In the inner world of the universe.
Pastel was flying around the solar system, sobbing.
“Sun Friend, Mercury Friend!”
“Come comfort me after I got scolded by the Demon Lord!”
As if responding to her heart, the black sun ominously flickered. It was a blaze that could swallow her sanity.
“Whoa!”
As her body became engulfed in the flames and her mind went blank, Pastel struggled to escape.
“E-except for Sun Friend!”
“It feels like too much for me to handle!”
“Is Sun really even a friend?”
“Isn’t that my soul?”
“Ominous sun = Pastel’s soul”
“Wha?”
“Huh?”
Pastel swirled her body, whining about a reality she couldn’t handle, then simply switched her thoughts.
“How awkward must Mercury Friend feel, spending time alone with such an unapproachable sun!”
“I need to hurry and make a Venus Friend!”
Let’s see, the beings I’ve absorbed flew around in the form of rock fragments. I previously failed to make Venus due to insufficient gravity, but this time, I had quite a lot of rock from capturing a cult member and a monster bird.
Pastel crossed her arms, considering the real solar system carefully.
“Is Venus bigger than Mercury…?”
She examined the rock fragments. If I gather them all, it could roughly resemble Venus.
“Since it’s my inner world, wouldn’t it just need to be at a level I can sensibly acknowledge?”
She placed her fingers to her head.
“Pastel, do you acknowledge that this size is Venus?”
“Wow.”
“If you ask me something like that~.”
“Complete dilemma, total dilemma.”
She narrowed her brows and began serious contemplation.
A plethora of meticulous calculations and cold judgments unfolded.
“Ding~!”
A bright conclusion flashed!
Pastel raised one arm with a cheerful expression.
“I’ll acknowledge it!”
“This is no place for doubts.”
“I acknowledge it.”
“Yay, it’s acknowledged!”
Excited, Pastel reached toward the rock fragments.
“Venus Friend, I’ll make you born right away!”
She gathered all the rock fragments outside Mercury’s orbit.
“Whew!”
Focusing her mind, the fragments collided and merged, forming a rocky planet. It grew larger than Mercury, and gravity formed strongly.
At some point, Venus was completed, shining gold. It glowed with a brilliant light, resembling a gold ingot. It shone alone, even though it wasn’t a star.
“Wow!”
“So dazzling~!”
Pastel squeezed her eyes shut, suffering.
“If I bite it, the bite marks will surely remain!”
The real Venus has atmosphere and geology; there’s no way it’s pure gold, yet for some reason, she felt inclined to accept it!
“Indeed, Venus should be golden!”
“Well, that makes sense, it’s ‘금성’ (golden star) after all!”
“It’s a golden color that this refined inner world can acknowledge.”
“You are surely Venus!”
“I acknowledge it!”
“Acknowledged, acknowledged!”
Pastel vigorously waved her arms in approval.
And then, as if enchanted, she approached Venus.
“Whoa, gold.”
She opened her arms wide to embrace it. Given its size relative to her body, it felt more like sticking to it than actually hugging.
“Stick.”
“Venus Friend.”
“Can I bite you?”
“Of course, I’m not doubting that you’re not pure gold! I’m not thinking for even a second that you might be plated!”
“Just…”
Pastel thought of an excuse and then smiled.
“I just want to bite you!”
She opened her mouth wide.
With the heart of a squirrel burying its teeth in a watermelon larger than itself, she suddenly sank her teeth in.
“Gulp.”
Upon pulling back, faint teeth marks were left behind.
“Whoa, pure gold.”
“Are you perhaps 24K?”
“I’m in love at first sight! Let’s get married!”
Pastel declared her love while tightly hugging the golden lump pretending to be Venus.
“We’ll be together forever!”
Suddenly, Mercury drifted near the sun, moving around. It had a lonely vibe.
It felt like the ambiance of someone feeling isolated among friends, secretly going to the bathroom to eat lunch alone.
“Ah!”
Pastel twitched.
“Sorry, Mercury Friend.”
“Was there a big difference in treatment…?”
Fidgeting, she accidentally fell away from Venus. She rubbed the tooth marks on Venus, restoring it to its original state and distanced herself.
She glanced over at Mercury cautiously while maintaining a solemn face, crossing her arms with a determined expression.
“Venus!”
“I regret saying this right after birth, but the solar system family is maintained through practical considerations. You have to prove your worth to be accepted as family. You’ve got to earn your own keep.”
Then, she slyly moved closer to Venus and whispered.
“But this is a secret….”
“I like you.”
“No matter what you do or what you can do, I like you.”
“Even if the mysteries of the Milky Way vanish, and the wonders of the universe disappear, you’ll still be mysterious and wondrous.”
“So, golden friend…”
Pastel realized she made a slip of the tongue and her eyes widened.
“Ah!”
“I got confused with the name!”
“Having so many friends has made me muddled!”
“Is this the fate of a popular person?!”
“Is this the inevitability of a popular one?!”
“Sorry, Venus Friend! I didn’t mean to think of you as a golden lump! You’re a planet! I know! Don’t get the wrong idea!”
Feeling very embarrassed, Pastel hurriedly backtracked from Venus. She put on a cold expression and crossed her arms, shooting a determined gaze.
“U-uh, prove your worth anyway!”
“The solar system family isn’t easygoing!”
Venus seemed displeased, hesitated, then circled around the sun. A new orbit formed around Mercury’s orbit, wrapping it.
A new order was established within the solar system. The point called sun was embraced by two circles, rotating.
Order created harmony and shook the mind.
“Whoa!”
“Enlightenment!”
“Enlightenment…!”
Pastel opened her mouth in surprise, then paused, slowly touching her head.
“Enlightenment…”
“Honestly, I don’t get it.”
“Gahhh.”
“When I made Mercury, it felt like this too, so if I wake from meditation, something must have changed, but shouldn’t I be receiving some epiphany?”
“Getting stronger without any enlightenment doesn’t feel like a normal training method.”
“Something feels off as the Demon Lord said.”
“This isn’t training; it’s…”
She tilted her head and looked around. The ominous black sun flickered in the empty space.
“But it feels weird to think that I’m a sun, and just because I spun some orbits while moving planets, some sort of enlightenment would come.”
Pastel began counting fingers.
“Mercury, Venus, Earth…”
“Earthie?”
“Just hearing its name makes my heart race!”
“Earth Friend!”
“I feel like I can do anything with you!”
She hurriedly looked for the remaining rock fragments.
“They’re all used up, neat!”
“It’s fine!”
“There’s no way I could satisfy creating Earth with just rock fragments. An Earth made purely of rock wouldn’t be Earth!”
“Earth needs to have life!”
“Life.”
“Living creatures.”
“Hmm, how to create life?”
“Hmm.”
“Life, life.”
“Union of male and female…”
“Mosaic beam~!”
“Eh.”
In that moment, Pastel had an inappropriate thought and woke up from her dream. Blushing fiercely, she raised her upper body in bed.
“Ughhhh.”
Her head was spinning.
Steam was rising from her face.
The Demon Lord, observing from a chair beside the bed, opened his mouth.
“How was it?”
Pastel jumped in surprise.
“Right after an erotic fantasy, face to face with the guardian.”
“Ahhh!”
“I didn’t think of anything like that!”
Flustered and flailing.
The Demon Lord looked bewildered.
“Why are you acting like this?”
“Don’t ask!”
It was a fierce and resolute shout.
The Demon Lord was taken aback.
“I see.”
“What changed?”
Pastel dangled as the Demon Lord carefully weighed her by grabbing her on both sides.
“Hmph, you haven’t gotten lighter like last time.”
“Hehe.”
Disappointment.
“Don’t be too disappointed. It’s not always a good thing for an examination to result in you becoming lighter. It means the physical laws are being distorted; it’s not just about becoming light. It’s not necessarily good to become detached from the world.”
“Eh.”
“Venus Friend might get kicked out of the solar system like Pluto.”
“Yikes.”
“Poor Pluto Friend.”
“Wait, should I call you a number-alphabet-whatever now?”
“Poor number-alphabet-whatever friend.”
“I won’t understand if you talk about your own world.”
The red eyes pondered.
“Tell me about your inner world. If you feel a distinct change, it’s probably there. Try to deduce what change it is.”
“Yes.”
Pastel nodded.
The Demon Lord watched her with expectation.
Silence lingered.
“Um.”
“Demon Lord, please put me down.”
Still suspended, Pastel swung her legs.
“Can I talk in this state?”
“Ah, my bad.”
She landed on the ground.
Pastel cleared her throat.
“An unbelievable event happened during the birth of Venus Friend. The world was created anew, life was formed, and everything aligned!”
“Oooh.”
The Demon Lord seemed intrigued.
“Guess you liked the story from the shrine?”
“Eh.”
That was a lie.
She subtly glanced around.
“It’s a lie. I’ll shorten it to be easier to understand.”
Clearing her throat again, she waved her arms.
“Venus Friend was actually gold!”
Pastel pulled a realistically shocked face.
“So we decided to get married! But it turned out, instead of gold, it was a planet!”
She acted out her shock dramatically.
“Sorry, Venus Friend! Let’s pretend the marriage isn’t happening!”
“Oooh.”
The Demon Lord was impressed.
“You condensed it too much. I can’t understand anything.”
“Agh.”
Pastel waved her hands frantically.
“So, so! Venus Friend wasn’t originally gold, you know? But it became gold. Because I acknowledged it! Venus is gold! I acknowledge it!”
“Hmph.”
The Demon Lord rubbed his chin, pondering.
“Oh?”
“Is there something? Any huge reason for gold?”
“Gold is a mere reflection of desire. It’s exactly what it is.”
“Eh!?”
“How embarrassing.”
“Rather, it’d be better to check your physical condition. Let’s go. Try throwing a punch first.”
Following the Demon Lord’s instructions, Pastel took action one by one. She punched and kicked the trees inhabited by the Sky Whale, checking her strength, and slashed through falling leaves to test her reflexes.
There didn’t seem to be much difference until she discovered a change while doing high-level maneuvers with her gem knife.
“Oooh, your will has strengthened.”
The knife floated without a gesture.
“Oh?”
Pastel stared in amazement at the gem knife that obeyed her thoughts.
The knife swirled around her body.
“Now that one hand is free, you can act as a variable against semi-knights. No matter how strong the opponent, they have two arms and one life.”
Imagining a virtual enemy, Pastel took her stance and swung the knife forward.
After exchanging simple strikes several times, she focused her will. The knife suddenly flew off, piercing her earnest opponent.
“Thud!”
“Ow!”
“Down you go.”
“That’s how you use it. From the perspective of the one getting hit, it’s quite frustrating.”
“Ugh.”
Pastel felt a complex mix of emotions.
This feels really rude…?
She examined the knife.
The silver blade sparkled.
“Should I put some poison on it?”
It would totally suit it.
“Little Craft.”
“Oh no.”
Is it a bit too much…?
Worried about getting scolded, Pastel fidgeted her fingers.
The Demon Lord spoke calmly.
“You’ve thought well.”
A satisfied voice.
“I shall teach you the recipe for the poison.”
“Wow.”
“Yes, Master!”
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