Chapter 52
The wind was cold in the high sky.
Pastel sneezed.
"Achoo!"
Sniff.
She rubbed her arms while standing on the knives, then looked around the wide open sky. When she patted her cheeks, the dazed sensation from hormones faded away.
"Demon! Demon! I'm flying in the sky!"
She flapped her arms like wings.
Flap flap.
As she tasted the cold air to her heart's content, her mind woke up even faster.
『Yes. We should go down first. While coming to your senses.』
"Okay~"
Pastel repeatedly raised and lowered both palms.
"Down! Down!"
Following her gestures, the knives slowly descended.
"Whoosh~!"
Whoosh whoosh.
"Knife friend is all good but it's a shame one hand is tied up controlling it. It lacks independence."
Pastel controlled the knives by just wiggling her fingers.
"It should be independent like me!"
『Hooh? What part of you is independent?』
Pastel confidently shouted:
"I walk alone and run alone!"
The demon admired.
『That's impressive.』
A voice not impressed at all.
『More importantly, check the knife fuel. After using it roughly and recharging repeatedly these past few days, shouldn't it be running low about now?』
"Just a moment."
Pastel bent down. Since she was standing on the knives, she couldn't see them at all.
Ing.
How do I check the knives while standing on them?
She thought blankly then became even blanker.
Oing.
She subtly spoke toward the knives.
"How much fuel do you have left?"
There was no answer.
Huk.
Of course there wouldn't be?!
Uwaa.
"Demon! Demon! I'll take back what I just said! I'm not independent at all!"
『Hooh? What excellent realization did you gain while checking the knife fuel?』
"The realization that I need demon!"
Pastel held up the magic sword. She bent her body and subtly lowered the sword below her feet. It was a position where she could see the knives under her feet.
"Please check for me instead!"
『If you want independence, you can fall, check the knife state, then get back on the knives. You can do it sufficiently.』
"That's scary so just check for me instead!"
『You have no intention of being independent at all.』
The demon checked the knife fuel.
『Hmm? It's all gone. You're scheduled to fall soon.』
"What?"
『It's bound to run out after doing aerial jumps over and over. Hurry and charge it. Though rank of existence has accumulated in the fuel tank instead, there should be enough fuel to reach the ground.』
Pastel frantically searched her chest.
Magic stone, magic stone.
Even though it was the same price as gold bars of the same volume, she always carried emergency magic stones since she ate magic stones instead of food. Even more so after getting the magic stone knives.
But Pastel became flustered while searching her chest.
"Ing."
There's no magic stones.
She took out a mini pepper shaker and checked the remaining magic stone powder.
Empty empty.
Seems she ate it all during the days of being stranded slash secret auditing.
Well it's fine!
Thanks to normally consuming enough magic stone energy, I won't die from starving for a few days!
『Are there none?』
Pastel answered brightly.
"Yes!"
『Hmm.』
The demon thought for a moment.
『You'll fall then.』
"Yes!"
Pastel answered brightly again. Then she paused and carefully recalled her answer.
Fall.
Fall?
She looked down at the ground. The ground seen from high in the sky looked like a small model world.
Am I falling?
Pastel's eyes went round. She grabbed her head.
Uwaa.
"Save me~!"
Tremble tremble tremble.
The demon spoke calmly.
『First put the sword back on your waist.』
A completely reliable voice.
She hurriedly put the magic sword on her waist.
"I did it! And then?"
『Pray to die painlessly.』
"What?!"
A completely unexpected answer!
"Demon?!"
『Regrettable.』
A calm voice as if teasing someone.
Uwaa.
"Am I becoming flat Pastel at this rate?! Flat Pastel! Flat flat Pastel!"
Huk.
Flat flat Pastel he says...!
How did I end up with such a lame evolution?!
Uwaa!
Suddenly the knives she was standing on lost power.
"Eh."
She looked at her feet.
The knives fell going hiiing~
Hiiing~
"Uwaa!"
A floating sensation swept her body and wind gusted.
"Save Pastel~!"
The pink girl fell. She grabbed the falling knife friend and rotated aimlessly.
"I'll live well! I'll live well! I'll live completely well! Just save me once~!"
A long scream rang out.
A huge bird flew over. Its wings flapped and its beak grabbed the girl's clothes.
"Wak!"
Pastel was carried and floated just like that. The falling stopped and flight began.
She trembled while held in the beak. She breathed heavily.
"Hah! Hah! Hah!"
Almost died!
When she calmed down a bit she grasped the situation. A huge bird was flying while carrying her in its beak.
Eeng.
A very familiar situation. The aura of the beak felt through the carried clothes created déjà vu.
"Pe-perhaps are we acquainted?"
Though no answer came, the huge bird flew toward a familiar place. It was the rocky mountain visible far away.
The place she was carried to after being mistaken for food.
We must be acquainted!
When the familiar nest on the rocky mountain came into view, many people also came into sight. It was Leonard and friend friends along with merchants and mercenaries.
Ing.
Why is everyone here?
『Officially you were stranded so they must have come to rescue you.』
"Ah!"
I caused excessive worry.
She put both hands to her mouth and shouted.
"Sorry friend friends!"
The friend friends waved both arms in response.
"Put me down in the nest! My friends are there!"
The bird adjusted its speed while flapping its wings then landed in the nest.
#
"You surrounded the sky whale?"
Pastel who briefly showered in a nearby rock lake was in light clothing. She tended to her wet pink hair while wiping with a towel.
Leonard subtly avoided meeting her gaze while explaining the situation.
"You might think it's excessive measures, but it was worth surrounding. If we can't properly find the stranded Marquis, it means someone had ulterior motives."
"Is that so?"
Pastel who lacked self-awareness of her status roughly agreed.
Anyway, measures were needed to prevent key personnel of Fregie Trading Company, which was certainly connected to the cult, from escaping.
They proactively responded even though I didn't say anything.
"Well done! Well done!"
She hit the tall Leonard's shoulders pang pang.
Honorary labor agency!
Excellent! Excellent!
Leonard looked down sourly.
"You're trying to get away with just one word? After all this trouble, you're not still unpaid right?"
"Uwaa~!"
She covered her mouth in shock.
"So picky!"
Pastel said that then burst out laughing alone.
"Ahaha!"
She neatly folded the towel.
Neat Pastel folds used towels~
It's because of demon's nagging~
Fold fold.
"Hey! Don't gloss over it!"
She proudly held up the neatly folded towel.
Leonard raised an eyebrow. Pastel hummed then hugged the towel tightly and met Leonard's gaze.
"Though I say that..."
Wet pink hair flowed down the girl's shoulders.
"You were worried about me, right?"
Leonard paused.
Pastel smiled gently.
"Thank you."
Her voice melted into the air.
The girl met his gaze more then moved her steps.
"Let's go, friend! We need to sort out the situation, and do sky whale collection too! Time is money!"
Leonard looked at her then followed. Small grumbling was heard.
"Tch, unpaid in the end."
Ah.
Pastel just laughed ahaha.
"Hey! Don't laugh!"
"What's wrong friend friend!"
"Who's friend friend!"
"Ahaha!"
They returned near the nest where the rescue team had gathered. It was half orderly as if preparations to move were finishing. Once all personnel scattered searching for Pastel gathered, they would move.
Pastel looked around as if to say farewell to the bird. When she approached the nest, a huge bird and three baby birds were visible.
"Ah!"
Baby birds!
"Kids!"
The baby birds turned around.
―Peep!
Wings flapped happily.
Pastel also flapped both arms along with them.
"Greeting of joy!"
Flap flap together.
Everyone flap flap.
They just flapped wings and arms without conversation. The mother bird looked strangely. Then she turned to the baby birds still flapping their wings and hit them with her wing. It was an action as if saying what frivolous thing are you doing.
―Peep!
The hit baby birds fell over.
Eh.
Pastel was dumbfounded.
Uwaa?
It was too frivolous for bird culture!
She carefully lowered her flapping arms and approached normally. The baby birds who struggled and got up looked at her.
"Anyway I'm glad you're not hurt! Plus all three of you came back!"
Pastel counted them one by one.
"One, two, three!"
Wow, three!
The missing one came back sometime!
Though she couldn't tell who was who at all since all three looked similar, she could clearly tell who was missing. Because one baby bird showed a completely black appearance with all its feathers burned.
Pastel crossed her arms and glared at the black one.
"You?"
―Peep.
The missing one answered as if nothing happened.
Shameless troublemaker!
In other words, Pastel baby bird...!
Huk?
That inner thought just now was a mistake!
She shook her head in her heart then examined the missing one.
Its feathers are all burned from causing so much trouble.
"Where did you get burned like this doing what?"
What could burn you in a disintegrating airship with engine trouble?
Suddenly the answer flashed in detective Pastel's mind.
Right, that's it!
She pointed at the black baby bird.
"You're the culprit behind the airship crash! You invaded the engine room and caused trouble!"
Dun dun.
The other baby birds were surprised hearing deductions they couldn't even imagine, then turned to the black baby bird.
The black baby bird opened its beak in shock. An expression of not expecting its perfect crime to be discovered.
There are no mysteries before super intelligence.
Perfect crime, solved.
"If there was no proper escape method I'd understand, but to cause such an accident escaping alone when we were escaping fine! You shouldn't do that! It's an act that sweeps up innocent lives!"
―Peep...
The black baby bird apologized.
Still apologizes obediently.
Footsteps were heard.
"Pastel, preparations to return are done."
Leonard pointed at the people.
"Ah, just a moment."
She turned to the baby birds.
"Friends! I'm going back now! It's not an eternal farewell! Really literally! I'll be going around to collect sky whales for a while anyway! See you again!"
―Peep!
She said farewell to the baby birds.
She came down the rocky mountain with the rescue team.
"Is the trading company surrounded properly?"
"There shouldn't be difficulties since we mobilized soldiers."
"Well done, Leonard!"
Leonard frowned.
"If you're grateful, give money you shameless bastard."
"Ahaha!"
They smoothly returned to the trading company campsite near the docking area.
Military airships surrounded the sky whale and troops surrounded the trading companies.
Sinclair, who seemed to have obtained the representative position of the merchants, hurriedly approached.
"What is going on?! Even if you're nobility, this is excessive infringement of property rights!"
Pastel smiled crookedly.
She pointed at the head of Sinclair Trading Company.
"I'm arresting you and Fregie Trading Company on charges of contract killing against Marquis Craft."
The evidence is me.
"Co-contract killing?!"
The head of Sinclair Trading Company's eyes widened.
"Arrest him!"
Soldiers grabbed the trading company head's arms.
"This is slander!"
The trading company head who was really being slandered was dragged away.
I don't care.
Dismantle, dismantle, aerial dismantle!