Chapter 122
"1 gold coin…"
As if confirming the expected amount, the Host announced Kraft's winning bid.
The ladies and gentlemen of the Imperial Bank clutched their heads in despair.
Someone at the level of a Senior Executive ran toward the company's side with a face dyed bright red.
In an instant, Count Macenas was grabbed by the collar.
"Count Macenas! What is the meaning of this? This is far too different from what we discussed! Do you think the act of giving up the bid with 0 gold coins is acceptable?"
"Why are you acting like this, so undignified?"
Count Macenas twisted the Senior Executive's hand as if to break it, releasing his collar. Then he leisurely looked around the Banquet Hall. Meeting the eyes of the ladies and gentlemen, he said casually.
"There is no rule saying one cannot write down 0 gold, is there?"
The Senior Executive was infuriated.
"Common sense dictates that such a thing…! Our Imperial Bank will respond strictly to this matter! Do you think a Merchant Guild possessing Railroad Construction Rights that were won for a pittance unimaginable even in a Private Contract will be recognized as a normal auction result?! Collusion is fundamentally invalid!"
Count Macenas straightened his clothes where he had been grabbed by the collar. Meeting the Senior Executive's gaze, Count Macenas formed a crooked sneer on his lips.
"Will you be able to handle the consequences?"
The Senior Executive froze.
In the silence where everyone was watching, small footsteps echoed leisurely. The Senior Executive slowly inhaled while remaining stiff.
"Collusion, you say. It is a misunderstanding."
pink hair swayed breathtakingly. The girl who approached had a somewhat aggrieved expression.
"I had no idea this result would turn out this way. I wrote it down, half giving up due to Count Macenas's financial power. But to think I would actually win the bid! It truly is an amazing coincidence."
pink eyes looked around at the ladies and gentlemen. Her eyes smiled softly.
"You all think so too, right?"
No refutation was heard.
The personnel from the Imperial Bank avoided her gaze and bowed their heads. The Senior Executive's expression changed, and cold sweat gradually flowed.
The girl looked somewhat apologetic.
"But even if all of this is a coincidence, it is true that I won the bid, so…"
A gold coin was taken out of her pocket. The girl gently opened the Senior Executive's trembling hand and placed the gold coin in it.
"Advance payment."
The Senior Executive's hand was forced shut, grasping the gold coin. He took on a despairing expression.
The girl smiled brightly and turned her body around.
"Enjoy the banquet, everyone. I will get scolded if I enjoy it too much."
Her footsteps headed toward the exit of the Banquet Hall.
No one could open their mouth until the pink afterimage completely disappeared.
#
"To drink, or not to drink. That is the question."
Pastel walked through the Garden outside the Banquet Hall, hopping lightly on her feet. Every time she hopped around like a rabbit, her pink hair bounced.
The silver-haired girl quietly followed behind.
Pastel did a quick turnaround and pointed at her friend.
"Alcier! Should I drink? Or should I not drink?"
Alcier tilted her head.
"Drink what?"
"Wine!"
Pastel pointed at the wine bottle sitting openly on the garden table. There was also a simple spread of cheese and biscuits.
"Wow! Wowaah!"
A setup that a rebel shouldn't pass by!
But it was a setup that the perfectly good Pastel would normally pass by and endure.
Gasp.
I'm the perfectly good Pastel, so shouldn't I just pass by?
I can't believe it.
Why am I the perfectly good Pastel?
Should I transform into a perfectly not-good Pastel starting today?
"Has it gone bad or something?"
Alcier picked up the wine bottle. She poured it into a glass and took a sip.
It was such an unhesitating action.
Alcier tilted her head.
"It hasn't gone bad."
Pastel was somewhat dumbfounded.
Is this right?
Is Alcier actually a delinquent?
No, Melissa and Ellie drank without much hesitation during the last Briefing Session too.
Gasp.
Then is everyone a delinquent except me?
"Was Pastel the only good one?!"
Her pink eyes widened in shock.
No wonder unfair situations kept happening!
This was a World of Good and Evil Reversal…!
"No wonder! No wonder!"
I didn't do anything wrong, yet I felt so wronged!
Pastel finally realized it.
She was the perfectly good Pastel, but the world was wrong. She was a pink girl standing upright against a wrong world. She herself was the Pink-Pink that would appear in a fairy tale.
"What do you mean, no wonder?"
Alcier tilted her head. She poured wine into a glass and handed it over without hesitation.
"Heot!"
Pastel flinched in surprise and took a step back. She spread her palms and guarded the wine glass.
"I won't fall for such temptation! The only way to prove purity in a wrong world is the embodiment of an untainted moral sense! That is the mission of one born as Pink-Pink!"
Let's go!
Alcier looked puzzled.
"What are you talking about?"
The wine glass was thrust forward.
"Heo-eot!"
Pastel hurriedly backed away.
"You! You're even doing this to defile my heart! I didn't see you that way!"
A sense of betrayal…!
If I had accepted the wine just now, my heart would have been corrupted by some super ultra whatever effect!
Look at that wine right now!
Completely purple!
Purple itself!
Pastel was pointing a finger at her friend.
"A total demon!"
No wonder her hair is silver!
I can tell without even mentioning it that evil beings approach with non-evil appearances!
"I will absolutely never drink it!"
She shook her head from side to side. Her slightly pigtail-tied pink hair fluttered.
"I am absolutely, absolutely never drinking it!"
Alcier tilted her head. She downed her own wine in one gulp, then simply drank the wine she had intended for Pastel.
"Suit yourself."
Waah!
"Pastel's victory!"
Hooray! Hooray!
Pastel was hopping around. Her pink hair bounced.
Then, a part of her hair was plopped into the wine glass.
Plop.
"Ah."
Alcier looked at the floating pink threads. Her expression went blank.
"Aah?!"
Pastel froze in shock.
"My hair…!"
When she hurriedly fished it out, the hair stained purple lifted limply. Drops of wine dripped down.
Uwaah!
"It really turned purple!"
Waaah!
Pastel's face took on a crying expression.
To think a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity would be wasted like this.
The moment of corruption would only be thrilling if Lord Demon witnessed it…!
A familiar presence drew near.
『Were you here? Is the auction already over? The banquet should still be ongoing, but you managed to slip out right away.』
The Demon who came to meet her approached.
"Lord Demoo-n!"
Pastel hurriedly ran over. With a crying expression, she showed her wet hair.
"Look at this!"
Waaah!
Drops of wine fell.
『How did it end up like this?』
The Demon's brow furrowed.
『Did you perhaps drink it?』
"As if! The perfectly good Pastel doesn't do such a misdeed!"
For real!
『Hmm.』
The Demon stared suspiciously. He carefully observed Pastel's condition, and he believed her, perhaps thinking she didn't look drunk anyway.
『Wait a moment. It would be best to wipe it quickly before it gets sticky.』
The Demon reached into his chest as if to take out a handkerchief.
Pastel watched him, then looked at her wet pink hair.
Sticky sticky?
Sugar sugar.
Sweet sweet.
Her pink eyes grew hazy.
She put her hair in her mouth.
Yum.
Mumbling/Chewing Sound.
The Demon, having taken out the handkerchief, paused. His red eyes showed bewilderment.
『Why are you eating that?』
A Mumbling/Chewing Sound.
Pastel ignored him and savored the taste, but her expression gradually became a crying one.
Bitter.
Bitte-r.
"It's completely bitter!"
The bitter taste tormented her tongue.
"Ptooey!"
Pastel hurriedly spat out her hair. Her hair, normally clean but now even damper, was revealed.
"Lord Demon, you swindler! There's no sugar sugar sticky sticky at all! It tastes completely awful!"
Why did I eat this?
Coffee or tea might taste bad, but it increases productivity with its awakening effects, whereas this thing brings a drop in productivity on top of tasting awful!
Wine friend!
I'm sorry, but I think you need to be removed from my friend list!
Though we were never friends to begin with!
『No, why are you eating that?』
The Demon was bewildered. He hesitated, then wiped her saliva-covered hair with his handkerchief.
Pastel clutched her head.
"It makes no sense for something to taste this bad! As Her Excellency, the Great Pastel, I must issue an executive order! From now on, all wine on the Sky Island is banned from sale unless it's as sweet as grape juice!"
『Do not plan strange acts of tyranny.』
"Then, then! I should narrow the scope and at least forbid any Student Council Member from drinking it!"
Right, right!
Such a tasteless drop in productivity is unacceptable to Her Excellency, the Great Pastel!
If they are my subordinates, they shouldn't mess around during work and must focus on their jobs!
"If drinking like this becomes a habit, they'll end up working without even properly knowing they're drunk! They'll be greeting and conversing with inanimate objects, living with a screw loose!"
Absolutely, absolutely unacceptable!
The Demon looked at her strangely.
『That is your usual state.』
Gasp.
Come to think of it, it really is.
『Could it be?』
The Demon looked at her suspiciously.
Pastel suddenly felt deeply wronged.
"It's not!"
『I haven't said anything yet.』
"Whatever it is, it's not! Passing Cloud Friend! Testify to my innocence!"
『Oho. Thanks to that Cloud Friend, your credibility has plummeted. You chose the wrong witness.』
"I can't believe i-t!"
Thud.
Pastel slumped down in despair.
A few steps away from there, Alcier was still looking down at her wine glass.
A single strand of pink hair was floating in the purple liquid. It was a hair that hadn't been rescued in time.
The hair greeted her.
"Hello!"
Alcier's eyes widened slightly.
With a tipsy mind, she pondered seriously before quietly replying.
"Hello."