Chapter 156
"Did something good happen?"
Melissa, sitting in the front seat of the train, glanced over while sorting documents and asked.
Oing.
Pastel stopped writing with her fountain pen, detailing consolation measures for the deceased former knights and instructing that their vacancies be filled by other Former Knights.
"I'm really sorry since it doesn't fit the situation, but yeah!"
Pastel laughed, hehe.
"I feel like my soul is being filled, so I'm happy! In this state, maybe money and power don't even matter?"
"Really?"
Melissa was surprised.
"Aside from the condolences, that's a cause for celebration. I always believed that you, Pastel, would one day break free from impure greed and find your dignity."
"Eue? If you praise me like that, I might suddenly want to evolve into the Super Ultra Governor-General-General Pastel!"
"What is that? I feel like I shouldn't have said anything. I take back what I just said."
"Uwaa? If you do that, then Pastel will end up feeling sad!"
Pastel put on a tearful expression but kept scribbling with her fountain pen. The document was complete.
She handed it to Ellie, who was very busy and quiet in the seat next to her, and stretched.
"Nngh! Haa! Melissa, have you ever experienced something out of a fairy tale? Like meeting a fairy from a storybook?"
"Something out of a fairy tale?"
Melissa tickled her own cheek with the feather of her quill and traced back her memories.
"I have. Quite clearly, too."
"Huh? You have?"
Wow!
Is this a fantasy world?
I thought Melissa just lived believing storybooks because she was naive, but did she actually have an experience that formed a confirmation bias?!
Then again, I met a Fairy too!
"Tell me! Tell me! I'm curious!"
"According to my mother, there is a legend passed down through generations in our territory."
Wow! Wow! A legend!
Her pink eyes sparkled.
Seeing Pastel's reaction, Melissa felt slightly embarrassed.
"It's not about dragons or anything like that."
"It's fine! It's fine! It doesn't have to be a glow-in-the-dark dragon! Tell me!"
Melissa cleared her throat, ahem.
"It's a legend that if a talented child listens well to their parents and works diligently, the largest apple tree in the territory will give them a gift."
"Wow?"
Pastel opened her mouth in surprise but then froze. Only her Pink Eyes rolled around.
Isn't that just a lie parents tell to make you behave?
The prerequisites for the legend are way too convenient for the parents!
Give a gift if you listen to your parents!
Plus, if they said any child could receive one, they'd have to prepare too many gifts, so they specifically pinpointed a “talented child” to avoid the hassle!
Melissa covered her mouth and giggled.
"You might not believe it, but it's true. I received a gift too. I ran to the largest apple tree on the day I was able to draw 16 strokes, and there was a gift. It's this right here."
A wooden wand was pulled out from her mage robe. Her hand rubbed the wooden surface.
"It's an apple tree branch. The apple scent is gone, so it no longer smells, but it was fragrant for a while."
W-Wow.
Pastel, still looking surprised, felt deeply conflicted.
Should I tell this naive friend the truth?
Or should I respect Border Count Camelot, who worked day and night to protect her child's innocence?
The feelings of a mother who created a legend to make her child behave, only to hastily order an apple tree magic wand and wait for the right timing because her daughter believed it so much with sparkling eyes, pricked at her heart.
This is like the Santa Claus dilemma...!
Not knowing what to do, Pastel clapped her hands.
"Melissa, that's amazing! I want to receive something like that too!"
"Since you aren't one of our vassals, that would have been difficult. If you visit the Territory again, I'll introduce you to the largest apple tree."
"Yeah, yeah!"
Pastel nodded roughly.
As expected, I must be special for having met a Fairy.
Wow.
She quickly turned her head to the seat next to her. She saw Ellie, her brow furrowed as she reviewed the personnel transfers of the former knights.
"Ellie, have you ever experienced something out of a fairy tale?"
Pastel began questioning the people around her to bask in a sense of superiority.
Ellie kept her head fixed on the documents and only turned her eyes.
"You're being a distraction, so could you lower your voice a bit?"
Eek.
The reaction of an office worker who was annoyed because her superior, who had left work on time for two days, was trying to make idle chatter while she was on her second day of overtime.
Gasp, Ellie is on her third day of overtime, so the example is a bit off!
Uwaa.
Pastel meekly turned her head and placed both hands politely on her thighs. She maintained a quieter and more well-behaved posture than anyone else.
"I'm sorry."
Melissa, who had ended up chatting along with her, looked flusteredly for something to do. Of course, since there wasn't exactly any work a subordinate could do for an important matter like personnel transfers, she was merely flustering about.
The train rattled as it ran along the railroad. The technology couldn't be applied to the train immediately, so it was moving at the speed of a running person, let alone a bicycle, even though she had given instructions to analyze the suspicious train of the engineer's group to get their hands on the technology.
However, since it ran day and night without resting, it was somehow faster than traveling on horseback. Since horseback riding was normally difficult to learn unless one was a noble's child, there was a decent demand for passenger transport in addition to freight transport.
Of course, it was slower than changing horses along the way or taking an airship, so Pastel also had to send the urgent dispatch to the Demon World Capital using another method instead of the train, meaning the technology was still a long way from covering operating costs solely through private business.
The only thing worth looking forward to was the suspicious technology of the suspicious engineer's Group, perhaps.
To think that the Church, which she thought was specialized in manufacturing magic stone drugs or poison gas, easily surpassed the technology of the Kraft Merchant Guild, even though it was the combined technology of the Sky Island and the Demon World United Kingdom!
Uwaa, it feels like facing a lifelong archrival.
Since it's the workplace of my dad who left home, I guess they really are a lifelong archrival.
―Look here, here.
Oing.
Pastel looked around upon hearing the fairy whispering in a very small voice. Not even the fairy's fingertips could be seen in the guest room.
―Outside the window!
Now that she thought about it, it did sound like it was coming from outside. Even though she had looked inside the Guest Room first since it was common sense for him to be inside.
"I'm going to open the window for a bit! The air feels stuffy!"
Pastel threw the window open. The wind fluttered in. Her pink hair blew in the breeze.
"Wow! It's refreshing!"
It was beyond refreshing; it was almost cold!
With the sound of papers fluttering en masse in the background, Pastel poked her head out the window.
"Fairy!"
Where are you?
―Shh.
The Fairy, sitting on top of the train car, hurriedly put a finger to his lips.
Gasp, right!
The Fairy's existence is a secret!
Pastel also put a finger to her lips.
"Shh!"
―No, shh.
Gasp.
Pastel put a finger to her lips quietly with a serious expression. She spoke with her voice lowered significantly compared to before.
"Shh."
―No.
The Fairy stared at her, at a loss for words.
Then, as if his original purpose was more important, he continued whispering.
―I'm still not used to hiding, so I think I showed myself to others while I was outside the Guest Room. What do you want me to do with the witnesses?
"Pardon?"
A small finger pointed across the vast open field.
Blocking the scarlet sunset, a group came riding on horseback. The masks covering their mouths and the rifles in their hands stood out.
"Uwaa!"
Anyone could tell they were train robbers...!
The Fairy wrapped his arms around his body and trembled.
―I'm a righteous fairy, so I don't know how to deal with witnesses! What should I do?
Woah-Woah.
"What can you do, Fairy?"
Super Ultra fairy magic or something?
―I'm nice, so I don't know how to fight, but...
The Fairy smiled brightly.
―I know how to do wish-granting!
A black aura flickered.
―What kind of wish do you want?
Wish-granting?
Wow! A totally fairy-like ability!
Well, he is a Fairy, after all!
Pastel's heart pounded.
This is just like a story where a person who lived a good life prays for salvation in a village raided by a bad bandit group, and God answers the person!
"I want."
What should I say? What should I say?
Her Pink Eyes sparkled.
"The world's greatest money and power...!"
Pastel shouted according to her desires.
And immediately gasped in regret.
This is too out of the blue!
Completely unrelated to the situation!
Plus, it's not even a good wish to ask of a fairy!
Uwaa!
So embarrassing!
I feel like hiding in a mouse hole...!
"I mean, not that!"
Pastel cast a reverent, sincere prayer to hide her embarrassment. Her eyes were closed and her hands were clasped together.
"Please make the robbers go back without fighting!"
The Fairy nodded.
―Money and power? Got it! I'll try my best!
Eue?
The Fairy clasped his hands and closed his eyes.
―God. Please give this girl the world's most money and greatest power.
Wish-granting was a subcontract of a subcontract.
The Fairy, who attempted wish-making with a somewhat half-hearted voice, opened his eyes without even a 0.01-second delay and said.
―Oh my! Such an excessive wish for a mere fairy to, huh?
His gaze turned across the Vast Open Field.
The horseback bandit group was slowly approaching at a speed a million times faster than that of the slowpoke train.
Then, the lead horse lost its footing. The boss staggered and fell off his horse. The robbers following behind panicked and pulled their reins all at once. A cloud of sand rose. Their sprint came to a halt.
Oing.
The robbers hurriedly jumped off their horses. They supported the injured boss, shouted something, and then hastily put him back on a horse and turned their reins. The train robbers quickly fled back the way they came.
O-oing.
This is!
Pastel quickly turned to look at the Fairy.
Her Pink Eyes sparkled.
"Did you grant my wish just now while pretending to joke around?!"
You even have wit!
The Fairy is totally competent!
―Huh?
The Fairy had a flustered expression.
―U-uh! Right! That's right! I did it! Because I'm a fairy!
The Fairy lifted his chin. He struck an arrogant pose.
―Since I'm a Fairy of this caliber, you'd better follow my words from now on!
"Uwaa! I'll keep that in mind!"
The Fairy is amazing!