On the back of a whale that was bigger and wider than most islands, various huge landforms were situated.
Among them was a steeply sloping rock mountain that seemed to pierce the sky. Some monster birds were flying around, building nests and inhabiting the area.
In one of the nests, three gigantic baby birds huddled together. The mother bird, larger than a person, repeatedly chirped with her beak while waiting for food to be delivered.
Today, food had been delivered. Thanks to discovering a new hunting ground called Sky Island, the busy mother bird quickly took off, but the baby birds weren’t upset. They were too busy pecking at the mysterious pink food.
The baby birds surrounded the pink food, moving their beaks frantically.
Peeep, peeep, peeep!
“Uwaah!”
A huge beak started pecking at Pastel. Her pink hair was messily tousled and tangled.
“Stop bothering me!”
Pastel flailed her arms with a sulky face.
The beak continued to poke her head.
Uwaah.
“Look at me as just a decoration!”
The fluffy baby birds paused their pecking. They tilted their heads at the size of Pastel. Though large, she looked like a chick.
“Huh.”
Pastel, who was now a mess, tried to fix her clothes and hair. She looked around at the giant baby birds and flapped her arms.
“Now do you get it?! Pastel is not food! I am a sentient being!”
—Peep?
One baby bird tilted its head.
Are you finally understanding me?
Phew, thank goodness.
The baby bird moved its beak again. It started pecking at Pastel, and the other baby birds joined in.
Peeep, peeep, peeep!
Uwaah!
Pastel was surrounded and flailed around. The hair she had just fixed got messy again.
I really feel like a cherry blossom tree…!
Save me, Pastel!
Now a makeshift magpie’s nest, Pastel scrambled to the corner of the nest. As the baby birds chased her, she drew her sword and pointed it at them.
“If you keep this up, I won’t just sit back! I’ll call for Hormone Friend!”
Hormone Friend, are you ready?
The fluffy baby birds hesitated.
The leading baby bird tilted its head.
—Pee~?
Pastel flinched.
Wow, so cute.
The tip of her sword trembled.
Sway, sway, sway.
“Ah, you get it, right? If you keep this up, a fierce Pastel will come! A Pastel who won’t see you as cute!”
Pastel made a fierce expression with all her might.
“Kraaaang!”
Totally scary.
The world trembles in fear.
—Peeep.
A baby bird slowly approached. The careful movements suggested an apology.
Pastel’s expression brightened.
Did my true feelings finally get through?
I have charm even with an animal that can’t talk.
Is this what it’s like to be popular, Pastel?
The three baby birds surrounded Pastel.
—Peeep!
When one shouted, their beaks moved all at once.
Peeep, peeep, peeep!
The beaks started pecking at Pastel.
Uwaah!
Unable to swing her sword, Pastel flailed. Her pink hair was getting torn apart.
Save me, Pastel!
#
Pastel, exhausted, sat on the edge of the nest. She held a few strands of her torn hair. The pink threads swayed in the wind.
“Is this what it means to be popular….”
Sniff.
A calm voice rang out.
『It’s the life of a castaway.』
Wow, a response with zero empathy.
After several exhausting conversations and flailing, she finally managed to convince the baby birds that she wasn’t food.
She had made some baby bird friends.
That was really tough.
Was making friends always this hard? Do people like Demon Lord live this kind of life?
Huh.
How do they manage that?
Respect, man.
Still sitting on the nest, Pastel swung her legs.
The nest was perched precariously on a steep ridge. Below, colorful rock mountains could be seen. Beyond the white mountains was a lush forest.
“Is this the back of the whale? It just looks like a chunk of land?”
『It’s easier to think of it as an island.』
Heh.
I might really be cast away.
“I should have just captured a monster bird instead of letting myself get caught without a fight.”
I hesitated to kill them since they weren’t man-eating monsters; I was just mistaken for food.
—Pee?
A baby bird looked back.
Pastel waved her arms in dismay.
“Nothing, baby bird friends!”
I didn’t have any evil thoughts about killing your parents!
If anyone did, it was that bad Hormone Friend!
Nod, nod.
『If you were an ordinary girl, this would be a very dangerous situation, but you should be fine. You’re in good shape, and you’ve got gem consumption, so food is not a big issue for now. You just need to move quickly to where civilization might be.』
Pastel pressed her hand to her eyebrow. She squinted her eyes as if observing the scenery.
Rocks, rocks, forest, forest.
“I don’t see any signs of civilization at all?”
『You’ll come across them soon enough. It looks like pure nature, but this place has been touched by humans for quite a while.』
“Is that so?”
It doesn’t really look like it.
『Before the long-distance travel technology for airships was developed, Sky Island was a holy land for beastmen. This was only possible because this whale transported people to Sky Island. This place has been frequented by humans for at least several hundred years.』
“So, does that mean Demon Lord knows the geography of this place?”
『Correct.』
“Wow!”
With Demon GPS, Pastel wasn’t in danger of being lost.
As she hummed, she got up from the edge of the nest. She turned to look back at the baby birds.
“Baby bird friends!”
—Pee?
The fluffy baby birds looked at her.
Pastel made a regretful expression and placed her hands on her hips.
“Even though our time together was short, the depth of our feelings was deeper than any relationship.”
As many strands of pink hair as there were torn.
“But with every relationship, there’s a beginning and an end. It’s time for us to part ways.”
Pastel wiped her eyes.
“Don’t be sad, friends.”
—Peeep.
The baby birds stared blankly, then ignored her and did their own thing: pecking and tidying up the nest. That seemed a million times more important than seeing off a departing friend.
A baby bird mixed in a pink thread from who-knows-where with the nest. The nest, made of wood and straw, was adorned with the pink thread.
The pink thread swayed in the wind.
Pastel’s mouth fell open.
Uwaah.
My hair…!
You’re decorating the house with my hair…!
And you still call me a friend?!
Pastel gasped in shock before she managed to collect herself. Maybe the baby birds had a tradition of decorating their nests with the departing friend’s hair.
She did her best to look away from her hair.
“Um, anyway, it’s time to part. If there’s nothing else to say, I’ll be on my way, bye.”
Honestly, she didn’t expect to be seen off.
These guys don’t seem like friends.
But really, the act of decorating with her hair was probably just a cultural difference, as the baby birds approached her to send her off.
—Peeep! Peeep!
With frantic movements and pitiful cries.
Fluffy baby birds gathered around.
Oh?
Such a sad farewell?
Pastel felt a lump in her throat.
After all, it was merely a misunderstanding arising from cultural differences!
We truly were friends!
How touching.
Pastel looked at the fluffy baby birds that clung to her pitifully.
Then, from the other side of the nest, something caught her eye: a group of quadrupedal beasts approaching on the rocky path.
Jaguar with sleek physiques skillfully climbed the rock mountain towards the nest. Their yellow eyes glared, and their white fangs were exposed, drooling over them.
—Peeep! Peeaaaah!
The baby birds cried out pitifully. They grabbed at Pastel’s clothing with their beaks and tried to pull her away.
Pastel ended up being dragged along. The beak pushed her back. The girl was pushed forward as if blocking the jaguar group away from the baby birds.
—Peeaaaah!
The baby birds watched Pastel with pitiful cries.
Pastel turned her head, stunned. She looked at her hair decorated in the nest, then at the fierce jaguar group, then back to the baby birds.
—Peeaaaah!
The baby birds cried out pitifully.
You guys really have no conscience…?
The leading jaguar bared its teeth. The jaguars surged towards the nest.
Crap.
If these cute-looking yet morally bankrupt baby birds didn’t exist, she’d have drawn her sword already!
“Jaguar friends, let’s talk—”
The jaguar lunged.
The girl took a half-step to the side. The beast whizzed by, and the sword’s blade glimmered. The beast was sliced apart, and blood sprayed everywhere.
The jaguar group pounced all at once. A knife flew from Pastel’s arms as silvery trails pierced through the jaguars charging at her and the baby birds. Blood gushed from the torn heads, and they crumbled. The corpses made sounds as they fell.
Pastel brushed her hands off. She shook off the blood from the knife and tucked it back into her arms.
With her hands on her hips, she looked at the baby birds.
“You guys! Now do you understand the value of a friend?!”
Ahem.
The fluffy baby birds approached. Then they just pushed past Pastel.
Fluff, whoa!
Thud.
The baby birds used their beaks to push the jaguar corpses outside the nest.
Whoosh, whoosh.
Pastel, toppled over, looked pitiful.
“You really think that’s okay?!”
If they weren’t somewhat cute-looking, they would have gone extinct long ago!
Hormone Friend would have given them a good thrashing!
A baby bird waddled over, nonchalantly nudged Pastel, and dragged a jaguar corpse away.
Once again falling, Pastel felt even sadder.
Waaah.
“Demon Lord! Please punish them! They’re bad! They’re really bad!”
The girl chirped.
It was a cry that, while cute, sounded like it would have gone extinct long ago.
『Sigh.』
The demon muttered, sounding somewhat self-deprecating.
『Why am I doing this?』
#
Having parted ways with the bad ones, Pastel descended the rock mountain and ran through the forest.
As the brush got in her way, the sword glimmered. The path cleared and the pink figure dashed forward. As rocks obstructed her, she leapt, the sound echoing. Her pink hair trailed behind her as she spun in the air and landed lightly, planting her feet firmly on the ground.
She wandered by a brook and confronted a beast.
Soon enough, she discovered signs of people.
The girl found muddy shoe prints and swung her sword. The beast’s blood smeared on the blade was shaken off.
『The castaway is over. We just need to link up now.』
“Sounds about right.”
Marquis Craft nodded slightly, wearing a subtle expression.
『What’s wrong?』
“Oh, nothing….”
It wasn’t as if they’d been in a castaway situation to have to insist on joining the main route.
Wouldn’t it be effective to pop out in a completely different place from the original airship entry route and sneak a peek into areas the upper levels weren’t prepared for?
Marquis Craft forced a smile.
“Let’s not join up and conduct a secret inspection instead!”
『Inspection? Were you genuinely considering it, not just making up an excuse for the capture of the Sky Whale?』
The demon raised an eyebrow.
“Oh come on, Demon Lord. How many positions do I even hold? Am I really going to seek personal gain here?”
Even if it was corruption for survival, of course.
『Every position comes with responsibility, it’s a wonderful idea. And since the Sky Whale is a gap in security, various crimes will likely occur, so an inspection is definitely warranted.』
“Exactly.”
Nodding slightly, she bent down to scoop up mud. Then she dumped it over her pink hair. The mud covered the pink threads.
“First, we should check out the biggest Prezzy Syndicate. I can’t wait to see just how much illegal stuff is going on.”
Just one blight of the cult’s behind-the-scenes activities would be great.
It didn’t matter if they covered up and manipulated it, leaving only evidence and suspicions.
It’s all about what charges can be pinned on them.
Marquis Craft began the secret inspection.
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