Chapter 51
The rescue team arrived at the rocky mountain.
Merchants and mercenaries moved busily to find the stranded Marquis. They illuminated various parts of the white rocks with torches and thoroughly searched all sorts of nests and passages.
Meanwhile, they also had trouble with flocks of monster birds flying in and battled groups of beasts.
However, no traces were actually found.
"Find her by any means necessary! Find traces of Pastel, whether footprints or anything! How can you not find that eye-catching girl yet?!"
Leonard, who hadn't slept properly from personally climbing to the mountain peak, was irritable. The merchants and mercenaries who received his pointing finger searched while sweating nervously.
"Boss, did something happen to Pastel?"
The subordinates trembled with anxiety.
Leonard frowned deeply.
"You bastard, don't say unnecessary things!"
He hit the subordinate who made the needless comment on the head then shouted:
"Instead of wasting time, hurry up and search! You just need to find pink! Just pink! Why can't you find it?!"
"Boss, could this possibly be...?"
A subordinate looked around suspiciously at the merchants and mercenaries walking around, then spoke carefully.
"Though Pastel being carried off by a bird might be coincidence, could her being this invisible be some trading company dissatisfied with the audit plotting something?"
The subordinates were shocked and looked at the subordinate who spoke. It was plausible.
Leonard silently met eyes with the subordinate. Then after checking if any other merchants or mercenaries heard what was just said, he nudged the subordinate.
"You go back and tell the Knight Order to surround the trading companies. If you say it's to rescue Marquis Craft, they'll listen. No, tell them to surround the entire sky whale. Don't let a single one escape!"
"Got it, boss! Let's definitely save Pastel in crisis!"
The subordinate left quickly.
As the situation escalated, another subordinate became anxious.
"What if they're all innocent?"
Leonard frowned deeply.
"What innocent! Not finding a girl visible at a glance until now is incompetence and disrespect!"
"O-oh! That's right! That's right!"
The subordinates agreed.
The long search continued.
After no results for a while, they were finally able to find something around sunrise.
"There's pink hair in a nest!"
"Really?!"
Leonard ran over with his subordinates.
It was an empty nest placed alone on a steep slope. It was damaged here and there as if there had been a big commotion. It looked like people had invaded and ransacked the nest.
Pink hair decorated in the nest fluttered in the wind. It was quite a sight.
Leonard's hand carefully touched the hair. A soft texture was felt.
"It's right, it's Pastel."
The scent of cherry blossoms seemed to be smelled from somewhere.
"Boss, how do you know Pastel's hair texture? Did you touch it before?"
The subordinates looked at him dumbfounded.
Leonard flinched then shouted angrily:
"If it's this soft it must be right! Don't say useless things and search for traces!"
The personnel hurriedly searched the surroundings thoroughly.
They were able to find traces of unidentified people who attacked the nest. There were signs that the young birds originally there were kidnapped.
However, apart from the birds, Leonard became convinced that there were disrespectful ones among the trading companies. To think kidnappers came to where Pastel was carried off.
"I won't let these bastards off!"
Though there was a lot of personal feelings mixed in, it wasn't a wrong judgment.
"Boss!"
A subordinate ran over surprised.
"What? Did you find her?!"
"It's not that, over there!"
His finger pointed at the dawn sky. Some airship was ascending vertically into the sky. It was at a speed that seemed out of control.
"What's that?"
Leonard frowned. He received binoculars from a subordinate and examined the airship.
It was an unidentified airship. Though he was in a position of being half-dragged as unpaid labor by the shameless Pastel, he had memorized the trading companies' airships and members since it was work assigned by the audit. This was a completely unknown airship.
"These bastards?!"
Either some trading company was hiding to avoid the student council audit or an unknown group existed. Either way, it must be related to Pastel's disappearance.
The binoculars made a sound from his grip strength.
"Gather everyone immediately! I'm closing all docking areas from now! I won't let a single one escape from the sky whale!"
After ordering to gather the search personnel, he looked back at the airship.
The airship that had soared as if flying to space shattered into large fragments. Huge debris decorated the sky and a flock of monster birds flew as if enveloping the airship fragments. Several human shapes fell.
Amidst that, a very eye-catching pink color was seen.
"Is that?!"
Leonard's mouth fell open.
"Pink! It's Pastel!"
The subordinates roughly guessed with the naked eye and were shocked.
"Why is she there!"
#
"Save me~!"
Pastel fell whoosh along with the airship fragments.
Whoosh~
"Uwaa!"
Just as she was about to become flat Pastel!
She flailed her arms and legs then swam toward some wooden table right in front of her.
With trembling hands she reached for the table, grabbed it with difficulty then crawled up.
Pastel who clung tightly to the table let out a sigh of relief.
Phew.
Feeling completely relieved now that my body is settled on a table after falling through the air. People really need their feet on the ground after all.
Pastel was satisfied falling with the table when she suddenly became surprised alone.
Huk?
Nothing improved at all?!
I'm still falling...!
"Uwaa!"
Pastel screamed then took out magic stone knives from her chest. She appropriately stuck knives in the table and fixed them with her hands.
Table, you're a UFO from now on!
She exerted the power to control magic stones at full force.
"Fly, UFO!"
The knives exerted force and the table made noise. Gravity was gradually offset.
As the falling speed decreased, airship fragments above Pastel came crashing down. Wooden pillars and iron frames covered the sky. Various shadows dyed Pastel who was stuck flat to the table.
Uwaa!
"Zigzag dodge!"
Show the power of UFO~!
The table flew wobbling this way and that. After avoiding flowerpots and plates, a wooden pillar came crashing down above her head.
Pastel stood up and swung her fist. The pillar and fist collided. A shockwave erupted. The wooden pillar split and debris exploded.
The table soared through the debris. It avoided iron frames flying in a grotesque vertical orbit.
Before she knew it, the shadows of airship fragments disappeared. Her vision cleared and the sky spread out.
"Uwah!"
The table slowed down then stopped. Pastel staggered to her feet on the table fixed in the sky.
Did I survive?
There were no more airship fragments to collide with and falling had stopped.
Pastel's complexion brightened.
She raised both arms high.
"I lived~!"
I didn't become flat Pastel!
Suddenly a shadow fell.
Ing?
A huge flock of monster birds flew surrounding the table. Cult members mounted on monster bird saddles glared.
"Cause analysis later! Eliminate the attacker first!"
Eh.
Weapons flashed. Magic wands moved.
『It's a surrounded situation. The ground is very weak. Focus on technique rather than power struggle.』
Uwaa.
"I'm innocent!"
Pastel made an unjust expression.
"I just hit the back of your comrades' heads with a rock a few times~!"
Huk?
Now that I say it, not very innocent?
Uwaa.
"Just save me~!"
Until I can commit murder.
The request was not accepted.
A cult member holding a spear moved the monster bird's reins. The monster bird flapped its wings and flew in.
The spear tip targeted the girl.
Pastel watched the spear tip aiming for her heart with a frightened expression. Death approached moment by moment and her mind focused.
Adrenaline exploded.
The girl's expression changed suddenly and a sword blade was drawn. The sword and spear collided at an angle. The sword blade deflected the spear tip as if grinding it. A metallic sound rang out. The spear's trajectory twisted and grazed the girl.
Though she deflected it, the girl rotated using the still considerable impact. The sword blade drew a round circle. The sword strike swept the passing cult member. A flesh-cutting sound rang out. A blood fountain erupted.
The bisected body rolled off the monster bird. The monster bird screeched and staggered, colliding with the table. The wooden table couldn't withstand the impact and shattered.
The girl swung her sword once to behead the monster bird then leaped toward the surrounding flying cult members.
Magic stone knives flew over creating footholds. Successive jumping sounds rang out. The pink silhouette soared and pounced on the cult members.
A sword strike vertically split a cult member blankly staring while riding a monster bird. A blood fountain dyed the sky.
The girl fell rotating vertically. Silver sword strikes rotated following the girl. The sword strikes fell drawing a rotating curve. Cult members flying directly below were grazed and cut apart. Corpse fragments and blood dyed the girl.
Panicked chaos erupted.
Every time the girl leaped, cult members were butchered. Sword strikes deflected magic bullets and created new corpse pieces.
Knives targeted some groups trying to escape. Silver trajectories split the sky and pounced on cult members. Flesh-cutting sounds erupted. Monster birds that lost wings and cult members fell just like that. Screams rang out long.
Knives returned and supported Pastel's falling feet. A tilting impact occurred then stabilized.
Pastel stood in the sky and looked down at the ground.
Cult members fell mixed with monster birds.
"Uwee."
A calm voice was heard.
『Well done. Since Fregie Trading Company remains anyway, it's a good choice to focus on combat rather than reckless capture.』
Pastel whose mind was slightly dazed from hormone excess waved her hand toward the ground.
"Bye bye~"
Her gaze met a falling cult member. The cult member blankly stared without greeting then collided with rocks just like that. The remains shattered to pieces. A wide bloodstain dyed the earth.
"Uweee?"
The surprised Pastel hiccupped.
Hic, hic.
『...Hmm.』
The demon spoke.
『This isn't something a child should see.』
"Yes~"
Pastel covered her eyes with her hands.
Completely good child.