“Is this the urgency?”
Pastel, having completed the piled-up approvals, sprawled across her desk. Her pink hair covered the surface.
“Phew! I feel a bit bad leaving my post unattended for so long. I had to hurry due to the Emperor’s summons, though!”
“Even if you hand over the approval stamp, there will still be matters that you, by virtue of your position, need to personally approve.”
Ellie organized the disheveled approval documents sprawled over her supervisor’s desk.
“That’s true.”
Pastel rubbed her cheek against the cool surface of the desk.
It felt refreshingly cold.
“So, since I’ve received the position of governor, I think it’s time to reorganize the organization.”
“You mean establishing a governor’s office, right? I’ve already selected sites suitable for building it. Melissa.”
“Yes.”
Melissa was about to bring the prepared report.
“No, no! I appreciate your effort, but we don’t need the site.”
Pastel hurriedly waved her hand.
“The governor’s office will be created only on paper. On paper only.”
She flipped over the rejected approval document and began drawing an organizational chart with a fountain pen on the back.
“Currently, the royal family has left the governor’s office abolished, resulting in a haphazard management by the Academy’s president over the Sky Island’s administration. Now, we will establish related titles and departments under the governor’s office, with President Horace concurrently holding those titles, organizing the territory and authority formally, while the workload and personnel won’t change much!”
It will be closer to a more modern bureaucracy, one could say.
Ellie looked over the organizational chart.
“Like this? It seems bold enough to try, right? Although the Sky Island is large, the residences are clustered together, so it would reinforce centralization.”
“That’s true, but this is low-risk in the long term. Ellie, if we wield power recklessly, it seems you might be under some misapprehension. We’ve been in power for less than a year. Solidifying our foundation is more important.”
“Oh, I see.”
Melissa approached quietly, lingering around like a new employee eavesdropping on her superior’s conversation.
Then she suggested a brilliant idea about improving learning efficiency through morning exercises for all students, only to be met with Pastel’s cheerful rejection and doodling on the proposal. This made her slightly moody.
Pastel looked at Melissa.
“Huh? What’s up?”
“Nothing… Just that, while listening, I got confused. You’ve become the governor, but you’re just aiming to tidy up the existing tangled responsibilities and continue as before, right?”
“Yup! You’re quick to understand!”
“Why not just establish the governor’s office?”
Pastel had diligently shortlisted paths for the site selection, but as it turned out to be unnecessary, she seemed a bit disappointed.
“Authority and dignity are not created by titles alone. Even if His Majesty’s sword is with us, a concept cannot break all ignorance. Sometimes we need to express it through something visible.”
Melissa pointed towards the direction of the capital.
“The Imperial Palace must be grand and magnificent for the royal family’s dignity, and for the governor’s dignity, a governor’s office building is required. There is no clearer visible change than construction projects.”
Wow!
If a republican hears this, does it mean we should erect a statue of popular Pastel?! What a good, no, a bad idea! A totally bad idea! But if it’s not me but someone else who builds it, then I might reluctantly have to accept it due to the cost! Such an outraged statement!
Outrage!
Anger!
Grinding her fists, Pastel expressed her fury and began to imagine the statue of popular Pastel.
Shiny, shimmering Pastel statue.
Her mouth corners lifted in a smile.
Receiving no response, Ellie answered instead.
“I agree. But as Pastel said, we haven’t even finished our first year in power. The core of power, the Academy, is not perfectly regulated yet, so there’s no need to give off the vibe of transferring power to a governor’s office building unnecessarily.”
“I see. It’s similar to when a royal commander of an allied noble’s army tries to be present on-site to avoid disputes over command authority. Thanks to Pastel residing in the Academy and establishing her presence, there are no unpleasant conflicts or resistance growing within the Academy.”
“Exactly. Even though we don’t reside nearby, we don’t need to worry about managing the family since our time in power hasn’t been long.”
“Yes! That’s it!”
Though Ellie’s explanation had some shortcomings, Pastel broadly accepted it to honor the senior’s dignity and turned on her tablet.
“Ugh!”
Her arms stretched and then relaxed.
“Ahh! So refreshing.”
She looked around the stack of approved papers.
“There’s nothing more to approve, right?”
“None left.”
“Nothing to report either?”
“Nothing.”
“Really? Alesia!”
The silver-haired girl, known for her poor handwriting, who had been rejected for clerical work and was watering the window planter, turned back.
“Yes?”
“The leave of absence application hasn’t been submitted?”
“Yes?”
“Leave application!”
“Yes?”
“Wait, what?”
Pastel and Alesia were left in a puzzled state.
“Huh?”
“Is something wrong?”
Melissa wondered.
“Didn’t you hear? According to what I heard from His Majesty, the elder son of the Duke of Bellamont tragically died from an assassination by radical demon factions.”
Of course, Alesia must have prepared to submit her leave application and return to the duke’s family. But that wasn’t the case.
Why the strange reaction?
Melissa, who should have learned alongside them since it was serious news, seemed completely unaware.
Then what could be the reason…
Pastel glanced around the student council room. Her gaze shifted between Melissa, Ellie, and Alesia before landing on Dustyn who was simply present.
“Dustyn! Go get some water!”
“Huh?”
“The plant friend wants to drink more! Go get water! Might as well get some good river water from the mountain top while you’re at it!”
“What mountain river… at the peak…?”
“Hurry! Hurry!”
“What are you waiting for?”
As Ellie prompted, Dustyn moved in confusion.
“No, the peak… No.”
The student council room door closed.
Pastel turned back to Alesia.
“Alesia! Your leave of absence application hasn’t been submitted?”
The silver-haired girl tilted her head.
“Why say the same thing?”
“Huh?”
Pastel’s expression became serious. She crossed her arms and pondered, alternately glancing at Melissa and Ellie.
Her gaze halted on Melissa.
“Melissa! If you’re also going to speak about the water from the mountain top—”
“If we’re going to talk about secrets, please be direct.”
Ellie tapped Pastel on the head with a stack of papers.
“Yow!”
Pastel rubbed her head, her face instantly turning into a frown.
Ugh!
I’ve been insulted…!
I don’t mind if I do it, but I dislike being done to…!
Ellie looked at Alesia.
“It seems something has come up that requires your leave application. What is it? If it’s uncomfortable to talk about, should we ask Pastel to step out?”
“Huh?”
Alesia thought for a moment and then got an enlightened expression.
“That? I don’t mind saying it.”
“Oh, really?”
Then Dustyn left for no reason!
I hope the river water at the mountain peak tastes good!
Pastel cleared her throat.
“Ahem!”
She adopted a serious expression.
“I have some unfortunate news. The Duke of Bellamont has suffered a terrorist attack, and Alesia’s brother? Rival? Whatever, that kind of person has passed away.”
“Yes.”
Calm reaction.
“What?!”
Melissa was more shocked than the party involved.
“What kind of tragedy is that? No, more than that, the Bellamont family. It seemed you already knew about it, so why haven’t you said anything until now?”
“Huh?”
Alesia looked at her with confusion.
“Why would I?”
“Excuse me? Aren’t we friends?”
Alesia’s expression turned serious. After a moment of silence, she slowly nodded.
“That’s true.”
“Weren’t you just contemplating that?!”
Wow.
“Wait! Wait!”
Pastel hurriedly interjected between them.
“We’re at work, so keep personal conversations to a minimum!”
When the conversation halted, Pastel cleared her throat again.
“Ahem!”
What should I say?
“Anyway, I figured that you’d have submitted your leave application since of what’s happened, but it turns out you didn’t. What’s going on? Do you not have to return to the northern mountains?”
Isn’t this a critical issue, complicating heir succession?
No, more importantly, it’s about a family member’s death.
Huh.
Thinking about it, since the relative rival had tried to assassinate Alesia, should I say “family” seems a bit off?
Finally, Alesia showed a different reaction. After hesitating, she muttered in a drained voice.
“I don’t know. My sister did send a letter asking me to come back quickly…”
She wore a somewhat exhausted expression.
Ah, I see.
After all, she had been chased from the northern mountains to the Academy under pressure from her kin, and on top of that, faced assassination threats.
Rather than feeling motivated, she probably wanted to distance herself from this issue entirely to find peace of mind.
Pastel took Alesia’s hand.
The snowflake-like friend from the northern mountains had a cool body temperature just like her lineage.
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to! Forget about such troublesome matters and let’s have fun here! It’s always enjoyable to play with me!”
Alesia stared blankly.
“Is that so…?”
“Of course!”
The pink-haired girl smiled brightly.
“Sit here! I’ll make you some warm cocoa—”
“No. I have to go.”
Melissa stopped Pastel’s action. Her blue eyes gazed firmly at Alesia.
“Everything you’ve worn and grown up with was made possible thanks to the sacrifices of your territory’s people. Even if you wallow in mud and roll along mountain paths, it cannot be more valuable than the droplets of blood that fed you. Don’t run away; prove your worth as a noble, Alesia Bellevue.”
Huh.
Alesia stared silently at Melissa for a while.
Then she slowly smiled subtly.
“That’s true.”
It didn’t take long for the girl to pack her belongings and leave.
Evening shadows were cast in the student council room.
Pastel leaned back against her chair.
Resting her chin on her hand, she thought and then smiled gently.
“How scary~.”
