The demon gently caught the coffee cup that fell. Although the coffee sloshed, it was a delicate touch that didn’t spill.
“Wow.”
Pastel clapped softly.
“Demon Lord’s reflexes are amazing.”
The coffee cup was placed on a nearby table.
The demon turned back with a slightly puzzled expression.
“How does life come to be… Why are you suddenly asking that?”
Ah, right!
As if she found a reason to cry, Pastel made a sad face again.
“That’s right, that’s right.”
She flailed her arms.
“When Earth Earth introduced itself, it went snap and then waah! But it needs life, needs life…”
Pastel trailed off, becoming absent-minded. She lay back down and, as if reenacting her previous actions, sprang up again and shouted.
“How does life come into being?!”
A perfect explanation.
The demon slowly rubbed his temples.
“Are you saying that you want to ‘pop’ with a friend from Earth in your inner world… Who exactly is this Earth friend?”
Ugh.
“An Earth friend is an Earth friend!”
Do you not know even that?
“No.”
The demon gradually shifted his gaze. He looked at the coffee cup he had set down without much thought, then stared at the bookshelf next to the bedroom. It was an expression that relied on the surface of intellect and culture.
Then he looked back with a very rational gaze.
“It is still too early for you.”
Huh?
Pastel’s mouth dropped open.
What did you say?
Does that mean she’s not skilled enough to date an Earth friend, even though she clearly beat the Semi-Knight rank?
Earth friend!
“Why not?!”
“Why do you ask me that?”
The demon became flustered. He walked toward the window, checking if the window frame was sturdy and rubbed his finger to check for dust.
“Hmm. It’s clean, but not really clean.”
Uh.
That seems to be a statement filled with significant implications.
Pastel racked her brain.
Does it mean she has the skill to make an Earth friend but is still lacking in some way?
Ugh.
A pointless riddle from a swordsmanship master.
She just wished her master would say it outright.
“I will tell you when you are bigger.”
The demon flicked his finger.
“At that point, you probably won’t even ask me.”
Ah, I see.
It means she isn’t fully developed physically.
Once she gets older, she’ll be talented enough that she won’t need to learn.
Pastel rolled her eyes.
Is it something that takes time?
“Then that’s troubling!”
That’s really troubling.
“Isn’t there something I can do immediately? Like magic for sudden physical growth, or some kind of suspicious but manageable potion.”
The demon looked shocked. His eyes slowly closed and opened.
“With whom…?”
The demon pressed his forehead.
“Ah, since there are many of the same age, perhaps you have a crush on one of them. But how on earth did your motivation go that far…”
Muttering, the demon seemed to come up with something and gradually calmed down.
“Hmm, I see. You don’t really understand what it is. It’s common to imitate without admiration or understanding of adults.”
At this point, Pastel realized that his reaction was a bit strange.
Huh?
Brain working hard~.
Buzz buzz buzz.
Could it be that she’s in a situation where she asked her guardian how babies are born?
Heh.
Embarrassing.
Once the demon, who had organized his thoughts, spoke in his usual calm manner.
“Do you know what that is before asking?”
Pastel’s cheeks turned red. It meant she didn’t like being treated like a fool.
“Demon Lord! The context was wrong! Right now, I’m thinking about how to make an Earth friend! If I’ve made Mercury friends and Venus friends, then of course I should make an Earth friend!”
She waved her arms.
“But an Earth friend must at least be a being that dwells in a lush forest, so that’s why I asked! I was meditating until just now, so I wouldn’t just ask such a question without context!”
An intelligent and composed Pastel, dealing with her guardian’s flustered confusion.
At this point, isn’t she more intelligent and collected than the demon lord?
Is this the power of Pastel?
Whoa.
Admiring her own abilities.
“The forest…”
The demon stroked his chin.
“I see.”
He looked embarrassed.
Gaining a moment of intellectual superiority made Pastel feel proud. With her hands on her hips, she opened her mouth with an arrogant expression.
“And I’m not really a fool. I know how babies are made!”
She’s not saying she’s a fool-fool Pastel.
Yup yup!
The demon froze, staring blankly.
“What?”
Seeing his reaction, Pastel became more confident.
“Demon Lord, you don’t know, do you~?”
That can’t be!
That’s impossible!
In reality, the Demon Lord is a fool-fool Demon Lord!
A fool-fool Demon Lord?
“Hahaha!”
Pastel burst into laughter by herself.
Isn’t it funny that the word fool-fool Pastel is the same number of characters?
So foolish!
“Fool~!”
Pastel continued to laugh until she realized something and paused.
Whoa.
Is the number of characters in fool-fool Pastel the same?
It felt like she mocked the Demon Lord incredibly.
But fool-fool Pastel isn’t that kind of incompetent child…
But treating her on the same level as the Demon Lord feels too much like an insult, beyond a rebellion, feeling like a personality defamation.
Could it be that she has been living wrong all this time?
Pastel began to rapidly reflect on her identity. She retraced her past behavior and pondered how she could live a more mature life.
If her self-reflection ends, she could become a splendid Pastel, enough to make the Demon Lord shed tears.
Tears flowing.
But in the process, she noticed the magic stone cookie on the nightstand looked delicious, so she decided to just eat the cookie.
Yum yum.
“Wow, delicious! Demon Lord, you should try it too! It’s super tasty! Oh right! You made this, didn’t you?”
You must have eaten it plenty by now?
“I want to eat it all by myself!”
Pastel stuffed her mouth with cookies until her cheeks puffed out.
Munch munch.
A moist sweetness spread.
Her cheeks turned bright red.
Living a life of teasing the Demon Lord while munching on his homemade cookies.
So happy…!
The demon stared blankly.
“Ha.”
He pressed his temples and spoke.
“Go ahead, eat lots…”
It sounded like a voice that finally had time to rest after tossing and turning.
Pastel nodded with her mouth full.
She could definitely listen to the Demon Lord!
The demon held the coffee cup with a tired expression. Looking at the now-cold coffee, he simply set it down.
“If you must create an Earth friend, you will need to change in some way. You might realize as you contemplate, or might naturally change over time.”
The demon rubbed his chin.
“It seems the essence you’ve consumed is still being controlled well, so there’s no need to forcefully incorporate it into your inner world’s order right now.”
Pastel, who was about to answer, found herself blocked by the cookie filling her mouth. It felt like she couldn’t even chew the cookie properly.
She put too much in!
Waaah!
Puffy-cheeked Pastel made a sad face.
Demon Lord! Demon Lord!
The demon looked flabbergasted.
“Oh dear.”
He shook his head and brought her some milk.
Pastel woke up with the dawn breeze.
Student Pastel lives a diligent and model life, or at least that’s the excuse she tells herself as she has to deal with the aftermath of the terror incident.
Although she entrusted it to her senior and adult Horace professor, as the person responsible, she still had her duties.
“Is everything resolved regarding the gas poisoning?”
Walking through the corridor, medical staff followed behind.
“Most of them are about to be discharged. Some students just need stability, but there’s no problem with their health itself.”
“And Ellsior? She drank the most.”
“She was discharged right after you visited yesterday. The Duchess had strong intentions for her discharge, and being a Semi-Knight rank, she recovered quickly.”
Wow, that’s super fast recovery.
Well, given that she can break rocks with kicks and slice steel with a wooden sword, she wouldn’t have suffered too much from gas poisoning.
After visiting the remaining students, they moved to the docking station.
When they examined the scoff that the terrorist had crashed into the arena, they found a massive iron vessel that they had seen before.
Not sure what could be inside that they kept bringing in, they ordered an inspection to do so safely outside the Sky Island.
Originally, this would have been handed over to the Knight Corps. However, the academy took the initiative, as they were skeptical of the Knight Corps.
“Your Excellency!”
A professor who must have confirmed something up in the sky rushed down from the scoff. His complexion was pale.
“It’s a baby Skywhale!”
A scream mixed with panic echoed.
“The terrorists kidnapped it and transported it here!”
Inside the opened massive iron vessel on the deck was a whale.
Although it was a bit too large to be called a baby compared to Pastel, it seemed to be starving, as its skin was cracked and oozing.
Huh?
Pastel stared blankly.
So, if they kidnap a baby whale…
“The mother whale will come for revenge!”
So, the mother whale is huge.
She recalled the Skywhale that visited the Sky Island during vacation. It was a colossal being that covered the ground and filled the sky, creating an ecosystem on its back.
Inside the iron vessel, the baby whale took a deep breath. Its mouth opened, and energy gathered in front of it, glowing.
Whoa.
The light flashed in an instant. The beam pierced through everything in its straight path.
The moored scoffs were penetrated one after another. The energy rushed in slower than light. An immense sound echoed. The atmosphere trembled as the blazing wind shattered the scoffs into pieces. Wooden debris exploded everywhere.
Pastel stared dumbfounded at the scene. Her pink hair tangled in the wind flew into her mouth.
A piece of wood that flew by lightly hit her head.
She looked down at the baby whale slowly. The whale released heavy breaths before calming down again.
The professor screamed.
“The mother whale is coming!”
“Uwaahh!”
Pastel screamed in response.
Save me!
Please save me…!
I’ll live an honest life from now on…!
The chaos continued.
“Hmm.”
The demon spoke calmly.
“This is a failed terrorist act.”
