Chapter 69
The day before the tournament.
Temporary partitions and facilities were erected in the huge arena where the tournament would be held.
"Whew, finally finished."
Dustin, who had cleared away the remaining lumber, wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve. The autumn breeze cooled his heated skin.
An upperclassman from the Magical Engineering Department approached, tapping the seats with a hammer to check their sturdiness.
The upperclassman's finger pointed to the transparent wall surrounding the arena. Magic stone powder faintly glowed on the wall, forming a light magic circle.
It was meant to prevent battles from reaching the spectator seats. Though it was a type of castle construction technique that made entering and exiting the arena more troublesome, it was sturdy and safe.
"We'll have to double-check in the morning, but there shouldn't be any problems. We're heading out now, so let us know right away if there are any issues."
"Yes."
After the upperclassmen left, Dustin, as a student council member, inspected the facilities further. Confirming there were no issues, he left the arena. He roughly jotted down what he checked on the back of a report and tucked it into his chest.
"I wonder if Pastel is in the student council room."
Dustin was very disgruntled these days. It was because unnecessary rumors related to Pastel had increased.
Just today was like that.
"Hey, Dustin!"
As he walked down the hallway, a self-proclaimed friend friend of Pastel spoke. For reference, being Pastel's friend friend doesn't mean being Dustin's friend.
"You know that? I helped Pastel yesterday and saw another side of her!"
It's bad from the start. What did he help Pastel with? When all he does is follow Leonard around.
Really helping Pastel is only possible for student council members. Like Dustin himself.
"I heard Pastel attacked a demon race airship alone, so since I have a relative in the Knight Order, I asked about the situation then, and get this!"
The friend friend let out an exclamation.
"She must have misspoke briefly, they say she said this. A tool that finished its role is discarded. Whew! Unexpectedly chic! I'm telling you I like Marquis Craft for this thrilling twist appeal! As expected of Marquis Craft!"
"So what."
"What do you mean so what, I'm just saying! Are you going to do manual labor with the seniors again today? The smelly sweaty workplace!"
The friend friend put his arm around Dustin's shoulder.
"You know this? Pastel might not even be human, she doesn't even smell of sweat! I couldn't smell it myself, but Leonard said so anyway! Hahaha! Work hard at manual labor with the seniors!"
The friend friend who had been mocking him for a while hit Dustin's back and left.
"Just recalling it makes my blood boil."
Dustin kicked a stone on the roadside. Then he needlessly wiped sweat from his face.
Exaggerated rumors were circulating in the academy.
That Pastel subdued demon race in the sewers with poison gas.
That the academy coup was a planned event.
That even the demon race terrorism was part of Pastel's grand scheme.
To Dustin, who was closest to Pastel among the boys, these rumors didn't match at all.
That innocent Pastel wouldn't carry around something like poison gas. The demon race being arrested in a paralyzed state must have been from accidentally stealing and using the demon race's paralytic poison.
And planning an academy coup? Dustin, who helped Pastel at the scene right after the coup, clearly heard Pastel's tearful explanation.
"I just wanted to protect my friends! But while I was doing nothing, things turned out like this! You'll believe me, right?!"
Facing pink eyes glistening with resentment, Dustin's head nodded automatically.
"Of course! Just trust me!"
Though Ellie listening beside him somehow looked at him pitifully, it must be his imagination. Ellie always looks at him pitifully anyway.
And the rumor that Pastel instigated the demon race terrorism isn't even worth mentioning. No matter if it's a rumor from the Knight Order, isn't it too far from the truth?
That pretty and cute Pastel couldn't possibly instigate terrorism.
In fact, Dustin knew why such rumors reached even himself who had no friends. It was because of jealousy and envy.
The only classmate who joined the student council.
The male student closest to Pastel.
Those wrapped in jealousy and envy were creating ridiculous rumors and delivering them to him. Poking at his weakness of having no friends.
Nasty guys.
Dustin spotted a pink flower in a roadside flowerbed and stopped walking. He approached and recited poetry.
"O you with no calm days, yet today's fragrance is gentle."
He bent over in an old-fashioned manner and carefully reached out his hand. When he subtly sniffed, there wasn't much fragrance.
What kind of flower is this.
Dustin became needlessly embarrassed and removed his hand from the flower.
Then as he turned his head, he discovered a girl's silhouette.
It was Ellie, the black-haired demon race girl.
Ellie, hugging tournament flyers, looked at him with a face like she had witnessed an outlandish nauseating sight.
Silence fell.
The demon race girl's gaze changed to one looking at something pathetic.
Steam rose to Dustin's face.
"No, this, no."
He hesitated, pointing at the flower then looking at Ellie.
"Hah."
Ellie brushed her earlobe. Her hair fluttered lightly.
"Boys."
She approached and handed over half the tournament flyers.
"We need to fix these, so come with me."
"Huh? Huh? Fix what?"
Dustin received them in a daze.
The girl's slender finger pointed to one side of the received flyers.
"The printed content is wrong so we have to fix every page. There's no time to get them reprinted so we have to do it by hand one by one."
After finishing her explanation, Ellie coldly turned her body and walked ahead.
"Hey, wait a moment!"
Dustin hurriedly chased after her. When their walking pace matched, he walked beside her.
"Where are we fixing them?"
"Student council room. I came looking for you in case you went off somewhere else."
"I was going to the student council room anyway?"
"Then before I found you-"
A group of classmates coming from the front collided with Ellie. Ellie staggered and the flyers spilled. The flyers dyed the street.
"Ellie?"
Dustin caught Ellie who was about to fall over. It was a light weight.
The group of students passed by laughing.
"I don't know how a demon race can show their face. If you have a conscience, shouldn't you drop out?"
Dustin was dumbfounded.
"What's with them."
Ellie released the hand holding her and stood up. She looked at the flyers spilled on the ground then started picking them up.
Dustin followed picking them up then frowned seeing flyers with shoe prints. He stood up and shouted at the kids who had gone far away.
"Hey you guys!"
"It's fine."
Ellie grabbed Dustin's arm.
"Don't do anything unnecessary. You don't have friends anyway."
Dustin was dumbfounded, suddenly made aware of reality.
She doesn't like it even when I care.
After picking up the flyers, they moved to the student council room without incident. Then they sat in their seats and started fixing the tournament flyers.
It wasn't particularly difficult, just time-consuming work of crossing out wrong sentences and writing new sentences below.
The faint scratching sound of quill pens echoed in the student council room.
Then as if breaking the white noise, the door flung open. A pink-haired girl burst in with a tearful face.
"Friends!"
Both arms fluttered.
"Kids won't play with me! Why are they doing this?! Why are they doing this?!"
At the idol's appearance, Dustin put down his quill pen.
"What happened?"
"I was just greeting them! Just greeting!"
Pastel leaned on Dustin's table, swaying exaggeratedly.
"Friends running away pretending not to hear have increased so much! So much!"
"This much! This much!"
Pastel expressed while waving both arms.
"As many as three people avoided me!"
Dustin who was about to sympathize paused.
Is that all?
You greet everyone you meet in the first place.
But only three people avoided you?
To Dustin, who was ostracized just for arbitrarily challenging Pastel to a duel and getting beaten, then joined the student council and got cursed at for being close to Pastel, still without a single friend, this shameless worry was beyond imagination.
"That's to be expected."
Ellie put down her quill pen.
"Ellie!"
Pastel staggered over then sprawled on Ellie's table this time.
"Ellie listen! Listen! I was! I greeted the kids but!"
Ellie ignored her and opened the table drawer to take out a bundle of crude newspapers. The newspaper bundle was placed in Pastel's hands.
"As many as three people! Oing."
Pastel read the newspaper.
"Oiing?!"
Pink eyes went round.
"What is it?"
Dustin moved seats to look at the newspaper. It was a newspaper made of cheap yellow paper, perhaps distributed cheaply by the newspaper club.
The sensational front page content caught the eye at a glance.
[Newspaper Club Confession, "We acted as pawns after receiving that person's black money."]
Though that person's identity wasn't written, it was content no one would be confused about. Because it explained that person's inner thoughts, confessing content they couldn't write until now.
It was an accusation of instigating terrorism for a coup. There was even analysis content that the poison gas that person used to subdue demon race in the sewers had exactly the same composition as poison gas that would be used for water source terrorism.
"What kind of fabrication is this?!"
Dustin pointed at the article.
He could tell it was fabrication at once without reading further.
Well of course, that Pastel wouldn't use something like poison gas. She just accidentally picked up the demon race's paralytic poison and subdued them.
But Ellie actually had a different impression, staring at Pastel with a subtle gaze.
Pastel was startled receiving the suspicious gaze.
"I didn't do it! There's no way good me would instigate bad things like water source terrorism!"
A glass bottle was taken out from the girl's chest. A completely suspicious yellow liquid sloshed. The liquid gradually vaporized, changing into an even more suspicious yellow gas.
"This is just paralytic poison...!"
Pastel is safe!
A safe friend!
Dustin paused.
Why is that coming out of her chest.
What are the chances someone who always carries a suspicious glass bottle isn't in a combat situation but manufactures poisons?
Ellie sent an even more intense suspicious gaze.
"Uwak! What's wrong?! I really didn't do it!"
Pastel flailed in resentment.
Then her hand slipped.
Oh no.
The dropped glass bottle fell whoosh. It collided with the ground and yellow paralytic gas exploded.
Dustin and Ellie were engulfed while screaming.
Pastel's eyes went round.
"Guys!"
Her friends collapsed staggering.
Thud thud.
A sight to startle and terrify the benevolent Pastel.
"Uwaa!"
How could this be!
How could this be...!
Pastel was shocked, pressing her cheeks.
Her friends collapsed!
Because of the bad newspaper club's bad article!
Uwaa!
"Unforgivable! I'll get revenge for you!"
Pastel fled the student council room for her friends.
I'll correct the bad newspaper club into a good newspaper club!
On the honor of the Craft family...!