“I’m really sorry!”
Waaah.
Pastel cried uncontrollably.
Tears dropped one by one.
After deceiving the demon and munching on black jelly, she got scolded heavily. She had to endure nearly an hour of nagging.
At first, Pastel listened to the demon’s scolding with pride, letting it go in one ear and out the other, but as time passed, she shrank, her eyes turned red, and finally, she burst into tears.
Waaah.
Tears welled up and flowed down rapidly.
“I’m so sorry! I won’t tease you again, demon!”
Seeing her cry, the demon flinched. It seemed his heart softened significantly as he turned his gaze aimlessly and spoke in a measured tone.
“It’s not the matter, but repeatedly putting dangerous things in your mouth is the issue. Do you properly understand the risks? The essence’s rank is related to the nature of life, and thoughtlessly consuming it can adversely affect your mind.”
“I made a mistake!”
Pastel wiped her tears with her sleeves.
Waaah.
The demon sighed, his heart further softening.
“Consider the feelings of those who worry about you. When I told you not to eat it, and you used someone’s concern to act like you were collapsing and then quickly put it in your mouth, how do you think I feel?”
“I’m sorry! Bad child Pastel…!”
Waaah.
Pastel cried so much that she started to hiccup.
Hiccup, hiccup.
The demon flinched and stopped the scolding.
“Alright, I understand.”
A fluffy towel was handed over to dry her tears.
Pastel accepted the towel, wiped her nose instead of her tears, added to the laundry, and then took another towel to properly dry her tears this time.
Sniff, sniff.
“Don’t do that again.”
“Yes….”
Nodding, Pastel went to wash her face.
The demon was tidying up the bed. The bedding was removed, leaving it in a comfortable state for lying down.
“Since you’ve eaten, I guess we should start with meditation. Lie down. You’ll fall asleep anyway, so it’s better to try meditating while lying down.”
Nodding eagerly.
Pastel lay down nicely on the bed. The red eyes looked down at her.
“You’ve already tried it, so it’ll be easier. Relax your muscles and maintain a comfortable state. Cut off your thoughts and focus your mind on the sounds of your body. Submerge yourself into the unconscious.”
“Demon.”
“What is it?”
“Please cover me with a blanket.”
Pastel looked towards the blanket that had been pushed to the corner.
“You’re not sleeping. It’s meditation.”
Huh.
The end result is the same anyway.
After hesitating, she refrained from voicing her thoughts since she had just been scolded.
“Now, close your eyes.”
With perfect closed eyes, she relaxed her body. She cut off her thoughts and focused on the natural flow of the unconscious.
Meditation, meditation, meditation.
Zzzzz.
Pastel fell asleep just like that.
Huh!
I shouldn’t be sleeping!
Surprised, she opened her eyes to find herself in a universe of her inner world.
An ominous black sun filled her vision. Rocks that couldn’t become planets circled around the sun.
Pastel floated in zero gravity, her pink hair flowing wildly.
She raised her arms.
Wow, a meditation genius!
Just lying in bed and thinking brought her to her inner world—a super ultra meditation genius!
Feeling proud.
Pastel placed her hand on her forehead, examining the universe of her inner world with a serious expression.
There were more rock fragments orbiting the black sun than last time. The essence’s rank gained from eating wild boar and bandits was reflected in her inner world.
With this amount, she could easily create a friend in the solar system, Mercury. She needed to create a family for that ominous black sun soon.
Pastel moved her hands for the sake of order and harmony in her inner world.
The rock fragments moved according to her gestures. They collided and clumped together, creating a rocky planet. The planet orbited close to the sun.
Pastel pointed at the rocky planet.
The planet closest to the sun.
That’s it, that’s it.
A friend Mercury!
The first family member of the solar system was completed!
Huff.
Pastel felt emotional.
Mercury completed one orbit around the sun.
A change came to the inner world.
Like creating a solar system, the virtual orbit of Mercury drew a circle. When the starting point met the endpoint, the orbit was completed.
Although it might still be weak, it was the appearance of a small solar system with the sun and Mercury established.
Order and harmony were restored.
Pastel’s mind tingled with excitement. The principle of nature awakened her consciousness. A distinct realization came to her.
Huff.
A realization!
A realization…!
Opening her mouth in shock, she paused.
Pastel made a puzzled expression and patted her pink hair here and there.
Did the realization come?
I don’t know.
She felt around her body.
Still, it seemed like something had changed in her senses.
She stretched both palms forward.
Making a completely focused expression.
Psychic beam~!
Nothing happened.
She made a more concentrated expression and stretched her palms eagerly.
Psychic beam beam~!
There wasn’t any particular change.
Huh.
This feeling of maybe understanding something but not quite knowing. It felt like an exemplary student pondering what answer to choose when faced with confusing test questions.
To put it another way…
I have no idea!
Hehe.
Pastel chuckled awkwardly to herself, then looked around her inner world again. There were still rock fragments remaining.
According to the demon, this essence consumption had a greater weight from wild boar than bandits, so the wild boar roast friend must have had an excellent essence.
Since the rock fragments remaining seemed insufficient for just a friend Mercury, should I also try to create a friend Venus?
Sounds good!
She spread both hands and manipulated the rock fragments with her will, gathering them in an orbit far from the sun compared to Mercury.
Super fusion~!
The fragments crashed and clumped together, forming a rocky planet. The new planet enveloped Mercury’s orbit, creating a larger orbit.
Wow!
It’s Venus!
Even though Venus, in a real solar system, would be larger than Mercury, here it was smaller, but it was definitely Venus.
Hello, Venus friend!
Pastel waved her hands eagerly.
Venus seemed to respond as it orbited the sun, tracing its path.
Wow!
Something, something new realization!
A real proper realization…!
Suddenly, there was a strange cracking sound from Venus. Cracks increasingly appeared on its surface.
Huh?
No, no way.
Pastel’s hands shook.
You, you’re not going to die from a lack of gravity like the former friend Mercury, are you?
As feared, Venus crumbled and returned to rock fragments.
Aah!
Venus friend!
Another member of the solar system family has died!
Ahh!
Her consciousness bounced back from the inner world.
Pastel jumped up from the bed in shock.
“Huff.”
As she looked around, it was not the universe, but a guest room. The dawn glow streamed through the window. Birds chirped outside.
Pastel rubbed her arms and trembled uncontrollably.
After Mercury’s friend, now Venus’s friend was born and then died.
What a complete nightmare.
She turned her gaze to the table, hoping to drink a glass of water.
The demon, sitting in a chair, was staring at her with a serious expression. His face was one of deep contemplation.
“Wow!”
Startled as she hadn’t sensed his presence, Pastel jumped.
The demon flinched.
“What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”
“Seeing a sleeping person like that is shocking!”
“Hmm? Didn’t I usually do this? Why is it now?”
“Still! My heart is pounding! Apologize to my heart!”
“I’m sorry.”
Completely lacking sincerity.
Pastel pressed her heart to calm herself and drank the water on the table.
Gulp, gulp.
“Ah!.”
She roughly wiped the moisture from her mouth with her sleeve.
“Following what you said, demon, I tried to create order and harmony in my inner world, but I can’t tell the difference. Even though Mercury’s friend was fully integrated into the solar system family, it didn’t give me a proper realization.”
She tapped her forehead with her index finger.
“The realization is… blaring!”
“…That’s normal.”
Pastel’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Blaring?!”
Huh.
“No, it’s normal that there’s no realization. You might have combat power, but in terms of the state itself, you’re not even at the junior knight level yet. And the way you’re consuming the essence of others without building your own isn’t normal. It’s uncertain whether you can achieve proper growth. Perhaps only bizarrely twisted growth is possible.”
Ugh.
“Then, does it mean there’s no change even with my friend Mercury?”
Could Mercury’s friend have been useless?
“Not quite.”
The demon stared at her seriously. Then he stood up from the chair, stretched out both hands.
“Pardon me.”
His hands grabbed Pastel’s sides. Then suddenly, he lifted her up.
Her feet left the ground with a whoosh.
Huh?
Pastel was flying!
The face of the demon who lifted her lightly turned serious.
“It’s light.”
Huh.
Pastel felt light.
She was lowered back to the ground.
“Try jumping once.”
Huh.
Pastel tilted her head but lightly bounced. Then her eyes widened.
“Whoa! Demon! Demon! My body feels light!”
Gravity felt light.
“That’s right. Something is strange-”
“Yup! Yup!”
Pastel kicked in midair. Her body moved effortlessly, spinning, and the kick exploded.
“This agility is unnatural-”
“Wow!”
She felt completely light.
Pastel unleashed several kicks before launching herself onto the bed. She bounced up and down on the bed.
“Wow! Wow!”
Bouncing, bouncing.
Pastel felt as light as a feather…!
The demon looked on with a disapproving expression. He caught the bouncing Pastel and gently sat her down on the bed.
“Listen when I speak.”
“Ah, yes.”
She calmed down.
“As your essence rank accumulates, nature follows and order ensues, allowing strange phenomena to occur.”
“Like me?”
Being light?
“Your situation is similar, but different. Normally, this process occurs when nature responds to human will. It’s the same phenomenon as magic borrowing the power of nature. Therefore, the swordsmanship of a knight and the magic of a great mage are, in essence, the same phenomenon.”
His red eyes focused.
“But your status is different. Nature is not responding, but you are disregarding the natural order. It’s like a body beyond humanity rejecting food and only consuming magic stones.”
“You say the outcomes are similar due to the change in the natural order, but the processes are different?”
“Exactly. It’s very strange.”
The demon became serious.
“It’s a bizarre distortion. It’s behaving as if it’s an intruder that doesn’t belong to this world, ignoring the world’s order. Did your essence twist when you consumed someone else’s essence?”
Ugh.
I don’t understand what that means.
“What’s the conclusion?”
The demon pointed at the magic stone knife on the table.
“Don’t eat it again.”
Huh.
A ban on black jelly.
A ban on snacking…!
Having already forgotten while being scolded, Pastel was shocked.
Aah.
“What is your answer?”
The demon looked at her suspiciously.
Eek.
Pastel subtly averted her gaze.
“Yes.”
The demon continued to look at her, still suspicious.
Waaah.
Trembling, she quickly changed the subject.
“Demon! Demon! I had a tremendous thought! I came up with a tremendous idea!”
“Go ahead.”
She reached out to the table. The knife flew and was caught.
She jumped up from the bed.
“Watch closely!”
She lifted the knife near her feet and subtly placed her foot on it.
“Pastel, as light as a feather…!”
She balanced her weight on the knife. The knife strained under her weight, struggling to hold her up.
Pastel floated above the knife. Her eyes widened.
Huff.
This actually works?
Having planned to fail and flop for a mood change, Pastel was surprised and discreetly checked the demon’s expression.
Did I successfully change the mood?
There was a glimmer of intrigue in the demon’s eyes.
“Oh, not only has your body become light, but the knife’s power has also increased. Should I say that your force of will in the world has grown stronger?”
Bending down, he touched the knife, marveling at it.
“The magic stone fuel might be consumed quickly, but it’s very useful. You could achieve three-dimensional movement.”
Pastel instantly felt elated.
“Let’s practice right away!”
“Alright.”
Yay, I’m not getting scolded.
They moved to the clearing of the inn. The dawn air felt cool.
Pastel stepped on the knife in the air and lifted her body.
“It’s fairly stable.”
“Try applying it.”
She pushed off the knife and jumped high. Her body soared. She gestured to move the knife. Just when her body seemed to be in free-fall, the flying knife landed below her foot. The knife pressed down under her weight, providing stable support.
“Okay! I’ll do it!”
She propelled herself off the knife again. Just before descending, the knife returned beneath her feet.
A sound of jumping echoed. The knife traced countless trajectories. Repeated supports formed and the sound of jumping ensued successively.
A pink silhouette sprang upward.
The silhouette passed over the inn building and reached the sky.
Pastel spread her arms. The wind embraced her. The village bathed in dawn light lay below.
Three-dimensional movement.
Mastered in an instant.
Yay.
