Pastel climbed up the ladder in the narrow tunnel. The Compass Friend pointed in the direction where there was no oxygen, only natural poisonous gas, but that wasn’t much of a problem.
“What do you think about the mine that the Cult was secretly trying to take over, possibly hiding the Demon King’s legacy?”
—Hmm.
The Fairy floated beside them, holding a magical lantern and thinking hard.
—They probably wouldn’t just hand over power to a Fairy who’s been locked away and is filled with resentment; maybe they want to use it for themselves.
“What do you mean, how?”
—We have to check that out. The Fairy Spirits didn’t grant divine powers to the Demon King; rather, they bestowed powers to effectively utilize Gems. Self-generating energy is enormously difficult, but using the previously mineralized energy from a Fairy Spirit as if it’s their own isn’t too hard. So, it’s all about how you utilize that.
Pastel hesitated, her pink eyes incredulously looked at the Fairy.
“But didn’t you say that Gems are infused with the Evil God’s power? But if that’s the Fairy Spirit’s power…?”
Oh-ing.
The Fairy stopped, mouth agape.
Then she burst into a bright smile.
—That was a misunderstanding! The Fairy Spirit gave power to use even the wicked Gems! The Gems are remnants of the Evil God’s influence on this world, and the Fairy Spirit’s grand plan is to reverse that and allow us to utilize them!
The Fairy winked with a twinkle in her eyes.
—The Fairy Spirit can’t possibly be the Evil God, right?
“Well, that’s true!”
Totally true.
They moved up and down the ladder, passing through the mining area to discover what lay below.
Holding the Compass, Pastel roughly gauged the distance, and before long, they were nearby.
“Eww.”
Pastel felt a wave of confusion staring ahead where the ruins must be close.
A pile of stones had tumbled down, filling the passageway. There were cracks all over the rocks, shaken loose by some impact.
“Uh… I know what this is! What could it be, huh.”
Pastel spread out the map to confirm the area.
“It’s where explosives were mishandled and caused a collapse!”
The Demon King’s plan, buried in Gem dynamite and the like.
Oh no.
Lost technologies completely swallowed by modern science.
Pastel anxiously looked between the area map marked with red stripes and the stone cracks.
“This seems like a venture where if the Demon Lord finds out, we might not just get scolded.”
Pastel, the world-renowned brave pink-haired girl, couldn’t help but feel a tad scared.
There’s a reason they say “No Trespassing.”
If it collapses, we’ll end up as flat Pastel. Next to her, there would surely be flat Fairy.
Flat-flat, twice flat!
Oh no.
Her legs trembled.
—But it seems like if we finish it quickly, it might work out!
The flat Fairy felt up the rock wall.
“Did you find anything?!”
Like a secret passage, perhaps?
—Hold on.
The Fairy’s little hands continued to explore.
Feeling around, feeling around.
Time passed with no result. Pastel’s trust in the Fairy dwindled down to the size of Ant Friend.
“Fairy?”
This isn’t exactly moving quickly, is it…
A small Fairy hand touched a certain part. Suddenly, the Fairy’s face lit up.
—Aha!
“What is it?!”
Did you find a button for a secret passage?
Or maybe deciphered some concealed magical hint?
With a triumphant air, the Fairy spoke.
—I have no clue! Just wishing is faster!
Wow.
Fairy, you’re so smart!
“I want to wish for fireball—”
—No way.
Eww, didn’t even let her finish.
Pastel gave up and clasped her hands. With a devout heart, she slowly uttered her wish.
“Allow the righteous pink-haired girl to obtain the powers stolen by the first Demon King.”
The Fairy put down the magical lantern and clasped her hands too.
—God, please grant this girl’s wish.
The Black Energy that enveloped the Fairy flickered.
Pastel thought that aside from the solemn atmosphere, outsourcing the wish and the wish phrasing felt awfully sloppy.
But the kind God seemed to think that the outsourcing didn’t lack sincerity, as the effect was immediate.
The entire passage trembled slightly. It was minor, but in a dangerous area, not noticing it would be odd.
“Wha?!”
Pastel froze, almost turning solid.
—Huh? Huh?
The Fairy hastily scanned the surroundings. The slight tremors were growing stronger.
—M-must be fine! The God won’t abandon us! I’m sure we’ve been destined not to collapse with the power of my mighty wish!
Dust began to fall from the crevices in the rock. A tiny piece bounced off the Fairy’s head.
—Kyaah!
The Fairy shook like a startled cat. Her little body flailed in disarray.
—I can’t die like this! I haven’t even achieved the extinction of humanity yet!
“Yikes! No, save me too!”
Pastel spun around and rushed mindlessly. The trembling dark tunnel flew by in an instant.
“Yikes! Yikes!”
Dust fell from the ceiling all around. Gray particles covered her pink hair.
Pastel shielded her head with her arms.
“Yikes! Please return my wish…!”
The Fairy desperately followed behind. Clinging to Pastel’s shoulder, she slapped her remaining hand.
—Faster! Faster! If we keep this up, we’ll all die!
Pastel’s head spun in circles.
“Fairy, instead of that, wish! Wish! Space move! Teleport! Super Ultra Move!”
—Huh! Right! Wishing is what we should do!
The Fairy hurriedly clasped her hands.
—God, safe—
The hand that was still clinging flew off, and the Fairy slipped from her shoulder.
—Kyaah!
The Fairy’s body slammed into a rock.
—Cough!
The Fairy trembled, then lay down limp.
Oh no.
Pastel gasped in shock, freezing. A long scream erupted.
“Fairy!”
Please don’t die before being crushed!
She dropped to the ground, sniffling. Trembling hands cradled the Fairy’s body. Limbs flopping uselessly.
“Fairy!”
Whoa!
The evil rock that instantly killed the kind Fairy caught her eye.
“Bad rock friend!”
Pastel wailed.
Then she saw the magical patterns slowly appearing on the bad rock.
Oh?
Is this perhaps a secret passage button?
Pastel’s pink eyes widened.
Suddenly, the trembling passageway quieted down, as if satisfied that it had given the correct updates.
Oh?
Turns out the God properly registered the wish~.
Although the Fairy’s sacrifice was in that process, perhaps it wasn’t avoidable?
Pastel’s pink eyes rolled for a moment.
Yeah, seems like it was an unavoidable sacrifice.
“All hail the God!”
Hail!
She gently poked the secret passage button. Lights shone from the magic circle. The ground opened up as if it were dropping a trap.
“Oh?”
A floating sensation filled her body. Pastel plunged down.
“Yikes!”
Pastel, save me!
It wasn’t a vertical drop but more diagonal; she rolled down. At some point, the diagonal turned horizontal, then the angle increased. Pastel rolled upwards against gravity.
“Rolling upwards is weird!”
Where am I being kidnapped to…!
Pastel, save me!
Pastel fell through an unknown space’s ceiling hole.
“Ugh!”
She trembled, wrapping her dazed body.
Where am I and who am I?
Judging by my messy hair, I wasn’t much of a popular person.
At the same ceiling hole, the Fairy rolled out. Her little body hit the ground.
—Cough!
The Fairy trembled.
“Ugh, Fairy! Are you okay?!”
From the screams, it seemed she wasn’t dead!
—Not okay! Why is this inferior humanoid form only two arms for a Fairy?
The Fairy became tearful. So, she wasn’t happy about only having two arms.
Ugh, that’s true. If there were four arms, you could eat four ice creams at once!
“I agree!”
Right, right!
The Fairy struggled to stand up, glancing around.
—Where is this?
The rocky walls had cracks, and dust clouded the space. But it was also an artificial room featuring a square shape with a single door.
It was clearly a place filled with the Demon King’s arrangements.
Pastel sprang to her feet.
“I think we stumbled upon something great!”
Detective Pastel and the smart Fairy had completely deduced they had found the Evil Demon King’s lair.
—Really?!
The Fairy beamed.
—Truly, I could receive a reward from the Fairy Spirit! After going through tremendous hardships, I might be able to propose something worthy to the Grand Fairy for a huge reward!
“Exactly! There are things that only smart us could accomplish!”
Wishes for immortality, becoming the world’s richest, one of those wishes should be possible, right?
“But it’s not over yet.”
Pastel inhaled deeply.
A stale odor of dust filled the air. There was no fresh air, only toxic gas.
Phew, phew, phew.
In an oxygen-less environment, it was evident that there couldn’t be any Monsters!
Pastel’s expression of bravery returned.
“I’m sure there’s an absurdly powerful Monster in front of us. But I’m ready to face it, expecting no rewards, solely for the salvation of the Fairy world!”
With her sword gleaming, she shouted,
“Brave Pastel, charge!”
Charge! Charge!
