“Your Excellency, the Emperor!”
Governor Pastel began his flattery with a salute.
“From the very moment I took my first breath, I have revered the great Emperor! Hooah! Hooah! I can feel the Emperor’s glorious name in the very air of the Empire!”
Such immense intensity!
“Really? Thank you.”
The Emperor accepted this flattery as if it were a matter of course, exemplifying the demeanor of one born into a noble status and honored throughout his life.
“Wow!”
Pastel’s pink eyes sparkled.
His respect for the Emperor doubled.
The aura of a natural ruler!
The poor Pastel, struggling through a life of poverty, was completely outmatched by such nobility!
Suddenly, Pastel wanted to be noble too. In fact, it wasn’t so sudden after all.
He clasped his hands together and looked up at the Emperor.
“May I take you as my own personal godfather?!”
His eyes were sparkling~!
“I’ll serve you like a father! If only my mother hadn’t rejected my father’s confession, he could have truly been my father! Then I could have been not just Governor Pastel but Emperor Pastel!”
“Hmm?”
The Emperor made a strange face.
After thinking for a moment, he chuckled as if he found it amusing.
“Anytime. If it’s Blossom’s child, you could call me your father!”
Gasp.
The kind-hearted Emperor.
Pastel raised both arms high.
“Long live the Emperor!”
Long live!
Then Pastel suddenly stopped as if realizing something.
But isn’t the position of godfather supposed to go to the lord who’s been suffering so far?
The lord could have been the man who would have been his father if his mother had not betrayed him. Not to mention, he had been looking after him and enduring hardships.
Naturally, it seemed only fitting that the godfather would be the lord.
But wait.
The Emperor is the Emperor!
The lord may be the great demon lord, but he lacked the imperial grandeur to be compared to the Emperor.
Perhaps the lord is not suited to be the father of the great Governor Pastel?
Hmm.
Thinking, thinking.
After a momentary pause, Pastel cheered again.
“Long live the Emperor!”
He spun around and cheered.
“Long live!”
The Emperor found it amusing.
“I wonder, is this why the little Blossom acts like this? Is Demonious cooperating because of it?”
Long live!
Suddenly, a commotion was heard at the door of the infirmary. The door opened, and a demon holding a cold apple pie pushed his way past the knights.
“What’s the meaning of barring entry?”
His red eyes glared at the Emperor in annoyance.
At that voice, Pastel snapped out of his pink power delusion.
Did the Emperor bar entry to the lord?
Oh wait.
No wonder the lord arrived so late.
“Hmm?”
The Emperor looked puzzled and then glanced at the knight.
“I didn’t mean to bar even Demonious from entering?”
The knight bowed and apologized. The Emperor smiled and accepted the apology before looking back at the demon.
“Sorry, there was a mix-up.”
Ah!
So there was a mix-up!
Pastel could empathize as a ruler.
It could happen!
But it seems the lord was not quite right about that.
His red eyes were filled with irritation.
“Steward, you allowed my entry to be barred while letting the child eat alone?”
His voice was edged with tension as he surveyed the infirmary. A lavish table filled with delicious food had been set up in the room. The scent of food wafted through the air.
“What is this nonsense? This is a space where a child who has fainted should rest! Don’t you know that rest areas and dining areas should be separated?”
His voice was sharp after being blocked by both the steward and the knight.
“Was the steward like that too?”
The Emperor smiled awkwardly, looking at a loss. He was not at fault, but there was no course of complaint with the mistakes of his subordinates.
Pastel empathized more with the Emperor than with the lord in this situation.
“Lord!”
Pastel pointed an accusatory finger at the lord.
The girl assumed a stern expression.
“How dare you speak such nonsense to the great Emperor! Apologize at once!”
“What?!”
The lord seemed taken aback.
The girl’s expression grew even stricter as she put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin.
“The Emperor prepared this meal for the hungry loyalist! Thanks to him, Pastel is happily full now!”
She tapped her plump belly.
Such true fullness.
“Uh?”
The lord seemed stunned.
He then looked down at the apple pie he had personally made. The pie, rendered cold by the knight blocking his entry, no longer emitted warmth. The aroma of the food in the infirmary overshadowed the scent of the pie.
“That is unnecessary! I just ate a whole bunch of Melissa’s apples!”
Dessert, yum!
“And furthermore!”
Pastel’s face flushed with joy.
“From today onward, I am the great Governor Pastel! You will refer to me as the great Governor Pastel from now on, Lord!”
Oh yeah~!
“Long live the great Emperor!”
The loyal Pastel cheered and hopped around.
I was born to be loyal to the Emperor!
“Long live!”
“Hah.”
The lord pressed his trembling hand against his forehead.
“Little Craft.”
His red eyes tightly shut.
“Prepare to be scolded when we return.”
His voice was somewhat angry.
Gasp.
Pastel, who was thoroughly enjoying his rebellion, froze in place.
Frozen solid…
#
A discussion between the great demon and the Emperor continued.
Pastel was expelled from what he deemed an adult conversation and missed out on the details.
Instead, he lay coolly in bed with a full belly, dozing off until he briefly woke up to munch on a handful of grapes before falling back asleep.
When he awoke with the pleasant morning sunlight, he felt refreshed.
“Gasp, morning.”
He wiped the drool from his mouth and propped himself up. As he looked around the empty infirmary, he waved at the sun shining through the window instead of a person.
“Good morning, sun friend! I’d love to call you ‘sunshine,’ but I’m sorry, it doesn’t quite fit the great Governor Pastel!”
Ahem.
From now on, I must speak with dignity.
“Cough, cough!”
He cleared his throat.
With a flourish, he announced, “Is anyone there!”
The great Governor Pastel is hungry!
“Is anyone there!”
Pastel paused in mid-exclamation.
Is there truly no one there?
No one at all.
Meow meow.
The great Governor Pastel is a cat.
Gasp.
That’s not dignified!
Shocking.
Pastel clutched his head.
“What’s a dignified tone supposed to be?!”
Is this a traditional deficiency that an acquired power holder can’t escape from?
“Ugh!”
I want to be a natural ruler too!
“I want to have supreme bloodlines too!”
Just then, the infirmary door opened, and a steward entered.
“Did you call for me?”
She bowed slightly.
“Uh?”
Pastel felt a bit embarrassed.
Did she hear all that?
His cheeks flushed.
He rubbed his slightly warm cheeks.
So, so,
“I want to eat grapes.”
Hehe.
“Yes.”
The steward bowed her head and exited.
“Hahaha.”
Pastel giggled to himself in embarrassment and turned back to the window. The sunlight was bright and shining.
“Good morning, sunshine!”
Wow! Saying “sunshine” really makes it feel like morning! People should be honest with their hearts!
“Awesome! Awesome!”
Such a beautiful morning!
Pastel rubbed his hands together. Glancing around the infirmary, he pulled out a note he had hidden in his pocket.
A competent power holder often takes care of important business in the morning when their mind is most lucid.
Pastel, being a competent power holder, decided to handle business in the morning.
As he unfolded the note, sinister phrases jumped out at him.
– We welcome the alliance of the Empire’s premier scheming clan.
Gasp.
Such ominousness!
A treachery that a loyalist cannot forgive!
Pastel’s hands trembled.
How could the treacherous faction’s ominous welcome come to the loyal subordinate of the great Emperor?
What misunderstanding could have led to this!
How unfair!
To rectify this grievance, there’s no option but to confront it head-on.
He glared at the secret hideout address written next to the phrase.
“You damn nobles, you have no idea how lightly you view this loyalist Pastel, but it won’t be as you think!”
I’ll make sure to face the Empire’s greatest schemer!
He focused his mind to create a wicked scheme.
Haaah!
High-level brain activity…!
Wait a moment.
High-level brain activity is a technique Pastel just invented to prove his loyalty.
It operates with the power of loyalty to the great Emperor, allowing Pastel to gain effects as great as that loyalty.
As long as it activates properly, Pastel will finally become the world’s strongest schemer!
Gasp, fear wells up as the cows moo and ducks quack.
So scary.
There was a knock at the door. The steward quietly entered and placed a plate of grapes before exiting.
“Ah! Grapes!”
Pastel first began eating the grapes.
The magic stone powder crunched delightfully.
The juicy flesh exploded with flavor.
“Wow! Delicious! The best in the Imperial Palace! Fruits are the best!”
Having lived in the Sky Island, where freshness is questionable due to transportation conditions, this was a whole new world for Governor Pastel!
Suddenly, Pastel’s expression grew serious.
Now that he had the authority to wield the Demon Realm Corporation, could he use the distribution network to deliver fresh fruit right to the student council room?
Worry, worry.
“Seems doable?”
Then I can lie on a comfortable sofa and munch on fruits?
Sofa plush.
Fruits, yum~!
Such nonsensical happiness.
His arms were instinctively raised high.
“Long live the great Emperor!”
It was a praise that came from deep within his heart.
“Long live! Long live!”
Pastel raced around the infirmary. After running about frantically until he was breathless, he suddenly recalled that he could breathe without being human and continued to dash around aimlessly.
“Long live! Long live!”
But I have this feeling that I forgot something.
What could it be?
As he was pondering while running around, he spotted the note he had carelessly tossed onto the bed and realized.
“Ah, right! I need to concoct a scheme!”
He stopped running and picked up the note.
He stared at the ominous wording again.
– We welcome the alliance of the Empire’s premier scheming clan.
So, so,
Schemes, schemes.
Puff, puff.
Warm, warm.
Chewy marshmallows.
They’re delicious when roasted over a fire.
Marshmallows?
Ah ha!
His pink eyes sparkled.
I should go visit the hideout and clarify the misunderstanding!
Then in a rush, come back and ask the lord to make marshmallows for me!
Right, right!
