Chapter 31
Pastel ran through the Sewer.
Hudadadak.
The Oil Lantern clattered and the light source swayed.
A Giant Swarm of Rats followed like a tidal Wave.
Commotion filled the Sewer.
Uwaaa.
“What happens if I get caught?!”
『You’ll do some Swordplay a few times before being pushed down by the surging mass. And then you’ll be torn apart and eaten alive.』
“Uwaaa!”
Terror! Shock!
“Squeaky Friends! Don’t do this! We’re Friends!”
『They don’t Think so.』
Gasp.
They must be really shy!
A Complete mismatch.
Kids like that need careful Observation and a careful Approach, but I guess I got too close too Suddenly.
My mistake, hehe.
『Look at the Destiny Compass. Which direction is the Inheritance?』
Gasp, right.
Pastel checked the Destiny Compass she was carrying. The needle pointed backwards.
Eeing.
Running, she sneaked a Glance back. Countless beastly eyes were swarming in the darkness.
Euing.
“Lord Demon! Lord Demon! I Think I need To Reconcile with my Squeaky Friends! Sorry, Friends! Let’s make up!”
It had no effect.
They really seem super shy!
『We have no choice but To Take a long way around the Sewer.』
“I guess so!”
Pastel just kept Running. She passed through the corridor, turned at an intersection, and passed through another corridor, smelling all sorts of fishy smells.
The Swarm of Rats chased after her without getting tired.
“Friends! Isn’t this obsession a bit much?! Even for me, this is troubling!”
Uwaaa.
Are they going To Confess their love at this rate? I really like my Squeaky Friends, but obsession and confessions are troubling! Let’s just stay friends!
A Snake Sound was heard from somewhere. Yellow eyes appeared in the darkness ahead.
Oing.
A snake lunged through the darkness. It was several meters long and as thick as a head.
The Giant snake surged up and aimed for Pastel. Its snout opened, revealing red flesh. Droplets of saliva flowed down its fangs.
Snake Friend?
Pastel managed to open her eyes wide, then slightly twisted her body. Her Excellent reflexes and athleticism dodged the snake’s Attack.
The Giant snake brushed right past and flew backwards. And then it suffered a Crash into the swarming rats. The starving beasts Instantly covered the Giant snake. Flesh was Ground away and blood splattered continuously. The resisting snake turned into pieces of meat and disappeared in an instant.
Uwaaa!
“Snake Friend!”
The Snake Friend I just made was torn to death While Alive!
Glancing back, Pastel got goosebumps.
“Lord Demon, you were right! Those Friends are Natural Disasters!”
The Swarm of Rats didn’t stop for even a moment and chased right after her, the rear Group overtaking the front Group that was eating the snake.
Uwaaa.
Pastel broke into a Sprint.
She must have entered the Snake Territory, as the sound of a snake was heard again.
Several yellow eyes made an Appearance in the darkness ahead.
Oing.
Snake Friends?
Did you come to Help me?
Giant snakes surged up. Their snouts opened, aiming for Pastel simultaneously.
The Girl threw the compass and lantern in her hands toward the ceiling. Freeing her hands, she clenched her fists.
Her fists struck forward in Succession. Smacking sounds rang out. The snakes' heads burst apart. Debris scattered.
Both hands snatched the compass and lantern mid-Fall/Crash.
Right after, a Giant snake lunged at her.
She executed a Turn Around with her body. Her Pink Hair fluttered, and a Roundhouse Kick struck the snake. A smacking sound rang out. The snake flew off and crashed into the wall. An impact occurred and flesh burst.
Pastel exhaled and ran again. The Swarm of Rats pounced on the left-behind Snake Carcass. Blood splattered.
Sorry, Snake Friends!
I will definitely remember your sacrifice!
She ran down the corridor for a long time and stopped walking. Perhaps busy eating, the Swarm of Rats no longer chased her.
She placed a hand on the wall and let out rough breaths.
Uee-e.
“I thought I was going to die.”
『You made a good Escape.』
“Ugh, it’s totally scary when Weak friends Group up.”
Walking again, she did a Gesture of Frustration.
『Originally, when you meet a Natural Disaster-level creature, making an Escape is the right thing to do. They’re a small population, but in a narrow corridor, it’s the same as a Natural Disaster.』
Hundreds of Giant rats are a small population?
“Won’t they starve to death if there are that many? What do they even eat to live?”
Is there a lot to eat here in the Sewer?
Do our Friends live on moss?
『Think about it the other way around. What do you eat to live?』
I feel like I shouldn’t Answer with Lord Demon's Cooking.
“Magic stones?”
『It’s the same. They live by eating the demonic energy spread in the atmosphere. You can get surprisingly decent energy from it. The rest is supplemented normally with food.』
Uwang.
Pastel raised her hand high.
“Me too! I want to live by nom-nomming the atmosphere!”
I’ll Learn from my Squeaky Friends!
『Give it a try.』
She took a deep breath.
And
“Phew~.”
Pastel, who nom-nommed the atmospheric energy, her Eyes Widened.
“Ooh!”
My stomach! My stomach!
It feels like it’s getting full…!
It doesn’t.
It just feels like I breathed.
Pastel Suddenly became sullen.
Only I can’t do it.
『If it doesn’t happen naturally, then you just can’t do it. It’s weird if it does work, so don’t be disappointed.』
“To Think I can’t even do the breathing that all the Squeaky Friends do. Will I not be able To Become Friends with the Squeaky Friends like this?”
『They probably have no intention of being Friends with you either.』
Gasp.
That’s too harsh.
『More importantly, check the direction. Are you going the right way?』
Pastel pouted her lips and checked the Destiny Compass. The needle pointed in the forward direction she was walking.
“The Lord Demon is friend-less and gloomy. Compass Friend answers that we are going the right way.”
The Demon ignored the Subtle scolding.
『I don’t know what will be in the Ruins. Last time it was a Magic Quiz, an Arrow Trap, and a golem. Fitting for the first Ruins, they were for a Beginner.』
“Really? The golem wasn’t at a level for a Beginner To Defeat, you know.”
If it weren’t for my experience surviving in the Grand Mansion, I would have gone Uwaaa! Smack! Quack!
『The golem wasn’t there to be defeated. There was probably another intention, like a lesson in stealing the treasure and making an Escape if it’s a strong enemy you can’t beat. It would have been easy To Shake off the slow golem and just grab the chest.』
“True, when you taught me Swordsmanship, you taught me the aesthetics of Escape in the final part.”
『Making a good Escape is more important than fighting well. The Hero tales embellished nicely by a Bard are completely different from the actual biography of a Hero. A Hero also made an Escape when necessary, so he or she survived and became a Hero.』
“Oh.”
Pastel felt proud for no reason. She patted herself.
“The epitome of Strong-Weak-Weak-strong! In front of a strong person, I’m always ready to make an Escape!”
For real.
This was an issue that Hormone Friend also agreed with.
The Demon was momentarily speechless.
『I didn’t mean for you to be that proud of it…』
Eeing.
So strict.
After walking through the Sewer, she arrived at a wall where the compass vibrated. When she placed the compass against the wall, the needle fluctuated, going ue-eng.
Ue-eng.
“I Think it’s here!”
It’s an ordinary Sewer wall.
This means it’s dirty.
Will a Secret Door open if I touch it?
Pastel was about To Hold Out her hand, but she decided To Hesitate upon seeing the Dark and Dingy ingrained stain. The stain was so ingrained it had a 3D effect.
Wow, dirty.
It’s a bit much to touch with my hands.
Instead of her hand, she smoothly lifted the Magic sword.
“Lord Demon, I have something I’m curious about.”
『Even if it opens, enemies won’t rush out immediately. It’s an arrangement for the Successor.』
“No, that’s not a problem that someone like Lord Demon would worry about. I, being smart, am thinking about something else!”
『What is it?』
“By any chance, if I touch the Magic sword, does Lord Demon feel, like, how should I say it?”
Pastel decided To Hesitate, then just smiled brightly.
“I don’t know! I’ll just ask bluntly!”
She continued speaking brightly.
“Do you feel it when I touch the sword?!”
Eheng-eheng?
The Demon was speechless.
Silence flowed for a while.
『I am sealed in the sword; I am not the sword itself.』
It was a flustered voice.
“Aha! Then, like, like!”
Pastel rubbed the sword with her hand.
“Even like this, you don’t feel anything, right?!”
Considering how many living creatures I’ve cut so far, is this too obvious a question?
『Yes. But why on Earth are you asking?』
“So I can treat Lord Demon and the Magic sword separately whenever I need to?”
『To some extent, yes.』
Oh yeah.
“Got it!”
Pastel felt relieved and stepped back slightly from the Sewer wall.
She raised the Magic sword.
“A Magic sword that is not Lord Demon!”
And she pressed the tip of the blade against the wall. She scraped the Sewer wall as if looking for a Secret Door. The ingrained stain was scraped off, and sticky debris fell with a patter.
Uwaaa.
Totally dirty.
Thank goodness I didn’t touch it with my hands.
Pastel looked utterly disgusted and widened the distance a bit more. Turning her head and squeezing her eyes shut, she only scribbled on the wall with the Magic sword.
Ugh.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
Patter, patter.
Uwaaa.
After doing that for a while, the Demon sounded displeased.
『It’s a bit… of a complicated feeling.』
Pastel Flinched.
“You do feel a Sense of unity with the sword, don’t you?!”
Am I committing Intense insubordination right now?
『No, well, just…』
The Demon let out a groan as if agonizing over it.
『Do as you please. It’s better than dirtying your hands.』
Oh yeah.
“Then I won’t Hold back!”
Pastel scraped the wall with the Magic sword even harder than before. Of course, she herself was standing far away from the wall.
Scrape, scrape, scrape with the Magic sword.
Stains are falling patter, patter.
Uwaaa.
Pastel stopped her work and decided To Examine the Magic sword. Dirty residue was stuck to the tip of the blade.
Uee-e.
She looked at the Magic sword with a Gaze reserved for looking at dirty things.
Contempt.
Contempt Beam~.
Lord Demon’s contempt.
As she subtly enjoyed her insubordination, the Demon spoke up.
『…I didn’t mean for you To Hold back to that extent.』
Ah.
So sensitive.
『Rather than scraping the wall, stab it. Then, even if it takes effort, it will at least be less dirty.』
Gasp, is he a genius?
“Got it, because I wasn’t enjoying insubordination at all!”
『You…?』
Oops.
My mouth said something unnecessary.
“W-Woowaoowa, I’m busy!”
Super, super busy Pastel!
Pastel searched for the Secret Door diligently for no reason.
Busy, busy!
After they poked around the wall for a while, they deeply pierced a Plausible spot. The Sewer wall shook and pushed back, opening up a space.
Uwang.
“Great! The Ruin Exploration starts!”
She shook the Magic sword as if dusting off dirt and Cheerfully moved her steps. Then, she sneakily sniffed the Magic sword and held it far away with an 'euing' expression.
『Are you doing this on purp - 』
“Ruin Exploration starts~!”
Yahoo.
Pastel proceeded To Enter the first room. Like last time, there were Magicology Books and a Magic Quiz. It was a structure where the door opened if you solved the puzzle.
“It looks easy!”
She shouted like that while deciding To Examine the quiz that involved matching with a Rod Device.
『Ho? Try solving it. It’s a problem of a vastly higher level than last time. The Demon King must value the Successor’s Intelligence. You’ll have to study the books meticulously.』
Intelligence?
“Let’s solve it in one go!”
Pastel put on a smart Model Student expression.
It was an expression filled with the Intelligence that secured the Top Scorer in Research position solely with a Research Report, without even submitting a Combat Report.
Intense Mental Agility followed.
The Correct Answer sparked in one’s mind.
The difficult problem was solved.
“Euryah!”
She smashed the Quiz Device with her sword. A loud Crash rang out. The device emitted light before exploding.
Boom-!
The closed door opened.
Pastel cheered.
“Correct Answer~!”
Oh yeah.
『No.』
Pastel felt proud.
“You can’t deny the Inheritance to the Successor just because of a device malfunction! The weakness is that it’s a Design where the door just opens if it breaks!”
A Perfect solution that saw through the examiner’s intention.
Isn’t this the kind of Intelligence the Former Demon King wanted?
『Don’t just Learn weird things.』
“Yes.”
Pastel confidently proceeded To Enter the second room.
And then she paused.
The place that seemed to have been a Trap Corridor was a mess. As if a Giant Creature had thrashed about, the floor was cracked and both walls were smashed. Various traps that filled both walls were left broken and abandoned.
Eeing.
『There’s a prior guest. Based on the traces, it’s a snake. It hasn’t been that long.』
It was probably a snake with a thickness equal to her height. She couldn’t even guess how long it was.
Uwang?
Pastel moved her steps with a feeling of unreality. She stepped out through the broken door.
A Cavern unfolded.
In the middle, a White Snake was coiled up. It was so big and massive that it seemed To Take up half the Cavern.
Pastel rubbed her eyes.
Huh.
Is this a dream?
Why does a snake the size of a train exist?
The Baeksa rested its head in a corner of the Cavern and flicked its tongue. Its forked tongue licked the only Treasure Chest.
Oing.
The snake’s snout opened.
The Treasure Chest was swallowed.
Nom nom.
Gulp.
O-iing?
The Baeksa smacked its lips, and then it opened its mouth slightly.
Burp.
A Burp Sound rang out.
Uwaaa.
My Inheritance…!