“We are a student council like family!”
Pastel declared proudly, raising her head as a senior.
“If there’s something difficult, we help each other! A student council that doesn’t differentiate between you and me! It’s a family-like atmosphere!”
“Great senior, I have a question.”
Melissa lightly raised her hand.
“Ask away! And I’m not just a great senior; I’m a super ultra great senior! The title of great senior belongs to Ellie!”
“I don’t need to be called that.”
Ellie slightly turned her head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Melissa looked at Ellie and then turned back to Pastel.
“Su-per ul-tra, ahem.”
Melissa’s cheeks turned slightly red.
“Su, super ultra great senior.”
“Yep!”
Pastel nodded swiftly.
Totally a super ultra great senior!
Ellie looked at the model student with pity.
“You don’t have to give that to Pastel. As long as you do your job well, she won’t complain if you ignore her a bit.”
Huh.
Melissa’s pink eyes went wide.
Did she think of me like that until now?
Melissa’s expression brightened.
“I see. Thank you for the advice, Ellie senior. Pastel senior, I have a question.”
Waaah!
She’s even a ‘great’ now…!
She must be embarrassed!
Huh.
Am I the one who’s embarrassed?
Everyone’s so mean.
“Feel free to ask anything.”
“Since we are all classmates, do we really need to create a senior-junior relationship?”
Ah, that’s a good question.
“Yes!”
Pastel nodded firmly.
“It won’t matter later, but right now, since both Melissa and Alcia are new to the student council, it means don’t pride yourself unnecessarily when receiving the handover.”
She tapped the stack of documents on the desk. Before the reforms, there wouldn’t have been this much paperwork.
“Administrative documentation is very challenging for a noble elite raised on home education to master quickly.”
Acting according to documents and recording everything in documents is a modern way of thinking.
Typically, noble elites are taught to get written approval from their superiors, but they tend to overstep their authority on-site and get retroactive approval later.
“I agree.”
Ellie nodded.
However, the super elite demon girl became adept quickly!
That’s why she’s a great senior!
“I see.”
Melissa thought deeply. Her blue eyes glanced at the silver-haired girl beside her.
“What?”
Alcia, who had been quiet, expressed her confusion.
Melissa looked back at Pastel.
“Since I was the first to be invited to join, I guess I’m more of a senior than Belamont.”
Ellie’s pink eyes widened.
Melissa said you became friends.
Is it natural for friends to try to establish a hierarchy?
The super ultra great senior Pastel was horrified.
Pastel, who was popular, couldn’t even imagine such behavior!
Alcia stared intently at Melissa.
“I was invited first, when we infiltrated the ruins of Sky Island.”
It was a pride battle that didn’t seem friendly.
Caught in the middle, Pastel was flustered!
Pastel waved her arms.
“Hey, you all, don’t do this! It’s just like comparing acorns! Rather, praise the super ultra great senior!”
Yep!
That’s right!
Everyone silently focused their attention.
Alcia pondered for a moment and spoke.
“Super ultra great senior-”
“It seems we’ve finished the orientation, so let’s cover the basic tasks.”
Ellie interrupted with unnecessary praise.
Waaah!
“Dustin, go fetch the new recruitment materials and document management regulations from the archive. There’s something from the first semester, right? We’ll need to make some modifications, but for now, that’ll do.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll assign you desks now, so sit down one by one. If there’s anything uncomfortable, I’ll switch the desks and chairs for you.”
The student council became busy.
“Waaah!”
Pastel clutched her head in the middle of the room.
My praise!
My praise!
#
In a densely wooded valley.
Pastel trailed behind the upperclassmen of the Department of Pure Engineering. A member of the student council followed closely behind.
Her arms swung vigorously.
“Chick!”
“Peep peep.”
Alcia answered alone.
” Sparrow!”
“Tweet tweet.”
” Duck!”
“Quack quack.”
“Glow-in-the-dark dragon!”
“Glow-in-the-dark… dragon…”
Alcia suddenly spaced out.
No way.
Looks like Alcia doesn’t know how the glow-in-the-dark dragon sounds!
What should I do?
I don’t know either.
Pastel spaced out too.
Ellie approached the upperclassman, her steps slightly weary.
“Are we almost there?”
“Just a bit further, and you’ll see the railway built in the gorge. It’s the entrance for academic admission, right? Should I carry you if your legs hurt?”
Ellie momentarily wrestled with her thoughts.
“No, thanks.”
“Ellie! Ellie!”
Pastel waved one arm.
“If it’s burdensome for you, should I carry you?”
Ellie was in deep thought. Hesitating, she shook her head.
“I’ll decline.”
The group of Pastel headed towards the railway constructed as a test by the Department of Pure Engineering on Sky Island. It felt like an on-site inspection.
But why was a test railway located in such a valley?
“If we’re spending money to build this, let’s make it a product test in a harsh environment! That’s how it was made. However, when we actually bought the land and constructed it, both the construction costs and transportation turned out to be a daunting environment not for the railway, but for people.”
It’s something technicians experience when their enthusiasm leads but they lack business experience.
Now that Pastel has taken over, there won’t be such a catastrophic accident without considering investment attraction and marketing!
They arrived at a wider and flatter gorge than expected. The railway station stood awkwardly in between.
Even in its primitive form, the railway stretching across the gorge could be seen. The facilities seem to have been poorly planned from the design phase, but it appeared that they had even managed to construct a station for people to wait.
Crouching down, Pastel tapped the station’s ground. A stone sound echoed from the cement.
Ugh, cement.
Shocking.
Melissa found it interesting.
“I know about this too. My mother showed me the construction site where they introduced Demonic Realm technology into the wall repair of Dasurim. It’s fast and effective. Although it’s not a meaningful time for walls in war, it’s useful against beasts.”
Alcia edged closer. After observing the situation, she finally seemed ready to speak to her friend as a topic she knew was brought up.
“There were talks about implementing it in Belamont too. The northern mountains are targets for development, not for protection, so it has been refused.”
“Belamont has fallen behind.”
Even when a reason was given, Melissa simply defined it as being behind.
Alcia stared intently at Melissa.
You’re friends now.
Unfortunately, it seemed Melissa spoke unconsciously. It represents her true feelings engraved in her heart.
What a pity.
But not using cement in the frontline indeed seems to be behind!
Yep!
Alcia pouted slightly.
“Well, I suppose the southern cowards who only defend in front of Dasurim will have to rely on the walls.”
“Why are you suddenly starting a quarrel?”
Melissa was flustered.
It must have been her real feelings without self-awareness, it seems.
Seniors who were maintaining the train covered with a tarp to protect against the wind and rain approached.
“Pastel! The train is ready to run!”
“Waaah!”
I never thought I would ride a train in my life!
Choo choo! Choo choo!
Fluffy, fluffy clouds!
Pastel dashed toward the steam locomotive.
“Train friend! You haven’t introduced yourself yet, but you should get ready to rank among my close friends!”
For Pastel, who’s surprisingly picky about selecting friends, there are truly only a few positions of honor!
The class representative proudly pulled back the tarp.
“This is the culmination of the latest engineering technology!”
The tarp was removed, revealing the train’s black body.
“It’s a steam locomotive!”
Her pink eyes sparkled.
“This is…!”
Pastel inhaled deeply, about to express amazement, but stopped.
Something about its appearance was slightly different from her imagination. Only the round front part she had envisioned was there, but it lacked the long body.
Only the head of the train was present.
The breath she inhaled rushed out with a “pu-sheeet~”.
Pastel quickly circled around her train friend.
At this point, it seemed less like a train game “choo choo” and more like a pencil toy mishap.
The seniors became stiff. They approached with pale expressions.
“Pastel? Is there a problem…?”
Whoa.
Her expectations were too high!
Flustered, Pastel waved her arms.
“It’s nothing! I don’t pick and choose friends! I don’t have a friend ranking list in my heart!”
As for Melissa, she’s ranked first, Alcia is in the highest tier, Ellie is off the list for a separate ranking, Leonard is in the middle to lower tier with a negative first impression, and Dustin wasn’t even considered for the rankings!
For reference, the Demon Lord is in the family ranking.
Melissa was shocked.
“Is there really a friend ranking? I thought it was just a rumor.”
Whoa.
At this rate, they might discover that there’s also a bribe ranking!
I already feel unfair!
Pastel frantically looked back at her train friend.
“Train friend! What did you just say? We should definitely take a ride together to commemorate becoming friends! Such a kind heart!”
I’ll accept that actively!
Pastel clasped her hands tightly. With a sweet voice, she begged.
“Seniors! Seniors! The junior wants to ride the train!”
How do I get on, I wonder~.
“I’ll prepare it immediately!”
The class representative dashed over. He hopped onto the engine without a door and pretended to wipe nonexistent dust, then gestured.
“Let’s go!”
The effort to wipe even a speck of dust touched the junior~.
Pastel swiftly boarded.
“Train friend! Let’s do our best!”
“We’re setting off!”
The class representative fiddled with the mechanical device a bit, opened the furnace door, and started shoveling coal.
“Wow!”
It’s a real coal train!
The whistle sound rang, and the train wheels began to move.
“Fluffy, fluffy clouds!”
Pastel smiled brightly, leaning out from the doorway. She looked up at the locomotive.
Black smoke puffed out from the train’s chimney.
Oh?
It’s not white clouds.
After thinking, Pastel cheerfully shouted again.
“Fluffy, fluffy dark clouds!”
Oh yeah!
