Chapter 192
The world is full of Loyal Subjects who worry about the Empire.
The Magic Stone Mine was a military asset that scoundrels like the Church must not covet.
It was only natural that such a thing be managed by Governor-General Pastel, the eternal Loyal Subject of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor who offered only upright counsel.
However, in this world overflowing with Self-interest and greed, what is natural is often not so natural.
Only when the hearts of Loyal Subjects who worry about the Empire come together can the Empire run its proper course.
"Hooray!"
Pastel cheered alone in the office set up in the hotel.
"Stepmother! So many people are working hard to protect Stepmother's business!"
Including me!
I'm totally living my life to the fullest!
Lord Demon stared at her strangely.
"What is this about a Stepmother?"
"Stepmother is Stepmother!"
She had the wonderful title of Duke Nastasha, but since I was a Daughter, it seemed only right to call her Mom!
Oh?
Then shouldn't it be right to just call her Mom instead of Stepmother?
Calling her stepmother felt like denying that she was a mom, so the Duke might feel sad.
Pastel quickly corrected herself.
"Stepmother is Mom!"
Woah.
"...I don't understand."
Lord Demon rubbed his chin. He turned toward the Window Sill and twitched his eyebrow at a flying pigeon.
"A bird mom? Hmm. Talking to animals is up to you, but it would be best to slowly stop doing it in front of others. You've reached an age where you need to care about various things, so it's better to change your behavior."
His voice sounded like he was still holding a grudge over suffering through the underwear laundry.
Gasp.
Totally absurd.
How did he see her and think she would call a passing pigeon friend her mom?
Even the Lodger Fairy wouldn't do something like that.
Pastel's gaze turned crooked.
"Mind your own business, Lord Demon."
"Huh?"
Lord Demon put on a dumbfounded expression.
Pastel's lips jutted out in a pout.
"It's totally petty to still be acting like this over something you did wrong."
"No, what?"
Lord Demon seemed to have a lot to say.
However, Governor-General Pastel was a busy person, so she shook her head vigorously.
"Get out, get out. I'm busy right now, you know? I'm not someone who wanders around with nothing to do like Lord Demon."
Lord Demon was dumbfounded, but he was quickly kicked out when Ellie came in holding a bundle of documents.
Ellie looked back at the departing Lord Demon in confusion.
"Why is the Great Demon Lord's expression like that?"
"I don't know. He's totally petty."
He must be a Great Demon Lord because he's so petty.
Ellie stared at her subtly. She seemed to have a lot on her mind.
"What's wrong? Are you curious about something?"
Pastel tilted her head.
Since Lord Demon was a Petty Person, there was no need to listen to him, but she needed to pay attention to what the smart Ellie had to say.
Ellie hesitated slightly. She seemed unsure if meddling would only cause unnecessary harm.
Then she briefly looked back at the Corridor where Lord Demon had already left and closed the door.
Their eyes met as she turned back.
"Well..."
"Tell me! We're friends who can talk openly!"
Just as they were about to discuss the Magic Stone Mine, it was a relationship where they could talk about things she couldn't even discuss with Melissa!
Ellie looked somewhat relieved and opened her mouth.
"How about respecting the Great Demon Lord a little more? As a part of Demonkind, seeing the Great Demon Lord treated like that makes my feelings complicated. Besides, if you like the Great Demon Lord, it's better to show him your good side."
Oh?
It seemed Ellie's feelings got complicated whenever she saw Lord Demon.
O-oh?
Pastel tilted her head wordlessly.
Silence flowed.
As the Pink Eyes continued to stare, Ellie flinched. She suddenly panicked, her complexion growing paler and paler.
She seemed to be blaming her own danger sensors, which had grown dull while she was banned from the Hotel and was staying at the Royal Palace.
But it was just Ellie's overreaction. There was no need for self-blame between friends, so Pastel laughed, "Hehe."
"More than that, wouldn't it be impolite for Ellie to call Lord Demon the Great Demon Lord? It's fine for me since we have a special relationship, but Ellie and Lord Demon are strictly strangers, so the title seems unnecessarily friendly."
As Ellie said, Lord Demon was a being with such standing among Demonkind that he once coveted the Demon King's Authority.
Even if Lord Demon didn't say it, he probably wouldn't like someone approaching him without hesitation while ignoring his authority.
Ellie's eyes trembled. She looked like she suddenly had a lot on her mind. She swallowed dryly and slowly asked.
"T-then, how should I address him?"
Gasp.
Princess Ellie's question on etiquette norms.
Asking such a difficult thing of Pastel, who had barely stepped over the threshold of the Royal Family a few times, made her eyes spin.
"I don't know. Wouldn't it be roughly right if you just copied Melissa?"
Melissa's title for Lord Demon was somewhere in the middle. She called him things like 'the Great Demon' or 'that person.'
It was a respectful title, but it maintained a strange attitude that acknowledged the fact that he was a Great Demon Lord who committed a Misdeed.
Since Ellie was Demonkind, she seemed to accept the title of Great Demon Lord as just a symbol of strength, but to an Imperial Citizen under the light of the Great Temple, it didn't have a good meaning at all.
It was an attitude where the two of them were distant enough that if Lord Demon did something evil, she could immediately fire a Magic Bullet at his head without any damage to her honor, yet they could still talk politely on a normal basis.
This attitude that was neither close nor far might be a tightrope walk only possible for a Born Noble Young Lady.
Woah.
Honestly, Melissa transparently revealed her feelings, but I think her underlying logic is the scariest. She likes fairy tales, yet she has no qualms about torturing people. The Next Commander of the South is truly scary.
It's a relief we're best friends.
Shiver, shiver.
"Ah..."
Ellie nodded, but she couldn't hide her disappointment. As a Reformer, she had finally gotten close to someone she admired, but having to keep her distance seemed to fill her with undeniable regret.
It seemed there really was some ulterior motive when the Princess herself enthusiastically explained the National Land Development plan after calling Lord Demon to the Royal Palace last time.
Pastel's mouth fell open.
"Woah."
Her flat voice spread through the Office.
Ellie's hands trembled. The Bundle of Documents shook.
"Ah! Right! We have to work!"
Pastel clapped her hands together.
"We don't have time to chat like this! Ellie, especially, has an overflowing amount of work to do from now on!"
She had to direct the research on the Train with the Church's suspicious technology, step in between the Kraft Merchant Guild and the Demon World Corporation—who were stepping up to lay Railroads across the entire territory—to exercise some sovereignty, and now the Magic Stone Mine issue popped up.
Ellie was not such an incompetent person in power that she would waste her mental energy on trivial things in a situation like this!
Right, right!
Pastel took the documents and flipped through them with a flutter.
"It looks like we can cleanly acquire the Magic Stone Mine, right? The original sale plan made by the Loyal Subjects wasn't without a few concerns, but thanks to the Church making a mess of things, we decided to simplify it with a Private Contract."
It was truly important not to hand over military resources to the enemy. In this situation, a competitive bid was out of the question.
Ellie subtly gauged her reaction. She rubbed her trembling hands, slowly exhaled, and calmly opened her mouth.
"Since those people said they would gather the acquisition funds, the problem is on the Demon World Corporation's side. They were planning to provide the acquisition funds and make an equity investment, but now that their equity is no longer needed, there will be trouble. It would be best to prepare for it."
"It's fine! It's fine! Rather than pointlessly calculating profitability and preparing a strict response, let's aim to maintain a conciliatory attitude as a business partner. Someone like Count Macenas quickly re-establishes the relationship if the other party changes its attitude. Let's leave behind people rather than money!"
Good, good.
Pastel set the documents down. She met Ellie's eyes.
"By the way, do you know why the Church tried to acquire the Magic Stone Mine?"
She didn't know why her Dad, who must be a high-ranking official, would step forward to acquire it. Even if magic stones were a military resource, they weren't going to war, and they could just smuggle them; they didn't need a whole mine.
"Securing a source of income is probably their goal. After reviewing the scale of the bribes, I found that if they acquired the mine and used it as collateral to draw funds from the Imperial Bank, they would generate a fixed income without blocking their Cash Flow."
Income, huh.
"Because of your Attempted Assassination, the Demonkind who were in contact with the Church were wiped out, and since we're still searching for Demonkind, they must be desperate for a source of funds."
That seemed likely.
If the Demonkind sponsoring them suddenly vanished all at once, an organization the size of the Church would face massive problems with its income and expenses.
Pfft.
It was a completely rational deduction, but...
"Got it! Thanks! I have something to think about, so I'll do some thinking alone! On your way out, tell Melissa that I need to visit the Magic Stone Mine!"
Left alone, Pastel crossed her arms. Her cheeks repeatedly puffed out and deflated.
She strongly agreed with the deduction because it was completely rational, but knowing the Fairy, she had an uneasy feeling.
After all, the fairy ate magic stones.
What could possibly require such a massive amount of energy resources—capable of granting wishes—that it would need to acquire a whole mine?
Uwaah.
She could only think of bad things.
Of course, their goal might just be to acquire it on the side since they were desperate for funds. But since it was 'on the side,' there could be a separate core reason.
Pfft.
As expected, when curious...
"Fairy! Good Fairy!"
She just had to ask the person in question!
I'm totally smart!
She glanced around the office.
The Fairy walked out from behind a flowerpot on the window sill. He had a noble atmosphere that was somehow different from usual.
Oh?
The Fairy flew over to the Office desk. He landed and looked up there arrogantly.
―You! Aren't you misunderstanding something?
"Yes?"
―You seem to think I'm the kind of being who comes just because you call, but I'm absolutely not!
Oh?
Why is he acting like this today?
Ah?!
Pastel suddenly remembered the reason.
The stress of having to personally consume the energy of his Corrupted Fairy friend and cause his death must still be lingering.
Uwaah.
I lacked consideration.
I'm sorry, Fairy.
―Looking at that expression, you've finally figured it out?
The corners of the Fairy's mouth rose confidently.
―That's right! I absorbed the power of that Corrupted Fairy and became vastly stronger than before! I am not the me of the past!
Gasp.
Is that it?
Did he get a million times stronger?
"Woah! Congratulations, Fairy!"
Woah-Woah.
I might be able to wish for Immortality!
Pastel clapped rapidly.
―Huh? Uh? Thanks!
The Fairy answered in bewilderment.
Then he panicked, his expression changing to one that said, 'This isn't right.' The Fairy shook his head vigorously.
―That's not it! I'm saying I finally obtained power! As of today, I will wipe away my shameful past!
The Fairy slowly floated up.
A gaze filled with anger glared at the girl.
―Is a mere human exploiting me all this time by calling me the Good Fairy?
The Black Aura moved, swaying the Fairy's hair.
A corner of Pastel's heart grew cold.
Uh-oh.
Could this be?
An evil being who disguised himself as a good being, obtained power and betrayed his Partner...?
Was I seriously being deceived all this time?
―From now on, I won't listen to a word you say! As of today, I am!
He pointed a hand at himself.
―I will become the Bad Fairy!
Dun dun.
The Fairy, having declared this proudly, put on a satisfied expression.
Gasp.
Pastel's mouth fell open in shock.
The Bad Fairy.
The Bad Fairy...!
It was a title that oozed wickedness.
Uwaah!
No waaaay!
How did the Good Fairy end up on the bad path?!
Grant my wish for immortality before you turn bad!