Huhhh.
Why did I join the student council?
Isn’t the mindset of “students should join the student council!” something meant for a peaceful world?
This world where swords and guns are everywhere is way too dangerous…
Pastel, who escaped from the Demon Mercenary Leader’s airship, collapsed onto the floor of the Knight Order’s airship with wobbly legs. The carpet of the cabin cushioned her fall quite nicely.
“Life is just too hard, Pastel.”
Seriously hard.
The demon sword at her waist scattered and transformed into a well-dressed demon. The demon looked down with suspicion.
Wow, it’s the Demon Lord.
“Demon Lord! Demon Lord!”
Pastel outstretched her arms with a teary face.
“Please comfort me because I was threatened by a bad guy!”
Gurgle.
Oh no, I’m hungry!
“No, no! Ice cream! Please make some ice cream! A super huge ice cream!”
An ice cream so big that I can go “Wowwww!”
Let’s name it…
Wowww Ice Cream!
Huhhh.
That’s a long name.
It sounds delicious!
Without a word, the demon bent down and extended both hands. The strong hands squished and kneaded Pastel’s cheeks.
Squish squish, mush mush.
Pastel went “Wowww!” for a different reason!
As her cheeks got squished more, they turned slightly red.
“My face isn’t ice cream, you know!”
The red eyes looked at her with some suspicion.
『Young Craft.』
“Yesss!”
With her cheeks still held, Pastel answered but then realized something.
“Wait! Is this what I think it is?! Just like how putting ice on a sore spot feels good, squishing my cheeks will make ice cream taste even better!”
Looks like I nailed it! Looks like I nailed it!
I must be a genius!
The demon, looking flabbergasted, released Pastel’s cheeks. And perhaps trying to match her eye level, he knelt on one knee and stared at her.
『Young Craft, what is one plus one?』
Huh?
Out of nowhere?
Pastel rolled her eyes.
Is there some tremendous logic or nonsense hidden in one plus one? After pondering with a doubtful expression, she answered hesitantly.
“Two…?”
Seeing her reaction, the demon didn’t respond. It was obvious it wasn’t worth mentioning since it was a given answer.
Looks like I got it right.
『What is eleven plus eleven?』
Having already gotten one right, confidence surged in Pastel. She squinted her eyes, putting on a serious expression.
“This is a quite tricky question! But with my brilliant brain, no riddle can stand against me!”
Pastel’s pink eyes sparkled!
She shot her hand up like lightning.
“Twenty-two!”
Bam!
Perfect answer!
Am I a genius?
『Hmm.』
The demon crossed his arms, looking pensive. It seemed like he was worried because the results of an intelligence test on his child were dismal.
Huh?
Could it be that twenty-two isn’t the right answer?
Did I somehow fail to solve eleven plus eleven properly?
Am I, perhaps, an idiot?
Pastel’s mouth fell open.
Idiot, idiot Pastel?!
No way!
Huhhh!
As if the demon was about to ask a new question.
Focus, focus!
I can’t allow myself to be branded as idiot Pastel anymore. I must get this right!
Brain, full throttle!
From today onward, I shall rise to be known as genius genius Pastel!
Haahh!
The demon uttered his question.
『What is seven hundred ninety-one multiplied by five hundred forty-six?』
Huhhh.
Pastel’s breath stopped.
Chirp chirp peep peep.
Silence ensued.
The demon sighed in relief.
『Just as usual.』
His voice carried the hint of him thinking of her as an idiot.
Aahhh.
Completely treated like an idiot!
Pastel, now branded as idiot idiot Pastel, felt incredibly wronged.
“This question is unfair! How am I supposed to solve a three-digit multiplication all of a sudden?!”
She pointed aggressively at the demon.
“And you! You don’t know the answer either, right?! I, the smart one, know everything! You enjoy watching me fail at this hard question, don’t you?!”
『The answer is four hundred thirty-one thousand eight hundred eighty-six.』
Huhhh.
Pastel’s mouth dropped open, freezing. Then slowly, she began to sulk.
“Must be nice to be so smart….”
I really am idiot idiot Pastel.
『Oh my.』
The demon got up, looking exasperated. He brushed off his knees and straightened his black suit.
『I was suspicious of your acting skills. The Craft Family has quite the notorious lineage.』
“Really?”
Pastel’s expression became complicated.
Does this mean he doubted whether she was genuine, thinking her act in front of the Demon Mercenary Leader wasn’t actually that great?
Ughhh.
She just happened to reveal her aptitude while talking.
That demon is too harsh.
How could he suspect me of being like Craft?
Of course, my name is Pastel Love Craft, but still, that’s too much!
Pastel’s mood swiftly darkened. However, considering the demon’s circumstance trapped in Craft Mansion, her lips merely pouted.
“Do you think I would hide my true feelings from you, Demon Lord? I have nothing to hide! I promise!”
As she spoke, a feeling of grievance rose within her.
“Of course, I’m human too, so sometimes there are things I keep hidden! But when you listen to them, they’re really nothing special! For example…”
She folded one finger.
“I secretly spilled juice on my pillow while drinking it in bed and hid the wet pillow under the bed! And then…!”
Pastel recalled memories, folding another finger but halted. Her eyes widened slowly.
Oh no!
She just confessed!
It was supposed to be a secret to carry forever…!
The demon was astonished.
『What?!』
Pastel avoided eye contact. She discreetly unfolded her folded finger, pretending nothing had happened.
Awkwardly, she whistled.
“What do you mean?”
Hiding the dirty pillow under the bed? Who could have done such a bad thing? Innocent Pastel has no clue.
The demon grabbed her shoulder and glared down with his red eyes.
『Rascal, confess right now if you don’t want to be scolded. Just how much trouble have you been hiding that you’re folding your fingers like that?』
Huhhh!
Pastel shook in fear.
“I don’t have anything to hide! I’m innocent! Totally innocent!”
『Don’t lie.』
A firm voice.
Aaaahhh!
“Please respect my privacy…!”
It didn’t work at all.
Pastel ended up confessing and getting scolded big time.
She was caught.
Everything was out in the open.
From how she panicked and broke a glass after jumping around on the bed, to how she secretly buried the leftovers of the delicious cookies the demon made for her because she forgot about them and they grew moldy.
“Waaah!”
Pastel cried her heart out.
“Waaah!”
Tears streamed down her face.
“I’m sorry…!”
『Hmm.』
Seeing her tears, the demon seemed to soften a bit but, perhaps due to the many confessions he’d heard, he looked down sternly.
『Don’t do that ever again. Why do you take food to the bed? If you really want to eat, place it on the bedside table and eat it calmly.』
“I’m sorry…!”
Tears flowed abundantly.
Pastel sniffled and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Once the tears were gone, her red-rimmed eyes looked decent enough.
“What happened?”
A knight clad in armor looked momentarily perplexed seeing the crying state of the Marquis and reported.
“The Airship of Mercenary Leader Trimaut has been seized and searched without incident. Aside from the large storage hold you mentioned, we’ve not found anything particularly unusual.”
The Knight Order consists of one knight rank and their subordinates. Even if they casually call their knight members ‘knight’, knight and knight rank are clearly different terms.
The knight speaking up was more of an administrative knight member than a knight rank.
However, even though Trimaut was a semi-knight rank, the knight order’s arrival meant resistance was almost impossible.
“What did they say about that huge storage hold? When I debated with the Mercenary Leader, it felt like something great and fearsome was inside. It talked about how innocent civilians would die.”
It was a contraband item wrapped in chains.
The knight member looked troubled.
“We’re checking, but the inside of the storage hold has been magically enchanted, so its identity is hard to determine for now. It might be some sort of magical bomb.”
“What if it’s a bomb? Wouldn’t it be dangerous to open it forcibly?”
“Yes.”
Since there were mentions of civilian massacres, was the idea to successfully kill the duke’s daughter while also blowing up a bomb in the bustling area of the Sky Island?
Aahh.
Radical demons are scary.
The knight member shook his head.
“They might just be bluffing because they’re demons.”
Hee.
Pastel crossed her arms in deep thought.
“Is it impossible to identify exactly what it is by the tournament event in two days?”
“That is correct.”
Bomb, bomb.
Pastel smiled brightly.
“Then let’s just toss it into the sky!”
After all, this is a Sky Island. If they just throw it off the edge like trash, it would go “Whoosh!” and fall.
What was that so-called magnificent iron storage hold?
No clue.
Bye-bye!
People criticized the fact that even after knowing the content of the storage hold, it was brought into dock.
So now, it’s time to evacuate it from the dock.
Better yet, if they toss it away, that’s even safer!
“Have you captured the wicked Trimaut?”
“Yes, currently we’re interrogating him to see if he has any backers or accomplices. As expected from a radical faction, he won’t talk due to pride, but he can’t hold out for long.”
Huh?
Was that person really that tight-lipped?
Pastel remembered her stellar act and the criticisms she received. She couldn’t shake off the lingering memory of things Trimaut had vaguely let slip.
Ughh.
How much of a temper did she have that made him spill insults with all that information?
She felt like a really bad person.
S-sorry~.
Acting all Craft-like made it feel oddly fitting.
It felt like even the Demon Lord could stab her in the back?
Huhhh.
Suddenly, a wave of guilt.
Just moments ago, she had been scolded heavily by the Demon Lord, causing her guilt to multiply.
How thrilling would it be to stab the trusting Demon Lord in the back?
—Did you really trust Craft? Of course, it was all a lie. Our relationship and promises were all for this moment.
Hee.
—You fell for such naive acting…
Hee hee.
—Silly.
Pastel envisioned the shocked and hurt expression on the demon’s face.
Huhhh.
How thrilling…
Pastel gasped at her own thoughts.
Such a bad thought!
Bad thought!
She hurriedly shook her head, her pink hair fluttering.
Flap flap.
The knight member looked at her in confusion.
“Your Grace?”
“No! No! It’s nothing! Really, it’s nothing!”
She panicked.
“Y-yes, yes.”
Pastel jumped up from her seat.
“Please report any important information during the interrogation to the student council! And please discard the storage hold! I’m counting on you!”
“Understood, Your Grace.”
Forget the bad thoughts, tournament time!
It’s one-on-one tournament from here on out!
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