Chapter 86
"Why can't I become friends with the baby whale?"
Pastel clutched her head while leaning on the airship railing.
"Was my friendliness only this much? I can't call myself popular like this!"
The silver-haired girl next to her was perplexed. Elsior had boarded in preparation for any emergency situations.
"Isn't it normal to not be able to become friends with a baby whale...?"
The duchess's merciless point.
I feel class-based pressure.
Pastel turned sharply. She met Elsior's gaze with a surprised expression then realized she was higher in social class and felt relieved.
Phew.
I almost became the subordinate who can't deny the superior's wrong words.
But now I'm the superior so I should say the right words.
"You're wrong! We can all become friends! Look over there!"
She leaned on the railing as if about to fall and pointed to the far sky. The airship was flying straight through cumulus clouds without detouring.
"That's Cloud Rolly! Cloud Rolly not Cloudy Cloud! Don't get confused!"
You must remember they're different characters.
If you don't, if you don't...
They'll feel hurt!
Huk.
They say they'll feel hurt!
I must remember!
"It's one of my friends who came out to greet me after hearing news of today's flight! Hello Cloud Rolly! It's been a while, right?!"
Pastel waved both arms at her cloud friend. It was an attitude of pretending to be close to someone she just met.
Elsior blankly looked at the cloud friend. Her silver eyes trembled as if her thoughts were complicated on how to react to this Marquis Your Excellency's words.
The airship penetrated the cumulus cloud. The view was covered in hazy mist. A cool moistness covered all skin.
"Uwaa!"
A feeling of spraying mist on an air conditioner and facing the wind directly.
"Cloud Rolly! I'm happy you welcome me so enthusiastically! Our friendship is eternal, cough! Cough!"
Pastel who accidentally inhaled water vapor mist while speaking coughed. Somehow the coolness was excessive and chilling.
"Cloudy Cloud! Your welcome is too much!"
It's the fate of a popular person, but should I say this obsession is too much!
Elsior pushed away water vapor with an apprentice knight-class's casual hand gesture then suddenly looked at her. An intense gaze of silver eyes.
Her lips moved then she spoke bluntly.
"You got the name wrong."
Huk.
Pastel froze like that.
Silence fell.
Meanwhile the airship passed through the cumulus cloud. The cloud wrapped around the airship like cotton then scattered.
A sailor shouted.
"Sky mackerel territory soon!"
It was territory the mother whale illegally occupied from mackerel.
Ah.
Pastel's frozen body loosened. She turned to the sailor then turned to Elsior in shock.
"He said mackerel! Sky mackerel! It means mackerel that fly in the sky!"
Elsior also looked at the shouting sailor then turned to Pastel.
"More importantly, you got the name wro-"
"Mackerel!"
Uwaa!
Pastel clutched her pink head.
"Mackerel the size of my head! Not horizontal size but vertical size as big as my head! Isn't that totally tuna?! Why mackerel?!"
I object to the naming!
Elsior's lips moved.
"Because it's mackerel."
Elsior seemed certain to have never properly made friends from staying in the northern mountains.
Otherwise she wouldn't just say such unsociable words.
But it's okay!
Because popular Pastel has been through everything, she could match even this kind of friend.
With a skillful ignoring strategy!
"Sniff. It reminds me of my poor past. I navigated the skies to earn money while clutching my hungry stomach. But there was an evil group that blocked me then!"
She waved both hands.
"Namely!"
She gestured to Elsior meaning for her to hurry and speak.
When actually given the conversation platform, Elsior hesitated. She thoughtlessly pondered for a long time dropping the conversation tempo then opened her mouth.
"Pirates are stro-"
"It was the mackerel school!"
Pastel screamed.
"Amidst countless collision roars and the airship shaking as if about to break, I could only tremble in fear!"
Tremble tremble tremble.
Elsior who was in a hesitant state suddenly became confident. She had an expression of having experienced mackerel schools herself.
"Mackerel aren't that-"
"When the terrifying group came to my life, I started drooling at the sight of blue-backed fish."
Sniff.
Sad life.
Elsior blanked out. She looked at the sky beyond the airship railing for a moment then turned back.
"That's just because you're a glutt-"
"Oh Lord! Why did you create me in this world yet also create mackerel!"
Pastel pointed at a mackerel flying alone.
"Just like that mackerel, uwaa! It's mackerel...!"
The mackerel swam straight through the sky. As it was about to collide, its body rotated and its tail fin struck Pastel's face.
"Kuhuk!"
Thud.
Pastel clutched her cheek left with a red fin pattern. She screamed.
"It's a mackerel ambush!"
Uwaa!
Marquis assassination!
Life's greatest crisis...!
The fallen mackerel flopped on the deck floor.
Mackerel flop flop.
Elsior picked up the mackerel. When the mackerel struggled, she patted its body to calm it.
Her hand examined a small note tied to the mackerel's body.
"It's a messenger fish."
It was a calm voice.
How can you be like this when your friend almost died by mackerel.
Pastel rubbed her cheek in bewilderment.
What's a messenger fish.
Could it be since pigeons coo~ are messenger pigeons, mackerel mack mack~ are messenger fish?
Blurry fish eyes appeared before her eyes.
"Why use mackerel?!"
Leaving normal birds alone!
Birds are cooler and prettier!
Mackerel just smell fishy!
Elsior who was taking out the note flinched.
"Don't they use saury too...?"
"They use saury too?!"
Pastel was doubly shocked. She trembled both hands tremble tremble in intense shock.
"Saury, saury is even worse!"
Because because.
"Mackerel has the same three syllables as pigeon so it's perfect instead of pigeon! But saury is two syllables! The number of letters is different! Completely different!"
Pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon.
Pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon mackerel pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon.
Pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon saury pigeon pigeon pigeon pigeon.
Uwaa!
Only saury stands out!
Elsior hesitated.
"What does that matter?"
Pastel staggered pressing her head.
This world is too strange.
Elsior looked around then handed over the note.
The note was slightly damp in a bad way. It seems mackerel sweat drops were on it.
Pastel subtly sniffed it.
It smelled fishy waft waft.
"It smells fishy...!"
Elsior hesitated.
"Because it's mackerel."
Uwaa!
That's not what I meant!
Pastel despaired at the communication failure.
She hung her head thud and just opened the note.
Though not an official document, it was a note with official document characteristics. It's a request or notification the Knight Order is sending to the academy.
"The current sky whale response is beyond the scope of work for the academy whose chancellor is absent. Please hand over emergency work to the Knight Order and return?"
Sentences expressing concern about the academy's situation with collapsed hierarchy after the coup were also subtly written.
Uwa uwa.
Are they trying to fight over jurisdiction?
The Knight Order didn't help during the terrorism saying they couldn't move due to internal problems.
Even after resolving it, they drew a line saying they couldn't reveal the reason because it was an internal problem, so I let it go for now, but how should I interpret this?
An organization using student lives for power checks?
"A jurisdiction dispute with the Knight Order?"
Elsior looked strangely. It was an expression like recalling a prophecy heard somewhere.
"No!"
Pastel crumpled the note while smiling. As the paper was rolled in her palm, it curled into a ball.
She threw the paper ball whoosh outside the railing. The white ball fell swoosh below the sky.
Elsior who approached the railing looked down.
"Can we throw that away...?"
"What?"
Was there something?
Pastel tilted her head. She looked around then discovered the mackerel flopping on the floor and her eyes went round.
"Huk, mackerel!"
First time seeing it today!
What's this mackerel doing?!
She hurriedly picked up the mackerel.
This heavy weight.
Damp feeling.
"Are you perhaps a mackerel related to pigeons?!"
The mackerel had dead fish eyes. Its mouth opened and closed as if answering.
"You're not?"
Somehow I knew it!
There's no way something like messenger fish exists in reality!
With visuals like it would just flee after being pecked by messenger pigeons while flying aimlessly, there's no way they'd send important official documents here!
Even if they sent it, it's obvious it would be eaten by passing sky tigers!
Roar!
It's a sky tiger!
It just flies around without wings!
Pastel narrowed her eyes and looked around.
Quick-witted sky tigers (private soldiers) were already starting to silence academy personnel and sailors.
"Roar! Roar!"
Nod nod!
Elsior blanked out watching the scene.
"So the terrorist's nonsense wasn't wrong..."
Oing.