Melissa approached after finishing her conversation with the experienced guild members.
“Craft, I’ve calculated your greed.”
“Oh, really?”
Pastel, who was sitting on a magic stone box and sipping a drink, was pleased even after hearing the guild report from Craft.
She was worried because they were taking too long to arrive!
Seeing that reaction, Melissa flinched.
“I’m sorry. It took longer than I expected. Maybe it’s because they are in the shipping business, but once they start talking, the conversation gets long.”
“Eh, it’s okay.”
Pastel waved her hand dismissively, showing her good-natured side.
“Melissa is so kind that it’s hard for her to interrupt others, right? I like that about you!”
“Th-thank you.”
Melissa felt a bit shy.
“Do you want to drink this? It’s orange juice. I made a special cocktail by adding a lot of sugar to the leftover drinks from the guild!”
The reddish liquid sloshed in the wooden cup.
“I’ll drink it well. I guess I’m thirsty since we’ve been talking for a while.”
“Sit here!”
Pastel patted the spot next to the magic stone box excitedly.
“Excuse me.”
Melissa carefully adjusted her wizard’s robe and sat on the box.
Heh.
“Even for you, you don’t put down a handkerchief to sit down, huh?”
“What? That would be rude.”
Hmm.
“Is that so?”
Pastel tilted her head and swung her legs.
Thinking back on it, it does make sense. I’m sitting on a perfectly fine box, so it would be dirty to sit on it with a handkerchief. Especially since I was invited to sit here.
Yep, Melissa is kind.
Melissa and I sat quietly for a moment, sipping our drinks.
But how did we end up drinking here?
I racked my brain.
Ah, right!
After going through a rough guild situation, Melissa got angry and I needed to apologize! So I asked her how angry she was!
But the fourth-dimensional Melissa suddenly grabbed a guild member and started asking about calculations. I don’t know why, but it must be because she’s just not normal. It’s hard to understand as a regular person.
Pastel subtly gauged Melissa’s mood. The wizard girl was drinking her orange juice with a gentle smile.
“Melissa?”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you have anything you want to say to me?”
“Pardon?”
Melissa appeared slightly flustered and sank into thought. Then, looking at her drink, she seemed to realize something and spoke up.
“This drink is really sweet. I think Craft is good at adding sugar.”
Hmm.
That’s not the reaction I was hoping for.
Of course, since it was the drink I provided, it would be proper etiquette to share her impression, but being in a position to apologize, I find this atmosphere quite troubling.
“Not that, how about something emotional, passionate, or filled with anger?”
“Ah.”
Melissa realized it. Her blue eyes stared coldly.
“Craft, I was angry. How could you ask for smuggling? It’s something I never could have imagined.”
Oh no.
What have I said!
Shaking.
“How angry was Melissa?”
Is this how our relationship falls apart?
“I just calculated your greed. From that, you can see how angry I am.”
Melissa pulled out a paper from her cloak and handed it over. It was filled with the calculation of greed. I didn’t expect this, but nonetheless, it conveys her anger.
Melissa pointed to the last line’s figure.
“You are 50% more greedy than a normal trader. So you could say that I felt 50% betrayed and angry, thinking it was normal trade.”
Gasp.
Pastel’s mouth fell open.
Melissa is 50% angry?
Oh no.
With a teary expression, I clung to her.
“I’m sorry, Melissa!”
I sincerely apologized.
“I’m 50% sorry!”
Pastel became 50% sorry.
“Only 50%…?”
Upon hearing this, Melissa blinked slowly and looked dazed. Since she was 50% angry, it seemed correct to feel 50% sorry, but also a little off.
Pastel also became dazed along with her.
What is what?
“50%…”
Melissa stared intently at the calculation written on the paper.
Melissa said, I was 50% angry~.
The blonde girl, who had just created a dark history, began to turn red. Then, fidgeting with her fingers, she covered her face with the wooden cup as she sipped her juice.
A small voice emerged from the wooden cup.
“Please forget about today…”
Oh.
“Got it!”
I’ll remember it without fail!
#
Pastel listened to Melissa as she recounted the trials and tribulations she had experienced during her guild journey.
She had escaped from a pirate ship and got swept away by a flying mackerel after straying off the sky road.
The new information was that while docked in the Demon Realm for repairs on the scoff ship, Melissa assisted in the expansion of the Preston Organization.
“How did that happen?!”
I only asked for smuggling, and she ended up helping out with a partner company in the Demon Realm.
Is this what it means to be a close friend?
“The mage is a powerful asset in multiparty situations. I saw that it seemed difficult due to the organization conflict, so I wiped them out. They were a lowly group that could easily be wiped out anyway.”
Wiped out.
Melissa surprisingly seemed well-experienced in killing.
Wow, the heir of the Southern Commander is scary.
Pastel hugged Melissa.
“Thank you! If the Preston Organization grows, trade will become smoother.”
My wallet will also be secure!
Melissa appeared uncomfortable.
“I had suspected that the Craft clan made money this way, but please keep it moderate. There’s no need to walk the path of excess.”
“Yep!”
Considering the Craft clan’s decline, perhaps that’s why she wasn’t angrier than expected.
Melissa is so kind!
After hearing about Melissa, Pastel shared recent updates from the academy, talking about the Skywhale and the one-on-one tournament for transfer students.
“Bellemont?”
Melissa began to show tremendous displeasure from this moment.
Huh.
“Why did Alesia Bellevue enroll? It would be better for her to stay in the North for the rest of her life.”
“Uh, I don’t know!”
Melissa narrowed her eyes.
“Pastel, you’re not friends with that Bellevue, are you?”
Gasp.
How did she know?
Pastel’s mouth fell open.
Even though I didn’t accept the challenge, we became friends through a deep conversation the first time we met. Alesia must think so too.
Melissa frowned.
“I can’t dictate your indiscriminate social behavior, but this time is different. It’s better not to get too close to Bellemont.”
Pastel tilted her head.
“Why? Is your relationship not good?”
“Relationship?”
Melissa lifted one corner of her mouth. It was an expression she didn’t usually make, so it seemed a bit awkward, but it was certainly a smirk.
A smirk!
I’ve never seen kind Melissa make a smirk!
“My mother said that Craft shouldn’t even step on shadows.”
Wow.
Pastel was caught off guard.
Melissa flinched after speaking.
“Oh, I’m sorry. It slipped out. I didn’t mean to say that. But after going through smuggling, it’s true that I find it unsettling about you too.”
The girl steadied her voice.
“Anyway, my mother told me. Craft shouldn’t even step on shadows. And.”
Her blue eyes turned cold.
“Don’t even be in the same space as Bellevue.”
Pastel’s eyes widened.
To that extent?!
“How bad of a relationship do you have?!”
Melissa shook her head without answering.
“I’ll excuse myself now. I want to have a deep conversation with you, Pastel, but I need to figure out what Bellevue’s intentions are.”
The wizard girl clicked her heels and walked away.
Huh?
Pastel became dazed.
Isn’t Camelot the Southern Commander, and Bellevue the Northern Duke?
What on earth is going on?
Huh huh?
When in doubt?
“Devil! Devil!”
Please tell me, Devil!
『The two clans are mortal enemies.』
“How did that happen?”
『Both are on the empire’s border and don’t want to enter the central political sphere. However, having both powers in the central politics would put too much burden on the imperial family. Only one of the powers could manage. As a result, they keep preventing each other from entering the central politics.』
“So the hatred has built up over the years from their mutual interference?”
『Right. The warning about not being in the same space as Bellevue means you cannot advance into central politics together.』
Oh no.
“Can’t they cooperate and get along? They could brainstorm various ways to do this!”
Friendship methods!
『The various methods happen to be one of the scenarios that the imperial family fears. Camelot and Bellevue control the military forces of the south and north, respectively. If they unite to create a double front and charge towards the capital, the empire would be overturned. One of them might wear the imperial crown, but it’s sure that the emperor would change.』
Whoa, that escalated quickly into an overload of mental capacity.
I’m just a person who likes making friends; I don’t know about this stuff.
『That’s why every time that possibility arises, the Craft clan, which has received influence from the imperial family, has instigated discord between the two. After a few instances of betrayal due to Craft’s meddling, they became sworn enemies.』
“Wow!”
Once again, the evil history of the Craft clan was revealed.
Sitting still, Pastel felt a pang of conscience!
Even just breathing feels wrong!
She pressed her ears down.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that!”
『Do as you please.』
#
A snowstorm raged over the Northern Bellevue Duke’s residence. The frigid air colored the glass white and even made breath visible indoors.
A man sitting on the sofa crossed his legs while holding a wine glass. The nearby scarlet campfire crackled.
“So when will Alesia be taken care of? Is this slow negotiation the so-called holy transaction that the cult speaks of? Or is your capability lacking to even get rid of her enough to banish her to the academy?”
On the opposite side, a black-robed figure knelt and bowed their head.
“I have sent demons. News will come soon.”
“Demons?”
The eldest son of the Bellevue Duke frowned. The wine glass lazily rotated, the red liquid swirling.
“Why should I trust those inferior demons?”
It was a sharp mockery.
“The academy was originally a holy ground for demons. In the past, it was easy to assassinate by infiltrating through the sewer system.”
“Easy to assassinate, huh?”
The eldest son stared at the wine glass and the red liquid for a moment.
Then he threw the liquid onto the campfire. The liquid doused the flames. A large blaze erupted, and a shadow of a person flickered in the fierce fire.
“Once the successor’s positioning is finished, the cult’s transaction can be arranged without issue.”
The empty wine glass was placed on the table.
“Therefore, I hope you don’t disappoint me.”
The eldest son leaned back on the sofa and waved his hand. The black-robed figure lowered their head and departed.
Silence returned.
The campfire crackled alone.
