Chapter 113
A while later, on the outskirts of the academy.
"Demon! Demon!"
The pink-toned girl ran to the black train installed by the engineering department for demonstration. She circled around the train with only the locomotive head part alone, then pointed with both hands.
"This is a train! Choo choo!"
It even has dark clouds!
『Oh?』
The demon approached the train rubbing his chin. His fist knocked on the black iron knock knock.
『The world really develops quickly.』
Wow, a statement where the age group can be felt.
Is this what happens when you live long?
I shouldn't be like that.
『It looks quite heavy, does it actually move properly?』
At the muttering, the upperclassman hesitated.
Seeing the man before him who called himself a servant but had a confident attitude and was treated like Your Excellency, he seemed to be agonizing between polite and casual speech not knowing what kind of person he was.
Pastel immediately gave the answer.
"We can just ride it directly! Senior! Please shovel coal quickly!"
The upperclassman realized his position and quietly picked up the shovel. Shoveling sounds were heard.
Pastel jumped hop and got on the locomotive.
"Demon too! Demon too!"
『Wait a bit.』
The demon observed the railway and train wheels then got on. When the upperclassman diligently shoveled coal into the firebox, the train slowly moved. Black wheels ran along the small circular railway installed on the outskirts.
『Oh. It really rolls with this weight.』
Pastel felt needlessly proud.
"Not just this, if we attach a long body to the back, mass transportation becomes possible! Much larger scale than carriages and far cheaper transport than airships!"
Large-scale transportation causes economies of scale and creates price drops, enabling acceptance of low wages, causing factory expansion and supply expansion, accelerating the market economy and so on and so forth!
I'll become rich!
Pastel decided to become a million times richer.
"Imagine monopolizing all carriages! Or all airships! If someone wants to do something big, my help would be essential! Everyone would watch their behavior in front of me and hand over sparkling yellow gifts!"
Uwaa!
Her mouth fell open.
Even if not monopoly, I can become a similar position if I start from now!
No one knows the fact that early-stage railway infrastructure is too important for private sectors to eat!
"A future where everyone kneels before Marquis Pastel!"
Huk.
I didn't particularly say to kneel, but it seems thrilling thrilling chilling chilling just thinking about it.
"Huah."
Pastel hugged herself and trembled tremble.
This is power.
I'm shocked by the fact that though I've become an authority figure, it's still only weak power.
The upperclassman glanced while shoveling. Then he focused hard on shoveling, pretending not to hear the imperial insult.
『A large-scale transportation method. Development is expected, but at this speed it won't be very useful for private operation right away. Won't it become overwhelmingly slower here if cargo increases?』
Demon's ignorant statement.
But Pastel slightly sympathized after feeling the speed at which the academy scenery passed by.
"What's the speed per hour?"
"Pardon?"
"The speed per hour."
"It's slightly different depending on coal quality, but now it's about 15km/h."
A person's running speed...
Is slower!
Eeyee.
Pastel greeted rock friend that seemed possible to converse with as it passed by slowly.
"Hello!"
An answer came back.
Rock friend: Hello!
Huk.
It really became a greeting!
Eeyeeee.
"It is very slow! Slower than people!"
The upperclassman shoveling while sweating flinched. His eyes became those with engineering pride at stake.
"It's overwhelmingly faster than people! Though the train is still somewhat slower if measured in 100m dash, operation and transport are in kilometer units! People can't move tens of kilometers at full sprint!"
Pastel's eyes went round.
Then she corrected.
"Slower than bicycles!"
The upperclassman's mouth opened and closed. Unable to refute, he started shoveling again.
"Bicycles are also the latest product and not suitable for cargo transport..."
Mutter mutter.
The demon pondered looking at the scenery speed.
『Speed is important because of operation time. It seems large-scale investment in laying railways and continuous maintenance costs are needed. If train speed is slow, profit per unit time decreases. To commercialize in the private sector without trading companies going bankrupt, train speed needs to be raised first.』
Hut.
It wasn't demon's ignorant statement but demon's rational statement.
Pink eyes sparkled.
"Your experience shows!"
This is 400 years plus alpha wisdom!
A feeling of being overwhelmed by age difference!
The demon looked with worried eyes.
『It's very good to move away from smuggling, but I didn't mean to make risky investments in new technology.』
Pastel who was thinking of smuggling magic stone fuel for construction golems by obtaining demon realm connections through a railway trading company became puzzled~.
『Why are you like that?』
Just pink pink!
Pastel put on a blank expression.
Being foolish foolish Pastel.
『Hmm?』
The demon examined suspiciously but soon gave up.
『Train technology won't be profitable for private operation right away. If you do it, it would be good to deal with the state. It would be good to receive imperial investment by entangling with the military, but it seems difficult due to military reduction trends. The United Kingdom of the Demon Realm would be good. Though its teeth have been pulled, a state is different from private sectors. But being the Craft family would be troublesome...』
Red eyes looked at the next Demon King.
『I still don't understand the reason. Seems I'll have to try to know.』
United Kingdom of the Demon Realm.
Though I've done benevolent deliveries for demon realm residents several times, it feels completely unfamiliar.
"Doesn't demon have friends in the demon realm?"
I haven't asked questions or studied much until now because past events entangled with family grudges were sensitive issues I was anxious to touch.
But from overhearing a few times from anti-demon Professor Marius and others, you stayed in the demon realm for a long time?
The demon looked at Craft asking a conscienceless question and was extremely dumbfounded for a moment then came to his senses.
『Not anymore.』
It wasn't a very good voice.
Pastel tactfully turned her gaze.
I brought up the wrong topic.
It's not good to make my only guardian unpleasant.
She blankly watched the upperclassman's vigorous coal shoveling then looked around at the scenery.
An administrative staff ran over at full speed from the far side of the scenery.
"Your Excellency!"
It was urgent enough to run parallel to the running train.
The train is totally slow!
"Your Excellency!"
The staff urged a response.
Pastel raised her hand vigorously.
"Yes! Great Your Excellency is here!"
"There's a problem with the trading company acquisition plan!"
The staff panted and quickly took out documents. The documents flew away unable to withstand the wind.
"Ugh!"
His hand frantically grasped at air.
"Uwaa!"
Pastel stuck out her upper body from the train. She waved her hand at the documents flying to the back.
"Bye bye document friend!"
The staff whose performance evaluation would bye bye along with document friend turned pale.
"Pick those up later! Just tell me the key points for now!"
The staff hurriedly calmed down.
"The imperial bank rejected the acquisition proposal! They say if we want to acquire the trading company, don't ignore procedures and participate in the auction!"
Uwa?
Pastel was unsure if it was a serious problem like the staff's reaction. It would be good to deal with the seller and purchase cleanly, but isn't an auction not a big problem anyway?
We're the Sky Island administration.
The staff added information.
"The competition is Demon Realm Corporation!"
Pastel blanked out.
Who's that.
The staff summarized and organized.
"They have more money than Sky Island's entire budget!"
Huk.
"Uwaa!"
Pastel clutched her head.
"My train...!"
Let me ignore procedures please!
#
Pastel pondered deeply.
She alternately looked at the black formal wear in one hand and the autumn dress in the other hand.
"What should I wear before a business battle."
A serious problem.
The demon chuckled. It was a gaze of looking at a cute daughter agonizing over a common sense problem.
『Of course formal wear.』
Eeyee.
Pastel's feelings became complex.
But pink pink will be corrupted if I wear this.
But she changed into formal wear anyway since the autumn dress really seemed like it would be looked down on.
It's troublesome to be looked down on in an unfavorable situation.
Looking in the mirror, pink hair flowed down over the girl's black formal wear. Pink eyes sparkled hazily.
Eeyee.
This is really a demon.
Pink hair in formal wear is too standard a demon appearance.
Pastel clung to demon.
"Demon! I can't feel wronged like before in this appearance!"
『What strange reason is that.』
Not joking, really Craft!
Totally two-faced!
An appearance that's understandable to be wary of from the start!
I can't boldly use my usual line of "Believe me seeing my pink pink appearance!" in this appearance!
"I'm wronged!"
Pastel shouted then suddenly realized.
Huk.
I can feel wronged.
Pink eyes rolled.
Then I should just feel wronged.
"I'm wronged!"
Uwaa!
I'm totally kind! Totally benevolent!
I just like power a little and like money!
This is too much of a demon appearance...!
"Demon! Comfort! Comfort!"
The demon was dumbfounded.
『What am I supposed to comfort.』
"Comfort anyway!"
The demon patted her back.
"Huaa."
Cherry blossom cherry blossom Pastel totally ruined.
An administrative staff knocked and entered the room.
"It's almost time for the M&A property explanation meeting to start. We need to go now."
They had come to participate in the explanation meeting prepared by the imperial bank before the full-scale auction.
Totally a preliminary skirmish.
"Huah."
The girl separated from the demon's embrace.
She took out a lollipop she brought as a fashion accessory, knowing this appearance would happen when wearing formal wear.
She put the lollipop in her mouth. The candy made a sound as it cracked.
"Shall we go."
Pink eyes sank.
"To do business."
The Craft family head left the room.