Chapter 161
The story so far~!
Pastel's Party, having set off on a journey to arrest the wicked Demon King, finally arrived in the Demon Realm!
However, their minds were left spinning by the chaotic political situation of the Demon Realm United Kingdom, and finally, an extreme crisis struck as Ellie changed her stance to Demon Realm Princess...!
But the great Governor-General Pastel, envied by all Subjects, still had a hidden card up her sleeve!
Namely, she had captured the Radical Faction Demonkind who had previously terrorized the Meeting Place, the self-proclaimed noble Nathaniel Friesli!
Will the great Governor-General Pastel now be able to extract evidence from Nathaniel to teach the Radical Faction a lesson...!
Yep, yep!
Possible! Very possible!
Pastel pointed squarely at Nathaniel, who was tied tightly to a pillar.
"Hurry up and confess the connection between the Radical Faction and the Church! And that you committed a massive diplomatic discourtesy by carrying out a massacre Before One's Eyes of Pastel, who received the orders of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor! I already came here knowing it was a premeditated crime with the Church! I know everything anyway, even if you don't say it!"
It was true!
I don't know what exactly I know, but it was true!
Nathaniel's eyes flashed.
"What bullshit are you spouting about a massacre! And who says I'll tell you what you want to hear! I don't have a single word to say to the likes of Kraft! Go get that from the traitors!"
It was a shout like a patriot standing up against a wicked foreign power.
Which wasn't exactly a wrong comparison.
Uwaaah!
Impossible! Interrogation impossible!
A resolute patriotism that didn't yield even to the Interrogation of the great Governor-General!
"Why! Just tell me! Tell me!"
Not knowing what to do, Pastel resorted to throwing a tantrum.
After all, Lord Demon, who was also an Adult male, always listened to her when she did this.
However, perhaps on a different level from Lord Demon, Nathaniel merely snorted.
"Do you call that an interrogation?"
Gasp, the tantrum wasn't working.
Shock.
Pastel clutched her head and stumbled.
Renard supported her in a panic.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"It's no use. The opponent is too resolute. Since it's come to this..."
I have no choice but to use wicked methods.
Pastel closed her eyes and opened them. Dropping her playfulness, her now-serious Pink Eyes glared at Nathaniel.
"Aren't you forgetting your current situation? If you don't confess obediently, you'll suffer a terrible fate."
"What?"
A Knight watching from behind brought over an awl and various tools of unknown purpose.
Seeing that, Nathaniel's pupils dilated.
"You, don't tell me...!"
"That's right!"
Pastel became triumphant.
She pointed squarely at her opponent.
"If you don't confess right now, I'll attack the United Kingdom's Exchange Rate Vulnerability and ruin its economy! If you're such a patriot, you could never accept such an economic crisis!"
It had been a long time since she confirmed that a Primitive Stock Market existed in the United Kingdom!
Exploiting a half-baked system to cause an economic crisis was a piece of cake for the competent Governor-General!
If Ellie were here, she would have felt too sorry to even mention such a threat, but since she banned her from coming to work, it was fine, fine!
Silence flowed.
Renard and the Knight, who were preparing something, stopped and stared blankly.
"Wh-what? Exchange Rate Vulnerability...?"
Nathaniel's eyes widened.
Puhuhu.
"Yes! I've already figured out that the major Trading Groups of the United Kingdom and the Demon Realm are taking on significant debt for high-efficiency growth! I've even thought about how to torment you with my smart Kraft Intelligence!"
Ahaha!
Economic plunder! Economic plunder!
Pastel was going to be rich~!
"If you're a true patriot, you wouldn't know what to do in the face of such a threat, right?! Hurry up and surrender and confess the evidence! Then there will be no reason for me to take the risk of launching an economic attack!"
Pastel became twice as triumphant.
Nathaniel panicked in silence, then hesitated.
"What is... an exchange rate?"
Gasp.
Pastel's mouth fell open.
An unexpected obstacle.
Nathaniel, deep in thought, observed her reaction, then smirked as if he had realized something.
"I know what your intention is! You're trying to intimidate me with fancy words I don't know, aren't you?! But that won't work on Nathaniel of the noble House Friesli! Go ahead and try that economic attack! People live on bread anyway, so what kind of crisis could possibly come from playing around with gold coins you can't even eat for a hundred or a thousand days!"
"Whaaat?!"
Uwaaah!
What an utterly ignorant statement...!
I can't get through to this guy...!
Pastel grabbed her head and shook it frantically. Her Pink Pigtails flapped around, smacking Renard, who was standing next to her.
Impossible! Interrogation impossible!
Interrogation was too hard for Governor-General Pastel!
"Haha! I guessed right! The Kraft Family is nothing special either!"
Nathaniel became triumphant.
Heuaaah!
Pastel's defeat...!
Pastel slumped to the floor right then and there.
Thud.
Renard was dumbfounded.
"What are you two doing?"
#
Hotel Terrace.
Pastel groaned as she scooped ice cream from a glass with a spoon.
"Patriots are so scary."
To think she couldn't get any proper information even after catching someone who likely knew the Radical Faction's secrets.
"What's so hard about it? Just torture him."
Renard, who had just been watching her eat with his chin resting on his hand from the seat across from her, clicked his tongue.
Gasp.
Pastel shivered with shocked eyes.
"Renard, were you a bad person?"
"No, hey. What's the point of going through the trouble of catching him just to leave him full of energy?"
Pastel scooped a large spoonful of Magic Stone Sprinkled Milk Ice Cream and shoved it into her mouth with a "Uwaaang~!".
Then she mumbled while chewing.
"Renaaard, were you a bad person?"
Renard twitched one eyebrow.
"If you really don't want it known that you ordered it, we can just say I overstepped my authority and did it."
"Renaaaard, you were a bad per—"
While speaking, Pastel trembled as the cold ice cream made her teeth ache.
"Heueee."
Winter ice cream is so cooold.
A Friend Friend briskly approached.
"Pastel! Here's some cocoa!"
A steaming cup of cocoa was placed down. Magic Stone Powder was Banjjakbanjjak too.
"Thank you, Friend Friend!"
Hoo! Hoo!
Sip, sip.
"Hwaa."
Pastel set the cocoa down.
She scooped a large chunk of ice cream with her spoon. Her mouth opened wide.
"Uwaaang~!"
Nyam.
Mumbling/Chewing Sound.
Then her Pink Eyes looked at Renard.
What were we talking about again?
Ah, right!
"Renaaaard, you were a bad per—"
"I get it, so stop saying that."
"Yep, yep."
Pastel finished eating the ice cream. The glass was scraped clean and spotless.
She put down her spoon and was about to bring up a topic when she spotted Renard's untouched ice cream, making her Pink Eyes sparkle.
"Ah! Are you not going to eat that?"
"You eat it."
"Thanks!"
Pastel sprinkled magic stone on the handed-over ice cream and happily munched on it.
The glass was emptied in no time.
Feeling regretful that it was gone, Pastel bit down on her spoon. Her voice mumbled around the spoon.
"I'm just saying this in case you misunderstand, but I'm not giving you a hint to go ahead and overstep your authority on your own. It's just that torture is a bit much."
The spoon bobbed up and down.
"It's very bad for my fragile sensibilities, you could say."
Yep, yep.
Renard frowned and crossed his arms.
"Why are you making a fuss over something like this?"
Hehe.
Still, what can't be helped can't be helped.
"But the great Governor-General Pastel has a plan, so it's fine! I'm saying there's already a way to make that Demonkind open his mouth!"
The spoon was placed in the glass, making a clear clinking sound.
"Everyone, dismiss, dismiss! The great Governor-General needs some Time Alone right now!"
"Call me if you need me."
"Yep, yep!"
Renard and the Friend Friends left the Terrace.
Pastel casually glanced around the Terrace to make sure everyone had left.
No one was here!
She also checked if anyone was observing the Terrace from the Ground outside.
There were only a few passersby, nothing unusual!
"Puhuhu."
Renard and the Friend Friends definitely thought I was going to use an incredibly smart method to solve this, right?
But Pastel knew.
Intelligence was something needed by the unlucky.
It wasn't needed for the lucky Pastel.
Cupping her hands like a megaphone, she quietly called out.
"Fairy~!"
A Black Aura wavered in a decorative flowerpot. The Fairy, who had been hiding behind the pot, peeked its upper body out.
—Did you call me?
"Fairy! I called you! I called you!"
The Fairy sat on the edge of the flowerpot. Arrogance settled on its face.
—I already know what you want. I can grant something of that level. Go ahead and make as many wishes as you want to this Fairy.
The Fairy crossed its legs and leaned against the Bonsai Tree.
As soon as the small Bonsai Tree touched the Fairy's body, it made a sound and twisted grotesquely. The surface of the tree dried up completely and cracked.
—However, it's difficult to keep indulging your whining, so I think a small price might be necessary from now on? Just a very small one.
Rotten leaves fell around the Fairy.
—Still, since I'm a Good Fairy, a really insignificant price should be enough!
The Fairy smiled kindly.
"Ehh?"
Pastel felt like the Fairy had been saying something earnestly, but there was a sight that caught her eye more than that.
Her finger pointed at the rotted Bonsai Tree.
"That's the Hotel's flowerpot..."
One that she'd have to pay compensation for if it got damaged.
—Huh?
The Fairy looked back at the Bonsai Tree behind it. All the leaves had rotted and fallen off, and the tree had grotesquely dried up and twisted.
—S-sorry. Is this expensive?
The Fairy panicked and examined the tree. Its small hands stroked the rotten wood for a while before stopping.
—What do I do...? It's dead.
Bonsai Tree (expensive) deceased.
"Uwaaah. As far as I know, that costs as much as a house in the countryside!"
—Really?!
The Fairy was appalled at the price, which was more expensive than the Fairy's own ransom.
On the verge of tears, Pastel approached the Bonsai Tree. When she carefully touched a branch that had lost all its leaves, it snapped off weakly with a crack.
Gasp, I'm ruined.
A compensation fee that would be a million times more expensive than the Hotel accommodation fee.
Her soulless Pink Eyes looked down at the Fairy.
"Fairy, by any chance, can you resurrect a Plant Friend with a wish?"
—Resurrecting the dead is inherently very difficult, and there isn't much difference between animals and plants, so...
Gasp.
The shrunken Fairy avoided her gaze.
Pastel's head dropped heavily.
"I'm fine. These things happen in life, I suppose. I have money, so I'll pay the compensation."
Her allowance wallet (managed by Lord Demon), which was already empty from munching on snacks, was scheduled to become even emptier starting today.
—Ah...
The Fairy silently broke into a cold sweat.
Since it wasn't done on purpose, Pastel changed the subject for the Fairy's sake.
"More importantly, what were you saying? I think you mentioned something about a price for a wish or something."
The Fairy's eyes rolled around for a moment.
Then it suddenly looked bewildered.
—Huh? What price?
Eyes wide as if hearing it for the first time.
—A Good Fairy doesn't expect a price for granting wishes?! Didn't you mishear?
"Ah, really?!"
I must have misheard!
True, there's no way a Good Fairy would want a price!
Yahoo!
Hooray for the Fairy!