Pastel, who sneaked into the Sky Island ruins to find connections with the Cult after witnessing the suspicious activities of the Knight Order, discovers the real sanctum beneath the ruins and begins her investigation, but unexpectedly encounters someone…
“Ahhh!”
Pastel panicked.
“Did you two get kidnapped again?!”
The two baby birds nodded their heads.
Huh.
Bad cult.
Super evil and bad cult.
After failing once, they should have given up gracefully, but taking advantage of the vanishing enforcement from the Sky Whale, they dared to kidnap the birds again.
I said, stop being persistently bad.
Pastel anxiously looked over the baby birds, fiddling with their soft, fluffy feathers.
“Did you get hurt? Have you been starving? You naughty cult! I can’t even imagine how badly you were treated!”
Thinking of the cult soldiers flying around on the holy birds, they must have gone through extremely harsh trials.
The two baby birds looked at each other, then turned away and shook their heads rapidly.
No, no, what does that mean?
“Could it be… the treatment was somewhat okay…?”
–Peep.
The baby bird nodded.
Pastel’s mouth dropped open.
“They gave you good food, built a nice nest, were polite to you, and had a clean employee relationship?!”
The baby bird pondered for a moment and then nodded again.
–Peep.
Huh?
Is this like the wretched state of welfare that subcontractors have while the primary companies provide excellent employee benefits and you want to bury your bones there?
“That… that’s not okay…”
Pastel became suddenly dejected.
“It’s a cult.”
A completely evil cult.
A demon worshiping, massacre-causing, terrorist-creating, all-around bad cult.
When she thought it through again, it was definitely bad, and Pastel regained her confidence.
“Not at all! There must be terrible treatment waiting for you!”
She pointed at the baby birds.
“Before they turn into a pie, we must implement justice!”
That’s right!
Once the job is done, the baby birds would be fried chicken at the party!
Baby bird chicken!
Ahhh!
–Peep?!
The baby birds’ beaks dropped open.
It was a look of shock, as if wondering what kind of evil person could think of such nonsense.
“That’s right! The cult is completely evil!”
“Hmph.”
A devil in a suit rubbed his chin beside them.
“I doubt that. Why would they go out of their way to lose profits when they have a costly air force? The cult runs on logic and calculation. Even the demon god grants wishes to become worshiped.”
The baby birds looked at the demon.
Then they turned to look at Pastel.
–Peep?
Ahhh!
Pastel flailed her arms.
“No! No! The cult is completely evil! Don’t fall for the demon’s whispers! The Demon Lord is a real demon!”
Really, really, really!
After a moment, using her friend power, Pastel was able to convince the baby birds. After all, they were indeed kidnapped, so they seemed to understand.
“Phew.”
Is this how Cassandra felt when her prophecies were ignored?
I can empathize a million times over.
For a moment, she strained her senses in the sanctum library to check if there was anyone around, then casually glanced at the demon.
“Demon Lord, Demon Lord. Acting like a demon in that way means you’re actually a demon.”
Total slander.
“How could you lead the baby birds astray? As an adult, you should lead them down the right path.”
That’s right, that’s right!
The demon looked dumbfounded.
“I wasn’t speaking to them. I was talking to you. Do you think I’m going to talk to little animals when I’m not even a current priest?”
Pastel’s mouth dropped open.
That was clearly a speciesist remark.
Her hands trembled.
“Then, if you discovered a baby bird injured on the road…”
She paused, looking back at the baby birds. The baby birds cocked their heads, fixing their gazes on her.
Come on, pretend to be hurt!
As she waved her hands, the baby birds seemed to understand and drooped their bodies helplessly, falling onto the fluffy ground.
–Peeeaak…
Overindulged in food from the cult, their slightly chubby bodies rolled around.
Roll and flop.
The baby bird’s beak opened slightly. A small burp sounded.
–Peep.
“Ahhh!”
Pastel screamed.
“An injured baby bird is here!”
And then she pointed at the demon.
“There’s a speciesist here!”
Ahh! Ahh!
She waved her arms.
“The poor baby bird is injured, and by coincidence, the one it encounters is the Demon Lord, so it can’t get treatment!”
The demon looked astonished.
“If that’s the case, I would absolutely take care of it.”
“And that’s even if you’re not a priest?!”
“Whether active or retired, if you’re a person, you should take care of it.”
Phew, what am I even saying?
Pastel wiped her suddenly cold sweat.
I was about to make a lot of animal friends, but my mentor is a speciesist, which is troublesome.
The girl thought for a moment and then chuckled.
“So, you feel embarrassed to talk to cute baby animals, huh?”
So that’s it.
Doo doo doo doo.
“What…?”
Pastel stuck tightly to the demon, poking at his side.
No wonder he only wore dull suits.
“If that’s the case, it’s a dilemma! We need the baby bird friends as guides to track the cult, but what if the Demon Lord, fixed in human form, is bad at communicating?!”
It was a playful yet serious request.
“Make peace with the baby friends! Start with an apology! The demon’s comments must have hurt them deeply!”
She pointed at the baby birds.
One baby bird, acting magnificently, got up as another baby bird approached. It looked down to comfort it, slightly opening its beak.
Kek.
A burp echoed out.
–Peep.
Ahhh!
The poor baby birds were totally hurt!
Seeing how hurt they were, the baby bird that was acting sprang up and began pecking at the one that burped.
–Peep! Peep! Peep!
The sound of wings flapping filled the air.
“Haa.”
The demon rubbed his forehead.
“That’s not the reason you think.”
“Everyone tends to rationalize dishonesty. But Popular Pastel knows very well it’s just because you feel embarrassed.”
Nodding.
“I have no clue.”
Pastel pointed at the once soon-to-be calmed baby birds.
“Talk to each other! Talk to your baby bird friends!”
The demon crossed his arms.
“Why should I?”
Puppy puppy.
“Elsie even talked to an inanimate steering wheel! Talking to a baby animal is much easier!”
Her pink eyes twinkled.
“We’ll take a vote to settle this! Raise your hand if you agree!”
Her left hand shot up.
“One!”
Then her right hand shot up.
“Two!”
Already two people!
She looked back at the baby birds.
The baby birds, as rightful voters, squinted their eyes in contemplation, seeking justice.
–Peep!
One wing went up.
“Three! Four!”
Since it was just the Demon Lord alone…
A tremendous advantage!
Pastel, like the demon, crossed her arms and faced him proudly.
“Kneel before the authority of majority rule.”
Even if she was shorter than the demon, the gaze looked downwards~.
This is the powerful Pastel.
The demon chuckled. He brushed up his bangs and massaged his neck before glancing at the baby birds.
“The treatment was harsh. I’ll apologize.”
The baby bird lifted one wing in response.
–Peep.
Pastel clapped her hands.
Wow! Wow!
“I’ve clearly engraved in my mind the image of the Demon Lord blushing as he apologizes! I’m going to pass this down through generations!”
“I’ve never blushed. Don’t make things up.”
“I’ll spread that message too!”
“You’ll only cause misunderstandings if you tell that.”
A group surmounting beyond species!
For the purpose of destroying the cult!
Hoo-ha! Fighting!
#
In a vast grand estate far from where Pastel was.
It was hard to believe there was a hidden sanctum beneath the sky island in a cave with a high ceiling and a wide area. Several massive rock formations floated like a miniature sky island, filling the space.
Cult members in black robes flew on birds, moving between the rock monument structures.
Many buildings encompassed the area, but currently, the most important one was decided.
The control room managing the navigation of the Sky Island.
Pastel’s father was calculating in front of 121 pure white magic circles. The artificial sunlight on the wide terrace reflected off his monocle.
A huge shadow of a bird cast over the terrace before landing.
“Oh! Nice!”
A man in black robes jumped off the saddle and gently tapped the mother bird. A dagger in one hand was playfully tossed and caught.
“Especially doing a great job. Even as a kidnapper, you’re getting food and nests ready, and they’re following you so well.”
The man smiled.
“Might be due to being a birdbrain?”
The mother bird narrowed her eyes.
Staring intently, she moved her beak.
“Oh! Oh! Why are you suddenly pecking me?!”
The man hurriedly fled indoors. The mother bird scoffed and left.
“Oh, what a temper.”
The man tidied up the magpie nest. He looked at his boss, who was glued in front of the magic circles.
“Is the work going well?”
Pastel’s father moved his hands without answering. An artifact stolen from the academy jostled. The white magic circles began transforming and rearranging.
“Huh, just looking at it…”
The man had a dizzy look on his face. He waved his hand and purposelessly peeked around the circle.
“Are you planning to just work here all the time?”
His boss’s brow furrowed.
“Don’t disturb me.”
The man felt awkward.
“I mean, it’s good to refresh your mind from time to time. No matter how much of a scholar you are, it’s concerning.”
His thumb casually pointed somewhere.
“Your daughter has been quite active. Holding power, blocking terrorism, and solidifying authority. From the looks of it, her bloodline hasn’t gone anywhere. Maybe meeting with her once could clear any misunderstandings.”
“I’m not interested. I’ve already told you.”
The man rubbed his nose.
“I’m not joking. It’s our region, and those imperial guys, having been ordered by the Duke of Bellamont, unilaterally proceeded to carry out the academy terrorism, leaving us in a pretty tough spot.”
The man shook his head.
“And then they ended up failing, which tangled things with the duke’s household too. If your daughter has a friendship with Elshire Bellamont, it could really ease things if you can sway her.”
The man clear his throat awkwardly.
“But she’s still your child, right?”
Isn’t she?
“Right.”
Pastel’s father massaged his eyes with his fingers.
“Then, don’t meddle in others’ family matters.”
His tone was cold.
The man whistled silently. He casually retreated and headed towards the terrace.
“Oh, there’s so much work piled up. Huh?”
The man’s eyes widened.
“Where’d the bird go?”
From the opposite spire, the mother bird laughed.
“Hey! Aren’t you coming back?!”
The man pointed angrily.
“With that, I’m canceling the statement that you work well! Cancelled!”
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