Chapter 55
Pastel held a long stick and stirred the cauldron.
Stir stir.
Bubble bubble.
Feeling like a witch.
"What does the witch in the deep long valley eat~"
She put the wooden stick to her mouth like a microphone and sang passionately.
"Mr. Rabbit Mr. Rabbit, do you know the spring~! Mr. Deer Mr. Deer, do you know the orchard~!"
She spun around then grabbed the wooden stick again.
"A life not starving because everyone is there~"
It's happy.
The demon approached and grabbed the girl's shoulders.
Pastel brightened.
"Demon wants to sing too?"
『Don't sing and focus. You need to stir evenly so it doesn't stick to the bottom.』
His finger firmly pointed at the cauldron.
Purple poison bubbled bubble bubble.
She was boiling various poisonous herbs and venom sacs trimmed and processed according to the demon's instructions.
Pastel pouted.
At first she was excited with her heart going thump thump when told she'd be making poison, but that was only for the first couple times. She had already repeated making and failing with what felt like the tenth poison.
It would be one thing if she just had to make it, but she had to manually prepare ingredients too - trimming poisonous herbs, grinding seeds by hand, finely chopping snake venom sacs and pressing out the juice, etc.
Eeng.
This repetitive labor isn't what I imagined.
I wanted something like splash splash! Yap yap! Boom boom!
She held the wooden stick and roughly stirred the sticky liquid.
"Can't we just burn it since it's poison anyway?"
She had been stirring the cauldron for thirty minutes.
Every attempt!
Uwa.
She held up both index fingers.
"One plus one is two! Mix bad things with bad things and it's doubly bad!"
Special recipe, burnt flavor poison!
Don't complain it tastes bad~
You'll die if you eat it anyway~
『Of course not.』
The demon grabbed her hand and made her grip the wooden stick again. The cauldron was forcibly stirred.
Uwak.
『Alchemy isn't much different from cooking. If you burn the bottom of soup to make it bitter, you don't complete bitter soup but just burnt soup.』
Uwing.
"Demon do you know? They say meat tastes better slightly burnt! I totally agree! So shouldn't poison taste better burnt too?! Totally agree!"
Huk.
Perfect logic.
The demon pretended not to hear.
『Stir well so it doesn't burn. Just stir for thirty more minutes so the moisture can evaporate as much as possible.』
Uwaa.
Thirty minutes later, Pastel stopped the wooden stick with drooping shoulders. When she poked the cauldron's dark purple viscous substance with the stick, a clearly sticky sensation was felt.
A state that seems like you'd die if you ate it!
"I think it's done!"
The demon peered into the cauldron.
Dark and murky.
『It burned. Failure.』
Uwa.
Have to make it again~!
Pastel grabbed her head.
"Uwang!"
Save Pastel~!
The demon looked up at the ceiling with a tired face.
『Already the tenth failure. What do you think is the cause?』
Hnng.
After seriously pondering then finding the cause, her face brightened. She put her hands on her sides and spoke proudly.
"Seems like they don't match well with me! Gloomy demon might not know, but popular people can't get along with everyone originally! That's how it is with them and me!"
Right! This is the answer!
The demon pressed Pastel's forehead with his finger.
『Wrong.』
Uwek.
『You keep making failures because you don't do as instructed. Why on earth are you singing in the middle? Thanks to that it burns.』
"Demon doesn't know! Work songs are important for people!"
『Then why are you dancing? If you just didn't dance it wouldn't have burned this much.』
"That's."
Pastel thought deeply.
"Just..."
The demon was dumbfounded.
Ugh.
"But! But!"
Pastel waved both arms.
"When I realize how arduous and boring and tedious the production process is, my body can't stay still!"
The demon was even more dumbfounded.
『Very brazen.』
The demon's finger pushed Pastel's forehead.
Wobble wobble.
Uwang.
"Don't do that~!"
『You do it properly.』
She straightened her body while avoiding his finger.
"So about that! Demon, you said alchemy isn't different from cooking right? Right? Right?"
『What about it?』
Pastel smiled subtly. She approached stealthily and poked the demon poke poke.
"Demon! Demon! Cooking demon!"
『Stop calling me.』
She tightly held both his hands and looked up at the demon.
"Since you're cooking anyway!"
Pastel's pink eyes shone.
Sparkle sparkle.
"Make poison too!"
An innocent cry!
Pastel who didn't want to do it herself because it was arduous and boring and tedious earnestly flattered.
"Fantastic and great super ultra demon! Expert areas need an expert's touch!"
She wiggled her soft hands as if showing them.
"Even if I make low-grade poison with hands like these, it'll just increase regret in actual combat! Special poison made by demon is the secret weapon that can save starving Pastel!"
Perfect eloquence without a single logical flaw!
Here here!
Pastel took out magic stone knives. She covered her mouth and wiggled the knives as if doing ventriloquism.
The knives spoke in a small voice.
"My opinion is the same~ Only demon can make the poison partner to go with me~"
Huk.
Pastel made a surprised expression.
"Did you just hear?! Knife friend spoke! Saying poison made by demon would be good!"
Uwaa.
Agreement that makes even inanimate objects speak!
The demon looked dejectedly.
『Young Craft.』
"Yes!"
Eyes sparkle sparkle.
『I won't do it.』
A firm voice.
An attitude like a parent who realized an overly soft attitude has a very bad influence on home education.
Huk.
Pastel froze just like that.
A cold harsh reality came.
『Do your own work yourself.』
The frozen solid demon spoke in an absolute zero degree voice then took the failed cauldron to wash.
Left alone, Pastel made a sound like her soul was leaving with a soulless expression.
Do your own work yourself.
Yourself!
Yourself...!
She grabbed her head.
"Uwaa!"
Cold reality!
Harsh reality!
Intense despair probably came.
"To think I have to do arduous and boring and tedious work myself now! Huaa! I just made failures on purpose because I was too lazy to do it..."
Please acknowledge my sabotage!
Just have demon do it~!
Footsteps were heard from behind.
『What did you say...?』
Eh.
Pastel froze and slowly turned around.
The demon who returned, perhaps having forgotten cleaning reagents, looked shocked.
『Young Craft?』
Uwaat!
Just before being caught doing conscienceless whining...!
Really in danger of being scolded...!
"Good Pastel will solve it herself!"
Pastel quickly ran away.
The demon hurriedly chased.
『Wait stop. What did you just-』
"I'll come back after becoming a genius witch!"
Pitter patter.
#
"Leonard!"
Pastel smiled and waved.
Leonard who was talking with his subordinates turned around sourly.
"What were you doing to come now?"
"Private matters!"
"Look how shameless. Hey, take this."
Leonard handed over the audit results of the trading companies.
While the Knight Order and soldiers searched for the cult that infiltrated the sky whale and thoroughly investigated Fregie Trading Company, other trading companies' sky whale collection was halted. They were starting a simple audit while halted.
Rather than a proper audit, it was a kind of formality since trading companies' anxiety would increase if they really audited while the previously fine Fregie Trading Company was being dismantled.
"I can't be certain since we didn't dig deep, but on the surface there were no places related to the cult. We could dig more if we investigate."
Pastel skimmed the documents while listening to the report. Then she smiled and shook her head.
"No it's fine! This audit is enough! From the Knight Order's report, only some director-level people in Fregie Trading Company were related to the cult. The rest just followed upper management orders."
"What, you weren't just playing around despite saying it was private matters?"
Revenge is private matters.
After meeting Leonard and friend friends, she headed to the prison where Fregie Trading Company's key executives were locked up.
『I thought you said you'd solve it yourself, why are you here?』
Uwat.
Though she ran away, due to the demon's situation sealed in the magic sword, she ultimately had to go together within a certain distance.
Uwa uwa.
Embarrassing~!
The demon just sighed deeply without saying much, but Pastel suffered intense embarrassment.
She covered her face and muttered in a small voice.
"Please don't say anything..."
『Alright.』
Uwaa.
My conscience hurts because you're really not saying anything...
She staggered to the prison and was able to receive guidance from soldiers.
Pastel received Fregie Trading Company's investigation documents and executive list. She organized the list by crossing out some names and circling others while examining each executive's charges and career.
『What are you trying to do?』
"Winnow them out and swallow the trading company whole."
Fregie Trading Company is skilled at processing high-grade materials enough for the cult to use in drugs. Though not at the level of their material handling skills, they also have professional alchemy personnel.
In other words, they can make poisons.
Hum hum.
If demon won't do it~
Other people can do it~
The executives were caught on charges of contract killing against Marquis Craft, and other economic crimes were being exposed at the same time.
She plans to show leniency on the condition of taking over the trading company. Economic crimes can be covered up with bribes after all.
Pastel met the executives on the selected list one by one.
"As the victim of a contract killing, I still have chilling sensations, but I was worried there might be innocent people."
Investigation shows you are innocent. I want to release innocent you. However, this experience remains like trauma for me, so please help change the nameplate of the frightening Fregie Trading Company.
When the pink girl with a terrified face calmly proposed through the prison bars, there was no one who didn't come over.
Whether they really believed the lie or were creeped out by the twisted appearance of calmly threatening with a terrified face, only those involved would know.
The released executives dismantled Fregie Trading Company from the inside to make it easy to take over.
When the trading company's value plummeted, Pastel was able to buy it at a low price with just a few document signatures.
Fregie Trading Company?
Call it Craft Trading Company from now on.
Hehe.
The one who experienced the biggest life change in this process would be the head of Sinclair Trading Company.
No, is he no longer the trading company head?
The girl stood in front of the prison bars. Darkness enveloped the prison. Only faint lamps made the girl's shadow long.
Sinclair grabbed the bars with a crushed face.
"I'm innocent!"
A murky voice rang out.
The girl flinched in surprise.
Seeing the Marquis's reaction, a soldier shouted and swung his spear shaft into the prison. Sinclair was hit on the head and bled but didn't let go of the bars.
Desperate eyes looked up.
"Marquis! Please believe me! I had no intention of harming you at all!"
A cracked voice rang out piercingly.
The girl trembled.
"R-really? Is Mr. Sinclair innocent too?"
Hope settled in Sinclair's eyes.
"That's right! I'm innocent! Please believe me!"
Having heard news of other executives' release, he seemed to have hope that he would be the same.
"I see..."
The girl hesitated.
She carefully bent down and whispered in a small voice inaudible to surrounding soldiers.
"I know."
It was a cold voice.
Sinclair froze.
"So I'll postpone your execution. I don't think my heart could bear it. Instead, spend your life in prison."
The girl met his gaze then straightened up. She slowly moved her steps. Soldiers followed.
A terrified scream was heard.