Chapter 151
At the train station, where the bright afternoon sunlight shone pleasantly, a salty breeze from the beach blew softly.
The early winter wind might bring enough chill to make someone pull their clothes tighter, but that didn't apply to Walter, who was dozing off in the employee chair.
The high-and-mighty folks of the United Kingdom Council had fought and brawled, and whatever accident they caused had bankrupted a perfectly fine trading group before its name was changed to the Kraft Merchant Guild. But despite its infamy, the advanced welfare benefits—like receiving a steady paycheck and guaranteed holidays—were quite lucrative. So, an early winter breeze was far from cold; it was perfect for a nap.
At one point, the fear of railway terrorism had kept him wide awake, but once he realized there was no particular reason to terrorize this place—which consisted of nothing but a stable and a single employee chair sitting under a square iron shade—there was no longer any reason to fight off his naps.
However, if Walter had known in advance who was about to visit, the thought of a nap would have vanished from his mind long ago.
Three horses ran alongside the railroad and slowly came to a halt as they reached the station. There was the sound of someone jumping down from a horse and landing with a light hop.
"Ppuu-ppuu. It's too much that the station's quality drops so drastically just because we rode a little far."
"Is that so? I think I paid quite a bit of attention to it."
A calm landing sound followed.
"The facilities look sturdy. That means there was no shoddy construction. And even though he's sleeping over there, there is a resident employee. Personnel management might seem simple, but it's tricky work. Yet, the employee is at least keeping his post properly."
"No, no."
Shake, shake.
"If you're going to have a resident employee, you need to assign two. Assigning just one is no different from assigning none."
『That seems like an excessive demand. This place doesn't extend toward the continent but spreads left and right along the beach, so its business viability is relatively low. The train's business viability isn't great yet either, so assigning a stable employee to cover maintenance costs through post station operations and mail delivery is an excellent efficiency measure.』
"Heh. Now that Lord Demon says that, I suppose that makes sense. I guess there's no need to be too tied down by principles."
Leisurely footsteps approached the employee chair.
"Mister, mister, sleeping mister."
Hearing the voice, Walter slowly woke up from his sleep. Cherry blossoms filled his blurry, hazy vision. As he gradually woke up and regained his senses, he realized it was a pink-clad girl.
"Hehe."
Pink eyes sent a gaze that subtly anticipated a reaction.
Walter thought blankly with a mind that was still half-asleep.
Pink…?
It was a completely unfamiliar color, but it stimulated something in his brain. It was something he felt he had heard of from somewhere.
He hadn't listened and had forgotten when his superior explained something, but he recalled hearing the news of the great (self-proclaimed) Governor-General Kraft's visit at a pub on his way home from work.
Pink?!
Her attire was simpler than the rumors suggested, but her flashy appearance and distinctive features were exactly as rumored.
Walter snapped to his senses at the crossroads of life and death—well, maybe not that extreme, but at the crossroads of termination. He jumped up from the chair and responded with a conditioned reflex of improvisation.
"His Self-proclaimed-Great Excellency!"
Even if, as with all conditioned reflexes, it reflected a rather unfortunate subconscious thought.
"Self-proclaimed…?"
Her pink eyes grew round.
Both hands covered her mouth cutely.
"I was self-proclaimed."
Gasp.
Walter froze.
All sorts of bad futures flashed through his mind. Unfortunately, considering Kraft's infamy, the best future was getting fired, and the next was getting his head chopped off.
Since it was Kraft, who had massacred civilians during the Conquest of the Demon Realm and forced surrendered prisoners to torture their fellow prisoners, getting his head chopped off was highly realistic.
Pastel maintained her cute pose with her mouth covered, and when Walter remained frozen and unable to do anything, she subtly muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Like kneeling down…?"
Walter immediately knelt down.
Thud.
"I drank too much yesterday and ended up falling asleep! Please let it slide just this once!"
Pastel made a surprised expression.
"Gasp. If you suddenly kneel down, Pastel, Pastel i-is."
The girl's body twisted and squirmed.
"Feeling so very good."
Her cheeks flushed red.
"Hehe."
Walter hurriedly shouted at this opening.
"I will never do this again! Never again!"
Her Pink Eyes glanced sideways and curved softly. Her eyelashes fluttered, and a subtly expectant gaze came his way.
"Like rubbing both hands together…?"
Walter immediately rubbed his hands together.
"Please let it slide just this once! Please, just once…!"
"Ehehe."
Her pink eyes grew hazy as if slightly intoxicated. The girl's body twisted.
"Then, then."
Her pink lips parted.
"Like touching your forehead to the grou—"
『How far are you going to take this?』
The Demon pressed down firmly on her pink crown with his palm.
"Waah!"
Pastel's height shrank under the pressure. Both her arms flailed.
"Lord Demon! Lord Demo-on! If you interrupt at such an important mome-ent!"
『What exactly is so important about this?』
Waaah!
My thrilling moment!
Melissa approached the employee.
"employee, you can stand up. Whether you were negligent or not, an employment relationship doesn't obligate you to suffer excessive humiliation."
The employee looked bewildered, then glanced at Governor-General Pastel, whose dignity was completely ruined, and quietly stood up.
Uwaah!
"Even Melissa…!"
And yet, if the Heir to the Southern Commander actually caught a soldier taking a nap, she'd execute him as an example! I can picture it without even looking!
"Waaah!"
My rare, thrilling moment is…!
She grabbed Lord Demon's wrist, which was pressing down on her crown, with both hands and lifted it.
"Lord Demon! Compensate me! If you kneel down right now and rub your hands together, Pastel's heart might just soften!"
And as a bonus, if you touch your forehead to the ground, it might be very, very enjoyable!
Lord Demon was dumbfounded.
『Young Kraft, do you think I would do that?』
"Yes!"
Pastel sent him an expectant gaze.
Sparkle, sparkle~!
Lord Demon spoke with the utmost coldness.
『I will not.』
"How could yo-ou!"
Thud.
Despair.
Despair.
Sob.
Lord Demon doesn't even understand my feelings.
He's definitely going to pay dearly for this.
Karma and poetic justice!
"Were there any abnormalities during your shift? Even minor ones that you didn't write in the regular report are fine."
Whether her friend collapsed in despair or not, Melissa held onto the employee and did her job.
"It's a fact that you took a nap, so since things have turned out this way, please answer honestly. Let's call it a chance to make up for it."
The employee hesitated.
"I don't write those reports myself; my superior writes them for me, so I don't really know what exactly is written in them. I, well, I don't know how to write long texts."
"Ah. Then I'll read the report to you, so please check if anything is missing. Just a moment."
Melissa approached her horse and rummaged through her luggage.
When neither Melissa nor Lord Demon paid her any attention, Pastel puffed out her cheeks and just stood up. Lord Demon lightly brushed the dirt off the hem of Pastel's skirt.
"Just because you're paying attention to me now doesn't mean a sulking Pastel will turn into a non-sulking Pastel."
『I do not care.』
"Ppuu."
She pouted her lips and approached Melissa with short steps.
"It's a good thing we came all the way out here, right?"
Melissa took out the regular report she had brought. Pages were turned.
"Indeed. On paper, it says he isn't illiterate, but meeting him in person reveals he has functional illiteracy."
Pastel let out a deep sigh.
"This is why documentation is difficult. Sky Island has the Academy and a high level of education, so Bureaucratic Reform was relatively easy, but when one comes to the Demon Realm where education levels are all over the place, the reliability of written reports plummets."
"The literacy rate is the problem."
"Yeah, yeah. Since they can't stand on their own as individuals, confusion and setbacks occur. It means universal education is necessary."
Melissa paused. She stared silently for a moment before turning her gaze back to the report.
"Is that so."
After confirming it was the report for this station, Melissa returned to the employee. She read it line by line, verifying if the report was accurate.
The employee consistently responded that there were no incorrect parts, but only when the report ended did he look bewildered.
"An important report is missing, though."
Ppuu-ppuu.
He says something is missing.
Like an embezzlement accusation?
Just as the employee was about to explain, a noise was heard from afar.
Black smoke surged from a chimney and the breath of a steam engine shook the railroad. The sound of a horn filled the beach.
Huh.
Pastel's eyes grew round.
Was it time for a train to run?
From memory, it wasn't.
A Black Train came sprinting rapidly.
Pastel could feel an immense sense of incongruity at the sight.
That was to be expected, since the trains owned by the Kraft Merchant Guild moved at roughly the same speed as a running person. They were absolutely not at the speed of a fast bicycle that generated wind.
"That's it!"
The employee pointed at the train, with incredible technological prowess.
"I don't know who those people are, but they're using our railroad without permission!"
Excuse me?!
The train arrived at the station. However, just as a thief wouldn't stop by a police station, it zoomed right past without reducing its speed.
A string of connected freight cars followed, filling their vision. It was a cargo volume equivalent to a single train shipment of the Kraft Merchant Guild. The only difference was that it was a million times faster than the Kraft Trains.
A similar transport volume with vastly superior service quality.
But without paying the railroad construction costs.
"Uwaah!"
Amidst the train's noise, Pastel screamed.
"It's a business thief…!"
Immediate pursuit! Pursue it!