are you hitting me?! If you have complaints, you should talk about it!”
“What do you mean, not your fault?!”
The cult member got kicked.
“Ouch!”
“Team leader! Calm down!”
Another cult member hurriedly intervened.
“Let go! Let go…!”
#
Thump thump thump.
Pastel tightly held the broom and soothed her racing heart.
Was that… a gun just now?
Just as she approached the operating room, she definitely spotted a gun peeking through the window without glass.
It vanished in an instant, but it was definitely there!
Ahh.
If they actually fired, maybe I would have to scream “Save my Hormone Friend!”
Ahh.
There must be really bad people over there. People so bad they walk around with guns.
But since it vanished so quickly, maybe they’re not entirely terrible bad people? They wouldn’t point guns at someone for no reason.
No, no. The mere fact that they carry guns makes them really, REALLY bad. I’m supposed to face them.
Ahh.
Pastel clung to the side of the train and flapped about awkwardly as she flew. She was approaching the operating room, but at a turtle’s pace. But in a race, turtles are faster than rabbits, so it was still quite the speed.
As she got close to the operating room, she awkwardly lifted the Emperor’s sword. She pushed the blade in so it could be seen from inside.
“By the command of the Emperor, I come!”
Pastel shouted but then hesitated, wondering if this was right.
Then she realized she didn’t provide enough explanation and shouted again.
“This is the Emperor’s sword!”
If you shoot, it would be an act of hostility against the Emperor!
If they shot, they would definitely be the REALLY bad people…!
Surprisingly, it worked well. The train started slowing down without any resistance and eventually came to a halt.
Ugh.
This is the power of the Emperor, truly amazing!
Empowered by the Emperor’s authority, Pastel grew more confident. She wore an expression that said she knew this would happen.
She leisurely flew to land in the opened operating room.
Pastel tried to keep the haughty demeanor of a messenger from the Emperor as she scanned the room.
Nervous engineers and several individuals occupied the space.
Are these the people stealing my business?
Flap flap.
While it doesn’t match my level given that I am acting on the Emperor’s command, I should definitely give these people a lesson for daring to meddle in my business.
The engineer stepped forward. Bending over, he opened his mouth in the most polite manner he could muster.
“What brings you here?”
“Ahem ahem.”
Pastel smugly put her hands behind her back.
“I heard this train is using the Craft guild’s railroad without permission. Though I can’t divulge the reasons for confidentiality, upsetting the Craft guild would indeed be an act of undermining the Emperor’s orders!”
Obstruction of public duty!
Yes, indeed!
The engineer looked dumbfounded.
“Unlicensed use?”
He then exchanged glances with the others, and there were nods of acknowledgment reflecting that they had no clue either.
They seemed to react as if they were hearing an unexpected statement. It was as if they initially thought they had been taken down for a different reason, but now realized the real issue was something they had never considered.
Oh.
The engineer hurriedly rummaged through his pockets and looked at another person.
“Hey, where’d you put the contract?”
Another person began searching through the drawers in the operating room and soon brought out the contract. The engineer checked it before passing it to Pastel.
“As you can see, we have permission to operate this train. The deposit has also been submitted.”
Looking it over, she confirmed it was indeed true. A hefty deposit was present, and the area supervisor had stamped it approvingly.
“How would we operate this train without permission? Our train has clearly departed from the Craft guild’s station and operated up until here. Usually, it stays at the Craft destination.”
Oh dear.
But I never heard anything about this, and neither did the Demon Realm branch.
But the area supervisor seems to know well enough to manipulate terminal reports and had even written the contract themselves. They received a sizable deposit too.
Oh, unusual.
Pastel tilted her head.
As she maintained a silent stare with the engineer, the engineer’s complexion slowly turned pale as if he suddenly realized something.
“Wait… don’t tell me…”
Pastel nodded, then spoke matter-of-factly.
“The person responsible for drafting this contract is only in charge of maintenance of the area and does not possess the authority to lease or operate the railway. Therefore, the leasing contract is void, and I’d like you to understand that this matter is unrelated to our headquarters.”
The engineer’s shock turned him pale as he snatched the contract back. He began trembling as he glared at it, his face turning a myriad of colors.
“This is absurd…!”
Another staff member became vacant-eyed. Approaching Pastel, they seemed unable to grasp the situation.
“Are we being scammed?!”
Pastel nodded in a businesslike manner.
“Yes. Unfortunately, I’d like you to understand that this matter is unrelated to our headquarters.”
I should reflect on the confusion of realizing there wasn’t significant embezzlement at the Demon Realm branch.
The Demon Realm branch originally was the one committing fraud!
Ugh, is this the Demon Realm?
How scary~.
Finally calming down, the engineer spoke in a defeated voice.
“What happens now?”
“Well, since you have indeed been using our railroad without permission, I think you should come with us. However, since you’re a victim, we will do our utmost to resolve the situation.”
“Understood…”
Pastel returned to the Demon Realm headquarters with the unfortunate victims—the engineer and his staff.
Oh dear, poor victims.
As the guild owner, I share some responsibility too, so I’ll do my best to help!
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