Pastel headed toward the newspaper club, feeling unjustly wronged. A sharply dressed demon walked alongside her.
“I can’t believe I was accused of feeding black money to silence the newspaper club! How could they report such a thing that I didn’t even do? And they even added accusations of promoting terrorism!”
She waved her hands around.
“And furthermore! Even Elly, who always keeps an eye on me for the student council, reads the article and doubts me! And! I showed them the paralysis poison to prove that there’s nothing evil about me, but even Dustyn’s gaze turned strange!”
However, looking back, Pastel thought maybe that was suspicious enough to warrant doubt, and she suddenly fell silent.
Huh?
After hesitating and finding no words, she pretended to cry.
“Waaah!”
She raised her voice with a theatrical tone, wiping her eyes with both hands.
Demon lord! Demon lord!
I need comfort! I need comfort!
A superb soldier, who without any self-interest guards the academy, spotted the Viscount while patrolling the corridor and saluted.
Pastel paused for a moment before returning the salute with a composed face.
And then, she began to pretend to cry again as she walked away.
“Waaah!”
Crying sounds, crying sounds.
She secretly glanced at the demon walking beside her.
The demon looked down with a subtle expression.
Huh?
What are you doing, not comforting me?
At this rate, I’m really going to sulk!
You wouldn’t want to see the pile of laundry grow, would you?
Dark thoughts started to rise.
Even if the demon tells me to wash up and lie down, diving onto the bed covered in mud sounds fantastic.
Ugh.
What a perfect time to dive into a soft bed!
It would feel amazing!
Sure, the bed would get dirty, but the demon would wash it anyway.
Pastel’s eyes sparkled.
Wait, am I a genius?
“Hmm? I feel a chill.”
The demon looked around.
Ah.
Caught, Pastel awkwardly whistled.
The demon looked at her suspiciously.
“Why are you whistling? What are you plotting?”
“What? What do you mean?”
Good Pastel doesn’t know.
She deliberately made a sullen expression.
“Are you also doubting me, Demon Lord?”
“…No.”
The demon, who had been contemplating, responded in a slightly uncomfortable voice.
“Anyway, since I watch you nearly all day, I won’t misunderstand the newspaper article… but if you keep showing this kind of double-faced behavior, even deeds you didn’t commit could raise suspicion.”
Huh?
Pastel’s eyes widened.
“Just now? What did I do?”
The demon pointed behind her. The back of a retreating soldier was visible.
“If you exhibit your usual lively behavior in this kind of school situation, it will only feel like a double act to others. If you’re not even aware of it, that’s problematic too. Try to bridge the gap between your actions and attitude.”
Huh?
Pastel tilted her head.
“What gap?”
I’m just living as I am.
The demon brought Pastel in front of a full-length mirror in the corridor. A gesture indicated the mirror.
“What do you see?”
Pastel looked at her reflection. As she leaned forward, pink hair cascaded down. Pink eyes gazed back at her.
What do I see?
“Powerful figure.”
Pastel’s lips curled into a broad smile. She twisted her body playfully.
“Powerful Pastel!”
So delightful.
It’s totally thrilling.
Hehe.
The demon looked perplexed by the answer she longed for.
“No.”
Pfft.
“I don’t understand what gap you’re talking about~.”
It’s just as it appears~.
Pastel smugly crossed her arms and looked down at the demon in the mirror, exuding an air of authority.
“Huh? How dare a servant look down on me!”
The girl pointed at her guardian.
“You must speak politely to the great ruler of the academy, Viscount!”
“Hah, this mischievous girl.”
The demon pressed down on Pastel’s pink head with her palm.
Grrr.
“Whoa!”
Pastel squirmed helplessly under the pressure.
“My hairstyle is getting ruined! My hairstyle!”
Pink hair was tousled.
Aah!
Almost like a bird’s nest!
The demon chuckled.
“Either way, I’ll brush it for you, so it doesn’t matter.”
Pastel was shocked.
No way!
No way……!
After messing up the hairstyle she’d struggled to create while dozing off that morning, the demon casually said those words!
But it was too true.
Huh?
Pastel floundered for a retort.
“Evil demon! Super ultra evil demon!”
The demon chuckled without a counter.
Zero damage done.
Aah!
She’s already a demon!
How cowardly!
Totally cowardly!
If that’s the case, please also make me a demon……!
#
Having reset her hair, Pastel stormed into the newspaper club.
Turning the bad newspaper club into a good one!
Just like the hero stories where they defeat the Demon King, she expected fierce resistance from the evil newspaper club that fabricates articles, but surprisingly, it was not the case.
Pastel listened to a heartfelt apology from an upperclassman in the newspaper club and managed to receive some snacks.
Huh.
Magic stone powder sprinkled.
Munch munch.
The upperclassman, who observed Lord Craft sprinkling heavy metal magic stone powder on the snacks, nervously hung her head.
“I’m sorry. I instructed the new members to create a fictional situation as practice for article writing, but it printed by mistake.”
It was not the head of the newspaper club, but an upperclassman below her.
Pastel’s eyes widened.
“A printing mistake?”
The club members behind the upperclassman hurriedly nodded.
“I’ll immediately release a correction article. We’ve already prepared it.”
The deputy head presented a sample of the correction article along with an apology.
Eh, what?
It wasn’t a big deal.
Phew!
“Oh dear! I was so shocked thinking I was accused of bribing the newspaper club to silence them, that I’d even promoted terrorism!”
Pastel placed her hands on her hips, her expression slightly firm.
“Senior! The junior was really shocked! Truly shocked!”
So shocked that she even considered releasing paralysis poison gas in the student council room!
“I’m sorry. I can’t even imagine how shocked you must have been. I know my verbal apology isn’t enough, but I sincerely apologize.”
The deputy head lowered her head deeply.
Pastel waved her hands dismissively.
“It’s alright! I understand everything! It’s the newspaper club; mistakes can happen while practicing writing reports!”
The deputy head glanced around at her members, detecting a silent signal exchanged among them.
Huh.
“Speaking of apologies…”
Pastel tilted her head.
The deputy head was embarrassed by her naïve response. She gestured to the poorly furnished room.
On a scratched wooden table that looked like it had been picked up from somewhere, piles of cheap yellow paper and a broken ink bottle were scattered.
In the corner of the floor, there were also bulging sacks that seemed to contain something.
“As you know, the newspaper club isn’t an official club. It doesn’t operate on the school budget; it’s run out of our own pockets, so there are many hurdles in our activities.”
Pastel’s eyes widened.
“The newspaper club doesn’t receive budget support? How can a school meant for students allow student voices to be suppressed!”
The deputy head’s face lit up.
“You know well! We are the voice of the students, yet we manage to operate while saving on our living expenses.”
No way!
Pastel was astounded.
A new realization struck.
Of course! Of course!
The incidents of the school being preoccupied with performance and neglecting its students’ voices led to this situation.
Huh.
So they work without food for the sake of the students.
These are the true righteous journalists.
“I can’t just stand by!”
She pointed at herself.
“I will make it my mission to normalize the voice of the students in my name!”
Huah!
She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and lifted it high.
The sunlight streaming in through the window made the checks glimmer.
Bam bam bam~!
Shiny, shiny.
“That is……!”
The deputy head and the members gasped and stared at the checks as if entranced.
Pastel felt proud.
Although the money had been earned for survival, at this moment, it was being used without selfish motives.
She handed over the check.
“Please make good use of it for the newspaper club activities!”
The deputy head accepted the check with trembling hands. Looking at it with an ecstatic face, she gasped seeing the amount.
The gazes of the deputy head and the members met. Suppressed joy spread across their faces. It seemed to indicate that everything was going according to plan.
“I will definitely represent the voice of the students!”
Pastel boasted.
“If you need more, just let me know! We cannot let fair and just journalism be disrupted!”
Boom.
Today, I’ve normalized the school again!
Hehe.
I’m so good at this.
Totally a powerhouse, right?
Suddenly, one of the bulging sacks that had been lying in the corner tipped over.
From inside the bag, the face of an upperclassman popped out, shouting with the gaze of a righteous journalist.
“Down with the puppet media—!”
A nearby club member instantly rushed over and tied the bag again. The face vanished, and silence fell.
Huh.
Pastel’s eyes widened again.
She stared intently at the quiet sack.
What was that just now……?
She kept watching, but there was no movement.
Maybe I saw it wrong.
Yeah, yeah.
Just then, another sack tipped over.
A student’s face popped out, and upon seeing the sack that had fallen earlier, they screamed.
“Head……!”
It was a cry as if calling for a comrade who had fallen while fighting against injustice.
Nearby, a club member rushed over and tied the sack up again. The voice disappeared in an instant.
Huh?
Pastel’s eyes widened once more.
The deputy head and the members were sweating profusely.
Huh? Huh?
Pastel rubbed her eyes.
She glanced back at the sacks.
Zzing.
Zziiing.
They were just sacks.
They showed no sign of movement.
Aha!
Maybe I saw it wrong!
There couldn’t be a person inside there, could there?
Uh-huh!
Pastel turned her head away.
She placed her hands on her hips and felt proud.
I am Pastel!
I normalized the school again today!
Yay~!
