Pastel diligently worked to push forward the one-on-one tournament and finalize the budget.
Not the “work hard, play hard” kind of busy, but truly running around like a headless chicken.
There was mountains of work, from convincing the professors who had the final say on the additional budget to meeting the administrative staff who were always annoyed—definitely not a job for Elly and Dustin.
“Ughh.”
“A situation where the disaster I summoned ends with my death…!”
After wrapping up negotiations with the relevant merchants, Pastel finally returned to her lodging at night.
In her pajamas, Pastel writhed in bed in agony.
“Demon Lord! Demon Lord! Please do my work! I don’t want to work! I don’t want to work! I want to live as a NEET!”
The demon, who was massaging Pastel’s thigh, got kicked in the foot and looked quite miffed.
“How much do you wish from me?”
“How much? THIS MUCH! THIS MUCH!”
Pastel sprawled out, spreading her arms as wide as she could. As she flailed, she left marks on the bed like angel wings.
“Everything!”
Just live instead of me!
“I want a happy life!”
“I picture the ideal life right away! I hang out with my friends every day! Then I might lack for living expenses, so the Demon Lord can work for me! Just fill my pockets!”
“Wow, you’ve really got some guts now.”
The demon was left speechless.
Pastel’s eyes sparkled as she imagined her happy life.
Brain power, activate…!
Buzz buzz, buzz buzz~!
“Of course, you can’t afford to cover my meal expenses, right? Gem at golden prices? No way! Even a Demon Lord can’t handle that! But luckily, I have a smart idea!”
Still face down, she turned her upper body and looked back at the demon’s feet.
“Are you curious? Curious! Super curious! Oh, I’m so curious! Just ask me, go on!”
The demon raised an eyebrow mockingly.
“I’m not curious.”
Gasp.
He’s not curious.
Pastel’s mouth fell open in shock.
Then she rolled her eyes and cheerfully shouted,
“I knew you’d be curious!”
“Don’t interpret it your way.”
“I’ll tell you! It’s that the Demon Lord dresses up as me and earns money just like this! So, as a pink pastel me! Or rather, a pink pastel demon!”
As Pastel spoke, she imagined the image of a demon in a dull suit with a pink dress thrown over it.
Huh?
A pink dress Demon Lord?
She dubbed over the vision in her head.
“I’m not curious~.”
Gasp.
Totally doesn’t match.
Ahaha!
Pastel bounced on her bed, laughing alone.
Bounce bounce! Bounce bounce!
Wriggling, thud-!
The demon, once again hit by Pastel’s foot, let out a long sigh. Red footprints were left on the demon’s face.
“Try to develop some self-sufficiency. You’re getting worse and worse.”
Then the demon pressed down his palm hard on Pastel’s thigh. The muscle twisted under pressure.
Ouch.
Did my muscle just twist?
Pain shot from her lower back to the tips of her hair, spreading throughout her body.
“Kyaaa!”
Pastel let out a deathly wail as she twisted her body.
Pain!
Ggghg!
Tears welled up in her eyes. She clutched the bedspread tightly, wrinkling it in her grip.
“Demon Lord! Demon Lord! It hurts! It hurts!”
“Just endure it.”
“Bad person! Bad person!”
Pastel hurled fierce accusations.
The demon scoffed.
“Yep, I’m a bad person.”
“Y-yes?!”
Now you’re showing your true colors?!
The demon’s hand grabbed her other thigh. The relentless grip squeezed the muscle. Twist.
Ouch.
Did my muscle twist AGAIN?
“Kyaaa!”
Pastel trembled and cried.
Bad person!
Totally a bad person…!
#
Today, Pastel felt good.
Usually, she does, but today felt special?
Not because she wrapped up the tournament preparations, though.
It was because the smuggling ship she sent to the demon realm had returned!
Waaah~!
My entire fortune has increased with compound interest!
If it hadn’t returned, I would have been on the brink of bankruptcy due to recklessly taking over the Freji Merchant Association, but I’m saved.
Pastel brought the trumpet she had used during the welcome for new students. While watching the airships dock, she blew the trumpet excitedly.
Pew pew~!
“Welcome, welcome!”
Heart racing, thump thump.
Pastel’s cheeks flushed red. It was hard to contain her excitement. She took a deep breath, puffed up her cheeks, and blew the trumpet with all her might.
Pew pew~!
Pew pew~!
Ugh, this can’t express how I feel right now.
She placed her hand on her heart.
Thump thump thump thump.
Her heart raced alarmingly. It must be due to this excitement.
“Demon Lord! Demon Lord! I’m so excited! Why do I feel this way?”
“You succeeded in your first venture for Craft High Merchant, so that’s understandable. From now on, you won’t have to worry much about meal costs.”
“Ah! You’re right! You’re right!”
Pastel realized what was in her heart.
This pounding was the thrill of passive income!
Miraculously, boxes of gems stacking up without having to work.
Waking up after a nap and finding her bank account filled. What a comforting thought.
Her mouth fell open.
“This is the heartbeat of being a property owner?!”
“Similar, but that’s quite a materialistic perspective. Try to hold onto more child-like sentiments.”
Pastel ignored the guardian’s hope.
Wow wow.
I’m a passive income landlord.
Pastel placed the trumpet to her lips.
With fervor, pew pew~!
She sent her heartfelt feelings towards the anchored airships—the source of her excitement.
Then, as if cause met effect, a blond girl on the airship railing stared at Pastel.
She was a girl dressed in a wizard’s robe, holding a wand.
Her name: Melissa Camelot.
Huh.
Pastel froze in the posture she was playing the trumpet.
For some reason, the messy-haired Melissa had a disgruntled expression. It seemed the rough voyage had taken a toll on her sweet disposition.
Her heart raced.
Thump thump.
Whoaaa?!
But even with a conscience, Pastel began to shiver uncontrollably. Cold sweat dripped down her.
If there’s a moment in my life that could be called the greatest crisis, it would be this instant.
A super crisis!
Aaaah.
I-I didn’t expect it to be such a struggle.
I sent Melissa over with a light heart, thinking it’d be like asking a friend for a favor, but I never thought it would lead to this much trouble—I might as well have taken a leave of absence!
During my smuggling days, I only had to face the occasional pirate, you know.
Of course, pirates are terrifying, but I had a sense of relief thinking Melissa was strong enough to handle it easily.
I-I can’t help but think I trusted Melissa too much…
Melissa came down with the sound of her heels clacking.
“Craft High Merchant.”
Aaaah.
She’s calling me “Pastel” casually again after pretending to be friendly!
Shiver shiver.
The trumpet in Pastel’s mouth made a sound.
Pew pew…….
Melissa glared at her. Then, in a cold voice, she said.
“You’re greedy.”
That voice pierced through her heart.
The pink girl swayed unsteadily.
Gasp, greedy.
Good Melissa is delivering such a harsh accusation…!
I feel like we’ve gone from best friends to total strangers!
Pastel made a sad face.
“H-how much?”
“Huh?”
She asked back in a whimpering voice.
“How greedy am I…?”
“Huh? Well, let’s see.”
Melissa seemed perplexed, then deep in thought.
“Your level of greed can be determined by the difference in profitability between regular trade and smuggling, I suppose. However, we first need to know the actual tax rates applied to trade, instead of just the legal tax rates. There are many ways to save taxes, even if it’s not tax evasion.”
The top student crossed her arms, pondering.
“However, just knowing the actual tax rates won’t allow us to calculate your greed instantly. Smuggling incurs additional costs because it doesn’t go through the regular route, so we must calculate that separately, right?”
She threw out a question, seemingly seeking a response.
Still in a broken state, Pastel rolled her eyes.
She intended to gauge how hurt Melissa was by asking, but this was more perplexing.
“Uh-huh, that makes sense.”
“And we also need to consider the risks of smuggling, beyond just accounting for expenditures like added costs. Legal and reputational risks come into play if smuggling is discovered.”
As Melissa spoke, she tapped her fingers on her crossed arms.
“But to accurately calculate these actual rates, incomes, expenditures, and risks, it’s absurd for someone inexperienced like me. Ultimately, we can only make rough estimations through inference.”
Listening blankly, Pastel inspected her trumpet.
Ugh, it’s wet.
She rubbed it with her sleeve.
Sparkle sparkle.
Wow, it’s clean.
“But using rough estimates to calculate a person’s level of greed is exceedingly rude. So that, too, is off the table. Therefore, we can tentatively conclude that accurate calculations and rough estimations are both impossible.”
With a hint of pride, Melissa fixed her gaze.
“I’ve got it! Your greed cannot yet be precisely calculated, and that’s correct!”
Pastel, who had been lost in thought, blankly met her gaze.
“Huh, you’re giving up calculating?”
Upon the top student’s rebuke, Melissa flinched. She seemed taken aback and reconsidered her thoughts.
“Uh, wait. I’ll think about it from the top again.”
Pastel spoke in a daze.
“Huh, you’re thinking again?”
The top student, it seems, couldn’t even get it right on her first try. Melissa flinched again.
Her blue eyes wandered, scanning the surroundings. Pastel saw the busy Craft High Merchant members at the airship dock.
“That’s right. There are many experienced folks here. Though a brief conversation can’t encompass the full picture, we can certainly improve the inaccuracies of rough estimations.”
As if finding her answer, Melissa’s eyes lit up.
“Craft, you were right! Improving the inaccuracies of rough estimations without being rude is the answer. Wait for me, I’ll be back soon.”
The wizard’s robe fluttered as her footsteps faded away.
Melissa approached a close merchant for permission and advice.
Pastel was left all alone.
Huh.
She rubbed her eyes blankly.
I don’t know why, but doesn’t it feel like the atmosphere of anger is gone?
If I apologize now, can we go back to being close friends?
Yup yup.
She held the trumpet to her mouth.
Pew pew~!
This is the 100th level of Friend Power for making friends!
Popular Pastel doesn’t fight with her friends~!
Pew pew~!
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