Chapter 125
"This should be about done."
The Demon scraped the bottom of the pot with a spatula. A sticky purple dye was scooped up. The sight of it looking like it would drip down yet remaining viscous was like melted rubber.
"Glass bottle."
"Yes."
Ellie, who had been standing there nervously glancing at the Demon, held out a glass bottle. As the spatula was tilted, the dye plopped into it. Hot steam rose in plumes.
"It will cool down quickly if you get ready for the dyeing."
"Woah!"
Pastel looked at the steaming glass bottle with sparkling eyes.
"Dye, dye!"
As expected of Lord Demon!
There's nothing he can't do!
Puhuhu.
Pastel giggled and poked the Demon's side.
"Lord Demon! Lord Demon! Where did you say the recipe for this dye came from?"
The Demon, who was pouring cleaning solution into the water-cooled pot, looked reluctant.
"It is a dye recipe handed down in the Kraft Family. Since your hair color is too distinct and makes Disguise difficult, a recipe tailored to your bloodline was created. It is a recipe far removed from the latest Alchemy trends, but that is exactly why the old ways are the best."
"Woah, woah!"
He says it's a Kraft Family recipe!
But-But how does Lord Demon know it?
Pastel, who scores zero in romance, has no idea!
"How did you come to know it?"
As the Family Head of the Kraft Family, checking if a secret art has been leaked is a very important task!
I'm absolutely not asking out of personal feelings!
Ellie, who was awkwardly fanning the glass bottle with her hand, glanced over. It was a look of astonishment, as if asking why she would ask such a rude question.
The Demon pretended not to hear and scraped the bottom of the pot with the spatula. The stuck purple dye mixed with the clear cleaning solution.
Pastel grabbed the pot and leaned her upper body forward. She looked straight up at Lord Demon's face as he peered into the pot. Her Pink Eyes sparkled.
The Demon ignored her and moved the spatula.
Her Pink Eyes sparkled twice as much.
Banjjakbanjjak.
The Demon sighed, then used his hand to grab and tidy up the strands of Pink Hair that were swaying as if they would touch the cleaning solution.
"What are you curious about."
"To think Lord Demon knows a Kraft Family recipe! This is a leak of family assets! As the Family Head, I cannot just stand by!"
"Speak honestly."
"Did something happen between Lord Demon and Mom?!"
Woah-Woah!
Pastel felt the fluttering heart of an adolescent at the talk of romance.
But it's not romance, it's unrequited love!
Because it's unrequited love, I want to hear it even more...!
The Red Eyes looked reluctant.
"It is nothing special. When doing an Infiltration into the Church, pink stands out too much, so I just listened to the recipe and made it for her."
"Gasp."
Pastel covered her mouth in astonishment.
"An Infiltration just the two of you...!"
Blah blah blah!
"What do you mean, just the two of us."
The Demon's finger pressed against Pastel's forehead.
"Uwaah~."
Pastel was pushed back just like that and fell away from the pot.
"It was not just the two of us. The Crown Prince was there, and the Pedant was there too. And the atmosphere was serious at the time, so whatever you are imagining did not even happen."
The Demon vigorously scraped the pot with the spatula. It was an action somehow filled with emotion.
Aah~.
It must have been too difficult a topic for an unrequited love.
What should I do about Lord Demon!
Seriously, what should I do!
Pastel found it so amusing that the corners of her mouth relaxed into a smile.
Hehe.
Ellie stared awkwardly at the Demon. She fiddled with the glass bottle, checking the temperature of the dye, before quietly opening her mouth.
"By any chance, are you Demonius?"
The Demon did not bother to answer.
Instead, Pastel's eyes went round.
"How did you know?!"
Ellie is totally smart!
Ellie looked somewhat flustered.
"I just, know by looking."
How could this be!
This was classified information!
To think the story of a corrupted girl who unsealed an Archdemon would be leaked like this!
That kind of thing only happens at the end of a fairy tale!
Pastel went into a "Uwaang~" state.
"Lord Demon! Lord Demon! What do we do! Is it time to take irreversible measures?!"
I really didn't want to do that!
"Ah?"
Ellie flinched.
"Do not say such things in front of the person concerned. It is not polite."
The Demon sighed.
"It was a given that we would be found out from the moment you started shouting “Lord Demon, Lord Demon” outside. Those who would know probably already know."
Ellie, who had turned slightly pale, added a comment.
"Melissa is probably guessing it too. The way Melissa treats him and all that was very different from how one treats a Servant. It felt careful, like she was trying hard to pretend not to know."
The smart Ellie used the 1st place in the Friend Ranking as a Shield.
The effect was perfect. Pastel was immediately shocked.
"Even Melissa?!"
If that's the case, I can't even consider irreversible measures! Not that I was planning to anyway!
Pastel suddenly paused as something came to mind.
Eh, wait a minute.
Then doesn't that mean the fact that I haven't been studying and have been cheating all this time has been found out too?
It felt like she was breaking into a cold sweat.
She quickly retraced her memories. She checked to see if Melissa had ever been suspicious of the existence of the genius-genius Pastel.
There was no such time. If anything, there was only a look of Observation, watching to see how far this Pastel would push her greed with her good brain.
Phew.
It seems the Model Student Melissa couldn't even imagine that the smarty-pants Pastel would have cheated.
It seems what I've been doing all this time has helped my reputation a lot?
As expected, a person really needs to live kindly!
"It should be about cooled down by now. Young Craft, sit here."
"Yees!"
Pastel trotted over and sat on the wooden chair. As she was swinging both legs, the Demon took the glass bottle and approached. A butter knife scooped up a little of the purple dye.
"Hold out the back of your hand."
"Why my hand?"
Pastel held out her hand. The dye was dabbed very lightly onto the back of her hand.
"Alchemy is a field that deals with delicate harmony. If it is to be used on a person, one must check for any unforeseen reactions. The skin, in particular, is sensitive."
"Aha!"
"Though this is a fact I told you last time when teaching you Alchemical Toxicology."
Gasp.
I forgot it all.
While waiting for the reaction on the back of her hand, the Demon inspected the floor of the alchemy room. Then he picked up a strand of Pink Hair that had fallen like a drifting cat hair.
The hair was dropped into the glass bottle with a tap. When he stirred it with the butter knife and lifted it, the dyed strand of hair swayed. It was a mysterious purple that shone softly in the sunlight from the Window Sill.
"Woah!"
It's pretty!
To think my ancestors created such a dye recipe! They have total sense! Even if the intention was to maintain an elegant appearance to commit fraud!
"There is nothing wrong with its performance."
Ellie, who had been standing still awkwardly, took a peek.
"Wouldn't this stand out quite a bit too? I haven't heard stories of a Kraft using dye for a Disguise, but any Demonkind who has dug into the Kraft Family history might notice."
"It is not a problem. This recipe is handed down only to the Family Head and the final Successor. Different recipes exist for each color, and once a color is used by someone, it is discarded so that future generations will not have their Disguise discovered due to historical records."
"To be that thorough. If only they had lived even a slightly virtuous life with that effort."
Ellie looked slightly appalled.
"But apart from the thoroughness, it doesn't change the fact that it's a recipe that stands out, does it? I wonder why."
"It is probably because those Kraft bastards take it for granted that they receive attention for their appearance. They secretly enjoy it, so they likely do not want to give it up either."
"If only they had lived even a slightly virtuous life with that disposition."
"Indeed."
The Demon and Ellie, sharing a common ground, badmouthed the Krafts.
The current Family Head didn't know how to react, so she pretended not to hear.
"Woah! Borabora!"
After dyeing it later, it was so perfect that anyone who didn't know Pastel's face would never think she was a Kraft characterized by Pink Hair.
#
Pastel welcomed the smuggling Airship at the Docking Bay. The shouts of the Crew rang out, and countless cargoes were unloaded.
"Financial freedom! Financial freedom!"
A life of Magic Stone Munching!
The Grace Merchant Guild Leader looked proud.
"By employing a Former Knight, our operating losses have been drastically reduced. They say the number of Pirates approaching the Airship has significantly decreased as the rumors spread. It was more effective than predicted."
"Woah! That's great!"
Then again, even I wouldn't want to mess with the Kraft Merchant Guild, which has practically become a public enterprise of the Sky Island!
The Grace Merchant Guild Leader unfolded her folding fan.
"Once the safety of this merchant trip becomes known to the Mercenaries, it will become easier to hire a Private Army. Your Excellency the Marquis, I am thinking of increasing our Troops further, what do you think?"
"Sounds good! While we're at it, let's increase the number of Airships and borrow funds to go on an even larger scale!"
It seems it would be fine to temporarily borrow the Airships owned by the Academy and the Sky Island Administration, and also briefly borrow the tax revenue that came in during the second half of the year before it gets allocated to next year's budget.
I should talk to Chancellor Horace!
"That is an excellent plan."
The Grace Merchant Guild Leader was satisfied.
The folding fan moved with a gentle flutter.
"By the way, have you resolved the friction with the Imperial Family well? I am sure Your Excellency handled it flawlessly, but as the one responsible for the merchant guild, it is true that I am worried."
"Huh? About what?"
What Imperial Family?
Pastel tilted her head.
The Grace Merchant Guild Leader looked flustered.
"You thwarted the Imperial Family's plan to Restrain the Demon Realm and extorted the Railroad Construction Rights for 1 gold coin, did you not."
"Huh? That wasn't the Imperial Family, it was the Imperial Bank."
"But the Imperial Family was the one moving that Imperial Bank, no?"
"Eyy~."
Pastel waved her hand dismissively.
"How could the Imperial Family wield a bank that must be separated from the government however they please? That would lead to a collapse of credit and a bank run! You sure know how to joke, Guild Leader!"
This is total common sense!
Such a silly-silly joke won't work on the smart Pastel!
Ahaha!
The Grace Merchant Guild Leader turned pale.
"That is true in principle, but the Imperial Family has never respected the market to that extent until now, have they?"
Ueh?
Ueeh?
Suddenly, a murmuring commotion arose in the Docking Bay.
Turning her head, a very flashy Fast Airship was flying in from the far side of the sky.
The Grace Merchant Guild Leader gasped.
"An Imperial Family Airship?"
Ueh?
A short while later, Pastel was able to face the Emissary.
A Knight in black armor, who looked like he belonged to the Imperial Knights no matter how you looked at it, unrolled a missive.
"Marquis Pastel Lovecraft, hear this! His Imperial Majesty the Emperor has commanded you to enter the palace at the earliest date!"
Uwaah!
I didn't do anything wroong!