Chapter 197
The compass pointed steadfastly in one direction. Pastel leaned against the table as if lying down and examined the compass.
"This is, this is."
―This is, this is?
The Fairy sitting next to the compass tilted her head. Then, she startled and shouted her guess.
―Could it be your mother's keepsake?!
Gasp.
"What did you say?! Are you then saying I'm a kid who even forgets her mom's keepsake?!"
Shock.
But since it wasn't, she decided to let it slide.
Pastel's expression turned serious. Her finger tapped the compass. If it was a compass, it was probably a navigation tool or a treasure hunting item.
"I think this is a very important item! First of all, I should give this compass the special title of Compass Friend!"
The Fairy tilted her head.
―If it's an important item, wouldn't it have originally been a friend? Treating a compass that was already a friend like a stranger would probably make it feel sad.
Gasp.
"What if it feels sad?"
Forgetting a friend is a Popular Person Disqualification.
―I don't know! Even if a fairy is nice, we don't call objects friends.
"How could this be?"
Pastel groaned and struggled.
Then she realized that the compass had a seam and was actually shaped like a top lid.
She carefully opened the lid with the compass attached. A jewelry box with a few gems slotted inside was revealed.
The compass was actually a jewelry box~.
Oing.
―Wait, this is...!
The fairy's eyes widened.
"Heuaaa! I remember!"
Pastel slammed the table and jumped up.
"It really was a keepsake!"
But not from mom, from the Former Demon King.
The compass was for finding the ruins left behind by the Former Demon King, and the gems in the jewelry box contained various powers of the Demon King, blah blah blah!
It was incredibly important since it also had the power to make the body sturdy through Magic Stone Munching.
To think that the Demon King had gone out of his way to arrange for his hidden legacy to be found and used, yet the kid who was the Next Demon King was so busy making money that she completely forgot about its existence!
I'm soooorry!
But since I'm making good money, I think it doesn't really matter!
A rich chairman is better than a poor Demon King, I guess?
I feel sorry for the Demon King who was bound by one-person succession, but if that was the case, I'd like to timidly say that he should have left behind treasures as a legacy too.
―Where did you find this?! It's the Self-proclaimed Demon King's item!
The fairy trembled with a shocked expression.
Oing.
It was an unusual reaction.
"Fairy, do you know what this is?"
―Of course I know!
The fairy became half-angry, then, perhaps realizing she was getting excited, slapped both her cheeks smack-smack to calm down.
She exhaled and spoke step by step, as if determined not to make a slip of the tongue with a single word.
―This belongs to the Self-proclaimed Demon King! It contains the Fairy God's power! As expected of my Partner! To think you'd resolve one of the Fairy World's unspoken long-cherished wishes!
"It's true that it belongs to the Former Demon King, but why is the Fairy God coming up here?"
―Demon King, you say!
The fairy jumped up. It was a reaction showing she couldn't tolerate such a grand title.
―He's nothing like a Demon King! The First Demon King who is merely a Self-proclaimed Demon King—no, wait, what should I call him? Anyway, the First Demon King is a wicked traitor to the Fairy World!
"Huuh?"
Shock.
The Demon King worshipped by the Demon Realm turned out to be a traitor to the Fairy World.
―Once upon a time, when it was difficult for the Fairy God to observe This World like now, there was an intelligent being he painstakingly contracted as an advance party. Back then, communicating with the Fairy God was a rare talent, so he even created and handed over a power fitting for a small existence and raised that intelligent being with absolute care! The Fairy God probably even remembers that intelligent being's cerebral cortex!
"Heeh."
So the First Demon King was an apostle of the Fairy God.
The fairy exhaled roughly.
―But that bad intelligent being extorted only the Fairy God's power and betrayed him, acting as if the pushover who wrote the contract wrong was the problem!
Gasp.
The Demon Realm of those days, where the Law of the Jungle was alive and well, was a place that would even betray a god.
―And that was without even keeping the basic promise to make a Coordinate Transmitter for This World!
The fairy stomped on the table with her feet.
―Does that ungrateful intelligent being even know how long it took for the Fairy God to separately send down the Great Fairy later to act as a Coordinate Transmitter because he didn't make it! Besides, it's also the main reason why the greatly displeased Fairy God ended up communicating only indirectly with the intelligent beings here!
A surprising fact.
"I feel like I've heard this story somewhere before. I heard that the existence known as a demon is a former priest class that extorted a god's power. Was the First Demon King like that too?"
―That's right! He's just a thief! Calling himself a Demon King is ridiculous! He's a blatant thief!
Woah.
To think there was such a deep backstory.
―However.
The fairy calmed down somewhat. She looked down at the jewelry box, and one corner of her mouth slightly curled up.
―Since he has returned, that ungrateful guy's struggles have become meaningless, haven't they?
A laugh rang out.
―Even if he committed theft, it's ultimately the Fairy God's power. The destiny to return to its original owner must have remained. It seems it endured through the generations, but upon reaching the Great Fairy, it finally couldn't hold out and flowed all the way here! Serves him right!
The fairy looked back brightly.
―Partner, you brought it well! As expected, you really are the savior of the Fairy World! We'll continue to have a family-like relationship from now on!
The fairy was really happy.
Eue.
It felt like an atmosphere where I'd have to hand over the Demon King's legacy to the Fairy World.
This is mine, though...
Having the original owner from hundreds of years ago—or however long it's been—come looking for it makes my feelings complicated.
But if they're stolen goods, it's right to return them.
"Then what do we do? Will you use it from now on, Fairy?"
―Uh...
The fairy stared at the Power Gem. She continued an unreadable gaze for a moment, then smacked her lips in regret.
―I don't think my existence can handle this. Probably only someone on the level of the Great Fairy, whom the Fairy God personally touched, could handle it. Destiny must be guiding it to go that way, too.
The fairy narrowed her brow in deep thought.
―Shouldn't we just rescue the Great Fairy, who is expected to be in confinement by the Church, and hand it over? Then we might get an amazing reward from the Fairy God, like the Fairy God's absolute care!
Woah, a huge reward!
I like the sound of that.
"Like treasures? Or immortality?!"
―It's more amazing than that! You might be able to taste a happiness that an intelligent being wouldn't normally experience!
Woah-Woah.
Pastel's cheeks flushed.
The fairy also flushed, as if looking forward to the future.
"Understood! Then, I'll keep using it as originally planned until I hand it over to the Great Fairy! The compass also says there's a Power Gem nearby, so I'll recover the stolen goods too!"
Let's go, let's go!
―Huh? How are you going to use it? It contains the Fairy God's power, so only someone on the level of the Great Fairy should be able to use it?
Ahem.
Pastel became triumphant.
"Even if I look like this, I'm the Next Demon King. I don't know what part is hard to handle, but it seems selected humans can use it!"
It seems the First Demon King took good measures.
―You were the Next Demon King?!
The fairy's mouth dropped open.
―Then are you a thief acknowledged by the Demon King Lineage?!
Gasp.
Putting it that way makes my feelings complex and subtle.
"I am a money-loving Robber Noble, right...?"
I can't deny it.
It seems the Past Demon Kings had a good eye for people!
The fairy marveled.
―So that was it! Now I finally understand why the Love Amulet didn't stick to you and how you can eat magic stones! The Demon King's Power was at work!
Gasp.
So that was it!
Amazing deduction skills.
―You are an Unusual Phenomenon, but it was different from what I thought! I thought it was because you had a pure native body, but it actually didn't work because you weren't pure! What difference does it make to sprinkle a little ink on a black canvas!
"I'm not pure?"
―Yeah!
The fairy coolly affirmed.
Woah-Woah.
I feel like I've gotten to know myself well!
Pastel felt like she had succeeded in finding herself.
#
"Is it a ruin?"
Hearing the question, Melissa looked puzzled.
"There was nothing like that. The Knights Order's investigation showed the same, and so did my own look around."
"Not even something similar? Like an inexplicable corridor or a suspicious door!"
"There wasn't, right? Space utilization is important in a mine, so the design is reflected everywhere. Even if there was something, wouldn't a miner have reported it?"
"Pfft, I guess so."
Pastel examined the compass. Perhaps because they had come down to the mine depths, the needle trembled upwards.
It seems to be somewhere on the way down the mine. Since the Former Demon King is a person from a long time ago, he must have arranged his legacy before the mine was dug this deep.
"What is that?"
"Compass Friend!"
"I can tell that just by looking."
Pastel repeatedly lifted the Compass Friend toward the lounge ceiling a few times before putting it down.
I guess I'll have to wander around separately.
Instead, she popped the magic stone that Melissa had washed and brought, calling it a freshly mined magic stone, into her mouth.
Unfortunately, the warm and cozy magic stone freshly mined from the mine didn't have much of a difference in taste. It felt like the sweetness was a bit stronger, but if you ate it without knowing, you probably wouldn't notice.
"Disappointing."
I can't help but give an apologetic taste evaluation to the Lord Demon, who is probably cooking in the difficult kitchen environment of the mine depths.
"I don't eat them so I wouldn't know well, but there probably isn't a big difference. Most of the demonic energy erupts the moment a magic stone is mined anyway. After that, there's no big difference."
"Does that mean you have to bite right into a chunk of magic stone embedded in the rock to taste a fresh magic stone?"
"Is that how it works?"
Melissa was flustered.
"If you want to do it, Pastel, you can, but is there really a need to do that in front of others?"
"Yeah!"
"Is that so."
"Yeah, yeah!"
Pastel popped the rest of the Magic Stone into her mouth. She dusted off her hands, then remembered something and her expression darkened.
"But, but."
"Yes."
"When animal friends consume demonic energy, they become ferocious, right?"
I also heard that although the Sky Whale was originally big, it got even bigger thanks to the influence of the demonic energy spread in the atmosphere.
"Usually, yes?"
"Then if there are Ruins here and a monster is in there, would it be super duper strong?"
Melissa thought for a moment.
"Probably?"
Gasp.
That shouldn't be the case.
Uwaaa.
Save Pastel, who needlessly promised to get the stolen goods back.