“Suspicious person?”
Pastel, diligently working in the Student Council, welcomed a guest.
An upperclassman unfolded a map of the library’s interior and pointed to a section marked with a red circle.
“I heard there were signs of activity during late hours in the library, so we investigated and found a underground passage. After checking, it turned out to be sewer. It’s deep so we didn’t explore it, but I think there’s a separate external passage that an outsider might have used to sneak into the academy.”
Huh.
The tournament preparations were just finished, and now there’s an intruder.
“I know that spot! I found the entrance while they were constructing the dorms. They say it’s the remnants of a demon tribe’s holy land. After exploring a bit, I found that an ecosystem had formed inside.”
Pastel drew whiskers on her cheek with her finger.
“Chirp chirp~.”
Chirping friends.
The upperclassman, slightly taken aback by the mouse sound effect, asked.
“What happened with Joche?”
Pastel crossed her arms with a serious expression.
“I raised the opinion at the professors’ meeting, but it’s too vast, so complete filling in is impossible.”
Yes, yes.
Nodding.
“So, we decided to block the entrance only. The professors are going to handle the external passage and entrance, but….”
Pastel tilted her head as she spoke.
But the entrance is still intact in the library. Have the professors not finished taking measures yet? It is quite vast after all.
“Got it! We’ll check it out as the Student Council!”
Pastel headed alone towards the library, where a suspicious outsider was said to be.
Upon entering the large library building, she saw a high ceiling and a spacious area. Bookshelves reached all the way to the ceiling, stretching to the far end of her sight.
The pink girl’s mouth dropped open.
“Wow, the scent of studying! I haven’t smelled it since I enrolled!”
『That’s not something to brag about.』
A demon in a suit observed and said.
Pastel fanned herself. The smell of the library became stronger.
“Mm~! This musty smell of book dust! Any guardian who makes you breathe this kind of air is clearly a bad person!”
『Don’t say you don’t want to study in that way.』
The demon’s palm pressed down on the pink-haired head.
“Wow, how did you know?!”
Pastel’s face became astonished.
She then flinched under the librarian’s sharp gaze as she passed by.
Oh no, that’s right!
You have to be quiet in the library!
She pressed her finger against her lips and suddenly placed her hand on the demon’s lips, pressing down firmly.
Quiet!
The demon’s lips were squished and he panicked.
『Why me too—』
“Oh no!”
Pastel shouted in frustration at the demon who didn’t even know basic etiquette.
“Shh! Shh! Quiet! Quiet!”
The girl’s voice echoed in the space.
The departing librarian turned and glanced back and forth at the girl and the demon.
“Please be quiet in the library.”
Oh wow, I got scolded!
Pastel’s mouth dropped open. After the librarian left, she turned to the demon with an aggrieved expression.
Not fair! Not fair!
The demon looked incredulous.
『Why are you angry?』
Pastel gestured for him to bend down quickly. The demon complied. She whispered in his ear.
“Because of you, I got scolded.”
The girl whispered.
『How is that my fault?』
The demon looked bewildered.
“That’s, that’s….”
Pastel went blank, not knowing a valid reason to explain.
Silence ensued.
She shuffled her feet and waved her arms.
“I-I don’t know! I don’t know! Let’s hurry and check the underground passage!”
She grabbed the demon’s arm and ran.
Of course, she got scolded by the librarian again, prompting them to walk.
“Ah, all because of you!”
Totally unfair!
『So why is that my fault?』
“The problem is that you don’t know!”
They passed through the general reading room, accessible to outsiders and students, and went deeper inside.
Obtaining access rights as Student Council members, they descended into the underground where numerous books were densely stored in a library.
Once the librarian who guided them left, Pastel scanned the surroundings with caution. She scrutinized the various books with a sharp gaze.
“Is this the secret-level archives where forbidden magic books are stored?”
Ugh!
She felt a strong magical energy…!
The demon answered leisurely, hands in his pockets.
『It’s just an ordinary book storage. It’s where unpopular books are accumulated, having been used too infrequently.』
“Not a secret archive?!”
『What do you expect?』
Ugh.
It doesn’t feel adventurous at all.
Feeling disappointed, she moved towards a corner and noticed a hole where the floor tiles had been removed.
Peeking in, she found a hole that looked like someone had dug with a shovel, leading deep down to the sewer floor. It smelled like sewer.
“This is clearly a hole for intruders to sneak in.”
Is it okay for the Academy’s security to be like this?
Why on earth would they build the academy on a perfectly fine sewer without filling it in?
There must have been malicious intent behind it. They probably wanted to use it as a secret passage for themselves. Likely for various crimes and corruptions.
As Pastel thought, the fact that they didn’t fill in the sewer and just constructed over it reminded her of the Craft family.
They sacrificed the safety of future residents for their own crimes and corruption.
Ancestors…!
Ugh.
Just staying still makes my conscience…
As she fidgeted, the demon looked at her.
『What’s wrong?』
“Oh, nothing. I’m just missing my chirping friends too much.”
The demon nodded.
『They probably miss you too.』
Huh?
Pastel’s eyes widened.
“Really?!”
The demon leaned in close to scare her. His red pupils gleamed.
『They’re probably eager to eat your flesh and blood.』
“Ugh, blood and flesh!”
Come to think of it, those chirping friends could gulp down a gigantic snake in no time. For me, it would surely be in an instant.
The girl trembled.
“W-Wait, do you still hold a grudge from the last time I slaughtered the chirping friends with the knife?”
『Maybe.』
The demon smirked.
Ugh.
I’ll definitely apologize when I see my chirping friends…!
Pastel descended into the hole to apologize. The hole was deep, but it had grooves, making it surprisingly easy to descend.
Just about down, she looked into the sewer. Since the hole was at the ceiling of the sewer, she couldn’t see the actual situation in the sewer.
There shouldn’t be anyone around, right?
She jumped and landed on the sewer floor. Turning on a magic stone lantern, the magical light illuminated the dim sewer.
She whispered towards the magic sword at her waist.
“It seems there’s no one here, right?”
『Lower the light. We’re not even near the corner yet, so it would be troublesome to have someone notice the light from another corner.』
Pastel adjusted her magic stone lantern and carefully scanned the surroundings. Given that the sewer itself is a damp place, she found traces left by people in the sticky ground.
Outsider intruders.
“There are many footprints. It looks like several people, right?”
What might their purpose be?
She dimmed the light further and quietly followed the traces. She intended to find their hideout. It wouldn’t seem likely for the outsiders to recklessly break through this vast sewer.
I’m scared of the chirping friends.
Feeling tense, Pastel took out her knife and hugged it tightly. If scary people show up, she’d have to make a swift escape using it.
Not long after, she discovered a place that looked like a hideout. Perhaps it was for the sewer’s management, as there was a metal door on one side of the passage. The door looked rusty yet sturdy.
『The door frame is damaged. It appears someone tried to work on it because it hasn’t been opened for too long.』
Huh?
Is this actually a proper hideout?
She thought it would be a temporary dwelling made in a crack of the sewer or something similar, but it turned out they were using a proper facility.
Pastel whispered.
“It seems they are not ordinary intruders.”
『It could be a coincidence, but there’s a high possibility a preliminary investigation was conducted.』
Completely suspicious and wicked.
Pastel narrowed her eyes and gazed at the metal door.
Suddenly, the metal door made a noise.
Huh?
Pastel quickly turned off her lantern.
Complete darkness enveloped them and the metal door opened. The bright light inside slowly revealed itself.
The person holding the door raised an excited voice.
“Do you think it’s easy to track down the Duke’s daughter’s security schedule?! If you’re so dissatisfied, you all should go check it yourselves!”
His finger pointed toward the sewer. Coincidentally, it was in the direction Pastel was standing, causing her to freeze.
“If you bring back something worse than what I’ve gotten from going out several times, know that you are dead!”
“Hey, hey! I get it, so calm down! If you shout, those rat-like things will come! First, shut the door!”
As the voice from inside warned him, the person at the door held his breath and halted. Then he slammed the door shut. The door made noise as it slammed shut, then opened slightly again, with light leaking through the thin gap.
Huh?
Completely frozen, Pastel hesitantly approached. She peered through the door’s gap.
Inside there were about five or six people in a adequately spacious, furnished square room. All of them had pointed ears, resembling demons.
Listening closely, she could hear parts of their conversation.
They discussed how they would poison the academy’s water source while assassinating the Duke’s daughter, killing human students too, so do not hasten the security checks.
Assassination of the Duke’s daughter and indiscriminate massacre.
Pastel’s eyes widened.
Ugh?!
Th-They are really scary people.
Her body trembled.
Ahhh.
I-I have to run first.
She took a hesitant step back but paused.
Is it really okay to leave such dangerous people alone even for a moment?
What if they unexpectedly escape and start indiscriminate gas poisoning? Only bad people use poisons like that.
Waaaah.
I have to fight to protect my friends.
Her mind spun.
Why do I have to face such terrifying people…!
Ahhh.
Grabbing her head, Pastel trembled as she took out a glass bottle. The yellow liquid sloshed inside.
She tightly shut her eyes.
Demon, give me courage!
She shouted inwardly, flinging the door open. The pink girl was enveloped in light and all eyes turned to her.
“Y-You bad people who would spread poison gas!”
Pastel yelled with her eyes tightly closed.
“Good triumphs over evil!”
She threw the glass bottle with all her strength. The yellow liquid spun and evaporated.
The bottle hit the ground, and the yellow paralyzing poison gas exploded. The interior was instantly enveloped in gas.
In the sudden gas terror, the demons coughed and screamed. Some of them regained their senses and rushed toward the door, grabbing their weapons. They looked fierce.
Ahhh!
Pastel trembled in fright.
Do I have to fight?
I’m supposed to fight against people who think nothing of indiscriminate slaughter?
“Please, save me!”
With trembling hands, she slammed the door shut. The door slammed with a thunderous noise. The demons who had rushed over collided with the door as if trying to open it.
“Ahhh!”
Pastel screamed, pressing against the door. The door clanged and, thanks to the girl’s overwhelming strength, it shut completely.
“I’m so sorry! Please save me!”
As the demons pounded from inside, the door jolted violently. Each time it shook, gas and screams leaked through the cracks.
Ahhh!
Pastel panicked and slammed the door shut again. A loud noise erupted. The demons trying to push through were flung back, and the door closed.
Waaaah!
“Please save me! Save me!”
I’ll live a good life from now on!
No, I’ll live a bad life from now on…!
I’ll only do bad things!
Time passed in a daze.
After a while, it became quiet beyond the door.
Exhausted, Pastel plopped down.
Huh.
They are truly bad people.
