I Have Doubts, But It Probably Doesn't Matter

『Phew.』

Lord Demon rubbed his eyes.

『Sit down for now.』

His finger pointed to a chair.

"Gasp."

Her pink eyes went wide.

"Lord Demon, do you have some advice for my love life?!"

Advice from a heartbroken man who failed at his unrequited love, given to the daughter of the object of his unrequited love, was somewhat subtle, but it was worth listening to anyway!

『What is it? That's a rather sour look in your eyes.』

Hmm.

Pastel wasn't thinking anything at all, though.

But because she felt incredibly guilty, she sat quietly in the chair.

Lord Demon rubbed his chin and paced back and forth.

『I thought this day would come eventually. But I never expected it to be now.』

"I knew it would be now!"

Pastel raised one arm high.

『What exactly did you know?』

Lord Demon was dumbfounded.

"It's only natural that a trial of love would come to Pink-Pink one day!"

Pastel waved both arms around.

"Swoosh! Pow! Ta-da-da-da! Ta-da-sparkle! Banjjakbanjjak!"

Her pink eyes sparkled.

That was how it was!

Lord Demon rubbed his chin.

『I have no idea what you're talking about.』

Eh?

Pastel puffed out her cheeks slightly and lowered her arms.

"That's exactly why you got your heart broken, Lord Demon."

Should she say he knew nothing about love?

『Oh, really?』

Pastel put on a boastful expression.

"Unfortunately, I'm scheduled to have a 100% confession success rate, so our positions are a little different! You could say we're on different levels! If I were from mom's generation, I would have given you special dating advice, Lord Demon!"

Like telling him it's easier on the heart to just give up when facing a femme fatale like mom!

『You certainly are overflowing with confidence.』

Lord Demon shook his head. Then he paced back and forth in front of Pastel.

『But you'd better think again. At your age, you're still emotionally immature, so it's common to mistake various feelings for other emotions. Love, in particular, is easier to hear stories about than other emotions, so when you're confused about what you're feeling, you naturally tend to think of love first.』

Oh my.

That sounded somewhat plausible.

Oh my goodness.

Nathaniel's situation of wandering after being forced to become the Family Head due to his parents' deaths at a young age looked similar to her own, so a whole bunch of emotions might have suddenly bubbled up.

The good Pastel hadn't even set foot near a gambling den, but she had enthusiastically immersed herself in similar smuggling activities.

Also, she hadn't been fascinated by the Church or the Radical Faction like Nathaniel, but the very first thing she said upon meeting Lord Demon was, "Is a Demon's Contract possible?!"

If Lord Demon had been a truly bad person, there would have been a very high chance her life would have gone spectacularly awry.

Surely not, surely not... could this be?

Could it just be a feeling of mutual sympathy overlapping with fondness, like accidentally meeting someone from your hometown while overseas?

Hmm...

Pastel calmed down somewhat.

Then, a strange sense of rebellion flared up at the fact that it was Lord Demon who told her that her feelings weren't love.

Her lips jutted out in a pout.

"No, it's not! I'm great at distinguishing emotions! I also know perfectly well that my usual feelings toward you, Lord Demon, are admiration! And! And, anyway, I'm good at it!"

In the first place, in the first place!

"There's no way the popular person Pastel wouldn't be able to distinguish love! If I can't distinguish that, I don't qualify as a popular person!"

If she couldn't, it would be a complete and utter mess!

Lord Demon spread both his palms as if telling her to calm down.

『It might be hard to accept. But fundamentally, the ability to analyze others' emotions and the capacity to understand your own are two different things.』

"Pfft, pfft, pfft!"

No matter how she looked at it, Lord Demon was jealous!

Because!

He had failed at his unrequited love, but Pastel was scheduled to succeed!

Or, or!

He had a monopoly on Pastel, but now that a competitor had appeared, he was anxious!

Her heart gave a little thump.

Gasp, this seemed to be it!

Pastel jumped to her feet.

"Even if you say things like that, Lord Demon, you can't restrict me! I'm not one to fall for the suspicious intentions of a demon who can't even make a Demon's Contract! If you want to maintain your monopoly as my Guardian, you should at least make a Demon's Contract!"

She poked out her pink tongue.

"Bleh!"

The demon was bewildered.

『Calm down for now. Why are you suddenly so excited? Put your hand on your chest and take a slow breath—』

"I don't want to! I've been a good girl and listened well until now, but I plan on not listening from now on! Pastel is independent starting today! Independent!"

Lord Demon momentarily put on an exasperated expression.

『No, since when did you ever listen well—』

"Wow! Independence!"

Pastel dashed out of the guest room.

"Independence! Independence! As of today, Pastel is a free spirit!"

She ran down the corridor of the hotel, where they had rented out the entire floor.

"Freedom! Freedom!"

A door opened. Melissa, lightly wearing a Mage robe over a hotel gown, leaned her upper body out.

"Is something the matter? There's quite a commotion."

"Melissaaa!"

Pastel hurriedly ran over.

"Listen! Listen! It's a completely, completely bad story!"

She arrived right in front of her, panting for breath.

"Pardon? Please come in. There's no need to cause a disturbance in the corridor."

She followed Melissa inside.

As she sat on the sofa, Melissa slowly prepared a tea set.

"I was just about to read a book and go to sleep, so please excuse the dim lighting."

True to her words, the lighting was soft and subdued overall.

As the teapot tilted, the tea poured out. It swirled around the inside of the teacup and spread the scent of green tea.

Being with her calm friend made her feel calm as well, allowing Pastel to quickly settle down.

"Phew, the smell of tasteless green tea."

"If it doesn't suit your taste, try enjoying the aroma. Tea enjoyed in its place of origin is quite special."

The teapot was placed down neatly.

Melissa smiled gently.

"What happened? Judging by your condition, Pastel, it doesn't seem like a serious issue, though."

"Eh? Is that so?"

"Yes."

Pastel tilted her head.

"Is it? No, it's serious."

"If you say so, then it might be."

"Melissa, you have no backbone."

"Is that so?"

Melissa smiled and smelled the tea's aroma.

Pastel grabbed a teaspoon and added sugar first.

One spoonful, two spoonfuls, three spoonfuls.

Her lips parted slightly, then pressed tightly shut.

"If it's difficult to talk about, you don't have to tell me."

"It's not that. But how should I put it? My thoughts have gotten complicated right now."

The teaspoon stirred the tea. The sugar granules created a whirlpool.

Pastel stared intently down at the sugar whirlpool.

Melissa was slightly flustered.

"Was it really a serious issue? I made a needless conjecture. I'm sorry."

Oh dear.

"What are you guessing it is?"

"Your attitude, I suppose. It was somewhat rude, and on top of that, I was wrong."

"Gasp, why are you so accurate? It wasn't like that in the corridor, but it was true until just now. But it won't be from now on!"

"Pardon? What is that?"

Melissa is scary.

Shiver, shiver.

Pastel blew on her tea and took a sip.

Ugh, it's bitter.

It was still tasteless, so she just put it down, its place of origin or whatever.

Her pink eyes sparkled.

"Melissa! I think I have someone I like! What should I do?! Propose, hi-yah?!"

Melissa was surprised.

"Congratulations! I didn't know you would find someone you like, Pastel! This is perfect timing!"

Melissa looked behind her. Just as she said she was about to read before bed, the book was resting on the rocking chair.

She went and brought it over, then proudly showed off the children's book with a bright smile.

"I was actually reading a related book. I think I'll have something to tell you."

Wow, a children's book.

"You asked me what Free Love was last time, didn't you?"

After hearing that she was a lower priority than mom, who had returned to dad, she felt a bit miserable and asked around about what that darned love was.

Gasp, a slightly embarrassing past!

"I explained Arranged Marriage well back then, but it weighed on my mind that I couldn't properly tell you about Free Love. It seemed like you were more interested in that, Pastel."

Melissa proudly held up the children's book, which had a giant picture of a rabbit drawn on it.

"So I've been steadily finding and reading them."

"Woah-Woah."

Pastel's heart felt warm.

Warm, warm.

But on one side of her heart, doubts kept popping up, and she couldn't help but ask.

"Why a children's book?"

"Is something strange? I've heard of the vulgar romance novels spreading through high society, but I've never seen one, so I couldn't really gauge them. So I asked Bellamont, and he told me a children's book would be a more appropriate choice."

Melissa looked proud.

Alcier...!

You answered like that even though you knew...!

How could you do that to pure Melissa!

Anger! Anger! Anger!

"I thought that since The North has a vulgar culture, there would be many vulgar romance novels, so Bellamont must have read them too. It was an appropriate judgment."

Melissa, you're too trusting...!

You two are on good terms, right?!

"Look."

A slightly excited Melissa opened the children's book with flushed cheeks. Sharing her tastes with a friend seemed to excite her immensely.

She pointed to a picture of two rabbits linking arms.

"Free Love is about building up feelings through something called a date. If you want to engage in Free Love, Pastel, you shouldn't propose, but go on a date."

"Wow, an amazing fact."

Pastel learned a fact she hadn't known at all.

Knowledge +1

"Right?"

Melissa looked proud.

"Now that I think about it, I think I have a date scheduled!"

She was supposed to be guided to a rendezvous point at the underground gambling den!

"Really? That's great! Then it's step 2!"

Melissa flipped through the children's book.

"Once you've made a date."

She pointed to a picture of the rabbit couple going to meet an adult rabbit.

"You just need to get permission from your parents! You just need to get permission from the Archdemon, Pastel."

Eh.

Ehhh.

An adult-convenient children's book!

"Can't I just not get permission?"

"You have to."

Melissa had a stern expression.

"Why?!"

Melissa's expression changed to a smart one.

"A smooth date requires adequate cash. Since your parents manage your assets, their cooperation is essential. You could pay for it yourself, but in the long run, financial problems will eventually arise. When financial issues get tangled up in a date, love becomes corrupted and a Calculation of Gains and Losses gets mixed in. Then how would it be any different from an Arranged Marriage?"

Eh.

Pastel's pink eyes spun around, as her cash wallet was currently being managed by Lord Demon.

"Besides, if you go on a date without experience, the chances of failing to have a fun date increase. It is like planning a rushed, tiring itinerary because your heart is ahead of you, without knowing your partner or yourself. Until you build up experience, asking for advice from your parents, who are your seniors in life, is an excellent choice, especially for the first time."

It sounded strangely plausible.

Why are lies written so well?

Pastel sent a fearful gaze at the children's rabbit book.

"B-but I just came from fighting with Lord Demon."

Melissa smiled.

Ah, since it's an exceptional situation, is it okay not to get permission?

Melissa's blue eyes became stern.

"Even so."

So stern!