Pastel, who infiltrated the Sky Island ruins to find connections with the Cult after witnessing the suspicious activities of the Knight Corps, discovers the true Holy Land beneath the ruins and begins her investigation, but unexpectedly encounters someone…
“Oh no!”
Pastel exclaimed.
“Did you get kidnapped again?!”
The two baby birds nodded their heads.
Huh.
Bad cult.
Completely evil and malicious cult.
After failing once, they didn’t give up gracefully; taking advantage of the absence of public authority left by the Skywhale, they kidnapped the birds again.
They shouldn’t be so stubborn and relentless.
Pastel looked worriedly at the baby birds, which were about her size. Her palms brushed against their soft feathers.
“Are you hurt? Did you walk around starving? Bad cult! I can only imagine how terrible your treatment has been!”
Thinking of the cult soldiers flying around on Holy Beasts, they must have undergone very harsh trials.
The two baby birds looked at each other. Then they turned around and quickly shook their heads.
No, no.
What does that mean?
Could it be…?
“The treatment wasn’t so bad…?”
—Peep.
The baby bird nodded.
Pastel’s mouth dropped open.
“They fed you well, made a nice nest, treated you kindly, and had a clean employee relationship?!”
After some hesitation, the baby bird nodded again.
—Peep.
Huh?
Is it like when the subcontractor shows awful welfare by kidnapping employees, but upon being sent out to the main corporation, the employee welfare is so good they want to be buried there?
“That— that shouldn’t be the case….”
Pastel suddenly became dejected.
“It’s a cult.”
A completely evil cult.
Worshippers of evil gods committing massacres in the Craft mansion and terrorism at the Academy, such a bad cult.
Reflecting on it, she realized the badness for sure, and Pastel regained her confidence.
“No! There must be terrible treatment in store for you!”
She pointed at the baby birds.
“We have to implement justice before you end up being chicken meat!”
That’s right!
Once the job is done, the baby birds will be fried as chicken at the party!
Baby bird chicken!
Ahhh!
—Peep?!
The baby birds gaped in surprise.
They looked horrified at how someone could come up with such a ridiculous idea.
“That’s right! The cult is completely evil!”
“Hmm.”
A devil in a suit rubbed his chin next to them.
“I doubt that’s the case. Why would they purposely harm themselves after going through the effort of creating an air force? The cult operates on calculations. Even evil gods grant wishes, which is why they’re worshipped.”
The baby birds stared at the devil.
They then looked back at Pastel.
—Peep?
Aahhh!
Pastel waved her arms.
“No! No! The cult is completely evil! Don’t fall for the devil’s whispers! The Devil is a real devil!”
Truly, truly, truly!
After a moment, Pastel managed to persuade the baby birds with her friend power. They did seem to acknowledge that they had indeed been kidnapped.
“Ugh.”
Is this what it feels like to be Cassandra, who made prophecies only to be ignored?
I can empathize a million times.
After briefly checking for any signs of life in the Holy Land library using her hearing and sight, Pastel turned to glare at the devil.
“Devil, devil. If you keep acting like a devil, you’ll truly be a devil.”
Complete slander.
“You shouldn’t lead the baby birds down a bad path. As an adult, you should guide them on the right path.”
That’s right, that’s right!
The devil looked unimpressed.
“I wasn’t talking to them but to you. I’m not a current priest, and do you think I would talk to a young animal?”
Pastel’s mouth dropped open.
That was completely a speciesist remark.
Her hands trembled.
“So, if you found an injured baby bird on the road….”
She glanced back at the baby birds. The baby bird tilted its head and looked her in the eye.
Hurry, pretend to be hurt!
As she waved her hands, the baby bird seemed to understand, drooping its body. It helplessly fell onto the soft ground.
—Piyah…
The body, slightly pudged from receiving too much food from the cult, rolled over.
Rolling, thud.
The baby bird’s beak slightly opened, and a small burp emerged.
—Peep.
“Ahhh!”
Pastel screamed.
“There’s an injured baby bird here!”
Then she pointed at the devil.
“There’s a speciesist here!”
Ah! Ah!
She waved her arms.
“The poor baby bird is hurt, and it just so happened to encounter the devil, so it can’t receive treatment!”
The devil looked dumbfounded.
“In such a situation, of course, I would take care of it.”
“And not even being a priest?!”
“Whether current or former, any human would do so.”
Phew, what was I even saying?
Pastel wiped her cold sweat.
She was making many animal friends, and she almost got herself into trouble because her master was a speciesist.
The girl thought for a moment and then chuckled.
“So, you feel embarrassed just to talk to cute baby animals?”
That was it.
Duru tu, du tu.
“What…?”
Pastel clung to the devil and poked him in the side of his suit.
No wonder he kept wearing such dull clothing.
“If that’s the case, it’s problematic! We need to track the cult with the help of the baby bird friends, and what if the devil, fixed in a human form, is bad at communication?!”
Although playful, it was a somewhat serious request.
“Make peace with the baby friends! Start with an apology! The devil’s words must have been really hurtful!”
She pointed at the baby birds.
One baby bird, currently engaged in acting, was approached by another baby bird. Looking down to comfort it, its beak slightly opened.
Clack.
A burp echoed.
—Peep.
Ahhh!
The baby birds looked completely wounded!
Seeing how hurt they were, the acting baby bird suddenly jumped up. It started pecking at the baby bird that had burped.
—Peep! Peep! Peep!
The sound of wings flapping filled the air.
“Ugh.”
The devil rubbed his forehead.
“That’s not why.”
“Everyone often rationalizes without being honest. But the popular Pastel knows very well that it’s just because you feel embarrassed.”
Nodding.
“I completely don’t understand.”
Pastel pointed towards the quickly calmed baby birds.
“Talk to them! Talk to your baby bird friends!”
The devil crossed his arms.
“Why should I?”
Pupu, pupu.
“Alesia talked to an inanimate steering wheel! Talking to animal friends is even easier!”
Her pink eyes sparkled.
“Let’s go by majority vote! All those in favor raise a hand!”
She raised her left hand high.
“One!”
Then lowered it and raised her right hand high.
“Two!”
Two already!
She looked back at the baby birds.
The baby birds, as rightful voters, furrowed their brows and deliberated for a fair and unique vote.
—Peep!
One wing went up.
“Three! Four!”
Since the devil was alone…
That’s four times!
Overwhelming advantage!
Pastel boldly crossed her arms like the devil and faced him proudly.
“Bend the knee before the authority of majority rule.”
Though shorter than the devil, she looked down from above~.
This is Power Player Pastel.
The devil let out a scoff. He brushed his bangs back, rubbed his neck, and looked at the baby birds.
“The treatment was excessive. I apologize.”
The baby bird raised one wing in response.
—Peep.
Pastel clapped.
Wow! Wow!
“I’ve clearly engraved the image of the devil blushing and apologizing in my mind! This image of the devil will be passed down through generations!”
“I never blushed. Don’t make up stories.”
“I’ll even pass that on!”
“Just saying it will cause misunderstandings.”
The organization that leaps beyond species!
To eradicate the cult!
Haja haja fighting!
#
In a distant grand complex far from where Pastel was.
It was a cave with an unconvincingly high ceiling and wide area believed to exist as the underground Holy Land. Various enormous rock formations floated around like a miniature version of the Sky Island, filling the space.
Members of the cult in black clothing flew on birds, going to and from the stone structures of the Holy Land.
There were many buildings, but the most crucial one at the moment was clear.
The control room navigating the Sky Island.
Pastel’s father continuously calculated in front of 121 pure white magic circles. The artificial sunlight on the wide terrace glinted off his monocle.
A massive bird shadow cast over the terrace and landed.
“Oh! Not bad!”
The man in black clothing jumped off the saddle and slapped the Mother Bird. A dagger he held in one hand was thrown playfully and caught.
“You did particularly well. Even though you’re technically a kidnapper, the fact that you provided food and a nest made you follow so well.”
The man grinned.
“Must be because it’s a bird brain?”
The Mother Bird squinted her eyes.
She stared piercingly at him and moved her beak.
“Ah! Ah! Why are you pecking all of a sudden?!”
The man hurriedly fled indoors, and the Mother Bird snickered as she departed.
“Ugh, what a temper.”
The man tidied up a magpie’s nest, glancing at his superior, who was slumped in front of the magic circle.
“Is the work going well?”
Without answering, Pastel’s father moved his hands. The artifacts plundered from the Academy were touched. The numerous white magic circles began to transform and swap places.
“Huh, just looking at it….”
The man made a dazed expression. He waved his hands dismissively and curiously peeked around the magic circle.
“Are you planning to keep working here?”
His superior frowned.
“Don’t disturb me.”
The man felt awkward.
“Well, it won’t hurt to take a break now and then. No matter how much of a scholar you are, I’m worried about you.”
He vaguely pointed somewhere over there.
“Isn’t your daughter doing a lot lately? She’s consolidating power, effectively preventing terrorism, and solidifying her authority. Given her trajectory, her bloodline is surely intact. Meeting her at times like this could really help clear up any blocked areas.”
“Not interested. I must’ve already said that.”
The man rubbed his nose.
“I’m not joking around. The Sky Island is our area, but those imperial dogs, having received orders from the Duke of Bellevue, recklessly went ahead with a terrorist attack on the Academy, causing a lot of trouble.”
The man shook his head.
“And ultimately, after failing, the relationship with the duke has become complicated as well. Since your daughter is close to Alesia Bellevue, if you could just win her over, things would really become easier.”
The man cleared his throat to clear his throat.
“After all, she’s your biological child, right?”
Isn’t she?
“That’s right.”
Pastel’s father massaged his eyes with his fingers.
“So, don’t meddle in other family matters.”
His voice was cold.
The man silently whistled. He discreetly retreated and headed to the terrace.
“Phew, there are too many pending tasks. Huh?”
The man’s eyes widened.
“Where did the bird go?”
The Mother Bird laughed from the opposing turret.
“Hey! Not coming back?!”
The man pointed angrily.
“Cancel that you were doing a good job! Cancel!”
