“It’s such a horrific crime!”
Pastel, trembling all over, passionately spoke to the knight who had come to hear her plea.
“I was living my life innocently, and they even hired the cult to kill me! If there are a million crimes in the world, this is definitely one of the worst!”
“R-really?”
The knight seemed bewildered. And rightly so; there was not a single piece of evidence for the assassination contract—only the claims of the self-proclaimed victim, Marquis Craft.
Pastel continued her fervent speech.
“The Frazie High Merchant and Sinclair High Merchant are nothing but wicked demon worshippers!”
“It’s not a demon, it’s an evil deity!”
“Wicked evil deity worshippers!”
She slammed the desk as if trying to hide her mistake.
With fierce eyes, she looked at the knight.
“Ever since I was accidentally bitten by a bird, the cult members came to the nest as if they had been waiting! And then they kidnapped me aboard an airship in a state of confusion!”
Pastel pressed her cheeks with both hands, showing a terrified expression.
“Ahhh~!”
So scary.
“It didn’t end with just the kidnapping! In fact, taking me aboard the airship was a plan to kill me without leaving a trace!”
Tremble, tremble.
“Look here! Like this!”
She mimicked putting an imaginary blade to her neck.
The cold, chilling feel of metal.
“Hyahh~!”
Pastel’s face turned pale. Not that it actually happened, she was just acting out the role with great flair.
Then she became serious.
“But in that moment, when anyone would be paralyzed with fear, I remained calm without an ounce of fear! I even shouted at the wicked cult member!”
She pointed an accusing finger at the air.
“How dare you try to kill an innocent like me! There must be an evil mastermind behind this! Put your hand on your conscience and reveal it now!”
Pastel placed her hand over her heart.
“Then one of the cult members, in agony, revealed the truth: it was none other than the Frazie High Merchant and Sinclair High Merchant who ordered the assassination!”
Boom.
The evil truth was unveiled.
“Ahhh~!”
Pastel showed great astonishment.
Wowza.
The knight, who had been listening blankly, finally snapped back to reality.
“Do you happen to know where that cult member is?”
He was trying to find an objective witness in a situation dominated by the testimony of a self-proclaimed victim.
Pastel looked regretful.
“The airship crashed, so… But the conscience that cult member showed is still vividly etched in my heart. Sir Knight, please do not neglect the testimony of a righteous cult member.”
Her gentle voice echoed.
The knight hesitated, slightly perplexed.
Pastel’s expression grew more and more vacant as she stared at the knight coldly.
The knight flinched and nodded.
“I understand.”
Pastel’s face brightened again.
“As expected of you, Sir Knight! Since this involves a cult, make sure to leave not even a speck of dust!”
Smash, smash!
She swung her fist in the air.
The knight looked at her with a strange gaze and slowly nodded.
Days passed with investigations that turned the Frazie High Merchant upside down and encircled the Sky Whale, searching for remnants of the cult.
The ledgers of the Frazie High Merchant were revealed, and even incriminating charges unrelated to their activities were discovered, cleaning up the entire affair.
After a while of observing the proceedings, Pastel decided to put her mind at ease and handle her own matters. Since it was a legal issue with the high merchant, it would take time anyway.
The first thing she did was munch on the gem knife’s power.
“Absolutely not. Hand it over now.”
The demon firmly reached out.
“No way!”
Pastel shook her head vigorously, clutching the knife tightly. Although the demon had kept asking for it, she had taken it with her everywhere—even to sleep and while bathing.
“Young Craft, why do you want to consume something so dangerous? You will grow stronger with the passage of time anyway. You don’t need to meddle with something that twists the essence and disturbs the mind.”
“Mercury Friend said they needed Venus Friend!”
The solar system needed more family!
The demon rubbed its forehead.
“What in the world does that mean? You don’t explain anything. Huh. Don’t get lost in your inner world. While I said to pursue order and harmony in your inner world, I never meant to obsess over it in a paranoid manner. In fact, nature is chaotic. It’s the imperfect state that is natural.”
“I don’t care! I’ll do as I please!”
Pastel shook her head defiantly.
As their argument continued, the demon raised both hands in surrender.
“Then do as you please. Without my help, you won’t even be able to extract the essence of existence, and you’ll stack it all up until you can’t use the gem knife anymore.”
The demon brought out a butter knife as if demonstrating.
“Look here.”
Holding the butter knife on both sides, it bent it. The thin butter knife completely folded.
“When the essence of existence fills the fuel tank, the knife, unable to withstand the energy, will completely break down from the inside.”
The demon held the bent butter knife in front of Pastel’s eyes. It was a butter knife that couldn’t even spread butter.
“This is the future of Knife Friend.”
Aaaah.
The future of Knife Friend!
“That can’t be…!”
Pastel trembled, clutching the gem knife tightly.
Tremble, tremble.
“If you stubbornly persist, hurry up and say goodbye to Knife Friend.”
The demon waved goodbye to the knife on Pastel’s behalf.
“Goodbye, Knife Friend.”
Aaaah.
Pastel’s mouth dropped open.
“Knife Friend!”
With her strength drained, Pastel slumped down weakly. Clutching the knife tightly, she wept.
“I’m so sorry! I couldn’t protect you! I’m not worthy to be your friend!”
Weeping.
Wailing.
The demon bent down and spoke in a gentle voice.
“If you give it to me, I can save Knife Friend from tragedy. If you want to save your friend, hurry and hand it over.”
The demon whispered.
Aahhh.
“I’ll give you anything! Take my soul, my heart, whatever you want!”
Is this how it feels to face a demon?
“I don’t need that. Just hand over Knife Friend.”
The demon waved its hand dismissively.
“That can’t be, that can’t be…!”
Pastel trembled and then shouted firmly.
“I won’t abandon my friend! There’s no way I’d sell them to a demon!”
She hugged the knife tighter.
“Knife Friend! I’ll protect you!”
The demon rubbed its forehead. Was it a bad feeling coming up? Its eyes twitched before it splashed cold water on its face.
“Hah.”
Its red eyes seemed to reflect a sense of self-loathing as they looked down weakly.
“If you want to match my level, shouldn’t you lose at least once?”
Pastel hugged the knife tightly and looked up defiantly.
“I matched my level with you, Demon Lord!”
Saying goodbye to inanimate objects?
How embarrassing.
It was something she would never do.
“Don’t lie.”
The demon said firmly.
“That can’t be…!”
Pastel’s mouth dropped open.
Where is my self-worth?!
When did I become someone who thinks saying goodbye to inanimate objects is fine?!
“I’m sorry, Knife Friend! I ended up becoming this embarrassing friend just by trying to protect you!”
The demon shook its head.
“No need to apologize. You were already an embarrassing friend.”
It was a calm voice that seemed to state a fact.
“That can’t be…!”
This was quite shocking, and Pastel’s consciousness became hazy.
“I was always an embarrassing friend?”
She had no way to refute that…!
Aaaah.
The demon seemed relieved.
“I’ll go do the laundry, so reflect well on yourself. I hope you become better than usual.”
The demon left those words filled with hope and left.
Pastel hung her head.
Demon Lord, truly resolute.
At this rate, not only would she fail to consume the essence of existence, but she would end up being “Demon Lord! Ehhh!”
She clenched her fists.
“The Demon Lord is right! I can’t stay an embarrassing friend forever!”
Determined, Pastel decided to become a good listener like the demon wished… or rather, she learned how to extract the essence of existence from the knife herself.
“It’s a contingency prepared for the next Demon King; there must be a way for the heir to consume it alone! I can do it without depending on the demon!”
She did all kinds of things with the knife.
Stretch, stab!
As she wielded her gem manipulation powers, the gem within the gem knife responded, causing it to rise.
The powers she currently possessed were the ability to absorb gems and manipulate gems.
The gem absorption effect strengthens the body the more gems you absorb, so it was of no use right now. What was questionable was the power of gem manipulation.
Could she manipulate the gem knife somehow to extract the essence of existence?
“Stab! Stab!”
The sounds made by her mouth were light, but Pastel was very serious.
She tried spinning and moving the floating knife multiple times, then focused her mind to make delicate adjustments.
“Since I’m manipulating the gem within…’’
She carefully touched the internal circuits of the gem knife, ensuring it didn’t break. After several cautious touches, something finally reacted.
Black, viscous liquid seeped out from the knife’s blade and floated up. It was the essence of existence mixed with magical energy, ready to be consumed.
Pastel’s mouth curved into a grin.
Was it with the Demon Lord’s help?
No, no, no.
I don’t need that.
Just as she raised the black jelly to put it in her mouth, she hesitated.
With a puzzled expression, Pastel stealthily hid the black jelly behind her back. The jelly floated quietly and was securely hidden.
After a moment, the demon returned from laundry, looking down at the girl with its red eyes.
“Have you reflected well?”
Pastel put on a sorrowful expression.
“Huehh~!”
The demon looked at her suspiciously, extending its hand.
“If you’ve reflected, hand over the knife.”
“Huehh~!”
Pastel cried even more sadly and then held out the knife. With trembling hands, she handed the Knife Friend over to the demon.
The demon seemed to find her overly docile behavior strange, narrowing its brow. It then cautiously reached out to grab the knife.
The continued docility made the demon wary and it hesitated.
“Hmm, I see. Are you trying to secretly consume the existence essence again as I extract it this time? I’ve already seen through you, young Craft.”
Pastel looked horrified, as if her innermost thoughts had been completely exposed.
“Shocking~!”
“What?!”
The demon seemed very unsettled. Then, as if it had come to a conclusion since the knife was now in its hand, it expressed its emotions.
“No more pretending to fall over. This time I won’t be fooled.”
Pastel gasped dramatically.
“Double shocking~!”
“Hmm.”
The demon looked quite disturbed. It gazed at Pastel with a somewhat displeased expression.
“Adults are not to be toyed with.”
Its voice was subtly threatening.
Hoo.
When you say that…
When you say that…!
Pastel, feeling a rush of betrayal, excitedly turned towards the demon.
“Demon Lord! Demon Lord! Look at this!”
She lifted the black jelly up high.
“Delicious jelly~!”
Ta-da~!
The demon’s eyes widened.
“What did you…?”
“And also!”
Pastel, fully excited, shouted gleefully.
“Pastel’s playing above the Demon Lord’s head~!”
She popped the jelly into her mouth.
Nom-!
Munch munch.
Swallow!
Pastel proudly displayed her mouth, now empty.
And then, stuck her tongue out.
“All eaten up~!”
The demon inhaled deeply in shock. It stumbled slightly, then slowly raised its hand to hold the back of its neck.
“How did I end up in this situation…?”
It was a powerless voice.
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