Pastel clasped her hands together, closed her eyes tightly, and quietly made a wish.
“Please let Elshire’s heart not be too deeply hurt.”
Completely avoiding any harm was unrealistic.
It was a solemn attitude, unlike the desire-laden wish for immortality she had carelessly blurted out before.
―God, please ensure that this girl’s friend’s heart does not get too hurt.
The Good Fairy also got into the mood and solemnly summoned her secondary intention for wish-granting.
It was quite different from her casual attitude last time.
This was the debt of the tenant.
Hmm.
Pastel finished her wish and opened her eyes.
She saw the Good Fairy sprawled out on the carriage cushion.
―Huff.
Huh?
“Fairy? Are you okay?”
―I’m fine. This wish might have been within my power, but it drained my energy, so I’m a bit tired. I’ll be okay once I rest.
Wow, so the Good Fairy wasn’t an infinite power source after all.
The Good Fairy waved her arms feebly. Her once vibrant black energy was now slightly weak too.
―Still, it seems like I’m unusually drained, which might be a problem.
“What?!”
That can’t be!
Already having health issues for the Good Fairy, who couldn’t even grant the world’s greatest wealth and power or immortality yet?!
“Fairy! Please don’t die!”
Pastel nearly cried at the thought of the Good Fairy suffering.
Ahhh!
―I won’t die. It feels like someone is next to me, sticking a needle in and sucking away my soul power.
“Really? Isn’t that a serious issue?!”
Before meeting the Good Fairy, Pastel had been in a completely different state—smooth and radiant, her complexion was suddenly full of life as she stuffed her face with meat pudding in the mansion and munched on gems on Sky Island. Now her soul felt slightly fulfilled.
The Good Fairy’s eyes widened as she looked at Pastel, as if realizing something.
―Could this be the cause?
The Good Fairy muttered.
―The Cult, perhaps?
“It’s the Cult!”
Bad Cult!
Pastel punched the air.
Yap! Yap!
“Bad Cult! Bad Cult!”
―I might not know what group it is, but if your guess is right, it probably is called the Cult.
The Good Fairy flopped back onto the cushion.
―It seems they’ve done some magic on me. They must have had a safeguard for when I was confined. I’m still losing power like this just being out of their control.
Ahhh.
What kind of evil trick is that for a Good Fairy?
The Good Fairy subtly glanced around.
―You see, we artificial spirits, or rather fairies, are actually beings created by siphoning off the Soul Power of the Great Fairy.
Huh?
―I mean, I don’t know where the main body, or rather the Great Fairy, is, but logically, she’s probably trapped in the Cult. They might be coaxing her to recover her powers. That’s why I feel like I have a needle stuck in me right now. Right, that makes sense.
The Good Fairy seemed satisfied with her clever deduction.
Pastel couldn’t help but be amazed.
It seemed the Good Fairy had fumbled through a bunch of words, but it could be understood that translating the fairy language into human language had a few hiccups.
With that level of detail, it felt like the fairy world truly existed!
Wow! What a huge discovery!
“So, to save the fairy world, we need to rescue the Great Fairy trapped by the Cult?”
The Good Fairy pondered for a moment, weighing the pros and cons before readily agreeing.
―Exactly! Chosen one, you must rescue the Great Fairy, who is likely trapped!
Wow, so that’s what it was!
Pastel realized her mission with enthusiasm.
The reason I was born pink and lovely was to experience the grand tale of rescuing the Great Fairy to save the fairy world!
No wonder! No wonder!
Honestly, if I didn’t look so pink, I probably would have fallen into a life of decadence and luxury with power long ago, but here I am, strangely pink!
When would I ever fall into darkness? Was the Demon Lord clueless? These thoughts seemed to creep in lately but were clearly incorrect!
Pastel’s pink eyes sparkled.
“Who is the Great Fairy we need to rescue?”
―Um? Um…
The Good Fairy looked unsure.
―I haven’t met the Great Fairy myself. I’ve heard that she was sent to this world by the deity, or rather not the deity spoken of in temples but sort of like an ancient deity? Fairy deity? Yeah. I believe she’s a being not from this world originally.
Huh?
I’m not from this world either!
Such a sense of identification?
I really feel like I must have been born for the fairy world!
Pastel felt her sense of mission fizzling over!
“I’ll do my best! For the beautiful fairy world!”
Fighting!
#
Pastel arrived in front of the royal palace of the Demon Realm United Kingdom.
Unlike the urban area with towering buildings, the vast plains and white palace surrounded by green trees were truly enchanting.
“Originally, there used to be some tall buildings around here, but the development of firearms was pretty threatening, so we removed them all for sniper precautions,” Elly explained casually.
“Wow.”
When she turned her head, the royal procession that had come out to greet her was in sight. The leading king smiled warmly.
“Governor Craft, you’ve come a long way.”
Hehe.
I’m not going into the palace to greet them; they’re coming out to greet me.
What to say, what to say.
It felt like the top-down relationship between the Empire and the United Kingdom was evident in this ceremony; I felt a bit bad, but as the person concerned, the feeling was quite good.
But, but, since he was Elly’s father, treating him that way would also be uncomfortable—a feeling of huff, betrayal.
After the formalities, Pastel walked alongside the king.
“I’ve invested in railway construction for the development of the Demon Realm, yet there are many demon folk who dislike it, which is quite unfortunate.”
Pastel directly began questioning responsibility.
After all, “friend’s father” or not, business is business.
“Haha.”
The king laughed amiably. Someone with black eyes like Elly leisurely admired the royal garden.
“Well, that’s something the Prime Minister should handle, isn’t it? I’m just someone who lives in the palace without much knowledge.”
Huh?
So it’s not a dodging of responsibility, but rather a lack of authority?
Pastel felt perplexed. She glanced back at Elly who was following behind.
Elly seemed embarrassed yet unenthusiastic and subtly explained from her princess perspective.
“The Prime Minister has not been involved in state affairs for a long time, so if you have concerns, you should consult with him.”
“Huh? Really?”
The parliament wasn’t just a figurehead? It wasn’t the case where the king manipulated behind the scenes in secret meetings and decisions?
“Yep, really. That’s why I called you and other important figures for a meeting. Everyone accepted it back then, so the Prime Minister doesn’t need extra persuasion. The Prime Minister was present at that meeting too. Admittedly, we made a mistake not preventing the Radical group’s terror attack, but that couldn’t be helped.”
Huh…
Elly’s father was a slacker.
“If you want to discuss things with the royal family, I can assist since many believe the royal family should take a responsible stance due to the prophecy. I’m taking care of things in their stead.”
Elly shot a sharp glare at her father.
“Haha. Our family just happened to sit in the empty seat, but to act on our own is quite reckless.”
Elly’s father chuckled good-naturedly.
The royal family of the United Kingdom isn’t of the bloodline of the previous Demon King.
When the previous Demon King was deceived and died due to Craft’s evil schemes, and chaos and power struggles ensued in the Demon Realm, the royal family’s ancestor stepped in as the second-in-command and neatly handled things, ending up taking on the acting role of the Demon King, which just continued on.
It’s true, but he seems to lack any enthusiasm whatsoever.
“Well, do you know anything about the Cult residing in the Demon Realm?”
“Consult the Prime Minister,” he said, chuckling.
“Huh?”
Pastel finished her meeting with the king.
Afterward, she met the same Prime Minister she had encountered in the secret meeting on Sky Island, who spoke about how the Radical group was and that there were no principle violations resulting in railway terror attacks, among other things.
“Principles, huh?”
“Ahem.”
The Prime Minister cleared his throat.
“The envoy members may act in the shadows, and if ignored, there’s not much we can do.”
Huh?
What does that mean?
The openly terrorist-supporting faction is sitting in parliament, yet the king, or rather the Prime Minister, can’t do anything?
Pastel was astounded by the bizarre political system in the United Kingdom.
Is this the cabinet system based on a constitutional monarchy?
Even if there are unforeseen failures in this newly established political system, still…
Huh.
Is Duchess Nastasha, hoping to topple the Empire, dreaming of such a thing?
Governor Pastel, a verified loyalist of Emperor, cannot understand it.
“Well then, putting that aside. I sent an urgent notice that I was ambushed by a suspicious group, presumed to be the Cult. How’s that investigation going? Have you pinpointed exactly which group it is?”
“Ahem.”
The Prime Minister cleared his throat again.
Huh?
“The information network is managed by the envoys, so please understand, Governor.”
Huh?
Huh?
What the heck does that mean?
Pastel’s expression began to resemble someone on the verge of tears. She quietly glanced at Elly.
“Princess.”
Elly flinched.
“Why is the processing of this country so chaotic?”
If this were a student council, everyone would be fired.
Elly swallowed hard.
She looked back and forth between the Prime Minister and Pastel, intensely debating before choosing her stance to speak up.
“I know the Governor might not understand, but we are also doing our best—”
“Yes, I understand.”
Pastel stood up from her seat.
“I’ve had enough tea. I’m busy, so I’ll take my leave now.”
She turned her back and exited the Prime Minister’s office.
As she stepped out, Princess Elly hurriedly followed behind.
“Pastel! Wait a moment! Just hear me out!”
As her arm was caught, Pastel slightly narrowed her brows.
She turned back to the princess.
“Princess, what’s this commotion? Please show some mutual respect.”
Elly froze.
Pastel released her grip and rubbed her neck as she turned away.
It seemed there were a lot of wicked demon folk who followed the evil Demon King in this country.
Shiver.
Since the Emperor with foresight has commanded a search for the Demon King, I need to do my best as a loyalist.
For now…
Should I meet with Leonard, the inspection department head, who should have arrived earlier?
Oh, right.
Pastel stopped in her tracks. Turning around, she saw Elly staring at her in shock.
“Elly, you don’t need to report for a while.”
Elly turned pale.
Pastel turned away.
Looks like things will be busy for a while.
Her pink hair fluttered gently.
