Chapter 17
[This Skill? Could it be the Church?]
The Demon examined the stimulant. He split the pill and Carefully looked into the black contents with tweezers.
[…No, it can’t be the Church. It hasn’t even been 20 years since we subjugated them after all that hardship, so this can’t be. The Academy isn’t an easy place for Infiltration either.]
The tweezers separated specific contents.
[Is this a Sky Whale’s Fin? I don’t know the purpose of distributing the stimulants, but there’s no way they would use this expensive ingredient Purely for sales.]
The Demon put down the tweezers.
[Young Kraft, it won’t have any effect on you if you eat it. There will be no effects. Just as you can’t get energy from food, various drugs won’t work on you either.]
The Demon’s finger tapped the table.
[But just in case, it’s better not to eat it.]
Huh?
Pastel’s Eyes Widened.
A few stimulants rolled around Inside her open mouth.
The Demon looked back and grabbed his forehead.
[No, why are you eating that?]
“B-but this is delicious!”
Pastel quickly chewed with a chewing sound. Her eyes sparkled every time she chewed the stimulant.
Magic stones tasted like cheap sweets candy. But the stimulants were much more delicious than Magic stones.
High-end candy?
It was like a luxury candy that a Chef specializing in candy Crafts had personally extracted the sugar water and put effort into over several days.
How should I express this.
Pastel, who was pondering, came up with a Sudden Idea.
“A Top Chef’s Drug Cocktail!”
Wow.
The Chef’s Skill is totally fantastic.
[Drug Cocktail…?]
The Demon’s face stiffened. Then he snatched the Stimulant Box.
[Do not eat it.]
Gasp?!
“Give it back!”
Pastel reached out her hand.
[No.]
The Demon Stood Up and lifted the box. His height raised the box high.
“Give it back! Give it back!”
Pastel clung to the Demon and reached out her hand. Her hand flailed without even reaching the box.
Oh, the height!
The height…!
The Demon looked down sternly.
[What do you mean, “Drug Cocktail”? Drug Cocktail! Just don’t eat it.]
Ugh.
I guess the expression was too weird.
“I’ll Correct it! No, no, drug.”
Ugh.
Pastel, who was seriously pondering while holding her head, looked up at the Demon slightly lacking confidence.
“Magic Stone Concoction…?”
Hehe.
The Demon made a Declaration without a Change in expression.
[No.]
Ah.
My special Magic Stone Cocktail…!
Top Chef, please scold the Lord Demon a little!
Did he say the Church was a similar Skill? I feel like I can even feel the affection of a blood Relative from the Church. Shouldn’t I have joined the Church?
Ugh, Calm Down.
As the Top Scorer in Written Exam Pastel, you can protect the Magic Stone Cocktail.
Logical and rational Mental Agility!
Here goes…!
“Lord Demon, Lord Demon. I’m not in a position to be picky about what I eat. The expression was a bit weird, but just like you said, there’s no problem even if I eat it!”
She pointed at herself.
She had just swallowed several stimulants, but there was no particular Change.
[That’s…]
The Demon hesitated.
Even so, he seemed uncomfortable with a child picking up and eating just anything.
An opening!
Pastel jumped up. She snatched the Stimulant Box and quickly made her Escape.
Yay-yay.
She tossed the stimulants into her mouth.
The sweetness of candy!
The Demon hesitated on whether To Stop her, then gave up. And then he watched her with an uncomfortable Gaze.
Pastel smiled brightly.
“It’s fine!”
Because there’s no problem.
Really.
#
The next day, Pastel submitted one leftover stimulant to the Faculty Meeting in her capacity as a Representative of the Student Council.
And she headed to the Old Dormitory. She was To Inform the First-year Student of the ghost’s results.
“Renard's Group was the ghost presence in the middle of the night.”
To Think it wasn’t the ghost, what a shame.
“Re, Renard?”
The First-year Student shook their head with a Pale face.
“No, there was a sound yesterday too.”
“Really? Everyone was in the garden though?”
“There really was!”
Is there really a true ghost?
Oh yeah.
Pastel’s face lit up.
The First-year Student Flinched and avoided her Gaze.
“S-so I checked it myself to see if it was really a ghost.”
Oh?
Our friend, you were surprisingly brave.
The First-year Student walked to the corridor. Then, trembling, they pointed at the floor.
“The cause was here.”
The floor their finger pointed to was just the corridor floor.
“In the middle of the night, a v-voice echoes from below. It’s definitely a ghost…!”
Huh?
Is that so? Isn’t there just a space under the floor? Like a basement.
“Got it, the Student Council will try to find a Resolution.”
She sent the terrified First-year Student back.
Pastel put her ear to the Ground and listened to the sound.
What could they be Hearing?
As she stayed quiet, a Faint animal sound could be heard.
Meow meow.
Pastel’s Eyes Widened.
“Lord Demon! Lord Demon! It’s a cat sound! A cat lives underground!”
Wow, a Ground Cat.
[It’s probably a basement. Since it was an Officer Training School, it must be its Remnants. They covered it with the Dormitory, but it seems they didn’t completely get rid of it.]
Ooh, the signs of an adventure are rising and stirring.
Pastel’s eyes sparkled.
“Let’s Enter right away!”
And after poking around all day, she found out that there was no basement entrance at all.
Huh.
[Did they Cover it with the Dormitory. We can’t go in like this. Give up.]
“What about the cat? How did it get in?”
[If the Inside is Spacious, there might have been an entrance far away that accidentally opened. Even if it was abandoned, it would have been a Military Secret in the past. It’s better not to Think that you’ll be able to find a hidden entrance.]
“Ah, how could this be.”
What a shame.
The adventure ended just like this.
I suppose that’s just how life is.
Regrettable.
She quit the adventure and pondered how to soothe the First-year Student who was terrified of ghosts.
She crossed her arms and looked down at the corridor floor.
Suddenly, a sound was heard from within her arms.
Ing.
When she took it out, it was the Destiny Compass she had obtained from the Demon King's Ruins.
The needle spun Round and Round, then pointed at the floor.
Oing.
[…It seems the Demon King's Arrangement is underground.]
Pastel’s eyes shone.
Is it finally Magic Stone Replication this time?
Or is Mana Munching just by breathing from the atmosphere?
Whatever it is, if it’s the Demon King's Arrangement, there should be at least one cheat key to make life too easy, right?
[You’ll have to hope for a stroke of luck, but if you were To rummage through the Library, you might be able to find records of the underground. If you’re lucky, you might even be able To Deduce the entrance.]
What did you say? You want me to read a ton of books?
Sitting gloomily in a Library where I can’t even chatter?
Ugh, Pastel the Top Scorer in Written Exam doesn’t do things like that.
“I have an Idea!”
Smart people don’t study.
Pastel’s Sharp Gaze swept over the Dormitory.
It was neat but quite Shabby.
“To Think a Student lives in such poor facilities!”
Everything in sight was old-fashioned - all old-fashioned.
“As the Student Council, we cannot tolerate this!”
She raised one arm high.
“New Dormitory Construction!”
Pastel’s eyes shone.
“The Student Council will push it forward!”
If it’s under the Dormitory, wouldn’t it be fine to just Tear down the Dormitory?
Someone is using Student Council Authority to subtly Interfere with the Construction Site and Munch on the Demon King's Arrangement.
A totally genius Idea.
And what’s more!
“The Student Council will directly recruit a Construction Company from the Demon Realm!”
Why Specifically the Demon Realm?
Just because, hehe.
No big deal.
“Feeding a poor child~.”
The Demon muttered with an anxious voice.
[…Why the Demon Realm?]
The first time is hard.
The second time is doable.
The third time is easy!
Oh yeah.
Departing for the Demon Realm~!
Oopsie.
Before that, I should increase the Student Council Members.
It seems Ellie is having a hard time on her own.
#
Dustin Wild.
The Second Son of the Wild Barony.
He grew up under a father whose hobby was seizing Commoner farms, and a mother who had a good marital relationship and matched perfectly with such a husband.
Chuckling.
His older brother, who was a spitting image of his father, had such good brotherly affection that he would look for his younger brother whenever he enjoyed his hobby of Whipping a Maid.
Hahahoho.
He had never once been hit, and had never once been yelled at.
However, Dustin wanted to run away from the Household due to a rebellious spirit even he didn’t know the cause of.
As a result, through gritting his teeth and striving, he succeeded in his Academy Admission.
You worked hard, Dustin.
But reality is harsh.
What he actually faced was the bottom ranks of the Written Exam.
Since Theft was what he learned, Dustin couldn’t Hold back his pride and engaged in picking a quarrel with the Top Scorer in the Written Exam who looked like an easy target.
There was also a Calculation of Gains and Losses.
The status of a Second Son in a Barony meant a Bleak future. He had no choice but to somehow gain fame and connections to become independent.
In that regard, winning in his first Sparring against a girl from a Family with only high fame was a rough but worthwhile Scenario.
Even if he got cursed at, infamy was better than obscurity.
As a starting point for that, Kraft’s Pastel looked like an easy opponent.
She definitely looked like that.
But the result was a Crushing Defeat.
The fragile girl was the possessor of an Absurd monstrous strength.
The girl went Hup-hup!
Dustin went Oof! Oof!
No.
After that, Dustin began to Suffer From quiet bullying among the kids.
He was bullied so thoroughly that he couldn’t make a single friend during the Entrance Exam.
Dustin secretly shed tears under his blanket. Snot came out too.
I wanted to make a friend.
I even made a list of 100 things to do with a friend at the Academy…
Every day passed with me eating alone.
The first item on the list, “eating together with a friend”, which he made half-jokingly, was not achieved at all.
I shouldn’t have written it down.
Every single day, he wet his pillowcase with tears.
But was there a day when the sun would shine on his life?
After admission, Renard approached him. What he wanted was the Combat Experience he gained while Sparring with Pastel.
It seemed Renard also wanted To Defeat Pastel and gain both infamy and fame.
To Think he had the physique of an Upperclassman and the scheming mind to do a Preliminary Investigation on his Opponent without letting his Guard down.
If it’s this guy, he’ll beat Pastel!
Let’s become friends with this guy!
And eat together…!
In fact, Dustin, who just wanted to eat with a friend, gave an Answer to every single one of Renard’s order-like questions.
Somehow it felt like he was becoming a Subordinate rather than a friend, but it must have been a misunderstanding.
And so began Renard’s plan.
Renard was cool-headed. Even though he had an Upperclassman’s physique, he didn’t let his Guard down regarding the fact that the Girl possessed monstrous strength.
Upon Hearing the news that the girl was doing continuous Arm Wrestling matches, he seized the opportunity for Sparring and waited for the girl’s arm strength to completely drain.
He’s going To Win this…!
The cool-headed Renard and the Clumsy Pastel clashed.
The girl went Wham-bam!
Renard went Ugh! Ugh!
No.
Renard, what did you use your bulk for? You can’t just collapse from a single Punch after preparing so thoroughly.
He gave up thinking.
Nothing is working out, sigh.
And Dustin, for whom nothing was still working out, was currently rolling on the Ground to great ridicule.
“Hey! Stomp on him! How dare you fall for a honey trap?! You disgraceful bastard!”
When Renard gave the order, the Subordinates rushed in. Kicks struck his body.
The Subordinates' kicks, filled with Personal Feelings, continued.
“That’s right! You disgraceful guy! We wanted To Fall for Pastel’s honey trap too!”
Renard, who was kicking along with them, Flinched.
“W-what?! Which bastard was that just now! I said, which bastard was it!”
The embarrassed Renard’s fierce Gaze swept the Surroundings.
Once the Culprit Search began, Dustin was finally able to Be Released.
His entire beaten body throbbed.
He leaned against the wall and Staggered along.
“Damn them, it wasn’t a honey trap; it was just checking on an Innocent friend…”
Even if I’m the Second Son of a Barony, I’m still one of the Nobles in my own right, so if it were the former, I wouldn’t have fallen for it. These guys just have delusions on their own.
He moved with a slight limp. His ankle was Tingling, perhaps sprained. He walked Carefully.
“Oh? Hello, Friend.”
A familiar voice was heard.
He turned his head.
Suddenly, a Sudden vision of beauty appeared before him.
Voluminous hair swayed in time with her steps. Dreamy Pink Eyes met his eyes.
At this moment, the wind seemed to carry the scent of flowers.
“Are you okay? Does it hurt somewhere?”
Dustin snapped back to his senses at the Worried Voice. He Hurriedly avoided her Gaze.
Oh, bother, why does it have to be now?
How Embarrassing.
“Forget it; go your own way.”
At the firm rejection, Pastel tilted her head.
“…Oh.”
The Girl Suddenly felt apologetic.
“I didn’t Consider your position. Sorry, I usually can’t see my Surroundings properly.”
A soft hand Carefully held Dustin’s hand. A Warm sensation was felt. The body heat seemed to travel up his hand to his arm.
“I’m sorry, Friend.”
Her Pink Eyes curved beautifully.
“Let it Slide just this once.”
Dustin’s heart pounded. The warmth rising from the girl’s hand felt like it was circulating through his entire body.
“Of course, I’ll make sure Renard can’t even come near you!”
His delusions ran wild.
Could this be the Free Love I’ve only heard about?
“Hmm, how should I put it. Aha!”
Pastel smiled brightly.
“You have a lot of talent for waiting on people under them! Join the Student Council! We’re short on hands right now, and it’ll fit your talent perfectly!”
The feelings that were about to Form shattered into pieces.
“What did you say…? I have the constitution of a Minion?”
Dustin Wild, Student Council Member.
Position, Minion.